Sunday, August 20, 2006

Back pain relief without medication.

Back Pain Relief without medication.

From an annoying ache to an agony so tremendous to the point that changing positions while sleeping is such a big deal, it only goes to show that you need an immediate relief from back pain.

There are many reasons why you could be suffering from back pain like injuries to the muscles, ligaments or disks that have occurred during an activity such as having to lift heavy objects.It can even be brought about by a pinched nerve, swelling infection, spinal arthritis, rare tumors, thinning osteoporosis and bone scoliosis. However, there are times that their level of vulnerability is factored genetically making it more prone to stress.

Back pain medication can actually range from utilizing analgesics that reduces inflammation, restores proper function and prevents injury recurrence. Most patients recuperate even in the absence of residual function loss. However, if there is no
noticeable reduction in the twinge after 72 hours of self- care, it is already a must that you contact a doctor.

Here is a simple list to help you obtain relief from back pain with out medication that you can perform in the comfort of your own home:

* Varying temperatures
Utilizing hot and cold compresses have never been scientifically proven for back pain medication but it has been shown to allow greater mobility for some individuals. Following a trauma, patients should apply a bag of ice wrapped in towel to the fragile spot for up to 20 minutes each day. After two or three days, a heat pad is then applied for brief periods to relax muscles and escalate blood flow.

* Retire comfortably
In 1996, a Finnish study revealed that persons who continue with their respective works without being able to have bed rest prior to the onset of injury have better muscle flexibility than those who did for one week. Others also suggest that such
back pain medication results to secondary complications like psychological depression, decreased muscle tone and blood clots in the legs. In the evenings, patients should lie on a single side with a pillow placed between the knees.

* Sweaty calisthenics
Performing exercise is the most effective thing if you desire speed in your back pain relief. It is important especially for people who have skeletal irregularities to maintain and build strength muscles. If you do not know of any,
you can always ask your doctor for reference. For sure the list will include swimming and walking to say the least. There are also movement therapies to develop proper posture.

* Therapeutic pins
Acapuncture is a kind of back pain medication that involves the insertion of needles. It is the size of a human hair strand placed along the precise points throughout the body. Experts of this believe that it triggers the release of naturally transpiring painkilling elements called peptides. It also gets the body’s flow of energy back to normal.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

The common causes of back and leg pain

The Common Causes of Back and Leg Pain

There are two kinds of back and leg pain. One is acute or short term back and leg pain which could last for periods such as a few days or a few weeks. This type of back pain is very common and may affect four out of five adults in the United
States. The other type of back and leg pain is chronic, lasting for more than two months.

Chronic back and leg pain may be a symptom of a more serious condition. It is advised that you visit the doctor if you suffer from back pain that lasts longer than the normal two weeks to two months.

Here are some of the more common causes of back and leg pain:

Lumbar Spine Stenosis

This is a degenerative disease of the lumbosacral spine, it mainley affects the middle aged or elderly age group. The disease is a major cause of morbidity, disability and lost productivity.

In lumbar stenosis, the cauda equina roots, a type of nerve found inside the spine, are entrapped within the dural sac, causing excruciating and incapacitating back and leg pain. This entrapment of the cauda equina roots is a result of progressive hypertrophy of any of the osseocartilaginous and ligamentous elements, soft tissues that surround the spinal
canal.

Additionally, the degenerative changes or trauma could rupture or heniate the intervertebral disc, which is composed of a gelatinous, centrally located nucleus pulposes and a peripherally located annulus fibrosus.

Lumbar stenosis mostly affects men and the middle aged to the elderly, although it could also occur in women and younger patients. Back and leg pain is the earliest complaint of this condition, which is often treated with some of the self-care
methods available. This results in delay in diagnosis.

Sciatica

Sciatica is a condition affecting the sciatic nerve. Since this nerve travels from the lower back through the buttocks and into the leg, the pain often occurs in any of these affected areas. Back and leg pain as a result of sciatica can be more
or less severe and is caused by a herniated lumbar disc.

The degeneration (herniation) of the disc causes it to compress onto one of the contributing roots of the sciatic nerve, causing sharp back and leg pains to shoot up. Often, the pain in the leg, posterior thigh, or foot can be much worse than
the accompanying lower back pain. At the onset, the patient usually experiences severe pain in the buttocks which runs all the way down through the legs or foot. In some cases, there is even no accompanying back pain.


Treating back and leg pain resulting from any of the two disorders mentioned will involve treating the disorders themselves. Any of the usual type of treatments available for normal back pains will provide little relief, if any at all.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Back and neck pain: causes and treatments

Back and Neck Pain: causes and treatments

As people get older, back and neck pain becomes much more common. This condition affects not only the physical health of these individuals but their social and economic well-being aswell. Back and neck pain can disrupt work, routine and other
daily activities that you engage in. In fact, the condition is one of the leading causes of doctor’s visits and one of the most common reasons why people miss work.

However, while back and neck pain can make your life extremely difficult, the majority of cases are treatable without the need to resort to surgery. There are also certain management steps you can take in order to handle the issues that may arise as a result of back and neck pain. These measures will not only help relieve the pain but also help you to reduce the likelihood of recurrences of this condition.

Causes

In most instances, back and neck pain is caused by strains or other injuries to the muscles and ligaments surrounding the spinal column. These, in turn, may be caused by sports injuries or a sudden increase in physical activity to which the
individual is not accustomed.

Viral infections may also cause flu like symptoms that are often accompanied by muscular pain affecting the neck and the back. The condition is known in medical circles as myalgia.

Another possible cause of your back and neck pain is the degenerative change that your spine undergoes. A person’s spinal column is made up of individual bones (vertebrae) that are joined together by the intervertebral discs, joints and ligaments. All these combined form the strong but flexible structure of your spine.

As a person ages (middle age and beyond), back and neck pain occurs as a result of the wear and tear of your intervetebral discs and other associated components of your spine. The number one cause of these degenerative changes is movement.
Motion causes the neck (cervical) and the lower parts (lumbar) of the spine to gradually break down.

Being biological structures, your ligaments and joints will try to heal and repair themselves but as a result, your spine also becomes deformed with several bulging discs, buckling ligaments, and bone spurs. These changes could also affect the
canals through which the nerves pass through, pinching them as a result.

Treatment

Although there is no definitive cure, back and neck pain is a highly treatable condition. The most common therapy used to treat back and neck pain is medications with pain-killing or anti-inflammatory properties.

Passive physical therapy used in conjunction with exercise (active physical therapy) is also another option. Hot or cold compresses are applied to the affected area in order to alleviate the pain. Other modalities may also be used, including
the application of electric impulses in order to override the muscular spasms that so often characterize back and neck pain.

Monday, August 14, 2006

The common causes of Back Pain

Your back is the workhorse of your body. You rely on it in almost every thing you do. So even though your back is a well-designed structure of bone, muscles, nerves, and other soft tissues, it is vulnerable to injury and back pain, either of which can be disabling.

Back pain is a common condition, occurring in four out of five adults. While back pain is most likely to occur at one time in your life, there are steps you can take to make sure it does not happen to you or keep the pain from becoming worse.

Causes

Most back pain occurs in the lower back, where most of your body weight is supported. It is often a result of strained back muscles and ligaments due to any of the following activities:
* Improper posture
* Heavy lifting
* Sudden awkward movement
* Muscle spasm
* Stress

In some cases, however, back pain can be traced back to specific conditions, such as:
* Herniated Disk – When the disk material presses on a nerve.
* Sciatica – When a herniated disk presses on the sciatic nerve. The condition causes sharp, shooting pain through the buttocks and the back of the leg.
* Spinal Stenosis – When the space around the spinal cord and nerve roots becomes narrow. Caused by arthritis and bone overgrowth. Pain results when a nerve gets pinched in the narrow space.
* Spondylosis – A type of arthritis affecting the spine due to degenerative changes brought on by aging.
* Spondylolisthesis – When one vertebra in the spinal column slips forward over another.

Since back pain in any of these instances is premised on a definable cause, the treatment procedure is also easy to identify. Back pain may also be caused by other specific conditions, not mentioned here because they occur only rarely.

Medical Advice
Home treatment and self-care are often the best method to take care of back pain. However, there are rare instances where back pain could signal a more serious medical problem, in which case, medical advice is needed.

Take heed of the following symptoms of back pain:

* Constant or intense back pain, especially when lying down at night
* Back pain spreads down one or both legs
* Weakness, numbness, or tingling in one or both legs
* New bowel or bladder problems
* Abdominal pain or pulsation, fever
* Follows a fall, blow to your back or other injury
* Accompanied by unexplained weight loss

If you experience any of the above, then be sure to see your family doctor immediately. Additionally, if you are older than 50, seek doctor’s advice about your back pain even when you do not experience any of the above mentioned symptoms. People with a family history of osteoporosis, cancer, steroid use, or drug or alcohol abuse should also see the doctor if they experience back pain.