Health Articles

Minor body aches and pains are an accepted fact of life for anyone who leads a relatively active lifestyle. But when that pain becomes problematic and chronic, it may be time to consult professionals about what might be the source of that pain. A pinched nerve is often found to be the culprit when it comes to chronic pain, especially if it develops into lower back pain, neck pain, leg pain, shoulder pain or hip pain. A chiropractor may be the answer for pain relief in this situation, and we will explain how to determine if this condition might be at the root of your pain.

Symptoms

The term pinched nerve is used in medicine to describe an injury or damage to a single nerve or set of nerves for any number of reasons. The nerve most commonly affected by this condition is the sciatic nerve, and because it has bundles that radiate throughout the body, it can cause pain in areas far removed from the actual injury site. Because of this, if you show any of the following symptoms, it would be a wise idea to see your regular physician or chiropractor immediately, so that the injury site can be determined, and treatment begun.

• Weakness: generally felt in an extremity, like a leg or arm, but may often present itself in the lower back as well. Feels like the muscles located in that area are exceptionally weak, and may lack basic strength while manipulating them.
• Tenderness: the skin, muscle and tendons within the affected area are hypersensitive to tactile feelings, like pressure, pain, extension and compression. The entire area around the affected nerve bundle feels sore, like it had undergone severe cramps over a long period of time.
• Odd sensations: you may feel odd sensations in the affected area, like pins and needles, numbness, waves of burning sensations or stabbing and fluctuating pains. These may also coincide with muscle spasms, and are brought on by the compression or contracting of the nerve bundles.

Causes

• The primary cause of this condition is often simple exertion. When we work hard or play hard, we run the risk of pulling muscles, straining ligaments, and shifting some of our more fragile bones out of place, especially as we grow older.
• Age is also a factor for the second most likely cause behind this condition, which is bone spurs or thickening of the bones through aging and arthritis. This can be a defining factor for the location of the compression, especially when the sciatic nerve is involved.

Other medical conditions, like sciatica, herniated discs, and spinal stenosis can cause the nerve bundles along the spine to become compressed, literally pinching the nerve strands and causing pain to radiate throughout the body. This is why it is so important to be examined to determine the source of the injury or compression. Too often the site is thought to be where the pain is, when in reality, it may be far removed from it. Lastly, any injury that involves the neck, shoulder, back or spine can lead to the vertebrae that make up the spinal column to shift or compress, and the spinal nerves along with it.

Treatment Options

The treatment for this condition is usually broken down into phases of treatment options. For chronic pain episodes, treatment with corticosteroid shots, followed by periods of bed rest, will usually alleviate the most painful symptoms. Chiropractic adjustments can also be done, as well as physical therapy sessions. The key to any viable treatment plan, however, is assessments and examinations to pinpoint the injured area.

The important thing to remember about treating a pinched nerve is that over time, it can progress from a temporary injury to a permanent condition far faster than you might realize. If it happens to you, get checked, and get treated before it gets worse.

Many people in this world are dealing with back pains and the causes for them can be endless. The individual who is dealing with a back pain will often have a job that will require him to stay tinted to a chair all day long and this will of course, cause him to experience pains in the long run. Back Pain Treatment is thus one of the most targeted keywords on the internet, for there are too many people dealing with such pains who want to finally get rid of them.

In the majority of cases, eighty percent of them to be more precise, the back pains will just poof away on their own without any medical intervention, but when the individual will experience acute and persistent pains, ignoring them and praying that they will go away is just not going to cut it. If dorsalgia is the problem that you are dealing with, then below there are some tips you can employ in order to alleviate it.

1. You will firstly need to remember that if you have a job requiring you to sit on a chair all day long, getting up from time to time and moving, is very much recommended, so that your muscles will not atrophy. Don’t consider getting a lot of rest, for this is exactly what will cause you to experience back pains. If you want, you can also get in touch with a Maryland Chiropractor to have your pains cured. The Back Pain Chiropractic services that the Baltimore Chiropractor will offer you will certainly make you a new man, full of energy and willing to work with more desire. Exercising a lot is also very much recommended, but when you will decide to do it, commence it slowly.
2. Visiting the Chiropractor Baltimore MD in the first twenty four hours that your pain has appeared in, you will certainly be in for a special treatment that will involve getting ice packs on the area that hurts. The inflammation and the pain will thus be greatly reduced.
3. You can visit a chiropractor anytime you want and depending on the one you will choose to go with, you will be the lucky beneficiary of very relaxing hot baths that will certainly have your pains alleviated. You will not only have your pains reduced, but you will also have your general state of mind improved.
4. Over the counter drugs that are non-steroidal and acupuncture will also be very good for your back pains, so consider them wisely. Following these short tips, you will never have to worry about your back pains ever again.

If you have a lower back pain condition your primary objective should be to make your pain decrease. Your time is valuable and it’s important not to waste it on dogma, attempting to get valuable information from other people ideas. And that is why I wrote this article to give factual information to those who desire facts and not beliefs or guesses.

I know of only two ways you can fail, if you decide to do nothing, or if you decide to listen to no one’s advice and make your condition worse. There is nothing that cannot be achieved with determination, but to understand how to cope with this painful condition it’s important to understand the symptoms of low back pain. Generally this condition is thought to be stiffness in the small of the back and also include pain in the buttocks or legs.

The primary reason why some suffers continue to live their normal lives, must be accredited to the fact that many suffers refuse to let their back conditions be an end. Don’t listen to people who tell you what you cannot do, the use of lower back pain exercises and good posture can improve many conditions associated with back problems, also some conditions may require medications, physical therapy and surgery. It is important to note, if your pain is acute no exercises are recommended.

Don’t be a victim of back pain, some causes are overstretched or injured muscles that have the primary function of supporting the lower back.

Many times the condition arises from

• lifting or carrying heavy weights improperly,
• the lack of exercise,
• bad posture,
• sitting or standing for long periods of time,
• when a disk between the vertebrae presses against a nerve,
• obesity,
• osteoporosis,
• osteoarthritis,
• fibromyalgia,
• illnesses (cancer, or infection).

Suffers will find strength in holding fast to a routine of regular back pain exercises, using good back posture, learning to properly bend and lift, and dieting if overweight. Remember see your doctor before beginning any plan for back pain relief, for some types of back pains require special back treatment and exercise is not recommended.

To help cope with a chronic pain condition while standing, here I’ll include some tips for nothing is mightier than knowledge: rest one foot on a low stool when it required to stand for a long period of time, or when in the kitchen instead of a stool rest your foot on the inside of the cabinet. Ideally change feet every 5 to 15 minutes. Also remember to stand with your head up, shoulders straight, chest forward, weight balanced evenly on both feet, and hips tucked in.

Learn to be innovative, some ideas for sitting include use a chair that has proper lower back support, a foot rest or stool should be used to keep your knees higher than your hips, your chair should curve to give support where the small of the back meets the chair, avoid twisting at the waist when in the seated position instead turn your whole body. Also make a conscious effort to correct your posture.

Your life will take on meaning when you become motivated, make sleeping part of your recovery plan.

• Try sleeping on your side and bending your knees.
• Also try sleeping with a pillow between your knees.
• Avoid sleeping on your stomach.
• When sleeping on your back, use pillows under your knees plus place a small pillow under the small of your back.

Your goal should be to completely understand your condition. When lifting a heavy object, ensure you use firm footing, bend your knees to lower yourself and lift with your legs, never try jerking an object, never bend from the waist with your knees straight, also never lift with your back. When lifting an object from a table, do so with your purpose in mind: slide the object to the edge of the table and hold it close to your body, slightly bend your knees so that you are close to the object then use your legs to lift and come to a standing position. Never lift heavy objects above waist level. Remember to hold packages close to the body with arms bent.

We have just had a discussion on low back pain, the causes, symptoms, and tips on preventing further injuries. Your philosophy as a suffer should be with determination you can take control of your life and by working hard toward your goal you cannot fail. I wish to discuss more about back pains with you in future articles, so be sure to look for more articles written by me on this sometimes confusing subject.

There are a number of back pain treatments that are available to chronic sufferers, but choosing the right one can be a daunting task. There are certain cases where medical treatment is the only viable option, for example in the case of a broken back or disks that are completely worn down. In these cases, surgery and powerful pain killers would appear to be the only option in correcting the situation. However, there are other cases where treatments involving surgery and drugs can actually cause more harm than good.

Not only is medical treatment frightfully expensive, the risks entailed when taking painkillers often far outweigh the benefits. Probably the biggest risk related to painkillers is the problem of addiction. What most people do not realize is that after extensive use, the body builds up a resistance to these powerful drugs, which means that the dosage has to be increased either by increasing the strength of the medication, or if that is not possible, then increasing the number of tablets that have to be swallowed. As this vicious cycle continues, the patient now becomes chemically addicted to these tablets, and any attempt to stop taking these drugs results in terrible withdrawal symptoms.

Another risk related to medical treatment, is that surgeries that are performed can lead to complications, often requiring extra surgeries to correct the problems brought about by the original operation. This is why it is critical that surgery should only be used as the absolute last resort in back pain treatment. Obviously it is important to consult your medical practitioner if you are experiencing back pain so that you can determine the seriousness of the problem. However, most reported cases of pain in the back do not warrant medical surgery, and in many cases the use of addictive painkillers is inappropriate.

There are different options that can be used in order to alleviate pain in the back. Popular alternative back pain treatments available include chiropractic treatment, acupuncture and other natural remedies. Probably the most popular method of prevention and treatment of pain is yoga. There are many different exercises that focus on various points on the back. These exercises help to stretch the muscles, which enable them to provide critical support for the spine.

If you are experiencing chronic pain and are looking for an effective back pain treatment, then spend a little time to investigate all the options before turning to addictive painkillers. You will probably be doing yourself a great favor.

Apart from the devastating effects on the physical person that spinal cord injuries can have, the economic impact of spinal cord injuries can play a large role in recovery and quality of life following these types of injury.

The following statistics are of interest regarding spinal cord injuries in the U.S:

• There are approximately 12,000 new cord injuries every year
• Approximately 262,000 persons are living with spine injuries (2009)
• The average age at injury for spine injuries is 40.2 years (since 2005)
• Approximately 80% of those suffering a spinal cord injury are males
• The three most common causes/mechanisms of spinal cord injuries are motor vehicle accidents, falls and violence (in that order)

Economic Impact

Occupation: More than half of the people affected by spine injuries are employed at the time of their injury. It is estimated that only 11% of those injured are employed at the one year mark. This figure increases to 35% at the twenty year mark. Obviously, people who have suffered a spine injury will have difficulty working. Those who do work will likely perform a different job than the one they performed before they were injured. Those who are able to work may undergo extensive retraining.

Residence: Almost 88% of those discharged from a hospital or a rehabilitation facility go home after discharge. The rest may be discharged to hospitals, nursing homes, residential homes or other facilities. Those who go home after their injury will have to have some home modifications made in order to be able to function at home. This may include adding ramps, mechanical lifts, bath/shower modifications and other changes to the home. Those who are discharged to other facilities may be unable to afford the cost of staying in these facilities. Regardless of whether the victim of a spine injury goes home or to another facility, costs will be high.

Hospital length of stay: People who suffer spine injuries can expect to stay an average of 12 days in an acute care facility. They can then expect to spend at least an average of 38 days in a rehabilitation unit. The costs associated with these stays may be overwhelming, particularly for people with inadequate or no insurance.

Lifetimes Costs: Average yearly expenses for victims of spine injury range from $244,500 to $829,800 in the first year, depending on the level and extent of injury. Indirect costs (i.e. loss in wages and productivity) are estimated at $65,384 per year. This figure is of course dependent upon several factors, such as pre-injury employment and level of education. As can be seen from these few figures, the costs associated with spinal cord injuries can be extremely high.

Obviously, in the first days and weeks following spinal cord injuries, little thought is given to the economic impact of such injuries on the victims and their families. However, as time goes by and the victim begins preparation for life outside the hospital, the economic reality of medical and hospital bills, costs associated with preparing a living environment, inability to work and other factors force the injured person to re-evaluate their economic status. They may require assistance in the form of financial, social or legal aid in order to cope with their economic reality.

More than 80% of Americans struggle with some form of constant back pain. To make it worse, to figure out the initial cause of back pain is often difficult to establish and, therefore, not easy to treat, leaving its victims to rely on the uncertain alleviation of cold packs and drugs. Since back pain is so common, you’ll notice more products and services available to manage this common problem. You could now find unusual products and services which are very helpful in relieving back pain. I’m going to reveal to you what tactics, products and services you should use to accomplish back relief.

Inversion tables
Inversion tables have been an exceptionally popular piece of back pain equipment. They are surely very effective in providing back pain relief and can be obtained just about anywhere. You can find different brands, sizes and types. However, they all do the same job and that is, give back relief, enrich your overall well-being, relieve and align your back. Be careful of poorly made tables with poor quality materials and inferior warranties. How they work is that you strap your feet into the “boots” that are a part of the unit plus gently flip your body upside down. Inversion tables are mostly effective for your spine in that it relieves strain on the discs plus nerve roots.

Capsaicin Cream
Capsaicin can be found in chili peppers. When it’s applied to the epidermis, capsaicin has been found to transmit pain, causing a painkiller outcome.

If doable, put on disposable gloves before applying the cream. Be aware never to touch the eye area or open skin.

Stretch
Stand straight, and keep your feet at the length of your shoulders. Bend the knees a little and lock the fingers, raising the arms to the height of your shoulders. Push your arms ahead and stay away from leaning backwards.

Acupuncture
Acupuncture is known as a usual Chinese practice that includes inserting needles into the aching area to reach pain relief or balance. In numerous studies it has been proven that acupuncture is amazingly helpful and even greater than other pain relief strategies. There is no proven unwanted effects of acupuncture, however it’s very imperative that fresh needles are utilized before every treatment. Additionally, your original treatment may result in some adverse reactions. It is just an outcome of improvements being made within your body and should not persist longer than the first few sessions.

Ice packs
Ice packs can work well, yet for those who suffer from conditions similar to rheumatoid arthritis and connected signs and symptoms it is best to stay away from using cold packs. cold packs can diminish lower back pain especially if you keep the packs to remain on your back long enough to ease muscle spasms, soreness, and inflammation. Place the cold pack over the region where your lower back pain is for at the very least twenty minutes.

When we read or hear about cholesterol it’s usually about how bad it is for us. How we need to have it checked regularly and how we should eat this or not eat that. It can be quite scary, I know, I smoke and when I went for a check-up I was expecting the worse. But to my surprise my cholesterol was within normal limits. I do however try to eat as healthily as I can, but I’m not adverse to a cream cake (or two). So what are the foods we should avoid more, and the foods we should eat more of?

Cholesterol Facts

The liver produces cholesterol

• We need it to make certain hormones
• We need it to help produce Vitamin D
• We need it to help build healthy cell walls
• We need it to help digest fat

We don’t actually have to consume any extra cholesterol because the liver produces all that we need. Unfortunately the food that we all love (well most of us) contains the extra cholesterol that we don’t need.

Foods that contain cholesterol are dairy products (whole fat) cheese, ice cream, milk, meat (burgers, bacon), eggs, fries. What we can eat without consuming any extra cholesterol are fruit, vegetables, whole grains (breads and cereals). Yes, that’s right the food we don’t eat enough of is the best for us. Bad news for all us cream cake consumers.

Cholesterol moves throughout the body with the aid of proteins. When they combine together they are called lipoproteins and the two we should concern ourselves with are the ‘bad’ and ‘good’.

The Good

The good cholesterol helps to get rid of cholesterol from blood vessels. It does this by transporting it back to the liver where it can be eventually dispelled by the body naturally. This cholesterol is called High density Cholesterol (HDL).

The Bad

Low density cholesterol or LDL for short is the ‘bad’ cholesterol and is responsible for blocking the blood vessels which in effect stops blood flowing freely throughout the body. Rather like a series of damns in a river preventing the water from reaching wildlife and plants that depend on it for their lives.

The Ugly

The hard facts are that bad cholesterol is very bad for your health in the longterm. It can lead to hardening of the arteries (Arteriosclerosis) this is when cholesterol ’sticks’ to the inside of arteries which makes them narrower. This in turn restricts the flow of blood to the brain and the heart making you more prone to having a heart attack or stroke.

So what can you do to maintain a health cholesterol level? I think most of us these days are made very aware of the consequences of our eating habits from television, magazines, and newspapers. Common sense prevails (well most of the time) when we refuse that second cream cake, or we decide to walk to work instead of driving.

One of the possible causes of lower back pain is having a tilt in the pelvis. I had this problem for years and did not even think it was wrong because I came to believe that my lower back pain was just the way things were for me.

To better understand this for yourself you may want to take a side view photograph of yourself before your start. Looking at your pelvis does it tilt forward or backward or is it basically centred. An easy way to check this is to look at your upper body. When the pelvis tilts backward your shoulders and head will seem slightly forward. If it tilts forward you should see an exaggerated curve in the lower back forcing your stomach to stick out. Either one of these conditions will cause lower back pain and in some cases upper back or neck pain as well.

Provided your lower back pain is not caused by factors other than a tilt, the Exercise Ball (or Swiss Ball) Leg Raise is an excellent exercise to help stabilize this area and reduce your lower back pain. It helps by working the lower abdominals (which help tilt the pelvis backward) and the hip flexors (which help tilt it forward).

What you’ll need to perform this exercise is a Swiss ball and something solid you can grab onto. If you at the gym a Smith Machine Bar or Dumbbell rack will work. If you’re at home a chin-up bar in a door way works just as good.

Step one: Lie down on the ball and reach above your head to grab the bar. Your butt should be off the edge of the ball and your back centred on the ball.

This is a basic starting point. By spreading your arms out you’ll obtain more stability and if you move your torso down, so it becomes more vertical, you’ll increase the resistance or difficulty of the exercise.

Step two: Slowly roll your spine up by lifting your legs. Let your pelvis tilt up until only your lower back is on ball and your legs are in the air. Be advised that at this point there may be a lot of side to side motion so stability is key.

Step three: At the top you want to achieve a good contraction and then slowly lower your legs almost to the floor to achieve a good stretch.

Step four: Repeat this motion in a slow and controlled manor focusing on the contraction, the stretch and maintaining stability between the two positions.

Once you’ve become comfortable with this try moving your hands closer together, adding weights to you ankles or changing your position on the ball to increase the resistance of this exercise.

If this exercise aggravates your lower back then try a using a smaller ball or resting your feet on a chair so you do not hyperextend you lower back.

There are many reasons why we may experience lower back pain. Some of the reasons that cause lower back pain are things like traumatic accidents, slip and falls, reaching for something, picking up an item without using the proper mechanics and poor posture. Injuries include herniated discs, fractures to the vertebrae, facet problems, spondylolesthesis, degenerate disc disease, arthritis and others. One of the most important things you can do is learn all that you can about your injury. Learn what muscles groups are involved, what positions make your pain worse, what stretches can help alleviate pain, whether ice or heat is better.

Repetitive stress or strain is another major reason why people have lower back pain. A person may pick up something that weighs 1 ½ pounds 40 times a day with bad mechanics and one day his/her lower back “goes out” and they will experience lower back pain. It was not the weight that caused the person to have lower back pain, rather the poor mechanics the person was using to lift the light weight. It’s like the old saying, the straw that broke the camel’s back. That’s why it is important to learn good body mechanics and avoid repetitive stress situations and injuries.

Disc herniations are another major cause of lower back pain. A disc can herniate for a number of reasons including trauma, twisting and forward flexing type activities and poor body mechanics to name a few. When a disc herniates, the outer wall of the disc is compromised and the disc material begins leaking out. One of the worst positions for the spine, especially when you have a herniated disc is forward flexion and rotation which can cause the leak to increase even more.

Once the disc material begins leaking out, it can put pressure on your sensory nerves which in turn will cause pain. If the material continues to leak out, it could also affect your motor nerves which mean that your muscle strength and coordination will be affected. A microdisectomy procedure will remove only the disc material that has already leaked out. A laminectomy procedure will remove part of the bone, lamina, to provide more room for the disc material to be without putting increased pressure on the sensory or motor nerves.

Arthritis in the spine is more common as we age. An X-ray may reveal arthritis in the spine in our facet joints or areas around the vertebral bodies. Typically arthritis type of pain is dull and achy and tends to be there all the time. It has been described like a dull toothache. It may be possible to shave down some of the arthritis, but it is important to understand what movements to avoid and what muscles to strengthen.

Learning the proper body mechanics, sitting mechanics and postural mechanics is really essential in living a life without lower back pain. Understanding what type of body mechanics you need in order to lift 5 pounds versus 40 pounds is key to avoiding lower back pain. Learning how to sit properly while at work, home or for recreation can help you avoid having lower back problems. Learning to strengthen your lower leg muscles, gluts, abdominals and back muscles can really help you avoid lower back pain in the future.

Another important point is to learn how to stretch your muscles often to keep your body flexible and ready to perform the activities that you need it to. It is important for everyone to learn more about how their bodies function, how their muscles work and how to maintain good body and postural mechanics.

Many people in San Diego suffer from chronic neck or back pain, whether it is related to an occupational hazard or not, and it can seem like quite a chore to find a reputable and good chiropractor. However, if you ask the right questions and filter out certain elements of your search, you will be able to find a trusting San Diego chiropractor that will meet your needs, make you feel comfortable, and most importantly, heal your pain.

The first steps in finding chiropractors in San Diego is to talk to your primary physician, as well as friends and family members to see if there are any recommendations they can make to help. From that point, you are able to call on various doctors throughout the County and complete phone interviews, get more information on a chiropractors treatment procedures, strength of their adjustments, and to ask about insurance too.

You can also ask about X-rays and other types of procedures, but be weary on various types of products they may be promoting or selling from the office. You can also ask about where they went to school and when they graduated, any credentials they have, and also how long they have been practicing in San Diego County as well as their medical mission.

Oftentimes, a long term treatment is the first recommendation you will get from a chiropractor before any examination is completed. Be weary as this is a sign of a salesman who isn’t interested in your particular treatment. It’s not a good sign when you walk in and find entire shelves of body tonics, cleansers, vitamins, and other types of products to be pushed. Be weary if they use too many X-rays too without explaining the reason behind these treatments.

A good chiropractor will treat your ailments as fast as they can without the addition of extra sessions or other treatments such as x-rays. If the sessions don’t seem to be working, it is recommended to go back to your physician or specialist for a different perspective on better treatment. A solid chiropractor will also evaluate your entire health including exercise and diet in addition to your back, neck, or joint issues. it is good if they have a massage therapist on staff and at the office to be able to assist with muscle issues. You will find that the chiropractors in San Diego also have working relationships with other health professionals including doctors, specialists, and specialists in the athletic community.

Trying to find a good chiropractor in San Diego can be challenging, but if you ask the right questions and watch out for common and expensive pitfalls, you will find the professional you need. The San Diego Reader magazine is another good avenue to find such professionals. The better you feel the more the rest of your life will be in balance.