Posts Tagged ‘Affliction’
All About Repetitive Strain Injury
Repetitive strain injury is an all too common problem that many people are actually quite unfamiliar with.
Also referred to as repetitive stress injury, this type of affliction is a result of the overuse of certain body parts while undergoing some type of constant much activity. As an example, someone who plays a musical instrument may begin to develop RSI.
With repetitive strain injuries, the muscles and the tendons that are located in the arms and the back are aggravated due to prolonged overuse. This particular disorder is associated with many different names, but the bottom line is that the pain can become chronic and if not treated and corrected can be difficult to cure.
Another common type of activity or occupational related activity where repetitive stress injury if frequently found is with assembly line workers. Because of the nature of the repetitiveness of their job, these people tend to be affected the most by this disorder.
Companies can adjust work environments and take measures to eliminate repetitive strain injuries with their employees by encouraging and educating their workforce on the use of proper posture, along with ensuring that stressful movements only occur for short times with regular breaks.
For those who are already afflicted with a case of RSI, stretching and strengthening the area of the body affected can go a long way toward the elimination of the pain.
There are many different types of repetitive stress injuries. Probably the most familiar being that of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Repetitive stress injury is a grouping type of condition that also includes Tendonitis, DeQuervain’s syndrome, as well as many other different individualized afflictions.
If you think that you may be experiencing some form of repetitive stress injury, it’s important for you to speak with your doctor.
Symptoms include recurring pain in a localized area of your body that you commonly use. Tingling or numbness in an area of your body that you regularly use may also be a warning sign that you should sooner rather than later.
Also, the muscles of the affected area may feel fatigued, and you may also find that you have a lack of strength present. It’s also important to note that these types symptoms in and of themselves don’t necessarily mean that the problem lies in the area where you are experiencing pain or numbness. As a case in point, a numbness of the hand may be the result of pinched nerves in your shoulder.
Since there are many different types of RSI, there are many different treatments used to relieve the specific symptoms. Options include physical therapy that directed at helping you to strengthen the area that is afflicted.
Immediate and temporary relief from RSI can usually be accomplished with the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen. Ibuprofen is used to reduce swelling which can reduce pain.
Keeping your body strengthened and flexible is a big key in both prevention and treatment.
Ultimately avoiding prolonged activity of repetitive stressful movements is your best defense against RSI. At the very least you should be vigilant in taking shorter more frequent breaks if your occupation requires this type of activity.
Healing a case of RSI will take patience and persistence on your part in order to make a full recovery, so be sure to put forth your best efforts.
Jeff Foster
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/all-About-repetitive-strain-injury-81786.html
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How To Diagnose Lower Back Pain
Lower Back Pain is a common affliction, with millions each year visiting physicians for relief. Not only will they seek relief, they will want a diagnosis.
It is not always easy to diagnose lower Back pain. Many body structures can cause it. There are muscles, ligaments, and tendons; spinal column bones; joints, discs and nerves. In addition to these structures, there may be underlying medical conditions your physician needs to evaluate.
Whether you initially diagnose lower back pain yourself, or leave that to your physician, the diagnosis will need to consider both the location and symptoms of your pain.
Step 1 – Location
The first step is to decide the location. “Where does it hurt?”
1. Axial lower back pain: This lower back pain hurts only in the low back. Pain does not travel into any other area.
2. Radicular lower back pain: This lower back pain hurts in the low back, and also radiates down the backs of the thighs into one or both legs.
3. Lower back pain with referred pain: Diagnose lower back pain with referred pain if it hurts in the low back area, and tends to radiate into the groin, buttocks, and upper thighs. The pain will rarely radiate below the knee, but may seem to move around.
Step 2 – Symptoms
Once you diagnose lower back pain as to location, you will consider symptoms. “How does it feel?”
1. Worsens with certain activities: If you play football, for example, the pain is worse.
2. Worsens in certain positions: Perhaps it gets worse if you stand for too long. Or it is more painful after you sit in a car.
3. Feels better after rest: Resting from the activity or position usually reduces the lower back pain.
4. Deep and steady: Not a sharp muscle catch, this pain is constant and deep within the affected areas.
5. Severe: The pain is excruciating, possibly more so in the calf than the lower back.
6. Numbness and tingling: There may be “pins and needles” within the area.
7. Fleeting pain: Pain may seem to come and go, leaving you unsure at times just how it feels.
8. Achy and dull: Like the flu, this pain is sore and dull, though sometimes intensifying.
9. Migratory: It hurts in one spot, then another.
Diagnosis
AXIAL: If location is best described by number 1 above, and symptoms are a combination of 1, 2, and 3, you can probably diagnose lower back pain as being axial – the most common type. This is also called “mechanical” lower back pain. A variety of back structures can cause axial lower back pain, and it is difficult to identify which is the cause. Axial pain gets better on its own, and about 90% of patients recover within six weeks.
RADICULAR: If location is best described by number 2 above, and symptoms are a combination of 4, 5, and 6, you can probably diagnose lower back pain as being radicular – commonly called sciatica. This lower back pain is caused by compression of a lower spinal nerve, usually the sciatica nerve that runs from the spinal column, down the back of the thighs to the feet. Doctors usually recommend conservative treatment such as physical therapy exercises, medications, and possibly spinal injections, for six to eight weeks.
REFERRED: If location is best described by number 3 above, and symptoms are a combination of 7, 8, and 9, you can probably diagnose your pain as being lower back pain with referred pain – the least common type. This lower back pain is treated the same as axial back pain and frequently goes away as the problem resolves on its own.
How do you diagnose lower back pain?
Diagnose lower back pain with care. You need an accurate diagnosis, which your physician can best make, to be sure no underlying causes need attention. It is not enough to know you have sciatica. You need to know the underlying cause of the sciatica to determine treatment options.
If you do diagnose lower back pain, check the diagnosis with your physician.
Anna Hart
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/how-to-diagnose-lower-back-pain-115645.html
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