Posts Tagged ‘Ligaments’
Pain Relief From Lower Back Pain Requires Some Discipline
At some time in your life you will probably experience lower back pain. It is classified in the medical community as either acute (i.e. temporary flare-ups) or chronic (i.e. long lasting). Under any circumstances, it can be quite disabling, and is a condition that accounts for more sick leave than anything else.
Acute lower back pain is usually brought about by some kind of trauma such as heavy lifting, a fall or car accident. The cause is usually no mystery. The damage occurs and symptoms are felt in muscle tissue, ligaments or tendons. Occasionally, of course, there may be a vertebrae fracture.
The causes of chronic lower back pain are less obvious. Onset occurs over a long period of time. Frequently the underlying cause is osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, disc degeneration or disc herniation. Diagnosis of these conditions is often quite complex.
Treatment of lower back pain is most often dictated by the underlying cause. Fortunately, almost all back pain sufferers can be treated non-surgically.
Opinions regarding the best treatments vary widely. The most obvious are pain medications, NSAIDs such as Ibuprofen, muscle relaxants and analgesics such as aspirin or acetaminophen. Beyond that, however, there are some very concrete steps that can be taken that are effective beyond any doubt for most people.
Exercise: For both acute and chronic lower back pain there is no more beneficial course of treatment than staying active and exercising. And, there is probably no better exercise for back pain than back stretching, an excellent method of achieving natural pain relief.
Back stretching exercise can help relieve lower back pain, often without medication. However, there are a few things you have to consider before you do any back stretching exercises in order to make sure that you don’t cause more harm in the process. This is where it is important for you to know the cause of your back pain since, if the injury is anything other than soft tissue injury, muscles, etc., stretching might actually do more harm. Beyond that, before undertaking any back stretching exercise it is crucial that you know how to do the exercises.
One of the best ways to learn how to do back stretching exercises is to purchase DVDs that demonstrate and guide you step by step through each of the routines. It is also very important to keep in mind your present state of health, body weight and ability to perform such exercises in order to ensure that you receive benefit and prevent inflicting any harm in the process.
If you back muscles are prone to strains and sprains, you should make simple back stretching exercises part of your daily routine. Stretching your back muscles as soon as you wake up will prepare your back and the entire body for the day ahead, and you are much less likely to suffer any sprains or strains throughout the day. Also, if you take a few minutes and stretch your back muscles at night before you go to bed, you will again have relaxed your back muscles from the day’s stresses and tensions.
Again, while there are a whole host of opinions about controlling lower back pain, simple, regular back stretching exercise offers the best long term pain relief.
Robert G. Knechtel
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/pain-relief-from-lower-back-pain-requires-some-discipline-110841.html
How Back Pain Starts
When considering back pain we must concern ourselves with its variants. For instance, back pain can start with slip disks, which in medical terms is called Herniated nucleus pulposa.(HNP) Doctors define slip disks as ruptures of the intervertebral disk. The intervertebral rests between the vertebrae (Spinal Column) of the backbone.
The interruption has variants, including the Lumbrosacral,(L4 and L5) as well as cervical C5-7. The cervical is at the neck and belongs to other parts of the back and neck as well. When doctors consider slip disks they often look through etiology, which includes neck and back strains, trauma, congenital/inborn bone malformation, heavy lifting, degenerated disks, and/or weakness of ligaments.
After carefully considering, etiology doctors consider Pathophysiology, which includes protrusions of the nucleus pulposus. The center connects to the column or spinal canal and perhaps compressing the spinal cord or the nerve core, or roots, which causes back pain. If the spinal cord is compressed restraining the roots and cord often back pain, numbness, and the motor functions may fail.
The assessments in medical terms are based on Lumbrosacral, which may include acute or chronic pain at the lower back. The pain may spread out to the buttocks and move toward the legs. The person may feel weakness, as well as numbness. In addition, such pain can cause tingling around the legs and foot. The final assessment may include ambulation, which emerges from pain.
The cervical is considered. The symptoms experts look for is neck rigidity, deadness, weakness, and tingling of the hands. If the neck pain spreads the pain down to the arms and continue to the hands, experts will consider slip disks. Yet other symptoms may occur, such as weakness that affects the farthest points, or the higher boundaries of the body. The lumbar curves is at the lower back region and is situated in the loins or the smaller area of the back, which doctors consider also, especially if the patient has difficult straightening this area with the curvature of the spine (scoliosis) and away from the area influenced.
When doctors consider back pain, they will review the diagnostics after conducting a series of tests. Diagnostics may arise from tendon reflex, x-rays, EMG, myelograms, CSF, and/or Lasque signs. CSF helps the doctor to analyze the increases in protein while EMG assists experts in viewing the involvement of the spinal nerves. X-rays are used to help experts see the narrow disk space. Tendon reflexes are tested, which the doctors use tests to look deep into the depressed region, or the absent upper boundary reflexes, or in medical lingo the Achilles’ reactions or reflex. Myelograms assist the expert in seeing if the spinal cord is compressed. The tests start if the Lasque signs show positive results behind etiology findings, Pathophysiology, assessments, and so on.
How doctors manage slip disks:
Doctors prescribe management in medical schemes to isolate or relieve back pain. The management schemes may include diet whereas the calories are set according to the patient’s metabolic demands. The doctor may increase fiber intake, as well as force fluids. Additional treatment or management may include hot pads, moisture, etc, as well as hot compressions. Doctors often recommend pain meds as well, such as those with NAID. The pain meds include Motrin, Naproxen, Dolobid, or Diflunisal, Indocin, ibuprofen, and so on. Additional meds may include muscle Relaxers, such as Flexeril and Valiums. The common Relaxers are diazepam and cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride, which diazepam is valiums and the other Flexeril. Orthopedic mechanisms are also prescribed to reduce back pain, which include cervical collars and back braces.
Shane Woods
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/how-back-pain-starts-91152.html
My Aching Back!
You’ve probably heard, or uttered, those words. Doctors hear them often. Back pain is one of the most common complaints in medical practice.
Causes of Neck and Back Pain
What would cause a sharp searing pain on my right back side? What causes upper back shoulder pain and neck pain? What causes neck and back pain?
These are but a few of the questions asked by millions who suffer back pain each year – about 6 million in the U.S. alone. An estimated 80% of us will experience back pain sometime in our lives. It may occur by itself, or be accompanied by other symptoms such as fever and chills.
The causes of back pain are many, making diagnosis difficult and critical. We recommend that you see your doctor for all back pain. Most causes of back pain involve no serious underlying problem, and the pain can be relieved in a few days or weeks. If the causes of back pain you experience involve other symptoms, the tips offered here are not to be followed without medical advice.
Causes of back pain in the Lower Back
Low back pain affects the lower part of your back – between the bottom of your ribs in back down to the top of your legs.
Doctors break down low back pain into three categories according to how long you have had it:
1. Acute Low Back Pain – you have had it less than 6 weeks
2. Sub-acute Low Back Pain – you have had it 6 to 12 weeks
3. Chronic Low Back Pain – you have had it longer than 3 months
Causes of back pain in the lower back are most often linked to strain of back muscles, ligaments, or tendons. Sometimes the cushion between the bones is strained. Sometimes you will know the exact causes of back pain in your lower back. Other times, it may hit without warning.
Causes of back pain in the lower back include:
* past injuries that are not fully healed
* incorrect lifting techniques
* incorrect posture
* little exercise
* vehicular accidents
* improper setup of your work area
* long hours at a desk
* long hours by the TV
* obesity
* pregnancy
Causes of Back Pain in the Mid Back
The causes of back pain in the mid back usually fall into the category of irritation or injury to muscles and ligaments of your middle spine – the area along the backs of your ribs.
Some or all of the following may be causes of back pain in your mid back:
* past injuries that are not fully healed
* incorrect lifting techniques
* incorrect posture
* little exercise
* vehicular accidents
* improper setup of your work area
* long hours at a desk
* long hours by the TV
* obesity
* pregnancy
Causes of Back Pain in the Upper Back and Neck
Some people refer to this as upper back shoulder pain and neck pain. This pain is felt in the area between the back of your chest and the base of your skull.
Causes of back pain in your upper back, unrelated to the shoulders and neck, are usually muscular irritation and joint dysfunction.
Shoulder and neck pain are more common than pain in the center of your upper back. Your neck supports your head. Made of seven, stacked vertebrae bones that are cushioned by cartilage discs bound together with ligaments, your neck is very mobile. Muscles provide movement and support to your neck.
Your neck is more susceptible to injury than the rest of your upper back. Trauma, poor posture, and degenerative diseases such as arthritis, are the most common causes of back pain in the neck area. Whiplash is another cause of back pain in the neck.
If you were a vehicle passenger involved in a rear end collision, you may have suffered whiplash injury to your neck. The impact of the collision would force your head back and then forward at a great speed. This would stretch your neck and upper back too much and too quickly, resulting in a strain or tear to supporting ligaments, muscles and discs. It could even irritate your upper back nerves.
Your shoulder is a ball and socket joint that offers a large range of movement. Like your neck, this mobile joint tends to be more susceptible to injury. Your shoulder joints depend on shoulder muscles to keep them stable. Causes of back pain in the shoulder area usually involve these muscles.
Incorrect posture can cause both neck and shoulder pain.
* Standing with your shoulders slouching, chin jutting forward, can put extra strain on your ligaments and muscles.
* Sitting with your head down for long periods of time as you work at a desk or read can exert similar strain.
* Slumping in your seat is another cause of shoulder and neck pain.
* If you tend to sleep on your stomach, your sleeping posture could be the cause of back pain.
Other Causes of Back Pain
As shown above, causes of back pain are most often linked to strain of back muscles, ligaments, or tendons. There are many conditions other than strain, however, that can cause back pain. Below is a partial list:
* Arthritis – causing joint inflammation
* herniated disc – irritating nearby nerves
* Spinal stenosis – spinal canal narrowing that compresses nerves
* Spondylolisthesis – slipped vertebrae resulting in pinched nerves
* Vertebral fractures – resulting from trauma or osteoporosis
* Degenerative disc disease – aging process that breaks down discs
Whatever the causes of back pain, the most effective prevention is to overcome incorrect posture and incorrect lifting techniques.
Anna Hart
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/my-aching-back-108372.html
