Posts Tagged ‘Soft Tissues’
Why Use Massage to Beat Neck Pain
It is a common misconception that neck pain is related to abnormal cervical spine curvature. However, the most common causes of this common ailment are sprain (injury to the ligaments of the spine) and strain (injury to the spinal muscles). It is important to distinguish between the two in order to ensure the correct therapy such as Massage is used as a cure.
Neck sprain may occur after a neck injury that causes forcible stretching or tearing of the soft tissues of the neck, such as a contact sports injury or whiplash from a motor vehicle accident. Neck strain may also occur as the result of postural or repetitive stress (overuse), often related to sleep position or poor standing and sitting posture. Ongoing pain related to neck sprains and strains occurs as a result of soft tissue inflammation and swelling.
Other causes of neck pain include pinched nerves or a variety of structural or degenerative spinal disorders such as a herniated disc and cervical spondylosis (osteoarthritis). The ailment may also be associated with dental disorders or rotator cuff injuries (muscles of the shoulder).
If you have chronic neck pain, your doctor should perform a thorough medical examination to rule out serious structural or physiological spinal disorders. X-rays and MRIs can help your doctor identify the source of your pain and plan the best course of treatment. It is important to seek immediate medical attention if your neck pain is severe or if fever, dizziness, weakness or any unusual symptoms occur along with neck pain.
You can try and avoid the onset of neck pain by trying to maintain a natural aligned spinal position when sitting, standing and walking. Consider a lumbar support cushion for your car seat or desk chair. If your job requires repetitive tasks such as holding a telephone between your shoulder and ear, or if you are frequently in the same position while you work, such as sitting at the computer, take breaks and stretch your neck muscles. Also, make sure your neck is properly positioned during sleep: It is important to try and avoid positions that abnormally flex the neck. It is often the case that an old and worn pillow or mattress can be the cause of neck pain. Cervical pillows are available which will provide adequate support.
The length of recovery from neck pain depends on the severity of your injury as well as your age, health, and history of prior neck injury. Several Massage treatment sessions may be needed before you achieve relief. A Massage therapist will be able to advise you on the appropriate frequency of sessions, either with a therapist or self massaged, to best treat the condition.
Don’t forget, a Massage therapist can teach you how to massage your own neck to reduce muscle stiffness and increase range of motion. The effects of massage tend to be longer-lasting when it is performed multiple times each day. Do not perform deep muscle massage in areas that are painful, swollen or inflamed as this could lead to injury.
Michael Tasker
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Tips For Treating Neck Shoulder And Upper Back Pain
Neck pain alone is a struggle. If clubbed with shoulder and upper back pain, it is an undeclared war. And various uncertainties related to this pain may continue to haunt you for a long time indeed.
The causes of neck pain are many. It is related to soft tissues of the neck, either growths or tumors affecting the thyroid glands, food pipe of the wind pipe. Injury to the ligaments and muscles can cause neck pain.
One of the common reasons for the neck shoulder and upper back pain is the bad pillow design that you have been using for a long time. You did feel uncomfortable with this pillow, but you ignored the initial warnings.
Have you noticed that even after a full night’s sleep, you feel uncomfortable many a times? One of the reasons for this situation could be your pillow, or the too soft or the too hard mattress!
This condition of neck pain, shoulder cramps and back pain can be successfully tackled by the correct, specially designed pillows! These pillows are so designed, that they allow proper shoulder rotation and support the head well!
The treatment to neck, shoulder and upper back pain lies in making the correct diagnosis. What is the immediate and ultimate goal of any type of treatment? It is to prevent weakening of muscles, improve range of motion, relieve pain and restore the normal function. The treatment options are many. The most common and immediate relief seeking treatment is using non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory medicine, soft neck collars, exercises, neck support pillows and topical agents such as Myorax.
Apart from the beneficial effects of some of the therapies like Acupressure and acupuncture, proper upper back pain exercising routine is the most acknowledged plan to get rid of all these painful conditions. This is a preventive measure for future problems also and as such exercising needs to be the part of your lifestyle. It will prevent recurrence of upper back pain.
Your day includes strenuous physical and mental activity. You can do the exercises before your physical activity schedule or after it. Such exercises relax the muscle tissue. Your tension is reduced. The suppleness of the spine is increased. When each related part becomes strong and active, pain won’t have any takers.
In rare cases, exercises themselves may be the cause of your shoulder and upper back pain. So always take proper lessons from your physiotherapist, for the great benefits!
Ashish Jain
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/tips-for-treating-neck-shoulder-and-upper-back-pain-81125.html
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What Are The Causes Of Pain In Lower Right Back?
Back pain is a complaint doctors hear about frequently. People want information on backaches. They want doctors to treat pain in the back. Many want to know the Causes of pain in the lower right back.
Information about the Lower Right Back
It is important to understand the structure of the lower right back if we are to understand what Causes pain there.
Your back, with its spinal column of vertebrae, connecting ligaments, tendons, large muscles, and nerves, is designed to be incredibly strong and flexible. Yet things can go wrong with this awesome structure.
* Muscles can be strained
* Ligaments can be torn
* Joints can be injured
* Bones can be fractured
* Nerves can be irritated
* Discs can be herniated
* Stress can tighten back structure
The lower back seems especially susceptible to injury, since it bears the weight of the torso, and makes more movement than the upper back. Its constant work can cause parts to break down and wear out over the years.
The lower right back has soft tissues that can be involved in pain. Those large, complex muscle groups that support your spine and help you move can be strained by improper lifting or posture. In fact, muscle strain is the most common cause of lower back pain. Twisting or pulling one of the following muscles can produce pain in the lower right back.
* Extensor muscles: These paired muscles in the lower back and gluteus help support your spine. If the one on the lower right back is injured, it will be painful.
* Flexor muscles: Attached to the spine’s front, these muscles help you flex, bend forward, and lift things. Again, injury to the right flexor muscle can cause lower right back pain.
* Oblique muscles: This muscle group is attached to the sides of the spine. The oblique muscles help your spine rotate, and give you good posture.
In addition to simple muscle strain, injury to ligaments, joints, and bones can also cause muscle pain. If one of these structures is injured or inflamed, back muscles can go into spasm, drastically limiting your movement and cause pain in the lower right back.
Stress is a common cause of pain in the lower right back. Stress will make your back muscles tighten. This happens to every muscle in the body, as we move into a “fight or flight” response. Muscles that are tightened lack the energy they need to support the spine. If the stress is frequent, and measures are not taken immediately to relieve it, lower right back pain can easily develop.
Information on Chronic Lower Right Back Pain
If lower right back pain lasts more than two weeks, you are likely to stop using the aching muscles in order to protect yourself from that pain. With disuse, the muscles can waste (atrophy) and weaken. This will increase the pain, since your muscles are less able to support your spine. If you increase your protection, and continue to avoid using the muscles, the cycle will continue, with the pain worsening at each turn. Chronic lower right back pain will result. This is why doctors urge patients with lower right back pain to exercise daily.
Information about Lower Right Back Pain Symptoms
You need to understand the symptoms of your pain as well. It is difficult to treat pain without knowing clearly what and where the symptoms are. You will want to gain a sense of exactly where your lower right back hurts. Is the pain focused in one small area, or does it spread throughout the lower right back? Is it confined to the lower right back or does it radiate into other parts of the body? Here are two major kinds of pain in the lower right back.
Lower Right Back Pain Symptom #1
Is yours a deep, aching, dull, or burning pain? Does it travel down your leg? If so, your lower right back pain may be chronic back pain.
Lower Right Back Pain Symptom #2
Perhaps yours is a very sharp pain, deep in the lower right back. This symptom may be the result of a back injury.
Information on Relieving Lower Right Back Pain
My personal physician assures me that the best relief for lower right back pain is usually exercise. Gentle exercises, performed daily with warm-up and cool-down, will strengthen the core muscles around the lower back area, relieving the pain and making them less susceptible to future injury.
CAUTION: Pain in the lower right back may also be caused by kidney stones or other non-muscular problems. Be sure to ask your health care provider for advice on any back pain.
Anna Hart
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/what-are-the-Causes-of-pain-in-lower-right-back-117782.html
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Instant Injections For Instant Back Pain Relief
Back Pain has become a very common problem that people suffer from. And reasons for it can be many. It can range from sitting or walking in bad postures to a fractured vertebra or other abnormalities in the spine.
So the best way to get your Back pain treated is by first diagnosing the true cause and then offering the best treatment available. With revolutionary inventions in the field of medicine, there have come up many medications that are very effective in treating acute back pain problems. Latest in this line are instant Relief injections.
Researchers have proved that people get more relief when the drugs are delivered in their body using injections. Some of the commonly used injections to cure back pain are:
Epidural Injections
The space that occurs in the spinal canal is termed as the epidural space. Back pain can occur due to the inflammation of the nerves and the soft tissues that are present in and around this area. Administration of epidermal steroid injections helps in reducing this inflammation, thereby bringing a constant relief to the patient. These injections are administered in a set of three. The list of backache problem that they treat is sciatica, spinal stenosis, disc herniation, radiculpathy and low back pain.
Facet Injections
The joints present at the posterior part of the spine are known as the facet joints. Between every vertebra, there occurs one set of two facet joints. Arthritis is the problem that creates problem in these joints. Arthritis in turn is a big cause of back pain. Administrating injection with the desired drug can bring instant relief to your back pain.
Transforaminal Epidural Injections
The injections falling in this category are administered to the pain causing nerve with the help of local anesthesia or steroids. The drug disables the specific nerve that was causing pain. The reason for this pain causing nerve can be an injury.
Intrathecal Pain Pump
Intrathecal space is the area around the spinal cord. A set of intrathecal pain pump injections is usually used to treat chronic back pain, pain due to cancer and also spasticity. The best part about these injections is that they have few side effects. The therapy involves the usage of a small pump. This pump is placed surgically under the abdomen. This set up helps to deliver the drug directly into the intrathecal space of the spine.
Sympathetic Blocks
An increased activity in your sympathetic nervous system can also be a cause of your acute back pain. The condition that arises due to this is termed as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome or CRPS. As the name suggests, administration of these sympathetic blockers block the hyper-activity of these nerve cells, thus bringing instantaneous relief in your pain.
The spinal cord is a very important organ of the body. It is a passage of all the messages generated in body to brain. These injections have proved to be the best treatment available to cure back pain. The reason being that the drugs used in these injections are administered directly to the area where pain is occurring. And thus minimizes the side effects that may occur in the course of any other indirect treatment.
Ashish Jain
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/instant-injections-for-instant-back-pain-relief-119946.html
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