Pain Management and Pain Relief Information

Archive for the ‘Back Pain’ Category

Notice how the article title isn’t “Lower Back Pain and Dieting”?

There’s a reason for that, and you probably heard it before. While lifestyle changes work, diets don’t. It makes a lot of sense, yet it’s so widely overlooked by people from all walks of life, and that includes back pain sufferers.

There is at least one connection between extra weight and back pain: The spine is designed to sustain a certain amount of weight, when the spine is forced to carry an extra load, most of the added pressure is put on the lower back, which is the area most back pain sufferers complain about. Over one third of all adult Americans are categorized as obese; over 60% of all adult Americans are either overweight or obese. Lack of exercise in combination with a weakened muscular-skeletal system are a sure-fire recipe for back pain. Most people, when facing back pain, reduce their activity levels even more, which in turn results in weight gain, which result, at least partially, in added pressure on the lower back.

So how do most people treat back pain?

• The most common approach is drugs; analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs, are used to treat mild to moderate back pain. Acute back pain is treated with opioids, which are considerably more potent and can only be purchased by prescription.
• Going back to anti-inflammatory drugs, you might find it interesting that one anti-inflammatory drug that is accessible to anyone is… food! There are food choices out there that are highly anti-inflammatory, and the beauty of that fact is that, provided that the right choices are made, one can cook and eat anti-inflammatory meals that will empower them in the fight against back pain; in addition, inflammation has been linked to other diseases like cancer, arthritis, etc. There are plenty of resources out there that can guide you in the search for anti-inflammatory foods.

Making the right food choices can and will change the way your entire body functions. Choosing your foods right and eating the amount that your body needs to function, are a must, whether you’re suffering from back pain or you are in the best shape of your life. If you search the Internet for “nutrition”, “weight loss”, or any related terms, you’ll find hundreds if not thousands of websites, articles and blogs on the topic. Some of them contradict each other, some claim to be the single best resource, while others are simply informative – those are my favourite.

From my experience, the one resource you need to listen to is your body reacting to whatever you put in it. You’ll notice that you might feel less energetic after eating an entire bowl of pasta, or on the flip side, a balanced grilled chicken breast salad will make you feel nourished, light and energetic. Learn to listen to the signals your body gives you, tune in to the reaction it has to food and adjust your intake so it’ll suit your body’s needs. A few principles I learned to live by have been working for me, so I’ll share them below. They’re simple, yet easy to follow. This is not one of those ” 8 tips to stay in shape” or “5 foods you should avoid if you don’t want to stay obese”, and so forth. They’re just *some* principles that work if you apply them:

- Try to incorporate a a balanced percentage of all three food groups in your meals: protein, carbs, and fat. Personally, I go for 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat.
- Make sure your protein sources are high quality: white meats, lean beef cuts, skim cheese.
- Not all carbs are created equal; stay away from the refined ones like sugar, white bread, white pasta. You know which ones are not good, so it should be easy to avoid them.
- Fat needs to be a part of your every meal and it needs to be high quality fat, like olive oil. Nuts are also an excellent source of fat.
- Drink your water. Ditch the sodas.
- Eat well, but don’t overfill yourself. You want to reach and maintain a healthy weight, so your spine will have to work only as hard as it should, as opposed to being overloaded with extra pounds.

Like I said, there are plenty of articles and resources out there, so feel free to try them out and adapt them to your needs.

The battle against back pain is not an easy one, so it needs to be carried out on all fronts: diet, exercise and a healthy mind. All  three are interconnected and when you improve them all, there’s no way you can’t win this battle. I can’t stress enough the importance of eating right and exercising. It’s the combination that took me from suffering from back pain at 190-192 pounds and barely active, to 162-165 pounds, active, and most importantly, vibrant and happy. Oh, and back pain-free as well.

The right office chair is going to help elevate back pain, keep your comfortable, prevent repetitive motion injuries, and allow you to be more productive during working hours. An office chair that is designed for a big and tall person is going to ensure that you get a chair that is made with your body in mind. This is important in providing proper support and keeping your back and spine in alignment.

With so many options for big and tall office chairs you might feel overwhelmed, but shopping online can really help you find the right chair with little effort. It is a good idea to know what all the different parts of an office chair actually do. In this way you will be able to pick out the best chair for your body’s needs.

It is important for big and tall people to have good lumbar support. This means that your lower back should feel snug and comfortable against the backrest. There are some chairs that come with a lumbar adjustment feature. This can be helpful if you are not able to try out the chair in person ahead of time. It is also important that your chair allow for movement. The best office chairs move with you and aren’t locked into one stationary place.

It is important to know your measurements before ordering a chair. Average chairs weren’t built with the big and tall body in mind. It is a good idea to get your measurements to ensure that you get a chair that will fit what your body needs. This means you have to not only take the height of the chair into consideration, but also the width of the seat. There should be room on either side of the seat.

Arm rests are often taken for granted, but they are an important feature for big and tall people. Your arms should be at the same level of your desk or more importantly your keyboard. You should not have to hold your arms up or move them when on your computer. The same is true for a swivel. It might seem like an unnecessary feature, but a swivel will make it easier for you to move around your desk space. This can help to prevent injuries from straining or twisting your body.

A great big and tall office chair is going to be made from a strong and sturdy frame. You want something that will offer more strength than plastic. The best office chairs will be made from a metal frame and offer sturdy protection.

The right office chair is going to help elevate back pain, keep your comfortable, prevent repetitive motion injuries, and allow you to be more productive during working hours. An office chair that is designed for a big and tall person is going to ensure that you get a chair that is made with your body in mind. This is important in providing proper support and keeping your back and spine in alignment.

With so many options for big and tall office chairs you might feel overwhelmed, but shopping online can really help you find the right chair with little effort. It is a good idea to know what all the different parts of an office chair actually do. In this way you will be able to pick out the best chair for your body’s needs.

It is important that a potential big and tall office chair has good lumbar support. This means that your lower back should feel snug and comfortable against the backrest. There are some chairs that come with a lumbar adjustment feature. This can be helpful if you are not able to try out the chair in person ahead of time. It is also important that your chair allow for movement. The best office chairs move with you and aren’t locked into one stationary place.

It is important to know your measurements before ordering a chair. Average chairs weren’t built with the big and tall body in mind. It is a good idea to get your measurements to ensure that you get a chair that will fit what your body needs. This means you have to not only take the height of the chair into consideration, but also the width of the seat. There should be room on either side of the seat.

Arm rests are often taken for granted, but they are an important feature in a big and tall office chair. Your arms should be at the same level of your desk or more importantly your keyboard. You should not have to hold your arms up or move them when on your computer. The same is true for a swivel. It might seem like an unnecessary feature, but a swivel will make it easier for you to move around your desk space. This can help to prevent injuries from straining or twisting your body.

Many people probably have heard of sciatica at some point or anything. This is back pain that can really be hard for a person to deal with. Many also find that it interferes many times with peoples everyday life. Many people who have sciatica find that their number one priority ends up being looking for sciatica treatment that actually works.

Some find that turmeric is a remedy that is effective for those that are suffering from sciatica. You can use it each day with milk and you will find that it will help with getting rid of the horrible pain that you have. If you are looking for a pain reliever that is topical you can also try winter green oil it smells well as well. Some say that mustard oil used with garlic being massaged into the area of pain will help with getting a bit of relief. This is only a few of the many remedies that are natural that you can use for sciatica treatment. You will find that using any off the above will likely help you with getting the pain relief that you have been looking for.

Most people understand that having good health is like having wealth and it should be taken care of properly. If you are looking to live a life that is fulfilling and happy then you need to be able to be in good health and also in shape. If you are looking to treat sciatica effectively you will need to be able to understand sciatica as well as understand what is causing you to have sciatica. You will need to be sure that you don’t just treat the symptoms but better find the root cause to the problem that you are having. Once you know what the problem is you can treat it properly. You might need to go and see a physician to be able to find the real reason behind the pain that you are having.

If you do end up having to see a doctor you should know that you can still use natural remedies. Just because you go to the doctor in search of the reason that you have pain does not mean that you have to take medical intervention methods of treatment. You can tell your doctor that you prefer natural methods of sciatica treatment and that if those do not work then you would be willing to discuss any medical intervention methods that they might have to offer.

Many people these days have seen and even own foam rollers. They typically will tend to use them for very sore or tight muscles. Foam rollers are a form of self myofascial release or massage. The fascia is a layer of connective tissue that surrounds and supports muscle. Through various sports activities and or injuries it can become tight and form adhesions that prevent fluid muscle contraction and expansion. Along with associated trigger points or tight spots within the muscle, the foam roller can help to relax both of these conditions. In fact, this is what most people use them for. When attempting to relax tight muscles or fascia rolling should be performed in a very slow manner with frequent pauses over extremely tight areas. In addition, stay away from the tendons which attach the muscle belly to a joint or you risk injuring yourself.

What most people do not realize is that the foam roller can be an extremely effective warm up tool. Because the pressure applied from rolling causing compression of the tissues warming them up and helping to relax and loosen tight fibers. In addition, it brings more blood flow to the area which readily prepares the muscle tissue for the contractions it will undergo in its workout.

In order to foam roll properly prior to doing an exercise or for warm-up there are a few key differences from foam rolling to relax tight muscles. First, you want to roll over the muscles rapidly and with more superficial pressure than when trying to release trigger points or tight fascia. For example, to warm up for a run I might roll over my hamstrings up and down, staying away from the tendons and mostly in the belly of the muscle 3-5 times, and then roll my calves, 3-5 times, roll onto my side to do each IT band individual 2-3 times, and then onto the quads 3-5 times again avoiding the tendons at the top and bottom of the quads. Then I will move over to the other IT band and repeat. And then last roll over the gluts. The entire process should take no more than 3-5 minutes.

Another difference, is I am not trying to spend any considerable time on any tight or hot areas. By spending a lot of time foam rolling over a tight area very slowly prior to a workout you run the risk of injuring the tissue. This is because, just like deep tissue massage, as we break up scar tissue we can create a little inflammatory response. Exercising immediately after this may result in further inflammation and injury.

Muscle imbalances and herniated or bulging discs cause most cases of back pain or Sciatica. But what if you don’t suffer from either of these problems? There are some other unusual causes to back pain. Here I’m going to share 5 less common things that could be causing your back pain.

Shingles – Singles is caused by a virus called Herpes Zoster. This is the same virus that causes chicken pox. Shingles affects the nerves that provide sensation to the skin. After you fight off a case of chicken pox, it is believed that the virus lies dormant in the nerve roots. In most people it never acts up again as Shingles, but in times of extreme stress or in people with a compromised immune system it can present itself.

When Shingles strikes it can cause pain along the nerves, especially the lumbar nerves in your lower back. You will also notice blisters forming in that area as well. Although you cannot spread Shingles to others, you can spread chicken pox to people who have never had chicken pox before or who have not been vaccinated. If you believe you are suffering from Shingles, see your doctor.

Bone or Disc Infection – Bacterial infections of the discs or bones in the spine are extremely rare, but they can happen. It is possible to contract Tuberculosis in the spine, which is called Pott’s disease.

Also, it is possible to get an infection called Brucellosis, which affects the Sacroiliac joints (SI joints) in the pelvis. This is usually contracted from drinking goat milk, however, this is extremely rare.

Generally, bacterial infections of bones or discs is very rare and usually quite serious. They are often treated with an extensive antibiotic regimen.

Pelvic Bleeding – Bleeding in the pelvis is often the result of people who take blood thinning painkillers for extended periods of time. This is another reason not to rely on extended use of painkillers to “treat” your back pain. They may make the pain go away, but they don’t treat the underlying problem and they can be dangerous if taken regularly.

When bleeding happens, Sciatica will usually present itself quickly as the blood pools and puts pressure on the Sciatic nerve.

Paget’s Disease – No one knows with certainty what causes Paget’s disease, but it involves unusual bone growth and variations in bone density. It tends to afflict elderly people more than younger people.

Paget’s disease can usually be diagnosed easily with an X-ray, which will expose the unusual bone growths, however, a biopsy will usually be performed to authenticate the X-ray results.

The only treatment for Paget’s disease is pain medication to help manage pain and other prescriptions to slow the growth of the bones and stunt to progression of the disease.

Aneurysm of the Aorta – Similar to how a bulging disc can cause back pain, an aneurysm of the aorta can cause the walls of the aorta to bulge outward. Many times this will not result any symptoms at all, but if it bulges in a particular direction it can apply pressure to spinal nerves and result in back pain.

Usually this is treated by grafting tissue on the weakened portion of the aorta wall to strengthen the blood vessel.

These 5 unusual causes to back pain are not common. The typical culprits are muscular imbalances and bulging discs in the spine. However, sometimes the common answer doesn’t apply. If you believe you are suffering from any of these problems, contact your medical provider and have them examine you.

If you are having severe back pain with a diagnosis of a bad herniated disc, then we can discuss treatment options. What exactly is a herniated disc? Sometimes called a slipped disc, bulging disc, or ruptured disc, it basically is the same thing. Spinal disc are the cushions between the vertebrae that make up your backbone. The purpose of the disc, are to provide the flexibility of your back and also act as shock absorbers when you walk. A ruptured or herniated disc is when part of the jelly like center pushes through the outer wall of the disc and puts pressure on your nerves causing your back pain.

Symptoms of a problem are sharp pains starting in your buttocks area going down your leg, numbness in one leg, a sharp burning pain in the lower back, or weakness in one or both legs. But keep you must realize that you can have a combination of these or no pain at all.

Common causes of herniated disc can be excess weight, improper lifting, and a decrease of water in your body due to aging. All of these causes can be attributed to muscle imbalance. Muscle imbalance is when our body is put into unusual positions leading to spinal misalignment and a resulting disc problem.

Treatment options for a herniated disc.

• Therapy for Herniated Disc- therapy can include special exercises to help relieve tension along spinal nerve canal. Sometimes even mild stretching can be used to soothe pressure on the disc.

• To help calm down the bulging disc using ice and heat therapy- whenever a disc is bulging or swollen, ice may be subscribed to ease the swelling and help with pain reduction. After the disc has returned to a normal state, then heat therapy may take place to stimulate blood flow to help the healing process.

• Chiropractic manipulation along with massage- sometimes a herniated disc can be helped by visiting a chiropractor for spinal manipulation. By placing your spine back in normal posture, the pressure can be relieved around the bad area of the ruptured disc. The chiropractor might even suggest certain types of massage to return blood flow to the affected area.

• Spinal decompression- to decompress your spine you might be recommended to use inversion therapy. It works because you are relieving pressure from your vertebrae and relaxing your herniated disc. It actually gives the disc room to work again and can sometimes be restored to normal with several treatments. Once the pressure is relieved from the herniated disc it starts to be replenished again with fluid, and results are loss of pain because the nerves are not being touched by the bad disc. An inversion table can be used at home on a regular basis restoring your spinal structure back to normal again. A study was done by Newcastle University and they found that using inversion therapy that over 70% of the people were healed and canceled their back surgeries.

• Oral rub on creams containing steroids- sometimes special orally applied creams that can be rubbed into the affected area can help promote healing.

• Surgery maybe recommended by your doctor- sometimes surgery might be used to repair the herniated disc. Depending on what type or the severity of your back injury, microdiscectomy which is a non-invasive type surgery performed by your doctor.

To help prevent further spinal related injuries, it is a good idea to watch your posture. Proper sitting and standing are essential for maintaining a healthy vertebrae system. Remember to always consult a healthcare professional before to see your options and advice.

Today I’m writing about herniated discs. Maybe you’ve heard the term before, but perhaps you don’t know exactly what it means. What exactly are the symptoms of a herniated disc anyway?

What is the difference between a herniated disc and a bulging disc?

Both conditions start the same way. The discs in your spine are composed of a thick outer layer and a soft and gel-like inner layer. A bulging disc happens when there is pressure placed on the disc and the inner layer starts to cause the outer layer to bulge outward. A herniated disc occurs when the inner layer not only bulges outward, but actually pushes through the thick outer layer.

A herniated disc is much more serious than a bulging disc because the outer layer of the disc has actually ruptured. Not only is this not easily reversible, but the inner layer of your disc contains an acidic substance that can irritate surrounding tissues and cause added pain.

What causes a herniated disc?

There are quite a few things that could cause a disc to herniate. Sometimes a sudden or intense injury could result in disc herniation like a fall or other traumatic injury. But more often than not it is the result of continued or repeated stress over a period of time.

Maybe you haven’t been in the habit of lifting heavy objects properly (remember that old saying: lift from the knees with ease?). Maybe you’ve just had bad posture for too many years without doing anything about it. Or maybe could be something else entirely. Constant pressure applied over a long period of time can eventually cause your discs to herniate.

What are the symptoms of a herniated disc?

A disc herniation may or may not put pressure on the nerves of the spine. If it does not, then you may only experience a back ache or perhaps no symptoms at all.

But more often than not, the herniation will put pressure on the spinal nerves. When this happens things like Sciatica become quite common. Sciatica is the result of pressure on the Sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back down to the legs and feet. You can tell you’re suffering from sciatica if you have any sort of leg, buttocks, or lower back pain. The pain could be dull or quite intense. Sometimes you may not experience pain at all, but a numbness or tingling feeling instead like if your leg was asleep.

In extreme cases the pain may become so intense that muscle weakness occurs in one or both legs. This is the result of a large amount of pressure and inflammation around your nerves.

A herniated disc is nothing to mess around with. If you’re suffering from a herniated disc, then be sure to seek advice from a qualified medical professional. In most cases surgical treatment isn’t necessary, but if non-surgical approaches do not help to improve your situation, surgery may be required to help you regain an acceptable quality of living.

For those who struggle with back problems the pain can be unbearable. The thought of going to a doctor about you pain can leave you with mixed feelings as well. For most the expectation is to receive some sort of pain medication or adjustment that will allow them to go on with their daily lives. For others the expectation is the dreaded back procedure. Today’s technology, however, has allowed for the use of the minimally invasive spine surgery on many patients that would have had to have the standard procedure years ago. There are many benefits associated with this cutting edge approach.

To determine whether minimally invasive spine surgery is adequate for your needs you should see a specialist. He will be able to correctly diagnose the problem and tell you whether or not you can have such a surgery. If you need spinal fusion, repair of disk or deformity correction you will probably be considered an ideal candidate for this procedure. The most common use is spinal fusion, so most patients who are in need of this type of procedure would be ideal candidates.

— Minimally invasive spine surgery has the wonderful benefit of shorter recovery time. What does that mean for you? Well, traditionally this procedure would require patients to stay in the hospital for upwards of a week and then expect at least a year’s worth of recovery time. It’s enough pain and suffering to make most potential patients run for the hills at the thought of undergoing such a procedure. Instead of spending a week in a hospital bed and a year doing rehab and recovering just to get back to some semblance of normal you can shave months off of your recovery time. Now you’ll spend a few days and a few months getting your life back in order.

— Another great benefit, smaller scars. There is no lie here, you will have scars. It’s just a simple fact of having any type of procedure done. With the minimally invasive spine surgery, however, instead of a huge scar you will have a few smaller ones. Before you dismiss the idea of this being a positive it really is. The old way resulted in a scar that could run as long as the length of your back. This way you’ll have just a couple of smaller scars right where the endoscope and instruments were inserted.

These benefits are what make minimally invasive spine surgery so great. You don’t have to spend a year getting your life back and there are no huge scars to show you had any surgery performed. There is no need to continue suffering with back pain. Visit with your doctor or see a specialist to see if this type of procedure can benefit you in any way. Shorter hospital stays, shorter recovery time, and less scaring are all good reasons to stop the pain and start living your life again.

Spondylolisthesis treatment options can vary based on a number of factors. In some cases no treatment is needed at all, although sufferers are advised about the activities they should avoid to ensure the damage does not get worse. In other cases treatment is required, and the type of treatment used can include a number of options.

There are many things involved in the treatment of spondylolisthesis, and the options will depend on the severity of the pain and discomfort amongst other things.

The first step in determining the right treatment for spondylolisthesis is for an accurate diagnosis to be made by your doctor, and this is something that is generally done through imaging processes, such as x-rays and scans.

Once the level of damage has been determined the spondylolisthesis treatment options can be more carefully considered. Your doctor or healthcare professional will provide you with advice with regards to whether any treatment is necessary. You will usually also be given information to help ensure that you do not engage in activity that can damage your spine or cause further problems. Educating the sufferers regarding protection of spine is an important part of the treatment process for spondylolisthesis.

Some of the options available

There are different treatments that may be considered for those with spondylolisthesis. Your doctor will be able determine which one should be used depending on how much pain you are experiencing amongst other things. Some of the possible treatments that may be used are detailed below:

• Physical therapy: This is the most common form of treatment for this condition, and combined both active and passive treatment.

– The passive side is designed to relax the body, and includes steps such as deep tissue massage.

– The active side is to stretch and strengthen muscles around the spine, and involves exercise plans.

• Medical tools: In some cases medical tools and products may be used to support the spine. This includes products such as back braces. However, this can make the spine muscles even weaker and can severely limit mobility.
• Surgery: This is something that is usually only considered as a last option. It is considered to be a drastic course of action if all else fails and the condition gets worse.
• No treatment:In many cases treatment is not necessary. All that is necessary is to monitor the condition to ensure that it doesn’t deteriorate.

Using an Inversion Table is a great way to improve your Golf Game. You’ve no doubt read many tips and tricks to improve golf game. But that’s just what they are – tips and tricks. When you get down to it there are just a few basic things that can help. Most experts agree that upper and lower back fitness, posture, abdominal strength and flexibility are the main things that affect your game. Here’s how an Inversion able can help you maximise these four factors.
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Upper and lower back fitness

One of the main problems with rotational and unilateral pastimes such as golf is that because the muscle groups on one side of the body become better developed than on the other side, the spine can get pulled out of alignment and this can lead to back problems. Exercising on a gravity table can help realign all the muscles which have become out of kilter – the neck, shoulders, lower back and hips.

Better Posture

A consistent and accurate swing depends on good balance and posture. Inverting helps posture by realigning the spine to give a symmetrical rotational axis and also by strengthening and lengthening the muscles. With improved posture comes better balance and a more stable swing.

Flexibility

Some experts reckon that one of the most important components of the successful golf swing may be flexibility. If you suffer from joint or muscle stiffness this can mean your flexibility is hampered and also raise the risk of injury. Inverting helps to stretch and relieve tension in the muscles in the neck, shoulders and lower back. It also increases your range of motion and helps keep your joints healthy and supple.

Abdominal Strength

Strong abdominal muscles are essential to provide maximum strength and stability during the swing, and go hand in hand with strong back muscles. Inverted sit ups are a great way to increase your core strength whilst at the same time not putting any extra strain on your lower back. Exercising while upside down strengthens the rotator and stabilizer muscles of the spine – the stronger the muscles, the more consistent the swing and the less risk you have of injury. These are just a few of the ways in which inversion therapy can help your golf game. If you find you can improve on just one aspect of your fitness – whether it be posture, flexibility, back strength or core strength then you will definitely see a measurable improvement in your golf game and your investment in an Inversion Table will have been worthwhile.