Posts Tagged ‘Rheumatoid Arthritis’

Pain Relief From Lower Back Pain Requires Some Discipline

July 1st, 2010
Robert Knechtel asked:




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.

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I Hurt All Over. How to Ease Away the Pain of Fibromyalgia!

May 18th, 2010
Nathan Wei asked:




At one moment, a life of activity consumed with enjoyable activities like biking, golfing, going to the movies, out to dinner. Then one day, it’s gone. Replaced with constant pain and fatigue. Here’s the lowdown on fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia is one of the most common forms of arthritis seen in a rheumatology practice. It is actually a soft tissue form of rheumatism. Typically, a patient will complain of feeling achy all over, being chronically tired, and feeling like they’re walking around in a constant fog. Often a patient will complain of short term memory problems.

The American College of Rheumatology has set criteria by which fibromyalgia symptoms can be classified. These consist of a history of widespread pain for three or more months and pain in 11 of 18 tender point sites when 4 kilograms (about 9 pounds) of pressure is applied. When accompanied by a history of chronic fatigue and non-restorative sleep (waking up and feeling as if you haven’t slept), there is a strong suspicion that fibromyalgia is to blame.

People affected by fibromyalgia experience two unique responses to stimuli. They perceive normal stimuli as being painful and they perceive painful stimuli as being more painful than it should be.

These abnormal responses are thought to be due to an abnormality involving pain-processing pathways within the central nervous system.

History and physical examination is the first step in evaluation. Unfortunately, there are no specific laboratory tests that confirm the diagnosis. However, the tests can be helpful in excluding other conditions that can mimic fibromyalgia such as hypothyroidism, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Treatment consists of a combination of four approaches. The first is patient education. Talking with the patient about the diagnosis and presenting what he options are. The second is institute medications. These may include one or more of the following:

o Analgesics which help to control pain. An example would be a drug such as tramadol

o Antidepressants which are used for their ability to elevate serotonin and nor-epiephrine levels in the brain. Examples include amitryptiline, fluoxitene, and duloxitene.

o Muscle relaxants like cyclobenzaprine

o Anti-seizure medicines like gabapentin

o Anti-fatigue medicines (modafinil)

The third therapy is non-impact aerobic exercise which helps to increase endorphin production in the brain and helps to recondition muscles.

Finally, the fourth is cognitive behavioral therapy which helps with goal-setting, coping and other measures which reduce the sense of victimization that people with fibromyalgia often have.

Fibromyalgia can be treated effectively. It is important that a patient seek out a qualified and empathetic rheumatologist to help them.

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