Common Causes of Lower Back Pain

Posted on June 8, 2011 by admin-bv

A large portion of the American population experiences mild to severe back pain over their lifetime. The tendency of experiencing lower back pain may increase with age, the majority of sufferers are aged 60 and above. This pain would not only end at the lower back but may spread itself over to the larger part of the spine and down to the buttocks and legs. No wonder, lower back pain is often accompanied with neck and leg pain.

The most typical cause of lower back pain is work-associated. This often goes a long way with the compensation of the worker since the efficiency of works may be impeded. Based on the information stated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, lower back pain causes more damage on employees as compared with any other physical disorders.

Lower back pain is more often focused on the lumbar section of the spine and appears in two forms: acute and chronic.

The acute form of pain occurs more quickly and is more intense as compared with the chronic pain. It lasts for several hours and is often associated with improper body postures and stances and too much physical exertion.

The chronic pain on the other hand often appears in a series of attacks with varying level of pain and severity. There is no telling what would trigger the attack and it shows no indications of ceasing.

Often, the cause of lower back pain is impairment on the lumbar section of the spine. This portion carries most of the body weight; therefore as the framework of the back, the lumbar needs to be a lot more stable and healthier. It is also where to much activity is enforced.

The back bone is comprised of complex system of ligaments, bones, tissues and muscles. When the majority of these parts are misused, the whole system may fail. Ligaments may strain, the disks may be herniated, and the muscles may be stressed, often these injuries may be the cause of severe lower back pain. Along with these issues, matters like psychological wellness, arthritis, obesity, and bad posture may be pointed as the root cause of back pain.

Though these are the general causes, there may be instances for which the cause of the pain may never be determined. Or there applies no condition for which to relate the problem. With this, the best option one may have is to get an x-ray, but even that doesn’t always guarantee the efficiency of diagnosis.

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Can Heel Pain Be Cured

Posted on June 5, 2011 by admin-bv

Most heel pain goes away in a short period of time, either on its own or after treatment. Without treatment the pain will usually spread around the heel. Treatments that are used to reduce heel pain seem to bring only marginal gains over no treatment and control therapies such as stretching exercises. The pain in your heel should go away by itself with time, but until then you might want to seek treatment for the pain. Treatment of heel pain starts with resting the foot. Conservative treatment of plantar heel pain: long-term follow-up.

There are numerous sock supplies for people suffering from heel pain. The patented sock supplies support for the treatment of plantar fasciitis, commonly referred to as heel spurs or heel pain syndrome. The clear polymer gel self-adjusts to fit your unique foot contour, absorbing the painful foot shock that aggravates heel pain and heel spurs. If, after several months of non-surgical treatment, you continue to have heel pain, do discuss the situation with your doctor, because your heel pain may be caused by other factors and surgery can be considered.

Self Care Steps for Heel Pains

Self-Care Several steps can be taken to care for a painful heel at home. Most painful heels spurs resolve without surgery. Swelling of the heel is not common and, when associated with painful medial-lateral compression of the calcaneus, may suggest a stress fracture. At that point, you will likely agree that it is better to be a heel than to have a painful one. If you follow these steps carefully, most painful heels will clear up.

The heel spur is a-symtomatic (not painful), the pain arises from the inflammation of the plantar fascia. The Merck Manual says a true heel spur “tends to be painful during its early development, when little or no x-ray evidence is present. It is recommended that you get an over-the-counter product that support the arch of the foot or help support and comfort painful heels.

Some things you can do to prevent painful heel syndrome: Watch your walk.

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Leg Pain and Injury

Posted on May 30, 2011 by admin-bv

Whenever we feel pain, it means that our body is reacting to something that is not normal and needs immediate attention. Pain is a signal that something is not right. The cause may be a physical injury, a disease, or could be an emotional upset.

Leg Pain

Leg Pain is something that is a common complaint and a common symptom for a lot of different causes such as muscle spasms or cramps, injuries, dehydration or depletion of minerals like potassium, sodium, calcium, or magnesium. It can also be classified as inflammatory, orthopedic, neurologic, and vascular.

Muscle Spasm

Sometimes, we feel this terribly intense pain at the back of our leg while asleep. This is called a charley horse or muscle spasm which is characterized by a tightening of leg muscles that seems like forming into a hard knot, making your leg difficult and painful to move. When a muscle is in spasm, it contracts involuntarily and does not relax.

Tired, over-used or injured muscle is prone to spasms. When working out, always take a lot of liquids to avoid dehydration or low levels of minerals which can also predispose a person to muscle spasms. Some spasms occur because the nerve that connects to a muscle is irritated. Activities like swimming, running and jumping are prone to muscle spasm.

When muscle spasms strike, stop your activity at once. Try to stretch and massage the affected muscle area. Both heat and ice are natural pain relief which can help relax the muscle and soothe the pain. Pain medications such as non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs can reduce discomfort when muscles continue to be sore. In severe cases, consult your health care provider for anti-spasm medications.

Some helpful tips to prevent muscle spasms:

* Stretching and massage improves flexibility.

* Workouts and exercise programs should be within your capabilities.

* Take lots of fluids during exercise

* Eat fruits rich in potassium like bananas and oranges

Restless leg Syndrome

Another type of leg pain is restless legs syndrome (RLS) which is a neurological disorder that brings about a compulsory desire to move the limbs accompanied by a burning or tingling sensation as if there are insects crawling in the lower legs. Such sensations may vary depending on its severity, from uncomfortable to irritating to painful. Unfortunately, trying to relax would only activate the symptoms resulting to difficulty getting and maintaining sleep. This condition causes exhaustion and daytime fatigue when ignored.

Since research considers this condition as “idiopathic” which means that the cause is unknown, treatment depends on identifying the associated or underlying medical conditions. Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalgia are sometimes associated with restless legs syndrome. Those who experience sleep disturbance will have to manage and modify their lifestyle such as minimizing if not totally avoiding alcohol or caffeine intake. Medications such as athritis pain relief or skeletal muscle relaxant drugs may be administered to those with associated medical conditions like arthritis.

Blockage of Leg Arteries

Tiredness or burning pain in the legs is caused by poor circulation and blockage of blood in the leg arteries. This pain is brought on by exercise, and relieved by rest. Sometimes, limping occurs due to leg cramps. This is called claudication.

Narrowed or blocked arteries can occur anywhere in the body. Oftentimes, after a period of walking, the blockage occurs in the legs, most commonly in the calf or the foot. This is called intermittent claudication and is relieved by enough leg rest.

Home Care and Treatment

A healthy diet is important and a daily program of walking for short periods, and stopping when there’s pain or cramps, may help improve your condition. Avoid wearing tight shoes.

However, make sure to let your doctor check any non-healing wounds on the lower legs and feet. When leg pain does not go away, remains hot, red and swollen, seek medical help immediately.

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Common Injuries From Playing Golf

Posted on May 16, 2011 by admin-bv

Many golfers have questions about their injuries such as back pain, elbow pain. Some of them have questions about the pains that persistent, but some pains happen and just disappear in very short time without any additional treatment. Some of them have a symptom of cramp at the same point very often, and they want to know about the cause as well as the way to cure.

In fact, this type of pains is very general for golfers, although they have a good exercise and training. As a golfer, you should know about these common injuries in order to protect your self form serious injure.

Common injuries are

Muscle sore

Muscle sore can happen very often. Muscle sore can happen to both group of muscle that often used and group of muscle that rare used. The muscle sore happens when the tissues called “Microscopic” has injured or tear. This type of muscle sore is the injury that happens to only external cell and tissue (Micro Trauma), which generally has no serious impact. You may only feel a little sore but still be able to move the organs normally. These types of injuries require only 1-2 day recovering without additional treatment and you may not have to go to hospital. However, you can get some kind of slight treatment such as massage. After the pain recover, you will feel that the muscle is more fit and strong.

Muscle pain during/after exercise

Muscle pain generally happens when you finish exercises that use one particular muscle group continuously. Using one particular muscle group continuously, the body will generate Lactic Acid, which is the chemical reaction within the muscle cells that make you feel pain. However, this type of symptom is not actually a deep pains, If you leave it for a while until the muscle get enough oxygen then the pain will self recovery. However, you have to be careful about the symptom of pain that may happen to specific area, if you feel very pain when move so you should be aware that there might be a deep pain to that area.

Cramp

Cramp is a reaction of the muscles that suddenly shrink and stuck for very short time, generally 1-5 minutes and the person who get cramp will have very deep pain at the spot of crump. The cause of crump is that the muscle has been used continuously for long time and loosing a lot of sweat. So you should drink water during the exercise often to prevent yourself from crump. The area that common get cramp are foot, calf, thing, stomach. You should stop exercise immediately after you got crump and relax the muscle until it recovers.

Recovery method (R.I.C.E.)

Rest: Do not continue exercise if you got pain

Ice: Use ice contained in plastic bag, massage at the spot of pain immediately after got injuries for about 3-4 hours

Compression: Bind the area of pain by using bandage to protect form movement and hit, but be careful not to bind too tight

Elevation: Lift up the organs that pain to relieve blood circulation. If you has arm injury, hanging the arm and make sure that the level of hand is higher than elbow.

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Achilles Tendonitis

Posted on May 15, 2011 by admin-bv

Painful Heels, is also known as Achilles tendonitis. This condition causes pain at the back of the heel where the Achilles tendon attaches to the heel. Achilles tendonitis causes pain on the bottom of the heel when putting weight on the foot. Based on the condition and the chronic nature of the disease, heel surgery can provide relief of pain and restore mobility in many cases. Arch supports such as insoles treat the underlying cause of the heel pain and prevent future occurrences of the condition.

Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis is another form of Heel Pain, otherwise known as heel pain syndrome, often presents a very chronic, extremely painful and stubborn condition to resolve. Plantar heel pain is a common painful condition where placebo effects have been shown to exist. The study did not include chronic heel pain sufferers who had received other treatments for their condition. In other words, heel pain is a warning sign that a person has a condition that deserves attention. This condition usually causes pain and tenderness in the back and bottom of the heel when walking, and the heel is painful when touched.

Recurrence of heel pain may be a sign of the initially diagnosed condition, or it may indicate a different problem. The most common type of heel pain is due to a condition called plantar fasciitis, or Achilles Tendonitis. Ignoring heel pain can cause a mild case to become a long-term and debilitating condition.

Traditional treatment for heel pain begins with modifying activity. There has been ongoing research to determine whether magnetic insoles provide greater subjective improvement for treatment of plantar heel pain compared with identical non magnetized insoles. As heel pain is basically a stress problem in the tissues of the heel, the main treatment is to reduce stress. We recommend seeking professional advice for heel pain and any foot problem before embarking on any form of self treatment or management.

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