Posts Tagged ‘Lower Back Pain’

Handling Back Pain

If you’ve ever groaned, “Oh, my aching back!”, you are not alone. Back pain affects 80% of Americans at some time in their lives. It comes in many forms, from lower back pain to neck pain to sciatica. Back pain is not a diagnosis — it’s a symptom of an underlying condition. Back pain can range from a dull, constant ache to a sudden, sharp pain. Acute back pain comes on suddenly and usually lasts from a few days to a few weeks. Back pain is called chronic if it lasts for more than three months.

On the bright side, you can prevent most back pain. Simple home treatment and proper body mechanics will often heal your back within a few weeks and keep it functional for the long haul. Surgery is rarely needed to treat back pain.

Conditions leading to Back Pain

Stress or injury of the back muscles, such as…

back sprain or strain

overload of the back muscles caused by obesity

A spinal tumor or cancer that has spread to the spine from elsewhere in the body

Infection, which may be in the disk, bone, abdomen, pelvis or bloodstream

Kidney stones or a kidney infection

Short term overload of the back muscles caused by lifting or pregnancy

Disease or injury, including injury to the…

back bones (vertebrae), such as a fracture (for example, after trauma or as a result of osteoporosis)

Treatment and relief from Back Pain

Once upon a time, doctors told people with low back pain to stay in bed for three days — perhaps with a board under their mattress. That very bad advice actually made back pain worse Most people with low back pain have an acute pain episode. But up to a third of patients report persistent pain of at least moderate intensity — chronic low back pain.

A panel of experts found evidence that different patients can get relief from a wide variety of treatments. These treatments include Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy, Exercise therapy, Spinal manipulation from a chiropractor, osteopath, or physical therapist, Intensive interdisciplinary rehabilitation (physical, vocational, and behavioral therapies provided by multiple providers with different clinical backgrounds), Acupuncture, Massage therapy, Yoga, Progressive relaxation, etc.

Tense rigid muscle often impacts on nerve tissue. its a good idea to have a massage. if you find this helps then try a more long term benefit such as sports therapy massage as it is more specific to an ailment or area. when the muscle relaxes the nerve will start transmitting messages correctly.

Sports therapists use pressure technique to relax muscles. similar to acupuncture. the differences is it is a hands on approach where they seek out knots and press on them while stretching and rotating the afflicted area in its natural movements while supporting the limb or body part.

It is quite important to get rid of the problem as soon as possible. the longer it is left untreated, the greater the inflammation resulting. It is a process of tissue edema encroaching on the nerve supply. The primary cause to bring this condition about is generally attributable to postural changes. or injury. In either case, is most rapidly reduced with care by a doctor of Chiropractic.

Take a belt, draw your knees to you belly and put the belt (like a belt from a house coat) around your back and knees for about ten to 15 mins. It will blow your mind how good it feels. If you have to do it one knee at a time.

If you’re on your feet, buy a better pair of shoes. If you’re overweight, lose some weight – even a 10% drop in weight will help dramatically.

Headache Pain Control Facilitated Through Self-hypnosis Tapes

Pain is described as an annoying feeling that can range from slight, localized soreness to unrelenting torment. This feeling includes both physical and emotional aspects. It often results in a lack of zest and energy. Sufferers report feeling exhausted and emotionally miserable. These sensations can create difficulties with professional, private, and personal relationships.

When injury occurs, the body discharges chemicals that signal the brain that something is wrong. The brain understands this alarm as pain, and informs the body of the injury. The individual then reacts to the painful signal, and acts to resolve it. Many times, however, the body sends a warning of pain when no injury has occurred. This can occur when the sensation has an emotional, rather than an actual, cause.

One method of relieving painful feelings is through the use of medications. Non-narcotic medications, such as Tylenol or Aspirin, prevent the body from discharging messages used to notify the brain of physical injury. Narcotic drugs, in comparison, attach to cells in the brain and tell them that the issue has been addressed. Narcotics, like morphine and codeine, may often be very addictive and cause dependence problems in those individuals who use them for a long time as pain management techniques.

The body also releases substances known as endorphins. These are Nature’s painkillers, released by the brain’s cells to fool the body into thinking that it does not hurt. Runners, for example, release endorphins when they run long distances; this chemical causes the “runner’s high” many athletes report experiencing. People who like to participate in strenuous exercise have the same endorphin high. Often, sports professionals have been able to run or play in spite of pain because of the existence of these endorphins in their bodies.

Clients frequently experience relief through the use of hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic programming approaches. These natural pain relief methods can allow people to obtain relief from a lot of long-term problems, like migraines and other frequent, debilitating headaches or throbbing neck pain. A large number of people can significantly decrease, or completely eradicate using medicines by using these strategies.

Traditional hypnosis pain alleviation strategies work most effectively for those who are open to post-hypnotic suggestions. A professional hypnotherapist assists the client to enter a deep state of relaxation. During this time, the client is intensely aware of the strategies being offered by the professional.

The hypnotherapist may suggest that the client focus on other activities or tasks, and that distraction will diminish any feeling of unease. Actually, the mere use of the word discomfort during a hypnotherapy session instead of the use of the word pain can radically diminish any feeling of pain. Many clients get amazing results, and they can be assisted to practice self-hypnosis for pain relief to gain personal control of their situations.

More analytical individuals most often require either Erickson-based hypnosis or NLP to overcome their conscious resistance to suggestion.

The hypnosis strategy for pain treatment can also be employed to teach the brain to release endorphins which can cause light anesthesia, sometimes known as analgesia. This state may be used to assist women to experience natural childbirth without the use of drugs that may cause harm to the baby. It also can help provide natural arthritis pain relief in chronic sufferers.

Hypnosis also can be used to cause a state of complete anesthesia in a percentage of the population. This is referred to in medical literature as hypnoanesthesia. In days before general anesthesia became popularly available to patients, many doctors performed major surgery using hypnoanesthesia.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) may be used to treat those persons who think critically and analytically. Professionals aid clients to master a very beneficial technique used by NLP, known as the ‘Flash’. The Flash permits clients to teach their unconscious minds to automatically avoid a painful feeling, and to focus on thoughts that will offer peace and comfort. Clients who have perfected this approach discover that they are no longer capable of focusing on their pain, because their thoughts instantly replace it for thoughts that produce comfort.

Both NLP and hypnosis are new treatments that offer completely natural strategies for relieving pain. They aid people to avoid painkillers or reduce their dependence on these medications. Both persons who easily receive suggestions and people who are analytical thinkers can benefit from these program formats. Furthermore, both are greatly beneficial in helping people to experience relief from their pain.

Today, many ways exist to receive this type of therapy. Trained therapists routinely charge between $150.00 and $200.00 hourly. Any person who has tried this treatment approach this type of therapy can verify that the cost involved was certainly worth paying. A less expensive course of treatment, however may be purchasing one of the high quality hypnosis CD courses that are available for purpose.

Back Pain: 5 Common Causes of Lower Back Pain

What Causes Back Pain & How to Get Relief From It?

Understanding the causes of back & neck pain is the key to applying the correct treatment to get relief from it.

Because back pains are often difficult to treat effectively, a better understanding of the causes of your back discomfort will assist in curing it.

The following are the 5 Common Causes of Back Pain

It’s interesting to note that back pain is a common condition that affects up to 90% of Americans at some point in their lives.

However, whilst most episodes of back pain only last a few days and have completely resolved within a few weeks, you should get medical advice or go to your doctor if you have new back problem for further evaluation.

PS. For effective treatment of back pain read these 5 ways you can use to get quick relief from your Lower Back Pain here »

Back Pain Exercises For Effective Back Pain Relief

Many, if not most, back pain problems elude specific diagnoses agreed on by different kinds of practitioners. Some conditions, however, are easily recognized. And according to the results of a recent US survey, specific back pain exercises that take these back problems into account offer the best chance of improvement.

Whether or not you can name your condition, you may still be able to categorize your back problem according to the nature of your pain, the type of situation that may aggravate your pain, and the area of your back that hurts most.

Please don’t feel at a disadvantage if you can’t rattle off a bona fide medical term such as ‘herniated disc’ or ’scoliosis’ that neatly pigeonholes your backache. Hardly anyone knows such things for certain. More than half the above mentioned US survey respondents had received two or more different diagnoses from two or more practitioners. Most of these discrepancies represented major differences of opinion – not just variations in terminology. So don’t pit too much emphasis on the type of back pain you have been diagnosed with – as it could be wrong anyway.

The good news is that even if you never find out exactly what’s wrong with your back, you can still get well. After all, you do know your own symptoms, and that knowledge will help you ‘categorize’ your own pain, so long as serious medical conditions have been ruled out as the cause of your chronic back pain.

Following is a list of what we have found to be the seven most common categories of back pain or causes of back pain (for obvious reasons, some of the names sound more specific than others):

neck pain

osteoarthritis

sciatica

scoliosis

spondylolisthesis

You may be able to place yourself in one of the above categories, or you may feel that you belong in two or more of them. Indeed, if you have a herniated disc, you may well have sciatica as a result.

Low back and neck pain are frequent companions. And osteoarthritis may superimpose itself on one or more existing back problems.

Studies Of Stress Related Back Pain

Life is full of stress and its physical effects can be felt throughout the body. Too much stress can lead to heart and blood pressure problems, ulcers and strokes, and the list goes on. You can hurt your back by lifting something but accumulated emotional stress and mental strain can also create pain and damage.Sometimes back or neck pain is the body’s way of protecting itself and literally forcing a general slowdown. Stress creates tension in the muscles which leads to spasms that squeeze the blood vessels and reduce the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the tissues. Just as it brings nourishment to the tissues, the circulatory system also carries away the waste byproducts of muscle activity. With increasingly tense muscles, there is a buildup of carbon dioxide and waste chemicals, such as lactic acid, in the tissues, leading to increased fatigue and pain. Stress also increases nerve activity in the muscles which increases tension and decreases flexibility. As the muscles lose their fuel supply, they weaken and are more susceptible to strain and injury. The back is much less able to tolerate any abuse when under stress. Lifting a box incorrectly, making a sudden twist, poor posture, sitting too long in one position, can lead to back pain. Literally, your back can’t bear it, and that ‘pain in the neck’ or pain in the back’ becomes a protest against the stress. A person who has a ‘bad back’ due to a degenerative disease or secondary to an old injury often notices the effects of stress more quickly than someone with a healthy back. If spinal nerves are all ready being compressed by the calcium deposits of arthritis or spinal stenosis, it may take just a small amount of stress with minimal muscle tension to further compress nerves, triggering pain. Sciatica from a disc’s compression of the spinal cord or nerve roots may flare up when a person is feeling stressed and tense. The slightest muscle tension may become ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’. Studies Of The Relationship Between Stress And Back PainSwedish Army RecruitsRecently, a study of more than 48,000 men in the Swedish Army showed the link between back problems and the ability to cope with stress. A battery of medical examinations, intelligence tests, and assessment of their ability to cope with stress were carried out on these Swedish recruits. Researchers found that in this group:• Over 5000 men had back problems severe enough to interfere with their military service. The vast majority of their disorders were ‘nonspecific back pain and disease’. • The recruits who had poor coping skills were also most likely to have back pain.• Those with good coping skills also had higher intelligence scores, which may indicate that the smarter you are, the better you have learned how to handle stress.US Army SoldiersIn another study, 368 US Army soldiers who came to a clinic complaining of low back pain, completed a questionnaire about their work habits and their health.• The study linked job stress to emotional stress and this was directly related to their clinic visit complaining of back pain. The greater the emotional distress felt by the soldier, the more visits that were required to relieve his back pain.• This study confirmed research that linked psychological distress and the physiological demands of work to the increased risk of back pain symptoms. • The Army researchers believe that job stress plays an important role in persistent low back pain and that reducing the stress can also reduce the pain.Great Britain StudyA study in Great Britain of nearly 6000 people showed:• If you are under psychological stress when in your 20s, you are more than twice as likely to suffer low back pain when you reach your thirties. • Researchers believe that early stress may have an adverse effect upon muscle tone which will eventually lead to pain and injury in a vulnerable area. Stress expert, Venetta Campbell, Ph.D. at Mount St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles, says, “”People who don’t learn how to cope effectively get sick”. She offers some basic stress fighting suggestions:• Get regular exercise• Eat a balanced diet• Keep your finances in order• Follow your own dreams and let go of external expectations• Set goals – having a vision for your future helps reduce the stress of uncertainty.