Posts Tagged ‘Numbness’
Bulging Discs and Lower Back Pain: www.strengthondemand.com
Learn about common symptoms and helpful treatments for lower back pain especially that caused by herniated or bulging discs
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Radiculopathy: A Quick Overview
There can be many reasons for that pain in your back. All you need to do is to get it diagnosed and get a good treatment done. And if you are diagnosed with the problem of Radiculopathy, then you need an immediate medical attention. Because if not taken care of at the initial stages, your back pain can aggravate, putting you in grave problems.
Radiculopathy is a condition, which is a result of the pressure that is being originated from the herniated disk. There can be another reason to it. The pressure exerted by the degenerative changes in the spine can also lead to back pain. These changes lead to inflammation and irritation in the roots of the nerves. {mosgoogle right} This disorder is accompanied with a specific pattern of pain, which is very intense. You can also feel numbness and weakness in the muscles of your arms and legs.
The nerves that are usually affected by this disorder are the sensory nerve. Those muscles that have a direct contact with the affected sensory nerve roots tend to get weak. Besides this, the number of roots that get affected by this disorder also varies. In some cases the affected nerve cells can be few, while in other cases, the disorder can affect both sides of the body.
There are two forms of Radiculopathy. One is Lumbar Radiculopathy and the other is Cervical Radiculopathy. If you are suffering from lumbar radiculopathy, the most common symptoms observed will be of sciatica. In case of cervical radiculopathy, the pain will be intense, which will radiate from your neck to your arms. Treatment to both the forms of radiculopathy is available and effective.
For treating cervical radiculopathy, a combination of drugs that contain cortisteroids, which are a category of powerful anti-inflammatory drugs and the non-steroidal pain-killers is administered to the patient. There are two ways of doing this. One is through an oral intake of the drug and the other is with the help of epidural injections. However, prescription of the drug through the means of an injection is an effective way as the drug is administered directly to the affected area.
Besides this, you can also inculcate the use of various physical therapies to relieve yourself from the pain caused by radiculpathy. The activities that generally form a part of a physical therapy session for radiculopathy are gentle cervical traction coupled with various exercises. All these exercises work in the direction of reducing your back pain and giving you instant relief. In the severest and rarest-of the-rare cases, you might need a surgery to get rid of the pain.
Ashish Jain
http://www.articlesbase.com/advice-articles/radiculopathy-a-Quick-Overview-122862.html
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Insider Secrets to Find the Cause of Your Back Pain Now
During my 17 years practicing medicine, patients and friends constantly ask me:
“What is the most likely cause of my back Pain?”
I’ve written this simple guide for people who have the same question in mind.
The commonest type of back Pain is caused by tears or strains to ligaments, tendons or muscles around the lower spinal cord. The underlying factors are straining, poor posture, incorrect lifting and inactivity. The Pain usually appears 36-48 hours after the strain or can be gradual in onset. The symptoms can be mild to moderate depending on the level of injury.
Herniation of a vertebral disc may be associated with back Pain and also sciatica…shooting pain down the back of one leg. It is most often seen in people in their 30′s and 40′s but can also occur in the elderly. The condition is caused by underlying disc degeneration. This can lead to a gradual rupturing of the disc and Herniation of the disc contents. This process can be exacerbated by physical straining or exercise. The sciatica occurs when the disc contents press on the neighboring spinal nerve. The pain, which can be very severe, may be associated with numbness or tingling in the area supplied by that nerve (dermatome).
Facet Joint Arthropathy can result from arthritic changes, degeneration or trauma to the facet joints of the vertebral bodies of the spine. These joints are normally covered with cartilage and lined by synovial membranes. Arthritis leads to wear and tear of the cartilage and inflammation of the membranes. This leads to grating movements between the two facet joints. This type of back pain is worsened by torsion or elongation of the spine. The pain is normally well localized and may spread to the buttocks.
Narrowing of the spinal canal (Spinal Stenosis) is more commonly seen in the elderly. It is secondary to vertebral degeneration. It may also occur with infection, trauma, tumors and arthritis of the spine and with bony spurs and disk herniation. It can progress to severe spinal cord injury. It is associated with back pain as well as pain, numbness and weakness of the buttocks.
Radiculopathy (‘a pinched nerve’) is associated with back pain and pain, numbness, weakness and tingling of the legs. It occurs when inflammation of a spinal nerve is caused by pressure or friction. The underlying factors can be tumors, bony spurs, disc herniation, and fractures of the vertebrae. The presence of muscle weakness in the legs as well as pain in the back… indicates severe symptoms. In such cases you should seek a doctor’s advice immediately.
Tumors of the spine, whether they originate in the spine or spread from distant organs, can cause terrible back pain through pressure on the nerves and spine. Chronic persistent pain despite treatment is suggestive although not diagnostic of a spinal tumor. Be suspicious when such pain is associated with generalized signs of cancer such as weight loss, loss of appetite and tiredness.
Infection of the spinal cord or surrounding tissues causes pressure on the spine and can result in severe back pain and loss of function of the affected spinal nerves. Examples include spinal meningitis and osteomyelitis.
Pathology of the vertebrae of the spine can cause pressure on the spinal nerves, inflammatory conditions and degeneration. Examples include osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and ankylosing spondylitis. Ankylosing spondylitis is characterized by pain in the back and stiffness. This stiffness is more pronounced in the morning as is not helped by rest. There may also be pain in the shoulders, neck and mid-spine. Osteoporosis ( low bone mass) leads to fractures. Fractures cause sudden severe back pain localized to the area of the fracture. Osteoarthritis, the wear and tear of joints with age, leads to chronic back pain which tends to be poorly localized. It is normally associated with stiffness and pain which is not eased by rest.
anonymous
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Sciatica – Ayurveda
Sciatica is a general term for pain originating from the sciatic nerve. Sciatica is a symptom of a disorder that causes mild to sharp and sometimes excruciating pain. Patients have described sciatic pain as mildly disturbing to burning, aching, deep, and similar to a sudden bolt of lightning. sciatic nerve pain travels from the buttock, down the back of the thigh, and into the leg. Leg pain is the classic hallmark of sciatica. Low back pain may accompany sciatica, and some patients experience sciatic pain extending into the foot. Another characteristic of sciatica is it usually affects either the lower left or right side of the body.
Sciatic pain can make life miserable. Walking, standing, bending over, driving a car, working at a computer, catching up on household chores, sneezing or coughing, and many other activities of daily living can cause sudden and intense pain. Patients who suffer sciatica, especially of a more acute nature, find the symptoms disrupt many aspects of their life.
One reason the sciatic nerve causes so much pain is because it is the longest nerve in the body! The nerve starts at the back of the pelvis and runs downward through the hip area and buttocks into each leg. Near the knee, the sciatic nerve divides into two nerves—the tibial and peroneal nerves. The tibial nerve runs behind the knee and the peroneal nerve runs along the side of the calf and ankle. Through the tibial and peroneal nerves, the sciatic nerve innervates (‘stimulates’) the action of many muscles in the lower legs and enables feeling in the thighs, legs, and feet.
Besides pain, other symptoms may accompany sciatica. These symptoms include sensations such as tingling, pins and needles, burning, numbness or muscle weakness. Such symptoms may be felt in the buttock, thigh, behind the knee, calf, ankle, and sometimes the foot.
Causes of Sciatica
It’s important to understand what conditions cause sciatica because remember, sciatica is not a condition — it’s a medical term used to describe symptoms caused by other low back conditions.
Several low back conditions can cause sciatica, including:
- Bulging disc or herniated disc: This is the most common cause of sciatica. When a disc bulges, the gel-like center (nucleus pulposus) pushes against the outer wall of the disc (annulus fibrosus). A herniated disc means that the nucleus pulposus breaks through the annulus fibrosus. With both bulging and herniated discs, the disc material can press on nerve roots, causing sciatica. The consequences of a herniated disc are worse than those of a bulging disc. The disc material that leaks out contains an acidic, chemical irritant (hyaluronic acid) that causes nerve inflammation.
- Degenerative disc disease (DDD): Sciatica is a common result of the aging process that affects discs called degenerative disc disease. DDD is a change in the disc shape and function, and it can result in a bulging disc or a herniated disc and pain.
- Piriformis syndrome: The piriformis muscle, located in the lower part of the spine, connects to the thighbone, and helps you rotate your hip. The sciatic nerve runs under the piriformis muscle, so muscle spasms can compress the sciatic nerve. It may be difficult to diagnose and treat as it is not easily identified by x-ray or MRI.
- Pregnancy: The extra weight and pressure on your spine caused by pregnancy can cause compression of the sciatic nerve. The symptoms will usually go away after childbirth.
- Spinal stenosis: Your nerves travel through passageways in your spine, and when this space narrows (stenosis), it can put pressure on the nerves in your low back.
- Spinal tumors and spinal infections: Although very rare, tumors and infections can compress the sciatic nerve.
- Spondylolisthesis: If a vertebra slips forward over the vertebra below it, it’s called spondylolisthesis. This slip can pinch the nerve root and cause sciatica.
- Trauma: You can develop sciatica because of direct nerve compression from an outside force. For example, you could be injured in a car accident, resulting in a pinched nerve in your low back.
Treatment for sciatica or sciatic symptoms will often be different, depending upon the underlying cause of the symptoms.
Ayurveda is specialized in treating Sciatica with highest treatment success rate. It offers excellent Panchakarma therapies along with internal medicines for treating Sciatica.
Ayurveda described sciatica as Gridhrasi (Gridhra means Eagle), as the gait of the affected person resembles that of an eagle’s walk and the inflamed nerve appears like eagle’s beak.
Ayurveda categorized Sciatica as one of diseases caused by vitiation Vata (one of the principle dosha in the body, responsible for the movement and functionality of the body). Sometimes even kapha (dosha responsible for lubrication and bodily fluids) vitiation along with vata (vata kaphaj) also causes sciatica.
Treatment in Ayurveda is aimed at restoring the equilibrium through correction of the underlying functional in-equilibrium. Ayurvedic treatments for Sciatica concentrate on bringing back the aggravated vata or vata kapha to the state of equilibrium and thereby to the state of health.
Treatment comprises of three approaches, Elimination (Sodhanam) of the accumulated toxic products of digestion, metabolism and the disease process, Pacification (Samanam) and correction of the entities responsible for altered functioning and Rasayanam (Rejuvenation) of the bodily tissue to regain and maintain natural strength and vitality.
The strength of Ayurveda in the area of spine and joint treatments is globally appreciated. Since it addresses the root cause of the issue the results are fantastic. Therapies like Abyanga swedam, Pathrapotala swedam, Choornapinda swedam, Pizhichil, Shirodhara, Kadeevasthy, Navarakizhi, Vasti (the most important procedure in Ayurveda for curing Sciatica permanently) etc. are done as per the necessity and condition. These therapies are directed towards relieving the inflammatory changes and underlying causes of Sciatica, releasing the spasms and nerve compressions in the affected area, strengthening and nourishing entire spine & supporting tissues. Usually the treatment period is 3 – 5 weeks according to the severity of the disease.
Along with these therapies, Ayurveda has also described Sira vedana (Venesection) and Agni karma (Heat therapy) for treating Sciatica.
In four to six weeks, the majority of patients find their symptoms are relieved without surgery.
for more information log on to http://www.charaka.org
or mail to info@charaka.org
dr m chandrashekhar
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Lumbar Spine Traction – The Vertetrac – Ambulatory Lumbar Spine Traction Decompression
Dr. Steven Horwitz discusses success stories using the Vertetrac by Meditrac http://meditrac.co.il/dynamic.asp?cid=8002&ttl=strip) used for Lower Back Pain, leg pain, lumbar disc bulges and herniations. See www. Dcsportsinjury.com.
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