Month: April 2021

From an annoying ache to an agony so tremendous to the point that changing positions while sleeping is such a big deal, it only goes to show that you need an immediate back pain medication.

 

There are many possibilities that go hand in hand with it like injuries to the muscles, ligaments or disks that have occurred during an activity such as having to lift heavy mass of objects.

 

It can even be brought about by a pinched nerve, swelling infection, spinal arthritis, rare tumors, thinning osteoporosis and bone scoliosis. However, there are some that their level of vulnerability is factored genetically making it more prone to stress.

 

Back pain medication can range from utilizing analgesics that reduces inflammation, restores proper function and prevents injury recurrence. Most patients recuperate even in the absence of residual function loss. However, if there is no noticeable reduction in the twinge after 72 hours of self- care, it is already a must to contact a doctor.

 

Here is a list of simple back pain medication that you can perform at the comforts of your own home:

• Varying temperatures

Utilizing hot and cold compresses have never been scientifically proven for back pain medication but it has been tested to allow greater mobility for some individuals. Following a trauma, patients should apply a bag of ice wrapped in towel to the fragile sport for up to 20 minutes each day. After two to three days, a heat pad is then applied for brief periods to relax muscles and escalate blood flow.

• Retire comfortably.

In 1996, a Finnish study revealed that persons who continue with their respective works without being able to have bed rest prior to the onset of injury have better muscle flexibility than those who did for one week. Others also suggest that such back pain medication results to secondary complications like psychological depression, decreased muscle tone and blood clots in the legs. In the evenings, patients should lie on a single side with a pillow placed between the knees.

• Sweaty calisthenics

Performing an exercise is the most effective manner if you desire speed in your back pain medication. It is important especially for people who have skeletal irregularities to maintain and build strength muscles. If you do not know of any, you can always ask your doctor for reference. For sure the list that they will give includes swimming and walking to say the least. There are also movement therapies to develop proper posture.

• Therapeutic pins

Acupuncture is a kind of back pain medication that involves the insertion of needles. It is the size of human hair strand along the precise points throughout the body. Experts of this believe that it triggers the release of naturally transpiring painkilling elements called peptides. It also keeps the body’s flow of energy back to normal.

 

As people get older, back and neck pain becomes extremely common. The condition affects not only the physical health of these individuals but also their social and economic well-being. Back and neck pain can disrupt work, routine and other daily activities you engage in. In fact, the condition is one of the leading causes of doctor’s visits and one of the most common reasons why people miss work.

 

However, while back and neck pain can make your life awfully difficult, majority of cases are treatable without resorting to surgery. There are also certain management steps you can take in order to handle the issues that may arise as a result of back and neck pain. These measures will not only help relieve the pain but also help you reduce the likelihood of recurrences of this condition.

 

Causes

In most instances, back and neck pain is caused by strains or other injuries to the muscles and ligaments surrounding the spinal column. These, in turn, may be caused by sports injuries or a sudden increase in physical activity to which the individual is not accustomed.

 

Viral infections may also cause flu like symptoms that are often accompanied by muscular pain affecting the neck and the back. The condition is known in medical circles as myalgia.

 

Another possible cause of your back and neck pain is the degenerative change that your spine undergoes. A person’s spinal column is made up of individual bones (vertebrae) that are joined together by the intervertebral discs, joints, and ligaments. All these combined forms the strong but flexible structure of your spine.

 

As a person ages (middle age and beyond), back and neck pain occurs because of the wear and tear of your intervertebral discs and other associated components of your spine. The number one cause of these degenerative changes is movement. Motion causes the neck (cervical) and the lower parts (lumbar) of the spine to gradually break down.

 

Being biological structures, your ligaments and joints will try to heal and repair themselves but as a result, your spine also becomes deformed with several bulging discs, buckling ligaments, and bone spurs. These changes could also affect the canals through which the nerves pass through, pinching them as a result.

 

Treatment

Although there is no definitive cure, back and neck pain is a highly treatable condition. The most common therapy used to treat back, and neck pain is medications with pain-killing or anti-inflammatory properties.

 

Passive physical therapy used in conjunction with exercise (active physical therapy) is also another option. Hot or cold compresses are applied to the area affected to alleviate the pain. Other modalities may also be used, including the application of electric impulses to override the muscular spasms that so often characterize back and neck pain.

There are two kinds of back and leg pain. One is acute or short term back and leg pain which could last from periods of a few days to a few weeks. This type of back pain is quite common and may affect four out of five adults in the United States. The other type of back and leg pain is chronic, lasting for more than two months.

 

Chronic back and leg pain may be a symptom of a more serious condition. It is advised that you visit the doctor if you suffer from back pain that lasts longer than the normal two weeks to two months.

 

Here are some of the more common causes of back and leg pain:

 

Lumbar Spine Stenosis

 

This is a degenerative disease of the lumbosacral spine, affecting up to 90 percent of the U.S. population, most of them belonging to the middle aged or elderly age group. The disease is a major cause of morbidity, disability, and lost productivity.

 

In lumbar stenosis, the cauda equina roots, a type of nerve found inside the spine, are entrapped within the dural sac, causing excruciating, and incapacitating back and leg pain. This entrapment of the cauda equina roots is a result of progressive hypertrophy of any of the osseocartilaginous and ligamentous elements, soft tissues that surround the spinal canal.

 

Additionally, the degenerative changes or trauma could rupture or herniate the intervertebral disc, which is composed of a gelatinous, centrally located nucleus purposes and a peripherally located annulus fibrosus.

 

Lumbar stenosis mostly affects men and the middle aged to the elderly, although it could also occur in women and younger patients. Back and leg pain is the earliest complaint of this condition, which is often treated with some of the self-care methods available. This results in delay in diagnosis.

 

Sciatica

 

Sciatica is a condition affecting the sciatic nerve. Since this nerve travels from the lower back through the buttocks and into the leg, the pain often occurs in any of these affected areas. Back and leg pain as a result of sciatica can be more or less severe and is caused by a herniated lumbar disc.

 

The degeneration (herniation) of the disc causes it to compress onto one of the contributing roots of the sciatic nerve, causing sharp back and leg pains to shoot up. Often, the pain in the leg, posterior thigh, or foot can be much worse than the accompanying lower back pain. At the onset, the patient usually experiences severe pain in the buttocks which runs all the way down through the legs or foot. In some cases, there is even no accompanying back pain.

 

 

Treating back and leg pain resulting from any of the two disorders mentioned will involve treating the disorders themselves. Any of the usual type of treatments available for normal back pains will provide little relief, if at all.

 

 

Study after study has revealed the importance of a balanced diet to good health.  Eating a balanced diet, one that is rich in all the various minerals and vitamins needed for a healthy body, can present quite a challenge for vegetarians and vegans.

 

That is because maintaining a good balanced diet in the absence of one entire food group, such as meat and poultry, can be difficult.  Meat and other animal products contain significant amounts of important nutrients, such as protein, calcium, and B vitamins.

 

Vegan diets present an even larger problem, since vegans go a step farther and eliminate dairy products and eggs as well as meat.  Vegans often have trouble getting the vitamin B12 they need and often must rely on vitamin supplements for this important nutrient.

 

Of course, that does not mean that vegetarians and vegans cannot enjoy good health.  Many vegetarians and vegans can and do enjoy levels of health much better than their carnivorous peers. It simply means that vegetarians need to pay somewhat closer attention to their dietary needs, and to be on the lookout for signs of dietary deficiencies.  The key to a healthy vegetarian or vegan diet, as with all types of diets, is practicing moderation, eating a variety of foods, and keeping nutritional needs in balance.

 

One of the most frequently cited concerns by family members and friends of vegetarians and vegans is how they will get the protein they need from a diet devoid of animal flesh.  However, getting sufficient protein is usually not a concern for vegetarians, since most American diets tend to contain more protein than they need.

 

Vegetarians who eat dairy products can get all the protein they need from dairy products, from soy-based products and from beans, nuts, lentils, and seeds.  There are many non-animal sources of protein, so most vegetarians should not have a problem getting sufficient protein.

 

Even vegans, who eschew all animal-based products, even milk and dairy products, typically do not have a problem with protein deficiency.  That is because nuts, seeds, lentils, pinto beans, split peas, soybeans, garbanzo beans, black beans, white beans, kidney beans, navy beans and many more all have lots of protein.

 

Vegan meals are often rich in tofu and other soy-based products, and these products contain sufficient protein to meet the needs of most vegans.  In addition, the many bean based vegan recipes are excellent sources of protein.  For instance, a cup of cooked beans contains the same amount of protein as a two-ounce serving of meat.

 

As with protein, nutritional deficiencies are generally of no more concern to vegetarians than they are to the general population.   Vegetarians who follow a balanced, nutritious diet should have no problem meeting their daily nutritional needs.

 

Vegans on the other hand, are more susceptible than vegetarians to nutritional deficiencies, particularly vitamin B12, calcium and vitamin D.  That is because the most common sources of these important nutrients are all animal based, either meat or dairy products.

 

Of these three nutrients, the hardest to replace on a vegan diet is vitamin B12.  The primary sources of vitamin B12 in the diet are all animal based.  For this reason, vegans are generally advised to take vitamin B12 supplement, or to eat foods that have been fortified with vitamin B12.  There are several such foods on the market, including nutritional yeast and soy milk.

 

Calcium is also a concern for vegans since the primary sources of dietary calcium are milk and other dairy products.  Again, calcium fortified foods such as some soy milk and certain cereals are important to maintaining a healthy vegan diet.  The same is true of vitamin D, another primarily animal-based nutrient.

 

The bottom line is that it is possible to maintain excellent health while avoiding meat and dairy products.  The key is to follow a well-balanced diet, get plenty of exercise, and make smart food choices.

One of the biggest challenges facing those trying to follow a healthy diet is the local restaurant.  Eating out presents special challenges, such as not knowing how the food was prepared, how much fat it contains, and whether the healthiest ingredients were used.

Many restaurant chains, and even some fast-food restaurants, have recognized the demand for healthier menu choices, and they are working hard to satisfy that demand.  All too often, however, the healthy choices on a restaurant menu are limited and unappealing.  It is important, therefore, to pay close attention to the menu and make the healthiest choices possible.

One of the most important thing diners can do to eat healthy at restaurants is to be proactive.  Diners should not be afraid to ask how a dish is prepared, or what ingredients are used in its preparation.  If the server does not know, ask him or her to check with the chef.  A good chef will be happy to answer such questions, and to make modifications in the recipe if needed.  In addition, most restaurants will happily accommodate special needs, such as low fat or low sodium dishes.  After all, the restaurant is there to serve its patrons.

Some of our favorite tips for healthy eating in restaurants include:

• One good rule of thumb to use when dining out is to order entrees that are grilled, baked or broiled. Deep fried dishes are best avoided.  If you are unsure how a dish is prepared, do not be afraid to ask.
• Portion size is just as important at the restaurant as they are at home. That means ordering the petit fillet instead of the full-size steak, requesting half size portions of French fries, and maybe even forgoing that tempting dessert.  Choosing leaner cuts of meat or fish is also a good way to eat healthier.
• When choosing side dishes, ask if steamed vegetables are available. Steamed veggies are an excellent, low fat, low calorie choice for many diners.  Vegetables that are fried, au gratin, or prepared in cream or butter sauces are best avoided.
• When ordering salad, ask if fat free choices are available. Most restaurants have several fat free or low-fat varieties of salad dressing available.  If no low-fat option exists, request the dressing on the side so that you can control the amount that is used.
• When ordering soup, choose broth-based soups, and avoid bisques or rich soups like cream of crab or cream of broccoli. A simple vegetable soup is a delicious and low-fat alternative.
• Replace high fat, high calorie French fries with healthier alternatives such as fresh fruit or an unbuttered baked potato. Most restaurants will be happy to accommodate such special requests.
• In Italian restaurants, stick with the tomato-based sauces and avoid cream or heavy Alfredo sauces. A simple pesto sauce without meat is a good choice for most pasta dishes.
• When dining at oriental restaurants, go with the steamed rice and stir-fried vegetable entrees. Avoid the heavy sauces and request that your meal be prepared with less oil.  In addition, try to choose dishes that feature less meat and more fresh vegetables.
• Choose a light dessert of fresh fruit or sorbet. When ordering traditional desserts, order one and share it with your dining partner.

Finally, when dining at a fast-food restaurant, it is important to avoid the temptation of super sizing the meal.  Fast food restaurants often make their larger portions more attractive by pricing them competitively, but a big part of healthier eating is to control portion sizes.  In addition, most fast-food chains now offer healthier alternatives, such as salads and baked potatoes, as well as prominently displayed nutritional information.

While dining out certainly presents challenges to those trying to enjoy a healthy lifestyle, there is no reason to forgo the pleasure of an occasional meal out.  By following the guidelines listed above, and by adding some creative tips of your own, you can make dining out a healthy experience as well as a pleasant one.