Tag: Bones

Massage Therapy Risks – Fact or Fiction?

True enough, some critics believe that there are also risks involved in massage as a therapeutic technique. Life is not a bed of roses and it follows that for every advantage there is an equivalent disadvantage. How real can the massage therapy risks be? What impact will they pose on the human health? While there are folks who ring the bell to the benefits of massage as a form of therapy, there are likewise those individuals who contest them.

Clear enough, it is safe to assume that there is typically an exception to every rule. Simply put, there are several other health conditions which are not to be addressed by massage alone. There is a much better medical solution that is apt for them.

Explaining the other Side

In several articles, you surely have read about the various kinds of massage therapy. They come in different names and are done in different fashions too. At the same time, they are comprised of different techniques. The point that is being driven is the fact that if massage therapy is applied to a serious medical circumstance such as cancer, the tendency is for the situation to get even worse. In fact, the individual’s life may be actually threatened. Doctors often advice that their attention should be called for prior to taking things further. Any type of massage therapy has to be pre-approved by them. Of course, the patient needs to go through an extensive test to ensure that no sort of danger will get inflicted on him.

A Threat for Cancer Patients

Studies show how this kind of therapy can truly endanger the life of a cancer patient. Cancer is a serious illness that should be addressed following the right healthcare precautions. Some of the risks involve the following:

Bone fractures. Cancer treatments often lead to the weakness of the bones. There is a tendency that during the massage, the application of some pressure may cause the bones to break.

Bleeding. Cancer-afflicted individuals often bleed profusely. For one, the deep tissue massage may cause them the life-threatening internal bleeding.

Spread of the cancer tumors. While this is yet being taken under a heated debate, there are some specialists who claim that a strong pressure on the tumor area will lead it towards metastasis. This may not yet be proven but it still calls for an extreme form of caution.

Lymphedema. This is the term used to refer to the buildup of the lymph in the soft tissues which therefore causes the soreness of the limbs. Some forms of massage therapy can cause this condition especially to someone who has just had the cancerous lymph nodes removed.

Symptoms of flu. Those who have been taking up chemotherapy sessions and at the same time the massage therapy are likely to develop the symptoms of flu.

Pains. Unbearable pains often come after the treatment which nonetheless heightens the patient’s suffering.

Post-surgery effect. Someone who is yet recuperating from a surgery should not get exposed to this kind of therapy since it may lead to the reopening of the incision and the provoking of the internal or external bleeding.

These are just some of the prime massage therapy risks known to the public. Sure enough, some other dangers may surface later on. Thus be very careful and seek for your doctor’s advice prior to consenting to this kind of healing procedure.

Pains during Growth in Children

Growing pain is part and parcel of the growing phase in a childs life. When the child stops growing so will the growing pain and when adolescence is reached, they disappear completely. Growing pain can occur between three to five years or eight to twelve years of age. Growing pains are usually experienced in the legs usually in the calves, in the area in front of thighs and behind the knees. The pain starts either in the afternoon or night, just before bedtime. The child can go to bed pain free, but can wake up in the middle of the night complaining of throbbing pain in the legs. But the good part is that these pains vanish by morning. About twenty five to forty percent of the children are known to experience growing pain.

Growing pains are experienced in the muscle region and not around the bones or joints. One of the major reasons of getting growing pains is because of the strenuous activities of the kids during the day. All the jumping around, running and climbing make the muscles tired. But no evidence has been collected which can prove that the growing pain is caused by bone growth. Growing pains are also known to be caused by spurt of growth. This happens because the tendons or the muscles are too tight and do not synchronize with the growing of the bones. As a results muscle spasms are caused which last for less than fifteen minutes. The child usually gets pain in both the legs and not just one. And usually, growing pains do not get accompanied with redness, swelling or fever. The pain should be over by morning and if it is still persisting after the awakening of the kid, the problem could be related to something else and more serious.

If the pain is unbearable, the parent or caretaker should administer pain relieving medications which are available over the counter such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Aspirin should not be given to children as they have a tendency to develop a very serious illness known as Reye Syndrome. Heating pads can be placed on the region that is hurting to ease the pain. Massage can also be given by the parent or the child can do stretching exercise to help the muscles relax. If the child develops fever, redness, swelling, tenderness, limitation in movement, or if the child limps while walking, the doctor should be approached. Before that the parent can do a little diagnosis of the intensity of the pain by feeling around the area and observing the pain experienced by the child. The pain shouldnt be so intense that the child is abstained from normal routine such as walking, running or playing.

The doctor conducts the diagnosis of exclusion to understand the problem. According to this diagnosis, it is not made until all the conditions are checked before considering growing pains. The doctor studies the childs medical history and conducts a physical examination. In some serious cases, the doctor advices to go for X-ray or blood test before the final decision is made.

Children can prevent the growing pains by doing stretching exercises on a daily basis. The exercise need not be complex. Even if the pain subsides, the exercise should be continued so as to keep the tendons and muscles relaxed and to adjust with the growth spurt. Fluids, when taken in good quantity, decrease the cramping. For this reason, the child should be given tonic water or quinine before going to bed.

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Identifying Lower Back Pain Symptoms

Lower back pain is a common complaint not only in old age but also among much younger adults. What truly cause this element may never be exactly diagnosed and even experienced physicians and experts may overlook some causes underlying the condition. The patient may also find it hard to distinguish the location of the pain and may often be confused on where to start pinching the section of the body to temporarily relieve the pain.

The typical lower back pain symptom is excruciating pain felt somewhere in the back. There is no telling how one would identify the cause of pain without really undergoing medical examination or x-ray. However, even these two may not suffice, as there is a host of symptoms that are not supported with anatomical abnormalities. But still the pain is real and not psychological.

The problem often arises here. Since physicians don’t find any physical symptoms with some forms of lower back pain, they may recommend their patients to a psychiatrist. Therefore, no true diagnosis is made therefor the condition is not properly addressed.

No one should be blamed for this, not even the doctor who emphasized that nothing is wrong.

Why this is the case is not yet comprehensively studied. But recent researches assert that trigger points may be responsible for this condition/s. Trigger points are individual areas in the body that are usually located nearest to the bones. The fact is, for each pain that is felt there are a number of trigger points responsible.

Most lower back pain would go away for around 3 months after the onset and will only recur as suddenly as it went. However there are symptoms that may indicate the severity of the condition and may require immediate medical intervention and surgery. The following symptoms may be as follows:

Cauda equina syndrome or sudden bowl movement, which may not be linked to other conditions rather than the actual pain felt at the lower back. This syndrome may also manifest as progressive weakness of the legs. There can be no known cause for this except that the sciatic nerve that is located at the lower back down to the legs is impaired or irritated.

Continuous low back pain

Severe abdominal pain

Sudden fever and chills without evidence of illnesses that normally come along with these two.

Unexplained weight loss

Unlike with other ailments, lower back pain symptoms may vary from case to case and the severity of the case is also dependent on the individual states.

Causes of Upper Back Pain

It is uncommon to hear someone complaining of upper back pain as compared for the numberless people who seek medical help due to excruciating lower back pain. This may be due to the fact that the lower back is much more susceptible to injuries and muscle strain rather than the more protected upper back. However, this still does not negate the fact that every year millions of patients are diagnosed of upper back pain.

What causes upper back pain is still an argument until these days. Not that the medical community is divided into what should be believed in but because there are too many and complicated reasons underlying a simple upper back pain. Often the physician finds no abnormalities concerning anatomy so he deems the pain only as psychological. As such diagnosis is not thoroughly taken and neither the cause nor the symptoms are identified.

The pain is usually felt on the upper back between the shoulder blades. Though the pain felt in this location, the actual anatomical cause may probably be situated somewhere else. Or they may be no actual anatomical cause only defaults on the trigger points. The trigger points re normally located nearest to the muscles covering the bones. This is why patients don’t normally recognize the exact sites of pain and consequently feel them on another site. This case is normal and is known as referred pain.

The most common cause of upper back pain is postural problems. The upper body needs to be properly associated with the lower section of the body. And the components of the upper body themselves must have precise coordination. This can be achieved by placing the parts on their normal positions using proper postures. With this, not only the overall posture is severely affected but also the state of each component, especially the framework.

With improper posture often arises the problem of herniated or degenerated discs. Some may also experience displaced discs. With this, pressure may be put on the nerve roots since bulging may occur. This will result to agonizing pain and may last for a number of months.

The majority of people undergoing pain in the upper back due to displaced discs are women and office workers. For obvious reasons, females are more susceptible to this cause as compared with the male population, recent studies support the statistics that the number of upper back pin causes is more prevalent in females in as much as four times than that of male.

The causes of upper back pain vary from person to person and sometimes even gender to gender. However, the underlying truth still remains to be the same- the actual cause or causes are often not diagnosed properly due to the nature of the ailment itself.