Tag: Chronic Pain

A Look At Arthritis: America’s Leading Cause of Disability

A Look At Arthritis: America’s Leading Cause of Disability
Larry Denton

The word arthritis literally means joint inflammation, but it is often used to refer to a group of more than 100 rheumatic diseases that cause pain, stiffness, and swelling in the joints. The most common are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and gout. Most forms of arthritis are associated with pain that can be divided into two categories: acute and chronic. Acute pain is temporary. It can last a few seconds or a few minutes but diminishes as healing occurs. Acute pain is associated with burns, cuts and fractures. Chronic pain, such as that felt by people with arthritis, ranges from mild to severe and can last days, months, years or even a lifetime. Osteoarthritis is one of the most frequent causes of physical disability among adults. More than 20 million people in the United States, alone, have the disease. By 2030, according the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 20 percent of all Americans–about 70 million people–will have passed their 65th birthday and will be at a higher risk of osteoarthritis. Arthritis limits the everyday activity of 8 million Americans, and this disability creates huge burdens for the individuals, their families, and the nation as a whole. Each year, arthritis results in 9,500 deaths and 750,000 hospitalizations. According to the National Center for Chronic Disease Control, in 1997, medical care for arthritis (in the U.S.) was $51 billion. This disease affects each person quite differently. In some people it progresses quickly and in others the symptoms are much more serious and painful. Medical practitioners do not yet know what causes arthritis, but they suspect a combination of factors including: being overweight, the aging process, family history, joint injury, and stresses on the joints from work or sporting activities.There is no single treatment that applies to everyone who suffers from arthritis. With your personal input, a medical specialist will develop a management and treatment plan designed to minimize your specific pain and improve the function of your joints. A number of treatments can provide short-term relief. They include: medications such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, the use of hot and cold packs, using a splint or a brace to protect painful joints, or perhaps using muscle-relaxing massages.In the long-term, pain relief may be found with: new drugs, called biological response modifiers, which reduce inflammation in the joints; corticosteroids such as Prednisone; weight reduction; dietary changes; exercise (swimming, walking and low-impact aerobic exercise); and even surgery to replace a joint that has badly deteriorated. In some instances, nutritional supplements may be helpful. The long-term goal of pain management is to help you cope with this chronic, often disabling disease. You may be caught in a cycle of pain, depression, and stress. To break this cycle, you need to be an active participant in managing your pain. The role you play in planning your treatment is very important. You and your health care providers must work together closely to develop a personalized and effective treatment program. Research has shown that patients who are well informed and participate actively in their own care, experience less pain, make fewer visits to the doctor and lead a much more enjoyable life. About the Author
Larry Denton is a retired history teacher having taught 33 years at Hobson High in Hobson, Montana. He is currently Vice President of Elfin Enterprises, Inc. a business dedicated to providing information and resources on a variety of topics. For an therapy room full of information and valuable resources to assist you in dealing with arthritis, visit http://www.ArthritisAide.com

Spotting the Difference between Low Back Pain and Kidney Pain

Spotting the Difference between Low Back Pain and Kidney Pain

Questions frequently arise when pain in the back occurs. Oftentimes, the sufferers and even the physicians themselves are not certain of the actual site of the pain’s origin. Since lower back pain radiates into the other sections of the body, people tend to become unsure of how to provide initial relief on themselves and how would doctors diagnose the condition. This is quite misleading and physicians who cannot find the exact location of the pain dismiss the case and assume that it is more of psychological rather than physiological.

To further complicate things, we may never really find the actual site of pain and the primary cause that triggered the pain. Let us assume that it really is a back pain, say in the lower back. We could have given treatment on this but what if it really was not originally a lower back pain. What if it rooted from the kidneys? What if the pain is actually a manifestation of kidney complications? How then would you tell the difference?

Though this may seem like an oversimplification, let us establish still that lower back kidney pain is more concentrated on the areas where the kidneys lie. That is located slightly above the hips and positioned next to the spine. Any injury created on the surface of the back that is directly covering the area where the kidneys are founded may have adverse effect on the kidneys themselves. This is the reason why trauma or any excessive force over the area is betterly recognized as “kidney punch” rather than lower back pain.

Kidney pain is directly linked to the organ itself but may usually manifest as lower back pain. It is acute in origin because the pain typically starts rapidly but may develop into chronic pain over time. However, the pain will only last as long as the kidney is infected. Chronic pain on the other hand is usually caused by the trauma on the back.

If initial symptoms will be used as the basis for diagnosing lower back kidney pain, evidences are clear that they show similarities with lower back pain. Yet a traumatized back is not relatively painful when pushed directly on the region of the kidney. But there are other indications that may show clear distinctions between lower back kidney pain and kidney pain alone. These may include painful urination, chills and fever, and presence of blood in the urine.

With the initial signs of lower back kidney pain, it is commonly advised that the patient sees his or her doctor immediately. To provide treatment plan as early as possible

Process More Difficult with Back Pain Pregnancy

Though extremely common, back pain during pregnancy must not be accepted as a normal consequence of the process. Pregnancy in itself is a hard dealing, when back pain is added to the pains that generally cover this period of a woman’s life, it can make pregnancy severely painful especially during delivery. The symptoms of back pain must be immediately addressed once they manifest and must be carefully managed throughout the process.

Chronic back pain during pregnancy is the sign of post partrum back pain or the pain felt after giving birth. This is reason enough why women of this case must seek immediate medical attention for proper treatment before the pain aggravates. Likewise, post partrum pain must be checked and observed cautiously to see if it lasts longer than 8 weeks. If it does, treatments and therapies must be immediately employed to avoid longer duration of recurring attacks.

Types of back pain during pregnancy

Around 80% of women undergo back pain some time during their pregnancy. Symptoms may indicate either chronic (or attacks that usually last for more than three months) and acute (that lasts or several weeks to less than three months).

Studies point out that back pain during pregnancy is most likely to occur during the fifth or the seventh month of pregnancy. As it may be observed, this is the period when the womb bulges, enough to create additional heavy load to the woman. However, there are cases when back pain may activate as early as the 8th and 12th week. Women who are naturally prone to back pains and are at greater risks to developing back pain during pregnancy and may show some sings in the earliest stages.

For pregnant women, they may experience either one of the two types of back pain or a combination of both: lumbar pain (lower back pain) and posterior pelvic pain. Both pains are experienced at the lower back bone but may be different from that of the labor pain (which is also felt at the lower back).

Lumbar back pain during pregnancy may be closely compared with that of the typical back pain for nonpregnant women. The pain is focused at the above section of the body following the waist. And tenderness on the muscles around the spine may be observed. Posterior pelvic pain on the other hand is felt at the lower section of the waistline and is more prevalently experienced by women as compared with the lumbar pain. Pain in the pelvic area may be felt on one side alone or on both sides. Posterior pelvic pain last for quite sometime and resting may not resolve this pain easily.

Both types of back pain during pregnancy is linked to the changes a woman experiences during the said period.

Common Causes of Lower Back Pain

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.