Tag: Knees

Chiropractic Care versus Traditional Medical Care

Are you suffering from mild to severe pain and discomfort? Whether it is your knees, hands, neck, back, fingers, toes, or another part of the body that hurts, you may be ready to schedule an appointment with your primary care physician. This is nice, but have you considered chiropractic care? If not, you should. It is similar, but also very different from traditional medical care. How?

Natural versus Artificial

Over the past few years, a lot of focus has been placed on natural and organic. Many Americans are making the switch to all natural and organic foods and supplements. This nice, but many of those same people turn to traditional forms of medicine and over-the-counter pain relievers to seek relief. This is not natural. Chiropractic care is. Chiropractors may use x-rays and MRIs to diagnose a problem and decide on a course of treatment, but that treatment is done with the precision of the hands. It is manual therapy.

Medications

Medications are commonly prescribed in traditional forms of medical care. They are not with chiropractic care. In fact, chiropractors are unable to write prescriptions. Some believe this is because they arent enough of a doctor. This is not true. The main reason for their inability to write prescriptions is because they do not believe in their use. Patients are not discouraged from seeking temporarily pain relief with over-the-counter products, but it is only temporary. Chiropractors prefer to make adjustments to treat the problem of pain at it source, not mask the problem with prescription medication.

Side Effects

In keeping with medication, it is important to note the side effects. They are common. It is rare to find a prescribed pain reliever without side effects. Even little side effects, such as an upset stomach or dizziness, can have a profound impact on your life. When seeking medical care, you want to seek relief, not have a new set of problems to deal with. That is why chiropractic care is best to treat pain, discomfort, and decreased mobility. Since there are no drugs prescribed, you will not experience side effects. But, you will get positive effects from either proper adjustments or therapeutic massages.

Safety

In terms of safety, there are little to no risks associated with chiropractic care. In fact, care is recommended for individuals of all ages. Both those young and old can benefit from chiropractic care. With traditional medical care, there are more risks present. Many of the medications prescribed are only safe for certain individuals. For example, those under the age of 4 can rarely seek safe pain relief from over-the-counter or prescribed medications. They can, however, get a safe therapeutic massage or undergo a safe realignment to treat pain and discomfort.

Complications

Chiropractors cannot perform surgery. In most cases, it is not needed. Patients who seek medical care experience pain, discomfort, and decreased mobility. As previously stated, realignment or a therapeutic massage may do the trick. Since surgery is only considered a last resort and performed by surgeon, there is little risk of complications. Surgery opens up a world of complications, including the invasion of germs and infection. Since the body is naturally healed using manual therapy, complications are non-existent.

NOTE: Chiropractors encourage those suffering from pain, discomfort, and difficultly moving to seek chiropractic care. What they dont encourage is avoiding all traditional forms of medical care. Some conditions, such as the flu, cancer, and diabetes cannot be treated with manual therapy. Never put your health at risk. Chiropractic care is best to treat pain and discomfort. Always keep your primary care physician in mind for other non-pain related medical problems.

In short, there are many differences between chiropractic care and medical care. So, which should you opt for? If you suffer from pain or experience difficulty moving, contact a local chiropractor. See what they can do for you. Since there are little to no risks, you have nothing to lose.

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How to Seek Arthritis Relief When Shopping

Do you suffer from arthritis? If so, just functioning from day-to-day may seem difficult. Walking to your car, let alone climbing inside and driving, may seem out of the question. Not only is it too hard, but it may be very painful. So, what should you do? It may be easier to sit on the couch at home, but dont let arthritis control you or your life. We all need to shop, especially for groceries. So, what can you do to ease the pain and discomfort?

Create a grocery list by aisle. Those with arthritis of the toes, knees, and hips, find it difficult and painful to walk. To prevent wasted steps, create a grocery list based on aisles. This prevents you from retracing your steps and walking more. Some grocery stores have guides available for shoppers. Or, the next time you are there, record the aisle numbers and sample of items in the aisle. Use as your guide.

Always use a shopping cart. Regardless of which joints are affected by arthritis, opt for a shopping cart. Baskets are convenient for when you only need to buy a few items, but they can be difficult and painful to grip. If you suffer from arthritis of the toes, knees, and hips, a shopping cart provides you with walking support. Also, dont be afraid to use the motorized shopping carts. Many stores have them available free of charge.

Use a reacher or ask for help. You will experience the most problems at the grocery store. Items are scattered on shelves both high and low. If you find it difficult to bend or reach, ask for help or purchase an extended reacher. They are available for sale at most drug stores and medical stores. These reachers can also help those with difficulty gripping items. If you need help, ask a store associated or a passerby.

Take a break when you need to. It is no secret that both grocery stores and supermarkets are large. Walking from the car to the store may seem like a long journey, but just wait into you get inside. It is not a race to finish quickly; take a break whenever you start to experience pain or difficulty moving. In the grocery store, visit the caf or move your cart to the side of an aisle and lean on it for support. Shopping malls have benches scattered throughout; take a seat and rest.

Opt for paper or reusable bags at the grocery store. Those suffering from arthritis of the fingers, experience pain when gripping and carrying plastic shopping bags. Many dread trips to the grocery store. Instead, opt for paper or reusable bags. Most reusable bags have long handlings; you can sling them over your shoulder. To carry paper bags, use both arms, not just your fingers and hands. Also, do not be afraid to ask a store associate to load your bags into the car or ask a neighbor for help.

As a last resort, hire someone to shop for you. In fact, you may not even need to pay. See if a close friend or family member will pickup a few items for you at the grocery store. Many stores now enable you to shop right from your home. With these stores, you browse or search through their product list, add items to your virtual shopping card, make payment, and wait. A store employee will deliver your goods to your home! You may be charged a small delivery fee, but it may be well worth the added cost.

Although it may be easier to use a grocery store delivery service or have someone else stop for you, try. By implementing a few of the above mentioned steps, shopping for gifts, groceries, and clothes does not have to be difficult. Just remember to take it slow, rely on available tools, and dont be afraid to ask for help.

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Relief for Knee Pain

Have you ever had a knee injury? Knee injuries are quite painful and people suffering from such a condition will immediately look for effective pain relief. Your knees are one of the most important body parts. If you encounter repetitive knee injuries or accidents, you should know about the various techniques to ease the pain.

When you encounter any injury or accident, you must attend to it at once. You can use this technique which is more popularly known as RICE. R stands for rest. You need to take a rest after youve cleaned the wound or injury. Place your legs in a relaxing position. I stands for ice. Put ice over your knees. C is for compression and it is important when you have a knee accident. E stands for elevation so dont forget to elevate them as well.

A lot of pressure is exerted on the knees so you need to ensure that when you have a knee accident, the pressure is removed. Rest is vital if you want to relieve pain. Dont even try to put your knees at work. Blood flow should be slowed down and you can do this by placing ice over the affected area. By doing so, you can reduce swelling. Get some bandage and put it over the injury. Dont make it too tight. The healing process is also promoted through elevation. Try elevating your knees and you will notice that there is less pain.

Repetitive injuries can cause progressive pain. You can get rid of the pain by taking pain relievers. Ointments and creams are also available without doctors prescription. Again, dont remove the bandages because it will help in stabilizing your knees. The discomfort is already part of the injury but you can still reduce it to moderate by taking medicines.

You will need immediate professional assistance once you meet a knee injury. Consult an orthopedic expert or a pharmacist so that you will know what to do. Dont take medicines without a doctors supervision because it might worsen your condition. The orthopedic physician can teach you effective exercises and methods that can ease the pain of the injury. It may take a while before you can exert pressure on your knees again but its worth the wait; if you put your knees at rest, complete healing can come sooner. Always follow the doctors instructions and if you need to take medicines, take them on time and at the right dosage.

You cant do your routine activities if have a knee injury so make sure that you recover from it as soon as possible. Thanks to the modern technology of today, there are now countless medicines (natural and conventional), techniques, and other procedures that can speed up healing.

Affected individuals should also be determined to get well. If you think positively and youre doing everything to get rid of the pain, you will gain positive results. Your brain tells you when youre in pain and to some individuals its all in the mind. While youre trying to recover from the injury, dont think too much about the pain because it will only get worse. Watch a movie, read a book, etc. but make sure that you maintain a resting position. If you dont exert pressure on your knees, your knees will be in shape once more.

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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