Category: Conditions

A person’s spine is made of vertebrae, which are cushioned with discs. These discs protect the bones from shock. When an injury occurs, that damages the disc’s inner gelatinous part, causing it to protrude through the outer ring, causes a herniated disc. When you have a slipped disc, the key to taking care of yourself is listening to your doctor and taking it upon yourself to practice safe, at home remedies.

Symptoms

How do you know if you’ve injured yourself in a way that caused a slipped disc? Here’s a list of possible symptoms that can come from a herniated disc:

• Pain/numbness (usually in one side)
• Pain down a(n) arm/leg
• Pain with particular movements
• Pain when walking
• Unusual muscle weakness
• Aching/burning in the affected area of the spine

The Doctor’s Diagnosis

Even if you often take Doctor Google’s advice as law and follow your research, a slipped disc can be a severe injury. If you are having pain in your back due to an injury or are experiencing some of these symptoms and think you may have injured yourself, get a formal diagnosis from your preferred physician.

A doctor can diagnose a slipped disc in a few different ways:

1. Neurological exam (in which they will test your reflexes, muscle strength, walking ability, and pinching or vibration feelings in the affected spot)
2. X-rays (when a doctor will take images of your spine, mainly to rule out any other issues that could be causing pain/discomfort)
3. CT Scan (when they will take an image of your spinal structure)
4. MRI (another image, which can locate the site of the herniated disc)
5. Nerve tests (in which they measure how electrical impulses move along nerve tissue)

At Home Care

Once you’ve allowed your doctor to run their tests and formally diagnose you with a slipped disc, it’s up to you back at home to care for your injury correctly. While your medical professional will indeed prescribe you medication to help with the damage and give you some restrictions, here are some helpful self-care tips to keep in mind during your recovery:

• Listen to your doctor; that means taking your medication exactly as prescribed, avoiding anything they told you to, and reaching out if there are any further issues.
• Ask your doctor about over the counter pain medications to help with your pain.
• Rest your back when it is in pain, especially if the problem feels overwhelming.
• Avoid any movement or positions that make you uncomfortable or in pain.
• Keep your muscles active to improve strength, such as doing light exercises like short walks
• Use heat/cold therapy techniques, such as:

Heat: warm water bottle compress on injury spot, heating pad (kept on low), warm cloth

Cold: ice pack or a cold pack on the injured area for no more than twenty minutes, with a cloth between your skin and the pack

Though a slipped disc certainly offers some restrictions and inconveniences to your everyday life, knowing how to properly care for your injury can lead to faster and more complete recovery.

Many people notice their joints clicking and groaning more as they become adults, and these noises are usually considered harmless. But if these clicks, also known as crepitus, are accompanied by pain, then it is a sign that something is not right and that it’s probably time to see a medical professional.

Your spine is comprised of twenty-four vertebrae, separated by intervertebral discs. Your lumbar spine is commonly known as your lower back, and below that, there is a weight-bearing joint called the sacroiliac joint. These two lower regions are the most likely to cause pain, especially when put under intense strain. Clicking noises are often a symptom of this strain.

What Causes Clicking in Your Back?

Many medical professionals believe that clicking noises are the result of trapped gas in the joints. The noises could also be the result of tightening ligaments or other joint strains. For example, a herniated disc is another condition where the intervertebral discs have become herniated or weak. There is no end to what can cause back pain and clicking, so it often needs to be analyzed thoroughly and trusted holistically.

If clicking is not accompanied by pain, but you are experiencing other symptoms, it may still cause concern. If there is swelling or if joints are locking after they pop, this could also be a symptom of broader back issues. Seeking early treatment can help restore a full range of motion and prevent future swelling.

What Other Symptoms Can Alert You to Back Problems?

Back pain and clicking noises are significant symptoms for back problems, but they are not the only symptoms to watch. Pain down your leg, as well as difficulty or discomfort standing, can also be signs that your back needs treatment. Additionally, things like headaches and neck pain are often related to back problems.

What Are Your Treatment Options?

One of the most common forms of treatment for back pain and associated problems is deep tissue massage. Massage can help relax the muscles around your spine and relieve knots. Physical therapy and osteopathic treatment can also help treat back pain holistically and have access to technology like x-rays, which allow medical professionals to see the issue more clearly.

Osteopathy and chiropractic treatment are other options. Back pain and clicking can be alleviated with spinal manipulation and medical spine cracking. These procedures can also be incredibly beneficial for those suffering headaches as a side-effect of back problems.

Of course, the type of treatment that is best for you will depend on the cause of the clicking and the pain. Back issues are serious, though, and can often be signs of even more pressing physical problems. Seeing a General Practitioner is a significant first step for back pain because they can point you in the direction of the treatment that may be best for you.

Every climber knows that climbing can be hard on the body because of falls and overtraining, and muscle stresses. Osteopathy is a treatment that gives a holistic approach to healing, focusing on the musculoskeletal system.

If you are experiencing pain and discomfort because of climbing, an osteopath can be a beneficial treatment. Here are some of the most common injuries from climbing and how osteopathy can help:

Finger injuries

Climbing can put an incredible strain on the finger tendons, which can cause many injuries. Injury prevention is always the best method, so make sure you learn the pay attention to how you crimp and learn the correct techniques to use.

If you get injured, the most effective cure is to rest and not climb, but if you are a climber, you know that’s often not an option. Osteopathic treatment can help you continue to climb without risking further injury to your fingers.

Elbow injuries

Also commonly known as “tennis elbow,” elbow injuries can be painful and debilitating for your climbing and day-to-day life. Conditioning and strengthening can help keep your elbow tendons in good condition and prevent elbow injuries.

There is a range of elbow issues that climbers can suffer from, all with various treatments. Osteopaths can help diagnose and treat your specific injury effectively. Because osteopathic treatment is designed to support your body’s capacity for self-healing and promote well-being, they will be able to provide a range of treatments to heal and promote strength to prevent future injuries.

Shoulder injuries

Another part of your body that experiences a great deal of stress during climbing is your shoulder muscles. Climbers tend to be at a higher risk of shoulder impingements, a condition where your rotator cuff tendons are trapped and compressed during movements. This problem can result in severe shoulder pain during activities.

Strengthening your shoulders will help stability and prevent injuries. Osteopaths can perform a series of tests, assess your shoulder muscles for a range of motion and strength, perform ultrasounds and other scans if appropriate, and provide a range of treatment options.

Knee injuries

There is a vast range of knee injuries that climbers can experience, and because your knees are so closely connected to other parts of your body, such as your ankles and your hips, knee injuries can quickly throw much of your body out of balance.

After clinical examination, osteopaths will look for signs of ligament or tendon instability and other symptoms and offer holistic treatment to heal the knee and strengthen to prevent future injuries. Osteopaths will also ensure that other areas of your body are not affected by your injury.

If you’re experiencing discomfort or pain while climbing, osteopaths can help identify and treat all types of injuries. They have access to advanced testing while also using holistic treatment methods to treat the whole body so you can go back to climbing faster and stronger.  

Asthma is a chronic condition that can lead to significant back pain. But what you may not know is that there is a link between asthma and back pain. While asthma is primarily associated with chest pain, there is back pain that people with asthma frequently get. The airway inflammation and coughing often cause this pain that asthma patients frequently suffer from; however, no documented link can say precisely why this is the case.

Is There a Link Between Asthma and Back Pain?

Back pain is a symptom that is pretty common for people who have asthma. You may notice the back pain more after you suffer from a bad asthma attack or a nasty battle with bronchitis. The back pain is primarily found in the upper back and lower back, which are areas where people suffer the most. There is some speculation that this could be due to the tightness that asthmatics tend to suffer regularly. This condition could also result from frequent and intense coughing, mainly when sick or having an asthma attack.

What Can You Do About It?

Do you suffer from back pain that may be associated with your asthma? Fortunately, there are some things that you can do that can help you. For one thing, you can make use of medications like NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) that you purchase over the counter. If you feel like these aren’t sufficient, you can try to speak to your doctor about your options and even potentially get medications like muscle relaxers to help you out.

You can also do some things that will help you relieve some of the tension that can lead to significant back pain. Sometimes it can be helpful to lay down on the floor while elevating your legs. This idea can be beneficial, primarily when you use techniques meant to release and relax your back. It would help if you also tried getting some rest. Reducing your stress level can help you be more in control of your asthma and your back pain.

You may find relief by using wet heat to use things like a hot shower or hot bath and a hot water bottle, giving your body the heat that it needs to relieve some of this pain. When you first feel the problem, you will want to start with ice for 48 hours. After that, rely on wet heat as needed to find relief.

Conclusion

People who have asthma tend to suffer from both back and chest pain; however, there’s no definitive link between asthma and back pain. Some studies have shown that people who have asthma suffer from back pain more than those without asthma. Fortunately, there are some things that you can do that will help you relieve this pain so that you can improve the quality of your life.

Few things are better for aches and pains than a good massage. In terms of the different types of massage available, sports massage is one of the most well-rounded, appealing to both athletes and non-athletes alike. Sports massages are particularly useful in treating the limbs and extremities, making it ideal for combating sciatica pain. But to understand precisely why sports massage is so effective against sciatic nerve pain, we need to understand a bit about sciatica as a condition and the techniques used in sports massage therapy. 

What Is Sciatic Nerve Pain? 

The sciatic nerve is a nerve that begins in the lower back and runs down the leg. When the sciatic nerve is pinched or otherwise aggravated, it can cause a radiating pain or numbness, leaving your leg feeling like it is on pins and needles. It is this pain and numbness in which sports massage is most effective. 

What Techniques Are Used in Sports Massage?

 As a practice, sports massage therapy is named because it targets the soft tissues most easily strained by athletes, helping to loosen stiff muscles and relieve pain, such as the pain caused by sciatica. There are two different techniques used in a sports massage therapy session, each with another purpose. 

The initial technique, called effleurage, is a light touch that encourages the warming up of the muscles, making them easier to manipulate during the session. Depending on the pressure used in the effleurage at the beginning portion of the therapy session, blood and lymph fluid flow increase, helping to rid the muscles of any toxins that have built up. 

The second technique, called petrissage, is a firmer, squeezing touch that can help loosen knotted or spasming muscles, increasing the patient’s overall motion range. Sometimes, a quick rubbing of a particular spot, known as frictions, can help work out particularly knotted areas of tissue. 

The deeper, methodical stroking and squeezing of petrissage can help open up blood flow and the bodies’ lymphatic system, thereby removing toxins. As petrissage opens blood flow, it allows more reparative blood cells to reach an injury area, helping the patient look to use sports massage to recover from an injury, like a pinched nerve.

The Final Word 

With their varied approaches, sports massages make for the ideal treatment for aches and pains of all sorts, even of the pinched nerves that cause sciatic pain. In addition to working out the tissues, the massage can leave the patient feeling more relaxed and better overall. 

If the idea of a sports massage appeals to you, call your local massage parlor and ask if this is a service they offer. Occasionally, physical therapy practitioners may also have this as a service, or if they don’t, they would know of a place where you could get a sports massage.