100 million adults in the United States - The majority of chronic pain in the United States is the result of a musculoskeletal injury stemming from trauma, disease, or illness. It is estimated that more than 100 million adults in the United States deal with some form of back pain throughout the year. And for many of these individuals, their back pain gradually goes from being acute to chronic.
Start the Day with Gentle Activity - Slow, gentle activity in the morning can help wake up tired muscles and stiff joints. Just take it easy on your spine, says Raj Rao, MD, professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Deep, relaxed breathing when you wake up may also be helpful. But certain moves aren't recommended if you have back pain -- ask your health care provider what's best for you.
It seems you can't watch the evening news or pass by a strip mall without someone trying to sell you a mattress. The seemingly limitless options for choosing a mattress can be overwhelming. This is even truer if you experience back or neck pain—choosing the right or wrong mattress can make the difference between spending the day feeling good or in pain. These 12 tips can't guarantee you will end up with the perfect mattress (since everyone's mattress needs are different), but they can help you make an educated choice.
Chronic pain is like a thief that can deprive your life of its joy. It can leave you with a terrible sense of hopelessness. Chronic pain sufferers find themselves receding into a routine that is dominated by a constant struggle to focus on life in spite of the pain. Everything else falls to the wayside. The things that they love to do, the things that give their life joy and meaning, become impossible. Depression quickly sets in, and a person who is battling chronic pain can lose hope that their life will ever return to what it was before. If you are currently battling chronic pain, we empathize with what you are going through.
Who's at Risk for Low Back Pain? - Most people experience back pain first when they're in their 30s. The odds of additional attacks increase with age. Other reasons your low back may hurt include: Being overweight, Being sedentary, Lifting heavy stuff on the job, Diagnosing Low Back Pain. To help your doctor diagnose the source of low back pain, be specific in describing the type of pain, when it started, related symptoms, and any history of chronic conditions. Your doctor will probably not need to order X-rays, CT or MRI scans before starting treatment.
When you are experiencing low back pain, your first instinct may be to crawl into bed. Until a few decades ago, your doctor probably would have told you to do exactly that. But the tide has turned on our understanding of what is best for tackling back pain, and now the consensus is this: When you have back pain, you should limit or avoid bed rest.
Overview - Upper back and neck pain can stop you in your tracks, making it difficult to go about your typical day. The reasons behind this discomfort vary, but they all come down to how we hold ourselves while standing, moving, and most important of all sitting. Neck and upper back pain can limit your movements and capabilities. If you don’t do anything about your pains, they can get worse, spread, and limit you further. This is usually because the muscles around your immediate area of pain have tensed up to protect that one spot. That expansion limits movement and can turn one clenched muscle under your shoulder blade into a painful shoulder and a tension headache.
What Is Low Back Pain? - Low back pain is a universal human experience -- almost everyone has it at some point. The lower back, which starts below the ribcage, is called the lumbar region. Pain here can be intense and is one of the top causes of missed work. Fortunately, low back pain often gets better on its own. When it doesn't, there are effective treatments.
Symptoms of Low Back Pain - Symptoms range from a dull ache to a stabbing or shooting sensation. The pain may make it hard to move or stand up straight. Acute back pain comes on suddenly, often after an injury from sports or heavy lifting. Pain that lasts more than three months is considered chronic.
Nearly everyone can benefit from massage therapy and its ability to relax muscle tissue and improve blood flow. This may be especially true for chronic patients who rely on frequent treatments from chiropractors or massage therapists. In fact, those with chronic pain may find that they’d like to get more massages, but it's too expensive. With this in mind, we searched for some do-it-yourself ideas and found great examples of how patients with back pain can seek pain relief through do-it-yourself massage techniques. All that’s needed for this DIY massage is a couple of tennis balls, some duct tape, a floor, and no more than 10 to 15 minutes daily.
Muscle tension and back strain are common causes of neck pain. Worn joints and broken-down cartilage can also be a factor. Neck pain usually centers on one location in your neck, but it can also be dispersed. This kind of pain can take the form of stiffness or spasms. For centuries, people have been turning to reflexology and acupressure to relieve neck pain. Acupressure identifies points on your body that can be massaged and stimulated to relieve health conditions. Treating neck pain with reflexology is still being evaluated for its clinical effectiveness, but anecdotal evidence suggests it works for some people. Keep reading to find out more about the pressure points that might relieve your neck pain.
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