Facet Injections As a Choice for Back Pain

Facet injections are minimally invasive procedures that temporarily relieve pain resulting from an inflammation in a facet joint. Pain associated with a facet joint is not fully understood, but it is believed that it is possible that it stems from one of several causes, injury, arthritis, or degeneration, and it can produce symptoms similar to disc degeneration. A facet injection's benefits only last temporarily; from a mere day up to a year as it is a minimal procedure. Facet injections are usually used in conjunction with physical therapy and/or other forms of treatment such as chiropractic spinal manipulation.

Dual purpose

Facet injections work by introducing a long term corticosteroid, along with an anesthetic agent developed to numb the area, into the facet joint that is painful, either entering the capsule or alongside the surrounding tissue of the joint. The facet injection also has a purpose beyond the temporary pain relief; it can also be used as a diagnostic procedure. The facet injection blocks pain signals sent to the brain by numbing the nerves in that area, patients that benefit from these injections may be candidates for facet rhizotomy, which is a procedure in which the nerve endings in the affected area are deadened by use of an electric current that destroys the nerves and prevents them from signaling the brain for pain.

Candidates for facet injections are patients suffering from (any or all of these symptoms) neck, lower back, arm combined with leg pain, caused by inflammatory response in the joints. Facet injections are often recommended for patients that did not show improvement to other remedies such as rest, anti-inflammatory drugs, physical therapy or back braces.

Facet injections can be used to treat spinal stenosis, spondylolysis, sciatica, herniated disc, arthritis, or post-operative pain. People with active infections, are pregnant, have bleeding problems should not receive these injection. Also, persons with high blood pressure or diabetes should use caution as facet injections may raise levels of blood sugar (this effect last for about 24 hours), and can raise blood pressure levels.

Speedy pain relief

Facet joint injections are administered as an outpatient treatment by surgeons, physiatrists, radiologists, anesthesiologists, and neurologists using a fluoroscope. A fluoroscope is like an x-ray machine that allows the doctor to see the needle to help assure proper placement and a proper path. The patient usually feels a sensation similar to pressure but doesn't really feel pain as the area injected is usually numbed with a local anesthetic prior to the injection. Often the patient will be given drugs to lessen anxiety to help them relax during the injection. Most patients can walk immediately following the injection, but they will need someone to drive them home. The patient should notice pain relief within a week following the injection. If a lessening of pain is not noticed after ten days a second injection may be given, but if after three injections the patient feels no relief they are unlikely to benefit from further treatment. Typically half of patients given facet injections will gain relief from the treatment, and the procedure may be given three times per year.

Lower risks

Risks involved are considered minimal, but there are some; these include internal bleeding, infection at the site, allergic reaction, pounding in the temple, and damage to the nerve. There are also side effects which include fluid retention, hot flashes, mood swings or interrupted sleep patterns, and a rise in blood sugar levels. Diabetics have to be monitored carefully due to this. Also, patients who take anti-clotting or blood thinning medications should discuss the treatments with their family physician before beginning treatment.

Facet injections are a good choice in treatment to try before deciding on an invasive surgery when it comes to combating moderate to severe back pain, as it may just do the trick- with a lowered chance of complications and health risks.

Sacroiliitis: Cause of Back Pain

Sacroiliitis is a condition characterized by the inflammation of the sacroiliac (SI) joints, which form where the sacrum meets the large pelvic bone (ilium) on each side of the lower back. It is important to distinguish sacroiliitis from sacroiliac joint dysfunction, which involves abnormal range of motion in the SI joints. These conditions can cause each other, but they are not the same.

A common symptom of sacroiliitis is pain in the lower back, buttocks and leg. Leg pain may radiate to the front of the thigh. Stiffness in the hips and lower back may be experienced. Symptoms are generally worsened by sitting or standing for prolonged periods of time. Pain may be worst when waking up in the morning.

Causes

Four of the most common causes of sacroiliitis are: spondyloarthorpathy, osteoarthritis, trauma and pregnancy. Spondyloarthropathy is defined as an inflammatory joint disease affecting the spinal column. The cause of this condition is not known for sure, but is thought to be genetic. Osteoarthritis signifies arthritis of the spine, and is caused by the wear and tear joints undergo, either due to simple aging or high levels of activity. Physical trauma to the SI joints, such as incurred during a car accident or hard fall, can cause inflammation in the joints. Finally, the loosening of pelvic joints experienced during pregnancy can cause the SI joints to inflame. Infection is another possible but less common cause.

Treatments

The key to treating sacroiliitis is to reduce inflammation. Exact treatment methods will depend on the cause of the condition. General treatment techniques include the application of ice and sleeping on the side with a pillow between the knees to keep the joints aligned properly.

Some people may choose to use over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications like NSAIDS to temporarily help reduce inflammation; others with more severe pain may opt for steroid injections directly into the joint.

These attempts to eliminate inflammation must be coupled with treatments designed to eliminate the cause thereof. If you are affected by a spondyloarthropathy, you may be prescribed a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD). Though their exact mechanisms are not known, in some way DMARDS slow the progression of rheumatic disease and increase the likelihood of a good outcome. Immobilizing the joint and reducing inflammation with ice is the first step of treatment, and should be followed by exercise to keep nutrients flowing to the joint and supporting muscles and ligaments strong.

People whose osteoarthritis is causing inflammation of the SI joint may also be prescribed a DMARD. Water therapy is a great way for people with osteoarthritis to stay active and increase joint range of motion without jarring the sensitive joints. Supplements such as glucosamine and chondroitin may be taken to strengthen cartilage and keep joints lubricated. A physical therapist can be of great assistance to anyone with osteoarthritis or spondyloarthropathy.

If an injury has caused sacroiliitis, rest and ice are the primary treatments. After two days, it is essential to get moving again; otherwise, supporting muscles will weaken.

Pregnant women experience a loosening of pelvic joints caused by the hormone relaxin. This loosening makes room for the baby to grow and to be delivered. The change in the range of motion experienced by the SI joint can cause inflammation. After delivery and the necessary period of rest to recover, new moms need to re-strengthen their pelvic muscles and ligaments that support joints. A postnatal Pilates class would help any new mom on her way to recovery.

For every cause, effectively treating sacroiliitis involves three steps: demobilization, reduction of inflammation and remobilization. Whether the result of an injury or part of a larger condition, you can help your SI joint repair itself with ice and targeted exercises. Consider seeking out a physical therapist to guide you in the exercises that are best for you.

Saunders Cervical Traction for Neck Pain

Back pain can cause headaches, discomfort, and stiffness. The pain can occur from tight muscles, herniated disc, spinal stenosis, arthritis, or whiplash.

You can use Saunders Cervical Traction to gently stretch out tight muscle tissue while at the same time heal and prevent degenerative disc disease.

SOFT TISSUES

When using Saunders Cervical Traction for tight muscles you want to start with a low force at long periods. Ideal pressure for stretching soft muscle tissue is between 10 to 15 pounds of force. Examples of types of muscles stretched by the Saunders Cervical Traction include the upper Trapezius and the Suboccipital muscles.

Even after successful treatment patients will keep their neck traction device for any future muscle strains. Say after a long day at work some people find relief at the end of the day with a few minutes on the Saunders Cervical Traction unit.

SPINAL DEGENERATION

Neck pain can also be a result of degenerative disc disease that in turn causes muscle stiffness in the area and if your disc bulges out and pinches and nerve root then you may also feel strange sensations down one of your arms. In this situation you will need enough force to not only stretch the tight muscles but also increase the separation between your vertebrae. This will then begin to allow your discs to absorb the water and nutrients it needs that was compressed out of it; much like a sponge reacts to being squeezed and released.

Typically the safest way to treat your herniated disc with the Saunders Cervical Traction is to start at a low force for short treatment sessions. You should never feel any pain from the stretch provided by neck traction. If your symptoms get worse, then you should stop treatment and consult your specialist. When you follow the safe approach, never going beyond your comfort level and following your physiotherapist's treatment plan you will start to see progress

DIAGNOSIS BEFORE TREATMENT

It is important that you get a clear diagnosis of what exactly is causing your neck pain before treatment. Consult your doctor or physiotherapist and they can get you on the right track. If your physiotherapist writes you a prescription for a Saunders Cervical Traction unit to use at home then your Medicare typically will cover the cost.

The force of gravity and other tendencies to have bad posture coupled with heavy lifting and hours of sitting have made it necessary for most people to seek neck traction treatments with the Saunders Cervical Traction in order to counteract the effects of wear and tear over time. With our busy lifestyles making it hard for us to find time for stretching and strengthening, a portable neck traction unit can make caring for our cervical spine a lot easier.

Chiropractic Treatment: What You Should Know

Alternative medicinal care like chiropractic treatment helps to prevent issues with the neuromusculoskeletal system. Apart from therapy, this care also includes body movements, health counseling and exercises that patients can perform at home. Treatment often includes manipulation of the spine to eliminate back or neck pain related to health issues.

Chiropractic Treatment Ensures Quick Evaluation

During your first appointment, you will be asked questions about the type of pain, length and severity that you experience. A chiropractor will monitor the movements of your spine as you perform simple stretches or other exercises. Hands may be placed on your back to manually feel your spine. X-rays are often used to get a closer look at bone structures to help plan treatments. Many people seek care from a chiropractor due to falls, arthritis, pinched nerves, back pain or whiplash to help decrease or eliminate the pain. A person that experiences jaw pain or migraine headaches can seek treatment to reduce the frequencies or severity of symptoms.

Manual Treatments of Chiropractic Techniques

An adjustment to the spine or manipulation is the main goal of treatment. The normal range of movement of the joints can be manipulated without a full dislocation of the joint. You could hear sounds of cracking, popping or other sounds as your joints become stretched. To start the treatment, a chiropractor could ask you to lie on a padded table to provide easier access to your spine. He or she might use their hands to massage or stimulate the joints and nearby muscles for realignment.

If a chiropractor cannot achieve the correct torque or strength during manual techniques, he or she could bring in a device known as an activator to help with the force placed on your spine. This small handheld instrument includes an electronic spring that places electrical impulses along the spine. This kinetic energy provides enough force for the spine and vertebrae to be moved without causing injury. While the treatment is administered, you might be asked to rotate or move certain muscles as the activator is used.

After Chiropractic Treatment

Pain can temporarily become worse, but will subside within 24 hours. You should notice a reduction afterward. The pain stems from realigning your spine and vertebrae. You may be asked to perform exercises at home in between future treatments. Your treatments may need to continue regularly to get the most benefits for your spine and posture.

Spinal Decompression Best Treated Conditions - Herniated Disc, Stenosis, Facets, Sciatica and More

Spinal Decompression has five conditions (herniated discs, spinal stenosis, facet syndromes, sciatica, and degenerative discs) that respond best to spinal decompression treatment. This article explains each of the five conditions and how spinal decompression therapy helps relieve pain and restore function.

Just imagine you are in a car accident and suffer a severe head injury with multiple lacerations causing massive loss of blood. You need to go directly to the emergency room and stop the bleeding. This is not the time to see the chiropractor, physical therapist, or massage therapist. We know finding a doctor who is experienced and knowledgeable about your injury or condition is huge in getting a good result with any chosen treatment. There is no single treatment that fits all diseases, injuries, or conditions. Proper pairing of doctor, patient, and condition is essential for a successful treatment plan, especially for spinal decompression.

Spinal decompression has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the relief of lower back and leg pain and neck and arm pain.

The top five conditions that respond best to spinal decompression include:

Herniated, Protruding, or Bulging Discs

The number one condition that responds best to spinal decompression is herniated, bulging, or protruding disc. Herniated, bulging, and protruding disc are different words used for the same condition. In the past, doctors have tried to differentiate between the types of disc by using different words.

Herniated disc occur when the ring fibers of cartilage in the disc dehydrate, crack, or tear allowing the thick liquid nucleus of the disc to migrate into the crack or tear. Once pressure is placed on the disc, the material of the nucleus causes the weakened cartilage to bulge, protrude, or herniate.

Herniated disc cause pain by making direct contact on a spinal nerve, leak chemicals in and around the spinal nerves causing irritation, or irritating the nerves that connect to the outer layers of the disc.

Herniated, bulging, or protruding disc often cause leg and lower back pain or neck and arm pain. Ninety percent of the time when pain goes below the knee it is due to a herniated disc in the lower back.

Spinal Stenosis

Each vertebra has an anterior joint consisting of the body, a disc, and another body of the vertebra above or below. Posterior joints include four processes of bone(two superior and two inferior on both sides) that allow movement of one vertebra on another.

In between the anterior joint and the posterior joints there is a hole, called the spinal canal. There are also holes (foramen) on the sides, where nerves exit the spinal cord and go out to each area of the body. You suffer spinal stenosis when either the spinal canal or the foramen are too narrow.Spinal stenosis occurs because:

1. Joint hypertrophy (an overgrowth of bone due to arthritis of the posterior joints).


2. Genetic design. Your genetic code dictates the size and diameter of the spinal canal. People often have more narrowed spinal canals at different levels of the spine.


3. Herniated, bulging, or protruding disc also can cause the spinal canals to narrow.


4. Overgrowth of bone in and around the spinal canal due to stress, old fractures, results of an inflammatory process, or due to cancer.


5. Space occupying lesions, such as benign or cancerous tumors in the spinal canal are less common.

Facet Syndromes

The disc and the vertebra make up the anterior joint of the spine. The facets are the posterior joints of the spine. The joints surface of the facet is like the white shiny surface of a fresh drumstick of a chicken leg. The joint surfaces are rich in nerve endings and are extremely sensitive to pressure. Facet syndromes are caused when a joint surface of one facet binds against another. Facet syndromes cause lower back and leg pain.

Sciatica

The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in your body and often is referred to as the 6 foot neuron. This nerve begins in the lower back and continues down the leg all the way to the toes of the foot. The sciatic nerve is composed of nerves from the L4, L5, S1, and S2 nerve roots and form one large bundle to create the sciatic nerve. Pain radiating down the leg below the knee is referred to as "true sciatica" and 90% of the time is caused from a herniated disc.

Degenerative Discs

Discs dehydrate and lose their water making the ring fibers of cartilage dry and hard much like shoe leather. Not only does the disc dry out but the bone attached to the disc usually has a proliferation of bone spurs. This is a chronic process called degenerative disc disease. Degenerative disc cause pain because the loss of height of the nerve holes (foramen) and a narrowing of the spinal canal. Often degenerative disc herniate, bulges, or protrudes. Whenever this degenerative process puts pressure on the nerve it cause lower back and leg pain or neck and arm pain.

Doctor - Does Acupuncture Work for Arthritis?

Traditional Chinese medicine has used acupuncture to relieve pain as well as to cure disease. During an acupuncture session, a practitioner will insert thin needles into the skin at any one of more than 2,000 carefully defined meridian points. The ancient theory of why acupuncture is effective is that needle insertion restores qi (life force) flow throughout the channels of the body. When qi is at optimal levels, there is harmony with the universal forces of yin and yang. This leads to improved health and relief of pain.

While the traditional acupuncture approach has been to use the needles by themselves, modern acupuncturists may rotate the needles or apply low levels of electric current to improve the effectiveness of the procedure. Sometimes acupressure is also given during the same session. Moxibustion which is the use of herbs that are burned during the procedure is also used. Some practitioners also use "cupping" which is a method where suction cups are applied to meridian points.

Theories as to how acupuncture relieves pain have included the "gate theory" which suggests that pain signals travel along neural pathways through "gates." If a competing stimulus such as acupuncture needles, then pain signals are blocked.

Another theory has to do with endorphin release by the brain due to acupuncture stimulus. Another theory is that acupuncture helps produce analgesic neurotransmitters in the spinal cord.

One large study of acupuncture in osteoarthritis of the knee was performed at the University of Maryland. Researchers compared traditional Chinese acupuncture with sham acupuncture (using either retractable needles or real needles inserted into false pressure points). The study group consisted of 570 patients who reported limited benefits from anti-inflammatory medication and exercise.

The study demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in both pain measures as well as mobility measures in patients receiving real acupuncture versus sham acupuncture.

The authors concluded that "True traditional Chinese acupuncture is safe and effective for reducing pain and improving function in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis who have moderate or greater pain despite background therapy."

Some notes of caution. The effect of acupuncture in relieving pain is not huge. The effects are modest and do take time. The second issue is that the placebo effect undoubtedly enters into the equation.

An interesting study from Dr. George Lewith in Southampton, England used positron emission technology to demonstrate that brain blood flow was altered in a different manner with real acupuncture compared with sham acupuncture therefore validating the concept of a real pain modulating effect of acupuncture on the brain.

Unfortunately, acupuncture does take a long time to work. Dr. Hochberg from the University of Maryland states, "You really have to give acupuncture ... six months in order to get maximum benefits from it."

Another downside is the cost. Generally, the charge is anywhere from 60 to 100 dollars a session. Expect that it will cost about $2,000.00. Fortunately, some insurance carriers will cover the cost.

Acupuncture will not be a substitute for conventional treatment. You should use it in conjunction with your regular arthritis therapy. Make sure you see a licensed practitioner.

Cervical Spondylosis - Factors, Symptoms, Causes, Treatment

Cervical spondylosis is manifested by neck stiffness with pain in the neck, weakness, tingling, numbness in the upper limbs, burning, feeling of "power" in the neck, shoulders and upper limbs, headaches that start in the neck and get to the front of the head. Physiotherapy for cervical spondylosis treatment by acting directly on the degeneration of the intervertebral discs and vertebrae and help them rehydrate. Medical fitness to lead to cervical spondylosis regaining joint mobility, increase the amplitude of joint and muscle tone and bone spurs produce beneficial effects on improving the general condition of the body. Spondylosis usually presents as a degenerative spine manifested by pain and reduce its mobility. It can occur while on the roots of spinal cord compression. This condition is "distributed" throughout the column from top to bottom, the most common on the low back and cervical and thoracic region does less. Is manifested by calcium deposits around joints or on the edges of plateaus disc. Deposits they produce some formations known in medicine as the "parrot beaks". Their appearance shows that it is a chronic degenerative process of the column, due to two key issues namely: -

Narrowing the spinal canal is the spinal cord and nerves, and the conjugation of holes where the nerves exit the spinal and distributed to the lower limbs and upper limbs. Each hole must fit a nerve and narrowing these holes produce terrible pain and sometimes unbearable. - Narrowing of the spinal canal completely (spinal) cause disease called spinal myelopathy (spinal cord diseases general name), took place compression that creates problems with the blood marrow. While ventral Bone spurs develop, spinal cord space shrinks, causing myelopathy Cervical spondylosis myelopathy is the result of several pathophysiological factors. These factors include:

a) static-mechanical factors,
b) dynamic-mechanical factors
c) lesions stretches
d) spinal cord ischemia

The phenomenon of degradation in this disease is predominantly the result of cervical spine bone degeneration, process what that advance patient grows older. Other changes associated with the disease, such as abnormal growth of bone (bone spurs) may lead to increased pressure on spinal nerves and sometimes even the spinal cord. This disorder is a chronic and in most cases is determined by age. Although it affects both sexes, in men occurs earlier than women. Some studies show that 75% of women and 80% of men around the age of 60 years, making a radiograph can be diagnosed as having significant manifestations of cervical spondylosis. Evolution is slow and prolonged cervical spondylosis and patients may have no symptoms or may show slight neck pain. It happens that the disease was stagnated, but there are cases where the disease can worsen to an advanced stage and the patient may become addicted to shopping cart with wheels. Symptoms In the cervical vertebral corpus exists in a side channel through which pass the vertebral arteries and helping to transport blood to the brain. If these channels are compressed, the amount of blood supplying the hindbrain is reduced. Thus it might appear a deficit of blood to the cerebellum and brainstem deficiency is manifested in the occipital area by dizziness, abnormal gait, headache and muscle strength decrease. This disease through its semiology, is an unpleasant disease, but patients will have to understand that we mean a disease that can live if properly treated or at least controlled. Local pain is felt in the joint capsule, the paravertebral ligaments in inflamed synovium or periosteum. Causes Nobody knows for sure what is causing spondylolisthesis, but are taken into account: patient age, genetics, mechanical stress and metabolic problems, not least the patient.Damage to spinal joints that are specific to aging is the main cause of cervical spondylosis. More staff, after the age of 35 years, signs of changes in the intervertebral discs and the vertebrae themselves, but the manifestation of disease occurs much later.Age are among the risk factors and leads to wear her column joints (cervical, thoracic or lumbar), thus causing pressure in the neck with repercussions on the column. If pain is not diminished with proper medication if pain persists or worsens numbness occurring in the upper limbs and lower limbs then it is imperative to introduce ourselves to physician specialty. These symptoms, in association with medical history and clinical analysis may lead us to a diagnosis of cervical spondylosis.

Risk factors for cervical spondylosis

This condition primarily affects the patients in the office working and the pain becomes stronger if associated with cold. Those working in the office in front of a computer and have the disorder, will be sometimes to interrupt work for a short time, to change mode or to change their jobs. It is recommended to take frequent breaks from work and take a sitting posture. Correct medication, physiotherapy and chiropractor (medical fitness) can help treat it, but you can get to surgery if the disease is not treated in time. Another risk factor is old position of the spine and therefore must take care as the patient sits in the office, in bed, the chair and the couch watching TV. Pain is worse when cold or if exercising. Pain is accompanied by lack of joint mobility and may disappear after 10-15 minutes of movement, rotation and bending of the neck. Obese people who suffer from this disease must take to follow a hypocaloric diet and physical therapy programs (medical fitness). Treatment Treatment of both cervical spondylosis and lumbar spondylosis follows the first pain relief, stop disease progression and development of joint mobility. Massage therapy performed on the spine affected is a treatment often used in treating this disease. Fair treatment significantly improves symptoms. Physical therapy can be used to relieve pain even more acute in a state of disease, provided that the current form chosen and done, be done with a good knowledge of physio-pathological mechanisms of pain transmission and production. Therapist task is to educate the patient regarding posture control regardless of the position of the patient (Sitting, standing, supine or prone).

How Does Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Progress Into Adult Scoliosis?

There are multiple different kinds of scoliosis, which is a term that refers to abnormal twisting and curvature of the spine. With regards to the different kinds of scoliosis, there are those that occur in childhood and those that occur in adults.

Scoliosis that occurs prior to adulthood can be subclassified into juvenile, adolescent, congenital, and neuromuscular. The most common type is referred to as adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. The term "idiopathic" means there is no known cause. The good thing about scoliosis in adolescents is that the spine has the following characteristics:

1. Until skeletal maturity is reached, the spine can potentially respond to bracing as it may be flexible.


2. Only a minority of kids with adolescent scoliosis experience pain. It's noted to be less than 25%.


3. If an adolescent does need surgery for scoliosis, the physiologic reserve is tremendous and the complication profile is reasonable.

Bracing for adolescent scoliosis can help prevent the progression of curvature, but not reversal. If skeletal maturity is reached and the curvature is under 40 degrees, the scolisosis may not progress according to various studies. However, if it's over 40 degrees studies show the natural progression after skeletal maturity to be approximately one degree per year. Might not seem like much, but after 30 years, the curve may be at 70 degrees!

Once skeletal maturity is reached and the curvature is over 30 to 40 degrees, surgery is not always indicated. The curve should be monitored every year or two along with the patient's symptoms.

As the patient settles into adulthood, additional factors come into play. Meaning adults who had adolescent sciolosis have spines that are typically loaded off-center and subjected more often to arthritis of the spinal joints and degenerative disc disease. The spinal discs can be loaded off-center and experience asymmetric degeneration leading to a worsened scoliosis.

As the scoliosis worsens, the biomechanics of the spine actually compound the situation, creating arthritis in the spinal facet joints and making the scoliosis painful. This is a major difference between adolescent and adult scoliosis - Pain! While adult scoliosis can be exceptionally painful, adolescent scoliosis is typically more of a cosmetic issue.

The increased facet joint arthritis and degenerative disc disease brought on by the asymmetric scoliosis leads to two problems:

1. Worsening scoliosis


2. More pain

So adolescent scoliosis can lead to adult degenerative scoliosis. Adult degenerative scoliosis can occur all on its own, but a significant amount of the time it is a continuation of what occurred in the person's early years. Unfortunately the gift that keeps on giving.

How to Treat Chronic Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica With Natural and Alternative Treatments

Most people, at some point in their lives, experience some type of short-lived back pain. This is usually a relatively temporary occurrence that doesn't interfere with daily life in a major way. But, for an unlucky percentage of the population, back pain is a chronic problem that's debilitating physically and emotionally. To make matters worse, treating and managing chronic back pain tends to be a frustrating process because not all causes are totally understood. The first step to treating and managing chronic back pain is finding a doctor who specializes in back disorders, an orthopedic surgeon or a neurologist. This doctor will be able to diagnose what type of pain you have and, hopefully, determine what is causing it.

Neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica may be muscular or nerve-related. It may occur in the upper or lower portion of the back. (Lower back pain is the most common type, and some studies indicate that its prevalence is on the rise, possibly due to a higher percentage of the population being overweight or obese.) It may be the result of an injury or it may be age-related. Common causes of chronic back pain include herniated discs, arthritis and sciatica.

Conventional treatments for chronic neck pain, back pain, and sciatica include oral medications, injections, weight loss and surgery. If you have tried these options without success, or if the cause of your pain has been diagnosed as 'non-specific,' it may be time to consider alternatives such as physical therapy, reducing stress, getting more and better sleep, changing your diet, getting acupuncture or acupressure treatments, going to a masseuse regularly, using an inversion board, or getting chiropractic adjustments.

Physical Therapy: If your back pain is caused by muscular stiffness or inflammation, physical therapy may be helpful. The purpose of physical therapy is to loosen and work muscles to improve your mobility. You may be able to independently perform flexion (bending forward), extension (bending backward) and other stretching exercises. Or, you may need to go to a specialist to help you perform the needed movements (possibility in conjunction with apply heat/cold treatments and/or electrical stimulation).

Stress Reduction: High levels of stress intensify the body's sensitivity to pain. Therefore, reducing stress is one way to reduce neck pain, back pain, and sciatica. Consider visiting a mental health care specialist to develop a plan of action for reducing stress in your life. Managing stress through the use of regular meditation or deep-breathing exercises can be helpful as well. You may prefer to practice such exercises on your own, or as part of a guided group.

Improving Sleep: Not getting enough sleep, or having poor-quality sleep, can be both a cause and a symptom of chronic back pain. If you feel tired in addition to having back pain, or frequently wake up at night in extreme discomfort, consider spending some time addressing this aspect of your overall health. Of course, sleeping on a comfortable mattress that properly aligns your spine is important. But ruling out disorders like sleep apnea is a smart idea. No matter what, if you're as rested as you can be, you'll be likely to experience less pain and be better able to deal with the pain you do have.

Dietary Changes: It's probably pretty obvious that eating a healthful, varied diet and maintaining a consistent, healthy weight is vital to overall well-being. But other, more specific changes to your diet might help reduce back pain and sciatica. For example, you may have food allergies or sensitivities that you're not aware of, deficiencies in specific nutrients or vitamins (like Vitamin D), or undiagnosed digestive problems (like celiac disease). Elimination diets, allergy testing and other diagnostics can help you determine if a diet-related problem is causing or exacerbating your back pain.

Acupuncture and Acupressure: While not totally accepted in the U.S. nor confirmed to be effective, this practice is gaining popularity. It involves inserting thin needles into the skin at specific points on the body to unblock 'Qi' or 'life-force' channels. Studies have confirmed that acupuncture may be effective in reducing neck pain and back pain if combined with other treatments. Some practitioners use the same principle to perform acupressure, in which pressure (rather than needles) is applied to specific points on the body.

Massage: As with physical therapy, if your neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica is caused by muscle tightness, massage may help. Massage may be general in nature, or more specialized as with 'rolfing,' a practice that involves loosening the fascia (tissue covering muscles) in the back through the use of strong pressure.

Inversion Therapy: If you have back pain and sciatica caused by a compressed disc or sciatica, inversion therapy (a form of 'traction' treatment) may provide short-term relief. It involves hanging upside down by the ankles or tipping upside down in a special table, which allows gravity to stretch the spine, decompressing nerve roots and discs in the process. This isn't a long-term solution to chronic pain, but might be helpful in combination with other therapies.

Chiropractic Treatment: This type of treatment involves physical manipulation of the spine and/or surrounding tissues to alleviate neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica. It is performed by chiropractors and osteopathic physicians, and may be helpful but shouldn't be used if you have certain conditions such as compressed spinal cord or inflammatory arthritis. Check with your primary doctor first.

In most cases, the options discussed here represent ways to manage chronic back pain rather than cure it. One or more of these options may temporarily eliminate or alleviate your pain, but it's quite likely that you'll need ongoing treatment to maintain a pain-free or pain-reduced life. Exercise, weight loss, and any one or several of the above strategies, when applied in concert will alleviate and possibly eliminate neck pain, back pain, and sciatica once and for all!

Back Safety - Causes and Anatomy of Back Injuries

Back injuries affect over 80% of us at some point in our lives. In the workplace, over 2 million workers experience back injuries and it costs employers over 30 billion dollars annually. Not only do back injuries affect our work lives but our personal lives as well. The back is part of virtually every movement we make and injuries to it can affect quality of live dramatically - sometimes resulting in debilitating pain that results in unemployment.

When we think of back injuries we think of heavy lifting that results in a traumatic one-time injury, however, most of the time this is not the case. Back injuries are the result of repeated stress over many years and surprisingly it's not always heavy lifting that causes it. The sedimentary lifestyles that are so prevalent today are also a factor.

The back is a complicated grouping of bones, ligaments, muscles, tendons and nerves which are amazingly strong, yet easily damaged. Most workers don't take precautions to protect the back, yet injuries can be prevented if we understand how the back works.

Backs are extremely flexible and yet rigid enough to support half of our body weight. The foundation of your back, the spine, also has enough flexibility for you to bend down and touch your toes. The spine is made up of 33 bones known as vertebrae. 24 of these bones are moveable through hinged, facet joints that guide movement and give stability. The vertebrae are cushioned by intervertebral discs that act like shock absorbers. In a healthy spine the vertebrae form an "S" curve. The spinal cord is an information line to your brain and spinal injuries can cause pain and numbness in other areas, paralysis or even death.

Because these areas of the back are so flexible, it also makes them particularly vulnerable to injury. In fact, most people injure the lumbar region of their back at some point in their lives. Strained muscles and ligaments are the most common causes of back pain, but with treatment these types of injuries usually heal quickly.

"Ruptured" or "herniated" discs are the most common type of spinal injury. Most of these ruptures occur in the lower two discs in the lumbar region. Also known as a slipped disc, these injuries occur when the elastic part of the disc ruptures and the gelatinous matter protrudes into the spinal canal putting pressure on the spinal cord. This causes back pain and numbness. Ruptured discs can also occur in the cervical region due to whiplash - a sudden jolt like a car accident. These discs usual heal themselves with proper treatment but full healing doesn't occur for us to 2 years.

Back pain can also be caused by chronic diseases that affect the spine. Mostly commonly this manifests itself in narrowing of the spine, bone loss or arthritis. Arthritis is the most common type of chronic back injury disease and is characterized by pain and stiffness of the back. Arthritis is generally inflammation in the lining of the bones and joints, but could also be loss of cartilage or bone spurs. It most commonly occurs in people over 50 but can occur at any age.

Arthritis is just one of the things that causes are back to degenerate as we get older. As the body ages muscles, ligaments and joints weaken and wear out. The aging process is inevitable but being overweight, bad posture and lifting incorrectly can hasten the breakdown.

Back Safety is possibly the most important part of a workplace safety program. More people will suffer from back injuries than any other type of workplace injury. It affects employees in every part of a company from office to manufacturing staff. Understanding the back's anatomy and causes of back pain is the first step in avoiding injury.

Are You Experiencing Back Pain and Want To Know How to Make Your Back Pain Go Away?

In this article you will learn the treatment for back pain, the common causes, and the ways of preventing back injury. Nearly everyone at some point in their life will experience back pain that can interfere with their daily activities, work or recreation.

My wife and I both have suffered from severe back pain. We have gone to physical therapy and to chiropractors and have learned that doing daily back exercises and walking was crucial to the health of our backs.

Common Causes of Back Pain

You can experience back pain after lifting a heavy object, moving suddenly, sitting in one position for too long or having an accident or injury.

The Structural Problems That Can Cause Back Pain:

Ruptured or bulging disc (the cushions between your vertebrae).
Sciatica nerve (discs pressing on the nerve, causing a shooting pain down the buttock and leg).
Osteoporosis (loss of bone density, increasing the risk of vertebrae fracture).
Irregularities of the skeleton (abnormal curvatures of the spine, scoliosis).
Arthritis (narrowing of the space around the spinal cord).

Risk Factors That Contribute To Lower Back Pain:

Physically strenuous work.
Sedentary work or lifestyle.
Obesity.
Age.
Smoking.
Stress.
Pregnancy.

How To Diagnose A Back Injury:

A thorough physical examination, with medical and family history.
X-Ray imaging.
MRI scan.
Bone scan.
Ultrasound imaging.

Treatment For Back Pain:

Most back injuries can be treated without the need for surgery. Home treatment for back pain involves using the following methods:

Stop normal physical activities for the first few days.

Put ice on the injured part of the back (the ice pack should be wrapped in a towel). Ice the back several times a day for a maximum of 20 minutes at a time for 2 to 3 days.

Apply moist heat 24 to 36 hours after the initial back injury for several times a day for a maximum of 20 minutes at a time.

Take over-the-counter pain relievers, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol)or ibuprofen (Advil or Motrin) to help reduce pain and inflammation.

Sleeping in a fetal position with a pillow between your knees will help to put less stress on your back while you sleep. If you sleep on your back, place a pillow under your knees to relieve the pressure on your back.

Refrain from doing any exercises, stretching, heavy lifting, twisting or strenuous activities for at least two to three weeks. Then gradually resume your exercise program with your doctor's approval.

When To Get Medical Attention:

Back pain after a blow or fall.
Loss of bowel or bladder control.
High fever with back pain.
Swelling or redness on the back of the spine.
Severe shooting pain traveling down your leg.
Numbness or weakness in your thigh, leg, pelvis or buttocks.
Blood or burning when you urinate.
Extreme pain when you lie down, which keeps you awake at night.
Back pain lasting longer than four weeks.

Ways of Preventing Back Injuries:

Back stretches, it is important to stretch your back muscles before doing exercises or other strenuous activities.

When standing or sitting, do not slouch (keep your weight balanced when standing on your feet).

When at home or at work, your work surface should be at a comfortable height for you (ergonomically correct).

Wear low-heeled, comfortable shoes.

To reduce stress on your back, sleep on your side with a leg pillow between your knees on a mattress that gives you firm support.

Do not lift objects that are too heavy for you, ask for help. When lifting, bend at your knees not at your waist, use your leg and stomach muscles, while keeping your back as straight as possible.

Do not twist your body when you are bending down to lift up an object.

Do not lean forward while reaching for an object. Stand as close as possible to the object you are lifting.

Place a lumbar pillow or rolled up towel behind your lower back when driving or sitting for long periods of time.

When driving on long distances, stop and walk around at least once every hour.

Stay on a proper diet and try to reduce excessive weight.

To promote new bone growth, take a daily vitamin that includes, calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D.

If you smoke, quit smoking. Smoking reduces blood flow to the spine and spinal discs.

As part of our treatment for back pain, my wife and I do daily back exercises, use a Chi Machine, an Inversion Table, a Rebounder and walking to keep our backs in good shape. We have found that these methods work for us!

Back Pain - Is it Arthritis?

It is natural for anybody suffering from back pain to attempt to find out the cause of the pain. However, due to the complexity of the spine, finding the correct answer is not often so straightforward. There are a host of reasons why you may be experiencing pain in your back and, in turn, many different kinds of ailments.

One of the most common diagnoses of back pain is arthritis and a qualified health care provider can help by proposing a number of remedial options. Currently, the medical industry is undertaking research to develop new remedies for the treatment of arthritis. In the meantime, here are some of the most practical methods of alleviating arthritic pain.

Treatment Methods

It is important that, when dealing with arthritis located in your back, to ensure that your mattress literally supports your back problem. By using a mattress most suited to your condition and which gives sufficient and proper back support, you are taking significant steps to reduce stress on your back muscles and joints.

A common mistake made by many people is not employing a correct posture when in a sitting position. Regardless of how long you are seated during the course of a day, it is most important to recognize the use of correct posture as a control to your arthritis problem.

Two main ways of achieving the correct support for your back when you are seated are:

1. Purchase a chair which offers strong back support, especially in the lower back region

2. Purchase a special cushion or insert which converts any chair into a supportive and comfortable seat.

For arthritis suffers looking for additional back support, soft back braces are an option and are especially useful in cases where the spinal cord has become destabilized because of arthritis.Using this type of brace can help to eliminate further back trauma in the future. However, consideration should be given to wearing a soft back brace over a prolonged period, as it can weaken the spine and its muscles and even hamper the healing process.

Another effective option in dealing with arthritis is some kind of traction device. Either a doctor or chiropractor should be consulted to ensure the proper style best suited to your condition is chosen and to safeguard against improper fitting.

Conclusion

Arthritis can be well managed by following any of the alternatives described above.Although most common suffers of arthritis are older adults, younger people must still be vigilant when it comes to back care. Arthritis does not discriminate against age or gender!

What is Piriformis Syndrome?

Piriformis Syndrome is a condition in which irritation of the sciatic nerve causes pain in the buttock, radiating down the leg. The main difference between Sciatica and Piriformis Syndrome is the cause. Sciatica is due to pressure on the sciatic nerve from a bulging or herniated lumbar disc. With Piriformis Syndrome, the irritation of the sciatic nerve is due to spasms or tightening of the piriformis muscle, resulting in pain. The piriformis is a small muscle located deep within the hip and buttocks region. It connects the sacrum, which is the 'tailbone' or lower end of the spine, to the top of the femur, the hip bone. The piriformis muscle aids in external rotation, turning out, of the hip, leg, and foot. The sciatic nerve usually passes underneath the piriformis muscle but, in approximately 10% to 15% of people, it travels through the muscle. In both cases, spasms and tightening of the muscle irritate or pinch the sciatic nerve, causing painful symptoms. Symptoms of Piriformis Syndrome

- Pain deep within the buttocks
- Pain becomes worse with sitting, climbing stairs, performing squats.
- Sitting is often difficult and the patient can't sit flat on a seat.
- Sufferers tend to sit with their weight off the painful buttock, which is tilted up off the seat.
- Sciatica type pain radiating from buttock down thigh, calf, possibly to foot
- Numbness and muscle weakness may develop in affected limb.

Causes Of Piriformis Syndrome Contractions and spasms of the piriformis muscle cause the pain and pressure on the sciatic nerve. The most common reasons for this are:

- Improper stretching or warming up before exercising
- Overly-strenuous exercises
- Prolonged sitting - sometimes sitting with a wallet or pressure causing object in the hip pocket
- Exercising on a hard surface, like concrete
- Exercising on uneven ground
- Increasing exercise intensity or duration too quickly
- Exercising in worn or poorly fitting shoes
- Excessive running or bicycle riding, unless accompanied by lateral strengthening and stretching exercises
- A fall onto the buttocks

Diagnosing Piriformis Syndrome A differential diagnosis must be made to determine the cause of the sciatica pain. It includes:

- Complete History and Physical Exam
- Checking to see what movements cause pain
- Evaluating sufferer's posture and gait
- Past history of any injuries or arthritis
- Review patient's exercise habits
- Evaluating muscle strength and reflexes, any other spine conditions
- Lab work may be done to rule out arthritis or infection
- X-rays of the lower back and pelvis, lumbar spine and hips
- A MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) to give a detailed picture of the spine and soft tissues
- Neurography is like a MRI but it examines nerves for irritation. This is often helpful in diagnosing Piriformis Syndrome.
- A Bone Scan will show injuries, inflammation, or infection.
- The most accurate method of diagnosing the syndrome is a diagnostic injection into the muscle with the help of a fluoroscope. An anesthetic is injected into the piriformis muscle and if the pain subsides, the diagnosis is confirmed.

This would have no effect if the cause of the sciatica was pressure on the sciatic nerve from a lumbar disc.

Spinal Decompression - True Healing For Chronic, Severe Back Pain and Neck Pain

A Revolutionary Treatment for Back and Neck Pain

Spinal Decompression is an incredibly successful treatment for severe chronic back or neck pain. It is non-surgical and non-invasive. There are no drugs or medications involved. And, there are no known side effects. It is proven to be successful even with patients who have had limited success with other conventional therapies like drugs, injections, chiropractic, physiotherapy, massage, acupuncture, and even failed surgery.

The most common conditions successfully treated by Spinal Decompression include herniated discs, bulging or protruding discs, degenerative disc disease, stenosis, spinal arthritis, posterior facet syndrome and sciatica.

Spinal Decompression

The revolutionary technology behind Spinal Decompression makes it possible for a unique and highly specific force to target the specific damaged disc and problem vertebrae in the spine. The decompressive force gently stretches the spine where needed, causing negative pressure to develop in the damaged disc. This causes the disc bulge (or herniation) to move off of the injured nerve and retract back into the disc. At the same time, the negative pressure also draws water, oxygen and nutrients back into the disc, restoring and rejuvenating the disc towards a normal height.

Spinal Decompression is unique in that it heals at the source. It is not a temporal fix. It does not mask symptoms. This is true healing. Your pain diminishes as your disc heals.

There are several decompression systems on the market. The DRX9000 is considered by many doctors to be the leading technology in Spinal Decompression.

The internal computer of the DRX9000 is programmed by the doctor to target the exact location of your damaged disc for care. During each treatment session, the pulling forces you experience are calculated specifically for you. The DRX9000 on-board computer monitors the decompression forces - 4,000 times per second -- and adjusts them as needed based on your body's response to treatment. This ensures that you experience an accurate and pain-free session.

The Patient Experience

During each treatment session (there will be several), the patient lies on a padded comfortable bed, secured into position by an upper- and lower-body harness. Typically, each session is divided into cycles where spinal decompression forces alternate between a maximum and minimum therapeutic level. The cycling of forces in this manner creates a pumping action that simulates the natural processes responsible for re-nourishing and healing your damaged disc. Most patients experience a gentle stretch in the lumbar spine (or neck). Patients find Spinal Decompression therapy to be quite comfortable and even relaxing. During the session the patient has an opportunity to tune in to a video or music. Few patients may experience mild muscular soreness during treatment, similar to what one might feel when starting a new exercise regimen.

Adjunctive therapies are prescribed to support the benefits of Spinal Decompression therapy. After the program of care is complete, patients return to see the doctor for evaluation and monitoring.

Interesting Facts About Spinal Decompression

Research studies consistently show an incredibly high success rate for pain relief with qualified patients who complete their program of Spinal Decompression care:

- On average, eighty-six percent of patients report immediate resolution of symptoms

- Eighty-four percent remain pain-free 90 days post-treatment

- Use of pain medications is usually completely discontinued or decreased by the patient's MD

- Daily life activities are resumed - things such as work, bathing, dressing, walking, sleeping and activities

Today there is no other treatment or therapy for severe back pain and neck pain caused by damaged discs that is as effective as Spinal Decompression.

Neck Arthritis Can Cause Pain Across the Entire Body

For lots of people cervical spondylosis is a pain in the neck. It happens because the padding with the disks in the back of the cervical spine has degenerated. It is the one type of neck arthritis that is the most common cause of neck pain. It is mostly found in older people over the age of 60. In general, for people over 60 years of age, is estimated that 75% of men and women suffer from one variation of neck arthritis. This is for one due to the age of the patient but injuries that may have occurred in earlier years can also be the root of the problem.

Cervical spondylosis is also known as cervical osteoarthritis or, more commonly, neck arthritis. It is a degenerative disease that is often caused by the wear and tear of bones in the neck and a loss of cartilage that would normally act as a buffer between the vertebrae and neck. Bone spurs that break away from the bones and work their way into cartilage can also cause neck pain. An open space is created by the loss of cartilage between the vertebrae and the neck which can trap nerves as they get compressed, which causes pain in other ways.

Oftentimes pain in the neck, arms and back happens as a result of these trapped nerves and if the spinal cord is affected by neck arthritis as well, the pain can travel to the legs as well. As well as the neck pain, a patient may suffer a loss of feeling in the legs.

Non-Invasive Treatments

If a person is only at the first stage of neck arthritis, pain can be eased through the use of non-steroid anti-inflammatory medications but special care has to be taken to prevent damage to nerves or spinal cord. A neck brace is often used to stabilize the area around the neck and protect the patient from unexpected, sudden movements. If the condition gets worse, keeping the neck still through the use of a cervical brace may be advised and injections of cortisone into the spine could help to relieve more pain for the patient.

In cases where it cannot be treated by any of the above, time in hospital may be needed in an environment that will stop the neck from moving at all - thus preventing additional neck or spinal cord damage. In these severe cases, while hospitalized, a patient could be induced with muscle relaxers and narcotic pain relievers.

Finally, if nothing else is working, a doctor may advise surgery to try and reclaim the space between the vertebrae and neck. In cases where bone spurs have broken off and worked their way into cartilage, surgery can help remove them and relieve pain. Surgery is always a last option and should never be considered lightly.

Arthritis and the Role of Natural Products

Over three million Canadians suffer with the debilitating symptoms of arthritis - pain and inflammation. Arthritis encompasses over 100 forms of inflammatory disorders with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis the most common. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition caused by wear and tear of the connective tissue and cartilage that cushions the joint. It typically occurs later in life and affects the weight bearing joints - hips, knees and spine - leading to pain, swelling, and stiffness of the joints. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that can appear suddenly at any age, and may fluctuate in severity. The immune system produces antibodies that cause damage to the joints leading to redness, pain, inflammation and deformation.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly prescribed to dampen the pain and inflammation of arthritis, yet their popularity is waning as many serious and life threatening side effects have emerged, such as stomach ulcers and bleeding, increased gut permeability, water retention and kidney damage. Recently, one class of these drugs (COX-2 inhibitors) has been linked to increased risk of heart attacks. Ironically, long term use of these drugs can actually worsen joint health by accelerating the breakdown of cartilage and destroying healthy cartilage tissue. With all these drawbacks, it is not surprising that many are turning to natural approaches to managing arthritis. Below are my top supplement recommendations for arthritis relief:

Celadrin

Celadrin is a blend of fatty acids that works to reduce inflammation, lubricate joints and promote healing, thus offering benefits for both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis sufferers. In a study of sixty-four individuals with knee osteoarthritis the use of Celadrin was found to reduce pain and swelling, and improve flexibility and range of motion compared to placebo. (Hesslink, 2002) Celadrin is sold by various companies in tablets, capsules and creams and has no side effects. The recommended dosage is 1500 mg daily. Cream is applied twice daily.

Essential Fatty Acids

Both the omega-3s (fish oil) and omega-6s (borage, primrose oil) have been found to help reduce the pain and inflammation associated with arthritis. These "good" fats work in part by boost levels of prostaglandins - hormone-like substances that have anti-inflammatory activity. Omega-3s are also very beneficial for heart health. Usual dosage of these oils is between 2 and 4 grams daily.

Glucosamine

Glucosamine is nutrient used by the body in the production of cartilage. It stimulates the production of new cartilage, blocks enzymes that break down connective tissue, and reduces pain and inflammation. Glucosamine has been studied extensively for osteoarthritis and found to be comparable to NSAIDs, yet better tolerated. The recommended dosage is 1500 mg daily.

S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe)

SAMe is a nutrient produced in the body that is vital to the health and development of my tissues and organs. In the joint, SAMe is involved in cartilage formation and repair.

Supplementing with SAMe has been found to reduce the pain and inflammation of osteoarthritis and to stimulate cartilage formation in numerous studies. Recently, the US government Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality conducted a review of 10 studies on SAMe for osteoarthritis and found it equally effective to NSAIDs. (Hardy et al, 2002) SAMe is very safe and well tolerated. The recommended dosage range is 400 to 1200 mg of natural (Isoactive) SAMe daily.

All of these nutritional supplements are backed by solid clinical research and can offer great help to those suffering with arthritis.

Calming Inflammation

Inflammation is a process by which the body's defense system or immune system (white blood cells and other chemicals) reacts to infection, contact with foreign substances, or injury. It happens when you stub your toe, contract a virus or are exposed to a harsh chemical. Your immune system mounts a defense by releasing various chemicals which increase blood flow to the area, causing some or all of the following symptoms: redness, swelling, warmth, and pain. Inflammation may also be associated with flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, fatigue and aching.

Although inflammation is a natural process designed to help the body fight infection and promote healing, in some cases the body's immune system over-reacts or reacts inappropriately. Such is the case with autoimmune diseases, where the body's normally protective immune system causes damage to its own tissues.

Lifestyle factors such as stress, poor diet and lack of sleep also contribute to inflammation. While there are often obvious signs of acute inflammation, such as redness and swelling, chronic inflammation, which occurs from lifestyle factors, can be more insidious. It can affect many body tissues including blood vessels, organs and nerves with few or no obvious signs until a serious health problem develops. Researchers have now identified inflammation as a factor in the development and progression of many chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease, cancer and multiple sclerosis. Thus it is essential to be aware of the factors that trigger inflammation and approaches to keep this process in check.

Inflammation and Disease

There is no debate that many chronic diseases that we face today are associated with inflammation. Below are some of the most common and concerning health problems linked to inflammation.

Arthritis

Arthritis is a general term used to describe various inflammatory conditions in the body. There are over 100 forms of arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis and Sj繹gren's syndrome. These diseases involve joint and musculoskeletal pain, and are often a result of inflammation of the joint lining. Some forms of arthritis are caused by autoimmune responses, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, and others are caused by wear and tear to the joint (such as osteoarthritis) which leads to inflammation.

Cancer

Chronic inflammation resulting from infection or chemical exposure has been identified as a risk factor for various forms cancer. For example, research has found strong associations for the Human papiloma virus (HPV) and cervical cancer, Helicobacter pylori bacterial infection and gastric adenocarcinoma, the hepatitis B virus and cirrhosis and hepato-cellular carcinoma, asbestos-induced inflammation and lung cancer, and cigarette smoke-induced inflammation and lung, bowel and pancreatic cancer. These studies demonstrate that inflammation promotes tumor development.

Cancer and inflammation share another connection. It has been found that that chronic inflammation occurs due to tumor environment stress and that this generates a protective shield from the immune system. In other words, inflammation protects the tumor from attack by the immune system. Researchers have found that the release of inflammatory compounds such as cytokines, leucocytes, lymphocytes and macrophages contribute to the progression and metastasis. Furthermore, this inflammatory response can compromise the response to chemotherapy.

Diabetes

Mounting research is linking uncontrolled high levels of blood glucose to inflammation, which can lead to diabetic complication such as neuropathy, retinopathy and nephropathy. Researchers have found that high levels of blood glucose lead to glycation and oxidation of proteins, lipids and nucleotides, resulting in the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). It is thought that AGEs trigger various inflammatory processes which can lead to damage of the blood vessels throughout the body. Thus, controlling blood sugar is vital to the prevention of inflammation and diabetic complications.

Heart Disease

Over the past decade researchers have discovered a link between inflammation and heart disease. Studies suggest that inflammation is important in the development of atherosclerosis, the process in which fatty deposits build up in the inner lining of arteries increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Factors that promote atherosclerosis, including cigarette smoking, hypertension, atherogenic lipoproteins, and hyperglycemia, give rise to a variety of noxious stimuli that cause the release of chemicals and the activation of cells involved in the inflammatory process. These events contribute not only to the formation of plaque but may also contribute to its disruption resulting in the formation of a blood clot.

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a substance produced in the liver during inflammation. Research has found that those with high CRP levels are at increased risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer, macular degeneration and Type 2 diabetes. Your CRP level can be determined by a simple blood test ordered by your doctor.

Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the brain and spinal cord. Inflammation destroys the myelin, leaving multiple areas of scar tissue (sclerosis). Individuals with MS develop progressive neurological disability, and this is thought to be caused by degradation of the nerve cells. New research is looking at antioxidants that can protect nerve cells and reduce disease progression.

Lifestyle Factors that Promote Inflammation

Poor Diet - high glycemic (quick release) carbohydrates such as white bread and other refined foods raise blood glucose levels which trigger the release of advanced glycation end products which promote inflammation. Consuming saturated fat (animal products), eating overcooked (burned foods) and overeating also lead to inflammation in the body.

Lack of Sleep - adequate sleep is required by the body and immune system for regeneration and repair. Researchers have found that lack of sleep leads to the production of inflammatory compounds (cytokines). If you produce these inflammatory markers on a chronic basis it can increase your risk for heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes, and a shorter life span.

Stress - during stress, the body releases various hormones such as cortisol. Cortisol helps the body in the fight/flight situation by suppressing immune system function and reducing inflammation. If stress becomes chronic and the body can't make adequate stress hormones to turn the immune system off autoimmune diseases and inflammation can occur.

Obesity - fat cells secrete compounds, such as cytokines, that trigger inflammation and increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Excess weight also puts strain on the joints, primarily the hips and knees. Over time this pressure can wear down cartilage and cause bone to grind against bone, triggering inflammation.

Controlling Inflammation

To control inflammation and its consequences, consider the following lifestyle approaches:

Diet: eat a plant-based diet with lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes and whole grains. Fish, nuts, seeds (hemp and flax) and olive oil contains essential fatty acids that help reduce inflammation. Green tea contains antioxidants that reduce chronic disease risk.

Lifestyle: work on reducing your stress levels. Try yoga, Tai Chi, meditation and breathing exercises.

Supplements: to reduce inflammation, consider the following:

繚 Aged garlic extract - reduces multiple risk factors for heart disease. It helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol, reduces LDL oxidation and plaque formation.

繚 Boswellia - a tree resin with anti-inflammatory properties. Studies find it beneficial for rheumatoid arthritis.

繚 Celadrin - a mixture of cetylated fatty acids that reduces inflammation and lubricates joints. Research supports its use for rheumatoid arthritis. Preliminary evidence shows that it may help those with psoriasis and other inflammatory conditions.

繚 Fish oils - rich in omega-3 fatty acids which reduce multiple risk factors for heart disease (inflammation blood pressure, cholesterol, homocysteine, and clotting). Studies also support its use for reducing symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, lupus and other inflammatory conditions.

繚 Glucosamine - a substance naturally produced in the body; involved in cartilage repair. Studies show that it can reduce pain and improve mobility in those with osteoarthritis.

Exercise: aim for one hour of moderate intensity activity each day such as walking, cycling, swimming or doing lawn work.

Sleep: aim for 7 to 9 hour of sleep each night. There is no sleep bank, so you can't catch up on lost hours over the weekend.

Weight Gain, Spondylosis, and Treatment

Gaining weight will hurt your back. Gaining weight during the holidays will cause back pain next year. Those extra pounds do not come off easily, either: it takes 60% of the people surveyed up to 10 months to lose their holiday weight. Nearly 13% of people surveyed said they simply give up on losing the weight after February. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine agrees: most people ca not shake their holiday weight until the next fall--just in time for the Halloween candy.

If you are overweight, your spine may be overworked as it tries to carry that extra weight. Gaining extra weight means you are more likely to injure your back, which would make it nearly impossible to exercise enough to lose weight. This could then graduate into chronic back pain. Physician's know that being overweight can lead to compression fractures, degenerative disc disease, and spondylolisthesis.

Spinal Arthritis

A medical term used to describe spinal arthritis is spondylosis. Spondylosis is a common condition that is estimated to account for 2% of all hospital admissions. Spondylosis is a common degenerative condition associated with aging and can affect the cervical (neck), thoracic (chest area), and lumbar (low back) spine.

The type of spondylosis that affects the facet joints in the spine is called osteoarthritis. Spinal osteoarthritis worsens with age and can cause loss of spinal structure and use.

With recent advancements in MRI technology, your doctor can use an MRI scan to detect spondylosis. The MRI will reveal the disc space between vertebrae. If the space narrows, you have spondylosis.

The medical term for cervical arthritis is cervical spondylosis. Progressive neck pain is a common symptom of spondylosis. With cervical spondylosis, the spinal canal may narrow causing compression of the spinal cord and nerves to the arms.

If the cervical spondylosis is severe, bed rest with traction on the neck may be needed. If you have cervical spondylosis, inflammation of your neck or upper back, and are in a great deal of pain, a cervical epidural block might be beneficial to relieve your pain.

If inflammation exists, anti-inflammatory drugs can be used for treatment. Massage may help to relieve pain.

Using Proper Body Mechanics to Avoid Back Pain

If I told you how to avoid back pain in the first place, would you be interested?

Exercise. The best cure for muscle oriented back pain is to gently use aerobic exercises to strengthen your back muscles.

Swimming is a good choice. Talk with your doctor about which activities are best for you.

Build muscle strength and flexibility. Back muscle exercises not only will strengthen your back, but they remind your back muscles how to relax. Flexibility in your hips and upper legs aligns your pelvic bones to improve how your back feels.

Lose weight. This is the biggest cause of back pain (second only to weak muscles). The more you weigh, the more strain that is put on your back muscles.

Use Good Posture

Stand smart. Maintain a neutral pelvic position. If you must stand for long periods of time, alternate placing your feet on a low footstool to take some of the load off your lower back.

Sit smart. Choose a seat with good lower back support, arm rests and a swivel base. Consider placing a pillow or rolled towel in the small of your back to maintain its normal curve. Keep your knees and hips level.

Lift correctly by moving straight up and down. Bend only at the knees, no with your back. Hold whatever you are lifting as close to your body as possible.

Sleep smart. People with back pain have commonly been told to use a firm mattress, but recent studies indicate that a medium-firm mattress might be better. Use pillows for support, but do not use a pillow that forces your neck up at a severe angle.

Common and Severe Ankylosing Spondylitis Symptoms

Ankylosing spondylitis is swelling mainly of your joints within the spinal column. However it may also include soreness of your eyes, some other joints, particularly all those within the hips, chest, and all over the heels. On some instances, the feet, shoulders, hands, knees and wrists also get sore.. Though it is uncommon, ankylosing spondylitis symptoms are also able to trigger changes such as thickening of the aorta or the major artery as well as the valve inside the heart known as the aortic valve.

When the inflammation persists after some time, it is going to bring about permanent scarring and damage. In several individuals the condition is usually light and advances gradually. The signs and symptoms will never become critical. Some people might have a more intense condition progression.

Whether or not ankylosing spondylitis symptoms become more serious are determined by several factors like the age of when you started to experience the disease, how soon it was clinically determined, and which joints are concerned. It really is too soon to know yet, however specialists believe that fast cure using more recent medications will decrease or lessen the soreness, avoid scar tissue formation, and restrict the advancement of the ailment.

The signs of this disease normally begin with irregular rounds of pain on your lower back area, having both discomfort and tightness getting intense at nighttime, on getting up, or in times of inactivity. On the other hand, indications usually get better through physical exercise. Even though pain is originally centered within the sacroiliac joints that are lying between your spine and pelvis, it could spread out to other sections of your backbone as time passes.

Common and Minor Symptoms

You could encounter ankylosing spondylitis symptoms everyday or occasionally. Sometimes some of these signs and symptoms may be acute:

繚 Fatigue or Tiredness

繚 Lumbar region or sacroiliac pain

繚 Neck pain

繚 Eventual reduction of spinal flexibility

繚 Eventual loss of mobility particularly the range of flexibility within the joint

繚 Hip pain

繚 Stiffness in the spine

繚 Intense pain and tightness along with inactivity

The following are other manifestations of this disease which are less common even during its advance stage. Some people encounter these from time to time.

• Uveitis or inflammation of the eyes

• Heel pain

• Lack of appetite

• Mild fever

• Painful and inflamed shoulder, knee or ankle

• Sudden weight loss

However, there are more serious indications which may reveal a life-threatening situation. This means that immediate medical attention is required. While ankylosing spondylitis is not fatal by itself, the injury to your joints could predispose to bone fracture or even damage to your spine. Below are the serious warnings of this disease.

• Fecal and urinary incontinence

• Numbness and weakness of the extremities

• Acute pain on your joints and lower back

These ankylosing spondylitis symptoms seem to be manageable. However, if any of these gets out of hand or becomes chronic, you need to consult your doctor for proper medical assistance.

Are Stem Cell Injections an Alternative To Steroid Injections?

For decades now, pain doctors have been injecting steroids around the spine for pain relief from multiple conditions. These include relief of the pain from herniated discs, bulging discs, facet arthritis, and degenerative disc disease.

Do they work? Yes they do. Multiple studies show the benefits of steroid injections for alleviating pain, improving function, and avoiding surgery for multiple painful conditions. However, they are not without their downside.

For example, steroids are a huge anti-inflammatory substances. This is great for pain relief. But the method by which steroids provide pain relief is with cortisone, which knocks out inflammation high on the flowchart of how anti-inflammation works. At this high level on the chart, it also emulates the cortisone that is produced by the adrenal glands and may affect those glands.

If the adrenal glands receive feedback that the body is receiving cortisone from another source, the response may simply be to cut back its own production. When the body cuts back its production, and the steroid wears off, then it may take a while for the adrenal glands to realize it needs to ramp up production again. The body may suffer some deleterious effects while that process is occurring.

Steroid injections have very low side effects overall. However, they may transiently raise blood sugars and cause a small weight gain. This is because although the steroid material is injected into a defined area, that steroid may slowly get absorbed into the blood stream and have that effect. Usually it is mild and transient.

Physicians performing injections are cognizant of these effects and therefore limit the amount of steroid injections given. In the case of an older citizen trying to function and enjoy life, he or she may suffer from arthritis in the spine, knees, hips, and shoulders. If a limit is set at say 6 injections per year, there is no way to cover all these areas. If a steroid injection lasts for 3 months (typical), that one joint will receive 4 injections per year. A typical patient with facet arthritis of the spine will have pain at multiple levels - is that one or two levels going to get injected and suck up all the injections for the whole year?

Clearly there is room for improvement in this area, as limiting treatment based on the "weakest link" being simply too many injections from steroids leads us to the obvious question - Isn't there a better injection substance?

What if a material existed that could have the same (or better) pain relieving effects of steroid injections, however, be non-steroidal? What if that substance also showed promise for cell regeneration, of which steroid doesn't do?

That question is one of the most burning and appropriate questions for interventional pain management. There is a potential revolutionary option for pain management on the horizon and that is... stem cell injections.

Years ago stem cell therapies developed a questionable reputation based on the fetal harvesting. There are ways now to get stem cells without dealing with the fetus or any embryonic origin. For instance, there is a stem cell rich product that is obtained from live willing donors from amniotic fluid.

The stem cell rich injection product is non-steroidal based and anti-inflammatory. The anti-inflammatory qualities come from chemicals called cytokines, which act like a steroid in the sense they alleviate pain, but do not have the steroid side effects. In addition, the stem cell rich injection material is FDA regulated and processed at an ISO certified lab, so all major diseases are ruled out.

The stem cell rich injection material has been used for years in the US over 3000 times successfully so far for spine fusion enhancement, wound healing assistance, and scar barrier around the spinal cord. Pain management is the obvious next step.

So the hope is results for pain relief as good as steroid without the side effects. The real question is, will it help with cell regeneration?

There was a rabbit study looking at this (Im et al, JBJSB, 2001) and the results showed cartilage defects can be enhanced by the implantation of mesenchymal stem cells. Other studies have shown amniotic fluid to have a very safe risk profile for human injections once processed according to the FDA's Current Good Tissue Practices.

If a stem cell rich injection product from amniotic fluid that is FDA regulated actually allows for cell regeneration along with immediate pain relief, the potential is for patients to achieve a longer lasting pain relief effect. Some of the cartilage degradation and defects could be benefitted with the injections, and that would potentially allow for lengthier, lasting pain relief. Studies looking at this are underway, and we will know soon enough.

Arthritis Relief From Joint Implants Coated With Hydroxyapatite and Titanium

Hydroxyapatite (HA) and titanium are now more than ever used as coatings for joint replacement implants and dental implants. HA and titanium promote bone ingrowth between the joint implant and the patient's bone itself. This ingrowth allows for a sturdier implant that precipitates less pain and recovery time when compared to traditional implants that contain cement.

What follows is a list of the most common types of implants for which HA and titanium are used as implant coatings and the benefits that these coatings specifically provide for each implant.

Finger:
Joint replacement is recognized as a treatment option for large joints which have been severely damaged by arthritis. Most people are unaware that when small joints such as those found in fingers become painful, deformed and/or limited, relief can come by replacing the joints with titanium and hydroxyapatite coated implants. Since full function is not restored, finger implant surgery is not considered the first choice of treatment, but for those who do make the choice, the reduction of pain due to arthritis is often significant. The surgery is most valuable for patients who will regain function and who will benefit greatly from achievable pain relief.

Ankle:
Total ankle replacement is an option for patients with severe arthritis. Similar to hip and knee replacement surgeries, total ankle replacement involves removing the arthritic ankle joint and replacing it with an implant. Total ankle replacement was developed in the 1970's with limited success. The older implants often loosened or malfunctioned and frequently needed to be removed. Today, manufacturers have developed a porous titanium implant coating that has made ankle replacement surgery a more viable option. Typically, the implant consists of two titanium end plates with a refined polyethylene center. When the end plates are coated with titanium or hydroxyapatite, the coating allows the implant to mimic the motion of a natural ankle. Prior to total ankle replacement surgery, the only surgical option for patients with disabling arthritis was fusion, which completely restricts the patient's ankle motion.

Hip
Total hip joint replacement is an orthopaedic success story, enabling hundreds of thousands of people to live fuller, more active lives. Using metal alloys, high-grade plastics, and polymeric materials, orthopaedic surgeons can replace painful, dysfunctional joints with highly functional, long-lasting prostheses. Hydroxyapatite and titanium coatings allow for cement-less implants and promote bone ingrowth between implant and human bone. Today, the top performing designs all have porous titanium and hydroxyapatite surfaces that make for stronger implants and shorter recovery times.

Dental:
Dental implants are available uncoated, with a titanium plasma sprayed (TPS) coating and with a hydroxyapatite coating. The choice of coating is a matter of personal preference as all coatings are successfully used by clinicians around the world. Although, hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings can help jump start the integration process in dental implants, reducing recovery time. As a result, dental implants coated with hydroxyapatite are becoming an increasingly popular choice when placing an implant.

L-Vertebrae: Degenerative Disk Disease (DDD) is one of the most common causes of lower back pain in adults. Many patients discover relief from pain caused by DDD by pursuing nonsurgical methods such as therapy, anti-inflammatory medications and weight loss. For patients who don't experience adequate pain relief through nonsurgical treatments, lumbar fusion has long been a common surgical treatment for alleviating lower back pain. While lumbar fusion can be an effective treatment, it severely restricts motion and it does not always provide pain relief. Porous titanium coatings have allowed many medical device manufacturers to develop new, FDA approved artificial disk replacement options. Artificial disks can reduce lower back pain while also allowing the patient to retain spinal motion. Disks coated in titanium become firmly fixed in bone just weeks after the operation and typically allow for reduced pain and greater range of motion.

Elbow: Until recently, patients in need of implant surgery to relieve the pain that comes along with elbow arthritis received elbow prostheses that require cement for bone fixation. In fact, despite the increased use of hydroxyapatite and titanium as implant coatings, cement implants are still fairly common. Hydroxyapatite coatings achieve greater bone ingrowth than do cement implants. Increased bone ingrowth makes for a more durable implant that allows for increased range of motion and less pain.

Shoulder: Arthritis of the shoulder joint causes damage to bone and cartilage. If left untreated, the damage can cause a great deal of pain. Shoulder implant coatings are currently made of a variety of materials, including titanium, cobalt chrome, ceramics and pyrocarbons. Pyrocarbon is a very lightweight material that is preferable to traditional steel coatings which are heavy and bulky. Implants coated with titanium are lightweight and have a similar consistency to that of bone. Shoulder implants coated with advanced materials exhibit exceptional bone ingrowth qualities which gives the implant superb strength and the patient increased range of motion.

Knee: Recent advancements in titanium coating characteristics have allowed medical manufacturers to develop knee implants that exhibit superior bone ingrowth to traditional implants. It is the porosity of titanium that allows for bone ingrowth and thus makes it ideal for knee replacement implants. Improved bone ingrowth reduces recovery time and increases range of motion in knee replacement patients.

Hydroxyapatite and titanium implant coatings have made joint implant surgery a more viable, less painful option for many people suffering from joint pain.

Lower Back Pain - Common Causes and Treatment Options

Do you know that lower back pain is the most common ailment these days? Large number of people suffers from this painful condition at some point or the other in their life. It is indeed a matter of great concern and it should not be neglected in any manner.

If you are suffering from mild or severe lower back pain, you should certainly rush to doctor for getting relief and to lead healthy and fit life. You all would be surprised to read that back problems are on steady rise and have become as common as headache or cough but its cure is must for everyone. Before taking steps for prevention of low back pain, it is important to know about root cause of this ailment. Some of such causes are written below- have a look!

• Injury in bone, nerves of spinal cord or muscle
• Infection in lower body parts like bladder, kidney, hips and abdomen etc.
• Pregnancy
• Arthritis
• Osteoporosis
• Broken vertebrae

It is important to know about the exact cause of lower back pain before undergoing for its treatment. Doctors can offer you various pain relief ointments and creams to give you complete relief from pain.

If your pain has occurred due to deficiency in nutrients, then ask doctors to prescribe you healthy diet full of vitamin D. Moreover enriching diet with calcium rich food sources too helps in getting relief from lower back pain. You would be happy to know that certain exercises are also advised by doctors to be done on regular basis that can help in keeping the pain at bay.

You would be surprised to know that acupuncture also plays a big role in curing lower back pain along with some dietary change in your lifestyle. Yoga is again a good option to treat lower back pain. Doctors also advices hot compression technique for getting relief from pain. Apart from this, doctors may advice you with best option that suits you to treat your pain.

You can even pull out some food items from your kitchen to cure pain associated with lower back. Application of garlic oil is an amazing way to cure pain. Mix 5 tbsp of garlic oil and sesame oil with mustard or coconut oil in a pan. Now heat it over low flame with fresh cloves of garlic. Apply over your back and leave for few hours.

Take some peeled and boiled potatoes. Mash them nicely. Spread mashed potatoes on piece of gauge and cover them with other pieces. Now place them over lower back for getting relief from terrible pain.

Three Reasons Why Spinal Arthritis Is More Difficult To Treat Than Hip or Knee Arthritis

The joints of the spine are called facet joints. They are located on both sides of the spine at every level up and down the spinal column all the way from the skull down to the sacrum.

Each of these joints combines to allow humans an incredible range of motion of the spines, permitting bending and twisting to an exceptional degree. Unfortunately though, each of these joints has cartilage and it has the potential for arthritis either due to age with loss of cartilage or trauma with damage to cartilage and subsequent arthritis pain.

Spinal arthritis is more difficult to treat than that of an extremity such as the hip or the knee. Here are the three main reasons why this is the case.

1. The number of joints in the spine is much higher. When you're dealing with hip or knee arthritis, there is one on each side. When you're dealing with spinal joints, there is one on each side at every level. Each of them is prone to developing arthritis and pain. even though the joints are considerably smaller, arthritis at any one facet joint can cause just as much pain as arthritis in a knee or a hip joint.

Typically when a person develops arthritis in a facet joint, he or she has arthritis in multiple facet joints which would need to be treated. Figuring out which is causing the pain and treating appropriately is much more difficult in a spinal arthritis situation than for the hip or knee.

2. Figuring out the source of the pain is more difficult. Even the best trained spine doctors who are board-certified can only tell people 50% of the time exactly why their back hurts. This is one of the shortcomings of back pain treatment, that the world of modern medicine is simply farther along when it comes to hip or knee arthritis than for that of the spine.

What this means is that if a pain management doctor does an injection into one of the facet joints of the lumbar spine, it may relieve part of a person's back pain, but a decent amount of the time they will still have significant residual pain. Pain management doctors have developed some more specific techniques to delineate the source of a person's pain, including facet joint injections and medial branch blocks as diagnostic tools. This will continue to improve, however, currently it makes spinal arthritis more difficult to deal with than that of the hip or knee.

3. Surgical outcomes for spinal arthritis treatments are not as good as that of total joint replacement for the hip or knee. Out of all the surgeries done for quality-of-life in the world, total hip and total knee replacement are in the top five overall. They are unbelievable game changers when it comes to decreasing pain and increasing function.

The same cannot be said for surgery for spinal arthritis. Although artificial disc replacement has been in existence since 2004, it has not been shown to be as good of a procedure as extremity joint replacement. In addition, there is no FDA approved procedure for replacing the facet joints in the back of the spine. What this means is that if a person undergoes surgery for facet arthritis, it will involve a spinal fusion. Satisfactory results after these treatments are in the 50 to 75% range, whereas knee replacement surgeries are typically over 90% satisfactory with outcomes.

The hope is that with modern medical techniques advancing, diagnosing the exact areas of spinal arthritis will become more exact and the results will be better with surgery. For now, nonsurgical pain management treatment is actually very good at reducing pain. it just takes more diagnostic tools and thought-provoking maneuvers to make sure the proper levels are being treated with the appropriate procedures.

How Simple Is a Lumbar Laminectomy Procedure?

Undergoing a lumbar laminectomy procedure involves removing a little bit of bone to free up a nerve root that is getting pinched. It is also a procedure that is performed to free up multiple nerve roots that are being pinched as is commonly seen in spinal stenosis.

In the world of spine surgery, undergoing a laminectomy is a minor procedure. Granted, anytime surgery is being done to you it should not be considered minor, but in the scheme of overall magnitude of spine surgery it is in fact considered minor. After having a laminectomy, most patients are able to go home the next day. When you look at who has spinal stenosis, most patients are in an older age range between the 50s to the 80s. Because of this most patients find it is better to stay in the hospital for one night.

What are the reasons that patients need a laminectomy,? Well the first reason as mentioned is spinal stenosis which involves typically arthritis having extra bone and soft tissue formation and causing nerves to get pinched and pain flareup.

With this, what you have is a quality of life decision where patients need to decide if conservative treatments such as physical therapy, pain medications, epidural injections, chiropractic treatment, spinal decompression therapy, are working and if not a laminectomy may be in order. Another reason to undergo a laminectomy is for a herniated disc. A herniated disc procedure does involve removing a little bit of bone in order to safely pull the nerve root that's getting pinched out of the way and remove the piece of disk that has herniated. So in actuality when people undergo a discectomy it really is a laminectomy/discectomy.

As mentioned the most common reason for having a lumbar laminectomy procedure is to fix up nerves that are being compressed due to spinal stenosis. The typical procedures lasts under an hour, however if the procedure is being performed in conjunction with a spinal fusion with screws and rods then that will increase the procedure time and risks substantially.

What are the risks of a lumbar laminectomy?

The risks of undergoing a lumbar laminectomy include the risk of anesthesia complications, bleeding risk, infection, injury to the nerve that is being decompressed, and if too much bone is taken the patient may end up with spinal instability and increased pain. A lot of patients with spinal stenosis have minimal back pain and only leg pain from the pinched nerves. Studies have shown that 50% of patients will end up with back pain and stiffness after a laminectomy procedure. Thankfully it typically is not overly severe.

A laminectomy procedure continues to be the gold standard for a lot of spinal conditions patients suffer from. There are some newer types of minimally invasive surgeries to have a laminectomy performed, and that should be discussed with your surgeon prior to your procedure if one becomes necessary.

Osteoarthritis Back Pain

Osteoarthritis back pain is one of the most commonly diagnosed sources of chronic dorsopathy, especially in the lumbar and cervical spinal regions. Arthritis comes in many varieties ranging from normal and asymptomatic to terrible and debilitating, but the osteo variety is particularly interesting to back pain scholars. Osteoarthritic change is virtually universal in the spine of every adult human and is one of the greatest back pain scapegoats in the medical industry. It is the goal of this article to provide an objective view of this condition and how it relates to the way chronic pain is treated in the healthcare sector.

Osteoarthritis describes a condition that affects many of the joints in the body. It most commonly occurs in the hands, hips, knees, elbows, shoulders and spine, although it can strike virtually anywhere. The signs of the condition include a wearing away of the protective mechanisms in the joint capsules, as well as the growth of bone spurs called osteophytes. As the protective cartilage is worn down between bones, friction occurs, causing bone spurring to begin where one bone touches another. Spurring can be seen on diagnostic x-ray, although MRI technology will provide a far more comprehensive view of the actual joint deterioration.

All this sounds really bad, but the reality clearly shows that osteoarthritis is universal, normal and expected to experience as we get older. Most arthritis truly begins to kick in around middle age, although genetic and lifestyle factors can make it commence later or far earlier. Abnormal wear and tear on the joints can make arthritis take hold at unusually early ages in some cases. Widespread research shows that arthritis can certainly be responsible for minor discomfort and some occasional pain. However, there is no evidence linking mild to moderate arthritic change to the types of chronic back pain most commonly associated with the condition. Despite these findings, osteoarthritis continues to be the second most common back pain scapegoat, bested only by intervertebral disc concerns, such as degeneration and herniation.

When a patient complains of back pain, doctors virtually always look for a structural source on which to blame the symptoms. This is an inherent practice of Cartesian medical philosophy. The advent of advanced diagnostic imaging technologies has made it simple to look into the joints and find evidence of arthritic changes which are subsequently blamed for enacting pain. In my experience, when arthritis is found in the spine, it is almost always cited as a primary causation or partial contributor to back pain, even though there is absolutely no reason to see it as a malignant factor.

In fact, doctors rarely inform diagnosed patients of the complete picture when it comes to osteoarthritis. Here are some lesser known facts that may surprise you if you have been diagnosed with spinal pain blamed on bone spurs, facet joint changes or vertebral degeneration common to arthritic processes:

* Arthritis is found in almost every adult. Most people do not have pain, despite varying degrees of arthritic evidence. The degree of arthritic change has little or no bearing on whether a person may complain of pain or not. Many patients with minor arthritic change have severe pain, while some people with extreme conditions have no pain whatsoever.

* Regardless of whether a condition actually causes pain or not, the typical treatments used for spinal arthritis will do nothing to resolve symptoms, if indeed they are caused by the condition treated. Physical therapy, chiropractic, pharmaceutical treatment, epidural injections and a host of others will not change spinal anatomy or do anything to resolve arthritic evidence.

* Often symptoms are obviously affecting soft tissues, such as muscles or ligaments, or involve neurological tissues. This is not consistent with arthritis, although the diagnosis usually stands firm if structural evidence is found.

I hope to have provided a different view on arthritis in the spine and possibly provided the groundwork for affected patients to do more research on their own diagnoses. As a final thought, the only treatment typically effective at ridding the body of arthritic alteration is spinal surgery. Although the supposed structural reasons sourcing the pain can certainly be eliminated using invasive interventions, the facts show that back surgery is the least effective and most risky of all treatments possible. If arthritis was truly to blame for all the pain, then an objective observer would expect the exact opposite to occur.