Sciatica - Understanding The Basics

by Anne Wolski, Copyright 2006

Sciatica is a relatively common condition which is characterized by sharp pains in the leg and trouble moving. The most important thing to do when you are suffering from sciatica is to rest in bed but there are other treatments available as well.

The main cause of sciatica is slipped disks. This will generally affect the nerves in the limbs but it is the pressure on some of the nerves toward the back of the leg that causes most of the discomfort. This pressure causes sharp, stabbing pain which may come on suddenly or may develop gradually. This pain will become recurrent if the disks do not heal correctly

The vertebral or spinal disks separate the vertebrae and are made of tissue with a soft centre. This acts as a shock absorber and allows the vertebrae to be flexible so that people can bend and stretch. Sometimes, excessive back strain or even age, can weaken the outer layer of the disk, causing the soft centre to bulge and put pressure on the nerve to the leg, causing the pain associated with sciatica.

The first indicator of a slipped disk is the presence of lower back pain which may happen suddenly when bending or it may happen gradually during a period of hard work. As the disk places pressure on the spinal nerves, it creates a sharp pain that is felt in the buttock and the back of the thigh. As the condition worsens, the slightest movement such as coughing may bring on or intensify the pain. Sitting for long periods can become painful as the nerves become stretched and thereby intensify the irritation.

A person with severe sciatica may find it difficult to walk as any movement causes the pain to reappear or to become worse. Often, the only comfort for the sufferer is to lie on his or her back with the knees bent to relieve the pressure on the nerves. Sciatica caused by a slipped disk will usually improve if bed rest is undertaken.

It is now routine for health care specialists to advise two weeks of continuous bed rest with the knees and hips flexed and with weight traction to the pelvic region. If this treatment does not reduce the herniation of the disk, surgery may be needed.

As well as bed rest, painkillers may be prescribed though ordinary analgesics such as aspirin may be adequate. It is crucial to stay in bed until the disk is fully healed. To give in to the temptation to get up before this happens can be appealing but to do so will return the process to square one.

Usually, surgery is only used as a last resort. This can sometimes happen when the person has had a number of episodes where bed rest has not improved the condition. It may also be used for those who cannot take lengthy periods of time off work. However, not all disk problems are operable. Only the doctor can decide, through the use of X-rays, whether the particular condition is suitable for surgery and also the extent of surgery.

About the Author

Anne Wolski has worked in the health and welfare industry for more than 30 years. She is a co-director of http://www.magnetic-health-online.com an information portal with many interesting medical articles and also of http://www.pharmacybyweb.com which has online physicians who can help you with any questions you may have.

The Cause of Back Pain

by Michael Colucci

While there are many factors that can contribute to back pain, one of the most common problems is poor posture. Some people get into the habit of sitting or standing improperly, and over time this contributes to pain in their backs. Understanding the causes of back pain will allow you to avoid it, and will lead to a healthier and more active lifestyle.

When someone first begins feeling pain in their back, they can easily correct it by improving their posture. However, if you don't correct your posture your joints will eventually begin to wear out over time. Studies have shown that in the long term, the ageing of joints in your back can be just as extreme as the effects of suffering a back injury.

People who continue to have poor posture will eventually feel the effects of ageing. Their poor joints will force them to stoop over, and their mobility will be greatly decreased. With the rising costs of healthcare, it will be expensive to correct such problems, if it is even possible to correct them at all. Is it not better to correct your posture while you still have the chance?

The vast majority of the deformities seen in the elderly are a result of poor posture. Often, other parts of the body are affected such as the lungs, which will not be able to get a proper amount of oxygen due to the upper body being bent over. This may also eventually cause problems with your stomach and other organs.

While many people consider weak back joints to be just a normal part of ageing, by taking a few simple steps everyday people can avoid back problems in the long term. By standing up at least once a day and bending backward, people can avoid back pain.

Doing this simple routine on a daily basis can keep your from being impaired when you get older. Walking or running can help people to relieve pain in their lower backs. Because most people drive or work in an office, they have less time for running or walking. Exercising is an important part of keeping both your back and the rest of your body healthy.

Back pain is something that millions of people suffer from, and there is not reason for them to continue. By exercising and sitting correctly, many of these problems can be avoided. Getting treatment for the problem once it has become out of control will be costly. It is much less expensive to just practice good posture and exercise on a regular basis.

Sitting improperly is one of the leading causes for back pain. Once you begin having problems in your lower back, sitting improperly will exacerbate the problem. It is also important to stand up and lay down properly also. You may find that you suffer pain in your lower back only at certain times, such as when you sleep or stand for extended periods of time. If this is the case, it can be easily corrected by practicing good posture.

About the Author

Michael Colucci is a technical writer for Back Pain Treatment - A free site that offers the latest treatments on back pain.

Lower Back Pain Exercises And Their Benefits

by Saurabh Jain

Lower back pain exercises are very important for the treatment of back pain and the strengthening of the back muscles. These exercises should be recommended by one's orthopedic surgeon or the physiotherapist and need to be carried out regularly in the correct manner, in order to derive maximum benefit.

Doctors recommend different exercises in accordance to the condition of a patient. The exercises recommended in the initial and final stages of the treatment also vary. Walking, swimming, biking and aerobic exercises are commonly recommended lower back pain exercises.

In the initial stages of the treatment, doctors recommend exercises involving upward and downward movements of ankles. Exercises, such as the abdominal contraction, wall squats, heel raises and straight leg raises, involve tightening of the abdominal muscles while moving the knees or heels.

In the intermediate treatment program, one can perform back pain exercises, such as the single knee to chest stretch, the hamstring stretch and the lumbar stabilization exercise with the Swiss ball. It is important to ensure that the abdominal muscles remain contracted during each exercise. For this, one needs to lie on his/her back with knees bent and hands resting below ribs.

The advanced lower back pain exercises program involves exercises such as the Hip Flexor Stretch, the Piriformis stretch and the lumbar stabilization exercises with the Swiss ball. Some exercises strain the lower back and should be avoided. These include the hip twists, the hurdlers stretch, sit-ups with straight legs and any kind of stretching exercise that requires quick and bouncy movements. Physical activities, such as swimming and walking, are very good for the strengthening of the back. One must seek proper guidance before taking up any exercise for the treatment of back-related problems.

About the Author

Saurabh Jain is the Executive Editor of Online Back Pain Resource. He has developed this site to provide valuable information to people suffering from back pain. This site enumerates different causes and factors related to back pain. For more information please visit http://www.backpain-resources-online.com

80% Of Us May Suffer From It - How To Avoid Lower Back Pain

by Julian Hall

The most common cause of lower back pain is an injury or sprain initiated by lifting or moving of a heavy object, heavy beyond average human limits or a sprain caused due to vigorous physical activity.

Another significant reason is poor posture, while working, sitting or sleeping. This kind of lower back pain can be prevented. The lower back pain in these instances is caused by too less or no physical activity, due to which the muscles that support your spinal cord become weaker due to non-usage. Exercise on a daily basis can be great aphrodisiac to prevent this kind of lower back pain. Exercise conditions the "de-conditioned" muscles, so that they do their job properly.

Again, research has time and again shown that cardiovascular exercise like cycling, brisk walking, swimming etc can greatly reduce and prevent lower back pain. The cardiovascular exercises have been proven to be excellent for general health, and most beneficial to muscle conditioning. Making a habit of doing these exercises for about 20 to 30 minutes on a daily basis would prove to be a life long boon.

Once you begin with a cardiovascular exercise, quitting it the easiest part. Assigning many reasons to it is just to avoid doing the exercise. How to keep it going? How to adapt to a healthier lifestyle and quit procrastinating? Motivation is the key.

The first step to take would be to implement some self discipline and find ways to get some exercise. Trying going up the stairs, the last two floors by quitting the lift two floors down, park your car a few hundred meters away from your destination. This certainly helps you to get a fair amount of exercise without any conscious effort on your part.

Find a friend at the gym that is committed to the schedule and a real fitness freak. He will drag you to the gym until it becomes a habit for you. Similarly find someone who believes in health food and let him show you his culinary skills. During this process make an effort to keep a small note of your short term goals. Tick them off when you achieve them and you will be surprised at own progress.

The last resort when the above fails is to motivate yourself and promise yourself when that lower back pain of yours is at its worst. Or better still, keep a personal trainer, he will guide you the right way and motivate you to keep the regimen going. Pay to motivate, you will be amazed at your progress over a very short period of time.

Almost the whole world would advise you that exercise in any form is good for you. Better still, the same people when they suffer from a lower back pain refrain from doing any exercise. This tendency can have disastrous after effects. The lower back pain has been caused due to weak back muscles.

The exercises you have been doing previous to the pain have been strengthening your back to a certain extent. When you avoid them, your back muscles will go from bad to worse creating a situation where the lower back pain only goes upwards. This is a cycle and it will persist, unless you really make a hard decision and come out of the loop and get back to your good habits of exercising again.

Treat that nagging lower back pain of yours before it gets worse and treat it the most natural way... Exercise.

About the Author

Julian Hall is the Director of Claims Master Group. Personal injury Claim, Lower Back Pain

The Successful Resolution of Mechanical Low Back Pain (and other disorders of the body).

by Robert Ryles

Copyright 2006 Robert Ryles

This article will explain to you the principles that lie behind the successful resolution of mechanical low back pain (and other disorders). They are a series of logical simple to understand steps that underpin successful treatment practice and effective exercise prescription

DIAGNOSIS

The first step is diagnosing what the problem is. This is done by doctors and therapists basically using two methods. The first one being what the patient says or complains of and the second being what is actually found by the practitioner from their physical examination.

Both of these are vital suppliers of information for a correct diagnosis. The sum total of all the information gleaned from both methods should build a picture of the exact problem that leads on to the diagnosis.

Sometimes it is possible to ascertain an EXACT diagnosis and other times it is not. Having an exact diagnosis is desirable but not absolutely essential to successful treatment. What is important is that the existence or absence of certain conditions is ascertained so that the correct treatment and advice can be followed.

In the case of back pain it is important to be able to put the cause of the pain down to a mechanical problem affecting the back. With reference to back pain there are certain conditions from other body systems that give pain in the back and these must be ruled out before treatment of the back can begin

PAIN RESOLUTION

Before normal movement and function can be looked at the aspect of pain must be considered. This is because in the initial stages of an episode of back pain the pain is there to prevent further damage occurring. It is important that this pain is allowed to settle and further damage is not caused. A few days of the CORRECT rest is normally sufficient to achieve this. Longer than this and there are likely to be more negative effects than positive from resting unless a specific reason is given by a qualified medical person. There are modalities that are helpful in resolving pain such as medication and electrotherapy that can be beneficial.

MOVEMENT RE EDUCATION

The next stage is the regaining of the normal amount of movement in the back. This is the stage at which most problems occur. This is normally for a number of common reasons. These generally revolve around the fact that there is a degree of overlap between the pain stage and this stage and people are unsure of when to begin moving, which specific movements to do, how many to do and for how long.

It is here that is so often the KEY CRITICAL POINT in the recovery process because with the CORRECT ADVICE INSTRUCTION AND ENCOURAGEMENT regarding movement and exercise therapy most back pain can be improved. If this point is missed problems begin and little by little get bigger and more difficult to resolve until ultimately if left long enough, which often can be just a matter of weeks, you can become a chronic back pain patient, with all its associated problems.

STRENGTH RE EDUCATION

The next stage once the movement is well on the way to recovery is the re education of the muscles that control the area. Here again the skill is knowing when to begin the exercises, which ones to do, how many and for how long. With the back you may be lucky and be able to resume your normal everyday activities without needing any specific strengthening exercises. There are however great many people with low back pain who would be so much better and be much more able with again the CORRECT EXERCISE PRESCRIPTION. For some it would undoubtedly totally solve their problem.

NORMAL FUNCTION ACTIVITY RESUMATION

Following the successful resolution of pain, movement and strength all these three come together to allow the patient to resume their normal everyday activities. Here again the key is the skilful and correct advice as to how much how soon. If the previous three stages have been addressed properly this stage will follow naturally but the correct advice is paramount in preventing re injury.

SUMMARY

So there we have it. The basic stages behind the successful resolution of mechanical low back pain. This can essentially be transferred to many other musculo skeletal problems. Although in black and white it appears relatively simple do not confuse something being simple and think it means it is unskilled. It requires specific knowledge at each of the particular stages.

In fact I would go as far as to say categorically how important it is to get as far as possible a definitive diagnosis of your problem before engaging in any form of therapy whether by a third party or self help.

About the Author

Robert Ryles is a Chartered Physical Therapist. He has worked extensively in orthopedic and sports medicine fields and in both International and Premiership football. He is also a lecturer, researcher and author in his expert field. His current work a self help guide to the successful resolution of back pain is available at: http://www.solveyourbackpain.com

Low Back Pain-Affecting Your Life and Work

by Saurabh Jain

The low back pain is the second most common ailment affecting 80% of the general United States population at some point in life. The pain may either be acute or chronic and is usually caused by a variety of diseases and disorders of the lumbar spine. Low Back pain is usually accompanied by sciatica. Sciatica is a pain that involves the sciatic nerve and affects the lower back, the back of the thighs and buttocks.

Causes and Symptoms of Low Back Pain

The patient of low back pain may experience two types of pain, primarily - acute and chronic. The pain is symptomatic and can be caused by the following reasons:

Acute Pain:

A sprain or a muscle tear, which can be aggravated by heavy lifting or extended use of back muscles within 24 hours of the injury, leading to muscle spasms or soreness. Usually improves when you provide rest to the affected area.

Chronic Pain:

This pain may have several causes like -

1.Mechanical Obesity, pregnancy, bad postures while bending, or stooping causes strain on the lower back muscles.

2.Malignancy Low back pain that is not relieved even after a night's rest, maybe caused by a tumor in the cauda equine (the roots of the spinal nerves controlling sensation in and movement of the legs), or cancer of the prostate, breasts or lungs, maybe caused because of a history of smoking, sudden weight loss or old age.

3.Herniated Spinal Disk When the spinal disk begins to bulge outward between the vertebrae. This is a common cause of chronic back pain in adults.

4.Ankylosing Spondylitis Pain caused while lying down or sitting; improves when the patient starts moving, is commonly seen in males between the age group of 16-35 years.

5.Psychogenic Back pain which may be induced due to an exaggerated minor injury or that may be usually prolonged leading to somatoform disorder or other psychiatric disturbances.

6.Lower Back Pain with Leg Involvement When the back pain radiates down the leg, the sciatic nerve is usually irritated by herniated disks, tumors of the cauda equina, abscesses in the space between the spinal cord and its covering, spinal stenosis, and compression fractures. Some patients may also experience weakness or lack of feeling, along with pain in the leg.

About the Author

Saurabh Jain has created a website on comprehensive information on Back Pain. http://www.backpain-resources-online.com

Minimize Back Pain at Home

by Charles Kassotis

Do you experience frequent back pain? If so, is it mild, moderate, or severe? If you don't get back pain on a regular basis, have you ever suffered from acute discomfort in your neck, upper back, or lower back? Perhaps you lifted something that was too heavy or yanked open a door the wrong way. In any case, you understand how painful a sore back can be, and its effect on daily activities involved with your job or your family. Simple actions like getting into a car or climbing steps can become excruciatingly difficult when your back has been injured in a significant way.

After experiencing an injury, fall, or other event that may precipitate back pain, make an appointment to see your doctor for a physical exam and any diagnostic tests that need to be done. Your physician will evaluate your symptoms and establish an impression of your condition, along with a plan of care for treating it. Often a back injury will require plenty of rest. But the doctor also may prescribe medication like painkillers and anti-inflammatory medicine that can help to reduce pain and swelling. Your doctor may advise bed rest or restricted activities to give any strains or tears a chance to heal. In some cases, you may need to take physical or occupational therapy to learn how to reuse some muscles or bones in your back if they have been injured or have had to recuperate.

At home on your own, you can take several important steps to help your condition improve. The most important thing you can do is to follow the doctor's orders. Don't try to second-guess a medical expert. Just do as you're told unless you have a serious concern that the doctor's advice is way off base. Then you can seek a second opinion from a qualified medical expert to see whether it confirms or contradicts the first expert's opinion. Another thing you can do is report any negative change in your symptoms to the doctor. He or she may need to reevaluate your condition and perhaps change the treatment plan. If you experience an allergic reaction or side effect to the medication, the doctor will want to know about it and provide alternative medicine.

Don't overexert yourself at home. Let family members help with household tasks, and allow them to assist you with daily care, as needed. Avoid undertaking any strenuous activities that could lead to a setback in your recovery. Take medications as prescribed, since taking more than recommended could lead to an overdose or drug dependency, and taking less than what you need may extend the recovery period or increase pain and inflammation.

No one enjoys a back injury. It can cause you to lose work, be unable to enjoy leisure activities, and make life more difficult in many ways. That's why you should take advantage of any at-home rest therapy that is ordered and don't try to rush things on your own.

About the Author

To learn more about ways of managing back pain, visit The Back Pain Directory at http://www.backpaindirectory.com