A Quick Guide to Back, Neck & Knee Pain Management

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A Quick Guide to Back, Neck Knee Pain Management
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Introduction

• Feel pain when you exercise, climb the
  stairs, get out of bed or walk? Something could
  be seriously out of balance and you are probably
  wrong about it. The human body is connected in
  more ways than one. There are muscles, nerves,
  ligaments, and bones that join everything up
  promoting normal functioning of the body.
• Thanks to the wrong information out there,
  people are now more informed about joint pain
  than ever before. The flipside, however, is a
  growing mass of untrue and non-evidenced
  information that only misleads patients about how
  to manage joint pain. When you have back pain,
  for instance, dont be in a rush to think that
  the back muscles are responsible for it. In most
  cases, this is not actually the case.
• Follow through as we discuss neck, back
  knee pain management in detail.

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Table of Contents

• Back pain.
• Neck pain.
• Knee pain.
• How Are The Back, Neck, And Knee Pain Connected?
• Common Back, Neck Knee Pain Treatment Mistakes.

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Back pain

• If you have suffered from back pain in the
  past, you know finding relief is a tough battle.
  A simple exercise such as sitting down can send
  pain signals all over your brain. When you have
  back pain, it simply means you back is taking
  more weight than its ability.

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• The biggest culprit for back pain is habitual
  poor posture. Think of the posture you assume
  when typing away in front of the computer at
  work. You tend to lean forward, slouch on your
  chair with a hunched back, or poke your chin
  because thats your most comfortable position,
  right? Well, this is probably what is making that
  back hurt day in day out. Causes of back pain
  include the following
• Muscle or ligament strain as a result of repeated
  heavy lifting, a sudden awkward movement or a
  poor physical condition
• Ruptured or bulging discs
• Osteoarthritis
• Skeletal irregularities
• Osteoporosis

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• Risk factors
• Back pain is not a reserve for the old and obese
  anyone can develop it. However, there are certain
  risk factors that increase your chances of
  developing it. These include
• Lack of physical activity
• Medical conditions such as cancer and arthritis
• Age
• Improper lifting of heavy objects
• Smoking
• Psychological conditions

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• Symptoms
• Symptoms associated with back pain include the
  following
• Burning, dull, or sharp pain in your back that is
  either confined to one spot or one that covers a
  large area
• Achiness or stiffness anywhere along the spine
  (starting from your neck to the tailbone)
• Shooting pain on your lower back to the buttock
  area down to the back of your thigs and into your
  calf and toes.
• Steady pain in your lower or middle back
  particularly after sitting and standing for a
  long period of time.

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• Management
• Back pain will typically improve within a couple
  of weeks or months. Here are a few things you can
  do to manage and alleviate the pain while at it.
• Increase your physical activity
• Carry out simple back exercises and stretches
• Use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like
  ibuprofen to relieve the pain.
• Use hot and cold packs on the painful area to
  help in the short-term

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• Specialized treatments
• Rare and severe conditions require specialized
  treatments such as
• Exercise classes sometimes doctors recommend
  attending a NHS group exercise programme. Here,
  you will be a part of a class led by a qualified
  instructor who is a master at teaching different
  aerobic and stretching exercises aimed at
  improving your back.
• Manual therapy manual therapy treatments have
  found use in the treatment of back pain for many
  years. Usually carried out by osteopaths,
  chiropractors, and physiotherapists, this is the
  process of using hands to massage, move and apply
  adequate force to the joints, muscles, and bones
  around the spine to alleviate pain.

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• Surgical procedures albeit not recommended by
  doctors, surgery is sometimes the only treatment
  option for back pain. This is particularly true
  if you have sciatica or a prolapsed disc. The
  common procedure used is radiofrequency
  denervation and it involves using radio waves to
  heat nerves of affected joints causing them to
  stop sending pain signals.
• Other treatments acupuncture, traction, belts,
  corsets, transcutaneous electrical nerve
  stimulation, foot orthotics, and therapeutic
  ultrasound, spinal fusion, painkilling spinal
  injections are alternative treatments that are
  least recommended by the medical fraternity for
  lack of evidence to deal with back pain.

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• When to see the doctor
• Back pain almost always disappears after a few
  weeks of doing home treatments and other
  self-care routines. It can, however, be a sign
  that things are not okay with your spine. Seek
  the opinion of a medical professional if your
  back pain is accompanied by fever and unexplained
  weight loss, causes a string of bladder or bowel
  issues, causes tingling, numbness in the legs,
  spreads down to the knees, becomes severe even
  after plenty of rest, and if it follows a blow or
  fall to your back.

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Neck pain

• The neck is an integral part of the body for
  the simple fact that it solely supports a bowling
  ball the head. It does this with the assistance
  of the bones located at the top of the spine and
  other muscles and ligaments. Maintaining a
  balance of everything can be a tough job. More
  than one-quarter of the entire american
  population suffers from neck pain.
• Symptoms of neck pain include headaches,
  shoulder pain, tingling or numbness of the arms,
  and dull aches or sharp shooting pains around the
  neck area.

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• Causes of neck pain
• Poor posture
• Bad sleeping habits
• Repetitive motion
• Heavy lifting
• Pinched nerves

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• Gritting your teeth
• Injuries from such things like sports and
  exercise
• Tumors
• Infection
• Arthritis

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• Management
• Most patients with neck pain respond to
  selfcare pretty well within a maximum of three
  weeks. If symptoms persist, however, the doctor
  may recommend any of the following treatments.
• Physical therapy this is where a therapist
  teaches you good posture, neck-strengthening
  exercises, correct alignment, use of ice and
  electrical stimulation to alleviate neck pain.
• Traction traction employs weights, air bladders,
  and pulleys to gently stretch your neck. This
  treatment helps alleviate back pain greatly
  especially the kind related to irritation on the
  root of the nerve.

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• Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation
  (tens) a doctor places electrodes on the skin
  near the affected area that release electrical
  impulses that take the pain.
• Short-term immobilization this uses a soft
  collar to support your neck hence relieving you
  of the pain therein.
• Surgery surgery is rarely used unless the
  situation is extremely severe. Spinal cord
  compression and surgery aimed at relieving nerve
  root are two major treatment options for neck
  pain.
• Steroid injections your doctor may also inject
  corticosteroid medications around the nerve roots
  of the joints in the bones of your neck muscles
  or the cervical spine to relieve back pain.

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• When to see the doctor
• For the most part, neck pain can be dealt
  with using over the counter drugs and simple neck
  exercises. However, certain cases may be serious
  to warrant medical attention. You may want to
  call the doctor if the pain on your neck becomes
  severe, doesnt improve after treatment, or
  becomes worse in the course of time.
  Additionally, if the pain is accompanied by
  numbness, tingling or weakness in the legs and
  arms, you may want to have it checked by a
  medical professional.

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Knee pain

• Knee pain is one of the leading
  musculoskeletal issues in todays world. The knee
  essentially carries the weight of the entire body
  around along with bending and straightening the
  body. Knee pain results from an issue with any of
  the four bones that make up the knee joint
  (tibia, femur, and fibula), the cartilage and
  ligaments (meniscus), or the kneecap (patella).
  Physical activity such as sports and obesity are
  risk factors for knee pain.

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• Knee pain varies depending on the structure
  involved. For instance, an inflammatory or an
  infection might cause the entire knee to be
  swollen while a fracture or a torn meniscus on
  the bone will concentrate the pain in a single
  location. A knee joint pain can manifest as a
  minor ache or a serious and disabling pain. Some
  of the symptoms of knee pain include the
  following
• Limping caused by discomfort in the pain
• Challenges with walking and weight bearing led by
  knee instability
• Difficulty when climbing stairs
• Inability to bend, extend, or lock the knee
• Swelling and redness of the knee
• Weight shifting to the other foot

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• Causes of knee pain
• The knee is a rather complex structure
  consisting of three bones namely the kneecap, the
  upper thighbone and the lower shinbone along with
  tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. Damage to any
  of these structures would cause knee pain.
• Here are some of the most common causes of
  knee pain
• Injuries such as torn ligaments, broken bones, or
  meniscal tear
• Medical conditions such as osteoarthritis,
  rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and other infections
• Chronic overuse conditions such as patellar
  syndromes, chondromalacia, osteoarthritis,
  bursitis, tendinitis, and IT band syndrome
• Dislocating kneecap
• Plica syndrome
• Kneecap fracture
• Bone tumor

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• Management
• Depending on the exact cause and condition of
  your knee pain, the doctor will recommend
  different treatment options. These include the
  following
• Medications these will not only help relieve
  pain but will address underlying medical
  conditions such as gout and arthritis.
• Therapy therapy is a collective term for a group
  of exercises that focus on stabilizing your knee
  muscles. Some of the therapy options include arch
  supports, braces, training for both hamstrings
  and quadriceps, exercises aimed at improving
  balance and correction of suboptimal movement
  patterns.

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• Injections once in a while, the doctor may
  recommend injections like hyaluronic acid,
  corticosteroids and platelet-rich plasma (prp) to
  help clear knee pain symptoms.
• Surgery your options include arthroscopic
  surgery (use of fiber optic treatment to repair
  joint damage), total knee replacement, or partial
  knee replacement. Like always, this should be
  your very last resort.

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• When to see a doctor
• Knee pain treatment is more effective if the
  exact cause has been determined. If you do not
  know the cause of your pain, it is prudent to
  book an appointment with a doctor. In addition,
  if you have any of the signs below, you should
  see a doctor
• Knee pain attacks at night or during rests
• Locomotion challenges on the affected knee
• Persistent knee pain

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• Swelling and redness of the knee joint
• Signs of infection such as redness, fever, and
  warmth
• Inability to bend the knee
• Deformity of the knee as a result of an injury

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How Are The Back, Neck, And Knee Pain Connected?

• The nerves that operate the knee muscles are
  located on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th lumbar vertebral
  levels on your lower back area. Therefore, when
  there is an issue with the nerves such as a disc
  or arthritic joint compressing the nerves, the
  symptoms will most likely be on the knee region.
  The lower extremities nerves branch off from the
  lower spine hence a pinched nerve in the lower
  back will direct that pain down the branch into
  the knee. You may not notice low-level nerve
  irritations as back pain because these just cause
  the muscles to misfire a little. The serious
  nerve issues, however, may present themselves as
  acute knee pain, sometimes accompanied by back
  pain. If the specific nerve that travels to your
  knee or thigh is pinched, you may feel such
  symptoms including knee pain, front thigh pain,
  tingling/numbness in your thigh and weakness in
  your hip.

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• Neck pain and back pain also go hand in hand.
  It all goes back to the spine. The neck and the
  lower back have been designed to mirror each
  other. Both have similar degree of the spinal
  curves and align on top of each other. If this
  balance is disrupted, the spines ability to
  effectively transfer weight across the lower back
  and neck is compromised. This often happens due
  to poor sitting posture that throws the lumbar
  curve out of balance.

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Common Back, Neck Knee Pain Treatment Mistakes

• 1 Avoiding exercise altogether you must
  have come across some information on the internet
  purporting that exercise and joint pain are like
  water and oil. Well, this couldnt be further
  from the truth. Unless you have acute back pain,
  regular exercise is bound to help you deal with
  chronic back pain. The secret here is to focus on
  low-moderate exercises that work to strengthen
  your muscles.
• 2 Overusing pain medications when back,
  neck, and knee pain attacks, all you care about
  is alleviating the pain by all means possible.
  This is however not the best card to pull out.
  The outcome is that the meds will stop being
  effective afterall.

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• 3 Ignoring self-care techniques pain meds
  only deal with 60 of the pain the rest relies
  on self-care technique. Watch your posture,
  exercise, avoid carrying heavy weights, take
  rests, worry less about the pain and just stay
  positive.
• 4 Self-diagnosis many people suffering from
  joint problems prefer carrying out self-diagnosis
  rather than enlisting the help of a medical
  professional. Again, this is a recipe for
  disaster. You might cause a string of problems in
  the future that may become permanent.
• 5 Resorting to spine surgery before
  exhausting all the safe remedies to be safe,
  wait it out. Let surgery be your last option, not
  your first.

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• Joint pain can steal the joy of even the
  most carefree and happy individual on the face of
  the planet. The pain is unlike any other which is
  why you should take good care of your body to
  avoid it. Granted, you can develop it as a result
  of unpredictable events such as injuries and
  medical complications but take care that you
  dont give yourself over to it by being not
  watching your weight and posture.
• Holistic healthcare center have a wide
  range of practitioners that work together as a
  team to help you and your loved ones accomplish
  optimal health. Whether it is back, neck, or knee
  pain, the practitioners at the facility will help
  you find the root cause of your symptoms and
  arrange for apt treatment that allows different
  systems in your body to work together in the most
  appropriate way possible. Contact them at
  [phone] for a free consultation.

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The end

• For more details, please visit-
  http//www.hhccentre.com/back-neck-knee-pain/