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February 21st, 2008
Back pain is common and the largest single cause of sickness absence in the UK. Although it can be very painful, it is normally not serious.
Lower back pain, also known as lumbago, affects 7 out of 10 people at some time in their lives. Low back pain means a pain, or ache, anywhere on your back, in between the bottom of the ribs and the top of the legs.
Types of Back Pain
Acute pain comes on quickly and often leaves just as quickly. To be classified as acute, pain should last no longer than 6 weeks. Acute pain is the most common type of back pain.
Chronic pain, on the other hand, may come on either quickly or slowly, and it lingers a long time. In general, pain that lasts more than 3 months is considered chronic. Chronic pain is much less common than acute pain.
Low back pain can be further divided into two main categories:
• Specific low back pain (SLBP) where there is a defined cause (etiology).
• Non-specific low back pain (NSLBP) or back pain of undetermined cause. (The latter does not mean that there is no specific cause of your pain—there may in fact be one or more causes that your physician cannot yet find due to the limitations of medical science.)
Symptoms of Back Pain
Symptoms of a back sprain or strain generally include:
• Muscle spasms, cramping, and stiffness.
• Pain, mostly in the back and buttocks. The pain may develop quickly or over a longer period of time. Pain generally occurs in episodes. It is aggravated by weight-bearing or specific movements and is relieved by rest. The most severe pain usually lasts 48 to 72 hours and may be followed by days or weeks of less severe pain. The back is easily reinjured during this time.
Looking for real, long-term, lasting relief:
• Address both the cause and the symptom – the best approach is a combination of treating the symptoms for pain relief while also addressing the underlying cause.
• Be aware – many people suffering from back pain are not in tune with their bodies and during their treatment they do not realize what is working and what is not. In order to achieve long-term relief you have to understand how your body works, what’s causing the problem, and what changes have to be made to correct it.
Back Pain Treatment
• Physical therapy and exercise - A physical therapist can apply a variety of treatments, such as heat, ice, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and muscle release techniques, to your back muscles and soft tissues to reduce pain. As pain improves, the therapist can teach you specific exercises to increase your flexibility, strengthen your back and abdominal muscles, and improve your posture. Regular use of these techniques will help pain from recurring.
• Prescription medications - Your doctor may prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or in some cases, a muscle relaxant, to relieve mild to moderate back pain that doesn't get better with over-the-counter pain relievers.
Read more on how to get Back pain relief through herbal massage oil – all natural with no side effects. You can also find a collection of Health and fitness ebooks on Ayurvediccure.com ebook store.
Arthritis ('arth' meaning joint, 'itis' meaning inflammation) isn't a one-note story or even a few variations on a single theme; it actually consists of more than 100 different conditions. These can be anything from relatively mild forms of tendinitis (as in 'tennis elbow') and bursitis to crippling systemic forms, such as rheumatoid arthritis. There are pain syndromes like fibromyalgia and arthritis-related disorders, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, that involve every part of the body.
Common Types of Arthritis
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. Cartilage (connective tissue) between the bones gradually wastes away (degenerates), and this can lead to painful rubbing of bone on bone in the joints. It may also cause to joints fall out of their natural positions (misalignment). The most frequently affected joints are in the hands, spine, knees and hips.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Also known as inflammatory arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis is a more severe, but less common condition. The body's immune system attacks and destroys the joint, causing pain and swelling. It can lead to reduction of movement, and the breakdown of bone and cartilage.
Arthritis Causes and Symptoms
Major Causes of Arthritis
Age
Cartilage becomes more brittle with age and has less of a capacity to repair itself. As people grow older they are more likely to develop arthritis.
Weight
Because joint damage is partly dependent on the load the joint has to support, excess body weight can lead to arthritis. This is especially true of the hips and knees that can be worn quickly in heavier patients.
Occupational Hazards
Workers in some specific occupations seem to have a higher risk of developing arthritis than other jobs. These are primarily high demand jobs such as assembly line workers and heavy construction.
Major Symptoms of Arthritis
Symptoms of arthritis include pain and limited function of joints. Inflammation of the joints from arthritis is characterized by joint stiffness, swelling, redness, and warmth. Tenderness of the inflamed joint can be present.
Many of the forms of arthritis, because they are rheumatic diseases, can cause symptoms affecting various organs of the body that do not directly involve the joints. Therefore, symptoms in some patients with certain forms of arthritis can also include fever, gland swelling, weight loss, fatigue, feeling unwell, and even symptoms from abnormalities of organs such as the lungs, heart, or kidneys.
Arthritis Treatment
Fasting is very beneficial for digesting the ama. The fasting be complete or partial depending on the strength of the person, season and place. Two tea spoons of lemon juice mixed in 250 ml. of warm water and a tea spoon of honey is good to take twice a day -morning and evening.
Homeopathic treatment - This form of medicine relies on your body’s own ability, through diet and exercise changes to heal itself. Many of the processed foods consumed today, are lacking a necessary element: antioxidants. These antioxidants have for many years worked with our bodies to provide natural flushing of harmful toxins from our bodies. A lack of antioxidant intake, along with increased exposure to physical and mental stress has increased our susceptibility to diseases such as arthritis.
Read more on how to get Arthritis pain relief through herbal massage oil – all natural with no side effects. You can also find a collection of Health and fitness ebooks on Ayurvediccure.com ebook store.
Depression is the common cold of mental disorders — most people will be affected by depression in their lives either directly or indirectly, through a friend or family member. Confusion is commonplace about depression, for example, about what depression exactly is and what makes it different from just feeling down.
The facts about Depression
If you are depressed, you may have feelings of extreme sadness that can last for a long time. These feelings are severe enough to interfere with your daily life, and usually last for weeks, or months, rather than days.
Depression can affect people of any age, including children. Studies have shown that 2% of teenagers in the UK, are affected by depression.
Symptoms of Depression
Generally the symptoms of depression include:
• Feeling sad, hopeless and despairing
• A loss of interest and pleasure in normal activities
• Loss of appetite or weight
• Loss of sex drive
• Sleeping problems, such as an inability to get to sleep or early waking
Types of Depression
Major Depression
When you hear the term clinical depression, it merely means the depression is severe enough to require treatment. When a person is badly depressed during a single severe period, he or she can be said to have had an episode of clinical depression. More severe symptoms mark the period as an episode of major depression (also known as unipolar depression and major depressive disorder). Many mental health experts say the key to judging this gradation lies in the amount of change a person undergoes in his or her normal patterns along with a loss of interest and a lack of pleasure in them. An almost-daily tennis player, for instance, who began to break her court dates frequently, or a regular bridge player who lost interest in weekly games, might be edging into an episode of major depression. The more severe the depression, the more it is likely to affect its sufferer's life.
Dysthymia is another mood disorder. People who have it may feel mildly depressed on most days over a period of at least two years. They have many symptoms resembling major depression, but with less severity.
Symptoms of depression may surface with other mood disorders. They include seasonal major depression (also known as seasonal affective disorder), postpartum depression, and bipolar disorder.
Atypical Depression
We think of depression as one thing. It's not. In this in-depth article on depression let’s discuss the many forms of depression.
Psychotic
Psychotic depression is a less common type of depression and its symptoms include an even more severely depressed mood, more severe psychomotor disturbance, and psychotic symptoms (either delusions or hallucinations), and over-valued guilt ruminations. Psychotic depression has a very low spontaneous remission rate. It responds only to physical treatments (such as antidepressant drugs).
Cyclothymic disorder
Cyclothymic disorder is when a person has mild and alternating mood swings of elation and depression occurring over a long time period. Because the mood swings are mild, and the elation is often enjoyable, frequently people with cyclothymic disorder do not seek medical help.
The periods of elation and depression can last for lengthy periods, such as a few months. Often, a person with cyclothymic disorder has a relative with bipolar disorder, or they may develop bipolar disorder themselves.
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