Home remedy for Back Pain

August 4, 2014

This is one of the oldest Home remedy for Back Pain and Discopathy

Home remedy for Back Pain

Back pain is a regular problem in the majority of the population. The pain can be caused by many reasons, but most common is discopathy. Degeneration of one or more intervertebral disc of the spine is called discopathy, a condition that can be painful and affect quality of life. The disease usually is associated with aging, but at some people can cause severe chronic pain if not treated promptly.

Symptoms:

-chronic pain in the lower back which is spread on the hips,
-pain in thighs after a long walk,
-tingling and weakness in the knees, hands and fingers,
-chronic neck pain with pain in the head, shoulders and arms.

Ingredients needed for back pain home remedy:

– 3 garlic bulbs,
– 1 tablespoon of baking soda,
– 1 tablespoon of pure alcohol from pharmacy
– 1 tbsp of organic olive oil.

Preparation:
All ingredients are mixed and the mixture is placed on the gauze, and as a coating is applied to the sore spot. Let it stand for several hours or overnight.

The next day prepare a new coating and the treatment lasts for three days.

Source: secretly healthy

15 Home Remedies for Neck Pain

July 16, 2014

“This job is a pain in the neck” may be more than just a saying. Tension on the job or at home, tasks that require a lot of leaning over a work surface, poor posture, and even a too-soft mattress can cause neck pain and stiffness. Of course, some neck pain is the result of injury or disease, but the vast majority of neck pain is due to simple muscle tension.

The neck, with its intricate structure and wide range of mobility, is particularly vulnerable to stress and strain. The head, which weighs between 10 and 20 pounds, is supported by a stack of seven small bones called vertebrae and held in place by 32 complex muscles.

Attached to and between the vertebrae are pads of fibrous cartilage called discs that act as cushions, or shock absorbers. Eight nerves, which relay sensations (including pain), and four major arteries, which carry blood, run through the neck and connect the head with the shoulders, chest, and arms. The delicate spinal cord runs through the center of the stack of vertebrae and is protected by it. Add to this complex structure the fact that the neck moves more than any other part of the body, and you’ve got a formula for trouble.

It’s a vicious cycle. When our muscles tense, either because of physical or emotional stress, the blood supply to the muscles decreases, causing pain. And that pain causes the muscles to tense further. That’s why the best way to relieve neck pain is to try to eliminate or ease the physical or emotional stress in addition to treating the muscles.

Get rid of that pain in the neck by heeding the home remedies that follow.
Take a load off. One of the simplest ways to relieve the pain is to lie down and give your neck muscles a chance to recover. But don’t use a thick pillow that crimps your neck.

Ice it. Ice effectively numbs pain and decreases inflammation. Put crushed ice in a plastic bag and cover the bag with a pillowcase (a terry towel is too thick to effectively transmit the cold). Apply the icepack to your painful neck for 15 minutes at a time.

Heat it up. Heat increases circulation and can be effective for easing stiff muscles. Use a wet towel or a hot water bottle, or stand in a hot shower. But don’t keep it up for too long. Too much heat can aggravate symptoms and cause more pain. You might even want to try following up your heat application with a few minutes of cold treatment.

Relax. Emotional stress can trigger muscle tension. Pay attention to what stresses you: your drive to work, your rush to get dinner on the table each night, meetings with your boss, and so on. After you’ve identified your common stressors, think creatively about ways to reduce your stress. One way to manage stress is through relaxation techniques, such as progressive relaxation or abdominal breathing.

To perform progressive relaxation, find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. Sit or lie down and close your eyes. Then, starting with your head and neck and working down the entire body, consciously tighten, or tense, and then completely release the muscles in the area.

To perform abdominal breathing, sit quietly and take a slow, deep breath all the way into your abdomen; place a hand on your abdomen to feel it expand and confirm you are breathing deeply enough. Then exhale completely, gently sucking in your stomach. Breathe slowly and deeply like this for several minutes (if you do this too quickly, you may begin to hyperventilate).

Other relaxation techniques include meditation, yoga, and exercise. In addition, you may want to develop some of your own methods of relaxation, such as engaging in a hobby or listening to peaceful music. Do whatever works for you.
Use massage. Massage can help ease tense muscles and give temporary relief, and it may help you sleep better. First, take a hot bath or shower to relax the muscles. Then, have your partner use oil or lotion and rub your neck and shoulders using the fingers to apply gentle pressure in small circular motions. Next, have your partner rub your neck and shoulders using firm pressure and long, downward strokes. Don’t forget the chest area. If you don’t have a willing partner, try rubbing your own neck and chest area with oil or lotion for 10 or 15 minutes.

Take a nonprescription pain reliever. Over-the-counter pain relievers such as aspirin and ibuprofen can ease the pain and reduce inflammation. If you can’t take these medications because of allergies, stomach upset, or any other reason, try acetaminophen; it won’t calm inflammation, but it should help relieve pain.

Practice good posture. Posture has more to do with neck pain than people realize. The head and spine balance in relation to gravity. When poor posture pulls the curve of the lower back forward, the upper back curves farther backward to compensate. In response, the neck curves forward, in a strained position.

You can use a wall to help align your body properly and improve your posture: Stand with your back to a wall, heels several inches from the wall. Your buttocks and shoulders should touch the wall, and the back of your head should be close to the wall. Keep your chin level. Now, step away from the wall. Step back and check your position. Try to carry this posture throughout the day.
Get and stay trim. Being overweight strains all of the body’s muscles, including those in the neck.

Strengthen stomach muscles. Just as poor posture and obesity can cause straining of the neck muscles, poor tone in the stomach muscles forces the upper back to curve farther backward and the neck to curve forward. Do exercises such as bent-knee curls (they’re basically sit-ups, but you only lift your head and upper back, rather than your whole back, off the ground) to strengthen abdominal muscles.

Do neck exercises. Two types of neck exercises can help ease and prevent neck pain: gentle range-of-motion exercises and isometric exercises. Apply moist heat to the neck before performing the exercises. Each exercise should be done five times per session, three sessions per day.

Range-of-motion exercises help stretch neck muscles. Sit erect but relaxed. Slowly turn your head to the right as far as you can, hold, and return it to the center. Repeat to the left. Then drop your chin down slowly toward your chest, hold, and relax. Bring your head back up. Now tilt your head toward your left shoulder, hold, and return to the center. Do the same on the right side.

Isometric exercises are performed against resistance but without actually moving your head. Try this routine:

Sit erect and relaxed, hold your hand up to your forehead, and press your forehead into your palm, using your palm to resist the motion.
Place your right hand against the right side of your head, and press your head against your hand (as if trying to bring your right ear to your right shoulder), but use your hand to resist your head’s motion. Do the same on the left side.

Press both hands against the back of your head as you try to push your head backward; resist your head’s backward motion with your hands.

Press your hand against the right side of your face as you try to turn your head to look over your right shoulder; use your hand to resist the turning motion. Repeat, pressing your left hand to the left side of your face as you attempt to look over your left shoulder.

Stay in shape. The stronger and more flexible you are overall, the less likely you’ll suffer from neck pain. Swimming is one of the best all-around exercises for strengthening the neck and back.

Work at eye level. If your neck discomfort comes on toward the end of the workday, chances are good that your workstation or your work habits are causing the problem. People often get “desk neck” from looking down for long periods or from reaching up to work. If possible, always keep your work at eye level. Change the height of your chair, desk, or computer screen; use an upright stand to hold reading material; and use a stepladder, stool, or raised platform instead of reaching up.

Take frequent breaks. Change your body position often, especially if you have to be in a physically stressful position. Get up and walk around at least once an hour.

Unlearn “neck-bashing” habits. Do you crimp the phone between your neck and shoulder? Do you often fall asleep sitting up in a chair and wake with your head tilted way back or your chin to your chest? Do you shampoo your hair in the sink? All of these habits can cause neck strain. Become aware of habits that strain your neck and replace them with neck-healthy ones.

Sleep on a firm mattress. If you wake in the morning with a stiff or sore neck, your mattress, pillow, or sleeping habits are probably the culprit. Use a firm mattress and keep your head aligned with your spine. Don’t sleep on your stomach, since it forces your head up. Avoid pillows that are too thick and firm; try feather or crushed-foam pillows rather than those of solid foam rubber.

As you can see, several of your everyday habits can contribute to neck pain. Take the home remedies listed in this article to keep your neck held high and healthy.

Source: how stuff works

Stop Back Pain Before It Starts

April 30, 2014

You don’t have back pain…yet. Want to keep it that way? Try these techniques to prevent the pain long before it begins.

Sit pretty
You don’t need a fancy ergonomically designed office chair, but you should have one that provides good support so that your back is curved like an S, not a C, says Jeffrey Goldstein, MD, director of the spine service at the New York University Langone Medical Center.

Every half hour, get up and walk around for a few seconds to take some of the stress off your back.

Stand tall
Imagine a line coming down through your body from the ceiling, says physical therapist Renée Garrison.

Your ears, shoulders, hips, and knees should all stack up along that line, with your head stacked directly atop your neck, not jutting forward.
Wear soft soles
“If your shoe has little cushioning, every time your foot strikes concrete, you’ll jar the bones and muscles in your low back,” says Raj Rao, MD, vice chairman of the department of orthopedic surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin. (That holds true for flats as well as heels.)

Look for a shoe with a cushioned sole, or buy an insert like Spenco For Her Women’s Q-Factor Cushioning Insole ($17; amazon.com). When you’re at home, pad around in thick flip-flops or well-cushioned sneakers.

Don’t smoke
A 2010 review of 40 studies found that smokers have more low back pain than nonsmokers, possibly because smoking reduces blood flow to the spine, says Dr. Rao

Learn how to lift
You know to hoist heavy objects using your legs, not your back. But what about a very light object?

Answer: Lean over it, slightly bend one knee, and extend the other leg behind you. Hold onto a chair or table for support.

Downsize your pillows
“Sleeping with two or three pillows under your neck can strain your muscles,” says Jessica Shellock, MD, an orthopedic spine surgeon at the Texas Back Institute.

Source: health

How to use meditation for pain relief?

December 21, 2013June 4, 2014

With its origins in ancient religious and spiritual traditions, meditation is a widely used mind-body practice used even today, to complement medical procedures and treatments.

Although, used mostly for relaxation and stress reduction, meditation-based therapy is increasingly offered in medical centers and clinics today to manage pain and reduce anxiety prior to surgeries. Surprised? Recent studies have shown that frequent practice of meditation can lead to significant control of pain. Read on to know how meditation alters your pain perception and quells pain even better than some of the most powerful drugs.

Meditation and common forms
The term meditation refers to a set of techniques wherein a person minimizes the activity of the mind without altering the level of alertness. Broadly, the technique has been categorized under five basic categories:

Mantra meditation
This comprises the Transcendental Meditation techniques, Clinically Standardized Meditation and Relaxation Response. In this process, by repeatedly using a sound or phrase, a person focuses to achieve a state of perfect consciousness.

Mindfulness meditation
This form of meditation involves focusing on what you experience while performing the technique like the very flow of your breath.

Yoga
Here, a person attempts to achieve a state of calmness by combining bodily postures with controlled breathing.

Tai-Chi – A form of Chinese martial arts, the technique is performed using self-paced series of movements in a slow-graceful manner along with deep breathing.

Qi gong – This involves a combination of meditation, breathing exercise, relaxation and physical movements.

Meditation and pain management: In the past, meditation has been explored extensively for its effects on stress reduction and other similar clinical functions. However, researchers have now identified another significant health benefit of the technique that suggests that it is actually possible to overcome debilitating pain with the help of meditation. What’s more, some of these studies have also suggested that the pain-relieving effects of meditation might be even more effective than morphine.

Back in April, 2011, a study by the researchers at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center indicated that a person can attain at least 40 per ent decrease in pain intensity and 57 per cent in pain unpleasantness merely by practicing these techniques regularly. This decrease in pain was found to be much higher than with morphine or other pain-relieving drugs. With the help of magnetic resonance imaging, the brain activity of study participants after meditation demonstrated how the technique increased the activity of certain areas which are responsible for pain perception.

Despite such findings, scientists were unable to ascertain the actual mechanism of this phenomenon until now. According to a recent research published at the Brain Research Bulletin, investigators from Harvard, MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital have identified a possible answer. They suggested that the explanation probably lies in alpha waves manipulation in the brain.

Furthermore, they explained that by practicing the techniques of mindfulness meditation for a period of eight-weeks or above, you will be able to control the activity of these brain waves.

Source; Times of India

Older men who ignore knee pain risk worse problems

December 21, 2013June 4, 2014

Shrugging off chronic knee pain as an inevitable part of aging puts men in their 70s at risk for accelerated muscle loss, falls and generally reduced quality of life, a new study suggests.

“This study confirms the findings of many studies indicating that chronic knee pain will seriously impact quality of life in older people,” lead author Marlene Franzen said.

Franzen is an associate professor of physiotherapy at the University of Sydney in Australia.

Nearly half of men over 70 have chronic knee pain, according to her team’s report in the journal in Age and Ageing.

“Chronic knee pain is not a ‘benign’ disease,” she told Reuters Health. “It does lead to a greatly increased risk of falls and developing mobility disability, and therefore increased risk of early mortality.”

Mobility disability means being unable to walk up or down stairs to the first floor without help and being unable to walk about half a mile without help, according to Franzen.

She and her coauthors tracked 1,587 men over age 70 for two years. About 640 of the men said they suffered from chronic knee pain at the start of the study. Two years later, another 150 reported experiencing bouts of chronic knee pain as well.

The researchers found that men with knee pain were nearly two and a half times more likely to have mobility disability than those without pain.

“Mobility disability among older people with chronic knee pain is serious as it has been associated with early mortality,” Franzen said.

The men with knee pain were also more likely to experience falls, which can be serious for people over 70, and to have reduced strength and mass in the muscles, tendons and ligaments that extend the knee, according to diagnostic scans.

The link between decreased leg muscle strength and chronic knee pain had only previously been established for women, Franzen said.

While some loss of muscle mass – about 1 percent a year – is typical with aging, Franzen’s team also measured changes in the strength of leg muscles that control the knee.

Past research has found the strength of those muscles drops by about 3.4 percent a year, and that was the rate Franzen’s group saw among men without knee pain. But for men who developed knee pain during the two-year study, muscle strength dropped by 4.5 percent a year.

“I think the evidence from this study and previous research would suggest that knee pain in older adults is associated with increased mobility problems, and this may be at least partly related to muscle strength declines,” David Scott said.

Scott studies the gradual loss of muscle mass that usually begins after age 30 at the University of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, but was not involved in the new study.

“This might indicate that methods to improve lower-limb muscle strength in older adults, such as supervised exercise training, may have potential benefits both in decreasing the disability associated with knee pain, and also in preventing development of pain itself,” he said.

In the new study, obesity, back pain and higher levels of physical activity were more common in the group of men with knee pain. Men in their 80s, however, were less likely to have knee pain, which the authors attributed to their probably being more sedentary.

Knee pain usually becomes troublesome many years earlier than age 70, when people often have more physically demanding lifestyles or occupations, often in their 50s, Franzen said. Knee pain with age is even more common among women, she said.

For the obese, losing weight can help alleviate some knee pain, she said.

Otherwise, patients should see their doctors for an effective and safe pain management strategy, and a physiotherapist for a recommended physical activity program, Franzen said.

Source: News dump

How A Wandering Brain Can Help People Cope With Pain

November 5, 2013June 4, 2014

When some people are in pain, the experience is so intense that they can’t think of anything else. But others can turn their minds elsewhere and feel better.

Why? The difference may be due in part to brain wiring, researchers say, and knowing more about how it works may someday make it easier to match people with effective pain treatments.

Prescription painkillers like Vicodin don’t work for everyone, and alternative treatments like meditation or cognitive behavioral therapy work for some but not all. Right now, doctors can’t tell in advance which pain treatment will work best for a patient.

The problem intrigued Karen Davis, a neuroscientist at the University of Toronto’s Centre for the Study of Pain, who was in misery from a pinched nerve in her neck. But grant application deadlines loomed, so she just kept working.

“I tried a lot of painkillers, and it didn’t do much,” Davis tells Shots. But she noticed that when she was focused on her work, the pain didn’t bother her as much. “I don’t know if the pain went away, but I certainly didn’t notice it.”

So Aaron Kucyi, a graduate student in Davis’ lab, recreated the painful experience with small electric shocks to volunteers’ wrists. After each zap the researchers asked how the test subjects were feeling and what they were thinking about. Some people’s thoughts wandered from the pain, while others couldn’t disengage.

Then they gave people cognitive tests while zapping them. The mind-wanderers did well. The people focused on the pain floundered.

This isn’t standard-issue daydreaming, Davis says. “Mind-wandering away from pain is different than daydreaming in general.”

Diving deeper, the researchers put 32 of the study participants in an MRI scanner to see what was going on. They found that people who were good at letting their minds wander away from pain had more nerve connections to a brain region that produces painkilling substances. The brain made that connection using a system called the default-mode network, which people typically use for thinking.

And finally, they used newer MRI technology to see how flexible people could be in responding to pain. The mind-wanderers were more flexible.

Overall, most people in the study fell somewhere in the middle, doing some mind-wandering and some focusing on pain. Davis says that suggests that for most people there is a range of pain management techniques that could work.

“People who mind-wander, they might be more able to vary their response to pain on their own,” Davis speculates. They also might be more adept at learning pain-control methods like yoga, meditation or cognitive behavioral therapy. And non-wanderers may need different forms of help.

This is preliminary science. For now, it’s probably not useful in personalizing pain treatment outside the research lab. But it marks a potential path away from a one-size-fits-all approach to pain management that often fails to connect people with treatments that help.

Source:

In pain? Listen to music, says pharmacy

October 23, 2013June 4, 2014

A high street pharmacy is advising customers seeking pain relief to listen to music after a study found it can ease their symptoms.

Four in ten people living with persistent pain (41 per cent) told researchers their favourite songs helped them relax and feel better.

Pop music was found to be the most effective for 21 per cent of patients, followed by classical (17 per cent) and rock or indie (16 per cent).

The most effective songs were “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel, “Angels” by Robbie Williams, and “Albatross” by Fleetwood Mac.

These were followed by “Candle in the Wind” by Elton John, and “Easy” by “The Commodores”.

Now Lloyds Pharmacy – which commissioned the study of 1,500 people – is piloting the recommendations at selected stores across the UK.

This includes Selfridges, in Oxford Street, central London; Jubilee Crescent, Coventry; Barton Hill Road, Torquay; and Fallowfield, Manchester.

Around ten million people in the country suffer pain most days, including back and neck pain, arthritis, joint pain, and headaches or migraines.

Music has the biggest impact on younger people, with 66 per cent of those aged 16 to 24 claiming it helps with their pain management.

Pharmacist Andrew Mawhinney, from LloydsPharmacy, said: “There are lots of different ways of managing pain, not only with medicines but also with lifestyle changes such as moderate exercise and relaxation.

“After speaking to many people who are living with pain we were interested to learn just how many found music beneficial, which is why we’re now trialing the use of music within our pain service in some of our pharmacies.”

David Bradshaw, a Research Assistant Professor at The University of Utah Pain Management Centre, said: “People in pain should try to find some activity to get fully engaged in.

“Listening to favourite music is excellent for that because it can involve both thoughts and feelings.

“No matter how anxious you may feel, if you can get absorbed in the music this can help with your pain.

“Choose music you like and know well, humming or singing along can help you engage in listening and distract you from your pain.”

Of those who listen to music to help with their pain, one third (33 per cent) do so as “often as possible” and 40 per cent chose to listen in the evenings.

Source: http://truth.co.nz

Top five tips for relieving muscle pain naturally

October 17, 2013June 4, 2014

Chronic pain is complex. Research over the past 25 years has shown that pain is influenced by emotional and social factors. These need to be addressed along with the physical causes of pain. Chronic stress is one factor that contributes to chronic pain. The good news is that you can get natural pain relief by making relaxation exercises a part of your pain-management plan.

The Body’s Response to Stress

To understand how natural pain relief works, it’s important to understand how stress affects your body. Pain and stress have a similar effect on the body: your heart rate and blood pressure rise, breathing becomes fast and shallow, and your muscles tighten.

You can actually feel your body’s response when you’re faced with a sudden, stressful event, such as fearing that a car is about to hit you. The car misses you and, in time, your system returns to normal. You relax.

With chronic stress, such as worrying about health or finances, feeling stuck in a bad job or marriage, or fearing that something bad will happen, the nervous system keeps the body on alert. This takes a big toll on your body. Levels of stress hormones increase, and muscles remain in a nearly constant state of tension.

Chronic stress hurts.

Here’s just one example: Studies that measure site-specific muscle tension in patients with chronic back pain have shown that simply thinking or talking about a stressful event dramatically increases tension in back muscles.

Relaxation Techniques for Natural Pain Relief

Relaxation exercises calm your mind, reduce stress hormones in your blood, relax your muscles, and elevate your sense of well-being. Using them regularly can lead to long-term changes in your body to counteract the harmful effects of stress.

Don’t get stressed trying to pick the “right” relaxation technique for natural pain relief. Choose whatever relaxes you: music, prayer, gardening, going for a walk, talking with a friend on the phone. Here are some other techniques you might try:

Foursquare breathing. Breathe deeply, so that your abdomen expands and contracts like a balloon with each breath. Inhale to a count of four, hold for a count of four, exhale to a count of four, then hold to a count of four. Repeat for ten cycles.
Guided imagery. Breathe slowly and deeply. For example, imagine a tranquil scene in which you feel comfortable, safe, and relaxed. Include colors, sounds, smells, and your feelings. Do five to ten minutes each day.
Self-talk. Change how you think about your pain and yourself. For example, change “Pain prevents me from keeping house the way I used to — I’m a failure” to “No one will die if the house isn’t perfect. I can get a lot done by breaking down tasks into baby steps.”
Hypnosis. Hypnotherapists can induce hypnosis and implant suggestions, such as, “You’re going to sleep soundly tonight.” Audiotape the session so that you can repeat it at home.
Mindfulness meditation. Sit or lie quietly and notice your breathing without controlling it. If pain or thoughts interfere, simply notice them without trying to push them away. Think of them as a cloud passing over; then return to observing your breath. Do this for about 20 minutes.

Source: http://www.webmd.com

Milk samples fail to conform to standards

August 29, 2013February 19, 2014

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Azad said penal action is taken against offenders in case the samples are found to be not conforming to the provisions of the food safety act.

More than 68 percent of milk samples tested across the country by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) failed to conform to recommended standards, parliament has been informed.
The FSSAI conducted a national survey to ascertain the quality of milk throughout the country, in which 68.4 percent samples were found to be non-conforming to food safety and standards regulations, 2011, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said Tuesday in reply to a written question in the Rajya Sabha.

The FSSAI is the nodal agency which regulates manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import of food items.
The implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, rests with state governments.

Random samples of food items, including milk, are taken by the state food safety officers and sent to the designated laboratories for analysis.