Pain related sleep disruption has affected a large number of people around the globe. Statistics has it that, in India, about 25% of the population suffers from pain-related sleep deprivation. Studies call it  the vicious cycle of pain and sleep  as pain affects your ability to sleep and lack of sleep makes the pain even worse.

Back pain and arthritis are examples of some common pain-related medical disorders. People with these types of chronic pains have reported persistent sleeplessness or have had immense trouble falling asleep.

The following are the primary sleep disorders associated with chronic pain:

Insomnia: It is a medical condition that is characterized by an inability to fall asleep no matter how physically exhausted you are. Insomnia can be acute (lasting for one night to a week) or chronic (that lasts for more than 3 weeks).
Hypersomnia: It is a condition wherein you tend to sleep excessively; in this condition, you will have trouble being awake throughout the day or can fall asleep at any point of time.
Sleep Apnoea: This is a sleep disorder wherein breathing pauses and resumes repeatedly. Risk factors include obesity, age and gender; it is more commonly observed in men. This condition can be chronic with symptoms such as snoring loudly or feeling very tired even after one has had a night s sleep.
Restless leg syndrome: It is a sleep disorder wherein you continuously move your legs while sleeping. However, this condition can also cause you to move your legs even if you aren t sleeping.
Some of the causes of sleep disorders due to chronic pain are:

Pain
Worry and anxiety
Sweating at night
Depression and other mental disorders
Treatment

A pain and sleep disorder should be simultaneous as both the components of it, pain and sleep, are interrelated. Some of the ways people with chronic pain can still have a good night s sleep are:

Limiting caffeine intake
Abstaining from alcohol and smoking, as these disrupt the sleep cycles, thus aggravating the existing pain.
Practicing meditation and other relaxation techniques
Pain killers or sleeping pills can be administered, but only with the doctor s advice.
Hot water fomentation over painful area during night, for better sleep.

Back Pain and Bad Sleep

Why Does Your Back Hurt?

Most of us, experience back pain due to incorrect posture or longer duration of sitting.

Sometimes you may experience back pain because of exertion - you spent the entire day doing the same kind of job or maybe you bent in a wrong manner while picking up your child. However, the actual cause of your spinal agony may not be very clear, but it pays to be aware of the possible reasons that can cause backache. It is good to consult a doctor if your back pain is consistent and recurrent.

Here are few of the causes:

1. The position of your pelvis

The pelvis consists of three bones that can shift depending on which muscles become weak or stiff. This brings about a pull in the muscle of the lower back, resulting in severe strain to this area. You should consult a physiotherapist for suggestions regarding the best exercises for strengthening your pelvic area.

2. Weak abdominal muscles

A cause of your back pain can be weak stomach muscles. Abdominal muscles play an important role in balancing out the constant bending that your back muscles perform. When you've weak abdominal muscles, your spine is not able to maintain proper balance, resulting in severe stress on the spinal column.

3. Disc injuries

Located between the bones of your spine, discs perform the function of a shock absorber. Physical injury to these padded cushions can cause them to break open, leading to a condition known as herniated disc. This can then bring about pain in the back area.

Few precautions that can be taken for a hurting back. Despite the causes, there are certain precautions that you can take, which are:

- Avoid sitting in a bad posture, that is, keep your back straight as much as you can. Pull and stretch your body in continual intervals to keep it relaxed.

- Consult the right physician instead of doing exercise that can aggravate your pain.

- Take a break from work and go for short walks, every couple of hours.

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Why Does Your Back Hurt? + What To Do About It

Problems with the arteries and veins present in the hands or legs can lead to vascular disorders. The arteries carry blood from the heart to other parts of the body in order to deliver nutrients and oxygen. The veins carry the blood back to the heart, after the nutrients have been used up. If these blood vessels of the arteries or veins become blocked or narrowed, it can lead to a vascular blockage.

A vascular blockage that occurs in the hands or legs comes under the category of Peripheral Artery Disease or PAD. These type of disorders are less common in the upper extremities of the arms or hands than in the lower extremities of legs. Few of the signs for the same are:

Pain and difficulty in movement due to decreased blood flow
Numbness or weakness of leg or fingertips
Sores on the toes or feet
If the blockage is deep, symptoms of redness, swelling, extreme pain or cramping can be experienced
Abnormal color changes in the fingertips
Ulcers or wounds that don t heal
Skin sensitivity problems when in cold temperatures
How can it be diagnosed?
The blockage can be detected by various methods namely-

Physical Examination   Your doctor may find decreased pulse at armpit, wrist or fingers, full veins, masses, wounds or gangrene.
Doppler or Ultrasound examination to determine the blood flow in the arteries and veins
MRI Scan of the affected area to pay special attention to the blood vessels
Cold Stress Test
Arteriography to show clear blood vessel details
Angiography to map blockages and narrowing of the arteries
What are the Risk Factors for Peripheral Artery Disease?
An individual is at risk for developing vascular blockages in the hands or legs if one or more of the following factors are present:

Smoking
Diabetes
Heredity Factors   A personal or family history of blood vessel disease
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Aging   People aged above 50 years and older are more prone to vascular blockage
Can it be treated?
Treatments for vascular blockage can vary depending on the age, cause of the blockage, intensity and overall well-being.

Treatments can include:

Self-care   Reducing risk factors and making lifestyle changes to quit smoking, sedentary life or diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol management can reverse symptoms of vascular disease.
Medications   A variety of drugs can be prescribed to lower the risk and progression of narrowing blood vessels or prevent blood clotting.
Interventional Procedures   Minimally invasive surgery like saloon angioplasty, stenting or removal of artery plaque build-up.
Surgery   If the blockage is severe, surgery may be performed to lessen the vessel narrowing, reconstruct the artery or tie it off, depending on the circumstances.

Pain in the Hands or Legs!

Body pain and Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy is an effective way to reduce various kinds of body pains. Physiotherapy includes massages, exercises, and heat treatments to relieve pain. This treatment is often recommended as the first option to treat back and neck pain. Physiotherapy is also used to rehabilitate patients after surgery. Different kinds of exercises included in this treatment are also useful to treat sports injuries.  Here are some steps that you can take to relieve your body pain incorporating physiotherapy.

Get appropriate help

It is important to properly diagnose your condition before going for physical therapy. Seek help from a professional and if he/she recommends physiotherapy then only opt for the treatment.

Reduce your severe pain before exercising

If you are in immense pain, work to alleviate the pain before engaging in exercises. Cold/ hot therapy, massage, manual manipulation are some of the methods that can slowly reduce the pain. These are all part of physical therapy.

Exercise

Exercising has numerous health benefits including relieving back pain. As you age, your back tends to get weaker; it is important to workout to prevent future backaches. Stretching, strengthening and low- impact aerobics are ideal for this issue.

You can also try water therapy as water has a therapeutic effect on pain and makes your movements much easier than on land.

Observe your body's reaction to physical therapy

When you have just had a back or neck pain episode and try physical therapy you will feel some initial discomfort, it is expected. After you acclimatize yourself with the routine all kinds of pain will gradually diminish. The initial pain due to physiotherapy is caused because your muscles are stiff and they are being stretched the way they are not used to. However if the pain gradually increases you are probably not right for that particular kind of physical therapy.



Body pain and Physiotherapy

Whether you're old or young, male or female, having a backache can be a real pain! A number of factors ranging from osteoarthritis to muscle strains can be attributed to back pains. No matter what the cause of a backache, a combination of core strengthening exercises, activity, and physical therapy can help lessen the pain.

A backache can be caused by something as simple as bending the wrong way. Hence, the first step towards dealing with a backache is to pay attention to daily movements. If you have to lift something heavy off the floor, bend your knees and let the weight of your load fall on your legs instead of it falling on your back. Here is more on how you can fight back pain with a bit of effort:

Light exercises
Simple, light exercises are the most effective ways of dealing with back pain. The key to exercising your back is moderation and knowing your limits.

Brisk walk and yoga
Regular brisk walks and yoga exercises that strengthen and stretch back muscles are effective ways to reduce and prevent back pain.

Right posture
Exercise can also help reduce excess weight that in turn helps reduce back aches. Slouching not only causes a hunch back but also aggravates back aches. Hence, maintain a right posture to take the pressure off nerves and lower back pain.

Proper posture while sleeping
A good night's sleep can also help soothe inflamed back joints and repair strained muscles. Pay attention to your mattress and ensure that your back is flat when you lie on it. Sleeping on your side can also help deal with the back pain. Consider resting your neck on a pillow, to keep your spine aligned while you sleep.

Hot & cold therapy
Experiment with hot and cold therapy before picking one of them to deal with your back pain. While applying ice packs on your back can help reduce inflammations, hot packs work better to reduce cramps and muscle spasms. Whether you use a hot pack or a cold pack, do not leave it on for more than 20 minutes.

Natural supplements
Natural supplements such as flaxseed oil, calcium, magnesium and vitamin c are helpful when dealing with back pains.

For short-term relief, you could also try over the counter pain relievers. However, do not let this become a long-term habit, as your body could get dependent on it. Other potential side effects could include stomach and liver problems. Hence, if your back ache does not subside on its own, it is best to consult a doctor before treating it yourself.

How to Deal with Back Pain

Arachnoiditis is a sort of inflammation of the defensive layers of the spinal canal. You can envisage it as the scar tissues that enlarge in the arachnoid lining. Also the lining can turn out to be inflamed due to the recurrent intervention on the spine, a lot of surgeries can lead to the scarring, for instance. It can also expand due to definite type of the spinal infections as well as due to the chemicals of epidural steroid injections, particularly if these kinds of chemicals get into the spinal fluid.

As the disease increases day by day, the symptoms also become bigger in magnitude. A lot of people who are suffering from this type of problems are incapable of working. Further due to Arachnoiditis the following symptoms are likely to happen

Grounds of the nerve roots to plod together
The nerve pain
The numbness
The tingling
Radio Frequency rhizotomy is primarily effectual on the joint pain. Patients who are good candidates for the RF have the pain whilst they're doing activities that increase the stress of the spine. Also the RF blocks all the nerves around the joint from sending the pain signals to the brain, as well as that pain free period normally lasts around one year. In that time, patients have to learn regarding the postural correction as well as the good body mechanics. RF presents the patients an option to get back their mobility as well as provide training regarding the movements of their daily lives with the less pain.

The details of information about drugs which might help arachnoiditis:
There are lots of pain management treatments available. Further patients might try the medications to find out the pain relief. A number of options are:

The NSAIDs ( one kind of the anti-inflammatory drugs)
The corticosteroids kind of drugs
The anti-spasm type of the drugs
Also an anti-convulsant drugs as well as
The narcotic type of the pain relievers
A number of these types of medications might be given with a spinal pump. That is the little device which is entrenched under the skin and it then distributes the medication straightly to the inflamed area.
Also the patients might also take the spinal cord stimulation. On the other hand, the natural type of the treatments can assist, also, as well as it can often be utilized in conjunction with the prescribed type of the medication. You can also consult with your doctor about your options regarding your treatments.

Arachnoiditis - Pain Management Techniques For It!

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