Muscle sprains and ligament tears are one of the most common injuries that medical practitioners encounter on a regular basis. These injuries are painful and can also limit one s movement, needless to say. However, there are simple things that can be done as soon as the injury happens so that the impact of the injury can be reduced, the symptoms minimised, and recovery improved.

A sprain is a tear of the ligament. The ligament is responsible for connecting the tissue strands that connect the bone to the muscle. When this sprain affects the muscle or even the tendon, it is known as a strain.
Sprains are very common and can occur due to a fall, twist, or impact. Most commonly affected areas are the ankles and wrists. Sprains happen when there is a pull or a twist of the ankle or the joint. This is very common in athletes and can be caused by repetitive motions in the knees, wrists, elbows, etc.

The most common symptom is pain, swelling, limited movement, and sometimes bruising. The degree of these injuries depends on its severity. The most common ways to treat such injuries are as follows.

RICE therapy: RICE is an acronym for rest, ice, compress, and elevate. Rest the affected area immediately by stopping any further activity. Ice the area using an ice wrap, with the ice cubes wrapped in a towel or a cotton cloth. Repeat this exercise if possible for every 20 minutes. This will reduce the swelling and pain. Compress the area using a sling or a wrap. This will help in reducing the swelling. Elevate the affected area if possible above the heart. This will help control the blood flow and thereby reduce the swelling and pain.
Pain control: If there is pain that needs medication, go for the non-steroidal drugs like ibuprofen or acetaminophen. If it is a child that is injured, it is advisable to give non-aspirin ones.
Seek professional help: Most sprains can be self-limiting over a couple of days. However, it is advisable to seek medical help if there is significant pain, swelling, or numbness, open wounds or bruises, or inability to move the joint.
The doctor may decide to do the following.

Scanning or imaging to rule out any internal hard/soft tissue injury like fracture or tear
Immobilise the joint with a splint or a cast
Start physical therapy if there is severe pain and immobility
Surgical repair if there is a ligament injury
A word of caution to athletes or people who are very active physically is to go easy on the joint. In an eagerness to quickly get back to their routine, more and severe damage may be caused. This can be avoided by allowing time for complete healing.

Muscle & Ligament Sprain - Tips To Help You Deal With It!

One of the deadly diseases caused by the bite of an infected mosquito is Chikungunya. If you suddenly experience unbearable joint pain with symptoms of fever, consult a doctor immediately. Even the name Chikungunya etymologically means "to become twisted". If you are having the aforementioned symptoms, there is a high chance you are suffering from Chikungunya.

Symptoms of Chikungunya
Chikungunya affects your body within 3-4 days of the mosquito bite. The first sign of Chikungunya is sudden fever, which causes mild tremors in your body accompanied by severe pain and swelling of the joints. A headache and pain in the muscles are other two symptoms of this disease. The most glaring indication that you are suffering from it is the excessive joint pain you experience. This pain usually lasts for a few days to a couple of weeks. If left untreated, this disease can prove to be fatal. 

1. The joint pain will have a paralyzing effect on your body resulting in extreme pain.
2. Your finger joints and foot exhibit signs of swelling, causing severe pain.
3. You will experience pain in your hip, wrists and elbows.

Other symptoms of the disease include neurological and mild cardiac complications. You may even complain of having an eyesore. Also, there are chances of you suffering from gastrointestinal problems. However, none of these symptoms will be as severe as the excruciating joint pain you experience.

Some preventive measures can be taken, them being:
a. Drink plenty of water to keep yourself hydrated.
b. Get plenty of sleep. It might be impossible for you to sleep especially when you are having body aches. Thus ask your doctor for some painkillers which will let you rest.
c. Paracetamol is a must to beat fever and joint pain.
d. Anti-inflammatory pills will be strictly recommended by your doctor to treat the inflammation.
e. Use a mosquito net at night
f. Keep your house clean so that the Chikungunya mosquitoes don't thrive

Suffering From Severe Joint Pain? It Could Be Due to Chikungunya

Muscle cramps often occur in the calf muscle of the back of the lower leg. It is often characterized by a momentary sharp pain along with a muscle lump beneath the skin. Just like its sudden appearance, muscle cramp disappears the same way without any botheration. However, a doctor should be consulted if you see any of the following symptoms:

    The pain keeps coming back
    The cramps result in weakening of the muscles
    It causes frequent discomfort
    It results in changed skin color, redness or swelling of the skin
    The condition doesn t improve with normal care
    Cramps are not associated with obvious causes such as playing, exercising and jogging

What causes muscle cramps?
Any strain on muscle, dehydration, muscle overuse or simply standing for a prolonged time can lead to muscle cramps. The exact cause of muscle cramps is not known in a lot of cases. There could be the following medical conditions that could lead to such muscle cramps:

    Blood supply: At times when the arteries narrow down resulting in an inadequate blood supply in the leg, a sharp pain can be felt followed by muscle cramps. This can happen while exercising or playing. It disappears as soon as one rests their legs.
    Mineral depletion: Shortage of magnesium, potassium and calcium in the body can lead to muscle cramps. Even medication for high blood pressure can lead to cramps in the legs.
    Nerve compression: Nerve compression of the spine can produce sharp pain on the leg muscles. The pain worsens with longer durations of walk. The symptoms, however, can be delayed a bit if the walking posture is changed, like the way one walks while carrying a shopping cart.

What are the risk factors associated to muscle cramps?

    Dehydration: Muscle cramps often happen among athletes when they get dehydrated and fatigued while performing in hot temperature.
    Age: People over the age of 60 often lose mass in the muscle. The remaining mass gets stressed out soon, resulting in muscle cramps.
    Pregnancy: Pregnant women face frequent muscle cramps due to the sudden increase of body weight and restricted movements in the pregnancy period.
    Medical conditions: Certain medical conditions such as nerve disorder, thyroid problems, liver failure, diabetes etc. greatly increase the chance of muscle cramps.

Some common ways to treat muscle cramps:

    A brisk walk followed by stretching relaxes the muscles and greatly helps in staying away from cramps.
    A diet consisting of magnesium on a regular basis gives relief from muscle cramps.
    A wet cloth soaked in hot water often shows magical results and gives instant relief from muscle cramps.
    Being hydrated throughout the day helps with muscle cramps. It is necessary to consume enough amount of electrolytes so that muscle contraction does not happen.

Why You Get Muscle Cramps?

Frozen shoulder is a condition where the patient encounters continuous shoulder stiffness and pain. It could last for several weeks. Inflammation around the shoulder increases the inability to move or stretch properly. This happens when somebody is recovering from an injury. Frozen shoulder can also occur when somebody is wearing a sling or a cast. It also occurs if someone is recovering from surgery or experiencing joint pain. It may also be experienced as a symptom of thyroid, joint disorders or diabetes.

Some of the causes and risk factors for creating a frozen shoulder are as follows:

    If you are 40 years or older, your chances of a frozen shoulder are higher than others
    Recovering from a damage or surgery
    Hormonal imbalance
    Ladies are more prone to a frozen shoulder
    Cervical disc infection that influences the nerves around the shoulder
    Not moving your arm because of other pain or wounds
    Having a previous medical condition like diabetes or other heart diseases
    Open-heart surgery or spinal surgeries
    Poor diet and unhealthy lifestyle

The most widely recognized symptoms of a frozen shoulder include:

    Stiffness around the shoulder usually happens in one shoulder at a time (not both) and will probably return in the same shoulder. Muscle, joint and bone agony in and around the shoulders or arms may be experienced.
    Restricted scope of movement
    Having difficulty moving and using the shoulders or arms ordinarily, (for example, experiencing difficulty in getting dressed, driving, holding objects before you, and gestures.)

Treatment:

    Stretch the Shoulder: Before beginning shoulder exercises for a frozen shoulder, try to warm up your shoulder by doing a few warm up exercises. This will improve the blood supply in the affected area and avoid future injuries by making your body more comfortable with the motion. The best approach is to extend and warm up the shoulder by applying heat for 10 to 15 minutes, scrubbing down or showering with Epsom salt.
    Non-intrusive treatment: While these activities mentioned above can be easily performed at home, if pain continues and makes it difficult to move around or work ordinarily, see a physiotherapist who can appoint particular activities and can enhance your scope of movement, flexibility and strength.
    Acupuncture: Acupuncture is considered one of the best treatment choices for any joint and nerve related problem. The treatment is based on focusing on the trigger points of the pain and putting pressure on them via needles. The treatment is not painful and is known to produce good results in the long run.
    Dietary Supplements: Various supplements can be taken with the recommendation of a doctor, in order to improve recovery. Alfalfa (horse feed) and turmeric are two of the most regularly recommended elements that relieve swelling and repair the tissue in the shoulder.

Best Remedies for a Frozen Shoulder

Stress is sometimes good for you. When you stretch yourself beyond your capacity, your body accepts challenge and increase the capacity to cope up with challenge. To a certain extent, it is good for body. But when the stress crosses the limits, it starts hurting you. That's the bad stress for you. Moderate stress for too long a time also is bad for you. Most of the hormonal diseases like diabetes, thyroid etc. Occur because of long standing underlying moderate stress. 

Stress can be physical or mental. Physical stress is due to long and continuous physical activities like walking, jogging, travelling, cycling. Mental stress is mainly because of financial tension or relationship distress. Both types of stress cause similar damages to body. Stress is the main underlying cause behind diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease, thyroid, diabetes, kidney disease, peptic ulcer, bleeding disorders, cancer, recurrent infections etc. 

Finding out the reason of stress and removal of cause of stress should be the main line of treatment of such diseases.

Stress - Good and Bad

The hand is one of the most commonly used parts of our body and is susceptible to damage, wear and tear as well as injury. Pain in the hand can be attributed to numerous causes, including damage and other conditions that can affect the joints, cartilage, nerves and other parts of the hand.

Causes

De Quervain's tendinitis: This is also known as de Quervain's tendinosis. It causes pain on the thumb side of the wrist. The pain may grow slowly or suddenly. It can also spread to every part of the thumb and up the lower arm. On the off chance that you have de Quervain's tendinitis, you may experience pain while performing the following actions:

- Clenching The fist

- Handling on or holding objects

- Turning the wrist

Treatment for this includes the following:

- Wearing a prop to rest the thumb and wrist

- Calming drugs

- Cortisone infusions

Carpal tunnel disorder: This is common amongst the well-known nerve issues. It can cause pain in the following parts of the hand:

- Palm and a few fingers

- Wrist

- Lower arm


The treatment methods includes the following:

- Resting the hand and wrist

- Painkillers

- Wrist support

- Steroid infusions

- Active recuperation

- Breaks

Fracture: It's a crack or break in a bone that can cause immense pain in the hand. Other than this, the hand may also experience the following:

- Stiffness

- Swelling

- Loss of proper motion and movement

The kind of treatment depends on the kind of fracture. Braces are usually used for small fractures. Sticks, wires, or plates might be used to treat severe fractures. Likewise, surgery may also be recommended to set the broken bone properly.

Arthritis: This is a disease causing joint inflammation and stiffness of the joints. It causes the joints to lose the ligament that permits them to move easily against each other. This tears the ligament, giving rise to crippling pain and swelling.

In the hand, the regions where this regularly happens are as follows:

- Base of the thumb

- Center joint of one or more fingers

- End joint, which is nearest to the fingertip

The treatment depends on the seriousness of the injury and the following may be used:

- Painkillers

- Props for the fingers or wrist

- Heat

- Non-intrusive treatment

Trigger finger: Also known as stenosing tenosynovitis, this defect causes the fingers or the thumb to bend. It can be difficult, particularly when bowing or fixing the influenced finger or thumb.

Knobs may form on the influenced ligaments. Also, the sheath itself may thicken. In the long run, the ligament may get to be adhered when you attempt to fix a twisted finger or thumb.

Resting now and again while wearing a support may help resolve the issue. Over-the-counter torment pharmaceuticals can facilitate the agony. Corticosteroid infusions can mitigate side effects. Surgery might be recommended for extreme cases.

Causes of Common Hand Pain and How to Find Relief

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