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!

Throwing a ball, lifting something or even eating requires the use of the elbow joint. This is one of the most overused joints in the body and hence is very susceptible to wear and tear, which mostly causes pain. Pain in the elbow could be the result of an issue with the arm muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones or bursae. The treatment for this pain depends largely on the factors causing it. Some of the most common conditions that cause elbow pain are:

Golfer s Elbow
This condition is also known as 'Medial Epicondylitis'. It is caused by an overuse of the elbow muscles and affects the elbow s inner tendons. Resting the elbow, cold packs and the use of over-the-counter pain killers can usually relieve this sort of pain.

Tennis Elbow
This condition is also caused by repetitive actions and affects the elbow s outer tendons. It is also known as lateral epicondylitis. Resting the elbow can help this type of pain. In addition, patients may also need to wear an elbow strap or brace to support the joint. In some cases, physiotherapy may also be needed.

Student s Elbow
This is also commonly known as draftsman s elbow or olecranon bursitis. This condition affects the small fluid sacs or bursae in the elbow. These fluid sacs aid in the movement of the elbow. Leaning on the elbow for a long time, a sharp blow or an infection could be the cause of this condition. It can be treated with medication and elbow pads. In chronic and severe cases, surgery may also be needed.

Fracture or Dislocation
Falling on the elbow can lead to a bone being dislocated or a fracture in the joint. In such cases, the pain will be accompanied by swelling, discoloration and difficulty in moving the elbow. Fractures and dislocated bones need medical attention. Your doctor may advise you to wear a brace or a cast depending on the severity of the issue.

Sprains and Strains
Repeated stress or a trauma can result in a sprained or strained ligament. In such cases, the joint will feel unstable. Pain caused by these ligament conditions can be relieved by resting the elbow, applying a cold pack and wearing a brace to support the elbow. Sometimes, a doctor may also advise physiotherapy.

Panner s Disease
This condition is caused by dislodged pieces of bone and cartilage that could be the result of an injury. Young men are the most affected by it. Resting the joint and abstaining from lifting any weights can help relieve pain caused by Panner s disease. In some cases, physical therapy may also be recommended.

Elbow pain can be tricky to treat. Sometimes, it can just go away with rest or with the application of cold packs or rehabilitation exercises. The most important thing is to be patient and get the treatment process started. Make sure to consult with a doctor before treating any kind of elbow pain. Home remedies are best avoided when it's the elbow at stake.

Pain In Elbow - Know The Causes and How to Manage It

The shoulders are the most mobile joints in your body. Shoulder joints undergo wear and a tear over time and hence become unstable. Shoulder arthritis is one of the painful conditions affecting the shoulder joints. Arthritis not only takes a toll on the tendons and muscles, but also affects the ligaments and joints too. They usually cause symptoms such as joint pain, resulting in limited mobility.

Treatment:

Nonsurgical or Lifestyle treatments:

Take rest or avoid the activities that provoke pain or change the way of your arm movements.
Physical therapy boosts shoulder mobility.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen or aspirin alleviate pain and inflammation.
Corticosteroid injections in the shoulders can also help to ease the pain and inflammation, although temporarily.
Applying moist heat or ice packs over the shoulders for about half an hour at least thrice a day brings relief.
Drugs such as methotrexate can be administered in case one is suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (a chronic disease attacking multiple joints of the body).
Dietary supplements such as chondroitin and glucosamine may help reduce pain.
Surgical treatments (if your pain results in disability and does not lessen with nonsurgical options)

Join replacement surgery or arthroplasty involves replacing the damaged parts of the shoulder with a prosthetic (artificial) joint.
Few mild forms of arthritis may be treated using the Arthroscopic procedure (minimally invasive surgery). It requires a surgeon to ease the joint pain by making small incisions to  clean out  the joint. A tiny camera fitted into the joint guides the surgeon through the surgery.
Resection arthroplasty is a method that involves the surgical removal of the bone from the collar bone and substituting it with a scar tissue to treat arthritis of particular joints.

Everything You Need To Know About Shoulder Arthritis Treatment

Spinal stenosis is a condition where a part of the spinal column becomes narrow. There are generally two types of spinal stenosis- lumbar stenosis and cervical stenosis. Lumbar stenosis is the form of the condition that affects the lower back. It is also the most common type of spinal stenosis.

Common Causes of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
Some people may be born with a narrow spinal canal, but in most cases the condition is caused post birth. Here is a look at some of the most common causes for the spinal stenosis.

Overgrowth of bone- Osteoarthritis can sometimes cause bone spur formation, which in turn can lead to the stenosis at the lumbar region of the spine. This usually occurs in adults, as osteoarthritis is common after a certain age.
Herniated discs- A soft cartilage exists between the vertebrae, which cushions any impact on them. However, this cartilage dries up over time, and with age may lead to formation of crack on the exterior, which in turn causes suppression of the inner soft material and nerves of the spine.
Stiffened ligaments- The ligaments in the spine may become thick and stiffened over time and age. Due to the thickness of the ligaments, a bulge may occur in the spinal column and lead to lumbar spinal stenosis.
Injuries to the spine- Lumbar spinal stenosis may often be brought on by an injury to the spine. A spinal fracture resulting from an accident may narrow down the spine, which can cause the issue.
Tumours- A tumour may affect anyone at any point of time. These tumours may occur between the spinal cord and the vertebrae or between two bones in the vertebrae.
Symptoms of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
Often the spinal stenosis may lie dormant and not produce any noticeable symptoms. However, it can still be diagnosed using an MRI or CT scan. However, all forms of the condition gradually progress and produce severe symptoms. This is why the treatment should be started as soon as the lumbar spinal stenosis is diagnosed, for the best result.

Here are common symptoms associated with the disorder

Numbness and tingling in the leg and foot.
Pain in the back
Leg cramps after long spells of standing or walking.
Weakness in the legs and feet.
If you observe any of the symptoms mentioned above, make sure that you visit an orthopaedist, so that the condition can be diagnosed and treatment can be initiated at soon as possible.

Lumbar Canal Stenosis - What Causes It?

Spinal surgery becomes inevitable when back pain cannot be managed with medications and/or exercise. This is a major decision and requires planning for many things before, during, and after the surgery.

Before a spinal surgery- This preparation will help in smooth recovery, especially if you do not have a full-time caretaker.

Discontinue pain killers: Discontinue pain killers at least 10 to 14 days before surgery. These are blood thinners and can prolong bleeding during the surgery.

Prepare for blood loss: Most people experience some blood loss, but not excessive.

Use a toilet seat raiser: Sitting and getting up from the toilet seat may be difficult. The seat raiser is used to increase the height, making this movement easy.

Enable easy access to common items: Before heading for the surgery, keep things which are commonly used within easy reach. This will help reduce movement and avoid searching (especially if someone else is going to be doing it).

Stock it up: Cooking may not be feasible during the initial postop period, and so it is advisable to stock up food items (ready to eats, fruits, soups, etc.) which will come in handy.

Slip-ons: Bending down and tying shoes may not be easy, so slip-ons can be used.

Caregiving: It is always advisable to have someone stay over with you during the initial postop days. They could help with regular household chores, cooking, etc.

Lifestyle changes: Ensure you eat well in the days before surgery, quit smoking, quit/use moderate amounts of alcohol, and exercise as advised by your surgeon.

After Surgery- Post surgery, there will be some pain and limitation of movement. It is important to understand that adherence to post-op instructions will improve the success rate of the surgery. Also, recovery time for spine surgery is slightly longer and affects overall quality of life, so psychological preparation is required.

Postoperative medications: These will be given to control infection and pain in the immediate postop period, and should be taken without fail

Rehab: The surgeon will recommend physical therapy and rehab exercises which need to be followed. Complete recovery may take anywhere between 3 to 12 months. During this time, care should be taken to avoid repeat injury.

Support: Adequate back support should be provided using lumbar support and ergonomic chairs, and the right posture should be maintained. Ensure there is no undue strain on the back muscles.

Weight management: With excess weight, there is too much strain on the lower disks. Therefore, weight should be managed to reduce this strain.

Smoking and alcohol should be completely stopped, as healing can be hampered.

With some preparation, spinal surgery can be sailed through smoothly.

What To Expect Before and After Spine Surgery?

Herniated disc, bulged disc, protruded intervertebral disc (PIVD) are the different names of one condition. This is a condition where- disc in between the two vertebral bodies starts peeping out on one side- anterior or posterior. These discs are just like the bags filled with liquid material, which work like shock-absorbent. There are several hard bony vertebrae in the vertebral column and there is plenty of movements with these vertebrae. When we look on one side to other side, we look upwards, downwards or we twist and even we bend forward or backward in each and every condition, there will be a movement in these bones, these discs decide the free movements of the spine. Along with this- when we walk or run there will be shocks and jerks to all these bones and these bags decide that there won't be any kind of jerks in between the bones. So, these discs are of multiple uses.

Our spine is inverted  S  shaped. There are two main curvatures in the spine which are free to move- Cervical and Lumbar curvatures. These curvatures of the spine are maintained due to the spaces in between the two vertebrae. Whenever there is a loss or change (specially reduction) of this space between two vertebrae- pressure will be exerted on the intervertebral discs. This uneven pressure on the disc causes- protrusion/bulge/herniation of the disc- this is the condition known as SLIPPED DISC, in layman language. Why does disc slip

Generally, slipped disc condition is diagnosed by its signs and symptoms. When slipped disc starts exerting pressure on the nerves surround the disc- the nerve will be excited which gives the sensation of- Pain, Burning or Numbness in the related area of the nerve. This sensation can travel long far away to the areas, which are being supplied by the nerve and can be limited to a particular location in neck or back even. Sign & Symptoms of Slipped Disc.

Ayurveda about Slipped Disc

Where modern medical (Surgical) sciences believes that this is a problem of just bones and joints of the vertebral disc besides this Ayurveda takes a  Wholistic  (Complete and wholesome) approach towards this and tells that this is a problem at three levels-

Mamsa Dhatu, Asthi Dhatu, Majja Dhatu!!
These are different tissue levels according to Ayurveda- Mamsa is muscles, Asthi represents bones and the Majja denotes everything which is in between and in the bones.
Mamsa (the muscles) starts stiffening due to the dryness   improper diet and imbalanced lifestyle and deteriorate the curvature of the spine- which leads to the deterioration of the intervertebral discs.
Asthi (the bony tissue) is affected due to the muscles.
Majja (the disc and the neural tissue- spine) is compressed due to the pressure and all effects.
So, we need to treat the condition, wisely and in a wholesome manner, rather just to removal of the protruded tissues (Laminotomy) and this is the basic reason- there are risks associated with the surgery of the spine and in almost more than 45% cases patients had to go for a second surgery to stay pain free. Why Surgery for spine doesn t succeed. Secondly, this is a mechanical problem so medicines alone can give you temporary relief rather than the cure-  So better you save your money and invest it on complete cure for the problem, rather than just taking the pain killers and medicines which were indicated in epilepsy to just reduce the signs and symptoms.



Slipped Disc - How Can Ayurveda Avert It?

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