Unlike muscle aches, neuropathic pain or nerve pain is usually a lifelong condition. This usually affects the feet. In some cases, it can get better over the years but in most cases, nerve pain stays persistent or worsens with time. Neuropathic pain is caused by nerve damage and commonly triggered by conditions such as diabetes or is a result of the side effects of medication or chemotherapy.

Medication is usually the first line of treatment when it comes to dealing with neuropathic pain. Medication prescribed for such conditions can be categorized as:

Antidepressants
Anticonvulsants
Local anesthetics
These may be prescribed individually or in a combination of two or more types of drugs. additionally, topical creams may also be prescribed for pain relief. Conventional medicine can provide temporary relief from nerve pain. However, in the long run, making a few lifestyle changes can help control nerve pain. Here are a few tips.

Exercise: Nerve pain may tempt you to sit in one place, but you must force yourself to walk about and exercise a little on a regular basis. Exercising increases blood flow to the extremities of the body and releases endorphins that act as natural painkillers. It can also expand blood vessels and nourish damaged nerves.
Avoid alcohol: If you suffer from nerve damage, alcohol can aggravate the damage and increase pain. Hence it is best to skip alcohol and all other kinds of stimulants.
Heat therapy: Soaking your feet in a warm bath or using a heat pack can be very effective when it comes to dealing with nerve pain. The heat temporarily increase blood flow and reduces pressure on the nerves. However, be careful to avoid burning yourself.
Get a good night's sleep: Nerve pain is usually aggravated at night, thus disturbing your sleep. To get the required 8 hours of sleep a day, try maintaining a schedule of going to bed and waking up at the same time everyday. Drinking a cup of warm milk may also help you fall asleep faster. Ensure that the last cup of coffee you drink is in the afternoon.
Massage: As with muscle pains; a massage can help ease and reduce nerve pain. Your choice of oils also has a role to play in the effectiveness of the massage. While lavender oil helps people relax and takes their mind of the pain, geranium oil can help directly reduce nerve pain.

Ways to Control Nerve Pain

Exercising and sports activities are necessary evils in your life. While they keep your body fit, you are also exposed to injuries at the same time. Of all the injuries, muscle strains are the most common ones. These might look very ordinary or minor, but remember there is an intense pain attached to it. So much so that you might even feel suicidal at times. Poor conditioning, over exertion and a faulty warm up session, can lead to muscle sprain. Strains are very common in certain regions like lower back, neck, shoulder and hamstring muscle (at the back of the thigh).

Don t need medical treatment
In most cases, muscle strains don t need medical treatment. But it is important to provide the right supplies and rest to the victim. For treating a muscle sprain, you will need ice, plastic bag, towel, compression bandage, pillows and over-the-counter painkillers. You may also need certain devices to assist you, depending upon the area that has been affected. These devices include crutches, slings, braces and wheelchairs. These devices help in stabilising the affected area (especially the muscle there.)

RICE Method
As per the data by American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), the most effective way to treat muscle sprains is by following the Rice method. The word rice stands for- rest, ice, compression, and elevation. The patient must take adequate amount of rest and not undertake physical activities. He or she must give proper time for healing of the injury or wound, prior to resuming back regular activities. If the sprain is chronic, take total bed rest. It is often advised to apply ice compression to the affected area for about 8 to 10 times a day. Try to compress your muscle by putting mild pressure to avoid swelling or any kind of inflammation. For this, it is best to tie up a bandage around the affected part. It is generally advised to elevate the injured part above the heart to avoid or reduce the swelling of the area. Sometimes, physical therapy is also needed to treat the sprains.

Risks of strain treatment
There are certain risk factors associated with muscle strain treatment. It is bad to take too many painkillers as they can affect other organs like kidneys, gut and heart. You should also avoid applying the ice pack directly on the skin for a prolonged period. Also, if you undertake a surgery to fix muscle strain, you are at the risk of suffering bleeding, developing blood clots, infection, pain and stiffness.

Muscle Sprain - How It Can Be Treated?

Taking into account the hectic lifestyle we lead, most of us end up suffering from aches and pains. But that does not mean we have to continue to suffer from them. There are plenty of easy exercises that one can follow in order to keep themselves healthy and problem free!

In order to avoid aches and pains, the first thing that a person needs to do is 

Practice hamstring stretches regularly: What this entails is that he or she needs to lie on the back, raise a leg and hold the back of it with both hands. While it may be called the hamstring stretch and one would probably normally think that the beneficial impact of doing it would be limited to the hamstring, it works quite a bit of special magic which has an ability to ease the pain in the lower back. Now, for an exercise which is so simple, is it not worth it?
Side Stretch: Talking about stretches, another form of a stretch happens to be the side stretch. Even this is rather simple and all that needs to be done is to lie on one s side and pull the ankle of the leg which is not in contact with the ground towards the back. While this is being done, the ankle of the lower leg should apply pressure on the thigh.
Straight leg raise: It may seem that most of the exercises which reduce pain are stretches! However, this is not really the case as there is a place for exercises such as the straight leg raise and the like. What exactly is the straight leg raise? Well, it can be done when a person is either in a sitting position or is lying on his or her back. The toes are to be kept pointed upwards and the leg is to be raised. It is to be kept in mind that the challenge of the straight leg raise is that the knee should not be bent, at all.
The cat and camel exercise: The terms cat and camel generally refer to members of the animal kingdom. However, jointly, in terms of exercises, the cat and camel is an exercise well worth remembering as it can save the individual quite a lot of pain. All that needs to be done is to alternatively arch one s back towards the floor and the ceiling while resting on one s hands and knees.
While our way of living may come with certain side-effects ,but it would not be right to say that we are helpless. We need to take charge and make little changes to enjoy a healthy and happy lifestyle.

4 Easy Exercises for Aches And Pains

After a tough workout session or a strenuous day at the office, your muscles may feel floppy and exhausted until you have given them a chance to rest. However, persistent muscle weakness with no apparent cause or explanation can be a sign of an underlying medical problem.

What causes muscle weakness?
Voluntary muscle contractions and movement are generated when the brain sends a signal through your spinal cord and nerves to the particular muscle. If there are any hindrances in the connections between them, it can result in muscle weakness. However hard you try, the muscle is such cases becomes abnormal.

Here are some common causes of muscle weakness:

Lack of Use: One of the most common causes of muscle weakness, lack of muscle fitness may occur as a result of a sedentary lifestyle. If the muscles are not used, then the fibers are partially replaced with fat.
Ageing: As we age, our muscles tend to get weaker and lose strength. Muscles become bulky and recovery times during injury are greater. However, with physical activity, it is still possible to increase the muscle power. So stay active and instill strength in your muscles.
Infections: Infections and inflammation can cause temporary muscle fatigue. Even though recovery is quick, if the infection is severe the weakness can last for some time. Without proper care, it can lead to permanent damage.
Pregnancy: During and just after pregnancy, high levels of steroid in the blood and low levels of iron can cause muscle tiredness. Lower back pain is common during pregnancy and all your muscles may feel floppy.
Chronic Diseases: With conditions of diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease and anemia, it can lead to muscle weakness by thwarting the essential blood or nutrient supply to the muscles. Also, chronic pain related ailments cause weakness.
Injuries: Injury or trauma such as sporting injuries, pulls and sprains can deter the muscles. Along with localized pain, it can also lead to muscle weakness if not taken care of properly.
Sleep Disorders: With disturbed or reduced sleep there is a general sense of tiredness that leads to fatigue in the muscles. Insomnia, anxiety, depression and other mental disorders also affect the muscles a great deal.
Conditions affecting Nerves: Conditions like Myasthenia gravis or motor neuron disease affects the nerves and thereby fail to relay signals to the muscles, leading to weakness.
Genetic disorder affecting muscles: There are also certain inherited diseases which can affect the muscles like muscular dystrophy.
Spine-related disorders: Conditions like slip disc and other disorders affect the muscles served by the irritated or compressed nerves of the spinal cord.

Muscle Weakness - 10 Common Reasons Behind It!

Hot and Cold therapy is one of the most popular home remedies for any kind of joint pain or muscle sprain. In some cases applying heat therapy and cold therapy alternatively, can help relieve the pain while for others only one form of therapy is necessary. To understand what to use when, one should first understand the effect of heat and cooling on the body.

Applying a heat pack or immersing the affected limb in hot water improves blood circulation and makes the muscles more flexible. Thus, it can help relax a muscle and fasten the healing of damaged tissues. On the other hand, cold therapy or cryotherapy reduces blood flow to the affected site. This helps relieve inflammation and pain caused by it. It can also make the area feel numb by reducing nerve activity temporarily.

Types of Heat Therapy
Heat therapy can be categorized as dry heat and moist heat. Dry heat involves using saunas or dry heating packs to relieve pain. This is also known as conducted heat therapy. As the name suggests, moist heat involves the use of steamed towels, hot baths and moist heating packs. This is also known as convection heat therapy. Moist heat is usually considered more effective than dry heat.

Types of Cold Therapy
Cold therapy may be applied to a part of the body or to the entire body. This includes ice packs, coolant sprays, ice baths, ice massages and whole body, cold therapy chambers.

How to use heat and cold therapy?
The sooner heat and cold therapy is given to a person, the faster they will recover from their pains. Heat therapy can be given to a person for extended periods of time but when giving cold therapy, a person should not be exposed to a cold pack or ice bath for more than 10-15 minutes. Care should also be taken no to apply ice or a frozen pack directly on the skin as it can damage the skin and nerves.

When not to use Heat Therapy?
If the injury site is swollen or bruised, cold therapy is better than heat therapy. Heat therapy should also not be applied to an open wound. People suffering from conditions such as diabetes, dermatitis, deep vein thrombosis, vascular diseases and multiple sclerosis should also avoid heat therapy as these conditions can increase the risk of burns and other such complications. Pregnant women should also consult a doctor before using a hot tub or sauna.

When not to use Cold Therapy?
Cold therapy is avoidable for treating stiff joints and muscles. People suffering from poor circulation and sensory disorders should also avoid using cold therapy without a doctor s supervision. 

Hot & Cold Therapy - How It Can Treat Pain?

If your kid is affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), it is important for you to know about the best ways of dealing with the condition. Muscular dystrophy consists of group of diseases, which result in the weakening of muscles along with reduced flexibility. DMD accounts for being the most common type of muscular dystrophy. It occurs because of flaws in the gene, which controls how your body keeps the muscles healthy. This disease affects boys and the symptoms start appearing from early childhood.

Treatment
There is no specific treatment for DMD. However, there are several ways, including medicines and therapy, to deal with the symptoms and to protect the muscles.

Several steroids such as prednisone help in slowing down muscle damage. Children taking this medicine are able to walk for two to five years longer than they would usually do. Lung and heart functions are also improved.
DMD leads to heart problems and hence, you should take your child to a heart doctor for regular checkups until the age of 10.
In some cases, a surgery may be required to fix their shortened muscles, for straightening the spine, or for treating a heart or lung problem.
Taking care of your child
If your child has DMD, it does not mean that he will have to refrain from activities such as school, sports and spending time with friends. By sticking to the right treatment plan, you will be able to make your child active.

Stand and walk: Being in an upright position will keep your child s bones strong and the spine straight. You can get your child braces or standing walkers, which will help him in terms of balance and mobility.
Eat right: Although there is no special diet for DMD, several food items should be taken for preventing problems related to weight. Your child should eat the proper amount of food with a proper balance of nutrients and calories regularly.
Stay active: You should ensure that your child exercises regularly. Regular stretching exercises help in keeping the muscles and joints limber, which makes him feel better. You can avail the help of a physical therapist for an exercise schedule.
You can look for and join local support groups associated with DMD, as other families living with DMD can be a source of good advice and understanding about life with DMD.

Muscular Dystrophy -  How To Deal With It?

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