Breaking a bone no matter how small is painful. This pain is caused both by the actual break in the bone and the damage to surrounding muscles, ligaments, nerves and other soft tissue. There are three stages of pain caused by a fracture:

Acute Pain: Pain that occurs immediately after a bone is fractured
Sub-Acute Pain: Pain experienced while the one and soft tissues heal
Chronic Pain: Pain experienced after the fracture has healed
Any kind of fracture can cause these types of pain. However, it is not essential for everyone who has had a fracture to experience all the three kinds of pain. Many people experience pain only when the fracture occurs but in few cases, a person may break a bone and not realize it. Each type of pain needs to be dealt with in a different way.

Acute Pain: Acute pain reduces as the fracture heals. For this, the fractured bone must be reset in place and held together with a splint, brace or cast so as to immobilize it. In some cases, surgery may also be needed. Over the counter pain medication is often prescribed to help deal with this type of pain. The patient is also advised to rest the broken bone and avoid certain types of movement that could worsen the break. A broken bone takes a minimum of 6 to 8 weeks to heal. However, in cases of other conditions such as osteoporosis, this time period could be much longer.
Sub-Acute Pain: As the injury heals, the sub-acute pain experienced reduces. Immobilizing a broken bone to help it heal causes the muscles and soft tissues around it to stiffen and weaken thus triggering this type of pain. Physical therapy can be very helpful in dealing with this type of pain. Along with strengthening the muscles and reducing stiffness, physical therapy also helps reduce inflammation and scar tissue. Physical therapy can be provided in many ways including exercises, electrical stimulation, ultrasounds, massage etc. It is important to remember that at this stage of treatment, the more the affected limb is used, the faster it will heal. However, it is advisable to avoid putting too much pressure on the bone.
Chronic Pain: Some people may experience pain for several months and even years after a fracture has healed. This is usually caused by nerve damage or the development of scar tissue. Underlying conditions such as arthritis could also trigger this type of pain. Management of chronic pain varies from individual to individual. Treatment usually takes the form of medication, exercises and physical therapy. It is important not to avoid this type of pain and consult a doctor to ensure that it is not being caused by any other condition.

Fracture Pain - How To Deal With It?

Knee pain is one of the most common and painful ailments that can limit mobility. Injuries can result in cartilage or meniscal tears or sprains too. Obesity is another reason because of which knee pain is on the rise. Also, regular wear and tear of ligaments and tendons around the knees due to old age is another cause. These days, with reduced physical activities and sedentary lifestyles, the rate at which knees are wearing out has also become accelerated. Whatever the reason, a correct diagnosis followed by prompt treatment can help. Over the years, physiotherapy has been playing an important role in treating knee injuries. Whether to supplement the various drugs to reduce pain and inflammation or to avoid surgery, physiotherapy has helped many and its popularity is growing every day. Here are some ways that physiotherapy can help reduce pain.

Improve flexibility of tendons: The knee cap is an area where there are lot of tendons and ligaments, coordinating to enable movement. Careful exercising can ensure that the flexibility of tendons and ligaments is improved, thereby making your knee movement easier and less painful.
Improves blood supply: As we all know, proper movement requires good blood supply. Exercising with special focus on the knee ensures that blood supply is improved, and thereby the supporting ligaments and tendons function optimally.
Enhances the knee cap function: The knee cap is that portion which joins your thigh bone to your calf bones. This is prone to slip out of place, especially with arthritis and injuries. This can be painful and limit movement to a great degree. Focused exercises aimed at improving knee cap function will ensure that the knee cap has a wider range of function, and does not slip out of its socket easily.
Reduce rigidity: Once you start physiotherapy, you will feel your knees getting more flexible. The rigidity that had set in as a result of injuries and/or old age will also reduce over a period of time.
Slow down the wear and tear: When you start physiotherapy after knee damage, continuing the exercise routine, of course with expert guidance, can reduce the pace at which further damage might happen. A word of caution though. Be sure to consult an experienced physiotherapist before you begin. Exercising in a bad manner can do equal or more harm than the original injury or old age itself.

Knee Pain and Physiotherapy

Rotator cuff is the name given to four muscles and their tendons, which keep your arms in your shoulder sockets, allowing you to lift your arms and do day-to-day stuff like combing your hair, cutting vegetables etc.

The shoulder joint is a very important joint of the body and this is why any tear that happens in the rotator cuff can be devastating.

Causes

Tears can happen in rotator cuff due to a number of factors like injury and degeneration due to age. Tears that happen due to an injury to the shoulder are called acute. Degenerative tears are tears that happen due to degeneration of the tendon over time.

Common causes of degeneration are lack of proper blood circulation, which impedes the rotator cuff s ability to repair itself. Repetitive stress is another cause where we stress the tendon by repeating the same shoulder motions again and again while playing games like tennis, cricket etc. and doing jobs that require us to extend our arms upwards a lot. Lifting heavy objects can also lead to tears.

Symptoms

Chronic shoulder and arm pain are good reasons for you to see your doctor. If you suffer from pain in your shoulder at rest, while sleeping on the affected shoulder or pain while lifting and lowering your arm, then there is no time to wait.

The doctor will do a physical examination by moving your arm in different directions. He may follow it up with X-rays and MRI to check how big the tear is in your rotator cuff.

Treatment

Once confirmed that you indeed have a rotator cuff tear, your doctor will start the treatment. The goal of any treatment is to reduce pain and make your shoulder joint work properly again.

Nonsurgical Treatments: 

Nonsurgical treatments include rest, using of a sling to protect the shoulder and modifying your daily activities. This means you may not be able to do activities that cause shoulder pain. Your doctor can also prescribe pain and anti-inflammatory medicines. Strengthening and physical therapy bring up the rear of this type of treatment.

What you must remember is that nonsurgical treatment relieves pain and improves function in the shoulder, but does not improve shoulder strength. The size of your tear may also increase over time.

Surgery: 

Surgery, which attaches the rotator cuff to your bone, is done if you suffer from continuous pain and symptoms over a year or so. If you have a large tear, conservative treatments will not work and surgery will have to be resorted to. 

If you have been suffering from chronic shoulder or arm pain, waiting and watching is definitely not an option. You must visit an orthopedic surgeon at the earliest. Remember, if treatment is not started soon enough, your rotator cuff tear will get larger and will require only surgery.

Rotator Cuff Tears: What Are My Options?

How Homeopathy Can Cure Muscle and Joint Pain?

Joint and muscle pain arises when excess pressure is exerted on a particular joint or due to the wear and tear of a particular muscle. This is one area where many people face chronic pain, with symptoms such as deformity of the joints, swelling, immobility of the joints and severe joint pain. There are a lot of topical as well as oral medicines for chronic pain within conventional medicine, but it may not always be effective for all types of patients.

Homeopathy has been known to provide effective cures for many types of muscle and joint related ailments.

Let's first look at the common causes for muscle and joint pain related problems:
- Sports related injuries
- Vehicular accidents such as a car or bike accidents
- Bad postures or habits
- Other underlying physical or medical conditions

So what are the ways in which homeopathy can cure certain conditions and alleviate pain in patients?

- Arthritis: One of the most common problems that many people report is that of arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, which causes a lot of pain in many people. In many cases, the use of Natrum Muriaticum and Bryonia has been known to allay the pain.
- Moving and shifting joint or muscle pains: Many patients have this problem where they face joint or muscle pain but instead of it being constant in one area, it moves around the body. Pulsatilla is known to effectively reduce the symptoms in these cases.
- Tennis elbow or tendon related problems: This is a common ailment, which in many cases is caused by strenuous activities, such as sports. Rhus tox has been known to be effective in such cases.
- Muscular conditions: There are many muscle-related conditions such as fibromyalgia and fibrositis among others have also been reduced after the usage of Rhus tox.

Homeopathic medicines like Medorrhinum, Ruta, Formica Rufa, Arnica, Symphytum and a few others are useful for treating such conditions, depending upon the exact symptoms and causes.

If you would like to consult with me privately, please click on 'Consult'.

How Homeopathy Can Cure Muscle and Joint Pain?

Ever faced a nagging low back ache that just won't quit? You could be dealing with sciatica. Sciatica or sciatic nerve pain is not a diagnosis in itself, but is a symptom of a deeper problem. Conditions that trigger sciatica include degenerative discs, spinal stenosis, a herniated disc in the lumbar region or   spondylolisthesis. Whether your sciatica pain is persistent or sporadic, it can make routine tasks difficult to perform. The good news is that there are a number of remedies to ease this pain and improve the health of your spine.

1. Hot and cold therapy: Sciatic pain that extends down to the thighs can be relieved by alternating between a heat pack and an ice pack. Each pack can be applied for about 20 minutes at a stretch every two hours. However, this does not treat the sciatic nerve itself.

2. Pain medications and steroid injections: Over the counter pain medication like ibuprofen or muscle relaxants can help alleviate pain and reduce inflammation. In chronic cases, epidural steroid injections may also be prescribed to address the inflammation and pain. Pain relief provided by medication and steroid injections can last for a few days or a few months depending on the person.

3. Yoga: Sciatica patients looking for long term relief often turn towards alternative forms of treatment like yoga. Yoga helps strengthen muscles, increases flexibility and improves posture. This is more beneficial towards preventing sciatica problems from arising than treating ongoing sciatic pain. When practicing yoga with a sciatica problem, it is very important to understand your body's limitations and not over extend your back muscles.

4. Massage: A massage that treats sciatic pain is very different from the usual massage you may get at a spa. A massage to relieve sciatic pain involves putting pressure on the inflamed part of the back and the piriformis muscle. This is the muscle that sits over the sciatic nerve and triggers sciatic pain. In most cases, 3 to 4 massage sessions at intervals of 7 to 10 days can have effective results on sciatic pain.

5. Physical therapy: Sciatica patients often find the slightest movement extremely painful. While lying in a bad is tempting, it can actually worsen the pain. Exercise increases blood flow to the spine and helps flush out toxins. Going for a walk, light aerobics or swimming are ideal ways for a sciatica patient to exercise.

6. Chiropractic manipulation: This involves realigning the spinal column and is an effective way of treating underlying conditions that trigger sciatic pain. These spinal adjustments should only be performed by licensed chiropractors or osteopathic physicians.

Treatments for Sciatica Pain

The knee is the largest joint in the human body and is a complex structure formed of bone, muscle and cartilage. Development of pain in the knees can be caused by numerous factors such as aging, injuries, diseases, dietary deficiencies, etc.

Arthritis is the most common cause of knee pain and usually affects the elderly and aged. It occurs due to an inflammation of the joint and causes pain, swelling, redness and inflexibility of the knees.

What are the factors that determine treatment method?

Diagnosis for knee pain varies from patient to patient as each case is different and must be approached differently. Some of the factors that determine the treatment method are as follows:

- Cause of the problem
- Nature and intensity of pain
- Age of the patient
- Medical history of the patient
- Diet and lifestyle of the patient

There are a number of different types of arthritis which can affect the knees in different ways and, consequently, require different types of treatment methods.

What are the various treatment methods for knee pain?

1. Conventional Remedies - These are used in case of conditions that are not too severe or chronic. It includes keeping on bed rest, using an ice pack, taking a painkiller and anti-inflammatory medicines, wearing knee braces, etc.

2. Physical Therapy - There are many stretching and strengthening exercise routines that help alleviate knee pain and treat the condition. Recovery is achieved by making the muscles around the knees stronger and increasing stability and flexibility.

3. Injections to the Knees - A number of anti-inflammatory substances and supplements, as well as lubricants, can be injected into the knee joint which helps reduce pain and makes the joint more supple.

4. Stem Cell Therapy - This involves drawing platelets from the patient's blood and injecting it into the knee joint for repairing damage caused to ligaments, tendons or cartilage.

5. Surgery - Surgical procedures for treating knee pain include partial or complete knee replacements.



What kind of treatment does your knee pain require?

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