The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in the human body. It runs from the lower back, through the buttocks, your hamstrings and into the lower leg. Sciatica means pain in the leg, numbness or any kind of weakness in the lower back. There can be many reasons for a leg pain such as an injury to the leg or it can be due to the main nerve which travels in the lower back. Many times, it is not diagnosed properly and hence it will take a lot of time to respond to the treatment or in some cases, it may not respond at all. 

Symptoms of Sciatica: 

You will experience pain in the lower back only on one side of the body. 
The pain continues from the lower back to the sciatic nerve. 
Rarely, you will see the pain on both sides of the body or buttocks. 
The pain is very sharp. 
In some cases, the patient may experience a needles or pins sensation in the leg and in some cases, it is weakness or numbness in the lower back. 
The pain gets so severe that you will not be able to walk or even stand. 
If you have lower back pain combined with leg pain, then lower back pain is not going to be as severe as the leg pain. With the help of the symptoms, your doctor will be able to diagnose sciatica but in order to know the exact cause and origin of this pain, you will have to undergo other tests and examinations. 
Physiotherapy for Sciatica: 
There are many surgical treatments available for sciatica, but it is always good to go for non-surgical treatments. So you can opt for physiotherapy. You will be able to see better and long lasting results with this treatment. As it involves a thorough assessment of it on which the treatment protocol is laid. 

Physiotherapy involves four phases: 

Pain relief 
Restoration of normal flexibility 
Restoration of full functionality 
Prevention of recurrence 
In sciatica, it is due to unbearable pain, you seek treatment. So that has to be treated initially. When you can see that the pain is under control, then the physiotherapist will start working on the range of motion for your joints. The muscle tension will be reduced and muscle strength will be improved. In the third stage, your physiotherapist will start working on restoring the normal function of your body, especially your legs and your lower back. In the last stage, the physiotherapist will help you with some exercises that will stop its recurrence. Usually, sciatica will return after some time but taking a little care at the early stage can prevent it.

Physiotherapy For Sciatica - Why Is It The Best Treatment Option?

It is normal and alright to feel pain in the knees occasionally after a physical activity or prolonged walking. However, it is a serious cause of concern if the pain is experienced every now and then. Not responding to your knee pain for long can lead to the extreme disability. Knee pain does not crop up in a day and it may surprise you when it first appears. 

Initially, you may notice slight pain and discomfort. If you have identified knee pain at this level, managing it is easy. You can perform different exercises to prevent pain from occurring. If the pain severe, you need to go consult a doctor, who will then help identify the real cause of pain. The following exercises, along with medications, can help you overcome knee pain and restore the mobility of the joint.

Stair Step ups: Choose a comfortable stairway. Place your hand on the wall or banister. This is to ensure that you are balanced. Your left foot should be on the taller step. Your right foot should be on the ground. Stay in this posture for a second. Now, step back, and bring left foot to the right foot. Repeat this 6 times. Reverse the legs and continue doing for 6 times. If you want to take rest between the steps, feel free to do so.
Ups and Downs: You need an armless chair that is strong. Sit on the edge but comfortably. Your arms should be at your side, relaxed and loose. Sit erect and your feet should be flat. If you feel you need balance, and then cross your arms. Start standing up. This should not be instant but deliberate, controlled, and gradual movement. Stand slowly up to the full height, and hold on for 2 seconds. Again sit down. Repeat this 5 times.
Straight Leg Raise: This can be a part of your everyday exercise regime. This is a strengthening workout that does not put too much effort on the knees. Lie down on your back. One leg should be straight on the ground and the other one should be bent. Now, slowly lift the leg that is straight, and the toes should point upward. Raise your leg up to 30 degrees, but you can start with 15 to 20 degrees in the initial stage. Repeat 15 times and perform at least 3 sets of this exercise. Keep alternating legs. This workout strengthens the knees, thigh muscles, and the ankle joints, thus offering multifold benefits.
Wall Hamstring Stretch: Hamstring muscles too can be the cause of knee pain and discomfort. To strengthen the hamstring muscles and alleviate knee pain, this exercise helps a lot. Lie down on the floor flat. Your feet should be flexed. Choose a space that is close to a wall, or a sturdy table. Your right leg should be propped on the wall or table. If you don t prefer any, a resistance band is a good alternative. When stretching, you can find your flexibility level and when you feel that you have reached the deepest point, start relaxing. Keep alternating contracting and relaxing every 5 seconds. After 10 to 15 sets, you can try the same with the left leg.
Knee Rolls: Use an exercise mat or a carpet that is cozy. Lie on your back. Bend the knees, and ensure your feet are flat. Your arms should be stretched on the sides. Look at the ceiling, and hold the knees together. In the same posture, slowly roll the knees towards the right. When you feel a gentle twitch or after 5 seconds, move to original position. Then lower the knees to the left. Hold and release. For each side, repeat 10 times.
These exercises strengthen the knees and improve the quality of life by bidding bye to the pain. Understanding that these are magic remedies that work overnight is the key to stay focused and keep going without quitting.

Exercises That Can Help Relieve Knee Pain!

Concentrated pain in the neck can be especially tormenting. Before you look for a cure for this pain and start treating it, it is important that you try and find out the underlying cause behind it as well. Contacting a physiotherapist in time will allow you not only to avoid any and every side effect posed by neck pain, but also assist you to get good riddance from it.

Causes of Neck Pain:
There can be multiple causes of neck pain. The treatment of the same depends wholly on the factor that is causing the pain. Some of these causes of neck pain include

Misaligned hips,
Misaligned Spine,
Misaligned shoulders,
A constantly forward-tilted head,
Lack of movement of the head from one specific position,
Tensing up of the muscles in the upper back,
Tensing up of the muscles in the neck region, etc.
It is all these factors and a few more that end up resulting in stiffening of muscles in and around the neck and causing you intermediate to unbearable pain.
Side effects of neck pain:
Neck pain also has some side effects, which includes temporary loss of consciousness, nausea, vomiting, blackouts, temporarily blurred vision, headache, spondylitis, etc.

Exercises for neck pain:
Neck exercises are a predominant part of the treatment extended by every physiotherapist, to cure neck pain. Some of the most vital and effective exercises for neck pain are listed below.

Frog: Funny as it way sounds, the frog is one of the best exercises when it comes to treating neck pain. All you have to do is lie down on the floor with your knees apart, your feet joined, your hands laid upward on the floor at a 45-degree angle to your body and just stay there in that position for two minutes. This will force your back to arch naturally, slowly giving some relief to your neck.
Sitting floor: Try sitting floor for neck pain. All you have to do is sit straight with your back rested on a wall, with your legs laid straight forward. Bring together your shoulder blades and bend to help them meet your knees while curling the toes outward to optimal. Stay in this position for a good 3 minutes, without bending the legs.
Static wall: Lie down on the floor with your bottom against a wall and your legs up it. You can always scoot back a bit if there is the slightest of discomfort. The aim here is to help the tail bone lie comfortably on the floor. Tighten your thigh muscles but curling your toes outward and pointing your feet straight out from its previous position. Maintain this position for 3 minutes for maximum effect.
Static back: The static back is the most common and most helpful exercise for neck pain. All you got to do is lie down on the floor, while placing your legs on an elevated surface, such as an ottoman or a chair at a 45-degree angle to your body. Now put your arms at an angle of 45 degrees to your body as well, only sideways on your shoulder. Follow this position by lifting your palms and staying in that position for five to ten minutes.
All these exercises are aimed to positively influence one muscle or the other in and around the neck region and to help you get rid of that pain. Consult a physiotherapist first, and he/she will advise you on the best neck pain exercises.

Neck Pain - 4 Exercises to Control Pain

The neck and shoulder have a huge range of movement and thus they are more prone to injury. The ball and socket joint at the upper arm is the shoulder and both the neck and the shoulder are made up of soft tissues, muscles and ligaments. 

Reasons behind pain Injured rotator cuffs: 

Rotator cuffs are the tendons supporting the shoulder. If they are injured it might lead to a chronic loss of the range of movement. This is more commonly known as a frozen shoulder. 

Dislocation: Dislocated disc of the neck or shoulder due to an accident would cause severe pain in the affected area. 
Fractures: Fractured collarbone or the upper arm bone may result in chronic pain. 
Tendonitis: This occurs due to the over usage of the arms or neck or strains due to over exertion like in sports. 
An unstable shoulder joint: If there is instability in the ball and socket joint of the upper arm, chances of having a chronic pain is high. Others: Degenerative arthritis, herniated disc, and even heart attacks can be the other possible causes of chronic neck and shoulder pain. 
When to go to the doctor? 

When the patient experiences a pain due to a severe blow or injury, the neck pain radiates down the legs and arms, a feeling of numbness and tingling sensation, or has a stiff neck with fever or vomiting, it is essential to seek the advice of a Doctor. 

Diagnosis for shoulder and neck pain X-ray: 

The main form of diagnosing a pain is an x-ray. It helps to reveal diseases from arthritis, tumour, slipped disc, narrowing spinal cord, fractures and spinal cord instability. 

MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging or simply the MRI reveals the detail of nerve-related issues along with the problems in the ligaments and tendons. 
CT scan: There may be instances when the injuries are difficult to be diagnosed. And, in the case of a fracture, a CT Scan is advised for more details. It is also an alternative to MRI. 
ECG: An Electrocardiogram is a way of diagnosis if shoulder and neck pain continues along with chest pain or shortness of breath. If there is a risk of an individual having a heart attack, then an ECG is recommended. 
Electro Diagnosis: Electromyography referred to as EMG and Nerve Conduction Velocity (NCV) are used to diagnose pain in the arm, neck, shoulder followed by a numb feeling on the affected areas. 
Treatment for chronic shoulder and neck pain 
A simple sprain on the neck and shoulder would demand a rest for a few days along with pain medication. If the pain is due to muscle spasms application of dry or moist heat may provide relief. In the case of a swelling due to injuries, a cold ice pack 4 to 8 times a day will provide immense relief. Patients might be advised a cast or sling for the shoulder pain. The soft tissues in the neck and shoulder can be treated with pain relievers taken for a few days. Muscle relaxants are also prescribed depending on the severity of the pain. Local corticosteroid injections are helpful for shoulder arthritis. Platelet rich plasma injection is another modern treatment for arthritis or tendinopathy. In some situation, radio frequency procedures are very helpful. Exercises are very effective for both neck and shoulder pain movement. Surgery might be an option if nerve roots are affected.

Chronic Shoulder & Neck Pain - Ways It Can Be Diagnosed!

What does neck and shoulder pain indicate?

The stabbing pain that you experience around the neck and shoulder region should never be ignored as they may indicate health problems that require medical attention. There are certain points that you need to keep in mind the if you experience prolonged pain in these areas of the body.

1. Neck injury? your neck and shoulder pain should be seen as a warning sign that you need to take a look at the neck injury you may have sustained during a rear-end automobile accident. More specifically, whiplash injuries that happen when the head experiences a sudden backward and forward jerk, straining the tissues of the neck. 

2. Pain in these areas of the body could indicate abnormalities in the vertebrae of your neck such as herniated disc, causing added pressure on the nerves of the spinal cord.

3. Your neck and shoulder pain complaint may also point towards muscle strains. Lifestyle factors like working long hours in front of laptops or desktops leave you with no time and zero energy to exercise, resulting in serious neck and shoulder pains.

4. Your neck and shoulder pain may also indicate the problem of cervical spondylosis. This is a degenerative disc disease, which is characterised by severe pain that originates from the neck and radiates till the shoulders.

5. Even heart problems, such as a heart attack can cause pain in the shoulder and the neck. When this happens, the condition is known as referred pain.

6. Adopting an improper body posture during lifting of heavy materials can induce pain in your body parts, with neck and shoulders being the most vulnerable areas.

7. You may be suffering from a condition known as rotator cuff injury in which the group of ligaments and muscles that support the shoulder get injured during lifting or playing any sport.

To avoid aggravating the pain from becoming more severe, you shouldn't ignore any ache that arises from these areas.

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

Related Tip: 6 Effective Ways to Keep Away Body Pains, esp. When Temperatures Dip

What Does Neck and Shoulder Pain Indicate?

Why osteoporosis and osteopenia are fast turning into diseases of the young

Did you know that osteoporosis causes more than 8.9 million fractures worldwide every year? what is frightening is many of these fractures are now taking place among the youth due to deficit diet and poor lifestyle coupled with genetic predisposition. Both osteoporosis and osteopenia are two forms of bone loss conditions, with the latter being a precursor to the former. To distinguish between the two a bone mineral density test is usually performed.

What is the difference between osteoporosis and osteopenia?

A BMD (bone mineral density) t-score between -1 sd and -2.5 sd indicates osteopenia with a high chance of osteoporosis. On the other hand, a t-score of -2.5 sd and below stands for osteoporosis. A higher bone density (above -1sd) is usually indicative of stronger bones. Fragility index is more accurate way to assess the risk of fractures.

In osteoporosis the bone loss or weakening of bones take place over a long period of time, and results in unexpected fractures and severe bone problems. Disfigurement, fractures in the spine, loss of mobility and independence are usual characteristics of this bone disease once it progresses further.

Prevention is better than cure, always!

To keep bones strong and healthy, calcium and phosphate is continuously absorbed by the body. But after 30, the body?s ability to absorb calcium slows down and there?s a decrease in the production of new bones. In contrast, bone desorption (the process of transferring calcium from the bone to the blood) continues unabated.

When the body starts absorbing the store of calcium in the bones to meets its needs, it leads to calcium depletion and is one of the causes of the weakening of the bone.

At present, the age limit (50-60 years) for osteoporosis has seen a drop with many younger people increasingly suffering from the ailment. Factors like unhealthy lifestyle, late-night shifts, smoking and alcohol consumption have been found to be the culprits behind the rise in osteoporosis cases among the young. Recent studies have identified vitamin d deficiency as a major factor for poor bone health and bone mass density in the young.

How to keep your bones strong and healthy? and manage osteo - penia/porosis complications:

Bone loss can be prevented by adopting these very simple but effective ways:

- exercising can help in building strong bones and muscles, while preventing bone loss.

- maintaining a calcium intake of 1000 mg for pre-menopausal women and 1200 mg for women post menopause.

- staying out in the sun for 20 minutes to produce requisite amount of vitamin d for calcium absorption and using supplements of vitamin d.

- there are many safe medicines available to prevent and treat osteoporosis like alendronates, calcitonin, parathyroid, teriparatide preparation etc.

- in osteoporosis induced /associated fractures we have to to modify implants to negate weak purchase of implants in bone and improve mobility. We have been using these modifications in established osteopenia/porosis case in fractures treatment/joint replacement/ arthroscopic fixations and MIS spine fracture management.


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