Ankylosing spondylitis is typically associated with inflammatory back pain that can impair movements and reduce the quality of the patient s life. Here are 5 exercises that can be used to treat ankylosing Spondylitis.

Walking: Walking is a low impact workout that can be very beneficial for ankylosing spondylitis patients. This is the ideal way to ease the body into exercising. Start with a short 5-10 minute walk and gradually increase the duration of your walks to half an hour at a stretch. Try and keep your spine as straight as possible and hold your head high while you walk. Walking can help relieve pain and increase the range of movements.
Swimming: Swimming is another low-intensity workout that can help. This type of exercising helps strengthen the muscles and heart while minimizing joint pain. Swimming puts no pressure on the joints and hence is ideal for ankylosing spondylitis patients. The breaststroke can help build chest expansion and make your neck and shoulders more flexible. For a little extra pampering, you could go for a swim in a heated pool.
Lightweight Training: Look for lightweight training exercises that help strengthen your muscles without putting pressure on the joints. Plank exercises are great as they work many muscle groups simultaneously. You could also try lifting light weights or household canned goods to strengthen your limbs. Exercise machines can be helpful but must be used with caution. The key to exercising is to start slowly and gradually increase the duration of time you hold a position and the number of repetitions.
Yoga: Yoga is very beneficial for patients with musculoskeletal conditions. It reduces pain, increases flexibility and helps open out the joints to make them more mobile. Yoga also helps boost mental health and reduces stress and anxiety. When practising yoga, start by stretching the muscles and gradually work your way through the asanas. Do not be in a hurry to move from one position to another. You should ideally aim to fit in half an hour yoga into every morning.
Dance: Dancing is the most fun way to exercise. This helps burn calories that in turn helps with weight management. The lower your weight, the lower the pressure on your joints. Pick a tempo that you are comfortable with and limit repetitive motions to avoid straining any part of your body. If you like you could even join a dance class.

5 Exercises For Managing Ankylosing Spondylitis!

Inflammation and resultant pain in the joints are usually the basic tenets of arthritis. This joint disorder can be painful and often, a debilitating one. It can also make the joints stiff. There are many ways of dealing with this problem, but with ayurveda, one can get to the root cause of the ailment and its presence. This helps in taking a well rounded holistic approach towards treating it with ancient know how that revolves around herbs and other natural substances which have great medicinal value, lifestyle changes, diet, exercise and yoga, oil massages, and other methods. Arthritis is known as sandhivata in ayurvedic jargon. Read on to find out how ayurveda can help in dealing with arthritis.

Herbs: one can make use of various herbs that contain linoleic acid to help in providing lubrication to the joints so as to prevent pain and stiffness. These herbs include borage seed oil which is extracted from borage seed, evening primrose oil, blackcurrant seed oil, capsaicin, curcumin, feverfew, flaxseed oil and a standard ayurvedic concoction that combines ashwagandha, gugulla, ginger, cumin and haldi or turmeric. These substances can help in treating the joints that are suffering from the pain of arthritis.

Diet: in ayurveda, to treat ailments like arthritis, it is usually recommended that a patient should start by flushing out the body toxins from within. Diet is one of the ways in which this can be done. A detoxification diet to clean the colon would be one of the foremost ways of doing a cleanse. Further, in one's daily diet, there should be a good dose of vegetables, fruits and other juices. Also, one must have plenty of herbs and spices, which can be used to season the food. Curd should generally be avoided and garlic should be used liberally. The various properties that help in an inside out cleanse that will help the system function in a better manner so that the treatment of ailments is also effectively supported.

Exercise: in ayurveda, a certain amount of daily exercise, which spans at least 45 minutes to one hour, is a must. A pattern of healthy eating, restful sleep and exercise is what usually helps in treating ailments like arthritis. For this ailment specifically, light exercise like walking is recommended. Various yoga asanas that involve sitting, standing, balancing and lying down poses as well as restful poses will also help in treating knee, shoulder and lower back pain specifically. Also, mustard oil massages can help in reducing the pain.
These are the few ways in which ayurveda can help arthritis patients live a more normal life with minimal pain.

Ayurveda For Arthritis

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!


A fracture separates a single solid object into two or more pieces due to pressure. In medical terms, a fracture refers to a broken bone due to some kind of external trauma. A crack in the bone, on the other hand, it does not cause a clean break in the bone, there is only a separation or discontinuity in the bone material.

A crack in the bone caused due to repeated stress is often called as 'hairline fracture'. Here are the basic differences between a crack and a fracture in the bone and how to treat them:

1. A crack or hairline fracture is rarely caused by a single injury. It is usually the result of bone fatigue, which may be caused due to repeated, concentrated stress over a long period of time and thus, it is also called as 'stress fracture'. Other bone fractures are almost always the result of sudden and severe force on the bones.

2. The skeletal system constantly remodels itself. The cells, known as 'osteoblasts' absorb calcium and secrete bone connective tissue. If a particular site is exposed to recurrent bouts of force (which are individually not impactful enough to cause a crack), over time the osteoblasts in that region malfunction and the crack appears.

Muscular exhaustion can also cause cracks in the bone. Fractures are caused due to sudden external single force trauma to the bone. Nutritional problems like deficiencies of Calcium, Phosphorus, vitamin D and excessive smoking decrease the bone mineral density and increase the chance of both cracks and fractures.

3. Symptoms of a crack are swelling, tenderness and sharp pain in the injured region and the symptoms worsen over time. A fracture has similar symptoms and might also exhibit an external physical distortion and makes it impossible to move that part of the body that where the bone is broken.

4. An MRI is often suggested for detecting the crack or crack-prone areas because an X-ray can only detect the crack after it widens somewhat or the bone starts paining because the rays cannot pass through the tiny gap in bone material. A fracture is easily detectable by an X-ray because the rays pass right through the break.

5. Complete rest for six to eight weeks is the most effective way of healing a crack. Using a walking boot in case of cracks in the leg bones in also helpful. Healing fractures require extensive medical intervention. Surgical techniques like bone grafting and the insertion of metal plates are used to reposition the broken bone.

Cracks VS Fractures

The movement between bones and muscles is possible due to the fluid filled sacs that enable smooth gliding of the bones. When there is an inflammation of these sacs, condition known as bursitis results, leading to friction, reduced movement, painful movement, discomfort, and irritation.

Some of the common causes of bursitis include age, which brings along reduced elasticity of the tendons and ligaments.  Additionally, sudden injury to the bursa area, repetitive stress, overuse of the ligaments or tendons, incorrect posture, and improper exercise can all lead to bursitis.

The most commonly affected parts are the elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles. The dull, aching pain that ensues is accompanied by stiffness. Movement can worsen this pain.  The area can be red, hot, and swollen indicating infection. Whatever the area affected, some of the common ways to manage bursitis pain are listed below.

1. Rest - As soon as bursitis is identified, the area must be rested. As noted, in most cases, repetitive stress and injury is the most common cause, and resting the area really helps.

2. Ice only - If bursitis is happening for the first time, then an ice pack alone should help reduce the pain in 1 to 2 days.

3. Ice and moist heat - If it is happening repeatedly, then alternating moist heat and ice for 15 minutes each will help.  This can be done two to three times a day. 

4. Anti-inflammatories: In most cases, if rest and topical therapy are not working, then the regular anti-inflammatory agents may be given. 

5. Physical Therapy - In some cases, mild exercises can help reduce inflammation and pain. 

6. DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) - This clear, colorless, oily liquid is made from wood pulp and helps in reducing the inflammation caused by bursitis. A 70% DMSO mixture can be applied with cotton on the affected area 3 times a day for 3 days, then 2 times a day for the next 3 days, and then 1 time a day for the next 3 days.  If there is no improvement in the first 3 days, it needs to be discontinued.

7. Foods to remove calcium deposits - In a number of cases, bursitis that is present for months or years is worsened due to the calcium deposits. Foods like apple cider vinegar can help dissolve the calcium deposits that could have formed in the bursa.

8. Steroids: Local injections of corticosteroids may be necessary in some cases. Though inflammation can be curtailed with this, there is always the fear of hampered immunity and altered sugar levels.

9. Surgical drainage - In very rare cases, the bursa may need to be surgically drained.
Bursitis is a very common issue and can be managed easily as well. Consult your doctor and avoid medicating on your own.

Ways to Treat Bursitis

Knee pain or injuries are very common and have numerous causes. Knee pain can emerge from delicate tissue wounds like ligament sprains and muscle strains. Bone conditions like knee joint pain, Osgood Schlatters, and biomechanical dysfunction can also cause knee pain. Treatment can include basic knee mobilization techniques, taping, massages or knee strengthening exercises completely through a careful recovery method after knee replacement or reconstruction.

Physiotherapy can help you overcome the pain and increase your strength and flexibility. A physiotherapist can suggest you a number of treatments and also help you understand your issue and get you back to your everyday routine. Physiotherapists are said to be successful in getting rid of the source of the knee pain by diagnosing a cause. This includes tightness around the knee and treating it with stretching and exercises.

Following are some of the exercises a physiotherapist might generally recommend for knee pain:

Hamstring stretch: Stretching keeps you flexible and increases your scope of movement, or how far you can move your joints in different directions. It additionally helps you reduce your chances of injuries and pain. Continuously warm up with a five minute walk first. Lie down when you are prepared to stretch your hamstring. Circle a bed sheet around your right foot, use the sheet to pull the leg up and hold for twenty seconds and then lower the leg. Repeat twice and switch legs.
Calf stretch: Use a chair for balance. Bend your left leg. Step back with your right leg and gradually straighten it behind you. Press your left heel toward the floor. You should feel the stretch in the calf of your back leg. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat twice and then switch legs.
Straight leg raise: It helps build muscle strength to give support to the weak joints. Lie on the floor. Twist your left knee, foot on the floor. Keep the right leg straight, toes pointed up. Tighten your thigh muscles and raise your right leg.
Quad set: With these, you don't raise your leg. Just tighten the thigh muscles, also called the quadriceps, of one leg at once. Begin by lying on the floor. Keep both legs on the ground, loose. Flex and hold the left leg tense for five seconds and then relax. Do three sets of ten repetitions. Switch legs after every set.
Cushion squeeze: This move strengthens your legs from the inside so that they can support the knees. Lie on your back, both knees facing inwards. Place a cushion or a pillow between the knees. Press your knees together, squishing the cushion between them. Hold for five seconds and then relax. Do three sets of ten repetitions. Switch legs after every set.
Heel raise: Stand tall and hold the back of a seat for support. Lift your heels off the ground and rise on the toes of both feet. Hold for three seconds. Gradually lower both heels to the ground. Do three sets of ten repetitions. 

Knee Pain - How Physiotherapy Can Heal Knee Pain?

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