Muscle strain or muscle pull is a condition, which is characterized by damage to the muscles or its adjoining tendons. Undue pressure can be exerted on the muscle when you are carrying out routine activities such as sudden lifting of heavy things or playing contact sports. The damage to the muscle is usually in the form of partial or complete tearing of the tendons and fibres attached to the muscles. The small blood vessels in the muscles can also be damaged by the tearing of the muscles, leading to local bleeding and bruising.

The symptoms of muscle pain are:
1. You will experience pain even while resting
2. There will be bruising, swelling and redness around the affected area
3. You will experience weakness of the muscles and tendons
4. The movement and mobility of the muscle will be impaired
5. You will experience pain when you use the affected muscles

The causes of a muscle strain are:
1. Playing contact sports can lead to injuries
2. Lifting heavy things
3. Exercising without a proper warm up routine
4. Lifting extremely heavy weights during exercise without proper acclimatization
5. Sleeping on one side only for a long period of time
6. Not stretching properly
7. Falling from a height

The treatments for muscle strains are:
1. Pain medications: You can opt for pain relieving medications such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications to help combat the associated pain of a muscle strain.
2. Rice: Rice stands for rest, ice, compression and elevation. This treatment is usually the first step after suffering a strain, before opting for medications. This treatment prevents further aggravation of the problem.
3. Compress: You can alternate between hot and cold compress to reduce the swelling and pain.
4. Stretches: Once the affected area has healed, it is important for you stretch the muscles to improve their mobility and strength.

Not Stretching Properly? It May Cause You Muscle Strain

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?

A broken bone or a fracture can be painful and it requires medical attention for the fracture to heal properly. Proper healing is necessary for the right alignment of the bone. A doctor chooses to either reduce or set the bone in terms of new alignment. The bone reduction can happen manually or surgically depending on the severity of the injury. A Surgical procedure known as the open reduction internal fixation is performed for serious fractures. It ensures that the all the broken pieces are fixed together and the injury can heal properly.
Post the fracture, the bone need to be immobilised for proper healing. This is generally achieved by imposing a cast. For fractures that are not severe in nature, a doctor might choose to impose a temporary cast so that simple motion can happen around the site of the injury. For serious fractures, a permanent cast is placed around the injury site. In the case of a shoulder injury, a patient is required to wear a sling so that the bones are immobilised.


Time Duration of a Therapy Session:
While the exact duration of physiotherapy can vary from individual to individual, it takes a minimum of 2-8 weeks for the fracture to completely heal. Certain fractures take more time to heal. The rate of healing also depends on the severity of the injury, pain threshold level of the patient, extent of work with the physiotherapist, the robustness of the physiotherapy program, extent of the injury of the soft tissue and certain other factors. Typically shoulder and neck injuries heal quicker than a fracture of the legs. The time duration of fracture healing also depends on the type of bone that has been affected.


Physiotherapy in a Hospital:
If the fracture happens in the ankle or leg, a physiotherapist might have to intervene in the hospital in order to teach patient about using assistive devices such as crutches and cane. Things that are taught during this time include using the device in order to climb stairs, right walking posture, getting into a car, taking the device off while sitting and such other techniques.


Physiotherapy at Home:
Physiotherapy can also happen from home if the doctor specifically instructs to do the same. This is typically done for people where the condition is too serious to go outside and get the physiotherapy done. Certain weight bearing restrictions are imposed around this time. The training remains the same as in the case with a hospital.


In the Clinic:
Once the patient becomes mobile enough, a doctor might suggest a patient go to a clinic to get the physiotherapy done. A physiotherapist evaluates certain things such as pain, range of motion, gait, flexibility etc. of the patient before suggesting a certain exercise plan. 




How Long Do You Need Physiotherapy Post-Fractures?

Foot pain contributes around 3-5 % of patients visiting Orthopedic OPD, with heel pain being predominant complaint. Heel pain commonly involves the underside or back of your heel. Although not a symptom of a serious condition, it s disabling as it can interfere with your routine activities.

Plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinitis, Heel spur, Retrocalcaneal bursitis are few common conditions causing heel pain.

The below few conditions which are prone to developing heel pain like:

Abnormal walking style (gait)/altered alignment of the foot
Obesity
Ill-fitting shoes/ badly-worn shoes
Standing, running or jumping on hard surfaces
Injury to the heel, such as stress fractures
diabetes and arthritis
The most common causes of heel pain are plantar fasciitis (bottom of the heel) and Achilles tendinitis (back of the heel).

Presenting complaints:

Pain which is usually intense in the mornings or after a long period of res,
Discomfort or swelling in the back of your heel
Skin on your heel overly warm to the touch
Burning sensation over heel
Numbness or tingling in your heel
Swelling around ankle etc
Remedies you can try:

Avoid activities that aggravate your heels, such as running, standing for long periods or walking on hard surfaces.
Ice application on your heel for 10-15 minutes at least three times a day.
Well fitting shoes.
Non-steroidal antinflammatory drugs can reduce inflammation and pain
A splint is worn at night
Flexibility exercises
Prevention of heel pain:

Wear a well-fitting & comfortable shoe
Always warm up and cool down when exercising or playing
Silicone insoles
Consult your doctor immediately if, Heel pain persists in spite of home remedies. Try these tips to put Heel pain at rest!

Heel Pain - Effective Ways To Put It At Rest!

Sciatica, which is pain along the huge sciatic nerve that runs through the lower back to the back of each leg, can bring about serious, weakening pain. The term sciatica depicts indications of leg pain along with potential shivering, weakness, or numbness that starts in the lower back and goes through the butt cheek and down the vast sciatic nerve in the back of every leg. However, here are some top ways to get pain relief from sciatica:

1. Chiropractic/manual control
Spinal adjustment and manual control performed by properly trained health experts, for example, chiropractors and osteopathic doctors, are centered around giving better spinal cord alignment. These are intended to address various basic conditions, which can bring about sciatic nerve pain.

2. Acupuncture
This practice is based on the goal of achieving or keeping up the strength through an open stream of energy by certain pathways in the body. Hair-thin needles (which are generally not felt) are embedded into the skin, close to the zone of pain.

3. Subjective behavior therapy
This treatment for taking control and evolving self-defeating behaviors can be useful in overseeing sciatica pain, especially in the short term. Sessions with an advisor might be face-to-face or on the web.

4. Massage treatment
Certain types of back rub treatments have proven to have various advantages for back pain, including expanded blood flow, muscle relaxing, and release of endorphins (the body's regular pain relievers).

5. Strengthening activities
Many activities can strengthen the spinal cord and the surrounding muscles, tendons, and ligaments. The greater part of these back exercises center around the lower back, as well as the (stomach) muscles and gluteus (butt cheek) and hip muscles.

6. Stretching
Stretching is usually prescribed to mitigate sciatic pain. Stretching for sciatica is intended to target muscles that cause pain when they are tight and unyielding. Hamstring stretch is very often an essential part of a sciatica exercise program. As part of everyday exercises, many people do not stretch these muscles, which extend out from the pelvis to the knee in the back of the thigh.

7. Low-impact aerobic activity
Some types of low-impact cardiovascular workout, for example, walking, swimming, or pool therapy, are generally parts of the recovery, as high-impact action increases the exchange of liquids and nutrients to make a better environment for healing.

8. Micro-disectomy
In situations where the sciatica pain is because of a lumbar disk herniation, a microdiscectomy is the most widely recognized surgical approach. It is an open surgery done using magnification techniques. In this surgery, just the bit of the herniated disk that is squeezing the nerve is evacuated. Whatever is left of the plate is left in place.

Top Eight Ways To Get Pain Relief From Sciatica!

Sciatica is a neurological condition that mainly arises due to problems in the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve is believed to be the largest nerve originating from the spinal nerves L4 to S3. It extends downward from the lower spine into the back of each leg (thighs) right down to the foot. The sciatic nerve acts as a connecting link between the spinal cord and the foot and the leg muscles. People with sciatica often experience a tingling sensation along with a shooting pain radiates downwards from the lower back (mostly the lumbar region) to the back of one of the legs. Some may also experience the sciatic pain down both the legs (rare).

Types of Sciatic Pain:

Sciatica that affects a person can be of two types depending on the severity of the associated symptoms

Acute sciatic pain: In this case, a person experiences a sudden radiating pain which often heals by itself within a week or two. More than often, the pain is triggered by an injury to the spinal joints, nerves, or the disc.
Chronic sciatic pain: This is a more serious condition where the pain may linger for long, often more than three months. The chronic sciatic pain may affect a person with severe Arthritis and nerve injury and damage.
Symptoms associated with Sciatica:

One of the characteristic symptoms of Sciatica is a shooting pain that radiates from the lower back (often the lumbar) to the back of one (or both) of the legs.
In some, the sciatic pain may result in weakness and a tingling sensation down the affected leg.
A person with sciatica may find it difficult to move his/her foot and legs (restricts their movement).
Some people may experience a shooting pain even while they are in a sitting position. In some others, the pain may be at its worst when a person is in a standing position.
Sciatica can also trigger a hip pain.
What triggers sciatica and the associated symptoms?

The disc is a protective shield that prevents any damage or injury to the vertebrae. A degenerative disc problem can interfere with the normal functioning of the disc triggering sciatica.
Spondylolisthesis: In Spondylolisthesis, also known as a Slip Disc, a bone (mostly in the lumbar region) slips over the bone which is located just below it. People with prolonged and untreated spondylolisthesis are often known to suffer from sciatica.
The sciatic pain can also affect a woman during her pregnancy.
Lumbar spinal stenosis: This condition is is characterized by the spinal canal narrowing down in the lumbar region. Lumbar spinal stenosis exerts pressure on the sciatic nerve, giving rise to sciatica.
A muscular strain or spasm in the buttocks can also be a contributing factor.
Proper management and prevention for sciatica are possible. One should be alert and consult a doctor in case they experience the associated symptoms or any discomfort.

Sciatica Pain - What Can Trigger It?

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