Sunsine Clinic

Lack of sleep can make you feel tired, worn-out and less productive the next day. However, it might not be your fault entirely because the brain tends to become active when the body is at rest, which could be a reason why you aren’t getting enough sleep at night.

Here are a few tips which might be useful for you to sleep at night:

1. Keep your room dark: Even the faintest light from your mobile is enough to disrupt your sleep. Thus, try and switch off all your lights and gadgets before going to sleep. If doing that doesn’t help either, use an eye mask to keep the light out.

2. Carefully select your dinner: Don’t go to bed hungry or overstuffed because either of them might cause discomfort while sleeping and lead to a disruption in your sleep. Also, limit your alcohol consumption at night to refrain from making numerous trips to the washroom. Avoid consuming nicotine and caffeine before going to bed as they take a long time to wear off and can cause havoc in your sleep routine.

3. Don’t exercise before going to bed: Exercising daily is a necessity as it keeps your body healthy and in shape, but exercising right before going to bed can be disruptive as it might make you more pumped up due to the adrenaline rush. Thus, you should avoid exercising heavily right before going to bed.

4. Plug out all your devices: Create a technology free zone by plugging out all your devices one hour prior to your usual sleep time. The blue light radiated from your devices can trick your brain into believing that it is daylight and cause a disruption in circadian rhythm (which is an ongoing 24-hour physiological process which is regulated by external factors such as sunlight and temperature).

5. Consume snooze food: Certain food items can be classified as snooze foods as they ensure better sleep at night. Warm milk contains ‘tryptophan’ which is a precursor to melatonin (hormone that is responsible for the onset of sleep) and ensures better sleep or you could have a spoon of honey which releases ‘orexin’ (a chemical that affects wakefulness and appetite) that reduces alertness levels.

The musculoskeletal structure of your body is what enables you do any physical movement. The bones provide the solid structure while the muscles provide the strength and agility for all the necessary movements. However, muscles can be affected either due to internal problems within the body or due to wear and tear. Pain in the muscles can be quite debilitating and problematic.

Some of the more common methods to treat and deal with muscle pain are mentioned below.

1. Correct electrolyte imbalances in your daily food intake: Electrolytes are important minerals required in your body such as potassium or magnesium. A lack of these minerals within the body will cause muscle pain including cramps and spasms. These could be caused due to:
   • Strenuous exercising or physical activity such as playing sports
   • High blood pressure
   • The onset of the menstrual cycles
   • Dehydration
   • An imbalanced diet that doesn’t supply these minerals
2. Proper stretching and massaging your muscles: You should get into a habit of properly warming up and cooling down before and after exercising as this will allow the muscles to get into optimal physical condition. If you suddenly start exercising, it may damage them and cause immediate pain or may develop into chronic pain over time. The best way to correct this imbalance is to include foods in your diet which contain these minerals, such as bananas for potassium, organic meat for potassium and magnesium, organic eggs, and legumes.
3. Start exercising if you aren’t doing it regularly: Muscle pain may occur due to atrophy or weakening of the muscles. Bad habits and posture overtime will also result in muscle pain and the best way to strengthen them is to start exercising and stretching them slowly. Once they are strong enough, some of the muscle pain issues will go away on their own.
4. Correcting bad posture: Bad posture is another culprit for muscle pain. Especially common with sedentary jobs behind a desk postures tend to deteriorate overtime and cause, muscle pain. Thus along with exercising, try to change your posture and correct any bad habit that may have crept in.
5. Stay hydrated: Dehydration is another common cause for muscle pain especially from muscle spasms or cramps. Ensure that you are properly hydrated throughout the day to avoid pain from spasms.
6. Use either hot or cold therapy: You can use ice packs or hot water packs to soothe muscle pain depending on the type of causes. For example, throbbing muscle pain and spasms can be relaxed through warm compress while inflammations can be soothed by icepacks.
7. Medications: In certain disorders of the body such as fibromyalgia, you will need to take specialized medications in order to correct the problem. For excessive and chronic pain, you should visit your doctor as it may require more extensive treatment.

Our spinal disk resembles a jelly donut, wherein the softer insides are protected by the hard exterior. Sometimes, as a result of some injury or an accident the jelly slips out, leading to an extremely painful condition which in medical parlance is known as herniated disc. The pain that you are subjected to, during herniated disc, occurs as the nerves nearby are damaged due to the concussion. Apart from pain, herniated disc is preceded by other symptoms, some of them are:

1. Pain in the arm or the leg
Depending on which part of the body you have suffered the herniated disc, in the neck or in your lower back, this condition is succeeded by intense pain either near the buttocks or near the shoulders. It goes without saying that this pain increases sharply with movement.

2. Numbness
That part of the body where the nerves are damaged due to herniated disc often becomes numb and has no sensation whatsoever.

3. Weakness
Due to herniated disc, the muscles become weak that considerably impairs and curbs mobility.

However, there are various ways by which you can prevent a herniated disc. Some of them are-

1. Exercise
Exercise in any form and even for a short while yields several benefits. Your body invariably gains momentum and agility. If you exercise daily, your spine becomes more stable and strong, thereby preventing a possible herniated disc.

2. Maintaining the right and good posture
A lot depends on the way you sit and walk, in fact more than you can imagine. If you sit badly, it exerts a pressure on the spine and the discs. Subsequently, a good posture does the very reverse and curbs chances of a herniated disc in the future.

3. Keep a tab on the weight
It is always healthy to maintain the right weight, the one that keeps you away from the onset of various diseases. If you are overweight, it puts more pressure on the spine disk, thereby increasing the risk of developing a herniated disc.

The human body goes through aches and pains from time to time depending on injuries and other kinds of joint, muscle and nerve pain. The various types of pain include somatic pain, visceral pain, and neuropathic pain. While somatic pain refers to pain that comes from injuries caused to muscles, connective tissues and joints; visceral pain happens due to inflammation and excessive stretching of organs. Finally, neuropathic pain is a more long lasting kind that can be caused by conditions like cancer, HIV or Shingles. The pain can be acute or chronic.

Read on to find out more about pain management.

Somatic Pain: This bone pain is usually localised and can increase with movement, becoming sharper with increased motion. Somatic pain can usually be treated with the help of analgesics that can treat the pain area, especially for pain that takes place due to surgical incisions and other dull aches or sharp pains that are localised. This kind of pain can also be treated with physiotherapy, acupressure and other exercises based on the area of the pain.

Visceral Pain: While this kind of pain can be treated with the help of medication, it also usually improves and fades with time. The medication for this kind of pain usually alters the neurotransmitters of the brain that convey pain signals and trigger pain in the body. This medication also helps in bringing down the inflammation for pain improvement.

Neuropathic Pain: This kind of pain is usually accompanied by irregular limb movements and discomfort as well as motions like twitching. It is a more permanent kind of pain that lasts long and causes greater discomfort than the above two kinds of pain. Neuropathic pain can be treated with the help of anticonvulsants that usually help in the prevention of nerve pain and irregular movements that can trigger off this kind of pain. It also acts on the serotonin levels and other chemicals of the brain for better nerve pain management and as an anti-depressant as well.

The various kinds of pain discussed above can be treated in different ways, in medicated and non-medicated ways. The method will also depend on whether the pain is acute or chronic.

A bone fracture occurs when a strong external force is applied on the bones causing it to break. It is an extremely painful condition that results in days of immobility and rest.

There are several reasons which can result in bone fracture, some of them being:

1. Injuries caused in sports

Any sport requires and demands extreme physical exertion and participation. Being involved in any sport therefore automatically increases your risk of incurring injuries. Bone fractures therefore are mostly reported during sports.

2. Osteoporosis

Due to the deficiency of calcium, the bones of both men and women tend to get weak and more susceptible to fracture and breakage. It is one of the primary causes that lead to bone fracture.

3. Osteomalacia

This also refers to a condition wherein the bones become weak and brittle. Much like osteoporosis, osteomalacia too significantly contributes to instances of bone fractures.

4. Osteosarcoma

This is a rare form of bone cancer that most often develops either near the femur or near the shinbone. An instance of this form of bone cancer is most often found in children and weakens the bone, consequently leading to fractures.

Though there may be different causes of broken fractures, its symptoms remain similar. Some of them are-

1. Swelling

One of the most common symptoms of bone fracture is perceptible swelling. If any of your bone is fractured, that particular part will be visibly swollen.

2. Deformity

Bones give your body the shape it has, thereby, any fracture anywhere would inevitably manifest itself as a clear deformity of that particular part.

3. Extreme pain

It goes without saying that a bone fracture would entail excruciating and extreme pain. This pain sharply increases with mobility thereby necessitating complete rest.

4. Temporary loss of function

The part of the body where the bone is broken temporarily becomes dysfunctional. For instance, if the bone in your hand is broken, you will find it extremely difficult to move and do any work with it.

The ankle, despite being one of the smaller joints, plays a crucial role as it bears the brunt of a person’s weight. Due to improper gait or injuries, the ankle often gets sprained. This can be a recurring problem in older people. Therefore, over a period of time, the ankle gets unstable and can cause chronic symptoms including pain, imbalance resulting in recurrent falls. Read on to know more about some causes, symptoms, and management techniques for ankle instability.

Causes: The ankle has ligaments which stretch to allow for ankle movement. When this ligament stretches beyond the limit, then it can tear or stretch. Therefore, sportspersons like basketball and football players, gymnasts who tend to use their ankle a lot are at a much higher risk of developing ankle instability over a period of time.

Symptoms: The most common symptom of ankle instability is when a person is unable to stand firm. This pain is worse in people wearing heels or walking on uneven ground. Patients may experience swelling, stiffness, and excruciating pain.

Management: Ankle instability is an acute problem but the recovery time is limited too, so the symptoms disappear over a period of time. However, in some people, especially sportspersons, it may lead to a chronic condition which needs immediate attention. Few remedies for getting relief from ankle pain are mentioned below:

1. Ice: For pain relief, icing the ankle is an excellent option. Applying a cold pack for about 10 to 15 minutes about 2 to 4 times per day is an effective way to relieve the pain, stiffness, and swelling.
2. Rest: Ligament injuries often heal on their own, and sportspersons may be advised to stay off of the game for about a week or two, to give it time for self-repair.
3. Compresses: Using an elastic wrap or compression ice wrap for a few hours can help in relieving ankle instability.
4. Pain killers: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen can help in reducing both the inflammation and pain from the ankle injury.
5. Exercise: Increasing the strength and flexibility of the ankle via exercise is a great way to reduce chances of further sprain. Rotating the ankles, standing on one leg, etc., are some effective ways to do this.
6. Surgery: If none of the above-mentioned remedies work, a surgery may be required which is only in severe and/or chronic cases.

Ankle instability is quite common but is equally easy to manage.

Skin is one of the most obvious parts of our body which ages with an increase in the number of candles on our birthday cakes. As you age, joints tend to become stiffer and less flexible. The body does not recover from bumps and bruises as easily as it did before, and it becomes difficult to stand for extended time intervals. This is caused mostly by a breakdown of cartilage and inflammation of the synovium.

What is cartilage?

Cartilage is a flexible connective tissue. It connects the ends of two bones in a joint. It is softer than bone tissue but less flexible than muscle tissue. Cartilage is responsible for the smooth movement of joints. 
With age, cartilage begins to degenerate. As the cartilage gets thinner, movement becomes more and more difficult. If left untreated, the cartilage may completely wear off leaving no buffer between the bones. This is one of the leading causes of knee replacement surgery. 

What is synovium?

Synovium is a membrane responsible for keeping the cartilage healthy. It produces a thick fluid that keeps the cartilage and joint lubricated. In cases of osteoarthritis, this membrane can swell up and produce excess fluid. This in turn causes the joint to swell as well. 
Along with age, factors like being overweight, genetics, gender and lifestyle also play a role in the condition of your joints. Being obese points towards a sedentary lifestyle and puts extra pressure on joints, leading to the thinning of cartilage. While men have higher chances of becoming osteoarthritis patients before 45, women have higher chances of developing this disease after 50. A healthy lifestyle is the easiest way to ensure that your joints work well even when you're old and grey. 

Exercise

Movement of the joints keeps the fluid in them moving. It also prevents the cartilage from shrinking and stiffening up. Exercise also makes the bones stronger, and slows the rate of bone tissue deterioration. Stretching exercises are also a good way to maintain the flexibility of joints. 

Healthy diet

Foods that are known as natural anti histamines, antioxidants and foods that fight inflammation promote healthy joints. Some of these are:

-  Green tea: It prevents the breakdown of collagen and cartilage
-  Nuts and seeds: These are rich in omega 3 fats that are essential for good bone health
-  Ginger: It relieves pain and joint swelling
-  Yogurt: It helps soothe tender joints and fights inflammation
-  Pomegranate: It protects the cartilage against damage

Hot and cold therapy can also help relieve joint pain and reduce inflammation. As you get older, avoid putting too much pressure on your joints and give them adequate rest. Lastly, avoid smoking, as people who smoke have an increased risk of cartilage loss.