A systematic review of complementary therapies for Rheumatoid arthritis has concluded that there is little evidence to support their use in relieving the pain of this autoimmune condition. Millions of patients make use of alternative treatments for neck pain and back pain but this latest research may make them think twice before shelling out money for unproven remedies for Rheumatoid arthritis.
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Could your neck pain medication actually be making your pain worse?
Many women (and often their hairdressers) notice changes in hair quality during menopause, with hair becoming dry and coarse, falling out more easily and not growing as fast. Thyroid problems due to hormonal disruption are common as the production of estrogen in the ovaries slows down in menopause, making the adrenal glands an important site for hormone production. As the adrenals are negatively affected by stress, caffeine, and alcohol, this makes homeostasis even more of a challenge than before. Stress also induces inflammation and some people compound the problem by resorting to smoking as a calming activity. Smoking, neck pain, hair loss, stress, and thyroid disease may all be bound up together in a complex dysfunctional state, meaning that a patient may need considerably more than just thyroid medication to resolve all their issues surrounding hair loss and neck pain. Read more
Ed Keystone, MD, of the University of Toronto, presented preliminary findings from a trial of a one-a-day Rheumatoid Arthritis medication, baricitinib.
A bulging disc in the neck is not necessarily symptomatic but neck pain and other symptoms can arise when a cervical nerve root becomes compressed by a bulging disc. Playing golf with a bulging disc in the neck may, therefore, become virtually impossible. Anyone who plays golf knows that success on the course depends on the ability to repeat a smooth, integrated swing. This requires coordinated body movement from head to toe, which is hard to maintain if a bulging disc is causing a pinched nerve in the neck or any other part of the spine.
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Office workers generally don’t have to do much heavy lifting, or operate complicated machinery, or climb to perilous heights supported only by a rope and carabiner. Yet, even though a serious injury is not typically a major concern in an office setting, neck pain experienced while sitting at a desk can be every bit as disruptive as an ankle sprained on a construction job. In fact, neck pain related to a herniated disc or similar spinal condition could be far more serious and difficult to manage over the long term than an acute injury such as a sprain or muscle strain. There are, however, several ways an office worker can mitigate the symptoms related to a herniation of an intervertebral disc in the neck. Read more
Tension headaches and neck pain are very common but many people, and their physicians, neglect to find out the underlying cause meaning that treatments for tension headaches and neck pain are either unsuccessful or never applied. The pain in a tension headache will usually commence at the back of the head and move forwards, engulfing the scalp, creating a sensation of tightness across the head, and maybe even extending into the neck and shoulders. Some tension headaches and neck pain are connected to Read more
Muscle relaxants may help where massage, heat therapy, and NSAIDs have failed.
In this post we’ll take a quick look at some of the more commonly prescribed muscle relaxants for neck pain and back pain, discuss their uses, side-effects, and possible interactions, and offer brief guidance on staying safe when using muscle relaxants for chronic pain. Read more
Coping with chronic neck pain may be made easier with mindfulness training if we generalize the results of a recent pilot study into the use of the therapy for patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. The randomized study found that group-therapy using mindfulness techniques helped patients manage daily symptoms of chronic joint pain more effectively and reduced feelings of stress in comparison to the control group. What does ‘mindfulness’ mean though, and how can you incorporate it into your neck painmanagement regime? Read more
The name itself – bone spur – sounds like it would be a sharp, jutting protrusion that is sure to cause pain. On the contrary, though, bone spurs, also called osteophytes, are actually not very “spur like.” They tend to be smooth growths of bone attached to other bones, and usually occur at jointed areas that sustain a lot of rubbing and grinding. A common place for them to develop is on the sides and tops of toes when high heels are frequently worn, called “pump bumps.” The bones of the spine can also develop bone spurs, but since these are not visible like bone spurs on the toes, people generally don’t know they have spinal osteophytes unless the bony growths produce symptoms.
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