Bone Spur Treatments – Do Alternative Therapies Work?

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Bone spur treatmentsIf you are exploring different bone spur treatments to try and relieve neck pain due to cervical osteophytes, there are a wide range of nonsurgical therapies out there that may be able to help. Once you have gotten a diagnosis of bone spurs in your upper spine from your doctor, he or she will likely suggest a course of conservative treatments. These may include prescription or over-the-counter pain medication, hot compresses, cold compresses, physical therapy, or behavior modification, among others.

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Spinal Stenosis Treatment – Are Herbal Therapies Safe?

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Spinal steonosis treatmentSpinal stenosis treatment can take many forms, ranging from over-the-counter pain medication to corticosteroid spinal injections. While the general course of physician-prescribed treatments follows a tried-and-true path for all patients, each patient will respond to treatments differently, so the combination of treatments that is deemed successful for one patient may be nothing like the treatments that help another.

There are, however, almost always two common goals when it comes to treating spinal stenosis in the lower back (lumbar spine) and neck (cervical spine): relieve pain and other discomfort associated with spinal nerve compression and avoid the need for surgery. Read more

Laser Spine Procedures: Post-Surgical Guidelines

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Recovery from laser spine proceduresLaser spine procedures are performed to help patients find relief from symptoms caused by nerve irritation and compression caused by certain common spine conditions. After undergoing one of these minimally invasive procedures, many patients are typically able to walk on their own within an hour or two. This is an appealing concept to some individuals dealing with back or neck pain, considering that patients who undergo another possible surgical approach – open spine surgery – may be in a hospital bed for several days or more.

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Getting Through the Holidays with a Herniated Disc

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Herniated discIf you suffer from neck pain and other symptoms related to a herniated disc, getting through daily life can be a huge challenge. Throw in the added demands of the holidays, and you almost begin to dread even waking up in the morning. And that’s too bad, because the holidays were made for memories, not for suffering. With a doctor’s help, you can push past the pain and other symptoms and be more than just a bystander as your family and friends celebrate.
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FDA Approves Tofacitinib for Rheumatoid Arthritis

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first oral rheumatoid arthritis medication approved neck pain causes

Xelijanz from Pfizer is the first approved oral medication for RA, but it has some serious side-effects.

A new drug, tofacitinib, is the first oral medication for Rheumatoid arthritis to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Tofacitinib will offer another option for those with moderate to severe active RA that has not responded to methotrexate treatment. Two new studies of the drug appear to show that the oral medication is helpful in quelling the immune system response that causes joint damage in the disease and which can cause neck pain, pinched nerves, cervical spine subluxation and spinal cord compression where severe. Read more

Stem Cell Therapy for Degenerative Spine Conditions of the Neck

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Stem cell therapyIf you read the newspaper, watch the news, or listen to the radio, stem cell therapy is likely something that you’ve heard about, but is stem cell science simply confined to the laboratory, or is it actually a phenomenon that could apply to your life and your health? If you suffer from chronic back or neck pain due to degenerative spine conditions, learning more about stem cell research and recent advances in stem cell treatments may help broaden your outlook on the types of therapies that are available to you. Read more

Managing Facet Joint Disease Treatment at Work

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Facet joint disease treatmentIf you are adhering to a facet joint disease treatment regimen prescribed by your doctor, you may be trying a wide range of therapies aimed at reducing back or neck pain and increasing spinal mobility. Some treatments, like applying hot/cold compresses or stretching, can be done at home, while others, like physical therapy or corticosteroid injections, require the supervision of a medical professional.

Although home remedies and those administered by a doctor can help, many struggle to manage facet joint disease treatment at work and experience exacerbated symptoms of back or neck pain in the workplace. Read more

Do Biologics for Rheumatoid Arthritis Increase Cancer Risk? New Analysis Says Not.

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rheumatoid arthritis drugs and cancer

BRMs are used to treat autoimmune disease, like RA.

Patients taking biologic medications to relieve neck pain and other symptoms of Rheumatoid arthritis may be relieved to hear that these powerful drugs do not appear to increase the short term risk of cancer, according to a new study.

The comprehensive meta-analysis carried out by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) this week and is expected to allay fears over the possible increased cancer risk in patients with RA who take any of the nine US FDA approved biologic response modifiers, such as abatacept and rituximab. Read more

Can You Get Gout in the Neck?

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neck pain and gout

Uric acid crystals in the neck tissues can cause symptoms of gouty arthritis - but is neck surgery really necessary?

Neck pain has many causes but those with gouty arthritis might wish to talk to their physician about the possible connection between neck pain and gout. Gout can affect the head and neck at any stage of the disease but is usually a symptom in patients who have had gout for a long time.

Primary manifestations of gout in the neck are tophi and cricoarytenoid arthritis and many sufferers notice pain originating from behind the ear, in the jaw, or even deep in the neck causing both pain and altered speech or hoarseness. Where neck pain and gout are connected an MRI can often reveal the location of uric acid deposits, which may require surgical removal. Read more

Spinal Bone Spur Treatment – Do Alternative Therapies Work?

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Bone spur treatmentSpinal bone spur treatment can take a variety of forms, from simple stretches to prescription analgesic pain patches. Similar to treating many other common conditions, the mainstream medical community generally agrees on a group of therapies that have been tried, tested, and studied to the point that they are considered safe and effective for patients suffering from spinal bone spur symptoms. Read more