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Archive for February, 2012

Back pain is possibly a symptom of various diseases and conditions. The main cause some problem may be due to the back itself or elsewhere in the body. In many cases, doctors can not find the cause of pain. When this happens, the most common explanations include:

- stress or injury to the back muscles, including muscle sprain or strain, chronic overload of those muscles caused by obesity and overload caused by any unusual stress, such as lifting a heavy object or being pregnant Read the rest of this entry »

When To Call a Professional

Most headaches are harmless and only rarely due to a serious medical problem. There is no reason to consult a health professional if you can control your headaches without drugs or the occasional use of a simple painkiller.

However, call or see your doctor if any of the following symptoms:
- Headache that follows a head injury.
- Headache accompanied by fever or vomiting.
- Headache associated with blurred vision, slurred speech, numbness or weakness of the arms or legs. Read the rest of this entry »

For tension headaches are episodic least three times a week, counter painkillers such as aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin and others) are practical and effective. Combination products with formulas that combine pain medication with caffeine may help some people but can also create dependency. The use of any soothing counter must be limited to no more than two or three days a week. When using pain medications more frequently, you may see the headaches “bounce” the days that do not take these drugs.

The headaches chronic tension are more difficult to treat, especially because rebound headaches are common when people stop taking painkillers. It is usually more effective to prevent these headaches if you take a prescription drug every day, for example, a tricyclic drug. Read the rest of this entry »

Diagnosis

There are no specific tests to confirm the diagnosis of tension headache. The diagnosis is made according to your symptoms, medical history and physical examination by your doctor. It is possible that some patients are asked a computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head to investigate the headache associated with any unusual or unexpected.

Duration

The episodic headache may last only a few hours or persist for a day or more. The chronic headaches typically last of the day or all day, most of the week, although the intensity of pain may fluctuate during that time. Read the rest of this entry »

The tension headaches are the most common type of headache, affecting up to 40% of people at some point in their lives. These headaches are not due to an illness and are often considered “normal.” They fall into two general categories:
- Episodic: Less than 15 headaches per month.
- Chronic: 15 or more headaches per month.

It is unknown the exact cause of tension headaches but there are several contributing factors. These headaches are due in part to changes in the way the nerves in the head, neck and shoulders feel the pain. Also due to changes in the interpretation by the brain of pain signals sent to it from the muscles of the head and neck. It is likely that emotional stress and muscle tension also trigger these headaches in many people. Read the rest of this entry »

When To Call a Professional

The pain means that there is a problem. Although some people tolerate more pain than others, you should never ignore. Consult your doctor if you can not determine why you have pain, if pain continues or does not respond to simple treatment.

Forecast

For people with acute pain, prospects are generally good. Many drugs are effective in relieving pain. When you remove the cause of pain, the pain disappears. Read the rest of this entry »

Prevention

Trying to prevent pain before it happens can be dangerous. Acute pain is an important message that is essential for survival. Some people are born with a rare disorder (congenital analgesia) and feel no pain. They live in great danger because they lose the warning signs that can mean life or death.

Once diagnosed the cause of pain, you can prevent back pain. For example, a person who was diagnosed with a stomach ulcer can take medicine to heal the ulcer and prevent further pain. Read the rest of this entry »

Symptoms

Pain is a symptom. Acute pain often has a clear cause, however is more persistent and chronic, can last for months or years and may or may not have an obvious cause.

Diagnosis

To diagnose the cause of pain, usually the doctor tries to determine the intensity of pain and cause pain. This can be challenging, since no test can prove the presence of pain, and also to describe in words the pain can be difficult. In addition, each person experiences pain differently. Read the rest of this entry »

Accidentally touches a hot stove and in a millisecond hand away. What happened?

You have pain receptors throughout the body, both internal and external. These receptors send electrical messages through the spinal cord to the brain. You realize (become aware) of the existence of pain when the brain receives and interprets these electrical messages.

In some cases, like when you touch a hot stove, your body may react defensively even before the brain knows what is happening. This is because the pain messages that reach the spinal cord cause an automatic reflex response, causing the muscles near the source of pain contract to remove the pain. Read the rest of this entry »