Oct 9 2017
Treatment Options for a Pinched Nerve
If you have ever had the unpleasant experience of relentless neck or back pain, your primary focus is relief. Pain that sticks around for weeks requires a trip to the doctor for a diagnosis. Most likely, you will find out that you have a pinched nerve. If so, your doctor will prescribe compressed nerve treatment, which is another term for this condition.
What are Treatment Options for a Pinched Nerve?
Often, a pinched nerve occurs from a degenerative spine condition such as spinal stenosis. During some point in most people’s lives, this becomes a common occurrence. Yet, it can be difficult to treat because there are many causes for having nerve compression.
Rather than self-diagnosis, the best thing to do when pain starts from what you believe is a pinched nerve is go see your doctor. He or she has the best knowledge and tools to make a more accurate diagnosis than what you may find searching the Internet.
What are the Symptoms of a Pinched Nerve?
In some cases, pain is the only thing you feel with nerve compression. In other cases, you may have other symptoms and no pain. Common pinched nerve symptoms include:
- Numbness or tingling sensation
- Weakness while performing certain activities
- A burning feeling best described as “pins and needles”
- Pain that radiates
- Pain in the neck or lower back
Certain movements of your neck or head may cause some symptoms to get worse.
What are Treatment Options for a Pinched Nerve?
Treatment for a pinched nerve varies based on the cause and severity of the compression. The length of time it takes for symptoms to end can also vary from one person to the next.
In your situation, you might find that simply resting the injured area is enough to relieve pain symptoms. Avoiding activities that seem to agitate your symptoms is another thing that you can do on your own. Some treatment options may include:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to reduce swelling
- Oral corticosteroids to reduce swelling and pain.
- Steroid injections may also reduce swelling. Inflamed nerves can recover with this form of treatment.
- Physical therapy to strengthen and stretch muscles.
Symptoms that persist or include severe pain require medical attention. Severe cases that do not respond to other forms of treatment might need surgery to remove whatever is pressing on a nerve. These could be pieces of bone, scar tissue or disc material.
Working with your doctor, you can find the best approach to treating pinched nerve symptoms.
Feb 13 2018
Top Tips for Preventing Foot and Ankle Injuries During Exercise
Foot and ankle injuries are incredibly common among athletes. In sports like basketball, they’re the number one injury year in and year out. You don’t have to be a competitive athlete to be sidelined by foot and ankle injuries though.
Even individuals who hit the gym, jog on a track or trail or just do calisthenics at home are at risk of injuries that can be painful and debilitating. While you may recover in time depending on the severity of the injury, you don’t have to let your feet run the show.
Keep reading to learn more about preventing ankle and foot injuries that can occur during sports and exercise. You’ll also learn about what to do if you do end with an injury. After all, even competitive athletes with the best trainers and exercise routines in the world get hurt from time to time.
Stop Your Activity
When you feel pain or like you might have tweaked your foot or ankle, the most important first step is to simply stop what you’re doing. It doesn’t matter if you’re mid-game or far away from home on a jog. Take your time to stop, sit down and evaluate what you may have done to your foot or ankle.
If the injury doesn’t feel bad, you may be able to resume your activity. If any pain lingers after a few minutes of rest it’s best to stop altogether – at least for a few days.
Call a Doctor
Injuries to the foot and ankle can be problematic because they don’t always completely heal themselves. Even severe sprains can linger for years to come, leaving your tendons and the area in general weak. That means you could be susceptible to more injuries – more serious injuries, too – in the future.
When you have an injury, contact an Orlando foot and ankle clinic right away. This is especially important if sports or exercise are part of your regular routine.
Rest, Rest and Rest Some More
Seeing your doctor is important, but if an injury isn’t serious, rest is often the best medicine. Ice and heat therapy are ideal, and for sprains, elevation is a key. Follow the RICE formula – rest, ice, compression and elevation – to get back to your normal activities as soon as possible.
Don’t rush working out if you still feel pain. Even mild to moderate injuries can take months to heal.
By admin • Health Care • • Tags: few minutes, medicine, RICE, severity, therapy