January 11th, 2012  Posted at   Pain Management
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TENS, what are they, and how do they work? To start off, TENS are known as: Tenascutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation. What they are: four small square pads connected by small wires, (known as electrodes), which are usually placed directly on your skin; either near, or on the pained area. Though it is a stimulant, you feel a sensation of “pins and needles”, and while it does not hurt, some people have had caused of irritated skin; in those cases they are given hypoallergenic pads to reduce irritation. They are typically used to treat conditions that range from sprains to arthritis, to sciatica and scoliosis.

How TENS Work

The TENS are then set to whichever setting is the most comfortable for you, and they proceed to send electric pulse waves to your nerve fibers. They are completely controlled by you. They are used to help jump start your body’s endorphins and encephalin, to help ease the pain.

TENS have also been used on stroke patients, and have been known to help give stroke survivors feeling in their limbs again. What the doctors use are called NESS L300, and they attach to the patients brace (wherever that may be), and they detect whether the patient has their limb in the air, or on the ground. They then send an electrical current to the patient’s personal nerve that helps activate their muscles and corrects their gaits.

Lovely Benefits

They’re mainly used to help ease the pain, and strengthen your muscles by reducing any muscle spasms you acquire. Electric therapy also helps with your circulation, and it adds to the range of your muscles. For stroke patients, they’ve been known to improve their walking abilities and control, increase the blood flow circulation, and their walking speed.

TENS have been used for stroke patients, people with stiffened joints and pulled muscles, sufferers of multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injured patients, and those with cerebral palsy. Read more… »

January 10th, 2012  Posted at   Pain Management
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After a sudden long run or a strenuous exercise of the legs, pain can develop below the shins, often increasing in intensity, and leaving us searching for an answer to, “how to cure shin splints?” It is generally very painful and the prime cause of other major injuries for athletes. What we term as a shin splint is also known medically as the “Tibia Medial Stress Syndrome”.

Causes Of Shin Splint

1) Overused and overstressed muscles. The muscles eventually get swollen up and end up in a splint.

2) Collapsible instep arch of one’s feet, generally which stretches and lengthens the tendons of the muscles.

3) Hairline fractures in the bones also causes the leg bones to weaken and ultimately results in a splint.

4) Most commonly, though, shin splints are caused by strenuous workout sessions at the gym or dance classes. This is because the shin bone plays a major role in these places.

It is to be noted that the splint pain maybe experienced on either side of the shin muscle.

How To Cure Shin Splints In 5 Simple Ways

Depending on the intensity of the shin splint, therapy varies from a week’s rest to strong medicinal drugs.

1) Therapy treatments are generally physical modalities like electrical stimulation, ultrasound and whirlpool baths.

2) Limbs may be casted and crutches may be introduced in extreme situations. Patients undergoing therapy are generally advised to reduce the strenuous exertion of pressure to the concerned shin. In some severe cases, more than three months of bed rest maybe required as well.

3) Ice packs are very effective in reducing the inflammation in the area, which when followed up by proper physiotherapy, is a good catalyst towards the reduction of the pain. Once the pain has reduced, acute stretching and strengthening exercises focusing on controlling the movement of the muscles are a great help towards a perfect recovery. Read more… »

January 10th, 2012  Posted at   Pain Management
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Undergoing a lumbar laminectomy procedure involves removing a little bit of bone to free up a nerve root that is getting pinched. It is also a procedure that is performed to free up multiple nerve roots that are being pinched as is commonly seen in spinal stenosis.

In the world of spine surgery, undergoing a laminectomy is a minor procedure. Granted, anytime surgery is being done to you it should not be considered minor, but in the scheme of overall magnitude of spine surgery it is in fact considered minor. After having a laminectomy, most patients are able to go home the next day. When you look at who has spinal stenosis, most patients are in an older age range between the 50s to the 80s. Because of this most patients find it is better to stay in the hospital for one night.

What are the reasons that patients need a laminectomy,? Well the first reason as mentioned is spinal stenosis which involves typically arthritis having extra bone and soft tissue formation and causing nerves to get pinched and pain flareup.

With this, what you have is a quality of life decision where patients need to decide if conservative treatments such as physical therapy, pain medications, epidural injections, chiropractic treatment, spinal decompression therapy, are working and if not a laminectomy may be in order. Another reason to undergo a laminectomy is for a herniated disc. A herniated disc procedure does involve removing a little bit of bone in order to safely pull the nerve root that’s getting pinched out of the way and remove the piece of disk that has herniated. So in actuality when people undergo a discectomy it really is a laminectomy/discectomy.

As mentioned the most common reason for having a lumbar laminectomy procedure is to fix up nerves that are being compressed due to spinal stenosis. The typical procedures lasts under an hour, however if the procedure is being performed in conjunction with a spinal fusion with screws and rods then that will increase the procedure time and risks substantially.

What are the risks of a lumbar laminectomy?

The risks of undergoing a lumbar laminectomy include the risk of anesthesia complications, bleeding risk, infection, injury to the nerve that is being decompressed, and if too much bone is taken the patient may end up with spinal instability and increased pain. A lot of patients with spinal stenosis have minimal back pain and only leg pain from the pinched nerves. Studies have shown that 50% of patients will end up with back pain and stiffness after a laminectomy procedure. Thankfully it typically is not overly severe. Read more… »

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