How Does a Tens Unit Work on Muscle Spasm- Pain comes from electroechemical impulses relaying the pain message. A TENS unit interrupts this pathway. T.E.N.S stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. It is often used to treat low back pain and neck pain. Tens units use a low voltage electrical current to induce pain relief. Continue Reading Article
Neck Exercises- Learn effective neck stretches and strengthening exercises for the cervical spine
End Neck Pain by Improving Posture- How Proper Posture Improves Your Spine Relieving Nerve Pressure- How does posture have anything to do with neck pain?--Neck pain comes from pressure on the nerves. How does this happen?--Usually pressure from a misaligned neck spine. When your spine is misaligned (some call that subluxated) it does not move like it should and in turn creates inflammation in that area. Either out-of-alignment spinal vertebrae (spinal bones) put direst pressure on nerves or the inflammation, or built up degeneration causes the pressure. Continue Reading Article
How to Reduce the Chances of Getting A Stiff Neck- A Stiff Neck.... Horrible especially when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is going to be one painful day. You are stiff, your neck hurts, you cannot turn your head, even brushing your teeth hurts. We get questions about how to treat a stiff neck all the time. Continue Reading Article
How To Avoid Neck Pain While Doing Abs- If you do your Abdominal crunches correctly with proper form, there is no reason to suffer from neck pain or sore neck. One of the biggest mistakes that people make is that involve there neck muscles while doing these exercises- that is a NO-NO. Bringing your head and neck forward puts unnecessary pressure on the neck and it is not healthy. So when you do your abdominal crunch look at the ceiling.Continue Reading Article
I love sharing ideas and products for pain relief that can help patients for everyday life. The arc4life cervical linear traction pillow is one such product. Check out this recent testimonial from a customer who has literally tried everything:
I have spinal stenosis c1-c7. More moderate through 5-7.
I haven’t had a good nights sleep in a very long while. I got desperate enough I wanted to have the surgery. Insurance of course offered hoops needing to be jumped through before this could happen.
So I started with PT. Which only made the headaches much more unpleasant, I couldn’t continue the exercises. Next is a shot or infusion to offer relief. I couldn’t use any pillows any longer because I couldn’t ever get comfortable. I opted for a very small throw pillow and a heating pad turned on the whole night just to try to offer rest. In the mornings I would wake and no matter how early my neck causes me to give up on bed. I could not find a comfortable way to sleep. It’s taking a toll for sure. Triggered my fibromyalgia and with out restorative rest my arthritis was unhappy also.
I bought this pillow in a desperate state to try anything. Along with a traction neck thingy inflatable and a hard curved one to find any relief. It’s like my shoulders no longer want the responsibilities of holding up my neck and head..
I tried this pillow last night for the first time, and I slept. I didn’t have pain in my neck like normal. I did not ease into it, I was going to but I felt no discomfort. Having the ability to sleep on my side was also offering no discomfort.
For me, this gave me a nights rest I haven’t experienced in many many months. I hope tonight is just as pleasant. I woke up with a body that felt rested.
I hope others can find relief with this pillow also. It’ is well worth it in my opinion.
I’ll update if it changes to a negative instead of the positive outcome I am desperately seeking. - LeesandFam, September 2020
Its's July 1st, 2020 and it looks like Corona Virus News is just not going away. Still more and more people are working from home, setting up workstations, and rooms to accommodate their work. Working from home can be great, but there can also be a lot more distractions.
Whether you are studying, working on a computer, working on the phone or on a zoom call, here are some great tips to help you avoid neck pain and back pain while working from home.
Whether you are on your phone, computer, or other screen make sure the screen is at eye level. Many patients will get "text" neck from constantly looking down on their phones. Try not to put your screen on your lap or on your stomach.
Take breaks while you work. Being glued to your computer or phone for hours on end is not healthy for you or your neck. It can cause tension in your neck, shoulders and upper back. Taking a break every 30-40 minutes is a good idea. That is easy to do when you are home too.
Check your office chair. What is the height of that chair? Can you easily adjust it and move it? Do you have your back supported while you are sitting? Are you stressing your muscles, joints and ligaments by sitting too low or sitting too high? Check to make sure that your feet are comfortably on the floor. Check your desk height as well. Are you over reaching and straining your body to get to certain things on your desk? If you have sciatica or leg pain, place one foot on a step stool to elevate, taking pressure off of the lower back.
Look into getting a lumbar cushion or a seat cushion for your office chair. You can easily support your lower back and mid back with cushion when you sit for long periods of time.Then you can sit up with good posture in your spine.
When you are at home, you can have so much more flexibility. If you are home and experiencing tension or pain in your neck or back, apply heat or ice. You can also apply electric muscle stimulation (tens unit) easily to the affected area. This also increases blood flow and reduces inflammation.
Stay hydrated by drinking healthy fluids like water. Again very easy to do when you are home.
Working from home looks pretty advantageous these days. If you are lucky enough that your job or business allows you to do it- its can be simply wonderful. With some simple changes, it can be a great day at work... and home.
I recently experienced the worst right sided shoulder pain ever. It literrally stopped my life for two days. They call it frozen shoulder syndrome. There is major pain and loss of range of motion in the shoulder. I could not move my arm, up or down and abduct my arm and shoulder (move it away from my body side to side). Even my right arm was aching.
I was in a lot of agony. I don’t take pain well at all, so for me this was excruciating. This happened on Friday night. Friday night: lots of pain, Saturday: Lots of Pain Sunday - Pain was gone, I was able to move my right shoulder - my shoulder was back.
I normally never take pain medication, but I had to Friday and Saturday. It sufficiently numbed the pain and helped me do my activities of daily living. But I had to stay in the house. No relaxing, no going out. Driving and even using the computer was too difficult and painful.
So what did I do at home? Here are 3 things that I concentrated on:
1. Muscle Work
2. Hot and Cold Treatment
3. Exercise and Movement of the Shoulder
The key to combating a frozen shoulder is movement. You must move. Slowly at first. You must push yourself a little. Start slow and keep building up.
The location of the major pain was at the right deltoid muscle. Specifically the tuberosity of the deltoid muscle. This is a muscle insertion point and this point felt like it was on fire.
Here are the muscles that are often involved in a frozen shoulder (#1-4 make up the rotator cuff muscles).
Subscapularis
Teres Minor
Supraspinatus
Infraspinatus
Deltoid
Latissimus Dorsi
Rhomboid Minor and Major
Muscles of the Back and Shoulder involved in Frozen Shoulder Syndrome
My husband had to help me with the muscle work. He used a pain relief cream on my entire shoulder and upper arm area. He also did muscle work (stripped the muscles), massage, and trigger point therapy. By that I mean, he dug into the muscle and made me scream with pain. Literally. My 2 year old and 6 year old thought that this was the funniest thing ever. He did this muscle work once on Friday night, two times on Saturday (am and pm). After each muscle work session, I did use a cold therapy pack on top of the my shoulder and I walked around around with that ice pack. When I was able to relax and sit down I used a heating pack.
On Saturday, starting at 4 am (The pain did not allow me to sleep well or get into a comfortable position), I started exercising. Exercising, moving, putting movement into the shoulder joint, stretching - whatever I could do, I did it and it was so painful. Words cannot describe the pain. The key with frozen shoulder or adhesive capsulitis as they also call it, is that you have keep putting motion into the area. I made an observation that every time I would rest, the shoulder stiffened up.
Check out this video below for effective exercises for frozen shoulder. You must do everything gently and don't go over your pain threshold. As you keep doing these exercises you will start to notice (ever so slowly) that your range of motion is starting to increase. It will help to break up scar tissue and break up the adhesions in your shoulder. Do all exercises for 30 seconds to 1 minute and move on to the next exercise:
As you go throughout the day, engage your shoulder muscles. For example, even lifting up my elbow was difficult. As I was sitting watching tv, I used my other hand to help to lift my right arm up onto the sofa arm rest. I let it sit there for a few minutes, then brought it down and did it again.
With the combination of hot and cold therapy, muscle work and exercising my shoulder, I woke up on Sunday doing better than I was on Friday and Saturday. I did my exercises again early Sunday morning. Literally, I was 95% back- I was able to do all of my activities of daily living and the best thing of all, my pain was minimal. At 10 am I even swam laps in the pool.
As a result of this incident, I really realized how we take our posture for granted. Forward head posture can really contribute to putting stress on your shoulder and back muscles. I am on the computer constantly - on my laptop, ipads and iphones. Regular stretching, exercising and watching my posture are key things I have to do going forward to prevent this from happening again.
I would strongly recommend seeing a chiropractor when you have a shoulder condition like this. You can get over the pain faster, and the Dr can pinpoint where your problem area is. They can also help you go through the shoulder range of motion and do trigger point therapy which helps tremendously.
Posture - Something that Everyone Notices About YOU
I am sure that you have been told at least once in your life to "stand up straight", "stop slouching", or "pick up your head" - Posture is one of those things that is just noticeable in everyday life. Simply by seeing someone's posture, you can judge something about them. Not only that, but it also can affect your health as well. When you stand up straighter, you can breathe better, and it's good for your posture and alignment of the spine. Overtime, if we do not watch our posture - it can affect our health, our well being, and even our physical appearance. I am sure you have heard of hunchback posture? Countless times I have received requests from customers to help them with their posture.
So lets talk about posture. Specifically ways that we can improve our posture.
Wear a Posture Correcting Brace
By wearing a posture correcting brace, You can sit and stand straighter
A posture correcting brace and give you great back support and help you stand up straighter. You can wear it right under your clothes and it serves as a reminder that you have to stand up straighter. It will push your shoulders down and back.
Use a Pillow at Night that Aligns Your Neck and Spine
The Arc4life Traction Pillow Allows for Better Posture at Night
By helping to align your spine in the upper back and middle back, it can also help with muscle spasms.
None of us like to stop everything we are doing, and take time out of our busy schedule to do neck traction or postural exercises. So if we have a pillow that helps do this it's multitasking for us. Why not, we are going to be sleeping anyway; why not work on our posture too! One very effective pillow for this is the arc4life cervical linear traction neck pillow for side and back sleepers.
Stand Up Straighter. Be Aware of How You Sit and Stand
Part of the reason our spine will shift is if we have a continuous posture. You know if we constantly tilt our head right to hold a phone at work, that constant head tilt starts to become your normal posture. So be aware of this sort of thing, it's important
Use a lumbar support when you sit for long periods or in the car for driving
A lumbar support Can Help you Sit Straighter
Certain activities put a lot of pressure on the spine. A lumbar support or low back cushion will help you hold good posture. No matter what, after sitting a long time you will start to lose good posture. One simple way to take this challenge is to use a back support. Great for use while sitting in the office or driving in the car.
Exercise
Simple Stretching and Exercise
Yoga, Pilates, Aerobic Exercises, Spinning - whatever you partake in - watch your posture while you exercise. Just do some sort of exercise. It helps your bones stay stronger in the long run.
Posture is something that you have to work on.
Bad Posture doesn't just happen overnight. One day you will look at yourself in the mirror or catch a glimpse of yourself or see a photograph and think - why is there a bump on my upper shoulders, why am i not standing straighter?
Many of us work - By work I mean we are sitting at a desk or standing for long periods of time. I think that the sitting type of jobs can be the most difficult to withstand overtime. According the Mayo Clinic, sitting type of jobs can cause insomnia, chronic headaches, stress, changes in our hormone levels and decreased blood flow.
Keep Your Body and Mind Calm and KEEP Working....
How can we make sure we are doing right by our body in the process?
Try a different type of desk. My sister in law recently got a new desk at work that allows her to Sit and Stand. I tested it out and its pretty awesome. Very ergonomically designed, the desk moves smoothly from one position to another. Very very comfortable in both stances of using the computer.
Move - do some type of exercise - Instead of using the elevator, use the stairs. Do something extra ciricular on the side like yoga or spinning classes. A friend of ours started going to a ninja gym and the moves he is doing now have put him into the best shape of his life. Personally, I like to walk. It clears my mind and also gives me a chance to think and breathe fresh air. During your lunch break ( and do take a lunch break ) take a 30 minute walk if you are able to. Set goals for your exercise and hold yourself accountable each day.
Sleep EVERY night - Change up your habits that you are doing daily to get better sleep. Maybe you need to stop eating late night snacks or avoid drinking coffee 1/2 hour before bed. Learn the 4-7-8 Yoga breath that will help your body relax to go to sleep.
Get a New Pillow - Look for a cervical support pillow that will keep your head and neck in the neutral position. If you wake up feeling refreshed, you are going to function better at work. So a good night sleep pays off in many respects. Also make sure your mattress is supporting your body. A saggy mattress can cause a lot of overall pain. A good mattress and pillow are very important. Maybe you need to replace your pillow or mattress. Experts agree that your pillow should be replaced every 18 months and your mattress every 8 years approximately.
Watch What you are putting into your body - If you are going out with your coworkers everyday for Chinese food or getting take out regularly, you are tasking your body. Some people like to drink a soda while they work. Again, watch what you are putting into your body. When I sit down at my desk, a glass of water sits down with me as well. My son wants to so badly buy a lunch at school, because all the other kids are doing it. But i insist on packing his lunch. I know what ingredients he is eating and the majority of it is not processed or sugar laden. One more point I would like to add, is to drink water through out the day.
Having a Positive Outlook and Mindset cannot be understated. - Your body's immune system pays the price when we are stressed. You are more likely to get sick. Having strong emotional health is important. Practice breathing exercises, take breaks, disconnect from technology that we tend to keep in our pockets and carry everywhere with us.
Work is not something we can easily eliminate from our daily life. We have to deal with it and make the most of it. While we are working, we should take care of our body and our mind to keep it functioning as optimally as possible. That way, we can keep on working without sick days, pain and suffering. So Keep Calm and Keep on Working....
Forward Head Posture can contribute to the Hunchback posture. This type of posture can take years to get to - its not an overnight process. Forward Shoulder and tightened chest muscles can be contributing to this hunchback posture, so its important to work on these two aspects.
How do we get our proper posture back? Here are some great exercises to help you
The Reach Up, Reach Back Exercise - this will help to open up your chest and also help your shoulder range of motion
Here is a great video that will help you avoid and get rid of the hump back posture (shown on the left aka "kyphotic spine". This video shows you actual exercises to avoid that "hump" on the upper back area that can easily develop with bad posture. Doing computer work, talking on the phone, texting or other work related postures can all cause this hunchback posture. It takes years of bad posture to develop, but you can fix this posture:
Tonight I caught up on one of my favorite shows on AMC called Better Call Saul by Vince Gilligan. In this episode Jimmy,the main character (aka Saul Goodman - its all good man :)) goes mall walking with his senior citizen friends. My husband and I had a good laugh...
Mall walking is quite popular. It's a great way to get your cardio in and get your daily work out. No matter if there is a thunderstorm, hail, high humidity or snow you are shielded from everything if you mall walk. Also it's a very safe type of sport because there's other people around mall walking. You are never by yourself. Even bathrooms are usually in a close proximity and very clean. In fact, both of my sisters who recently had babies both do stroller walks with their buddies every Tuesday in their favorite mall. Not only do they get to sight-see, they get to talk with their friends, and they get their exercise in, and their babies are relaxed.
Walking, especially brisk walking has a bunch of health benefits, namely: 1. less risk of diabetes 2. lowered risk of heart disease 3. lowered risk of stroke 4. lowered risk of cancers 5. it enhances your mood and well being 6. it lets you sleep better at night 7. improves cognitive and brain function 8. increases your energy levels 9. improves bone health (walking is a great weight bearing exercise).
You may be doing the majority of your shopping on Amazon but there will always be a purpose for malls in America. My favorite mall of all time is Square One in Mississauga Canada... did a lot of steps there is my younger days !
Check out the guy below. You see these weird postures - they can cause pain over time if not fixed. Sway Back Posture, Lumbar Lordosis, Thoracic Kyphosis, and Forward head posture. All very common.
Posture is something that chiropractors check regularly to see what needs to be adjusted in your spine. They will compare certain points on your body:
They will look at a patient from the front:
check if your ears aligned (to see if there is a head tilt)
check shoulder levels
check to see if frenulum (area under nose) lines up to between eyes
check hips to see if they are even and level
check if your feet turn inward or outward
check upper torso in relation to the hips - that way they can tell if there is a thoracic or lumbar shift
Ankle Malleoli are also checked to see if middle lines up with leg "V"
From the side:
Midline shoulder should line up with posterior earlobe
hips should line up with shoulders
ankles should line up with hips
Everything is checked in relation to one another to see what area of spine needs to be aligned. Also don't forget to consider alignment off because tolled shoulder or a crooked nose etc... Overtime, bad postures start showing up as PAIN and perhaps a changed gait [way that you walk or carry yourself]. This is a very gradual thing, but it will eventually show up if you don't do something about it.
Visit a Chiropractor if you are in chronic pain. A Well aligned spine can help you get out of pain faster. Not only will the chiropractor get you adjusted, but they will give you postural exercises that you can do at home. For example if you have forward head posture, they may give you head retraction exercises.
Hello PainRelief4life readers ! I am happy to announce that next week I will be 28 weeks pregnant. This is a milestone for my husband and I because we had some really bad luck in the past with our pregnancies. To say that we are beyond excited is an understatement.
However, I would be not be completely honest with you with I didn't share that this time around there have been some unexpected aches and pains- things i did not have with my other experiences, but I am not complaining too loudly.
Low Back Pain
Upper Back Pain
Knee Pain
Foot Pain and Achiness
Charlie Horses in my legs
Numbness and Tingling in my legs and Feet
Sure I can say that I have gone from my usual 130 lbs to 152 lbs, but whose checking, expect my OB office? Pregnancy throws off so many things in your body and I can understand that it puts a lot of added stress to ones body. Also hormones that are normally not at high levels also make a difference to ligaments in your body.
So where do these aches, pain, numbness, tingling really come from? Well, as the pregnancy progresses the uterus keep growing and sometimes can put added pressure onto nerves that innervate the lower legs. This can cause the numbness and tingling sensation that sometimes feels like there are ants crawling up and down your legs and toes.
What about the back pain? For myself the pain has been in my upper back and the lower back. One the reasons is that my posture is very "off". The mere act of carrying a baby creates a sway back when I walk. I cannot help it. Doing this over and over again puts added stress on the spinal system and that means real aches and pains. Back pain can also be caused by loosening of the ligaments.
Finally the knee pain, ankle pain and the foot pain. Just recently I got out of bed and complained to my husband that my right knee was aching. Again my body is not used to 150 lbs on my frame. The added weight puts more stress on knee joints and ankle joints. I have also noted swelling and particular pain points in my feet. Again, another byproduct of the added weight.
So what can be done alleviate all of these pains. The list seems kind of long of all the discomforts I am experiencing !
Get adjusted regularly by a chiropractor. They have techniques, and special tables to accomodate big pregnant woman in their offices ! The chiropractic adjustment can ease pressure off of nerves, and put you into proper alignment. Lots of pain relief with this age old treatment.
Wear comfortable shoes. Flat shoes, not heels.
Watch your weight. The more weight one gains during pregnancy the more pressure is put on the body. Also keep in mind, the harder it will be come off once you deliver the baby
Takes breaks. Don't be afraid of putting your feet up and just relaxing on the couch or sitting on a chair. Don't stand for long periods of time. This extra standing just puts more pressure on knee joints and ankle joints.
Sleep on your side at night and keep a flat soft pillow in between your knees. This takes pressure off of the lower back and pelvis area. It actually feels really good to sleep like this. Another great idea is to sleep with a body pillow at night. These long pillows are made especially for pregnancy and can help you get a very comfortable sleep.
When sitting use a lower back support. This makes a huge difference. A back support will support your lower and upper back and keep you from slouching. This improvement in posture will put less pressure on your spinal column and nervous system
Drink a lot of water.
Use a hot and cold pack for therapy- a warm heating pack can help relax the muscles of the back and feels so wonderful too. A cold pack can help lower back ligament pain.Get a cold pack that covers your low back and mid back well. I have found that keeping this in the freezer ready to go is the key for pain relief.
Don't be afraid to stretch a little before going to bed. This will help ease the muscle cramps and lessen the "charlie horses" that occur at weird times at night. For me drinking more water has helped with these pesky leg cramps that are a 10/10 on the pain scale. Mind you, it means more trips to the bathroom- but I would do that any day than experience a leg cramp in the middle of the night. Also watch your diet. Eating things high in potassium such as bananas can help leg cramps.
