Suffering from chronic Knee Pain?

Approaches to Knee Pain Relief

by: Eddie Tobey

You use your knees every time you walk, run, or move your lower body at all. Knee pain, therefore, dramatically affects the daily life of sufferers, who must use their knees throughout the day. Knee pain is the second only to back pain among American adult pain sufferers. Knee trouble is most often caused by osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint condition in which the cartilage that surrounds the two bones that comprise the knee joint wears away, sometimes causing painful joint-on-joint contact.

There are many treatment options for knee pain. Under the care of a doctor, sufferers can select the most appropriate course of treatment to provide optimum knee pain relief. Over-the-counter and prescription medications including acetaminophen (Tylenol) and aspirin reduce pain, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) including ibuprofen, can reduce inflammation as well as knee joint pain. At-home remedies like ice packs and capsaicin, found in cayenne pepper, often have a similar effect.

Natural supplements like chondroitin and glucosamine have become popular alternatives to traditional medicines in recent years because they present fewer risks of side effects. Both are naturally occurring substances in the body. The former aids in building joint cartilage, while the latter fights against degeneration of cartilage. Studies have proven their effectiveness in alleviating osteoarthritic joint pain, but have yet to demonstrate that these supplements actually reverse the effects of cartilage degeneration that have already taken place.

Modifying knee activity with physical aids such as padding, crutches, and splints, and even simple rest take the pressure off of the knee and provide temporary knee pain relief while the joint recovers from injury. Conversely, specific exercises, stretching, and low-impact aerobic activities such as biking, walking and swimming increase joint strength and flexibility, promoting healing and reducing the risk of further injury.

For severe knee injuries that have not responded to the aforementioned treatments, surgery remains an option. There are several common knee surgeries, which range from exploratory arthroscopic surgery, which orthopedic physicians use to diagnose the exact source of knee pain so that they can determine which behaviors and activities need to be modified, all the way to a total knee replacement. Whichever course of treatment a patient decides upon, it is important to work alongside a physician to ensure proper care.

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Back Pain - How Much Do My Daily Activities Create The Pain?

Back Pain - How Much Do My Daily Activities Create The Pain?
By Philip V. Cordova, D.C.

Uh oh, it's happened again. You can feel the initial "twinge." That is, you can feel the early warning sign that you low back pain problem is about to come back again. You knew you should have been keeping up with your chiropractic visits and the exercises your doctor gave you, but you just haven't done it.

You feel great most of the time, but you've learned that when you get this feeling, things are about to go downhill...fast. Sometimes you get off easy, just a few over-the-counter remedies and you can get back to work. Sometimes you're going to be spending the weekend putting ice on your back and waiting for the doctor to open up first thing Monday morning.

Worse case is that you'll spend the next couple of weeks trying to get yourself back to feeling not just pain-free, but to the point where you don't feel like things are about to go bad at any point. That's the worse feeling.

So it's somewhere in one of these episodes that you begin to ask yourself, "Why does this keep happening? Is it something I'm doing or not doing?" Most of the time, the answer is "yes!" Now, our bodies are not made out of concrete, and no one can make sure that your back pain will never, ever return again. However, there's plenty that you can do to keep the episodes at bay and keep from feeling bad more often than not.

Let's not even get into some of the preventative measures like regular chiropractic care. Let's just realize that your daily activities are usually what is contributing to your problem. If you sit all day on the computer, then get in your car and sit, and then go home and sit, and then go to sleep and do the whole thing all over again... you're going to have problems.

Some people will do some exercises, but that seems to be primarily made up of sit-ups, walking, and riding their bike. None of these activities will strengthen the spine to any noticeable degree. Certainly nothing that is going to keep that "feeling" from coming back again. Your normal daily activities have a focus on actions that occur in front of you with almost no engaging of the back muscles for anything other than keeping you upright.

If you're going to keep a back problem away, you're going to need to strengthen your back. Taking some time out to follow your doctor's recommendations and perform some regular activity for the sake of your spine will go a long way in keeping things together. Keep the weight down, the stress away, some regular general exercise, and some regular exercise focused on strengthening your spine and you should do okay.

Dr. Philip Cordova is a chiropractor in Houston, Texas. More information about this [http://www.myhoustonchiropractor.com/ title=Houston Chiropractor]Houston Chiropractor can be found on his website at http://www.MyHoustonChiropractor.com