chronic pain treatment

1. Tips for Preventing Muscle Strains What is a Muscle Strain? People often make up their mind, set their goals and start following vigorous exercise regimes without proper training or under the supervision of a trainer. This often leads to overexertion of the body, especially when the person hasn’t done the essential warm and cool down exercises. Physical exertion beyond the normal range can often end up with a muscle strain, pulled muscle or overstretched muscle. Strains are common and can happen in any muscle of the body but as it normally happens due to exhaustion, abuse and inadequate use of muscles they’re common in hamstrings, shoulder, neck, ankle, rotator cuffs, lower back and quads. If muscle strains are not treated in a timely manner it can become a chronic pain which needs chronic pain treatment. A muscle strain can be something as minor as a soreness in the muscles after a wholesome workout session or it can be something very intense that it needs proper medical treatment or even surgical repair. If not paid much heed it can easily become a chronic health problem that can end up with the person having depression, anxiety disorders and even chronic pain management. Although muscle strains and sprains are fairly common among sports persons and gym geeks, anyone with an overly fatigued body can also experience the muscle strains. When a muscle gets sprained, strained or damaged, it means that the ligaments and tendons attached to the muscle have torn. The tearing in the muscle can also cause damage to the blood vessels causing bruising, swelling or local bleeding. You can know when a muscle has strained or teared when a popping or snapping sensation is felt along with a sharp pain. It usually affects all the muscles in that area, limiting the movement and causing extreme jabs of pain. Causes and Symptoms of Muscle Strains It basically depends on the cause of the muscle strain in order to determine the symptoms that may proceed with it. If your muscle has strained suddenly, then it must have endured an injury or trauma. The reason for that can be improper warm up exercises, inflexibility of the muscles, over exertion of a fatigued body or working in poor conditioning. People normally believe that only an arduous workout can be the cause of a muscle strain but it’s not true. You can have a muscle strain even when you are jumping, throwing something, lifting something heavy or pulling or pushing something with improper angle. Cold weather can also cause frequent muscle strains as the muscles are stiffer and easy to snap. Chronic muscle strains can happen with sports like rowing, baseball or golf. It can also be due to a poor posture during long hours at the desk. If your muscle strain problem has become chronic then you’ll have to get chronic pain treatment like TMS therapy. Some of the common symptoms of muscle strains that can be felt by everyone are- soreness, reduced mobility, swelling, muscle spasms, stiffness, weakness, mild fever,

2. sudden pains, jabs and bruising or discoloration on skin due to inner bleeding. These symptoms can be mild to severe depending on how bad the strain on the muscle is. Prevention of Muscle Strains Prevention is better than cure, this is always true and people can skip the painful muscle strains altogether if only they follow these prevention methods. ·Stand and sit in the correct posture- many people work at a desk all day which eventually puts strain on their lower back muscles resulting in a bad posture and constant lower back pain. Take frequent breaks, change your position, correct your posture and use a chair and desk that is comfortable for you and is according to your height and body. Same goes for standing, if your job requires you to stand for indefinite hours then alternate your foot pressure, try to sit in for a few minutes as an overly fatigued body will snap at the first given chance leading to muscle tear. ·Lift objects in the right position- young people often think that they can lift anything, there would be no issue and tend to lift heavy objects with a bad positioning. Always make sure that your back is straight, the knees are bent and the lift is coming from the legs. The object should be close to the body so that unnecessary strain is not on the arms and always lift the object and then turn your position, don’t lift and twist together as it can be disastrous. ·Be careful to prevent falls- as I mentioned earlier, the muscle strains aren’t always from rigorous exercise but a fall or slip of footing can also be the reason for a teared muscle. Always avoid slippery surfaces, make sure the floor you’re walking on has nothing you can step on and fall, hold the staircase railing and never throw something in the wrong position. ·Lose weight- if you are overweight or obese than your chances of frequent muscle strains are high. The muscles are already supporting your heavy weight so even a little pressure from a wrong angle or posting can cause a big problem. ·Pay heed to the shoes- you might think this is quite insignificant but trust be, proper shoes gives you proper support and stability. ·Warmup and cool down- exercise and fitness regimes are essential for all of us and no one is contradicting that. But in order to exercise safely, it’s very important to warm up for a couple of minutes and also cool down the muscle after you’re done. Treating Muscle Strains Most of the times, the muscle strain is mild to moderate meaning it can be treated easily at home with proper rest, ice pack, hot compression, elevating the affected area or by taking medication. If your pain is not subsiding even after a week, you feel numb in the injured area or you’re unable to even move then it's time to head to the doctor.