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Back & Neck Pain

Wear Your Backpack Without Back Pain
Photo: (c) kingvald

Well, school is about to begin, if it hasn't already in your area. Doesn't it seem that every year the books get heavier and more numerous? I'm sure you already know that most students use back packs to help them lug their load around.

Backpacks are supposed to alleviate pain, not create it. But when worn incorrectly, they can cause you or your child to adopt postures that may give rise to spine problems. As 90% of students wear backpacks, a little knowledge on the relationship between backpacks and back pain may be in order. Check out my 10 tips on how to avoid back pain for kids (and adults) who wear backpacks.

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Wear Your Backpack Without Back Pain originally appeared on About.com Back & Neck Pain on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 10:35:20.

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Whiplash Pain Has Yet To Be Explained

No one really knows for sure if whiplash causes pain and disability over the long haul. But researchers are looking at this topic to try to find out more. One study followed whiplash patients for 10 years and compared their MRIs with people who had not had a whiplash event. The study participants also answered questions about their pain levels.

Now, let me point out that it's very common for people to have neck or back pain while their MRIs look completely normal. And the opposite is true, too. Someone can have an MRI that looks really messed up, yet they feel no pain. True to form, this study found no real correlation between the whiplash patients' MRIs and their pain levels.

The study looked at the signal activity in the discs, (bright spots on the film that indicate something's amiss), disc protrusion (budging disc), disc space narrowing and narrowing in the intervertebral foramen (called spinal stenosis).

Over time the signal intensity decreased for most whiplash patients, and only in about half of the controls. Both groups had a significant amount of disc bulge in back. Compared to the amount of signal intensity and bulging discs, there was less disc space narrowing and stenosis in both groups over the 10 year period.

The researchers acknowledge the pain of the whiplash patients, but concluded that their MRIs could not explain it.

Source:

May, D., MD, et. al. Abnormal Signal Intensity in Skeletal Muscle at MR Imaging: Patterns, Pearls, and Pitfalls. Radiographics. July 2010 Accessed Aug 2010 http://radiographics.rsna.org/content/20/suppl_1/S295.full

| Whiplash Diagram | Back Pain | What Were You Doing When You Threw Your Back Out? |

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Whiplash Pain Has Yet To Be Explained originally appeared on About.com Back & Neck Pain on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 at 14:08:57.

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More Back to School Thoughts for Back Pain Sufferers

Millions of people young and old will be returning to school soon. When it comes to knowledge and learning, I am of the opinion that many of us think we know a lot about taking care of back pain. But let me test you.

If you do yoga for back pain, do you know, for example, if your back condition can tolerate the cobra pose and the spinal twist? The yoga for back pain quiz can illuminate you on important issues like this.

Do you know what weakness in your legs that keeps getting worse signifies, and what you should do about it? The back pain quiz has the answer (after you complete all the questions).

| What Should You Do About Back Pain? | Back Pain | Are You and Your Back Ready for Yoga? |

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More Back to School Thoughts for Back Pain Sufferers originally appeared on About.com Back & Neck Pain on Thursday, August 19th, 2010 at 09:17:16.

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Back-to-School Precautions

If you're going to college, particularly if you plan to live in a dorm setting, experts recommend you get a meningitis vaccination.

According to Dr. Michael Koller, associate professor of medicine at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, you should get that vaccine before leaving for school.

Meningitis is an inflammation/infection of the tissue lining the brain and spinal cord. It tends to affect college students, and very young children and their caretakers - anywhere where people are crowded together. Koller says, "A college dormitory is an ideal setting for meningitis. Meningitis is more likely to spread in crowded living quarters like you have in a dormitory or a military barrack."

There are two types of meningitis - bacterial and viral. The viral is the less threatening of the two, and most people with this type get better a few weeks after treatment. The bacterial can cause blindness, deafness and even death. It must be treated immediately.

Symptoms of meningitis include a stiff neck, severe headache and flu-like symptoms.

Even if you think you just have a flu, you should get it checked. It's better to be safe than sorry, especially when it comes to something as potentially deadly as meningitis.

Not sure you know enough about meningitis? Take the meningitis awareness quiz.

Source:

Press Release. Loyola University Health System.Physicians Warn Freshmen Face Higher Risk from Meningitis, Which Can Kill Quickly. Aug 17 2010.

| Take the Meningitis Awareness Quiz | Back Pain | Signs and Symptoms of Meningitis |

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Back-to-School Precautions originally appeared on About.com Back & Neck Pain on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 at 10:37:00.

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Pain Has Feelings, Too

Okay.  So we know you have pain, and the pain is unpleasant . And we know you have a lot of pain. These particular aspects of pain have been the subject of much study.

A new study from the American Pain Society, published in the August issue of Pain Journal for the first time* looked at pain qualities and their effect on the really important activities like sleep.  I'll warn you that because so few studies on quality, rather than intensity, have been done to date, we back pain sufferers can't be too picky about what part of the body was studied. And it wasn't the spine. It was the wrist. People with carpal tunnel syndrome were studied to find out if there were any particular types of pain feelings that interrupted their quality of life, *above and beyond the fact you probably know all too well - that pain hurts - a lot*.

Two qualities emerged: Itching and throbbing. Itching and throbbing made trouble for the study participants by interrupting their basic day to day functioning.

The study authors acknowledge that their findings may not apply to all types of health problems that give pain. In fact, they even say that along with itching, people with low back pain may be disturbed by sharp, sensitive, deep and/or superficial types of pain qualities.

*The good thing about this study Read more...

Pain Has Feelings, Too originally appeared on About.com Back & Neck Pain on Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 at 17:01:57.

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Corner Pec Stretch for Your Upper Back

Experts recommend that those of us working at our desk for long periods of time be sure to take mini-breaks to save our hands and back. The pec stretch is recommended by the American Physical Therapy Association for targeting the muscles of the chest. In doing so, they will work your upper back muscles, as well as those under the shoulder blade. Corner stretches make a good movement to counter postural problems such as kyphosis.

For written instructions on how to do the corner stretch will go over posture and form points, breathing and when not to do the exercise.

| Desk Stretches for Your Back | Back Pain | Should You Go to the Gym with a Sore Back? |

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Corner Pec Stretch for Your Upper Back originally appeared on About.com Back & Neck Pain on Thursday, August 12th, 2010 at 09:14:49.

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Costs of Back Care Continually on the Rise
Photo: Cohdra

Getting medical treatment for your back keeps getting more expensive. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reports that in the 10 years between 1997 and 2007, overall costs increased by $16 billion. In 2007, back related medical costs reached a grand total of $30 billion dollars. Yet these costs represented only 3% of all health care expenditures in 2007. Whew.

What are we spending our money on?

First, the physicians, physical therapists and chiropractors. In 2007, health consumers spent $18 billion to pay their practitioners. (Costs incurred while paying the provider rose $9.3 billions for the decade.) Next, prescription drugs. $4.5 billion. This was up $1.2 billion since 1997. The rest of the $30 billion ($7.5 billion) went to hospital care, emergency room visits, and home health services.

On average, back treatment cost $1589 per person. If you were one of these consumers, chances are you paid approximately 17% or $270 from your own pocket.

If you're ready to take things into your own hands (and please, for safety's sake, get your doctor's OK first.) check out my Back Care on a Budget.

| Types of Spine Docs | Back Pain | Back Pain Facts |

Source:

Soni, A. PhD., Back Problems: Use and Expenditures for the US Adult Population, 2007. Statistical Brief #289. AHRQ. July 2010. Accessed: August 7, 2010.

Costs of Back Care Continually on the Rise originally appeared on About.com Back & Neck Pain on Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 at 09:09:25.

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Back Pain Videos

If you like watching videos and have questions/concerns about some aspect of your back pain, check out the Back and Neck Pain site's videos. You can learn more about specific conditions such as sacroiliac joint problems or scoliosis. You can also learn more about back surgeries your doctor may have suggested. For example, there are videos on lumbar laminectomy and spinal fusion.

| Spinal Injections Video | Back Pain | Low Back Pain |

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Back Pain Videos originally appeared on About.com Back & Neck Pain on Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 at 09:09:20.

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Bad Luck May Be Good Omen for a Bad Back

If you've endured some difficulties in your life before you got a chronic back condition you may be in luck as far as your prognosis goes. The key here is some - as in falling between no life adversity and a lot of it. A new study, to be published in the September issue of Pain surveyed 396 adult chronic back pain sufferers. They found that people who have met with some life challenge prior to a back problem reported better function and less use of the health care system for their back pain than the others.

So what constitutes some adversity? Study participants said they had dealt with illness, violence, death of a loved one or friend, relationship and social stress or disaster.

I'm convinced that the link is psychological and/or social.  Read more...

Bad Luck May Be Good Omen for a Bad Back originally appeared on About.com Back & Neck Pain on Monday, August 9th, 2010 at 09:08:31.

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Medical Marijuana News

Just as states and cities across the country are rethinking their medical marijuana laws, the news is exploding with stories on this controversial topic. Here are the main items:

The International Anesthesia Research Society found that a synthetic compound named MDA19, which is very similar to the active ingredient in marijuana, can significantly relieve chronic nerve pain, with few or no side effects. Although it will be a while before we know if marijuana derivatives can be given in place of narcotics and other chronic back pain medications, scientists, public health organizations and the Institute of Medicine have high hopes for for their role in pain relief. The city of Oakland, Ca recently voted to allow 4 industry marijuana farms. Dianne Feinstein (D CA) introduced Senate bill 258 "Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act of 2010". The bill passed unanimously in the Senate is now awaiting consideration in the House. Essentially, it imposes criminal penalties for people who mask drugs by combining them with candy, flavoring and the like. The New York Times reports that in states that have legalized the use of medical marijuana, the Department of Veteran's affairs will no longer deny prescriptions for other types of pain medications. This change in procedure is limited to the 14 states that allow medical marijuana. You still can't get a prescription, but you will no longer be denied your other medications.

| Medical Marijuana - What's Your Opinion? | Back Pain | Medical Marijuana - 2010 Update |

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Medical Marijuana News originally appeared on About.com Back & Neck Pain on Monday, August 2nd, 2010 at 21:21:40.

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