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Why knee pain when climbing steps could be early sign to osteoarthritis

Universitly of Leeds researchers have found that climbing up steps could be an early sign of  knee osteoarthritis (OA).

It is an actual proven fact that climbing stairs puts more pressure on the knees than regular walking and over time climbing steps can have an adverse effect on your knees. While knee osteoarthritis (OA) usually takes place in adults over the age of 40, the symptoms can show up earlier for some who play high impact sports and have had previous knee injuries.

In order to protect your knees from further damage and to stay away from the more serious knee osteoarthritis (OA), doctors recommend that you modift your physical activities. If you have to climb to many steps on a daily basis its best to find a place, which is on a lower level to cut down on climbing. Lastly continuing to do low impact physical activities are the best alternative to overcome OA instead of going for more expensive physiotherapy sessions

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How to position yourself at the desk to relieve knee and back pain

It’s a fact that we spend over 8 hours at a desk or on a chair everyday. It’s no longer not an option to work from a desk unless you’re out on the field. While you may think that sitting at a desk is the most comfortable job, it really isn’t. Sitting at a desk improperly is what is the leading cause of back and neck pain.

Steven Conway, Ph.D., a chiropractor and attorney in Athens, Wisconsin, and a spokesperson for the American Chiropractic Association says that we’re built to move as humans. Sitting in one place over a long period of time puts us at risk for chronic pain related to different kinds of joint pains.

Dr.Conway has come up with some of the best ways to address pain while spending time at your work desk:

Neck Pain

The problem: You’re used to cradling your phone between your shoulder and neck while you do other work such as looking at your screen.

The fix: The simplest solution is to use a handsfree headset or the speaker phone and make sure you have your screen adjusted so you’re not having to tilt your neck up or down to look at it.

Mid back Pain

The problem: Slouching at your chair and sitting still for over an hour

The fix: Get out of your chair more often, doctors recommend moving every 20 minutes. It’s also easy to do some simple stretches from your chair, such as looking up at the ceiling and sitting flat against the back of the chair. The best case scenario though is to get off your chair and just take a 2 minute walk around the office.

Lower Back Pain

The problem: Your chair is not at the right height and the chair back is completely vertical

The fix: First proceed to adjust your chair height and make sure your arms align with your desk so that they’re slightly bent when typing. Also make sure your seat is reclining or has lumbar support. Adjust the tilt of your chair to maintain the curve of lower spine. If your chair doesn’t provide the right support you can consider getting a support cushion to help you.

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New quick treatment provides instant knee pain relief

Most adults suffer from knee pain, it isn’t just caused due to sports but also due to the daily grind. The wear and tear for the knee is inevitable even for the healthiest people.

The center for disease control (CDC) states that nearly 1 in 2 people may develop symptomatic knee osteoarthritis by the age of 85. Some of the most common means to combat this knee pain type and many others is physical therapy, surgery and strong medications. All three of which do not provide any guarantees of pain relief over the long run.

A recent discovery though is changing this, founded by specialist Dr. Halland Chen in New York. The iovera system is a revolutionary new way to help those who suffer from chronic knee pain. Dr. Chen states that iovera therapy harnesses the power of focus cold therapy which is a game changer in the industry.

How it works is through a handheld device with nitrous oxide canisters to freeze short needle probes to negative 126 degrees. The injected needles then spread the nitrous oxide which kills away the targeted sensory nerves around the knee, these nerves completely stop them from sending pain signals thus eliminating the pain instantly.

While this is a short term solution as it only stops the pain from shooting up the nerves, it is still deemed as one of the most effective and quickest ways to get patients moving on with their daily lives. The fact that it isn’t permanent like surgery also means that it isn’t harmful to your health.

One of Dr. Chen’s patients has gone 3 months without any knee pain and says that its improved his lifestyle by a great amount. The iovera treatment is definitely a promising breakthrough in the medical industry and a much needed one especially for those who constantly suffer from knee pain and want to steer away from surgery or painful physical therapy.

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Is over the counter pain killers really easing your lower back ?

Back and neck pain affects more than nine percent of the worlds population, while osteoarthritis affects nearly four percent. Most doctors usually recommended taking acetaminophen to ease these pains, a common component of Panadol, Tylenol and other off the counter pain killers.

New research has now found that acetaminophen is ineffective against lower back pain and only provides short term benefits to those that suffer from osteoarthritis. Those who suffer from lower back pain have a tough time standing and sitting, at some points making it almost impossible. Since the medicine doesn’t directly affect the pain point’s, acetaminophen is only able to provide a minimal amount of pain relief.

According to doctors the best way to combat lower back pain is through natural cures such as exercise, massage, acupuncture, and ice and heat therapies. It is also important to maintain a healthy diet and observe weight control to put less tensional stress on your lower back.

In conclusion the use of over the counter drugs may be just a waste of your money especially if you only suffer from lower back pain. The natural cures are the best ones to follow and have long term effects. So the next time you visit your doctor do let him know how effective their over the counter pain killers are.

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Technological devices are leading cause for back and neck pain for young people

There has been an increasing number of young people approaching doctors for help with back and neck pain, but why so at such a young age ? Chronic back and neck pain is something that plagues older folks above the ages of 40 but has recently increased for the younger and much more tech savvy generation.

The British chiropractic association said that their seeing an increasing amount of under 30’s seeking medical help with back and neck pain, due to them spending up to 10 hours a day sitting down behind screens. The number of young patients has risen from 28 percent to 45 percent within just a year. One quarter of these say that they suffer from chronic pain on a daily basis.

Tim Hutchful who is a BCA chiropractor says that the modern lifestyle that the younger generation is confined to is causing these increase in back and neck pain cases. He states that many people are completely unaware that staying in the same position can cause unnecessary strain on the back.

It’s true that staying in the same position for a long period, sitting on hard and still surfaces like couches and chairs causes a build up of tension in your lower back. Not taking regular breaks to stretch and relieve that stress can be harmful to the discs on the spine. In reality the human back is hard at work even when we’re relaxing.

Some easy tips to overcome the neck and back pain for those who spend a lot of time in front of screens and at their desks is to first sit up straight, take a desk break every 30 minutes where you do some stretches and finally staying hydrated.

You should also ensure that if you’re in front of a screen, that it is at eye level with your eyebrows and that your chair is slightly forward so that the knees are slightly higher than the hips. These rather simple tips will ensure that you maintain a healthy posture and steer away from neck and back pain.