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You May Get relief from chronic pain by walking

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If you are suffering from chronic pain from fibromyalgia or another medical condition, you know the frustration that comes with the attempts to control pain. While medication and therapies are a key factor in pain management, exercise can also work to relieve pain and improve quality of life. Inactivity can lead to more pain – the more you move, the less you will feel your pain.

If you are suffering from chronic pain, begin introducing regular walking workouts into your daily routine. Walking is the most basic form of aerobic exercise. There are several benefits of aerobic exercise, including: building stamina, boosting energy and reducing stiffness and pain. Specific health benefits of walking for exercise include:

Research has shown that low-impact aerobic exercise is most effective for improving chronic pain symptoms. It provides a means of relaxation for both the body and mind. Exercise in short intervals has been shown to be most successful in relieving chronic pain. For example, rather than going for one 30-minute walk each day, take three short, 10-minute walks instead.

In a study of 52 sedentary patients with chronic lower back pain, Dr. Michal Katz-Leurer and colleague Ilana Shnayderman found that a simple daily walking routine can improve chronic lower back pain symptoms. Katz-Leurer, from Tel Aviv University’s Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, and Shnayderman, a graduate student at the Department of Physical Therapy and a practicing physiotherapist at Maccabi Health Care, published their findings in the journal Clinical Rehabilitation.

If you suffer from chronic pain, make a point to exercise daily. By exercising, you will help prevent muscle atrophy and decrease joint pain. Start with a simple 30-minutes of exercise each day, gradually increasing if you are able.

Consult with your physician before beginning any exercise routine.

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Written by becomepainfree

May 13, 2013 at 2:47 pm

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Kyphoplasty Surgery, Kyphoplasty, Kypho, Vertebroplasty, Back Surgery, Spine Surgery

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What is Vertebroplasty & Kyphoplasty?

Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty are minimally invasive procedures for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures (VCF), which are fractures involving the vertebral bodies that make up the spinal column.

When a vertebral body fractures, the usual rectangular shape of the bone becomes compressed, causing pain. These compression fractures may involve the collapse of one or more vertebrae in the spine and are a common result of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease that results in a loss of normal bone density, mass and strength, leading to a condition in which bones are increasingly porous, and vulnerable to breaking. Vertebrae may also become weakened by cancer.

In vertebroplasty, physicians use image guidance to inject a cement mixture into the fractured bone through a hollow needle. In kyphohplasty, a balloon is first inserted into the fractured bone through the hollow needle to create a cavity or space. The cement is injected into the cavity once the balloon is removed.

Performing Kyphoplasty Surgery

  1. During kyphoplasty surgery, a small incision is made in the back through which the doctor places a narrow tube. Using fluoroscopy to guide it to the correct position, the tube creates a path through the back into the fractured area through the pedicle of the involved vertebrae.
  2. Using X-ray images, the doctor inserts a special balloon through the tube and into the vertebrae, then gently and carefully inflates it. As the balloon inflates, it elevates the fracture, returning the pieces to a more normal position. It also compacts the soft inner bone to create a cavity inside the vertebrae.
  3. The balloon is removed and the doctor uses specially designed instruments under low pressure to fill the cavity with a cement-like material called polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). After being injected, the pasty material hardens quickly, stabilizing the bone.

Kyphoplasty surgery to treat a fracture from osteoporosis is performed at a hospital under local or general anesthesia. Other logistics for a typical kyphoplasty procedure are:

  • The kyphoplasty procedure takes about one hour for each vertebra involved
  • Patients will be observed closely in the recovery room immediately following the kyphoplasty procedure
  • Patients may spend one day in the hospital after the kyphoplasty procedure

Patients should not drive until they are given approval by their doctor. If they are released the day of the kyphoplasty surgery, they will need to arrange for transportation home from the hospital.

Recovery from Kyphoplasty

Pain relief will be immediate for some patients. In others, elimination or reduction of pain is reported within two days. At home, patients can return to their normal daily activities, although strenuous exertion, such as heavy lifting, should be avoided for at least six weeks.

Candidates for Kyphoplasty

Kyphoplasty cannot correct an established deformity of the spine, and certain patients with osteoporosis are not candidates for this treatment. Patients experiencing painful symptoms or spinal deformities from recent osteoporotic compression fractures are likely candidates for kyphoplasty. The procedure should be completed within 8 weeks of when the fracture occurs for the highest probability of restoring height.

It is not known whether kyphoplasty or vertebroplasty will increase the number of fractures at adjacent levels of the spine. Bench studies on treated bone have shown that inserting PMMA does not change the stiffness of the bone, but human studies have not been done. Osteoporosis is a chronic, progressive disease. As stated earlier, patients who have sustained fractures from osteoporosis are at an increased risk for additional fractures due to the loss of bone strength caused by osteoporosis.

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Regenerative Medicine

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Administering undifferentiated stem cells to an injured disc has made adult stem cell regenerative medicine in spine a reality. Adult stem cell regenerative medicine holds the promise of stabilizing or even reversing the degenerative changes associated with aging or following traumatic injury. Current clinical use of stem cells is very limited, in part by the cumbersome approval process. The use of concentrated bone marrow aspirate (BMC) as a “stem cell” preparation is currently the simplest and safest way of utilizing the regenerative potential for mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to promote tissue regeneration. In fact, stem cells concentrated from bone marrow have been shown to stimulate the formation of bone, cartilage, ligament and tendon, and dermal tissues.

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Conservative treatment options for lumbar and cervical pain associated with discogenic disc disease (Pfirrmann Grades 3-6) are limited. Treatment options include pain medication, steroids, physical therapy, and chiropractic care. Reversal of disc pathology has not been achieved with current available treatment modalities. Failure of these nonoperative treatments may leave surgical intervention as a treatment option.

The goal of utilizing MSCs is to not only potentially provide pain relief from the painful degenerative disc, but to reverse the degenerative process. There are three methods for placing MSCs into the painful nucleus pulposus.

The use of allogeneic mesenchymal precursor cells (MPCs) is currently being evaluated as a part of an FDA Phase I clinical trial. Extracted from donors and expanded in number by tissue culture, this process isolates and grows the stem cells into pure MPCs which are injected into the nucleus pulposus. This technology does not have FDA approval.

Utilizing expanded, autologous MSCs for injection into the painful disc is the second method. Federal regulations require the approval of an Investigational New Drug application supported by prospective, randomized clinical trials for the use of expanded autologous MSCs. The FDA has not approved this technology.

The third method involves autologous point of care therapy. This technology does not require FDA approval. The patient’s own MSCs are directly injected into the nucleus pulposus of the symptomatic degenerated disc(s) using standardized two needle discography technique. This requires fluoroscopic visualization and 2-3cc of MSCs are slowly injected into the symptomatic nucleus pulposus.

Early analysis of the research data reveals the average lumbar pre-treatment Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) was 56.5% and improved to 22.4% at three-month follow-up (P=0.0001). The average lumbar pre-treatment Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain was 7.9 (on a scale of 1-10) and improved to 4.2 at three months (P=0.0005).

There have been no complications associated with the iliac crest aspiration or disc injection. Thus far no patient in the study has undergone spine surgery following treatment. Results obtained with this technique suggest its potential clinical efficacy in the treatment of moderate to severe degenerative disc disease. These results require verification with longer follow-up and randomized prospective studies.

For more information regarding treatment options please visit our websites at http://www.becomepainfree.com

Become Pain Free | Pain Specialist in Texas

Lumbar and Cervical Radiofrequency Ablation and Lesioning

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What is Radiofrequency? 

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Lumbar & cervical radiofrequency ablation procedure.Radiofrequency waves are electromagnetic waves which travel at the speed of light, or 186,000 miles per second (300,000 km/s). Radiofrequency Energy is a type of heat energy that is created by a special generator at very high or super high frequencies. With the use of this specialized generator, heat energy is created and delivered with precision to target nerves that carry pain impulses. The resulting “lesion”involves a spherical area of tissue destruction at the tip of the RF needle that can include pain-carrying nerves.

Why is this procedure done?

Radiofrequency ablation/lesioning is a procedure used to provide longer term pain relief than that provided by simple injections or nerve blocks. Many patients who are being considered for this procedure have already undergone simple injection techniques like Epidural Steroid Injection, Facet Joint Injection, Sympathetic Nerve Blocks, or other nerve blocks with pain relief that is less prolonged than desired. By selectively destroying nerves that carry pain impulses, the painful structure can be effectively denervated and the pain reduced or eliminated for anywhere from a few months to up to 12 months.

How is this procedure done?

Once a structure has been determined to be a pain generator, its nerve supply is targeted for interruption. A small insulated needle or RF cannula is positioned next to these nerves with fluoroscopic guidance (live video X-Ray). Your doctor knows where to place the RF cannula because he is an expert in anatomy. The shaft of this cannula except for the last 5 to 10 mm is covered with a protective insulation so that the electric current only passes into the surrounding tissues from the very tip of the cannula. When the cannula appears to be in good position, the doctor may perform a test and release a small amount of electric current through the needle tip at two different frequencies. This test helps to confirm that the cannula tip is in close proximity to the target nerve and that it is not near any other nerve. After a successful test confirms good cannula tip position, a local anesthetic is injected to numb the area. The RF generator is then used to heat the cannula tip for up to 90 seconds, and thus the target nerve is destroyed.

What types of conditions will respond to Radiofrequency Lesioning?Radiofrequency treatments for chronic pain.

There are a multitude of chronic pain conditions that respond well to this treatment. Chronic spinal pain, including spinal arthritis (spondylosis), post-traumatic pain (whiplash), pain after spine surgery, and other spinal pain conditions are those most commonly treated with RFL. Other conditions that are known to respond well to RFL include some neuropathic pain conditions like Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS or RSD), peripheral nerve entrapment syndromes, and other assorted chronic pain conditions. A patient’s candidacy for RFL is usually determined by the performance of a Diagnostic Nerve Block. This procedure will help to confirm whether a patient’s pain improves just for the duration of the local anesthetic (or not). Patients who have little to no pain relief after a diagnostic nerve block are not candidates for a neurodestructive procedure like RF Lesioning.

Does the procedure hurt?

This procedure is no more painful than any other injection procedure that is performed in interventional pain management. Patients are often given mild intravenous sedation during the procedure, but sedation is not absolutely required. Deep sedation is not a safe alternative and is therefore not offered for my RF procedures. It is quite common for neck or back pain to increase for a few days or longer after the RFL procedure before it starts to improve.

What should I do to prepare for my procedure?

On the day of your injection, you should not have anything to eat or drink for at least eight (8) hours before your scheduled procedure. If you are scheduled to receive sedation during the procedure, you must have someone available to drive you home. If you usually take medication for high blood pressure or any kind of heart condition, it is very important that you take this medication at the usual time with a sip of water before your procedure.

If you are taking any type of medication that can thin the blood and cause excessive bleeding, you should discuss with your doctors whether to discontinue this medication prior to the procedure. These anticoagulant meds are usually prescribed to protect a patient against stroke, heart attack, or other vascular occlusion event. Therefore the decision to discontinue one of these medications is not made by the pain management physician but rather by the primary care or specialty physician (cardiologist) who prescribes and manages that medication. Examples of medications that could promote surgical bleeding include Coumadin, Plavix, Aggrenox, Pletal, Ticlid, and Lovenox. 

What should I do after my procedure?

Discharge suggestions following procedures, Dallas Texas.

Following discharge home, you should plan on simple rest and relaxation. If you have pain at the needle puncture sites, application of an ice pack to this area should be helpful. If you receive intravenous sedation, you should not drive a car until the next day. Patients are generally advised to go home and not return to work after this type of procedure. Some patients do return to work the next day.


Could there be side effects or complications?

BecomePainFree Doctors will discuss these issues with you, and you will be asked to carefully read and sign a consent form before any procedure is performed.

Can this procedure be repeated if my pain returns?

It is possible for the treated nerve(s) to regenerate, which could lead to recurrent pain. However, RF Lesioning is repeatable for nerve regeneration if it worked the first time around.

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Texas Back Institute, Texas Back Institute Trained Surgeon, Texas Back Institute Fellow, TBI, Texas Back Institute Spine Surgeon

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Dr Saqib Siddiqui M.D.

BOARD ELIGIBLE ORTHOPEDIC and SPINE SURGEON Trained by the Texas Back Institute in Plano, Texas

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Dr Siddiqui is proficient in treating cervical, thoracic and lumbar spinal conditions and disorders whether they require surgical treatment or non-operative treatment. Degenerative disc disease is a common problem that afflicts many individuals. There are many state of the art procedures available today such as artificial disc replacement (or spinal arthroplasty), dynamic stabilization, interspinous distraction for spinal stenosis, as well as more traditional options such as spinal fusion, epidural spinal injections, rhizotomy, spinal cord stimulators, selective nerve root blocks, facet blocks and sacroliiac joint injections. Dr Siddiqui is able to treat most of his patients conservatively with physical therapy, braces, injections and pain medications. If you do require surgical treatment ,you will have access to the world’s most advanced techniques such as minimally invasive spine surgery. Dr Siddiqui was the first surgeon in Houston to perform the XLIF (extreme lateral interbody fusion) which is a technique enabling the surgeon to fuse the lumbar spine through a 2 inch incision from the side, often being done as an ambulatory procedure at a surgery center. Dr Siddiqui is also one of only a handful of surgeons in Houston performing trans-sacral L5/S1 fusion also through a 1 to 2 inch incision. Dr Siddiqui also performs percutaneous discectomy for patients with a herniated lumbar or cervical disc. Patients are able to leave the surgery center in only a couple of hours after a 30 minute procedure sporting just a bandaid and little of no recovery time.

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Pain, Back Pain, Spine Pain, The Solution to Pain is Now Available Online by BecomePainFree.com

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English: Mayo Clinic Rochester Minnesota - Gon...

English: Mayo Clinic Rochester Minnesota – Gonda Building + part of Mayo Building from cafeteria (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

BecomePainFree.com

Quote start“…acute and chronic pain of any type can be physically as well as mentally disabling. This web site provides patients with real resources to solve their issue with pain”. Dr. Venkat Sethuraman M.DQuote end

Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) December 17, 2012

Become Pain Free, a subsidiary of ACO America, an accountable care organization that tracks and organizes patient outcomes – has launched a new web site, BecomePainFree.com. Become Pain Free is a consumer friendly site for and provides information regarding the most innovative, advanced, minimally invasive procedures available to assist patients in their efforts to find solutions to their acute or chronic pain. Become Pain Frees ever-growing assembly of doctors (currently close to 200) are enthusiastic about the group and their new website. The medical providers at Become Pain Free have trained at the most prestigious medical facilities and/or training programs in the country.

The web site’s group of physicians includes some of the best surgeons in Texas:

  •     Venkat Sethuraman, M.D.]. – One of Two Mayo Clinic Trained Spine Surgeons in Texas.
  •     Neil Shah, M.D. – Stanford Trained Spine Surgeon
  •     Ken Lee, M.D. – UCLA Trained Spine Surgeon
  •     Steve Cyr, M.D. – One of Two Mayo Clinic Trained Spine Surgeons in Texas, former Chief of Air Force Spine Surgery, former Spine Surgery Consultant to the Surgeon General of the Air Force, served two tours of duty in Iraq.
  •     Jeff Wasserman, M.D., MBA – Harvard Mass General Trained in Anesthesia/Pain Mgmt
  •     Charles Toulson, M.D. – Johns Hopkins Trained and the only Center of Excellence in Joint Replacement in Dallas and Collin Counties to receive the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for health care quality.

The clinical staff at Become Pain Free offers a free MRI or CT evaluation. They review cases and directly communicate with the person to point them in the right direction for their care needs. Mark J. Laning, D.C., OPA-C – voted for inclusion of Consumer Research Council of Americas top Chiropractors, 2009 and 2004 – explains, “While many of our patients seek us out for back pain (close to 80% of adults will suffer some kind of back pain in their lifetime), Become Pain Free can aid patients with the pain associated with carpal tunnel syndrome as well as neck, shoulder, foot/ ankle, knee and pelvic pain just to name a few” he explains. Laning continues “Become Pain Frees group of doctors are experts with specialty training in pain management from head to toe. “

Venkat Sethuraman, M.D. a Mayo Fellowship Trained Board-Certified Spine Surgeon and Minimally Invasive Spine Specialist clarifies “As a doctor my goal is to help as many people as I can to lead happy, healthy lives, acute and chronic pain of any type can be physically as well as mentally disabling. This web site provides patients with real resources to solve their issue with pain”.

With 22 physical medicine clinics offices located throughout the Dallas, Ft. Worth, Houston and San Antonio area plus more than 38 specialist ranging from OBGYN to orthopedics including ENTs, podiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, general surgery, neurological surgery, Become Pain Free is able to serve a large community of patients. “We are excited to bring this service to Texas and looking forward to helping patients to eliminate their pain” summarizes, Laning.

For a new doctor today goto http://www.becomepainfree.com or http://www.becomepainfree.com

Written by becomepainfree

January 12, 2013 at 8:09 pm

Pain

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ModelloDolore

ModelloDolore (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pain can be always be helpful in diagnosing a problem. Without a pain, you might seriously hurt yourself without knowing it, or you might not realize you have a medical problem that needs treatment. Once you take care of the problem, pain usually goes away. However, sometimes pain goes on for weeks, months or even years.

Sometimes chronic pain is due to an ongoing cause, such as cancer or arthritis. Sometimes the cause is unknown.

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