Almost all of us are living with at least one chronic pain condition. Chronic pain interrupts with the daily routine so severely that life becomes depressing for those living with it. We came across one such painful case which we are sharing with you that shows how any chronic pain can be conquered naturally.

Case Study - Overview of Chronic Low Back Pain 

Low Back Pain is one of the leading chronic pain complaints encountered by physical therapists worldwide. Various causes of back pain have been reported among which, back pain due to prolonged sitting hours is the commonest due to the highest rate of sedentary desk job of people. While inactive lifestyle, any severe back disorders, a side effect of any other health conditions, injury, or trauma, are the other reasons for lower back pain. Following is a case study of Chronic Lower Back Pain (CLBP) that is proof of how one can overcome chronic pain.

Patient History 

A 30-year-old male was diagnosed with CLBP who had no history of any chronic disease or condition or injury. When asked about lifestyle, he said, "10 to 7 desk jobs, traveling for work, irregular gym visits, and late night sleep." There is no doubt how he developed chronic pain in the lower back. He weighs about 88 pounds and hardly works out. He often takes painkillers to get rid of sharp pain in the lower back to avoid taking leave from work. Troubled with back pain for over a year, he experimented different treatment methods to anyhow put an end to it.

Investigations:

His tests revealed degenerative changes in the lumbar spine, predominantly at L1 and L3. Disc projection was noted at L4-L5 with grade 1 spondylolisthesis.

Medication:

Meloxicam (anti-inflammatory) and Tramadol (weak opioid analgesic), were prescribed to him.

Assessment Findings

Due to CLBP, he experienced notable functional limitations daily like bending, lifting, or any other kind of trunk movements. The constant pain affected his work and behavior. He used to lose his control quickly and was often moody and irritated. He was banned from driving a vehicle by his doctor. He feared about disability and becoming permanently bedridden.

How SONICTENS helped? 

Tired and on the verge of depression, he came across UltraCare PRO's electrotherapy equipment online. After going through a bunch of positive reviews about its products on Amazon, Flipkart and all and reading about the electrotherapy itself, he decided to go for it.
SONICTENS, a sleek and simple electrotherapy machine that is a combination of two very well-known treatment modalities, 'Therapeutic Ultrasound' and 'TENS ( Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) therapy, has proven its worth in treating several chronic pains and discomforts. Unlike two individual products - ultrasound machine and TENS unit, SONICTENS gives you both in one easy-to-carry device. Recommended even by pain specialists and physiotherapists, the combined treatment of SONICTENS promotes faster healing, safely, and naturally, without any side effects.
The therapeutic ultrasound waves of ultrasound therapy produce a deep heating sensation that accelerates the healing process by stimulating the blood and oxygen flow towards the painful area. While, the TENS unit in it generates gentle massaging electrical impulses that travel via electrodes placed on the affected area, blocking the pain signals from reaching the brain and helping the body to heal itself naturally by increasing the production of the body's natural pain killer, endorphins.
After bringing SONICTENS home, he started his back pain treatment regularly and even carried it to his work due to its portability. Within a week he started seeing a notable difference in his back pain which he hasn't felt in a year. The sharp pain which made him difficult to sit at work or forced him to take a painkiller started reducing and within a month, back pain was almost a guest visitor for him.

Results

No more back pain
He started driving which he loved the most
He can bend or lift and even dance around freely
No more anxiety, fear or depression
He feels relaxed at the end of the day and hence sleeps well.

Conclusion

Chronic pain is not something one has to live with forever. It is treatable with capable electrotherapy machines like SONICTENS and others. Like him, you too can end your chronic suffering; you just need to take the step.

• Drowsiness
• Poor concentration
• Memory problems
• Kidney/liver disease/failure
• Constipation
• Slower breathing rate
• Weak immune system
• Cardiovascular diseases
• More delayed reactions and movements
• Dullness
• Mood swings
• Depression
• High blood pressure
• Skin Rashes

Natural Therapies - Alternative Treatment Methods

Acupuncture

Exercise

Ice and Heat Therapy

Ultrasound Therapy

Conclusion

1. Squats - Squats are one of the best knee strengthening exercises as they work up on all the lower body muscles, including quadriceps, hamstrings, and hips. You can start with wall squats and then move onto standard squats when you feel comfortable. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, firmly planted on the ground. Slowly start bending your knees as if sitting back into a chair. Keep the back straight and push your butt back. The knees should not go forward beyond the toes. Raise your arms ahead to help with balance. Hold for a few seconds and repeat.

2. Straight Leg Raises - An excellent exercise for knee arthritis, straight leg raises work mainly on the quadriceps, the muscles in the front of the thigh which are the ones that absorb shock before it reaches the knee joint. Begin by lying flat on your back. Bend one knee, placing the foot flat on the floor. Keep the other leg straight and raise it to the height of the opposite knee. Hold for 3-5 seconds, then lower and repeat on both legs.

3. Lunges - Another best muscle strengthening exercise for knee joint is lunges as they work upon all the muscles around knees. Simply, step forward and bend your knees, lowering your back knee toward the floor. Push your front foot off and stand back up. Repeat using another leg. You can do this by holding weights later.

• Never perform any exercises for knee pain without a warm-up.
• Wear knee supports while working out to avoid excess pressure on your knee joint.
• Avoid hardcore knee strengthening exercises at the beginning. Start simple and gradually increase intensity.
• Use the electrotherapy device called SONICTENS after a workout to ease the sore muscles or any post workout knee pain. You can also use it regularly if you have any painful knee condition.

Usually, a runner or any sportsperson or even a common man who is busy rushing with daily errands, whose Achilles tendon, the largest tendon in the body, is being used continuously, are the ones who become the prey of Achilles Tendonitis.

A confusing pain that affects the Achilles tendon, a tight band of fibrous tissue that joins the calf muscles to the heel bone (calcaneus) and runs down the back of the lower leg, which is the origin of the pain, also makes the hip joint hurt severely. Hence, it becomes often difficult to figure out what is hurting, whether it is the heel or hip?

Athletes have a lot of unstable movement patterns that increase the risk of getting their joints injured. Since our joints are connected in some way, when the Achilles tendons become inflamed due to their overuse, they can create instability in the hip joint, making it weak, stiff, or painful. The hip mechanics of any one of us can get disturbed upon putting an extra strain on our lower leg or the hip joint.

Undoubtedly runners, gymnasts, dancers, other sports players are more prone to develop Achilles tendon pain due to their quick changes of motion, other possible reasons are;

Achilles' pain increases with time. It starts slowly in the Achilles' tendons spreading all over to the leg muscles up to the hip joint. With time the hip hurts continually making it difficult to sit or move around.

Pain in Achilles is treatable. There are precise Achilles pain treatment methods that need no involvement of any medical expertise, are non-invasive and can be carried out by anyone at home like;

Knee hug to hip-flexor stretch - Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and slowly bring your left knee up and towards your chest. Grab the knee with both your hands and pull it in as close as you can into your chest. Hold this stretch for 20 to 40 seconds and release. Next, kneel on your right knee slowly taking your left foot backward, giving it a good stretch. Return to start and repeat on the other side.

Spider man stretch - Take the push up position. Bend your right knee and place your right foot flat on the floor, outside your right hand, keeping your left leg straight. Return to start and repeat on the left side.

Seated Stretch - Sit upright in a chair. Bring your right ankle to rest just above your left knee, keeping your right knee open. Rest your hands on your shin, and lean your torso forward to deepen the stretch. Return to start and repeat on the left leg.

Achilles' tendonitis pain can be prevented by taking some precautionary measures like; shuffling exercises between high-impact and low-impact aerobics, wearing correct shoes that support the arch and protect the heel well and above all, taking it slows in whatever you are doing.

Not everyone opens up about chronic pain. It takes enough courage to share the pain one feels. Lady Gaga, an American songwriter, singer, actress, philanthropist, dancer, and fashion designer, is among the few who recently shared her painful story in one of an interview with Arthritis Magazine.

Lady Gaga was in news for canceling a lot of shows complaining about agonizing and severe physical pain. Being a celebrity when people began to question about her condition considering it as publicity, the 33-year-old pop star revealed in the October issue of Vogue about her ongoing battle with fibromyalgia syndrome, a condition that affects the nervous system and causes pain throughout the body.

Although the causes of fibromyalgia remain unknown, Gaga links it to her traumatic event five years ago during the Born This Way Ball world tour in 2012 which abruptly ended in 2013 when she broke her hip while performing Atop so severely it was almost beyond repair.

When her MRI were done, it was revealed that there was a hole of about quarter a size in her hip and her cartilage was hanging out lose the other side of my hip. She also had a tear on the inside of her hip joint and a massive breakage. If she had continued with her show, she might have needed a full hip replacement surgery.

But, Gaga did not let hip pain stop her from continuing what she loves to do the most. In spite of suffering from Fibromyalgia, a chronic centralized pain sensitivity syndrome that causes long-lasting, head to toe pain in the muscles and joints, she did not let herself sulk into depression. She fought back with her confidence and her passion for music.

Inspired by her spirit, a behind-the-scenes Netflix documentary was released titled "Gaga: Five Foot Two," where she shares everything about her five-year-long hip injury. She discusses how people with fibromyalgia are often taken lightly, thinking that the pain is all in their head. “People need to be more compassionate. Chronic pain is no joke. And it’s every day waking up not knowing how you’re going to feel.” she said.

Even after 5 years she still experiences severe pain from fibromyalgia and often deals with tension in the abdomen, shoulder, neck, muscles, and intestines, as it shoots through her entire body, from her toes to her face.

Hip Pain and FIbromyalgia

Hip pain is one of the many symptoms of fibromyalgia. But, there can be various hip pain causes responsible for the discomfort in the hip joint like sciatica, osteoarthritis, bursitis, tendinitis,  muscle strain or tear and just like Gaga’s, trauma or injury in it.

Hip Pain Remedies

Be it Fibromyalgia or any other hip pain causes; treatment is required timely to avert any further consequences. Medicines and steroids are helpful to some extent because as soon as their effect wears off, the pain resides. For which, practicing hip pain exercises is one of the recommended treatment methods for getting relief from hip pain.

But, nothing can match up to the physical therapy. As a part of it, Physiotherapy has designed some best machines that can work wonders on any kind of pain. SONICTENS is one such pain management device that anyone can get started with it without any professional guidance. It is a combination of two most proven electrotherapies for pain relief – Ultrasound with TENS – into one compact and sleek device. The electrical impulses and its deep heating ability, together, increase the endorphin -the body’s natural painkiller in the body, thus accelerating the recovery process easily without any side-effects or pain.

While the other hip pain treatment methods such as hip pain stretches and exercises, one must continue doing along with Physiotherapy for best results.

Although it may sound weird, our joints do have an odd connection with the weather. You might have heard your grandparents predicting the onset of monsoon when their joints start aching. You may laugh it out, but surprisingly they are right.

Arthritis and weather do have a lot to do with each other. As soon as the weather starts changing after the scorching heat of summer, even our joints start feeling different. And for someone having arthritis or any joint-related condition, cloudy weather is no less than a nightmare.

How does weather affect joints? How can joint aches indicate the arrival of monsoon? What is the science behind it? Let's understand all.

Weather and Joint Pain 

During the rainy season, the old joint pains, injury pains, stiffness, and swelling, all flare up more than usual due to barometric pressure changes. Barometric pressure or the pressure of the air is the weight of the atmosphere that surrounds us.

When the pressure is higher, it prevents the tissues in our body from expanding, and when the weather becomes cold and humid, the pressure lowers causing the tissues to expand, forming a higher pressure on the joints. As the cartilage that cushions the joint wears out with time in people living with osteoarthritis, the sensory nerves called baroreceptors in their exposed bones pick up the changes in pressure and trigger joint pain.

Humidity and Arthritis 

Another reason why joint pain aggravates during the rainy season is because of high humidity. High levels of humidity cause sweating and dehydration, which in turn make blood thicker, increasing blood pressure in the blood vessels. Thus, our body has to make extra effort to pump blood throughout. They also decrease the concentration of fluid around the joints making it stiffer even to move around.

How to Overcome Weather-related Joint Pain?

Resting is good for joint pain but not too much. Move around indoors and practice strengthening and stretching exercises to make the muscles reliable and flexible and also to have the blood circulation keep going.

Drink plenty of water and stay hydrated as humidity can cause extreme dehydration.

Swimming is an excellent exercise for people living with arthritis. Loosen up your joint muscles by taking laps in an indoor pool.

Keep yourself warm. Take warm showers or baths, dress in layers during the day as cold weather conditions during the monsoon season can worsen joint conditions.

Give your joints a good warm oil massage. Combine olive oil with few crushed garlic and cloves, warm it up and massage on the affected area.

Have a nutritious diet and get enough sleep.

Give your joints physical therapy at home. Use the electrotherapy machines like SONICTENS or US111 to ease the pain and stiffness of your joints.

After the scorching heat of summer when the sky finally opens up, the excitement of rain can make anyone go crazy. Of course, the pour brings relief and makes everything fresh and lush, but it can also harm as well.

On one side, monsoon means a hot cup of chai, crispy pakoras, smell of soil, rich greens, while on another its diseases, dampness, frizzy hair, heavy loss, etc. Anyways, there are few simple tips to beat the monsoon blues out and take care of your skin, hair, health, and safety with the changing weather. Let's take a look.

Monsoon hair care tips

We all love to drench, but it is our hair that suffers the after effects. Hair becomes moist because of humid weather and causes damp odor, frizziness, and hair fall. Hence, do the following as part of the monsoon hair care routine;

Monsoon skin care tips

Don't think there is no dust, so your skin is safe. High humidity can damage skin more than the dust particles. Practice the following monsoon skin care routine to keep your skin soft and supple.

Monsoon health tips

Health must be your topmost priority during monsoon as the resistance of our body reduces naturally because of the common fungal, viral, and bacterial infections of the rainy season. Hence, do the following;