Back pain is caused from a variety of problems including “Acute Pulmonary Edema.” Edema builds up abnormal and excessive fluids that cause serious actions to the tissue cells. What happens is similar to over watering plants. The plant will swell and gradually wither away.

Edema in acute stages is defined as heart failure to one side, yet the problem extends to cause pain in the back. What occurs is when the heart is interrupted; it channels the fluids to tubes, vessels, ducts, and passageways that extend to the lungs.

Causes of edema:
Edema may arise from inhaling smoke, MI, CHF, Myocarditis, excessive I.V. intakes of fluid, Valvular disease, overdose of drugs, such as morphine, barbiturates, and heroin. Acute edema arises from ARDS (Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome) and Atherosclerosis.

The lack of heart pumping can cause stress to the chest, which when the chest is scarred it affects the spines structure and mobility. Overarching the back is where back pain starts, since the chest is restricted from scarring and/or edema.

Experts will often use X-rays, ABG tests, ECG, and monitor Homodynamic to discover edema. Of course, edema can lead to major problems, such as Hypernatremia, Digoxin Toxicity, Hypokalemia, Excessive Fluid, and Pulmonary Blockage of the arteries, (Embolism), which starts blood clotting and affects blood circulation. Hypokalemia will decrease potassium intake that is required by blood. What happens is the decrease of potassium to the blood causes excessive excretion of fluids that lead to the muscles, which cause weakness. The back pain is not necessary the issue at this stage, since the heart is the starting point, which could lead to cardiac arrest.

When acute edema is present, experts will often restrict fluid intake, while administering I.V. fluids to substitute. Oxygen and meds are prescribed. Often the doctor will request that the patient remain consistent in a high position, such as “Fowler’s.”

Symptoms:
Edema may present fatigue, coughing, JVD, Hypophysis, murmurs, Orthopnea, one-side heart failure (Right often), low output of cardiac, exerted Dyspnea, and so on. The condition can cause various other symptoms to emerge as well.

Experts will request that the patient limit fluid intake, and join in oxygen therapy. Since edema causes excessive fluid buildup, isometric exercises, and bed, rest is required. Isometric workouts is the process of pushing muscles next to a sturdy surface, whereas the muscles are put under tension, yet restricted from contractions. The exercises are recommended in a variety of medical treatments when back pain is involved.

Edema also affects the joints, cartilages, muscles etc, which can cause tenderness, ulcers of the legs, changes of stasis, and so forth. Edema affects the veins found in the neck as well, which is one of the leading starts of back pain. To avoid traveling into the heart cavity and discussing heart conditions, I will sum up edema and the causes of back pain.

As mentioned earlier, back pain starts with edema since when the heart is not pumping blood it affects the connective tissues, ligaments, tendons, muscles, cells, joints, etc. As you can see, when the skeleton elements are targeted pain will occur from swelling and inflammation. The cause of back pain then starts with excessive fluid buildup emerging from acute edema and/or peripheral edema conditions.

To learn more about edema and back pain consider tendons, ligaments, disks, joints, connective tissues, neurological disorders, and so on.

Back pain has affected millions of people, yet the leading causes emerge from nerve and musculoskeletal disorders. Still, many diseases and disorders can cause back pain, including edema. In fact, when doctors discover musculoskeletal and nerve disorders, they often link one of the potential causes to edema.

What is muscle soreness?

As people age, they begin to complain more of pains in their muscles and joints. They seem to stiffen up with age, and such commonplace activities as bending over for the morning paper can make them wince.

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Such pain can grip so fiercely that they are sure it begins deep in their bones. But the real cause of stiffness and soreness lies not in the joints or bones, according to research at the Johns Hopkins Medical School, but in the muscles and connective tissues that move the joints, so these may need treatment and using the best hospital beds in our InHealth Center, could be the best choice for these treatments.

The frictional resistance generated by the two rubbing surfaces of bones in the joints is negligible, even in joints damaged by arthritis.

Flexibility is the medical term used to describe the range of a joint’s motion from full movement in one direction to full movement in the other. The greater the range of movement, the more flexible the joint.

If you bend forward at the hips and touch your toes with your fingertips, you have good flexibility, or range of motion of the hip joints. But can you bend over easily with a minimal expenditure of energy and force? The exertion required to flex a joint is just as important as its range of possible motion.

Different factors limit the flexibility and ease of movement in different joints and muscles. In the elbow and knee, the bony structure itself sets a definite limit. In other joints, such as the ankle, hip, and back, the soft tissue—muscle and connective tissue—limit the motion range.

The problem of inflexible joints and muscles is similar to the difficulty of opening and closing a gate because of a rarely used and rusty hinge that has become balky.

Hence, if people do not regularly move their muscles and joints through their full ranges of motion, they lose some of their potential. That is why when these people will try to move a joint after a long period of inactivity, they feel pain, and that discourages further use

What happens next is that the muscles become shortened with prolonged disuse and produces spasms and cramps that can be irritating and extremely painful. The immobilization of muscles, as researchers have demonstrated with laboratory animals, brings about biochemical changes in the tissue.

Triggers For Muscle Soreness

1. Too much exercise

Have you always believed on the saying, “No pain, no gain?” If you do, then, it is not so surprising if you have already experienced sore muscles.

The problem with most people is that they exercise too much thinking that it is the fastest and the surest way to lose weight. Until they ache, they tend to ignore their muscles and connective tissue, even though they are what quite literally holds the body together.

2. Aging and inactivity

Connective tissue binds muscle to bone by tendons, binds bone to bone by ligaments, and covers and unites muscles with sheaths called fasciae. With age, the tendons, ligaments, and fasciae become less extensible. The tendons, with their densely packed fibers, are the most difficult to stretch. The easiest are the fasciae. But if they are not stretched to improve joint mobility, the fasciae shorten, placing undue pressure on the nerve pathways in the muscle fasciae. Many aches and pains are the result of nerve impulses traveling along these pressured pathways.

3. Immobility

Sore muscles or muscle pain can be excruciating, owing to the body’s reaction to a cramp or ache. In this reaction, called the splinting reflex, the body automatically immobilizes a sore muscle by making it contract. Thus, a sore muscle can set off a vicious cycle pain.

First, an unused muscle becomes sore from exercise or being held in an unusual position. The body then responds with the splinting reflex, shortening the connective tissue around the muscle. This cause more pain, and eventually the whole area is aching. One of the most common sites for this problem is the lower back.

4. Spasm theory

In the physiology laboratory at the University of Southern California, some people have set out to learn more about this cycle of pain.

Using some device, they measured electrical activity in the muscles. The researchers knew that normal, well-relaxed muscles produce no electrical activity, whereas, muscles that are not fully relaxed show considerable activity.

In one experiment, the researchers measured these electrical signals in the muscles of persons with athletic injuries, first with the muscle immobilized, and then, after the muscle had been stretched.

In almost every case, exercises that stretched or lengthened the muscle diminished electrical activity and relieved pain, either totally or partially.

These experiments led to the “spasm theory,” an explanation of the development and persistence of muscle pain in the absence of any obvious cause, such as traumatic injury.

According to this theory, a muscle that is overworked or used in a strange position becomes fatigued and as a result, sore muscles.

Hence, it is extremely important to know the limitations and capacity of the muscles in order to avoid sore muscles. This goes to show that there is no truth in the saying, “No pain, no gain.” What matters most is on how people stay fit by exercising regularly at a normal range than once rarely but on a rigid routine.

What You Can Do

If you think you suffer from spam theory or muscle pain due to over activity contact our office at 312-949-1289 and schedule a free consultation with one of our doctors.  Our doctors are certified in advanced techniques to quickly find permanent relief from this condition. Chicago InHealth Center

Published by Graham Pommerehn, DC.

Fat Vs. Weight

The numbers on your scale do not indicate whether you are fit or fat. Far more significant than your total body weight is the composition of your body tissue. If a man’s fatty tissue is bigger than 14% up to 15% of his body mass, or if a woman’s is more than 20% to 22%, he or she is overweight, or more precisely, overfat.

A small amount of fat is needed for padding the internal organs and as insulation under the skin. Excess fat leads to such diseases as diabetes, gout, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and gallbladder problems. There are very few, very fat persons. The reason is that the fittest, not the fattest survive.

The problem now is focused on how to resolve the problem. The problem with most people who want to lose weight is that they have the propensity to concentrate more on getting those numbers lower than what they are seeing now. What happens next is that they strive harder to achieve a lower weight, according to the “ever reliable” result of the weighing scale.

It would be more important to think of the human body as a heat-exchange engine that works on the basic principles of energy physics. The caloric balance equals the total calorie intake minus the total calorie expenditure.

Some of the calories people ingest are used for basal metabolism. As people get old, their bodies require fewer calories for this basic upkeep. Some calories are excreted as waste products. Some go into “work metabolism,” the energy expenditure required for any physical activity.

Hence, if people take in more calories than are used by these functions, there is a definite caloric excess. By the laws of physics, energy is transformed rather than destroyed. In this case, each excess of 3,500 calories is changed into a pound of fat. If people want to reverse this process, they have to burn up 3,500 calories to lose a single pound.

Winning the War Against Fat

When you think of fighting fat with exercise, you probably think of hours of hard, sweaty exertion. If this is the case, then, you will not get any farther. This is because people who are so much into losing more by exerting more effort tend to get bored easily.

Why? Because experts contend that when people exert more effort than what they are capable of doing creates a tendency to develop weariness and ennui. Hence, they give up, stop doing their routine exercises, and end up sulking in the corner with a bag of chips that seems to have all the bad calories in this world.

Now, you might ask, “What should be done instead?” The answer: cross training.

After some intensive studies and experimentations, health experts were able to come up with the concept of incorporating cross training in order to overcome or break the monotony or dullness in an exercise program.

Cross training refers to the integration of diverse movements or activities into a person’s conventional exercise routine. The main purpose of incorporating cross training into an exercise program is to avoid overdoing excess muscle damages and to put a stop to an imminent boredom.

Three of the most commonly used activities whenever a person decides to engage into cross training are swimming, running, and cycling.

In cross training, distance is one way to extend your activity as your condition improves. For this reason, you need to traverse a measured distance.

If possible, swim the course and measure the distance. If you will be using a running track, such courses usually are a quarter-mile per lap for a complete circuit.

Cross training offers a variety of benefits for fitness and fatloss. It builds up the strength and endurance of the heart, lungs, and blood vessels. It has also some tranquilizing effect on the nerves, and it burns up calories as much as it makes your “losing weight” more bearable.

Cross training has three basic components:

1. Endurance exercises to condition the heart, lungs, and blood vessels and to induce relaxation. These begin with a careful planned walking and jogging regimen, depending on fitness level.

2. Exercises to strengthen the muscles, particularly those important to good posture. These include some activities that are selected to encourage some people who are already burnt out with a particular routine.

3. Exercises to improve joint mobility and prevent or relieve aches and pains. These consist of a series of static stretching positions that are safe and effective for most of the people who wish to try to lose some fat.

Indeed, cross training is a great way to modify the concept of exercising and losing fat without having to endure monotonous activities. In fact, the idea of exercising is to like what you are doing, hence, if you engage into cross training, you will be aware of it that you have already achieve your desired weight.

Boiled down, cross training is, certainly, one way of having fun.

A treadmill is a great way to get your running in during the cold winter days. Before you hop on your treadmill and get running, here are five tips to help you get the most out of your running experience.

1. Wear good running shoes. Many people assume that because you are running inside on a platform that the quality of your shoes is not as important. You may be tempted to throw on any pair of shoes and run on the treadmill. This is not a good idea and it is how you will develop an injury. Treadmill running surfaces are hard and they don’t give as other surfaces do.

2. When you run inside, your running form is going to be more restricted, as opposed to running outside. This is why you want to have a good pair of running shoes. Find out what your foot type is and purchase shoes accordingly. Your treadmill performance will be more pleasant and you won’t come out injured.

3. Try to place your treadmill in a good location. It can be boring running on a treadmill which is stuck in the basement or out in the garage. See if you can strategically place your treadmill where you can see outside or even watch TV. Natural light will help you focus more on your running as well. The light will make you feel more alert and motivated to run for longer. Watching your favorite show or listening to music while running is a great way to pass the time. Studies have shown that people work out harder and for longer time periods when listening to music.

4. Increase the incline on your treadmill. When you run on a flat treadmill, if can feel as though you are running downhill. This can be very hard on your muscles and joints. By increasing the incline to level two, it simulates a more natural running position. This is much better for you body and provides you with the energy to run longer and harder.

5.  Let your arms swing. Many runners find themselves leaning forward to grab the bars when running. Unfortunately what this does is reduce your workout efforts and makes you run using bad form. This can cause injury and bad habits when you go out onto the road. Always stand upright and tilt your body forwards at a slight angle. Make sure you keep your arms bent at the elbows and have your hands relaxed.

Running on a treadmill has very specific and powerful benefits. Follow these five tips and your treadmill running experience is sure to be everything you want it to be. You’ll lose weight, get in shape and enjoy the convenience of treadmill running anytime of the year.

Disorders such as fibromyalgia, whiplash, and irritable bowel syndrome share the common symptom of muscle hyperalgesia (more sensitive to painful pressures and stimulation). Obviously, more sensitive patients may find it more difficult to stress their bodies with stretching or physical exercise. If you are more sensitive to pain, you may be more likely to consume pain relief or anti-inflammatory medications. These drugs can have unwanted side effects when taken over the long term.

In May 2007, the European Journal of Pain reported on a scientific study of the muscle dysfunction called muscular hyperalgesia in patients with disk herniations. The researcher team, based in Denmark, studied whether generalized deep-tissue hyperalgesia could be demonstrated in a group of patients with chronic low-back pain and intervertebral disk herniation. Twelve patients and twelve controls were exposed to painful stimulation at a shoulder and a leg muscle. They used deep pressure and injections of salt water to test how the patient reacted.

Patients with chronic low back pain and disk herniations demonstrated significantly higher pain intensity, duration, and larger areas of pain referral following such stimulation.

Whether consuming pain medications over many years is a wise option is certainly debatable. Studies of chiropractic care to treat back pain have shown good results with extremely rare risks/side effects. The adjustments are directed at the spinal joints and disks to affect the movement of the vertebrae and decrease pain.

It’s important to understand that fibromyalgia is a complex disease with many theories as to its cause. It’s unlikely taking a pill will be the total solution to the problem. We know that muscle pains are very common and exercises seem to improve the pain. There are also other issues to consider. The structures of the spine (such as the disks) help to guide and restrict movement, but when injured can be a significant source of pain. Making sure the spine is flexible from daily stretching, and not under undue stress (such as from excess weight) are important adjuncts of care.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a very challenging condition to both diagnose and treat since there are different clinical signs and symptoms unique to each patient’s case. Therefore, the diagnosis is made by excluding other possibilities. To make matters even more challenging, there are “primary” and “secondary” types of FM, or those who develop FM for no know reason (primary) vs. those whose FM arises from a known condition (secondary). Because of these challenges, there is no single treatment program to apply to all struggling FM patients. Rather, studies often suggest that a multidisciplinary “team” of healthcare providers should be utilized in the management of patients with FM. It is recommended that EACH FM patient have their needs be uniquely treated. This month, we will look a “multimodal” approach to treating FM that incorporates a “team” approach.

For those less familiar with FM, many patients with this condition have symptoms that include fatigue, “all over” body pain, sleep problems, mood symptoms, and chronic pain. They may also have conditions including irritable bowel syndrome, palpitations, thyroid dysfunction, adrenal dysfunction, gastroenterological symptoms, chronic headaches, and MANY others. Dealing with these and other FM symptoms can have a tremendous negative impact on one’s quality of life and activities of daily living.

So as previously stated, the treatment of FM requires a comprehensive approach where the patient’s individual symptoms are targeted, as there is no “cookie cutter / one size fits all” management approach. Effective management approaches include chiropractic, allopathic, acupuncture, soft tissue therapy, sleep hygiene counseling, nutritional counseling, mind-body therapy, and dietary counseling including nutritional supplementation that target specific deficiencies determined by lab/blood tests and/or are based on the clinical history.

Treatment is centered on the human body’s deficiencies with the most important being the removal of any and all “trigger(s)” that causes inflammation in the body. Use of an anti-inflammatory herb such as ginger, turmeric, boswellia, (and others) can help until the causes are identified. A gluten-free diet is often very successful in reducing the autoimmune reaction that occurs with gluten sensitivity, which is estimated to be as high as 80% of the general population. This is NOT to be confused with gluten intolerance or celiac disease (which affects 7-10% of the general population). Once inflammation is controlled, weaning away of the anti-inflammatory supplements can be done successfully.

The hormonal levels of the body must also be in balance, especially the thyroid, adrenal, and sex hormone levels. Lab tests should include a complete thyroid panel (TSH, T3, T4, T7/free thyroxin), a salivary cortisol test (for adrenal function), and sex hormone levels (DHEA, pregnenolone, progesterone, estradiol, and, free and total testosterone). Assess and eliminate food sensitivities/allergies (gluten and dairy are most common). Nutritional supplementation should include vitamins (a multiple, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D3, and co-enzyme Q-10; minerals (calcium, potassium, magnesium), amino acids and sometimes others (case dependent)). These keep our organs functioning well, like a finely tuned machine! Care must also be taken not to over-dose, so let your chiropractor guide you in this process!

Have you ever been told (or at least heard it said): If you could just drop a few pounds, your low back pain would improve? It’s pretty well accepted that excess weight contributes to low back pain. So, if that’s the case, which dietary approach is “…the best?”

Even though weight loss is very important, it can be very challenging for patients because it takes commitment to achieve long-term success. Sure, we can lose weight with the Adkins Diet, the Mediterranean Diet, the South Beach Diet, or through Weight Watchers and a host of other approaches, including weight loss acupuncture. But, why do we seem to gain it right back once we discontinue the diet plan? There must be a way to take the weight off and then keep it off.

We have a very similar genetic makeup to our Paleolithic (cave man-era) ancestors. Since this is a fact, we can look at the type of food our distant ancestors consumed and logically draw the conclusion that the “Paleo diet” or “caveman diet” would be a great alternative to our current diet. Thankfully, this does not mean that we change our wardrobe and lifestyle to the point that we go back and live in caves and throw spears to hunt and gather!

What it does mean, however, is we consume similar foods: grass fed animal meat (the more lean the better) and food that grows off the land – that is, fruits and vegetables. These foods are easily broken down and assimilated without alerting our body’s defense system (the autoimmune system) that some foreign particle is inside of us resulting in an army of antibodies showing up to ward off these enemy particles. By avoiding this autoimmune response, at the same time, we are reducing or avoiding the inflammatory process all together, which is a common denominator to all illnesses, including musculoskeletal conditions like back pain.

So, what do we eat too much of now that the cave man didn’t eat? The answer is gluten! Most flour-based products (bread, pasta, cookies, cake, etc.) contain gluten and are “pro-inflammatory” or cause systemic inflammation. Over time, this can lead to weight gain, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, stroke, as well as a host of many other conditions. The reason glutens are bad is that our bodies are not genetically able to handle the breakdown of these large “macromolecules.” When glutens are detected, we produce antibodies to attack these particles that are resting on the intestinal wall, which in turn, is damaged in the process, resulting in a “leaky gut” allowing the absorption of these large particles. This results in yet further autoimmune responses as these large (normally not absorbed) macromolecules are detected in our blood stream, thus furthering the inflammatory process. This damage leads to further malabsorption syndromes and a vicious cycle is created. So, what can we do to prevent this from happening and, how can we reduce the inflammation through our diet?

Easy! Just stop eating glutens! Over time, your weight will drop, your energy levels will increase, and when the mental fog lifts, you’ll feel 10 years younger and you’ll be able to enjoy life more completely. Sound too good to be true? Try it – prove us wrong – we dare you! ????

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a very common condition that affects approximately ten million Americans (2-4% of the population)—with a ratio of about four women to each man with the disease. Part of the diagnosis and treatment challenge is that many of the complaints associated with FM occur in ALL of us at some point, such as fatigue, generalized whole body aches/pains, non-restorative sleep, depression, anxiety, etc. So what is the difference between the fibromyalgia Chicago sufferer and those without it? Let’s take a look!

The primary distinction between patients with FM and the “rest of us” has to do with the word “chronic.” This term means “…persisting for a long time or constantly recurring; long-standing, long-term.” In fact, the term “fibromyalgia” is described as a complex chronic pain disorder that causes widespread pain and tenderness that may present body wide or migrate around the body. It is also known to “wax and wane over time,” meaning it flares up and down, off and on.

The diagnosis of FM is typically made by eliminating every other possible cause. Hence, after blood tests and x-ray or other imaging, the ABSENCE of other problems helps nail down the diagnosis of “primary fibromyalgia.” Then there is “secondary fibromyalgia,” which is DUE TO a known disorder or condition such as after trauma (like a car accident), rheumatoid arthritis, migraine headache, irritable bowel syndrome, “GERD” (which is heart burn due to reflux), pelvic pain, overactive bladder, tempromandibular joint dysfunction (jaw pain, with or without ringing in the ears), or stress. It’s also often accompanied by anxiety, depression, and/or some other mental health condition.

It should be clearly understood that there is no “cure” for FM. It has also been widely reported in many studies that the BEST management approach for FM is through a TEAM of healthcare providers. This team is frequently made up of primary care doctors, doctors of chiropractic, massage therapists, mental / behavioral specialists, physical therapists, and perhaps others (acupuncturist, nutritionist, stress management specialists, and more).

The “general” treatment approach is typically done with medications, cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT), gentle exercise, and manual therapies. Additionally, patients are encouraged to participate in the healing process via self-management strategies that focus on reducing stress and fatigue, optimizing diet, and developing a consistent sleep habit.

Think of the role of the chiropractor as a strong member of the team. A doctor of chiropractic can offer many of the known methods of managing FM described above, as their training includes diet and nutrition, stress management, exercise training, and ability to provide “whole person care.” Treatments delivered in the chiropractic setting like spinal manipulation, mobilization, and massage offer GREAT relief to FM patients! Again, coordinating care between various providers is the best approach, but you need someone willing and able to do that. A doctor of chiropractic is a great choice!

It is very difficult to manage FM on your own. Let a doctor of chiropractic tailor a treatment plan that is appealing to you and your specific interests. Managing FM is definitely NOT a “…one size fits all” approach like an inhaler is for asthma. Each individual’s situation is too highly unique!