Make Pain a Thing of the Past – pain remedies – Physician Partners of America

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Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a nervous system malfunction that you may not have heard of unless you or someone you know has been diagnosed with it. CRPS is a chronic condition where a person feels pain in one or more of their limbs after an injury.

If you have recently had an injury and find that you are having pain in one or more of your limbs, check to make sure it is not CRPS. After a CRPS diagnosis, you probably want to get as much information as you can about the condition. Here are the facts about CRPS:

CRPS Usually Affects the Arms or Legs After Injury or Incident

Your arms and legs are the typical areas that CRPS could impact. It most often occurs after an injury or incident like stroke, heart attack or surgical procedure.

You Should Begin Treatment as Early as You Can

If you are able to begin treatment as early as possible, it will increase your chances of effectively treating it into possible remission. Pay attention to your symptoms and do not ignore the signs of CRPS.

As soon as you recognize CRPS symptoms, get help right away. A specialist can help you manage the symptoms, relieve the pain and keep the condition from getting worse.

Symptoms of CRPS

The symptoms of CRPS may include:

  • Constant feeling of burning or throbbing in the affected limb, typically your leg, arm, foot or hand
  • Swelling in the affected limb
  • The limb may be sensitive to old temperatures or being touched
  • Your limb may change temperature from hot to cold and back
  • Your joints may swell or feel stiff
  • Your skin tone may change, turning mottled or shades of red or blue
  • You skin may also have texture changes, becoming thinner, more tender or shiny
  • The affected limb may have changes in nail and hair growth
  • You may experience muscle spasms or atrophy
  • Difficulty moving the affected limb

These symptoms can vary from one person to the next, but the sensitivity and pain may occur first. The important thing is to see a doctor as soon as you can.

Critical Information About CRPS

One of the reasons why it is so important to pay attention to the symptoms is because the changes in skin color may occur at a point when your condition has become irreversible. Again, prompt treatment is crucial.

It is possible for CRPS to go away on its own if the pain and symptoms are not too severe and do not get worse. However, CRPS could possibly spread from the affected limb to another part of your body, like the limb on the opposite side.

Keep in mind that CRPS pain could get worse if you are stressed out. So even if the condition has you feeling stressed, try to stay calm and simply get the help you need.

Your medical team can help you find the right treatment plan and get your CRPS symptoms under control before they get worse.

Tampa pain specialist Dr. Rodolfo Gari of Physician Partners of America recently appeared on the NBC program DayTime to talk about the benefits and draw-backs of over-the-counter pain relievers.

There are many companies who claim to have created a patch or pill that will significantly ease or completely eliminate chronic pain. In many cases these results are inflated or completely untrue.

While every patient’s chronic pain is different, it’s vital that any chronic pain relief regiment is decided on in conjunction with a medical professional. Chronic pain is a serious medical condition and requires a medical professional to appropriately treat and diagnose.

Watch the video here:

Home Brewed Back Pain Help

If you’re suffering with acute (short-term, minor) back pain, then help is only as far away as the mirror. You’re the best person to consult to get relief from the temporary aches and discomfort of regular, run-of-the-mill, I didn’t lift that box properly back problems.

Before we continue, let us say that for chronic, lasting and debilitating pain, we’re the team for you. Don’t try to self-medicate serious back pain on your own, but instead trust a pain specialist to get it managed and get you back on track. Now, with our disclaimer out of the way, let’s continue.

4 At-Home Back Pain Remedies

  1. Cold & Heat Treatment. Ice blocks pain signals and reduces swelling. Wrap an ice pack in a towel and hold it where it hurts for about 10-30 minutes, depending how much downtime you have. Next, heat it up a bit to stimulate blood flow and reduce potentially painful spasms. Working with ice to initially stem the tide of pain, then working in some heat with a warm rag after a few hours to loosen up the muscles and ligaments can work wonders.
  2. Stand up straight. Lots of people hunch when they walk and stoop when they sit. Standing up straight with your shoulders back is something your mom told you to do all your life growing up. It’s time to listen. Plus, hovering over your keyboard doesn’t do any favors for your neck, spine and back muscles. Sit back, relax and use that chair back to help straighten you up.
  3. Stretch. Maybe this will be a throwback to the old gym class days, but stretching before any physical activities wasn’t just something the coach liked to make you do for fun. Loosening the muscles and ligaments in your back helps them perform better and lessens the chance of them sustaining an injury during kickball or whatever sport you happen to be playing later.
  4. OTC is OK. For common, everyday aches and pains, over the counter medicines and rubs can certainly help reduce pain and discomfort. The only issue is that these can become metaphorical crutches for some and possibly even lead to addiction. If your pain gets to the point that you feel it all the time, it’s probably chronic and needs to be treated by pain doctors, not just pain pills.

This simple collection of 4 back pain remedies is something you can do to relieve current discomfort today and use to prevent further possible pain down the road. Again, this list is intended for normal aches and pains in your back. If you’re in major pain most of the time, contact us to speak with a specialist.