Health and Medical Information

Archive for August, 2009

Back pain is a big problem for woman all over the world. A third of women between the ages of sixteen to twenty-four have had back pain. By the time a woman reaches sixty-five, her chances of having back pain climb to fifty percent.

People don’t realize it, but there are more women then men who suffer from back pain. Furthermore, the pain that women suffer is worse and lasts longer than that of their male counterparts.

The pain is also different: with men the backaches are more often caused by an injury. With a woman the pain comes from the things she must deal with every day of their lives.

Back pain in women is triggered by a number of things. The most common causes are things they do at home like lifting, gardening and vacuuming. Menstrual periods can also trigger back pain. Pregnancy is frequently a back pain issue. Up to sixty percent of all pregnant women have some back pain, and the pain can get especially bad during the last trimester. Women are more likely to have injuries that cause back pain than men as well, and their back pain is likely to take longer to heal.

Women are also more likely to get hurt on the job, especially as they work more often in professions that can be tough on the back: health care services, retailing, hotel services and catering. A huge number of nurses hurt their backs every year; nearly five percent of them will be unable to return to nursing. Back injuries cause more workdays to be missed by woman in a single year than any other problem.

Many women are at higher risk because their job involves repetitive motion, pulling, pushing or lifting. Examples of the kind of jobs that put woman at risk for back pain include factory work, cashier work, telephone operators and data entry workers. Other professions that are dangerous for the back include bank tellers, who stand all day, and teachers or caregivers of small children.

After these women work at jobs hazardous to their back during the day, many come home to prepare meals, clean house, feed the baby, do the laundry and finish the remainder of the household jobs. Many of these jobs include bending, lifting, standing and twisting. All prime risk factors for back pain, as is breastfeeding, leaning over a crib and picking up children of any size.

Even when a woman wants to dress up she is at risk for back problems. Those heels she loves so much can increase the pain in her back. Tight clothes affect ease of movement. Even a woman’s bust can be a back pain issue. If her breasts are too large, they can throw the weight on her back.

Women cannot stop all the things they do just to try to prevent back pain. Children need their mothers and the things they do for them. The jobs they have outside the home are necessary for the income but as well their skills are needed in these jobs. There’s no easy solution for the hard working women of the world.

Sciatica is a frequently misunderstood cause of lower back and leg pain. It’s not simply a condition but a diagnosis of multiple symptoms. Sciatica is important to understand because the treatment is based on what kind of symptoms are discovered. Sciatica necessarily caused only by a compacting of the nerve root. It can frequently be caused by a herniated disc, a vertebra (spinal element) that is no longer aligned, or possibly by a disc that has deteriorated

Sciatica can be a problem during pregnancy, as the uterus can sometimes sit on the sciatic nerve. As a woman puts on weight during the pregnancy, this can cause the vertebrae in the spine to compress the nerves. If a woman is not careful with her posture during pregnancy, sciatica can become an issue. Carrying yourself with poor posture can put pressure on the sciatic nerve. These and a number of other pregnancy issues can cause back pain.

Sciatica can also be caused by a muscle spasm in the back. This spasm can be caused by the contraction of the piriformis muscle. As this muscle contracts, the muscles can compress the sciatic nerve; as a result, a painful sciatica can develop. Sometimes the problem can be the result of too much sitting or a poor sleeping position, if this is not corrected by regular stretching exercise then this can also be a back pain issue.

Anything that puts pressure on the sciatic nerve can cause this back and leg pain. A well-known cause sciatica can be a spinal disc herniation. Normally the nerve passes through the vertebrae, but if there is herniation then the spinal column can no longer protect the nerve in the way it is designed to do..

The way to treat sciatica, and to relieve the back pain it causes, is to find ways to remove the compression. Relieving the pressure will also remove the pressure on the nerves. Usually offering some type of physical support to relieve the pressure accomplishes this decompression.

In ninety percent of all cases of sciatica, removing compression is enough to allow the disc to recover itself. Although genetics can play a part in the chances of a person having a herniated disc, the treatment is the same for anyone with this problem. The best treatment is to rest and wear a back support. If more severe intervention is needed, you may supplement that treatment with massage. A professional masseur or masseuse knows how to mobilize the muscles and can supplement the beneficial effects of self-exercise.

Whether with professional massage or self-exercise, the goal is to loosen the muscles while lessening the inflammation, which should quickly diminish the back pain.

The patient may find that an extended period of physiotherapy may be required. If the patient combines this professional therapy with changes in posture, he or she will find that improvement will come faster.

How to improve posture? The primary ways are not standing for too long, finding a better chair to sit in or at least improved posture while sitting and maybe using a pillow to give added back support. Sometimes it is necessary to use anti-inflammatories to help the swelling go down faster and so ease the pain.

Scott Meyers is a staff writer for Its Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more information on Back Pain.

“Anxiety and Panic Attack sufferers tend to live lives of quiet desperation.”

As a personal development trainer specializing in anxiety issues, and a former sufferer of
extreme anxiety and panic attacks, I can assure you the above statement is true-I’ve been there. I spent years of my life searching in desperation for an anxiety cure that was effective and would last.

Like many people, I tried the medical route: I was prescribed anti-anxiety medications that doctors assured me would provide a “real” anxiety cure with no severe side-effects or withdrawal symptoms…at least that’s what I was told.

Fast forward two years: I had gained 50 pounds, I suffered with chronic heartburn, fatigue, memory loss (my friends began calling me “Mr Short-Term Memory”) and sexual “dysfunction” (don’t even ask). My relationship was in ruins and I was barely able to function at my job.

And the worst part? My anxiety and panic attacks were still there!

Here’s what the medical community and drug manufacturers don’t really want you to know: anti-anxiety medications are completely ineffective for most people as an anxiety cure. The best anti-anxiety medications available have success rates that are only slightly higher than a placebo (that’s right, a regular sugar pill).

And when you factor in severe side effects like I had, and withdrawal symptoms, it’s easy to see why these medications aren’t really a good idea for many people.

Now, I’m not saying there’s a conspiracy going on (exactly), but I am saying that there is a ton of money to be made by keeping this information quiet. And that’s exactly what the big corporations do. Which is great news if you are a stock holder, but terrible news if you are desperately seeking an anxiety cure, as I was for so many years.

So if medication is not the answer, what is?

A “real” anxiety cure must be sustainable, not a quick fix that makes your life progressively worse over time, creating a type of addiction that keeps sufferers feeling like helpless victims. A “real” anxiety cure is all about empowerment-taking back control over your life.

There is no “quick fix” for an anxiety problem. The only real and lasting cure is in dealing with the issue personally, taking full responsibility for it, and refusing to be a victim that waits for someone “out there” to come and “fix” your life. Because the truth is, no one ever will.

“You will overcome your anxiety problem–no one else will do it for you.”

Of course there are resources out there that can help you along the way and even coaching programs to guide you step-by-step, but you must make the first big step right now, and that is to take 100% responsibility for your situation. This is not about blaming yourself–it’s about taking your power back.

Don’t believe the hype folks. The cure for anxiety is not to be found in a pill. I cured my anxiety and panic attacks years ago by following a number of simple techniques, but the very first step along the way, was to understand that “I” was entirely responsible for my anxiety situation, and only “I” could overcome it.

The sooner you take responsibility and recognize your role in the anxiety–the sooner you’ll take back control of your life.

Jon Mercer, MA, is a personal development trainer and the founder of www.easycalm.com, a leading anxiety resource site. Can this free anxiety coaching video change your life?

Atorvastatin, marketed under the trade name Lipitor, is used for lowering cholesterol. Atorvastatin inhibits the enzyme located in hepatic tissue that produces mevalonate, a small molecule used in the synthesis of cholesterol. This lowers the amount of cholesterol produced which in turn lowers the total amount of LDL (low density) cholesterol. In 2005, Lipitor sales totaled $12.2 billion, making it the largest selling drug in the world at the time.

Atorvastatin is indicated as an adjunct to diet for the treatment of hypercholesterolaemia. In a clinical trial, after 2 years, a relative risk reduction of 16% in the primary end point rate (death, heart attack, unstable angina, coronary revascularization, or stroke) was seen in patients receiving intensive treatment with the drug. The benefit of intensive treatment was apparent, in some instances, within 30 days.

If you have high cholesterol, chances are your physician has already talked to you about Lipitor. Doctors like to prescribe it because it works quickly and easily. However, you need to understand the risk consequences associated with taking these sorts of drugs, because there is a potential for dangerous and sometimes permanent side effects. Some patients have suffered severe health consequences and were not adequately forewarned by their doctors.

Some of the more well known side effects associated with drugs known as statins (statins is the scientific classification for drugs such as Lipitor) include liver damage, sexual dysfunction, and peripheral neuropathy. But there have been other studies that have revealed other subtle problems that develop within the patient, which can have huge ramifications for the health of that patient later in life.

In a study performed by Finnish doctors, doctors assessed the effects of the statin drug Zocor on 120 men ages 35 to 64. All of the men had high cholesterol levels, ranging from 232 to 309. One group of men was told to maintain their current diet, while the other group was required to reduce their daily intake of saturated fat to less than 10 percent of total daily calories, and to keep their daily cholesterol consumption below 250 mg.

Then, each of the 2 groups was divided into 2 subgroups. One subgroup would take 20 mg of Zocor per day, while the other group received a placebo. This was continued for 12 weeks, at which point each subgroup switched so that the subgroup that had been receiving the placebo would receive the Zocor for the next 12 weeks, and vice versa. At the beginning of the clinical trial, and after the first 12 weeks, as well as at the end of the second 12 weeks, the cholesterol, blood pressure, insulin, and weight of each patient were measured.

The Zocor clearly worked, because it decreased cholesterol levels by 20.8 percent, while diet alone only decreased cholesterol by 7.6 percent. However, there was an astonishing finding. It was discovered that the drug increased fasting serum insulin levels by 13 percent, and decreased serum concentrations of important antioxidant vitamins by as much as 22 percent. This was a huge revelation.

Decreased insulin sensitivity can lead to a whole host of problems down the road, such as blindness, diabetes, and kidney disease. And antioxidants protect us from a whole host of problems, such as organic brain disease, cancer, and atherosclerosis. So, even though these cholesterol drugs perform a valuable function (lowering cholesterol), they can cause a whole range of other problems and diseases that can make a patient severely ill later in life.

So, you should think long and hard before using cholesterol-lowering drugs. The aforementioned side effects may not be equally severe in all people who take the medication. However, you might be better off working closely with your doctor to develop a program of diet and exercise before using drugs like Zocor or Lipitor to lower your cholesterol.

Jim Pretin is the owner of http://www.forms4free.com, a service that helps programmers make an HTML form