HELIOSphan.com – The Health Blog

MENSTRUAL PROBLEMS: HOW TO COPE-IN VARIOUS SITUATIONSC-AT SCHOOL:

Monday, December 7th, 2009

EXAM FEVER

Worry about approaching examinations can work in exactly the same way and the more worried you are, the more likely you are to start off your period just in time for the examinations! And as you may probably know from experience, this may mean you won’t do so well. Dr Dalton’s research showed very clearly that girls who took examinations in the weeks after their periods obtained much better results than their equally intelligent friends who took them when they were either in the middle of their periods or suffering from the miseries.

There are times when the dice seem to be loaded against you. And you are right —they are. But at least the examination system allows you to plead your case. If you’re taking State exams like O level, A level or CSE, you can have a special note fixed to your paper to explain if you are so unwell that the quality of your work could be affected. Period pain of either kind would certainly qualify. So don’t be too shy, or too proud, to take advantage of the system.

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MENSTRUAL PROBLEMS: HOW TO COPE-IN VARIOUS SITUATIONSC-AT HOME: HOUSEWORK

Monday, December 7th, 2009

A last word about housework — which often is the last word. Some women enjoy housework and feel really happy when their home sparkles. For others, it’s a pain, but they do it because they feel compelled. If you are like that, try putting it last in your order of priorities. After all, it’ll always be there and will wait for you. The advertising men would like you to believe that the best wives and mothers are the women sitting in band-box clothes in an immaculate ideal home, but I hope you won’t be taken in by that. Aim to do the things you enjoy —first. Play with your children when they’re in their most delightful mood; make love whenever the spirit moves you both; dance when you feel like it; eat when you want to; if the sun calls you, go out and sunbathe. Enjoy life and let the dishes wait and the vacuum cleaner stay in the cupboard. You can make your own routine. And the more fun there is in your life, the easier it is to bear the painful moments.

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BETTER QUALITY SLEEP TO EASE AND PREVENT BACK TROUBLE: THE CORRECT HEIGHT

Monday, December 7th, 2009

The height of your bed from the floor is another major factor that

should be taken into account. The NBPA suggests that you should ask yourself two questions, both about your present bed and when considering buying a new one:

Can you get off and on the bed easily?

Is the bed of a height that will be comfortable for making each day and changing bedding?

If your bed is too low but otherwise perfectly okay, there’s no need to buy a new one as you usually can make it higher either by buying special extensions for its legs or, if it has legs that screw in, replacing these with longer ones. However, be sure that whatever you do will be solid enough to take the weight safely. For example, just placing a bed’s four legs on blocks of wood could mean that one of the legs may slip off eventually, perhaps making the bed suddenly tilt sharply while you’re asleep.

A bed that’s too high can be lowered by sawing its feet. Do be absolutely sure, however, that the resulting height will be the right one for you as cutting an inch or two off the legs is one thing, gluing the pieces back, quite another!

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TIPS TO PREVENT BACK PAIN AND SCIATICA FOR OFFICE WORKERS

Monday, December 7th, 2009

Spending 40 or more hours a week sitting down and using equipment that demands repetitive actions can lead to stresses and strains, from continual backache to one of the relatively recently identified repetitive strain injuries.

A good sitting position is vital. Your feet should be flat on the floor (or on a footstool) and your back reasonably straight. If the seat is adjustable, tilting it forward a little may prove more comfortable and can encourage better posture. If the seat isn’t adjustable and the lower back is not supported, roll up a towel or use a small cushion for support. Pull the chair close to the desk to avoid leaning forward and putting strain on your back.

Any equipment you use frequently throughout the day such as files, the telephone and computer, should be easy to reach without overstretching. Constant use of the telephone – particularly if it’s cradled between the ear and shoulder – can result in tension to the neck and shoulder area.

Try to do a number of different work activities during your day, varying your posture every so often to stretch your back and relax your muscles.

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SCIATICA: PAIN MANAGEMENT CLINICS

Monday, December 7th, 2009

Not all hospitals have these special clinics that usually include teams of doctors, psychologists, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and others who together run ‘pain management programmes’ that aim to teach patients about pain, how best to cope with it and how to live a more active life. Acupuncture and other complementary therapies may be available through some of these clinics. Explaining the role of pain clinics, The Pain Society stated: “Pain management helps sufferers come to terms with what has happened to their lives and to accept that they may not find a magic answer to cure their pain. Unfortunately, there are times when no treatment for chronic pain works as well as we would like. The pain sufferer is then left with a difficult problem of continuing pain, and all the negative effects the pain can have on every part of life, including work, marriage, social life, mobility, mood and sleep. The ‘ripples’ of pain are not the same as the pain itself, but often go with it and make the whole experience much more difficult to cope with, both for the pain sufferer and for those close to them.”

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EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS FOR BACK PAIN AND SCIATICA: YOGA

Monday, December 7th, 2009

This is a well-known discipline that broadly speaking consists of two separate yet closely-linked components: first, there’s a series of static or stretching exercises as well as breathing exercises; secondly, there are meditation techniques that aim to help the subject attain a state of peace and harmony within the inner self.

At the physical level, yoga has proven itself to be an extremely effective way of loosening and mobilising joints whose movement has become restricted. Additionally, the meditation techniques can help reduce mental and emotional stress which can at times exacerbate back problems.

Although nearly all yoga exercises are considered to be safe for a moderately fit person, they can create a great deal of pressure on parts of the back and neck, and it’s therefore essential that even the simplest of yoga exercises should only be undertaken under the supervision of a fully qualified teacher. Naturally, should you join a yoga class, make sure that the instructor is fully aware of any existing difficulties you may have.

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SCIATICA: SURGICAL PROCEDURES

Monday, December 7th, 2009

The operation most commonly used in an effort to permanently cure back troubles caused by one or more discs is spinal fusion. Much more popular in the United States than in this country, this is an operation in which two or more vertebrae are essentially welded together and any troublesome discs between them removed. There are various ways of performing this procedure, but the one used most nowadays involves both anterior and posterior fusion of the vertebrae, the spine being approached from the front (via the abdomen) and then through the back. The damaged disc is then replaced by a bone graft.

Just how good the results of spinal fusion are is still a matter for debate by experts as the operation so far has not been the subject of a properly-controlled trial. Certainly, there are many patients who have benefited greatly from spinal fusion; in other instances, the results have been less favourable. More may be known in a year or two about the true benefits – and risks – of spinal fusion as a trial to compare its results with those achieved through non-surgical rehabilitation programmes is being set up.

Laser disc decompression is an alternative way of dealing with bulging discs that is currently being pioneered in America, but it also remains the subject of some controversy about just how effective and free from long-term side-effects it is.

This method has proven itself useful in dealing with a disc that bulges but where no part of the disc’s soft centre is actually protruding from it, the pressure on the nerves resulting purely from the fact that the disc is larger than it would normally be.

Here’s how this procedure is performed. A silicon optical fibre is temporarily inserted into the disc. Energy from a laser is transmitted into the disc via the fibre and this causes the loss of water and some of the substance that makes up the centre of the disc. As the pressure within the disc is decreased because of the loss of material, it shrinks and pulls the offending bulge off the nerve root, so decreasing or eliminating the pain.

The procedure takes about 15 to 30 minutes, followed by two to three hours in the recovery room. The advantages of this method is that operating time and hospitalisation is kept to a minimum, and that it can be suitable for patients who are surgical risks, for example, those with heart trouble or age-related problems. The proponents of this approach say that there have been no major complications to date and the degree of success is about 80 per cent so far.

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SCIATICA: INVESTIGATIONS AND SURGICAL TREATMENTS. WHAT NEXT?

Monday, December 7th, 2009

Depending upon what the tests will have revealed, your consultant will probably suggest one of the following courses of action:

To continue treating the problem conservatively for a while longer – that is with rest and analgesics – in the hope that this approach will still ultimately bring relief if only persevered with long enough.

To use injections (see further below), either to possibly cure the underlying condition, or at least lessen the pain it produces.

To refer you to a physiotherapist or other specialist so that mobilisation and manipulation techniques, coupled with a properly-devised exercise routine and pain management, will restore your back to health (see the next chapter for more information about the different kinds of treatments available).

To refer you to another specialist, such as a rheumatologist (if your problems stem from a rheumatic disease), a neurologist (for problems involving the nervous system and the brain), or, should surgery be seen as a possibility, a neurosurgeon or orthopaedic surgeon.

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