Medical Hints

Archive for the ‘Conditions & Diseases’ Category

Acupressure and acupuncture, like much of the supplementary medicine field, are under constant fire from the core portions of the scientific and medical research community. Skeptics and health information zealots often criticize methods such as these for having unscientific evidence supporting it, a large number of faulty arguments, and far more. This may be changing for acupressure and acupuncture, however, thanks to a neuroimaging study which examined the impact of acupressure on the brain.

The idea of the study was relatively simple. Scientists would use neuroimaging devices in order to look at the electrical reactions in the brain in response to the pain or application of pressure at various acupuncture points. These “meridians,” according to the ancient Chinese philosophies that serve as the foundation for the practice, are points through which the Ki (or life force) of the body flows. By “opening” these meridians, acupuncturists are allowing the energy to flow more smoothly.

Scientists examining the process knew there would be some predictable effects on the brain. Pain in various areas of the nervous system will create a specific electrical signal within the brain that is relevant to the part of the body being stimulated. These “specific results” were seen as the only likely scientific outcome of the study, but were insufficient for the claimed results of acupressure.

The study found, after advanced neuroimaging on a large number of patients, that the results were not limited to the “specific results.” A variety of non-specific results from the acupressure process were also visible on the brain that could not be immediately explained. While some of the scientists theorize that this may simply be the result of the patient’s expectation for healing through the process, others state that it may be something more than that. With pain being such an advanced set of sensations, and so directly associated with expectation and circumstance, there is much that is still not understood about it. The non-specific neurological information may be highly relevant to health and medicine as it validates acupressure theories, largely because this highly scientific study provided only support for acupuncture’s original claims.

While the most common form of back pain in America is lower back pain, public health has far more concerns with the back than just that. Middle back pain is another frequent ailment that many people misunderstand or remain entirely ignorant on. Just as with any back pain, there are many possible causes and treatments. For middle back pain, however, the most effective results stem from understanding the root of the issue. Here are some major causes of middle back pain.

The majority of middle back pain is temporary, and related to sprains or strains of the back muscles. These strains and sprains often happen during vigorous activities, such as sports of weight lifting, and may not manifest immediately. Due to the nature of the back, the pain is most likely to become noticeable two to three days after the injury occurs. More severe physical events, such as car accidents, can also lead to pain of this sort. Depending on the severity, the pain is likely to last from seven to twenty days. In this case, the best approach is general to avoid overusing the back, and take pain medications and muscle relaxants in order to reduce the discomfort while the sprain or strain is healing itself.

If the pain lasts longer than this, however, there are likely to be other causes. Two of the most common problems that lead to middle back pain are poor posture and poor sleeping habits. Poor posture puts additional pressure on the middle back, instead of spreading the work between the entire back and stomach (sometimes called the “core muscles”). Similarly, incorrect sleeping patterns may lead the back to take on too much pressure in supporting the body. For pain of this nature, medication can be used when the pain is severe, but the consistent nature of this pain makes such an approach generally inadvisable. The best solution is to adjust posture and sleeping patterns to eliminate the pain at its source. In severe cases, the use of a back brace may be advisable.

Back pain is one of the most common forms of ongoing pain for many individuals in the United States today. Unfortunately, despite the frequency of this issue, there are not a large number of immediate solutions available for most Americans. The cost of chiropractic counseling and ongoing therapy can be truly immense, so self-treatment is the alternative left for most sufferers. Luckily, while the causes and types of this pain may be diverse, there are some treatments that you can use on yourself which are likely to have positive results.

Especially in cases where muscles are hyper-tensed, the use of heat and ice to relax the muscles can be an effective way to relieve pain. Ice and heat packs can be purchased for use to treat back pain, and specialized medication strips can also be applied in order to get both results without as significant an effort. This treatments can literally be as simple as ice wrapped in a towel applied to the area in question, followed by a hot bath, or as advanced as specialized hot/cold treatments from major medicine brands.

Massage is another approach which can be of great use to many sufferers. While advanced therapeutic massage is ideal, this is another approach that can be costly, and receiving massages from a loved one can be an excellent way to relieve the muscle pain. Consistent massage can help correct muscle imbalances that lead to the back pain in the first place.

Correcting the causes of back pain is another important factor. Having appropriate posture, ergonomically appropriate workspaces, and a bed that helps with your sleeping position can all be excellent ways to prevent ongoing back pain. Additionally, patients who are serious about their back’s health should strengthen a large number of muscle groups in order to relieve the pain. The core muscles, the shoulder and chest area, and the legs are all important in maintaining appropriate posture and putting less strain on back muscles throughout the day. Sufferers should also aim to get plenty of rest in order to allow their muscles to self-correct.

The phrase “laughter is the best medicine” is frequently thrown around. Still, when a person discovers that they have cancer or a heart disease, their first response isn’t usually to chuckle. The idea of using laughter to self-treat is disregarded by most people with a serious condition, and the “laughter medication” is usually seen as a nice thought with little scientific relevance. Laughter may actually be more serious a form of medicine than you may believe, however, and can aid health in a number of immensely positive ways.

The research into laughter began long ago, when the actually impact of laughter on the human body was first studied. The alleviation of stress and anxiety, which in turn helped boost the immune system, was one of the first acknowledged effects. Since that time, the use of laughter as part of the treatment for children with terminal illnesses has found that laughing children, even those with diseases that leave little to no chance of reprieve, live a healthier life and have a notably higher chance of recovery.

It is not limited to bolstering the immune system of the less stressed patient, however. Additional studies have found that laughter helps with gene regulation. The gene regulation that laughter contributes to includes genetic prevention of type two diabetes. According to the study which discovered this, conducted by the Foundation for the Advancement of International Science in Japan, showed the laughter can actually alter the structure of a person’s DNA in order to prevent diseases.

Other studies on laughter have shown that it reduces the pain and progression of rheumatoid arthritis, lowers the chance of mental illness, and can help prevent heart disease and heart attacks. These varying studies have all shown that laughter really can help the body’s self-healing in a fundamental way.

The idea of “humor therapy” that is used in these studies is based on a thirty-minute per day session where the patient engages in humorous activities that evoke laughter. The scientific study of this method have led to a growing use of the method as supplementary care for patients in various conditions.

Meditation has a history that ranges back thousands of years and covers cultures and thought structures as diverse as any in the world. Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and even non-religious spiritual practices have created different forms of meditation which have garnered a large number of practitioners. In addition to people who meditate regularly as part of their general lifestyle, meditation is being prescribed more frequently in the medical community due to its highly visible health benefits for patients.

There are three major forms of meditation that have been studied for their impact on patient health. The three categories are as follows. The first form, “awareness meditation,” is where patients pay attention to the status of their body, emotions, or thoughts. Common forms of awareness meditation include those that keep track of breathing, those that focus in specifically on certain trains of thoughts, or those that explore specific emotions as they are experienced. “Chakra meditation” is generally also categorized as an awareness meditation. The second form, “focus meditation,” is where patients focus on a specific object, emotion, or environmental factor. This includes “madala meditation,” where individuals examine a complex image for a long period of time and “mantra meditation,” where individuals say a phrase repeatedly for several minutes.

The third category only recently gained its own classification in the scientific community, and has been dubbed “self-transcending meditation.” The meditation practices include those that stem from Vedic and Chinese meditation practice. The definitions of self-transcendent meditations are not nearly as concrete, and include any activity that seeks mental or spiritual activity beyond the actual physical or mental activity itself.

Researchers have been examining all three forms of meditation as ways of treating a number of physical and mental ailments. An expansive study conducted at the Virginia Commonwealth University and published in various forms since has examined the ways in which these different activities can assist patients. One of the most major conclusions of the paper is that the different forms of meditation have different procedures and benefits, and should not be prescribed interchangeably.

The possibilities of advancement within the health industry through stem cells are vast, but often times run into hurdles and barriers due to the fiery ethics debate surrounding them. Luckily, there is a form of stem cell known as a “reprogrammed cell,” which functions on the same principles as embryonic cells but is not extracted from a fertilized embryo. This effectively dodges to the side of the moral crossfire, and allows scientists to proceed with various experiments. There have been mixed opinions within the scientific community as to whether reprogrammed, or iPS cells, can effectively replace embryonic, or ES, cells. However, a recent study has demonstrated at least one area wherein reprogrammed cells may make a bounding leap forward.

The study took place at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease in San Fransisco, California. The study used iPS cells in an attempt to replicate functional beating heart muscles. The iPS cells were reverted back to their embryonic state by adding or removing three to four genes. In this state, they are referred to as fibroblasts. The fibroblasts, which in and of themselves can serve as muscle tissue but which cannot function as part of a beating heart, were put into the beating cells of a the hearts of mice. Within a day, the iPS cells were functionally beating.

This is big news for a number of reasons. One of the major problems of heart attacks is that they attack will kill a large number of the vital cells in the heart, weakening overall heart function and increasing the chance of another attack. While stints or treatments may be used in an attempt to assist the heart in working correctly, these options increase the chance of infection, require consistent use, and do not provide a permanent solution. If iPS cells really can replicate and regenerate the tissue of beating hearts, it may provide a fully permanent solution to heart disease, heart attack recovery, and the healing of other damaged organs. The studies are not yet at the human testing phase, but will be within the next several years.