By Francis Hesse

If you suffer from severe chronic back pain, then you know how incapacitating it can be. It can make it almost impossible to do anything , and all that is on your mind is how much it hurts .

In the old days, the doctors prescribed bed rest, or suggested operating if the pain persisted. Regrettably , while doctors used the resources they had available, these suggestions were not feasible ways to treat severe chronic back pain. Mobility is lost due to muscle atrophy. Doctors now have other treatments available for low back pain, whether severe or moderate.

A Better Back Without Surgery

First of all, when the back begins to hurt it is wise to apply a cold compress to the back. This will help diminish the pain and reduce inflammation, and also maintain mobility in the back . You can create a compress using a bag of ice or frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel . Apply this compress for at least twenty minutes at a time several times throughout the first day . After a few days of cold compresses, you can add a heating pad to your treatment. This treatment can relax the muscles and increase the flow of blood to the injured area, promoting healing. A warm bath can also be soothing.

Bed rest can be used, but not alone and not for extended periods. In studies, it has been found that continuing activities without bed rest after back pain can help the back maintain flexibility. Also, it was found that bed rest alone could make the lower back pain more severe and lead to other complications (like blood clots in legs, depression and loss of muscle tone). It is much better to get back to regular activities as soon as possible. At night or while resting, lie on one side with a pillow between the knees, or on the back with a pillow under the knees.

Exercise! Particularly before it becomes severe lower back pain. Exercise will strengthen the back and abdominal muscles, and that is the key. Generally, doctors recommend stretching exercises, walking and swimming. Yoga can also help by stretching the muscles and strengthening the body. Usually, a bit of exercise is a great lower back pain treatment, but if the pain increases, stop exercising and consult your medical practitioner.

Many people find relief of moderate to severe lower back pain by visiting a chiropractor. A chiropractor is trained in the ways to adjust the body and manipulate the spine to fix misalignments that can lead to low back pain.

Medicines are often heavily relied on to treat severe lower back pain. Sometimes, the medical practitioner will recommend a combination of over-the-counter and prescription drugs. Be sure to check with your doctor to know that they are safe for you.

Common Drugs To Combat Severe Lower Back Pain

Analgesics (like aspirin or ibuprofen), are taken orally, and help reduce inflammation. Counter-irritants (applied as a spray or cream) stimulate the nerve endings on the skin to feel warm or cold, and dull the pain. Topical analgesics can also reduce inflammation and help with blood flow. Antidepressants can be used to dull the pain and elevate the person mood.

Opioids, like codeine, oxycodone, hydrocodone and morphine, should only be used for the most severe lower back pain, and only for a short amount of time, while under a doctor care. These have many side effects, making this less ideal for treating back pain than some other options.
Back pain affects more than 65 million Americans every year. Learn how to avoid being one of the statistics.

http://badbackrelief.com


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By Christopher Luck

Hydrocodone is a analgesic meant to provide relief from aches and pains, or to suppress an ever-frustrating nagging cough. Wintertime can be the worst time of year for nagging coughs – if there is any time of the year that a cough is least welcome, it’s during the more frigid months – and you’ll do anything to stop the annoying hacking that drives you, your family, your coworkers, your pets, and the rest of the human population you come in contact with, absolutely nuts. Hydrocodone attacks the cough centers of the brain, suppressing the neurological urge to continue that dry, hacking, annoyance, and allows you to move out of your self-imposed quarantine and back into regular human interaction.

Purchasing and taking a drug that contains hydrocodone usually means it is married with acetaminophen, for the purposes of relieving moderate to more sever pains in the body. Because both of these cause possible drowsiness, you’ll want to make sure that you don’t take whatever drug it is you’re taking at a time when you’re about to take a cross country driving expedition, or some such thing. The usual cautioning to abstain from operating forklifts, woodworking lathes, and all manner of orbital jigsaws, applies to your ingestion of hydrocodone, as the results of such foolish flouting of obvious warnings can be disastrous for you and everyone around you.

But having constant pain and uncomfortable aches is not anyone’s idea of a good time, especially when all you want to do is get on with living your life. You know when your headaches start making you so irritable that you can’t perform some of life’s greatest pleasures – like watching daytime TV, reading the all-important sports section, and the like – that there is something you must do to stop the debilitating discomfort, and hydrocodone has been developed for that very purpose. You’ll want to consult your pharmacist or doctor as to what drugs are safe for you to take, according to your history of health problems, or other possible factors which could lead to adverse reactions. It is vitally important that you adhere strictly to the precautions and warning laid out to you by the professional you consult – after all, there not giving you information on hydrocodone just because its so much darn fun, they’re doing it in your best interest based on the testing the drug has undergone, and the results it has afforded.

It is also extremely important to know that Hydrocodone is also known to be habit forming. When taken alongside other analgesics such as acetaminophen, there has been cases of dependency forming, so it is important that you don’t take more than the recommended dosage and that you don’t continue to take the drug after you have stopped having the Hydrocodone symptoms it was taken to soothe. This all seems like common sense, but the fact is many people fall into dependency not because they are given the wrong drugs, but because they take the right drugs in the wrong fashion. Drugs have labels and dosage limits to avoid risks to the consumer, so don’t waste your money paying for a drug you are just going to ignore the instructions of.

In the end, taking hydrocodone can be an effective way to relieve aches, pains, migraines, or other impediments to your daily life, letting you get back to feeling better as quickly as possible.
Christopher M. Luck has an extensive medical background in dealing with hydrocodone and is now offering his free professional hydrocodone advice to the public. If you are at all interested in Christopher's professional car health advice, tips, or secrets, you can visit his health blog.

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By Heather Colman

Addiction to Hydrocodone is very common and increased usage is being noted as a rising trend. This is largely due to the easy availability of this drug. It is often consumed with other drugs that are not severely restricted and these mixtures usually come in the form of painkillers that are prescribed by doctors. Some of the common preparations that are used are Vicodin and Lortab.

Medications containing Hydrocodone can come in tablet, capsule or syrup forms and all preparations are taken orally. In its pure form it is very hard to obtain, because of its addictive nature.

The symptoms of addiction are anxiousness to take the drug and the need to take more of the drug to get the desired effect. To feed their addiction, many addicts go from doctor to doctor faking the severity of a condition in order to obtain the medication. Some resort to criminal behavior such as breaking into pharmacies to steal the medication or forging prescriptions.

After prolonged usage, Hydrocodone begins to control the brain to make itself the highest priority. This makes the addict compelled to use the drug to gain pleasure from it. Hydrocodone addiction is a physical habit as well as a psychological habit. It is rare that an addict can quit this addiction on his or her own. In order to obtain help, an addict must seek treatment from a medical professional.

Treatment for addicts consists first of detoxification to rid the body of the drug. Once this is accomplished, the patient can be given treatments such as methadone and LAAM. These are much the same as the treatments used for heroin addicts. During this treatment period, there is often counseling offered for the psychological damage sustained while taking Hydrocodone over a long period.

Hydrocodone also has many common side effects such as light-headedness, nausea, drowsiness, euphoria and vomiting. Some of the less common side effects may include allergic reactions, blood disorders, anxiety, lethargy, difficulty urinating, breathing difficulties and rashes.

It is not recommended that pregnant women take this drug, as the effects on the unborn fetus are unknown. It is also recommended that alcohol be avoided as there is an increased risk of liver damage and overdosing causing hapatotoxicity. Alcohol is often mixed with Hydrocodone preparations because of the feelings of euphoria or drowsiness that are experienced.

It is recommended that if you feel you may either be at risk of addiction or you are already addicted, you should seek the advice of a doctor immediately. He or she can help you approach this problem with helpful advice and treatment. If you have a loved one who is addicted, there are support groups available to counsel and help families of addicts understand the addiction.

Disclaimer: The information presented here should not be interpreted as or substituted for medical advice. Please talk to your doctor to learn more about Hydrocodone.
[Copyright © 2007, Heather Colman. Find more of Heather's articles at eBook Palace. Her articles are available for syndication. Reprinting individual articles is permissible provided no changes are made.]

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