Hubble Celebrates 24th Anniversary with Infrared Image of Nearby Star Factory

In celebration of the 24th anniversary of the launch of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have captured infrared-light images of a churning region of star birth 6,400 light-years away. This colorful Hubble Space Telescope mosaic of a small portion of the Monkey Head Nebula unveils a collection of carved knots of gas and dust silhouetted against glowing gas. The cloud is sculpted by ultraviolet light eating into the cool hydrogen gas. > Read more Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Treatment of back pains

 

By Anne Asher

Treatment options for the different types of back pain and neck pain range from doing nothing to taking medication and undergoing procedures, like surgery. Throw in alternative treatment for back pain, and you can see there is a dizzying array of treatment options from which you and your doctor may choose. But which back pain treatment is right for you? This section will help you decide.

Types of Back and Neck Treatments

Treatment for back and neck pain ranges from "conservative care," (easy things like ice packs and exercises) to very invasive measures -- such as back surgery. Most of the time, your doctor will start your treatment as conservatively as possible, and, based on your back or neck's response, will determine your need for more invasive measures. This section presents the spectrum of treatment disciplines.

Conservative Care for Back Pain

Conservative care consists of physical therapy, medications, home exercise programs and manual therapy (thin massage). With conservative, non-invasive treatments, nothing is inserted into your spine, and you are not opened up on the operating table. In short, the risk is low, but in some cases, the effectiveness rate may be lower, too.

Back Doctors

Most of the time back pain goes away by itself. However, there are a few signs that may indicate the need for an appointment with a spine doctor or, in some cases, a trip to the emergency room. When in doubt, it is important to call your doctor. This section gives information for the times when it is appropriate to seek medical attention for your back or neck pain.

Medications and Drugs

This section contains drug profiles along with definitions of terms you should know if you take mediciation for back or neck pain. Be an educated consumer!

Back Surgery

No one wants to be cut up. It can be painful, inconvenient and risky. But if you've gotten little to no relief with conservative, non-invasive treatments, your doctor may suggest surgery. Here's the run down on back and neck surgery.

Pain and Pain Management

If you find yourself in the unfortunate position of having exhausted all your treatment options with unsatisfactory results, you may need pain management. Pain management is a branch of medicine that treats your pain as the disease. By nature, it is a multidisciplinary approach to the management of out-of-control pain.

Preventing Neck and Back Pain

What could be bettern than never getting back or neck pain in the first place? Here are some tips.

First Aid for Back and Neck Injury

No one wants to think the unthinkable, but most people are glad when someone on the scene of an injury has first aid certification and skill. This is especially true when it comes to injuries involving the neck. Getting the appropriate treatment for a neck or back injury as soon as it happens is extremely important to the outcome of that injury. This section contains information and procedures for emergency care for back and neck injuries.

Alt Medicine and Bodywork

According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, back pain is the number one reason why people seek alternative or complementary medicine. Neck pain is number 3. While there are many types of alternative treatments available, the research on them has yet to catch up with those of standard medicine. So it is a buyer beware marketplace. This section will help you stay informed on the developments in this burgeoning field.

 

Symptoms of Back Pain

 

Communicating Your Back Pain Symptoms to Your Doctor

By Anne Asher

Updated March 21, 2014

Back and neck pain are subjective -- there are few, if any, definitive tests that can measure and diagnose the experience. Therefore, it falls on you to communicate your back pain symptoms to your doctor. By accurately noting your symptoms, and giving your doctor a clear picture of them, you are taking an important step toward getting a diagnosis. Here are some things to note:

Pain Intensity

How bad does it hurt? Intensity is a measure of how strong the signals of felt pain are. As a back pain sufferer, this is probably the most important part of the ordeal for you. Intensity levels fluctuate, so it is impossible to get a useful, accurate measurement of them from objective testing. Instead, doctors and other health care providers use visual assessment tools and questionnaires to help you communicate your level of pain.

Download a Pain Chart and Keep Track of Your Daily Pain

Type of Pain

The types of painful feelings you have in your back or neck are an indication of what is going on in your spine. For example, if you experience burning, stabbing or electrical sensations down one leg or arm, it may indicate an irritated nerve. If your back muscles feel stiff or tight you may have pain due to an injury, or posture problems, or both.

More Information on Types of Pain

Location of Pain

The location of your pain may or may not be related to damage or an injury in your spine. If a nerve is affected, the pain may radiate down an arm or leg, as is the case in sciatica. If you have trigger points or other myofascial pain, you might experience referred pain -- pain located in an area that is seemingly unrelated to the actual site of the problem. Pain is often located in more than one area of the body.

A body diagram can be used to map and track the location of the pain as it changes (or doesn't) over time. The body diagram is also a tool to help you communicate your symptoms of back pain clearly and accurately to your doctor.

In an effort to identify the cause of your back pain, your doctor might use the information you provide about the location of your pain to probe for more details.

 

Earthrise

 

Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 1968. That evening, the astronauts-Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders-held a live broadcast from lunar orbit, in which they showed pictures of the Earth and moon as seen from their spacecraft. Said Lovell, "The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth." They ended the broadcast with the crew taking turns reading from the book of Genesis.
Image Credit: NASA