- NEURORADIOLOGY & PAIN SOLUTIONS OF OKLAHOMA -

CAUSES OF BACK PAIN

The common causes of back pain in athletes include:
● Musculoligamentous strain: It is the most common sports injury caused by injury to the soft tissues around the spine.
● Spondylolysis: It is most commonly found in athletes who participate in sports such as gymnastics, pole-vaulting, and football. All these activities require frequent hyperextension of the lumbar spine.
● Spondylolisthesis: It is a condition of the spine that occurs when one vertebra is displaced or has slipped forward over the other below it.
● Herniated nucleus pulposus: When an injury occurs, the central core of the disc is pushed through a tear in the outer hard layer of the disc, causing a bulge and pressure on nearby nerves. If the herniated disc presses on a spinal nerve, it can cause back pain.
Other causes include growth-related problems such as scoliosis and Scheuermann's kyphosis.

CHARACTERISTICS & SYMPTOMS

● Back pain can occur as a dull constant pain or a sudden sharp pain. It may be confined to one area or radiate to other areas such as the arm and hand, upper or lower back, and leg or foot.

● Other than pain you may experience weakness, numbness or tingling in your arms or legs caused by damage to the spinal cord.

RISK FACTORS

● Athletes participating in sports such as skiing, basketball, football, ice skating, soccer, running, golf or tennis are at a greater risk of developing back pain.
● During these sports activities, the spine needs to bear more stress, take up more pressure, undergo twisting and turning, as well as bodily impact.
● This may cause strain on the back that can result in back pain.
● Athletes are at a high risk of back pain both from trauma and from overuse injuries, especially in sports requiring hyperextension.

To diagnose your headache, your doctor will review your medical history and perform a physical examination to define the type of headache and possible causes.

You may need to undergo CT and MRI testing to look for abnormalities, blood and urine tests, or electroencephalography to study the electrical activity of the brain.

TREATMENTS

At Neuroradiology and Pain Solutions of Oklahoma, we offer a variety of treatments for this condition, including:
● Spinal Biopsy● Facet injection● Vertebroplasty / Kyphoplasty / Sacroplasty / Cementoplasty● Intracept● ReActiv8● Radiofrequency Ablation

CAUSES OF JOINT PAIN

Some of the common causes of joint pain include muscle and joint:
● Overuse.● Tension.● Injury.● Infection.● Inflammation.● Sprains and strains.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS COMMONLY ASSOCIATED WITH JOINT PAIN?

Symptoms that can be associated with joint pain include:
● Swelling.● Redness.● Tenderness.● Warm to touch.● Persistent pain.

HOW IS JOINT PAIN TREATED?

Some of the measures that can be employed to treat joint pain include:
● Using medications such as topical pain relievers and oral anti-inflammatory drugs.● Application of heat and ice on the affected area.● Adequate resting of the affected area.● Strengthening muscle function and maintaining a good range of motion with a regular exercise regimen.● Maintaining a proper body weight.● Engaging in stress-relieving activities such as meditation and yoga.● Lifestyle changes.

WHICH MEDICAL CONDITIONS CAN CAUSE JOINT PAIN?

● Bacterial and viral infections.
● Autoimmune disorders such as polymyositis, dermatomyositis, or lupus.
● Use of medications such as ACE inhibitors or statins.
● Fibromyalgia.
● Hypokalaemia.
● Hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism.
● Osteoporosis.
● Chondromalacia.
● Gout.
● Tendinitis.
● Infectious diseases such as influenza, mumps, or hepatitis.
● Arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
● Lyme disease.
● Polymyalgia rheumatica.

HOW IS THE UNDERLYING CAUSE OF YOUR JOINT PAIN?

Your doctor will review your symptoms and medical history and perform a physical examination. 
If necessary, your doctor will order certain diagnostic tests like X-rays to identify arthritis-specific joint damage, blood tests to screen for certain autoimmune diseases, complete blood count, sedimentation rate test to estimate the level of inflammation in the body, and other tests to narrow down the potential causes of joint pain.

TREATMENTS

At Neuroradiology and Pain Solutions of Oklahoma, we offer a variety of treatments for this condition, including:
● Intra-Articular Joint Injection ● Peripheral Nerve Blocks ● Radiofrequency Ablation ● Peripheral Nerve Stimulation Treatment

Causes

Nerve pain can be caused by injury to the central or peripheral nerves.
● Central nerve pain: This is caused due to damage to the nerves of the central nervous system by the presence of lesions or diseases such as stroke, spinal cord injury, or multiple sclerosis.
● Peripheral nerve pain: This arises due to dysfunction or injury to the peripheral nerves (nerves that carry senses and motor signals from the brain and spinal cord to the entire body). Diabetes, trauma, vitamin deficiency, kidney disease, certain medications, and alcoholism can cause peripheral nerve pain.

Diagnosis & Options Available

Nerve pain is diagnosed with a detailed review of your medical history and a thorough physical examination. A grading system is used to determine the cause of pain as neuropathic.
● Ablative therapy.● Spinal Cord, Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation, and Peripheral Nerve Stimulation.
Early treatment is important to manage nerve pain as nerve damage is progressive. Nerve damage cannot be cured completely. Treatment is centered around relieving symptoms.
The first line of treatment is to manage your underlying condition such as diabetes and changing medication that may be causing nerve damage. Surgery may be indicated to remove tumours.
Your doctor may prescribe anti-epileptic analgesic drugs, antidepressants, opioids, opioid-like drugs, topical anesthetic, and analgesic medications to relieve symptoms. 
Electrical nerve stimulation such as TENS may be performed to relieve pain. Alternate treatments such as meditation, acupuncture, hypnosis, and biofeedback may be ordered to help you cope with pain.

SYMPTOMS

Nerve pain can be differentiated from normal pain symptoms as follows:

● The normal symptoms of pain are altered and present as prickling or tingling sensations to a stabbing, shooting, or burning pain, similar to an electric shock.
● Allodynia or pain that occurs from a stimulus that does not normally cause pain sensations.
● Hyperalgesia or increased pain caused by a stimulus that usually causes pain.
● Anaesthesia Dolorosa or pain that is felt in a numb region.

NEUROPATHIC PAIN CONDITIONS

There are several conditions that can lead to nerve pain. Some of the most common include:
● Diabetic peripheral neuropathy: This is a common condition if you have diabetes. It is characterized by a stabbing or burning pain and numbness in the legs and feet.
● Trigeminal neuralgia: This is a frequently occurring condition that arises due to multiple sclerosis or from a tumour compressing the trigeminal nerve, which carries signals of sensation to the face and motor functions such as chewing and biting. Typical symptoms include sudden facial pain lasting for several seconds to minutes and intense burning pain, usually accompanied by involuntary spasms or facial twitches.
● Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: As the name indicates, this type of nerve pain is commonly seen while undergoing chemotherapy, due to sensory nerve damage in the dorsal root of the spinal nerves. Common symptoms include pain and numbness, which may aggravate as the therapy continues.
● HIV-associated sensory peripheral neuropathy (HIV-SN): This condition affects HIV patients either due to the attack of the HIV virus on the peripheral nerves or the effect of the medicine, which is neurotoxic. Advancing age, malnutrition, genetics, and associated diseases such as diabetes further increase the risk of HIV-SN.
● Post-herpetic neuralgia: This condition occurs if you have previously suffered from herpes zoster infection. Reactivation of the herpes zoster virus where it resides in the dorsal root ganglion can lead to pain typically along the spine and around the eyes.

treatments

At Neuroradiology and Pain Solutions of Oklahoma, we offer a variety of treatments for this condition, including:
● Epidural Injection ● Selective Nerve Root Block ● Peripheral Nerve Stimulation Treatment ● Spinal Cord Stimulator ● Intrathecal Pump Placement

Causes

● Vertebral compression fractures can occur because of trauma from a fall, forceful jump, car accident or tumour that spreads to the spine from elsewhere. ● Vertebral compression fractures are usually caused by osteoporosis, a condition that causes thinning of the bone.● The thinning bones can cause tiny fractures during normal activities.● In severe cases of osteoporosis, a simple movement like bending forward can cause spinal compression fracture, resulting in kyphosis, a hump-like curvature of the spine.

Diagnosis of Vertebral Compression Fractures

Your doctor will carefully examine you based on the symptoms and medical history. Your doctor may also recommend other diagnostic tests such as: 
● X-ray: A spinal X-ray may be ordered to determine the presence of a fracture.
● MRI scan: An MRI of the spine may be performed to determine if the fracture is old or new, and to detect other soft tissue abnormalities.
● Bone scan: A nuclear bone scan may be ordered to help determine the presence or age of the fracture.
● DEXA scan: Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan is a test to measure bone mineral density, and is typically ordered to diagnose osteoporosis.

Symptoms

● The most common symptom of a vertebral compression fracture is severe pain in your back, which worsens on standing or walking and decreases when resting.● You may also feel weakness and numbness in the affected areas, disability, and limited spinal mobility.● You may also often notice a loss of overall height. ● If you sustain multiple compression fractures, you may have a hunched back (kyphosis or "dowager’s hump"), gastrointestinal problems, hip pain and shortness of breath.

PREVENTION OF VERTEBRAL COMPRESSION FRACTURES

The most effective way to prevent vertebral compression fractures is to prevent osteoporosis. 
A well-balanced diet, regular exercise program, calcium and vitamin D supplements, smoking cessation, estrogen hormone replacement for women and practicing good posture may help you to prevent osteoporosis.

TREATMENTS

At Neuroradiology and Pain Solutions of Oklahoma, we offer a variety of treatments for this condition, including:
● Vertebroplasty / Kyphoplasty / Sacroplasty / Cementoplasty