Arthritis – A Pain In The Neck – And other Places

Arthritic Hands

Pain is your body saying something is wrong! It is almost always a sign that something is going on with your body – either you’ve injured yourself or overdone it or your body is dealing with some sort of disease or deterioration. While most of the time pain isn’t particularly productive, it is often a warning that you should pay attention to.

If you are suffering from neck pain, there are many potential reasons and below are just a few of the reasons for your pain:

Ankylosing spondylosisArthritisCarotidyniaCertain cancersCervical spine arthritisCervical spondylosisCongenital cervical rib Cervical spine infection

Disc disorders

Head injury

InfectionMononucleosisNeck injuryNeck ligament disorder TorticollisNeck muscle disorderNeck muscle spasmNeck sprain

Neck strain

Poor posture

Poor sleeping postureProlapsed cervical discRheumatoid arthritisRubellaRuptured discSpinal disorderStiff neck or swollen neck

Swollen neck lymph nodes

Whiplash

Wrong pillow

You can do something about poor sleeping posture and the wrong pillow but some of the other suggestions probably mean that a visit to the doctor is in order.

Certainly if the reason for your pain is arthritis, this pain may be the start of significant problems involving joint pain, headaches, the feeling of pins and needles running down your arm, etc. While currently there isn’t a cure for arthritis, pain management is very definitely available. It is important to understand that pain management varies from person to person, so what works for your grandmother or your neighbor, may not work for you. Finding the right ways to manage your pain can be a case of trial and error but it can make life much easier once you find methods that work for you.

Let’s look at the things that may cause pain for the arthritis sufferer.

Inflammation of the joints – the pain is usually accompanied by swelling and redness of the joints.
Damage to the tissues in the joint – the pain often feels like a pulled muscle caused by over-exertion, although it could be caused by undue stress on a joint (like poor posture) or other problems.
Wear and tear on the joints – as our bodies age, we may have degeneration of the cartilage in the joint and changes to the structure of the joint. There may even be an accumulation of fluid or bony growth within the joint that is causing the pain.
Fatigue, particularly at the end of the day, can make joint pain more acute.
Stress, emotional upset or even depression can cause the pain to be more acute. You could even fall into a cycle where you’re in pain, then feel depressed because of the pain which makes the pain worst making the tension or depression worst and so on.

What can you do about arthritic pain?

If you’re overweight, try losing some pounds. Carrying extra weight puts more pressure on all of the weight bearing joints.
Eating the right foods and exercise can often do quite a lot to reduce the pain and the frequency and length of the pain events.
Trigger foods – be aware of foods such as dairy products or citrus fruits that may exacerbate your pain and avoid them.
Find a pain management system that works for you. It might be a combination of medication and exercise or massage that helps.
Try to remain positive and optimistic. The pain may be ‘challenging’ but many people learn to effectively manage it and go on to live very normal lives.

About the Author

Monika Nolte

LegendI am a Professional Seo Consultant based in the UK, providing Seo Services to clients all over the world. Ezine Articles expert author supplying article writing services. I also provide Web Design and Development. Our company will be happy to help you improve your page rank and traffic. http://www.redhotwebhosting.co.uk

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