Archive for the ‘Muscle relaxant’ category

Central Disorder – Spinal Cord Disorders

August 6th, 2011
Wilma Adam asked:




The Spinal cord and the brain are organs of the Central nervous system. The spinal cord is made up of nervous tissues. It is a long and thin in shape. This tubular structure extends from the brain. This delicate and well protected structure is responsible for motor as well as sensory functions. It also takes care of certain reflex co-ordination.

An injury small or big to the spinal column can result in life altering conditions. If during a road accident the backbone of an individual is affected, it can cause the vertebral column to shatter. Thus the underlying spinal cord can be punctured. Such individuals can suffer loss of any feeling in certain parts of the body. In severe cases such injuries can lead to paraplegia or even full body paralysis. While in mild cases it can lead to loss of sensation in hand or foot. The loss is generally sensory and motor, which means both sense and motion control is lost.

Any injury to the upper motor neuron axons of the spinal cord can cause central disorder like hyperreflexia and muscle weakness. Hyperreflexia is the over responsive reflexes like twitching and spastic motions which are also characterized by loss of control. Damage to the lower motor neurons can cause muscle weakness, hyporeflexia and muscle atrophy.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy is a motor neuron central disorder. Motor neurons are nerve cells present in the spinal cord which have nerve fibers in the muscles of the body. Activities such as swallowing, walking, control of head and neck are affected. This present in the spinal cord affect the voluntary muscles which are used to carry out these activities. It is a well known but rare disease of the central nervous system. It affects every muscle in the body. According to a study approximately one in sixty thousand babies are affected by this disease. It can lead to respiratory problems and pneumonia. Sensation and ability to feel is not affected and patients are intellectually and socially normal.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive genetic central disorder. It means a child can be affected by SMA if both the parents are carriers of the defective gene. And both the parents must pass the abnormal gene to the child. The patient has a missing or mutated gene which is responsible for producing the protein (Survival Motor Neuron- SMN) required by the motor neurons. Without the essential SMN protein the health of this is affected. So this can tend to shrink and eventually die which results in muscular weakness. And as the individual grows, the stress on the nerve cells and the muscle tissues also increases. This can lead to bone and spinal deformities.

Survival motor Neuron 1, 2 are the two genes which are present in normal individuals. In maximum patients the SMN gene sequence is missing. And sometimes SMN1 gene is mutated in nature. Testing for the presence or absence of the abnormal gene (SMN1) by a blood test can help detect SMA.

Summary: Spinal Muscular Atrophy is a motor neuron disorder. Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder. Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder. Mutation or absence of the gene required to produce the protein -Survival Motor Neuron, which is needed by the motor neurons. This leads to muscular weakness and bone, spinal deformities.

Taking Fioricet

Massage and Contraindications

August 6th, 2011
Richard Lane asked:




Having a massage can provide great benefit for most people, most of the time. However there are occasions for which massage is just not appropriate. When this occurs then massage is referred to as contraindicated which means that a person may have symptoms, a condition or disease where a massage on the whole body (or a certain part of the body) is just not the right thing to do.

Sometimes these contraindications can be so absolute that a massage is not appropriate at all. There may even be other conditions that the massage therapist should know about the negative side effects that the massage could cause but are contraindicated massage techniques even though modified massage applications can have very positive effects.

When a client partakes in his or her first interview, the therapist will ask pointed and specific questions about the client’s health to deduce whether or not they have any contraindications. If that particular client is under strict care from a physician then the therapist should consult with the doctor before undergoing any massage treatment for the client.

Some of these major contraindications would be:

An Abnormal body temperature: if the presenting client has a fever greater than 37.5 deg C, the massage should not be given. Mostly, fevers mean that a person body is trying to locate and dispose of an invading organism. The human body will activate its defensive measures so it can isolate and take of the ailment. A massage may halt or hinder this process.

Infectious and acute disease: Clientele that have contracted any infectious diseases like typhoid, influenza, or any other sort of severe cold should not be administered massage treatment. A client who receives a massage while they have an acute viral infection may have their illness intensified, whilst there is also a risk that the therapist may contract the virus.

Inflammation: This type of situation is very common. If an individual has some acute inflammation, a massage will only add to the irritation and further the spread of the inflammation. If you have sustained an injury in the past twenty-four hours like an ankle sprain or hurt something in your back, then you should submit yourself to the first aid principle of RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation).

It is also advisable at this point to make a call to your doctor. Receiving a massage to an inflamed area will only cause you more harm.

(nb, you should apply ice in fifteen-minute intervals- homemade ice packs of ice cubes and a towel will work as well as a commercial one. You do not want to put the ice pack directly to the skin or let it sit on the area for long periods.)

Even though massaging directly on that are will be contraindicated, it may be very beneficial to a person to massage not on the area but around that area so that you can relax the muscles and prompting the body to naturally heal itself. After a person has had the inflammation subside after 72-96 hours, having a massage can dramatically help a person’s mobility of joints as well as helping reduce scar tissue forming.

Varicose veins: When the valves of your veins have a break down it is due to back pressure causing the veins to stick out and bulge. You can usually see this happen in your legs because of gravity, this occurs when the legs or crossed or are put in other sitting positions that hinders blood circulating to your legs. Standing for a long time will also do this and add to it. Women in pregnancy can experience this from pressure on the veins of the pelvic region and can cause varicose veins.

Massaging legs which have large bulging varicose veins has the risk of releasing blood clots in the body’s circulatory system and massaging these areas is contraindicated.

Osteoporosis: This condition in its later stages can cause bones to become extremely brittle which can easily be broken or cracked. Before you start massaging a person afflicted with this condition it is advisable that the client speak with their doctor on this matter to see if this would worsen their condition or not.

High Blood Pressure: If you happen to have a client who has or has had high blood pressure, then that person’s physician should be consulted before undergoing massage therapy. Massage therapy can actually help reduce some of the hypertension that usually accompanies high blood pressure. You will usually not have to worry about massaging a person with a low blood pressure but you will want to be careful since this can cause some clients to feel dizzy after the therapy because of a drop in their blood pressure

Other contraindications: There are a plethora of different contraindications for getting a massage. The guidelines for this are straightforward enough- you do not want your therapist administering the massage to worsen any medical condition you may have, and you do not want to give anything contagious to your massage therapist. Please consult your doctor before receiving massage therapy if you are at all unsure on this issue.

Other conditions can include:

1. Fracture, burns, or bleeding

2. Blood Clots

3. Opened sores or lesions

4. Systemic infections

5. Cancer

There have been cases with women during their period that have received massage therapy within the first few days of their menstruation noticing the flow of blood a lot heavier than normal.

There is some debate on the issue of massage therapy being contraindicated during the first trimester of pregnancy. Usually, if there are not any underlying medical problems and the pregnancy is moving, as it should without history of miscarriage, then receiving massage therapy from a professional is ok. Please take up any doubts on this issue which your doctor or health care professional.

Taking Tramadol

Diagnostic Evaluation and Treatment for Depression

August 5th, 2011
Gus Hoover asked:




If a physical cause for the depression is ruled out, a psychological evaluation should be done, by the physician or by referral to a psychiatrist or psychologist.

A good diagnostic evaluation will include a complete history of symptoms, i.e., when they started, how long they have lasted, how severe they are, whether the patient had them before and, if so, whether the symptoms were treated and what treatment was given. The doctor should ask about alcohol and drug use, and if the patient has thoughts about death or suicide. Further, a history should include questions about whether other family members have had a depressive illness and, if treated, what treatments they may have received and which were effective.

Last, a diagnostic evaluation should include a mental status examination to determine if speech or thought patterns or memory have been affected, as sometimes happens in the case of a depressive or manic-depressive illness.

Treatment choice will depend on the outcome of the evaluation. There are a variety of antidepressant medications and psychotherapies that can be used to treat depressive disorders. Some people with milder forms may do well with psychotherapy alone. People with moderate to severe depression most often benefit from antidepressants. Most do best with combined treatment: medication to gain relatively quick symptom relief and psychotherapy to learn more effective ways to deal with life’s problems, including depression. Depending on the patient’s diagnosis and severity of symptoms, the therapist may prescribe medication and/or one of the several forms of psychotherapy that have proven effective for depression.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is useful, particularly for individuals whose depression is severe or life threatening or who cannot take antidepressant medication. ECT often is effective in cases where antidepressant medications do not provide sufficient relief of symptoms. In recent years, ECT has been much improved. A muscle relaxant is given before treatment, which is done under brief anesthesia. Electrodes are placed at precise locations on the head to deliver electrical impulses. The stimulation causes a brief (about 30 seconds) seizure within the brain. The person receiving ECT does not consciously experience the electrical stimulus. For full therapeutic benefit, at least several sessions of ECT, typically given at the rate of three per week, are required.

Until the next time,

Warm regards

Gus Hoover

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