Discography involves injecting a contrast dye into a spinal disc thought to be causing low back pain. The dye helps to show the damaged areas on CT scans taken following the injection. Electrodiagnostics can identify problems related to the nerves in the back and legs. The procedures include:. Diagnostic imaging tests allow specialists to see into the body without having to perform exploratory surgery. Imaging includes:. Myelograms enhance the diagnostic imaging of x-rays and CT scans.
In this procedure, a contrast dye is injected into the spinal canal, allowing spinal cord and nerve compression caused by herniated discs or fractures to be seen on an x-ray or CT scans. Acute back pain usually gets better on its own. Acute back pain is usually treated with:. Exercising, bed rest, and surgery are typically not recommended for acute back pain. Chronic back pain is most often treated with a stepped care approach, moving from simple low-cost treatments to more aggressive approaches.
Specific treatments may depend on the identified cause of the back pain. Spinal injections include: Trigger point injections can relax knotted muscles trigger points that may contribute to back pain. An injection or series of injections of a local anesthetic and often a corticosteroid drug into the trigger point s can lessen or relieve pain. Epidural steroid injections into the lumbar area of the back are given to treat low back pain and sciatica associated with inflammation.
Pain relief associated with the injections tends to be temporary and the injections are not advised for long-term use. Radiofrequency ablation involves inserting a fine needle into the area causing the pain through which an electrode is passed and heated to destroy nerve fibers that carry pain signals to the brain.
Also called a rhizotomy, the procedure can relieve pain for several months. Surgery When other therapies fail, surgery may be considered to relieve pain caused by worsening nerve damage, serious musculoskeletal injuries, or nerve compression. However, surgery is not always successful. It may be months following surgery before the person is fully healed and there may be permanent loss of flexibility. Surgical options include:. Rehabilitation programs Rehabilitation teams use a mix of healthcare professionals from different specialties and disciplines to develop programs of care that help people live with chronic pain.
The programs are designed to help the individual reduce pain and reliance on opioid pain medicines. Programs last usually two to three weeks and can be done on an in-patient or out-patient basis. Recurring back pain resulting from improper body mechanics may be prevented by avoiding movements that jolt or strain the back, maintaining correct posture, and lifting objects properly.
Many work-related injuries are caused or aggravated by stressors such as heavy lifting, contact stress repeated or constant contact between soft body tissue and a hard or sharp object , vibration, repetitive motion, and awkward posture.
The mission of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke NINDS is to seek fundamental knowledge of the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease. On an even broader scale, NIH participates in the Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee , a federal advisory committee that coordinates research across other U.
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List of Partners vendors. Visceral pain is the pain you feel from your internal organs, such as your stomach, bladder, uterus, or rectum. It a type of nociceptive pain , which means that is caused by medical conditions that produce inflammation, pressure, or an injury. Pelvic pain caused by a bladder infection and abdominal pain caused by irritable bowel syndrome are types of visceral pain.
You may feel visceral pain if you have an infection, trauma, disease, a growth, bleeding, or anything that causes pressure, inflammation, or injury to the inside or outside of your internal organs. The sensory nerves in your organs have pain receptors called nociceptors , which send signals to the spinal cord and brain to alert you of illness or injury.
Some people are more predisposed to experiencing pain than others. For example, irritable bowel syndrome IBS is less likely to cause pain in men, and there is evidence that this could be related to hormonal differences between men and women. There is also some evidence that people with certain psychiatric conditions, such as bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD , are more prone to symptoms of visceral pain.
Visceral pain can vary in intensity. It is usually described as generalized and it is typically not easy to pinpoint, although there are exceptions. It can be constant or intermittent, sharp or dull, and deep or superficial. Often, visceral pain causes an aching sensation. Sometimes, as with menstrual cramping, it can feel like something is squeezing your body on the inside. The internal organs do not have a high density of nociceptors the way the skin does, and the mapping of pain in your brain is not detailed with respect to visceral pain.
These factors make it difficult to figure out where the pain originates. Unlike superficial pain, visceral pain tends to radiate from the initial location to involve other areas of the body as well, making the whole pain experience more diffuse and unpleasant. For example, pain from the heart can extend to the left arm and neck, bladder pain may be felt in the perineum , and a kidney infection can cause back pain.
In fact, sometimes visceral referred pain can be felt in nearby areas of the body instead of in the injured area itself, making it difficult to pinpoint where it is coming from.
Other symptoms may accompany visceral pain, such as nausea, sweating, paleness, changes in blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature. Visceral pain is different from somatic pain , which is another type of nociceptive pain. And nociceptive pain, usually caused by an injury, differs from neuropathic pain, which is often caused by nerve damage or hypersensitivity. If you cut your finger with a knife, you would experience sharp, rapid, and superficial somatic pain. Because of the high density of nociceptors in your finger, as well as more detailed mapping of sensation in your brain corresponding to somatic pain, you can localize exactly which part of the finger is cut.
Neuropathic pain occurs as the result of nerve disease such as neuropathy, hypersensitivity of a nerve, and sometimes due to an injury of a nerve. In some situations, chronic visceral pain can cause changes in sensation, actually leading to neuropathic pain. You can experience visceral pain when you are healing from surgery.
However, sudden or unusual left arm pain could be a sign of a more serious medical problem. It might be a symptom of an injury that needs treating or, in the worst case, the effect of a heart attack. Being aware of the potential causes and characteristics of left arm pain can help a person recognize what the body is reacting to and determine when it is necessary to seek medical attention.
In this article, we explain the possible causes of left arm pain. For each of these causes, we describe the other symptoms that can help a person identify the underlying issue. A heart attack occurs when a portion of the heart muscle sustains damage or completely stops functioning due to a lack of oxygen.
Most heart attacks happen as a result of narrowing in the coronary arteries. The arteries become narrow due to a buildup of plaque. If a piece of plaque breaks loose from the artery wall, it can cut off the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart, which may cause a heart attack. Left arm pain is one of the most common symptoms of a heart attack. The nerves that branch from the heart and those coming from the arm send signals to the same brain cells.
As a result, the brain cannot isolate the source of the pain. This phenomenon, called referred pain, explains why a person experiencing a heart attack might feel arm pain without having chest pain. The American Heart Association advise calling if sudden left arm pain gets worse over a few minutes or occurs alongside any of the following symptoms:.
Chest discomfort is the most common symptom of heart attacks in men and women. It takes the form of pressure, tightness, fullness, burning, or gradually building pain.
However, women are also more likely than men to experience other symptoms when having a heart attack, such as shortness of breath and nausea. They may incorrectly attribute these symptoms to a virus, indigestion, or stress. If a person experiences any sudden combination of nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, or pain in the lower abdomen, back, or jaw, they should seek medical attention immediately. People experiencing angina feel discomfort or pain as a result of the heart getting less oxygen than it needs.
Along with left arm pain, symptoms might occur in the shoulders, neck, back, or jaw. Angina may also feel like indigestion. Angina is not a heart attack. However, it is a sign of a heart problem. Clogged or narrowed coronary arteries are often the cause of angina.
Stable angina is a predictable and manageable type of angina. It occurs consistently for at least 2 months and only during times of physical effort or emotional stress. These circumstances put extra strain on the heart, meaning that it needs more oxygen than the narrowed arteries allow.
Rest can help a person treat stable angina. If necessary, a doctor may prescribe an artery-relaxing medication called nitroglycerin. This type of angina is more unpredictable and dangerous.
It can occur even when a person is resting, meaning that the heart consistently does not get enough oxygen. Unstable angina indicates that a person is at risk of a heart attack. A medical professional should evaluate people with unstable angina in an emergency room. Left arm pain is probably not a result of heart problems if it has the following characteristics:.
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