Conditions

Treatment options for back pain range from medications that provide temporary relief to disease modifying medications for chronic conditions to surgical treatments for certain causes. Here are a list of a few options for treating back pain.  Note: The diagnosis determine the optimal combination of treatment Medications: Muscle relaxants which help with muscle sprains and chronic back pain. Steroid injectables or numbing injections may be given by the doctor for longstanding pain and…

To get a proper diagnosis of Back Pain, the doctor will go through multiple steps including a medical history, a physical examination and may even need to prescribe some diagnostic tests depending on the location and type of back pain. This is important to determine the right course of treatment. At the time of a consult, the doctor will : Ask Medical History Pain characteristics (location, intensity, duration, onset, and triggers) History of injury or strain (recent trauma, lifting heavy…

The symptoms of back pain can vary. They can be acute, or accompanied by fever, weight loss, nerve pain, etc.  It is important to recognise each of these symptoms and take appropriate action as described in the diagnosis section When to see a doctor? Fever and/or chills associated with acute back pain Unexplained sudden weight loss with no changes in diet/lifestyle Noticeable deformity in the spine or shoulders Nerve pain/numbness/tingling in the lower limbs Severe stiffness in the…

Back Pain is also classified and analysed according to location or site of the pain and the character and duration of the pain. Location means the part of the back - upper,  middle, or lower back.    According to the location/ site of the pain: Upper back: Neck pain may be due to muscle spasm, disc issues, poor posture or tension headaches. Mid back: Due to strained muscle, costochondritis (inflammation of the cartilage that connects the ribs to the breastbone in the centre),…

There are can be many causes of back pain -  trauma related, degenerative, cancer related, inflammatory, etc. It is important to assess the cause in order to determine the right course of treatment   Causes of Back Pain can be  Traumatic: Due to any trauma like fall, road accidents, lifting heavy weights etc. Degenerative: Due to age related degeneration of the spinal disc or some pathological conditions causing the degeneration of the spine leading to prolapse or hernia of…

What is Back Pain We all have had a back pain at some point in our lives and we can vouch that it does impact our ability to function normally. Whether it’s from a bad posture, or a urinary infection, period related back pain or kidney stones related pain there are several causes for a back pain. Most back pain is not serious and may not need medical attention, however in some cases especially where the pain is prolonged it may be a cause of concern. Back pain is related to one or more of the…

Dr. Prashant Parmeswaran (Consultant Department medical oncology MVR cancer center and Research Institute Calicut) & Dr. Chandrakanth MV (medical oncologist at Narayan super Specialty Hospital Kolkata) talk about signs, symptoms, early diagnosis and how to live well after advanced lung cancer. PatientsEngage conducted a series for lung cancer awareness on various topics such as signs, symptoms, early diagnosis and risks associated with lung cancer. This article helps us understand how to…

Prof. (Dr) Jayanta Roy, a senior consultant in Neurology has seen hundreds of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) patients recover fully each year at the Institute of Neurosciences (INK) Kolkata. To him “the current panic spread by some sections of the media is causing unnecessary alarm” because given the right and timely treatment "GBS is a curable disease" What do you think of this latest GBS scare? Some people are referring to it as a new epidemic or even the next pandemic. This is not new at all…

Rare Diseases are complicated and challenging because they are rare and isolating. PatientsEngage has put together a baseline of information to get you started and some pointers for resources. The term “rare disease” is something that immediately takes our mind to challenging scenarios and fat medical bills. While usually anything that’s rare has great value, in our medical world unfortunately it means the polar opposite. Simply put, these are conditions that are found in a very small…