MUSCLE PAIN
Treatment and prevention of chronic muscular pain is an instant and difficult problem. Pain musculoskeletal syndromes often cause long disabilities even in people of young age.
Normally at acting one muscle has to contract, and at this time another (antagonistic muscle) has to relax, restore.
The chronic muscular pain syndrome is the depression of function of muscle fibers resulting from a long static load of the small intensity which is followed by intensifying of metabolic processes, rising of contraction ability in these muscle fibers, leading to emergence of a local muscular spastic stricture with squeezing of neurovascular mass and disturbance of circulation.
Releaser of a pain muscular syndrome is deformation of the working muscle when its thick and stronger part stretches its thin and weak part. At the same time thick and stronger part of a muscle is cramped, so metabolism and blood supply are disturbed in it. The second part is overstrained, blood supply is sufficient in it, but it is "tired". The similar situation can arise not only in one muscle, but also in antagonistic muscles.
At attrition of spare capacity intense fascicles with the increased irritability are gradually formed among muscle fibers. These are myofascial trigger points (zones).
Clinical symptoms of trigger points are shown in intolerable morbidity when squeezing; abilities to cause irradiation of pain in remote muscle; vegetative disturbances.
Trigger points settle down within the strained, condensed fascicles of sceletal muscles or in their fascias and can be both in active, and in a latent state. The active trigger point is the site of hyper irritability in a muscle or its fascia which is shown in the form of pain.
At the same time pain is felt not so much in the field of a trigger point, but also in remote areas. The reflected pain can be felt at rest and at the movement. The active trigger is very sensitive; it interferes with a full muscle strain and weakens its force a little. In attempt of an active muscle strain pain both in the muscle and in a zone of the reflected pain sharply amplifies.
Trigger points can be in the latent (hidden) state. In these cases, pain at a palpation of the location of the trigger is felt, but in the remote areas pain is not felt. Latent trigger points are met much more often than active. So, at testing of 200 young people latent triggers are found in 54% of girls and 45% of young men. At the same time active trigger points have been defined only in 5% of cases. Latent trigger points under the influence of adverse effects, such as long finding of a muscle in a cramp state, overcooling, the increased physical activity, can pass into an active phase, that is become active trigger points.
If besides muscle pain there is pain in a neck and collar of area, thorax, back, waist, extremities and increased temperature, it is necessary to see a doctor.
Causes of pain in muscles:
Muscle pain "tells" about an overstrain in them. It can be because of stress, injuries, long immobilization of muscles, some diseases (osteochondrosis of a backbone, anomaly of development: asymmetry of a body with a different length of legs, platypodia). Among the reasons there is also inactive way of life; the muscular strain because of sedentary work or the wrong posture at writing and reading, work at the computer, driving of a car; inability to relax muscles and give them necessary rest. The strain can so heavy that pain occurs.
To the vulnerable group some categories of people can be reffered: people keeping the compelled inconvenient pose during working time and carrying-out the same movements (for example, work on the conveyor); patients suffering from any disturbances of a back posture therefore there is a long squeezing of muscles.
Long keeping of one pose during a deep sleep can also activate trigger points. In these cases there is pulling, deep, badly localized, diffuse dorsodynias after morning wakening.
It’s important to pay attention at long immovability of an extremity after fractures. After removal of plaster muscles are always painfully strained, demand gradual stretching, and joints demand "development". After removal of plaster pain can be practically in all parts of a back as the immobilization of both upper and lower extremities after fractures leads to gross of motion stereotype. Squeezing of muscles with belts of a bag or straps of a backpack, narrow, hard or heavy (for example, a winter coat) parts of clothes, bandages or corsets can make active trigger points in the corresponding muscles.
How to get rid of muscle pain?
Improvement of blood circulation in the injured muscles and normalization of all types of metabolism promote removal of lactic acid which is a disintegration product. Muscle pain deprives of a healthy, deep sleep. In the absence of a good dream less hormone of growth necessary for restoration of muscles is formed in an organism. Antistress techniques, good rest, natural anti-inflammatory and antiedematous means, adequate physical activity in combination with thermal and physiotherapeutic procedures and medical starvation accelerate processes of "healing".
At treatment of a pain muscular syndrome it is necessary: to remove the cause of pain, to stop a painful impulsation from a cramped muscle, to prevent further development of pathological process, to reduce or kill pain, to prevent emergence of a muscular spasm and raise a threshold of sensitivity of pain receptors, to improve blood circulation, to stimulate tissue exchange processes, to increase functional abilities of muscles and level of psychoemotional comfort.
Medical blockade, physical therapy, massage, physiotherapy exercises are applied to treat a myofascial syndrome. Effective methods of treatment are the post-isometric relaxation (a method of manual therapy) and acupuncture. Intake of the medicines removing a spasm of skeletal muscles is in certain cases necessary. An important point of treatment is disease intelligence and therapy of the diseases provoking the development of a myofascial pain syndrome (backbone osteochondrosis, arthroses, etc.)
In case of myofascial syndrome the long period treatment, aftertreatment, secondary prophylaxis of a reactivation of trigger points and prophylaxis of their emergence are very important. Treatment broad-spectrum agents have to be used. Multineedle reflexotherapy can be one of such agents. Lyapko applicators are widely used in it.
Application therapy has anesthetic and spasmolytic effect, improves a circulation and microcirculation, activates tissue mechanisms of immune protection, increases the level of opiate peptides and stress-relieving hormones in blood, reduces the level of sensitivity of pain receptors, makes positive psychoemotional impact and stimulates the general adaptic mechanisms of a person.
The long peripheric impulsation in the spinal centers causes reflex local reactions in a zone of the application of Lyapko applicators. These reactions are shown by a trichangiectasia and activation of a vascular link of microcirculation, improvement of an arteriovenous blood flow that is followed by local temperature increase and erubescence, relaxation of muscles, stimulation of tissue exchange, improvement of recovery processes.
It is important to notice that local improvement of a circulation at application therapy is achieved without additional load on heart. It is very important for all categories of patients, especially for those who suffer from coronary heart disease, circulatory unefficiency of 1-2 degrees, people of advanced age.
After putting off of an applicator in the place of its application all pores are opened within 10 minutes .For better healthcare effect the warm compress is recommended to apply for 15-30 minutes: "Bischofite" of 30% (2 tablespoons of water + 1 tablespoon of "Bischofite") +1 ampoule of B12 vitamin + 1 ampoule of "Analginum" + 10 drops of "Dimexidum" or a compress with 1.5% sea salt: 100 ml of water +1.5 gr of salt.
Course of treatment is 10-12 procedures. Refresher course of treatment is possible in 2 - 4 weeks.