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Musculoskeletal Disorders

Musculoskeletal Disorders

by | Complex Injuries, Conditions Treated, Herniated Disc, Spinal Decompression Treatments

Musculoskeletal Disorders, or MSDs, are injuries, conditions, and disorders that affect the body’s musculoskeletal system. It includes the muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, discs, blood vessels, bones, and joints. MSDs are common, and the risk of developing them increases with age. The severity of an MSD can vary. They cause discomfort, recurrent pain, stiffness, swelling, and aching that interfere with everyday activities. Early diagnosis and treatment can alleviate symptoms and improve long-term health. Common disorders include:

  • Tendonitis
  • Tendon Strain
  • Epicondylitis
  • Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
  • Trigger Finger
  • Radial Tunnel Syndrome
  • DeQuervain’s Syndrome
  • Rotator Cuff Tendonitis
  • Muscle strain
  • Ligament Sprain
  • Rheumatoid arthritis – RA
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Tension Neck Syndrome
  • Thoracic Outlet Compression
  • Mechanical Back Syndrome
  • Degenerative Disc Disease
  • Ruptured Disc
  • Herniated Disc
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Digital Neuritis
  • Bone Fractures

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Musculoskeletal Disorders Discomfort and Pain

The term musculoskeletal disorder is used as it accurately describes the injury or condition. Other terms used are repetitive motion injury, repetitive stress injury, and overuse injury. When individuals are exposed to MSD risk factors, they begin to fatigue. This can start a musculoskeletal imbalance. With time, fatigue completely overtakes recovery/healing, and the musculoskeletal imbalance continues, a musculoskeletal disorder develops. The risk factors are broken into two categories: work-related/ergonomic risk factors and individual-related risk factors.

Ergonomic Factors:

  • Force
  • Repetition
  • Posture

High Task Repetition

  • Many work tasks and cycles are repetitive and are typically controlled by hourly or daily production targets and work processes.
  • High task repetition combined with other risks factors like high force and/or awkward postures can contribute to the formation of MSD.
  • A job is considered highly repetitive if the cycle time is 30 seconds or less.

Forceful Exertions

  • Many job tasks require high force loads on the body.
  • Muscle effort increases in response to high force requirements. This increases associated fatigue.

Repetitive or Sustained Awkward Postures

  • Awkward postures place excessive force on joints, overload the muscles and tendons around affected joints.
  • The joints of the body are most efficient when they operate close to the mid-range motion of the joint.
  • The risk of MSD is increased when the joints are worked outside of this mid-range repetitively for sustained periods without a proper amount of recovery time.

Individual Factors

  • Unhealthy work practices
  • Lack of physical activity/fitness
  • Unhealthy habits
  • Poor diet

Unhealthy Work Practices

  • Individuals that engage in poor work practices, body mechanics, and lifting techniques are introducing unnecessary risk factors.
  • These poor practices create unnecessary stress on the body that increases fatigue and decreases the body’s ability to recover properly.

Poor Health Habits

  • Individuals who smoke, drink excessively, are obese, or exhibit numerous other poor health habits put themselves at risk for musculoskeletal disorders and other chronic diseases.

Insufficient Rest and Recovery

  • Individuals that do not get adequate rest and recovery put themselves at higher risk.
  • MSDs develop when fatigue outruns the individual’s recovery system, causing a musculoskeletal imbalance.

Poor Diet, Fitness, and Hydration

  • Individuals who eat unhealthily are dehydrated, at a poor level of physical fitness, and do not take care of their bodies are putting themselves at a higher risk of developing musculoskeletal and chronic health problems.

Causes

The causes of musculoskeletal disorders are varied. Muscle tissue can be damaged with the wear and tear of daily work, school, and physical activities. Trauma to the body can come from:

  • Postural strain
  • Repetitive movements
  • Overuse
  • Prolonged immobilization
  • Jerking movements
  • Sprains
  • Dislocations
  • Falling injuries
  • Auto accident injuries
  • Fractures
  • Direct trauma to the muscle/s

Poor body mechanics can cause spinal alignment problems and muscle shortening, causing other muscles to be strained, causing problems and pain.

Treatment Rehabilitation

A doctor will recommend a treatment plan based on the diagnosis and severity of the symptoms. They may recommend moderate exercise and over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen or acetaminophen to address occasional discomfort or pain. They often recommend chiropractic and physical therapy rehabilitation to learn how to manage pain and discomfort, maintain strength, range of motion, and adjust everyday activities. Different types of manual therapy, or mobilization, can treat body alignment problems. A doctor may prescribe medications like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories NSAIDs to reduce inflammation and pain for more severe symptoms. For individuals with musculoskeletal disorders like fibromyalgia, medications to increase the body’s level of serotonin and norepinephrine may be prescribed in low doses to modulate sleep, pain, and immune system function.

Body Composition

Types of Pain

Pain can be grouped into three categories:

Early Warning Pain

  • This is most recognizable after having just touched a pan, and the hand jerks away before realizing how hot the pan is, also known as the withdrawal reflex.
  • This is a protective mechanism that helps avoid danger and is vital for survival.

Inflammatory Pain

  • This type of pain happens after an injury or surgery while the body is healing and recovering.
  • Inflammation prevents the body from performing movements to prevent and avoid re-injury.

Pathological Pain

  • This type of pain can happen after the body has healed, but the nervous system has been damaged.
  • This is often the case with individuals who sustain an injury and inform doctors that the injured area is never the same.
  • If the rehabilitation does not correctly heal the nervous system, protective pain measures can generate a false alarm causing pain signals to fire off.
References

Asada, Fuminari, and Kenichiro Takano. Nihon eiseigaku zasshi. Japanese journal of hygiene vol. 71,2 (2016): 111-8. doi:10.1265/jjh.71.111

da Costa, Bruno R, and Edgar Ramos Vieira. “Risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders: A systematic review of recent longitudinal studies.” American journal of industrial medicine vol. 53,3 (2010): 285-323. doi:10.1002/ajim.20750

Malińska, Marzena. “Dolegliwości układu mięśniowo-szkieletowego u operatorów komputerowych” [Musculoskeletal disorders among computer operators]. Medycyna pracy vol. 70,4 (2019): 511-521. doi:10.13075/mp.5893.00810

Musculoskeletal system diseases. (n.d.). dmu.edu/medterms/musculoskeletal-system/musculoskeletal-system-diseases/

Roquelaure, Yves et al. “Troubles musculo-squelettiques liés au travail” [Work-related musculoskeletal disorders]. La Revue du praticien vol. 68,1 (2018): 84-90.

Villa-Forte A. (n.d.). Diagnosis of musculoskeletal disorders. merckmanuals.com/home/bone,-joint,-and-muscle-disorders/diagnosis-of-musculoskeletal-disorders/introduction

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). (2014). ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/rmirsi.html

Spinal Meningitis Can Affect the Spine: What to Know

Spinal Meningitis Can Affect the Spine: What to Know

by | Spinal Hygiene

Spinal meningitis does not just affect the brain. Most think of meningitis as a brain disease, but it can also affect the spine. We will discuss learning how to recognize it and find the right treatment to fix it within the spinal cord. Spinal meningitis can be a potentially deadly infection of the meninges. This is the protective tissue that covers the brain and spinal cord.

It can be caused by viruses, bacteria, or fungi that are transmitted from person to person by sneezing, talking, and sharing food. Viruses and pathogens that cause other infections, like the mumps and measles, can also cause meningitis. The lining around the brain and the spine are connected, which means that infection can travel from one area to another, or remain in the brain or the spine.

 

11860 Vista Del Sol, Ste. 128 Spinal Meningitis Can Affect the Spine: What to Know

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The Meninges

Meninges are the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. They are made up of three layers:

  • Dura mater is the thick and tough outer layer
  • Arachnoid mater is the middle layer made up of strands of connective tissue
  • Pia mater is the inner layer of cells

Spinal meningitis can develop when a virus, bacteria, or pathogen invade the meninges layers. This causes the immune system to react trying to remove the invading bacteria etc, which causes inflammation. These organisms usually take up residence in the nose and throat and never cause problems. Most individuals that come into contact with these viruses never get sick.

The reason for this is because the body produces fighting antibodies before the pathogens can invade the meninges. Others, possibly from age or underlying conditions, where they are not able to produce enough or any antibodies, makes them vulnerable to the illness. When the brain and spine’s tissue/s get infected with any one of these pathogens, the tissue swells, which constricts proper blood flow to the brain.

Types of Spinal Meningitis

The most common types of spinal meningitis in the United States include:

Viral meningitis

Viral meningitis is caused by enteroviruses, which are common viruses that enter the body through the mouth and travel to the brain and tissues where multiplication ensues. There are other viruses that can also cause meningitis. These include:

  • Viruses that cause mumps
  • Herpesviruses – like Epstein-Barr, measles, influenza, West Nile
  • Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus from rodents

Any of these viruses can spread to the meninges, causing spinal meningitis to develop. This is a less severe type than bacterial meningitis.

Bacterial meningitis

This is the type where dangerous bacteria invade the meninges. Individuals are at higher risk as this type can be fatal if not treated. Common types of bacterial meningitis include:

  • Pneumococcal meningitis – is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumonia and is the most common form of bacterial meningitis.
  • Meningococcal meningitis – also known as meningococcal disease, is a less common type. This type is caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitides. Around 2,600 people in the U.S. are affected yearly.
11860 Vista Del Sol, Ste. 128 Spinal Meningitis Can Affect the Spine: What to Know
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Symptoms

Viral or bacterial spinal meningitis can cause a range of symptoms, including:

  • Neck and back stiffness
  • Muscle weakness
  • Headache
  • Drowsiness
  • Fatigue
  • Fever
  • Double vision
  • Sensitivity to light
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Hearing difficulty
  • Confusion
  • Seizures
  • Rash

Symptoms are often far more pronounced with the bacterial form. This is because it�s associated with more inflammation, compared to the viral type.

Complications

Depending on the type whether viral or bacterial the results can be serious, leading to:

  • Permanent brain damage
  • Permanent organ damage
  • Stroke
  • Loss of hearing
  • Loss of limbs
  • Death

Anyone who experiences symptoms of meningitis should see a doctor immediately for diagnosis and treatment options.

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Risk for Spinal Meningitis

Getting spinal meningitis depends on various factors like:

  • Age
  • Immune system status
  • If the individual lives in a group environment
  • Children younger than five
  • Individuals with weakened immune systems from taking medication/s for other conditions
  • Recent organ/bone marrow transplants
  • Babies younger than 1-month-old along with weakened immune systems are more likely to experience severe illness

These are factors that could increase the risk of viral meningitis. Fortunately, most cases are not serious and in children’s cases, most recover in one to two weeks. Meningitis can also occur very rarely after spine surgery where the lining around the dura is torn with an infection happening at the same time.

Diagnosis

Detecting spinal meningitis a doctor will utilize:

  • Blood tests
  • Imaging tests
  • Spinal tap to test the cerebrospinal fluid which surrounds the brain and spinal cord.
  • The fluid is collected and sent to a lab, where it is analyzed for bacteria or viruses.

Treatment

Antiviral medication can help with certain types of viral meningitis with other meds for treating meningitis symptoms. Doctors recommend bed rest, proper fluids, and medication for fever relief and headache relief. This is for viral meningitis.

Antibiotic medications can treat bacterial spinal meningitis. It is commonly treated with intravenous antibiotics in a hospital setting. Unfortunately, around ten percent of children with bacterial meningitis die from it yearly. Even with immediate antibiotic treatment a child’s body can become overwhelmed by the bacteria/organism. The Meningococcus bacteria can create a toxin that invades the blood. This can be fatal for a child or adolescent within hours. This is why it�s highly recommended to prevent bacterial meningitis than to treat it once it’s active.

Contagious

Proper hygiene like hand washing, not sharing food, beverages, utensils, or body care products like lip salve/balm can help stop the spread of bacterial and viral meningitis.

Neck Pain Chiropractic Care

 

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Dr. Alex Jimenez�s Blog Post Disclaimer

The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, and sensitive health issues and/or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate and support directly or indirectly our clinical scope of practice.*

Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We also make copies of supporting research studies available to the board and or the public upon request. We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation as to how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900. The provider(s) Licensed in Texas& New Mexico*

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