Sprained Ankle Symptoms - Is It Broken Or Sprained?

Sprained Ankle Symptoms - Is It Broken Or Sprained?

Though breaking your ankle and spraining you ankle is a completely different type of injury, it can be difficult to understand sprained ankle symptoms just by "feel". A bad sprain can be much more painful than a light break and vice versa. Unfortunately, for those of us who like to admit defeat and consult a professional, the best way to tell is to go to the doctor and get an x-ray. Guessing (even educated guesses) can result in larger problems down the road if your guess-work results in an incorrect diagnosis. However, there are a few telltale signs that can help you figure out if your ankle is broken or twisted - unfortunately none of these sprained ankle symptoms are one hundred percent reliable.
When you injured the ankle, what kind of noise did you hear? A popping or ripping sound is indicative of a sprain. A sprain is the stretching or tearing of ligaments in your ankle. That sound you heard is the sound of your ligaments doing things they shouldn't. One of my worse injuries sounded like Christopher Walken doing a Spanish accent. It turned out to be a sprain. A cracking noise indicates a break. Even small fractures can be difficult to heal. However, depending on the degree of the fracture and the environment in which you were injured, you may or may not hear a noise.
Next on your list of sprained ankle symptoms is a test of 'reactionary' vs. 'constant' pain. At the moment of injury immediately get off your feet. Any place will do; a bench, a curb, the ground. Taking pressure off the injury will help you determine the type of pain you are experiencing. Reactionary pain is experienced when you move the injured area. For example, placing your foot on the ground, moving your ankle in different directions, or touching the area are all simple tests. If you are only experiencing discomfort from the initial injury, and pain comes only when moving or touching the injured site, this is probably indicative of a sprain. However, complete tearing of a ligament could result in NO PAIN or EXTREME PAIN, making these sprained ankle symptoms all so confusing. If you are experiencing constant pain, regardless of how much you move or don't move the area, this is probably a break.
Here is another test of 'reactionary' vs. 'constant' pain. Sit on the floor facing a firm wall with both feet in front of you and put you injured foot flat against the wall. Push softly against the wall with your injured foot. If you are able to do this, no large bones are fractured or broken. If when you do this you experience a good amount of pain in places other than your ankle, you probably have broken something.
Sprained ankle symptoms my also include a feeling of ankle instability. I know, at this time who wants to put pressure on the injury right? However, a serious ankle sprain resulting from completely tearing a ligament will give you an 'unstable' feeling when walking on your ankle. A break will probably make it impossible to walk or you will experience pain in other parts of your body in addition to your ankle.
Another test of sprained ankle symptoms is the "wait and see" test. Initial injury is a very difficult time to diagnose yourself because really, a little pain and a lot of pain is difficult to differentiate, and who really knows what Christopher Walken doing a Spanish accent sounds like. So get home quickly (if you're able to walk yourself home it's probably a sprain) and begin the RICE system. If the pain keeps you up at night - it's probably a break. If after 24 to 48 hours you're feeling better, it's probably a sprain. If after 48 hour of RICE you are feeling better, you should start rehabilitation exercises for your ankle to speed up recovery time.

Scoliosis Genetic and Blood Tests Pave the Way for Early Stage Scoliosis Intervention in the Future

Scoliosis Genetic and Blood Tests Pave the Way for Early Stage Scoliosis Intervention in the Future

The treatment of idiopathic scoliosis has maintained a consistent dogmatic stance of observation for mild curvature less than 25 degrees, bracing for moderate curvatures between 25 and 40 degrees, and highly invasive spinal fusion surgery for curvature over 40 degrees. With the advent of genetic and blood testing this dogmatic stance will be rapidly changing. Controversy amongst scoliosis specialists has been evident especially when dealing with early and moderate treatment zones. With the lack of any genetic profile or understanding of what makes a scoliosis progress to severe surgical levels we simply were unable to tell whether or not the conservative treatments like scoliosis bracing and scoliosis exercise altered the natural course of the disease or if the scoliosis would not have progressed regardless of early attempts to halt progression.
Genetic prognostic testing now available, that will help determine the progressive nature of a patient's scoliosis. An analysis of 53 DNA markers associated with scoliosis has allowed categorization of three specific groups of patients: low risk for progression, moderate risk, and those that will progress to greater than 45 degrees and most likely require fusion surgery. When this testing is used as standard practice it may in fact change the entire paradigm of scoliosis management. Those that will not require treatment considered very low risk will need to be monitored only periodically if at all depending on the patients choice to seek alternative therapies for possible reducing the lower grade curvature. Those that are in the moderate risk zone will still require periodic evaluation and may certainly benefit from conservative methods of treatment, such as scoliosis rehabilitation. Those in the high risk category for curve progression, may be candidates for less invasive non fusion based guided growth type surgeries known as vertebral stapling.
The advent of growth modulation techniques, mainly vertebral body stapling, will most likely become more commonly utilized versus the reactive fusion based surgery that currently dominates the scoliosis surgery market. This guided growth technology may be effective in controlling curve progression until skeletal maturity, at which time the vertebral staples could either be removed or remain based on what the surgeons recommend. This newer technique generally will not negatively impact spinal mobility but at the same time alter curve progression levels and in some cases prevent progression. Further tweaking of the genetic testing may eventually identify those patients who will benefit from physical therapy or spinal bracing, so that these types of scoliosis treatments can be begin at the earliest possible stage in scoliosis development to ultimately maximize their effectiveness. The eagerly awaited scoliosis blood test which measures level of osteopontin (OPN) will hopefully be used in conjunction with the patient's genetic risk analysis and can be used to determine how effective a conservative treatment approach may be for any given patient before they fail a therapeutic trial.
Scoliosis is a condition with both genetic and environmental components (Nature vs. Nurture). Any basic algebra student can tell you that an equation with 2 unknown variables can't be solved and this is why trying to figure out which patients needed which treatments was almost impossible to do with any amount of accuracy. Until now, the Scoliscore test can provide us with the necessary genetic part of the equation and we can now focus on elimination of the environmental aspects of the condition (since altering the genetic component is currently impossible).....this means we can actually start working towards a cure through early stage intervention and elimination of environmental factors.
The prognostic technology of scoliosis is rapidly out pacing the rate of scoliosis treatment advancement. An early stage scoliosis treatment program is being developed in hopes of altering the natural course of the condition and take advantage of the opportunity this prognostic technology can provide.

Lordosis Causes and Solutions

Lordosis Causes and Solutions

Almost everyone in the world has done a sit up sometime during their life. The exception are only those that have not started school or began to walk yet. Lordosis is actually a very common condition, and the severity is depended upon the person and their imbalance. Many people have lordosis without even realizing it; others are aware of the pain, but unaware of the condition.
Lordosis is an exaggerated lumbar curve in the spine. It is caused by overactive or tight hip flexors, weak hip extensors, and weak abdominals. Many people that sit down a lot during the day have lordosis and others that do a lot of sit ups have it. Notice a lot of people come out of the military with lower back pains? Most of the time it is caused by loads of sit ups that are required to maintain physical fitness.
Sit ups can cause lordosis by working the hip flexors more than the rectus abdominis. The ab muscles, which anatomically are known as the rectus abdominis, act to elevate the torso with help from three muscles that flex the hip - iliopsas, which is actually three muscles - the psoas major, psoas minor, and iliacus. And the rectus femoris, which is the only quad muscle that runs anterior of the femoroacetabular joint.
When the hip flexes, a person with weak abs will only get minimum work from their ab muscles directly. This causes the hip flexors to do a lot of the work. The hip flexors will continue working long before the ab muscles have fatigued, and the the result is a forward pelvis - an anterior pelvic tilt we call "lordosis". Other exercises that target the ab muscles are sometimes acknowledged to target the hip flexors. One of which, is the hanging weighted leg raise. The leg raise flexes the hip, but is better than sit ups because it involves more of the spinal erectors that have to stabilize the lower back.
The anterior pelvic tilt, called "lordosis" can be fixed in many ways. The solution is first to stretch the overactive muscles - in this case the hip flexors and strengthen the abs and hip extensors. How can you strengthen the abs without the hip flexors too? Isometric ab work like planks. How can you strengthen the hip extensors? Stiff-leg deadlifts and low bar squats can do the job, so can glute hamstring raises. If you insist on concentrically working your abs with sit ups or leg raises, then squeeze the glutes at the bottom to deactivate the hip flexors.

Skin Yeast Infection

Skin Yeast Infection

Skin yeast infection is probably not one that most people have heard of. When you hear the word "yeast infection", your thoughts probably turn to the vagina (for women) or the penis (for men), but did you know that a candida infection can also be present on the skin of other areas of the body? This article will review some common places on the human body skin where a yeast fungal infection can be found.yeast
Skin yeast infection of the vagina
Let's start with one the most common candida fungal infections. Women can get excess amounts of in and around the vaginal cavity. The result is frequent burning and itching in the female genital area. Severe cases of a vaginal yeast outbreak include sores and lesions.
Skin yeast infection of the penis
It is not uncommon for a man to contract penile yeast infections when having sexual intercourse with a partner that has an active candida infection in her vagina. One challenge, however is proper diagnosis as it is often difficult for a non-medical person to know the difference between a sexually transmitted disease and the existence of the candida fungus on the penis. Severe cases of a penile yeast infection can result in blisters at the tip of the head of the penis - causing severe pain during urination and sexual activity. Also, yeast blisters are not always limited to the penile shaft - sometimes the infection can spread through the inner thighs of a man, even back toward the anus.
Skin yeast infection in the folds of the skin
Irritation can form under the folds of the skin. This creates a condition called intertrigo and can present itself in moist, warm areas of the body such as the groin, breasts, underarms as well as under the skin folds of the belly of an obese person. If there are any cuts or lesions in these precarious locations, then the yeast organisms can penetrate through the skin into the bloodstream. Proper hygiene is extremely important for someone who has a problem with frequent candida infections of the skin folds. This includes making sure that you take frequent showers (and clean all folds of the skin with soap and water). In addition, when in situations where excessive sweating can take place, make sure that all the skin folds are wiped down with a dry towel as quickly as possible so that the yeast does not breed and multiply at a faster pace.