Nature Creation ArticlesHealth, Pain, Therapy, Solution

Mas­sage Dur­ing Labor

Par­tic­u­larly dur­ing early labor, hav­ing a part­ner mas­sage your lower back, thighs or hips dur­ing con­trac­tions can be a wel­come dis­trac­tion and relief. Use a mas­sage oil rather than bare hands-it is wise to have a fragrance-free option avail­able, as even a favorite scent may become nau­se­at­ing or over­pow­er­ing dur­ing labor. Aro­mather­apy oils may, how­ever, be effective-lavender is famous for its calm­ing effect. Aro­mather­apy oils are usu­ally diluted in a car­rier oil such as apri­cot ker­nel oil before apply­ing to the skin, for safety rea­sons. Your part­ner need not be qual­i­fied in mas­sage, although this is a bonus! Com­mu­ni­ca­tion will ensure that he or she is apply­ing pres­sure cor­rectly and at the right moments.

Apply­ing Heat Treat­ment Dur­ing Labor

A hot Nature Cre­ation Herbal Pack can be effec­tive in reduc­ing the pain of con­trac­tions. Women who turn to heat for pain relief dur­ing men­stru­a­tion are likely to find this method com­fort­ing. It is use­ful to have a part­ner on hand to reheat the bags or bot­tles as nec­es­sary! A long wheat bag (or rice bag), which is big enough to cover the entire lower back from hip to hip, is espe­cially use­ful. Wheat or rice bags have an advan­tage over hot water bot­tles in terms of safety-a labor­ing woman can lie on them, twist, squeeze or even bite them with­out fear of rup­tur­ing them!

Labor­ing or Birthing In Water

Labor­ing and even giv­ing birth in a birth pool or tub is becom­ing an increas­ingly pop­u­lar birth choice. Women have many rea­sons for choos­ing a water birth, but pain relief is often a major fac­tor in the deci­sion. Cur­rent med­ical advice sug­gests that a labor­ing woman not enter the pool until she is 5–6 cm dilated, in order to avoid the water stalling labor. While some women find that the water inten­si­fies their con­trac­tions, most report a sen­sa­tion of relief, weight­less­ness and calm upon get­ting into the pool. Other women, who choose not to use a birthing pool, find that labor­ing in the shower pro­vides a sim­i­lar level of pain relief. One advan­tage a pool has over a shower is the ease with which a woman can change posi­tions. Aro­mather­apy oils can also be added to a pool, although this is not rec­om­mended if the woman plans to give birth in the pool. Again, bear in mind that some scents may seem over­pow­er­ing or unpleas­ant while in labor.

Using TENS Machines for Labor Pain Relief

A slightly higher-tech method of pain relief, TENS machines involve apply­ing elec­trodes to the lower back, which send elec­tri­cal sig­nals to the brain, inter­rupt­ing the pain sig­nals of labor. Mixed results have been reported with these machines; how­ever, they have the usual advan­tages of drug-free pain relief options, in that they are safe for mother and baby.

Using Rasp­berry Leaf Tea to Shorten Labor

Red rasp­berry leaf tea is a uter­ine tonic, often rec­om­mended for preg­nant woman dur­ing the third trimester to pro­mote Braxton-Hicks con­trac­tions and strengthen the womb in prepa­ra­tion for labor. Although no sci­en­tific stud­ies have been done, many women report that a large, strong brew of rasp­berry leaf tea at the onset of labor quick­ens labor and helps dimin­ish the pain expe­ri­enced. Rasp­berry leaf tea can be drunk sweet­ened or plain, hot or iced. The tea can also be sipped through­out labor, to keep hydrated.

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Knee pain is an extremely com­mon com­plaint, and there are many causes. It is impor­tant to make an accu­rate diag­no­sis of the cause of your symp­toms so that appro­pri­ate treat­ment can be directed at the cause. If you have knee pain, some com­mon causes include:

* Arthri­tis
Arthri­tis is among the most com­mon causes of knee pain, and there are many treat­ments available.

* Lig­a­ment Injuries
Lig­a­ment injuries com­monly occur dur­ing ath­letic activ­i­ties and can cause dis­com­fort and insta­bil­ity.
o Ante­rior Cru­ci­ate Lig­a­ment (ACL) Injury
o Pos­te­rior Cru­ci­ate Lig­a­ment (PCL) Injury
o Medial Col­lat­eral Lig­a­ment (MCL) Injury

* Car­ti­lage Injuries | Menis­cal Tear
Car­ti­lage tears are seen in young and old patients alike, and are also an extremely com­mon cause of knee pain.

* Patel­lar Ten­donitis
Ten­donitis around the joint is most com­monly of the patel­lar ten­don, the large ten­don over the front of the knee.

* Chon­dro­ma­la­cia Patella
Chon­dro­ma­la­cia causes knee pain under the kneecap and is due to soft­en­ing of the

car­ti­lage. It is most com­mon in younger patients (15–35 years old).

* Dis­lo­cat­ing Kneecap
A dis­lo­cat­ing kneecap causes acute symp­toms dur­ing the dis­lo­ca­tion, but can also lead to chronic knee pain.

* Baker’s Cyst
A Baker’s cyst is swelling in the back of the joint, and is usu­ally a sign of another under­ly­ing prob­lem such as a menis­cus tear.

* Bur­si­tis
The most com­mon bursa affected around the joint is just above the kneecap. This is most com­mon in peo­ple who kneel for work, such as gar­den­ers or carpetlayers.

* Plica Syn­drome
Plica syn­drome is an uncom­mon cause of knee pain, and can be dif­fi­cult to diag­nose. The diag­no­sis is usu­ally made at the time of arthroscopy.

* Osgood-Schlatter Dis­ease
Osgood-Schlatter dis­ease is a con­di­tion seen in ado­les­cents and is due to irri­ta­tion of the growth plate just at the front of the joint.

* Osteo­chon­dri­tis Dis­se­cans
Osteo­chon­dri­tis dis­se­cans (OCD) is another con­di­tion seen in ado­les­cents due to the growth of the bone around the joint.

* Gout
Gout is an uncom­mon cause of knee pain. How­ever, in patients who have a diag­no­sis of gout, it must be con­sid­ered as a cause for new onset knee pain.

Treat­ments for Knee Pain
Treat­ment of knee pain depends entirely on the cause of the prob­lem. There­fore, it is of utmost impor­tance that you under­stand the cause of your symp­toms before embark­ing on a treat­ment pro­gram. If you are unsure of your diag­no­sis, or the sever­ity of your con­di­tion, you should seek med­ical advice before begin­ning any treat­ment plan.

Some com­mon treat­ments for knee pain are listed here. Not all of these treat­ments are appro­pri­ate for every con­di­tion, but they may be help­ful in your situation.

* Rest: The first treat­ment for most com­mon con­di­tions that cause knee pain is to rest the joint, and allow the acute inflam­ma­tion to sub­side. Often this is the only step needed to relieve knee pain. If the symp­toms are severe, crutches may be help­ful as well.

* Cold and Heat Appli­ca­tion: Nature Cre­ation Hot & Cold herbal packs are among the most com­monly used treat­ments for knee pain. So which one is the right one to use, ice or heat? And how long should the ice or heat treat­ments last? Click the fol­low­ing link: Heat or Cold, which Treat­ment is to use.

* Stretch­ing: Stretch­ing the mus­cles and ten­dons that sur­round the joint can help with some causes of knee pain. A good rou­tine should be estab­lished, and fol­low­ing some spe­cific sug­ges­tions will help you on your way.

* Phys­i­cal Ther­apy: Phys­i­cal ther­apy is an impor­tant aspect of treat­ment of almost all ortho­pe­dic con­di­tions. Phys­i­cal ther­a­pists use dif­fer­ent tech­niques to increase strength, regain mobil­ity, and help return patients to their pre-injury level of activity.

* Anti-Inflammatory Med­ica­tion: Non­s­teroidal anti-inflammatory med­ica­tions, com­monly referred to as NSAIDs, are some of the most com­monly pre­scribed med­ica­tions, espe­cially for patients with knee pain caused by prob­lems such as arthri­tis, bur­si­tis, and tendonitis.

* Cor­ti­sone injec­tions: Cor­ti­sone is a pow­er­ful med­ica­tion that treats inflam­ma­tion, and inflam­ma­tion is a com­mon prob­lem in patients with knee pain. Dis­cuss with your doc­tor the pos­si­ble ben­e­fits of a cor­ti­sone injec­tion for your condition.

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Do you know when to use ice and when to use heat on a sports injury? Most ath­letes know to apply ice to an acute injury, like a sprained ankle, but aren’t so sure when to use heat. The fol­low­ing guide­lines will help you sort it out.

Acute and Chronic Pain

# There are two basic types of ath­letic injuries: acute and chronic. Acute Pain is of rapid onset and short-lived, or
# Chronic Pain devel­ops slowly and is per­sis­tent and long-lasting.

Acute and Chronic Injuries

Acute injuries are sud­den, sharp, trau­matic injuries that occur imme­di­ately (or within hours) and cause pain (pos­si­bly severe pain). Most often acute injuries result from some sort of impact or trauma such as a fall, sprain, or col­li­sion and it’s pretty obvi­ous what caused the injury.

Acute injuries also cause com­mon signs and symp­toms of injury such as pain, ten­der­ness, red­ness, skin that is warm to the touch, swelling and inflam­ma­tion. If you have swelling, you have an acute injury.

Chronic injuries, on the other hand, can be sub­tle and slow to develop. They some­times come and go, and may cause dull pain or sore­ness. They are often the result of overuse, but some­times develop when an acute injury is not prop­erly treated and doesn’t heal.

Cold Ther­apy with Nature Cre­ation Herbal Pack
Cold ther­apy with nature Cre­ation Herbal pack is the best imme­di­ate treat­ment for acute injuries because it reduces swelling and pain. Cold herbal pack is a vaso-constrictor (it causes the blood ves­sels to nar­row) and it lim­its inter­nal bleed­ing at the injury site. Apply Nature Cre­ation Cold Herbal pack to the affected area for 10 to 15 min­utes at a time. Allow the skin tem­per­a­ture to return to nor­mal before apply­ing the pack a sec­ond or third time. You can use Nature Cre­ation pack on an acute injury sev­eral times a day for up to three days.

Cold ther­apy is also help­ful in treat­ing some overuse injuries or chronic pain in ath­letes. An ath­lete who has chronic knee pain that increases after run­ning may want to ice the injured area after each run to reduce or pre­vent inflam­ma­tion. It’s not help­ful to ice a chronic injury before exercise.

Heat Ther­apy
Heat is gen­er­ally used for chronic injuries or injuries that have no inflam­ma­tion or swelling. Sore, stiff, nag­ging mus­cle or joint pain is ideal for the use of heat ther­apy. Ath­letes with chronic pain or injuries may use heat ther­apy before exer­cise to increase the elas­tic­ity of joint con­nec­tive tis­sues and to stim­u­late blood flow. Heat can also help relax tight mus­cles or mus­cle spasms. Don’t apply heat after exer­cise. After a work­out, ice is the bet­ter choice on a chronic injury.

Because heat increases cir­cu­la­tion and raises skin tem­per­a­ture, you should not apply heat to acute injuries or injuries that show signs of inflam­ma­tion. Safely apply heat to an injury 15 to 20 min­utes at a time and use enough lay­ers between your skin and the heat­ing source to pre­vent burns.

Moist heat is best, so you could try using a hot Nature Cre­ation Herbal Pack. Never leave the hot herbal pack on for more than 20 min­utes at a time or while sleeping.

Because some injuries can be seri­ous, you should see your doc­tor if your injury does not improve (or gets worse) within 48 hours.

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