Nerve Pain Archives - Dr. Michael A. Castillo, MD

27Sep 2022 by webadmin@macmdaz.com

Pain: Let’s Talk

by: Dr. Michael A. Castillo I was told September is “Pain Awareness Month.” Pain is strictly an individual concept. Medicine uses a blank line 10cm long, 0-10/10 scale, smiley faces to crying faces, and other methods. None are really appropriate for all patients, or have been shown to cross reference to another person’s pain. There is no consistent way to deal with an individual’s pain. Pain can break up a family or a family can endure. Friends can remain friends or can be completely lost. Successful lives can be completely lost or never started. Simple activities can become impossible to accomplish. People in pain can be thought to be lying to get out of life. Pain can lead to depression. At its worst pain can lead to a rapid dwindling…

09Jan 2019 by webadmin@macmdaz.com

Myofascial Pain What to Know

Chronic Pain Conditions, Nerve Pain, Peripheral Neuropathy

myofascial pain trigger points Skeletal muscles primarily function our way of moving by attaching to other muscles and joints. When those muscles get knotted up, like when you sleep on your neck wrong, or have a back spasm, trigger points develop causing the muscle to shorten and become dysfunctional. Myofasical trigger points prevent normal muscle function, not allowing the muscle to contract or relax as it should. These highly sensitive trigger points in the muscle can cause sensory, motor, and autonomic symptoms. When myofascial trigger points are not treated early, they can cause stress in the dysfunctional muscle fibers and lead to more trigger points developing in the muscle or the compensating muscles (a snowball effect that could effect a lot of the musculoskeletal system). Sort of like when you…

06Dec 2018 by webadmin@macmdaz.com

Cervical Nerves

Chronic Pain Conditions, Nerve Pain

In addition to the seven cervical vertebrae, cervical anatomy features eight cervical nerve roots (C1-C8) that branch from the spinal cord and control motor and sensory abilities for different parts of the body. Each cervical nerve is named based on the lower cervical vertebra that it runs between. As an example, the C6 nerve root runs between the C5 vertebra and the C6 vertebra. Cervical Nerve Functions Each level of the cervical spine actually has two nerve roots—one on each side—that branch off from the spinal cord. Keeping with the aforementioned example at the C5-C6 level, each C6 nerve root exits the spinal canal through a bony hole (foramina) on both sides of the neck. From there, the C6 nerve root feeds into nerves that run down their own side’s…

21Nov 2018 by webadmin@macmdaz.com

Types of Arthritis That Cause SI Joint Pain

Chronic Pain Conditions, Nerve Pain

Pain in your lower back can be caused by many things including muscle pain, soft tissue pain, or joint pain. The sacroiliac (SI) joints can also be a cause of lower back and arthritis pain. Similar to the knee, the SI joint contains cartilage which degenerates over time. Saroiliac pain can cause different forms of arthritis including: osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and gout. When you feel pain in your lower back or hips, the pain can originate from muscles, soft tissues like tendons and ligaments, or joints. But it’s not just the joints of the spine or the large hip ball-and-socket that may be the source of the problem—there’s also a pair of joints that can cause symptoms called the sacroiliac (SI) joints. The SI joints connect the base…

15Nov 2018 by webadmin@macmdaz.com

Fracture Risk and Spinal Osteoarthritis

Chronic Pain Conditions, Nerve Pain, Uncategorized

Many health factors can effect whether or not fractures are a risk in spinal osteoarthritis. Spinal osteoarthritis, osteoarthritis in general is more prevalent in women, is more common in women over 50; but can occur in men. OA related fractures in the spine may be an under-diagnosed result of spinal osteoarthritis. Fractures that do occur as a result of spinal OA can cause pain, changes in posture, and even limit independent function. Talking with your doctor about symptoms you experience related to osteoarthritis could help diagnose whether or not fractures are a risk. Spinal Osteoporosis and Fracture Risk Factors Due to hormonal changes, spinal osteoporosis is more common in patients over 50 years of age and four times more common in women than in men. It is worth noting that:…

06Nov 2018 by webadmin@macmdaz.com

Leg Pain and Foot Pain Causes

Chronic Pain Conditions, Nerve Pain

Leg and foot pain can originate from other chronic conditions such as lumbar back pain. The nerves that control muscle functions in the legs are located in the lower back, and that’s where symptoms of leg pain can instigate in some cases. Symptoms of leg pain caused by the lower back conditions can include numbness, tingling, shooting pain, or foot drop. Degeneration in our vertebral spine happens as we age, resulting in lost disc flexibility, and can cause pain to radiate down the leg during movement. Leg and foot pain can be symptoms of lumbar degenerative disc disease, along with the more common symptom of back pain. A compressed nerve could also be the source of leg pain in degenerative disc disease. When the disc degenerates it in a sense…

12Sep 2018 by webadmin@macmdaz.com

Neuropathy And Chronic Back Pain

Chronic Pain Conditions, Nerve Pain, Peripheral Neuropathy

Neuropathic pain originates in the nerves; and can be thought of as similar to static on a telephone line. Neuropathy happens when nerves become damaged or dysfunctional because of an injury or trauma. It's considered a chronic condition. Neuropathic pain is distinct from other types of pain. If a person breaks a bone, pain signals are carried via nerves from the site of the trauma to the brain. With neuropathic pain, however, pain signals originate in the nerves themselves. How Neuropathic Pain Develops In many cases, the nerves become damaged or dysfunctional after responding to an injury or trauma, causing hypersensitivity to pain. The nerves then send faulty signals of pain even when the injury has healed. The initial injury can occur in either the peripheral or central nervous system.…

29May 2018 by webadmin@macmdaz.com

Neuroinflammation of Patients with Sciatica

Chronic Pain Conditions, Nerve Pain

A study by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators has found, for the first time in humans, that patients with chronic sciatica - back pain that shoots down the leg - have evidence of inflammation in key areas of the nervous system. In their paper published in the May issue of the journal Pain, the research team reports finding that average levels of a marker of neuroinflammation were elevated in both the spinal cord and the nerve roots of patients with chronic sciatica. Additionally, the study showed an association between neuroinflammation and response to anti-inflammatory steroid injections, with levels of neuroinflammation differing between those whose pain was and those whose pain was not relieved by steroid injection treatment. "Sciatica is an extremely common pain condition and is estimated to affect around 5…

12Mar 2018 by webadmin@macmdaz.com

Regenerative Medicine the Pain Management Alternative

Nerve Pain, Regenerative medicine, Therapies & Treatments

Injuries happen to almost everyone, but for some they can be far worse. For those with chronic pain, arthritis and a host of other ailments, it can mean a lifetime of discomfort. While many of those symptoms can be treated, it’s often with invasive surgery or only partially effective treatments like cortisone shots. Regenerative medicine offers an alternative to going under the knife, while achieving lasting results. Relievus, a pain management and neurology specialist practice, offers these treatments at both its Havertown and Philadelphia locations. Here, clinician Dr. Uplekh Purewal offers insight. Q: What is regenerative medicine? A: It’s a form of medicine that involves using the regenerative properties of the human body to help repair injuries or chronic, pathological conditions like arthritis over a period of time. We’re harvesting the…

05Mar 2018 by webadmin@macmdaz.com

Skin Cells may help repair MS damage

Chronic Pain News, Nerve Pain

A personalized treatment for multiple sclerosis may be one step closer, thanks to a new study that reveals how a person's own skin cells could be used to repair the nerve damage that the disease causes. Led by scientists at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, the study took skin cells from adult mice with multiple sclerosis (MS) and then reprogramed them into neural stem cells (NSCs). These "induced neural stem cells" (iNSCs) were transplanted into the rodents' cerebrospinal fluid. There, they reduced inflammation and repaired damage to the central nervous system (CNS). Lead study author Dr. Stefano Pluchino, of the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Cambridge, and team believe that their strategy could offer a promising treatment for MS and other neurological diseases. The researchers recently reported their findings in the journal Cell Stem Cell.…