Articles: treatment.
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Migraine is a common, chronic neurologic disorder that affects approximately 12% of the adult population in Western countries. Once migraine is diagnosed, illness severity must be assessed. Clinicians and patients should then work together to develop a treatment plan based on patient needs and preferences. ⋯ A variety of behavioral interventions are helpful. The clinician has an armamentarium of ever-expanding variety of medications. With experience, clinicians can match individual patient needs with the specific characteristics of a drug to optimize therapeutic benefit.
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Chronic axial neck pain and cervicogenic headache are common problems, and there have been significant advances in the understanding of the etiology and treatment of each. The severity and duration of pain drives the process. For patients who have had slight to moderate pain that has been present for less than 6 months and have no significant motor loss, strength training of anterior, posterior, and interscapular muscle groups coupled with body mechanics training is prescribed. ⋯ For patients with one or two level disc degeneration that has not responded, a psychologic evaluation and discography is recommended. If there are no significant psychologic abnormalities, and one or two (rarely three) painful discs, surgical consultation is recommended. Adjunctive low-dose opioid analgesics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and perhaps tricyclic antidepressants are used to supplement the program at mid- and late stages.
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Bosn J Basic Med Sci · Nov 2003
The effects of McKenzie exercises for patients with low back pain, our experience.
To investigate influence of McKenzie exercises on decreasing the pain in patients with low back pain, to show occurrence of Centralization sign, as a predictor of good treatment outcomes and to evaluate use of McKenzie exercises, as a routine method for lower back pain in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Centres. ⋯ McKenzie exercises for low back pain are beneficial treatment for increasing flexibility of spine and improving the pain with better results in pain relief. Although done by minimally trained physiotherapists in McKenzie approach, McKenzie exercises are successful method for decreasing and centralising the pain and increasing spinal movements in patients with low back pain.
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Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a heterogeneous disorder that falls in the spectrum of neuropathic pain disorders. It is maintained by abnormalities throughout the neuraxis (the peripheral, autonomic, and central nervous systems). The pathophysiology of CRPS is not fully known. ⋯ To the extent that peripheral somatosensory nerve blocks can diminish nociceptive input to the central nervous system, these techniques may help reduce the nociceptive sensitization of spinal neurons. Pain relief, however it is achieved and however temporary it is, is intended to facilitate participation in functional therapies to normalize use and to improve motion, strength, and dexterity. Psychologic therapies, such as biofeedback and cognitive-behavioral techniques targeting pain, stress, and mood disorders, are valuable adjunctive treatments for pain control and can facilitate functional improvement.
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Skull Base Interd Ap · Nov 2003
Submental Orotracheal Intubation: An Alternative to Tracheotomy in Transfacial Cranial Base Surgery.
This retrospective study evaluated the safety and efficacy of submental intubation not only for trauma treatment but also for oncological cranial base surgery. The medical records of 24 patients who underwent submental intubation from 1996 to 2002 were reviewed. There were 6 procedures for craniofacial trauma, 12 transmaxillary approaches to the clivus for clivus chordomas, and 6 transmaxillary approaches to the cranial base for chondrosarcomas. ⋯ It avoids the complications associated with tracheostomy. It also permits considerable downward retraction of the maxilla after a Le Fort I osteotomy and is associated with good clival exposure. Furthermore, it does not interfere with maxillomandibular fixation at the end of the surgery.