About this topic
You can have pain in many different areas of your body. Sometimes, it is hard for the doctor to tell exactly where the pain is coming from. You can have pain in your muscles, bones, or joints. It can also happen in your tendons and ligaments which connect these together. ‚
If you have an injury, you may have signs like: ‚
- Pain, either in one part of your body or all over
- Aches or stiffness
- Feeling of a muscle pull
- Muscle twitching
- Feeling of burning in your muscles
- Being very tired
- Not sleeping well
Causes of this kind of pain may include: ‚
- Overuse or using a muscle in the same way over and over
- Trauma from falls, accidents, direct blows to muscles, and injuries such as bone breaks, sprains, or dislocations
- Strain on your muscles from bad posture
- Having a body part held in one position for a long period of time
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What care is needed at home?
Ask your doctor what you need to do when you go home. Make sure you ask questions if you do not understand what the doctor says. This way you will know what you need to do. ‚
Your care at home will depend on what the cause of your problem is. This may include: ‚
- Avoiding or stopping activities that cause you pain.
- Using a splint or brace for a period of time. This will let the injured area rest and heal.
- Heat can help lower pain. Your doctor may suggest that you soak in warm water. If your doctor tells you to use heat, put a heating pad on the painful part for no more than 20 minutes at a time. Never go to sleep with a heating pad on as this can cause burns.
- Place an ice pack or a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel over the painful part. Never put ice right on the skin. Do not leave the ice on more than 10 to 15 minutes at a time.
- Exercises to stretch and make muscles stronger.
- Methods to help you relax
- Massage therapy
- Other therapies such as acupuncture and acupressure
- Pain relieving or anti-inflammatory drugs. These can be taken by mouth or given as a shot into or near the painful part.
- Other drugs for patients with some health problems such as fibromyalgia. These would help with sleep, pain, and the immune system.
- Surgery may be needed for problems such as bone breaks or other injuries.
What follow-up care is needed?
Your doctor may ask you to make visits to the office to check on your progress. Be sure to keep all these visits. Your doctor may send you to physical therapy, occupational therapy, or a chiropractor to help you heal faster. ‚
Will physical activity be limited?
Your doctor may ask you to rest and limit your activity. This could last for a few days to a number of weeks based on how bad your problem is. Your doctor may want you to use a brace or splint to keep your injured area still for a while. ‚
What can be done to prevent this health problem?
- Some injuries are due to using a muscle in the same way over and over again. You may need to stop or limit an activity to let your injury heal.
- Lead an active lifestyle and keep your muscles strong and flexible to keep these injuries from happening.
- Keep a healthy weight to avoid too much strain on your joints and muscles.
- Use good posture and good body mechanics. This will help you stay pain free.
When do I need to call the doctor?
- Signs of a very bad reaction. These include wheezing; chest tightness; fever; itching; bad cough; blue skin color; seizures; or swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat. Go to the ER right away.
- Signs of infection. These include a fever of 100.4 ‚ °F (38 ‚ °C) or higher, chills, very bad sore throat, ear or sinus pain, cough, more sputum or change in color of sputum, pain with passing urine, mouth sores, or wound that will not heal.
- If your pain does not go away and your drugs are not helping
- If you have very bad pain and you do not know why
- Health problem is not better or you are feeling worse
Teach Back: Helping You Understand
The Teach Back Method helps you understand the information we are giving you. The idea is simple. After talking with the staff, tell them in your own words what you were just told. This helps to make sure the staff has covered each thing clearly. It also helps to explain things that may have been a bit confusing. Before going home, make sure you are able to do these: ‚
- I can tell you about my pain.
- I can tell you what may help ease my pain.
- I can tell you what I will do if I my pain does not go away or my pain drugs are not helping.
Where can I learn more?
American Chronic Pain Association ‚
http://www.theacpa.org/conditions ‚
Consumer Information Use and Disclaimer
This information is not specific medical advice and does not replace information you receive from your health care provider. This is only a brief summary of general information. It does NOT include all information about conditions, illnesses, injuries, tests, procedures, treatments, therapies, discharge instructions or life-style choices that may apply to you. You must talk with your health care provider for complete information about your health and treatment options. This information should not be used to decide whether or not to accept your health care providers advice, instructions or recommendations. Only your health care provider has the knowledge and training to provide advice that is right for you. ‚
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Copyright ‚ © 2015 Clinical Drug Information, LLC and Lexi-Comp, Inc. ‚