Musculoskeletal complaints are the civilized world's number one disease

Main Category: Pain / Anesthetics
Article Date: 14 Jul 2004 - 1:00 PDT

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We've been together now for 35 years. In the beginning, everything was perfect. We jumped rope together and played chase. The first crisis came when I went to college - all those hours spent hunched over books didn't go down too well. As time went by, my relationship with my back became increasingly tense. In the end, it just broke down completely.

Every third back in Germany is bowed down by pain on a regular basis. The main causes are stress-related tension or an incorrect posture during office work, drafts, unilateral strain or a lack of exercise.

The effects of aging are another contributing factor: at the age of 30, the elasticity of the intervertebral disks and thus their ability to regenerate starts to decrease: they become thinner and can be displaced more easily, which means that they sometimes exert pressure on the nerves in the spinal column.

The more cramped the posture, the more severe the symptoms become. More and more muscle groups tense up in the search for a pain-free position. The entire back becomes as stiff as a board. Every movement causes intense pain.

Orthopedic experts recommend taking a painkiller as first aid in the event of acute back pain. This gives the cramped muscles time to relax. One suitable analgesic is Aktren Spezial, an over-the-counter drug product [only available in Germany] containing the active ingredient ibuprofen. The main advantage of this product is its two-fold mode of action, which allows it to provide pain relief that is both rapid and sustained.

A single dose containing 400 mg ibuprofen can combat pain for up to eight hours - a period of respite from pain which should be used to investigate the cause of the problem, because medication must not be regarded as a long-term solution. To ensure that the backache does not turn into a chronic condition, experts recommend holistic pain therapy comprising, depending on the patient's needs, traditional medicine, physiotherapy, psychotherapy and natural remedies.

Above all, however, the watchword should be "prevention is better than cure". The crux is that backache may have many different causes. In around three quarters of cases, it is extremely difficult to make an exact diagnosis. What always help are simple measures designed to take the strain off the back and strengthen it at the same time.

For example, an upright posture in which the spinal column is not burdened can help, as can regular exercise and sports that are particularly good at strengthening the back muscles.

Cold drafts are a frequently underestimated factor that is particularly significant in view of the current fashion for clothes that leave the stomach and kidneys exposed.

Maintaining a good posture at the workplace with the desk, PC and chair at the right distances from one another is important for preventing long-term damage. Taking a break from time to time to relax the shoulder muscles or even do some yoga can also help to prevent muscle tension. Don't forget: smoking causes damage not only to the lungs - the resulting impairment to the blood circulation affects the neck and back as well, and that can mean pain and cramping.

Tips for acute backache:

- Take a suitable analgesic, such as Aktren Spezial, to ensure that the muscles do not become even more cramped.

- Hold legs at a right angle (90 degrees) to relieve the strain on stressed nerves.

- For backache caused by drafts, warm the affected parts of the body, for example with red light, by taking a hot bath or shower and wearing warm clothing.

- Exercise within the range of your possibilities.

- A massage can relax tense muscles.

- Analyze the cause of the backache and eliminate the problem.

Aktren Spezial

The soft gelatin capsules each containing 400 mg of the active ingredient ibuprofen are recommended for the treatment of severe pain such as backache, headache or toothache. Part of the substance is in liquid form for a rapid onset of action. The remainder is formulated as microcrystalline substance and is released more slowly. This allows the active substance to be taken up rapidly by the body while ensuring a long duration of action at the same time.

Bayer HealthCare AG, a subgroup of Bayer AG with sales of approximately 8.9 billion Euro in 2003, is one of the world's leading, innovative companies in the health care and medical products industry.

The company combines the global activities of the divisions Animal Health, Biological Products, Consumer Care, Diagnostics Professional Testing Systems and Diagnostics Self Testing Systems and Pharmaceuticals. 34,600 people are employed by Bayer HealthCare worldwide.

Our aim is to discover and manufacture innovative products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Our products enhance well-being and quality of life by diagnosing, preventing and treating disease.

http://www.press.bayer.com/News

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