Medsarticles. Medical Weblog » Pain Relief-Muscle Relaxers

HEADACHES THAT ARE NOT MIGRAINE: TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA, CERVICAL SPINE AND CHINESE RESTAURANT SYNDROME

admin — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:32:20 +0000

Trigeminal neuralgiaThis affects people in the second half of life, affecting women twice as frequently as men. It consists of paroxysms of severe shooting or stabbing pains on one side of the face which are brought on by shaving, eating, talking, or cold draughts. The painful spasms may last only a few seconds but can recur frequently.
The cervical spineAbnormalities of this bone in the neck are often said to be the cause of headache. In fact this is the case much less commonly than supposed; anyone over the age of 50 years may have X-ray changes in the cervical spine but this does not necessarily mean they are the cause of the headaches.There are many other less common causes of headache which come on after certain types of food but are not migrainous or allergic.
The Chinese restaurant syndromeThe symptoms come on within half an hour of starting a Chinese meal. Although headache, affecting chiefly the temples and forehead, is a feature, the chief complaints are of a feeling of tightness or pressure over the face and chest.The offending substance has been found to be a chemical called monosodium glutamate. This compound is added to food to bring out its taste and the reason why Chinese food is often the culprit is because this substance is regularly added in relatively large quantities. It has also been found that three grams is enough to bring on the symptoms in susceptible subjects, particularly on an empty stomach. The syndrome is therefore more likely to occur after soup than after more solid food (absorption of the substance then being less rapid).
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LOGICAL ANALYSIS OF POSTURE: DUALITY OF CONTROL – SO MUCH FOR ELONGATING MUSCLES

admin — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:05:02 +0000

So much for elongating muscles. I am sure there will still be sceptics who will argue that I have no scientific proof and therefore I must be wrong. This selective argument is often used by people who simply do not want to believe something, carefully glossing over those things they have to believe in but can’t explain (such people probably wouldn’t ‘believe in’ acupuncture or most of the functions of the brain). To those I say, all right don’t believe it. Maybe there is some other explanation, that nobody has thought of yet, for the anti-gravitational force. Let us not argue about it. The fact is, and this is unarguable, that the posture-maintaining muscles and general muscle tone do create an anti-gravitational force that counteracts or neutralises part of the body’s actual weight. In my concept of backache, this anti-gravitational force, crested totf posture-maintaining muscles and general muscle tone, plays a very important role. It is almost like the vital force of the back. The greater the force the less the pressure on the spine’s joints and discs and on the joints of the leg.

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WHEN TREATMENTS FOR TWO SYMPTOMS CLASH: DRAGGING SWOLLEN BELLY AND LOW BLOOD SUGAR

admin — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:20:26 +0000

A bloated stomach and fatigue caused by low blood sugar is another tricky combination. If your belly is distended with too much water, with the result that you can’t face a big meal, and yet at the same time your blood sugar is obviously low and you’re getting tired and snappy, what can you do? One possible compromise is to eat several small meals instead of one big one.

But make sure that they’re satisfying light snacks and not too stodgy. Sweet black coffee is a useful ally too, if you like it, and it doesn’t disagree with you, because besides being a quick pick-me-up it also acts as a mild diuretic and can get rid of some of that extra water for you. It helps to wear comfortable clothes too, things that don’t restrict your belly in any way. Your choice will be influenced by the amount of work you have to do. If your blood sugar is low and you’re resting, you won’t need quite so much food to replenish your stocks as you will if you are working hard. So once again the choice is yours. Only you know exactly what your circumstances are and how you can cope with them.

The sad thing is that if you suffer from two symptoms that clash there really aren’t any simple solutions. In the end you are faced with a difficult choice — to decide which of your two symptoms upsets you most — and then to treat that and put up with the other one. I know that’s not the answer you would like, but I’m afraid it’s the only one I can give you.

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