Pain Relief Exercises for Meralgia Paresthetica: Overview
The first thing one needs to do when they have pain is to understand what exactly it is. There are many things that cause pain, but there are only few causes which are chronic and long lasting. These are known as Chronic Pain Syndrome (CPS) and Non-Chronic Low Back Pain (NHLP).
CMS is a condition where the body does not respond well to normal levels of pain relief. The reason why it is called non-chronic low back pain or NHLP is because it lasts longer than 1 month. CMS occurs when there are no physical symptoms that would indicate that something wrong is happening with your spine.
In addition to being non-chronic, the pain itself may be worse than other types of pain. For example, if you had a minor car accident and suffered a sprained ankle, you might experience some discomfort from the injury. However, if you were injured while playing hockey and sustained severe damage to your spinal cord resulting in paralysis on one side of your body, then your life will never be the same again.
The pain of the first scenario is acute. The pain in this case is caused by an injury that heals overtime. On the contrary, the paralysis causes chronic pain which does not heal. The paralysis itself will heal overtime and with proper care, but the pain may never completely disappear.
Chronic Pain Syndrome (CPS) and Non-Chronic Low Back Pain (NHLP) are diagnosed after doctors rule out other potential causes of pain such as inflammation, tumors or fractures.
These two conditions can have devastating effects on your life. They can result in social isolation, financial burden and sometimes even suicide. The good news is that there are ways you can manage your pain to prevent these things from happening. Some of the most common ways of doing this are physical therapy and medication.
Pain Relief Exercises for Meralgia Paresthetica: Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is a non-invasive way of managing your pain. It involves physical techniques aimed at stretching and strengthening the skeletal and muscular anatomy. It is a treatment that is favored by most doctors because there are very few risks involved with doing it.
Physical therapy is great for people who do not want to take pain medication on a daily basis. It also helps people who are looking for a more natural way of addressing the root cause of their pain. Finally, it can be used in combination with pain medication for maximum effect.
There are many types of physical therapy exercises that can be used to address the root cause of your pain. The type of exercises that will be recommended for you will be specific to your condition. However, there are some common types of exercises that you may have to do during your treatment. These include:
Stretching exercises
Stretching is an important part of any physical therapy routine. Stretching helps improve flexibility and can prevent a recurrence of pain. It is important that you do not bounce while you are stretching or you can cause yourself more harm than good. The pain while stretching should be mild and if you are experiencing a lot of pain then you should relax until the pain subsides before continuing.
Strengthening exercises
Your muscles become weakened due to inactivity after your condition was diagnosed. You will most likely be assigned a regimen of strengthening exercises to be done on a daily basis at home. These exercises will help to alleviate some of the muscular weakness that you are experiencing and can also help prevent a recurrence of your condition.
Stability Exercises
Your body has a natural tendency to compensate for a weakness in one part of your body by overusing another part. For example, if you experience a weakness in your right leg then your body will start to overuse your right arm. These compensatory actions can lead to conditions such as Scoliosis or muscle imbalances. Your physical therapist will be able to assess your condition and prescribe exercises to help correct these issues.
Core Strength Exercises
Your core is the center of your body and includes muscles such as your abdominals and back muscles. These muscles are important for proper posture and to stabilize you while you are moving. If these muscles are weak or imbalanced it will cause strain on the rest of your body. Your physical therapist will design a core strengthening exercise routine for you that is specifically designed to address your needs.
Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapy, also known as OT, is used to treat a variety of conditions ranging from brain injury to arthritis.
Sources & references used in this article:
Meralgia paresthetica: diagnosis and treatment by MG Grossman, SA Ducey, SS Nadler… – JAAOS-Journal of the …, 2001 – journals.lww.com
Successful treatment of meralgia paresthetica with pulsed radiofrequency of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve by CN Philip, KD Candido, NJ Joseph, GJ Crystal – Pain Physician, 2009 – researchgate.net
Management of meralgia paresthetica by PH Williams, KP Trzil – Journal of neurosurgery, 1991 – thejns.org
Decision making in the surgical treatment of meralgia paresthetica: neurolysis versus neurectomy by GCW de Ruiter, JAL Wurzer, A Kloet – Acta neurochirurgica, 2012 – Springer
Pulsed radiofrequency neuromodulation treatment on the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve for the treatment of meralgia paresthetica by HJ Choi, SK Choi, TS Kim, YJ Lim – Journal of Korean …, 2011 – ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
20. Meralgia paresthetica by J Patijn, N Mekhail, S Hayek, A Lataster… – Pain …, 2011 – Wiley Online Library
