Often patients present with complaints that involve a large amount of inflammation. Inflammation is the result of a body’s chemical reaction to overuse or injury in a particular tissue.
This may involve joint, muscle, ligament or tendon. Often times athletes and others persist with her activities assuming that the problem will go away. It doesn't always. In fact the “no pain no gain” attitude causes many more problems than it solves. Treatment of such and inflammation often requires relative rest, ice, rehabilitation and gradual progression of activities. Many patients report using occasional over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication such as Advil or Aleve. This is often unsuccessful in the patients who come to my office.
One helpful analogy is to think of your inflammation as a blazing campfire burning out-of-control. If you had such a campfire would you throw a cup of water on it and walk away?? Of course not. That is the equivalent of taking a small dose of anti-inflammatory medication occasionally. To put out such a fire wouldn't it work better to run a hose and keep the water coming for a period of time until the fire was out? This principle applies well to treatment of musculoskeletal pain and inflammation. Consistent application of the proper principles including relative rest, ice, rehabilitation and anti-inflammatory medication often solves the problem. At times prescription medicine is temporarily necessary for this purpose. Occasional treatment and then going right back to what caused the problem doesn't work any better than throwing that small cup of water on the fire.
