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24Drs好健康報:熱敷包能緩解背痛

好健康熱頭條 ─熱敷包能緩解背痛 Heat Wrap May Help Back Pain 
好健康小單字─ 下背痛(low back pain) 
  好健康熱頭條 ─熱敷包能緩解背痛
 
 
在職場上的美國人大約有一半的比例，有著不同長短病史的下背痛，造成美國經濟每年損失了2佰至5佰億美元的生產力。

不過，約翰霍普金斯大學醫學院研究團隊指出，一種在藥房即可購得的東西能有效控制背痛，讓深受下背痛所苦的人更快回到工作崗位。

在他們的研究中，醫院員工尋找用來治療工作所引起的下背痛，持續使用溫熱的熱敷包，再加上正規的治療方法，對下背痛的緩解有相當大的改善。

這項研究是由寶僑（Procter & Gamble）所贊助，也是熱敷包ThermaCare HeatWrap的製造商。

研究員Edward J. Bernacki醫師向WebMD表示，使用熱敷包的患者行動性變得較好，也較不疼痛了；Bernacki醫師於巴爾的摩約翰霍浦金斯大學醫學院指導職業醫學。

【度量疼痛程度】
這項小型的研究包括43名於職業傷害門診接受治療的患者，他們的主訴為急性下背痛，有著慢性背痛或背部患疾的人，和身體上其他的慢性疼痛或背部手術，則不在該研究的探討範圍內。

18名患者接受背部手術和疼痛管理的衛教，其餘25名患者接受相同的療程，另外再加上熱敷包，熱敷包穿在下背的部位每天持續8個小時，連續穿3天。

兩組受測人員皆於需要時服止痛藥。

在3天的治療期間，兩組都每天接受4次的疼痛程度及疼痛緩解的評估；在一、二週後，追蹤門診時也進行疼痛評估。

研究人員指出，以熱敷包治療的患者「疼痛程度有明顯地降低，疼痛緩解明顯改善，並於治療期間或治療後改善失能狀況。

這項研究於2005年12月號的《職業暨環境醫學期刊》發表。

【熱敷包並無治癒功能】
疼痛治療專家John Loeser醫師向WebMD表示，雖然大多成人或多或少有過下背痛，而下背痛的病例中有90%，疼痛會自行於2個月內緩解，而不需要接受治療。

Loeser表示，Voltaire的說法最接近事實，他指出，「是人體的自癒力讓疾病復原，醫師只是扮演輔助角色」，這句話完全適用於下背痛病例。

有效的治療能減輕疼痛，但卻不一定會縮短復原的時間，有許多患者從熱敷包的協助中，得到很好的疼痛緩解效果。

熱敷包無法治癒受傷的組織，但他們確實會讓許多人感到好受；他表示，這得以讓他們恢復其正常生活活動；如果在自癒力解決問題時，治療能同時控制疼痛，那則是值得的。

【其他緩解疼痛的方法】
國際知名的疼痛管理專家，西雅圖華盛頓大學醫學院神經外科暨麻醉學科教授Loeser，他對治療急性下背痛的建議，包括：
* 依照醫師指示服用非麻醉藥性及抗發炎止痛藥。
* 在自己的能力範圍內，盡可能的回復運動的正常值，減少臥床時間；他表示，人體內的器官沒有一個是會因臥床而變得健康的，從大腦到背部，我們所得到的醫學證據顯示，運動的療癒效果比臥床好。
* 聰明地運動；別盡是做些吃力的粗重工作，或甚至猛力揮出高爾夫球杆，得做些重覆性運動，但其中不能有突然扭轉或抬重物；健行、慢跑、游泳，甚至是踩腳踏車，對背痛而言都是不錯的選擇。
* 用熱敷或冰敷；有些人認為冰敷能對背部的抽痛有控制效果，但對另外一些人，熱敷則對他們較有效；Loeser表示，不管如何，挑適合自己的就好。

同樣地，其他許多的治療，從按摩到針炙都能控制背痛，不過，他表示，還沒有單一的治療方法顯示出能快速治療受傷的背。

Loeser表示，沒有人能證明一種特定的治療方法，能讓下背痛回復的更快，因為大多數的人無論如何都能在60天內回復；人是無法違反身體自然律動的。
  
  
  
  Heat Wrap May Help Back Pain 
 
 
About half of all working-age Americans experience low back pain in any given year, costing the U.S. economy between $20 and $50 billion annually in lost productivity.
But an over-the-counter approach to controlling back pain just may help get some of these people back to work quicker, researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine are reporting.
In their study, hospital employees seeking treatment for work-related low back pain reported significantly less pain when continuous low-level heat wraps were used along with standard treatment.
The study was paid for by Procter & Gamble, manufacturer of the ThermaCare HeatWrap.
"The people who used the heat wraps had more mobility with less pain," researcher Edward J. Bernacki, MD, tells WebMD. Bernacki directs the division of occupational medicine at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Measuring Pain Intensity
The small study included 43 patients treated at the occupational injury clinic for acute low back pain. People with a history of chronic back pain or back problems, other chronic body pains, or back surgery were not included in this study.
Eighteen of the patients received education regarding back therapy and pain management alone. The other 25 received the same intervention along with the heat wraps, worn on the lower back for eight hours during the day for three consecutive days.
People in both groups took pain relief medications as needed.
Both groups were assessed for pain intensity and pain relief four times each day during the three treatment days. Pain was also measured during follow-up visits about one and two weeks later.
The researchers reported that the heat-wrap-treated patients "had significantly reduced pain intensity, increased pain relief, and improved disability scores during and after treatment."
The study appeared in the December 2005 issue of The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Heat Wraps Don't Heal Damage
Although most adults experience low back pain at some point in their lives, in about 90% of cases the pain resolves on its own within two months, regardless of treatment, pain treatment expert John Loeser, MD, tells WebMD.
"Voltaire said it best," Loeser says. "He said, 'Nature cures, but doctors get the credit.' That is really the way it is with back pain."
An effective treatment minimizes pain but doesn't necessarily shorten the course of the injury, he says, adding that many patients get a good deal of pain relief with heat wraps.
"Heat wraps don't heal damaged tissue, but they do make many people feel better," he says. "And that allows them to resume their normal activities. If a treatment controls pain while nature solves the problem, it is worthwhile."
Other Approaches for Pain Relief
Internationally known for his work in pain management, Loeser is a professor of neurosurgery and anesthesiology at Seattle's University of Washington School of Medicine. His other recommendations for treating acute low back pain include.
· Use non-narcotic, anti-inflammatory pain drugs as recommended by your doctor.
· Get back to a normal range of activities as quickly as you can, and minimize bed rest. "There is no organ in the human body that becomes healthier with bed rest," he says. "From your brain to your back, the best evidence we have is that activity is more therapeutic than bed rest."
· Exercise wisely. "Don't go out and move pianos, or even swing a golf club aggressively," he says. "You want to do repetitive exercise that doesn't involve a lot of sudden twisting or lifting." He says walking, jogging, swimming, and even cycling are good choices for someone with a sore back.
· Fire or ice. Some people swear by ice to control the pain of back strain, while heat works better for others. "Whatever works for you," Loeser says.
Likewise, many other treatments, from massage to acupuncture, may help control back pain. But no single treatment has been shown to heal an injured back quicker, he says.
"Nobody has been able to prove that a specific treatment makes you better quicker, because most people get better anyway within 60 days," Loeser says. "You can't beat nature."

SOURCES: Tao, X. G. The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, December 2005; vol 47: pp 1298-1306. Edward J. Bernacki, MD, MPH, director, division of occupational and environmental medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore. John Loeser, MD, professor of neurological surgery and anesthesiology, University of Washington, Seattle.
WebMD Medical News
by Salynn Boyles
Reviewed By Louise Chang
  
  
  
  好健康小單字─ 下背痛(low back pain)
 
 
下背痛俗稱「腰痛」或「腰骨痛」，為臨床常見的症狀之一，好發於第四及第五腰椎，或第五腰椎及第一薦椎間，通常指的是背部肋骨以下至臀部橫紋之間的疼痛，有時候會延伸至下肢或其他的部位，形成原因可能為外傷、退化、發炎等引起，常見的症狀包括：腰痛、背痛反覆發生、腰部無力無法挺久，搬重物便覺得閃到腰等。
  
  
  
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