Arthritis Q&A
January 1, 2002 | 12:00am
Q1. I feel comfortable when I place a pillow under my knees every time I suffer arthritis, but my doctor advised me not to do so, shall I follow him?
Yes, if your knees are swollen and filled with joint fluid, flexion of the knee by placing it on top of a pillow will make you comfortable because it increases the capacity of your knee to accommodate more fluid. But after a certain period of time your muscles and tendons will be accustomed with that posture. It may stiffen making extension of the knees painful and walking difficult. Thus, we do not encourage placing pillow under the knee. Consult a Rheumatologist, let them aspirate the fluid (by using an ordinary syringe), so that you don't have to suffer the consequences.
Q2. My lower back is aching, is that cancer of the bone?
There are so many causes of lower back pain. I agree with you that cancer elsewhere that metastasized to the bone is one possible cause. However, not all aches and pains coming from the lower back are cancer in origin; to enlighten us, here are some causes:
A. The vertebral spine has 2 convex and 2 concave curvature, straightening or exaggeration of curvature will give us back pain. Pregnant women who are about to give birth, experience low back pain due to the increase in abdominal size and weight, the gravity line of the body shift forward, making your back muscle sore and painful.
B. The vertebral spine is made up of bone and disc. The discs are capsule-like structure that alternate with the bony vertebrae. It makes our spine mobile and serves as shock absorber. Two vertebral bodies articulate with each other with the disc in between. Sometimes with increase intradiscal pressure caused by coughing and lifting heavy objects, the disc may rupture and cause pain. Along the side of two vertebral spines are two apertures where spinal nerve branches out from the spinal cord. When the disc ruptured, its content may come out and impinge on the spinal nerve, thus causing the radiating pain known as sciatica. This medical event is known as Slipped Disc or Herniated disc.
C. I have a patient who is a dentist. Her height is about 4 feet 11 inches. At work, when extracting molar tooth, she has to tip toe to reach the molar, after a while she starts to experience low back pain. I advised her to use footstool to minimize straining her lower back muscle. After few days, she came back and informed me that the annoying pain disappeared.
Above are just some causes of back pain, consult your doctor, and minimize those unnecessary anxieties.
Dr. Perry P. Tan is a rheumatologist, founder and head of the Rayuma Klinik of Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRRMMC) and consultant at St. Luke's Medical Center.
Yes, if your knees are swollen and filled with joint fluid, flexion of the knee by placing it on top of a pillow will make you comfortable because it increases the capacity of your knee to accommodate more fluid. But after a certain period of time your muscles and tendons will be accustomed with that posture. It may stiffen making extension of the knees painful and walking difficult. Thus, we do not encourage placing pillow under the knee. Consult a Rheumatologist, let them aspirate the fluid (by using an ordinary syringe), so that you don't have to suffer the consequences.
Q2. My lower back is aching, is that cancer of the bone?
There are so many causes of lower back pain. I agree with you that cancer elsewhere that metastasized to the bone is one possible cause. However, not all aches and pains coming from the lower back are cancer in origin; to enlighten us, here are some causes:
A. The vertebral spine has 2 convex and 2 concave curvature, straightening or exaggeration of curvature will give us back pain. Pregnant women who are about to give birth, experience low back pain due to the increase in abdominal size and weight, the gravity line of the body shift forward, making your back muscle sore and painful.
B. The vertebral spine is made up of bone and disc. The discs are capsule-like structure that alternate with the bony vertebrae. It makes our spine mobile and serves as shock absorber. Two vertebral bodies articulate with each other with the disc in between. Sometimes with increase intradiscal pressure caused by coughing and lifting heavy objects, the disc may rupture and cause pain. Along the side of two vertebral spines are two apertures where spinal nerve branches out from the spinal cord. When the disc ruptured, its content may come out and impinge on the spinal nerve, thus causing the radiating pain known as sciatica. This medical event is known as Slipped Disc or Herniated disc.
C. I have a patient who is a dentist. Her height is about 4 feet 11 inches. At work, when extracting molar tooth, she has to tip toe to reach the molar, after a while she starts to experience low back pain. I advised her to use footstool to minimize straining her lower back muscle. After few days, she came back and informed me that the annoying pain disappeared.
Above are just some causes of back pain, consult your doctor, and minimize those unnecessary anxieties.
Dr. Perry P. Tan is a rheumatologist, founder and head of the Rayuma Klinik of Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRRMMC) and consultant at St. Luke's Medical Center.
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