If you’re a younger adult, the pinch could be due to a herniated (slipped) disc. Discs are the soft spacers that separate each pair of stacked neck-bones (vertebrae). If you’re an older adult, the pinch is more likely due to a bony spur (spondylosis). In either case, you’re in good company. A survey in Sicily showed 3.5 active cases at any one time of cervical radiculopathy per population of 100,000. In Rochester, Minnesota, another survey showed 85 new cases each year of cervical radiculopathy per population of 100,000.

Let’s say that your doctor has evaluated you thoroughly by taking a history of your symptoms and performing a physical examination. Perhaps with the additional help of an MRI of your cervical spine (neck) and electrical tests of nerve and muscle function (nerve conduction studies and electromyography) the diagnosis of cervical radiculopathy is deemed definite. Furthermore, there is no sign that the spinal cord itself is pinched. Now what?

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Now what, indeed. Choosing a treatment for this condition is far from straightforward. Out of hundreds of published medical reports concerning treatment of cervical radiculopathy, most are case reports or case series. A “case series” translates roughly as: “We gave six patients in a row the same treatment and five of them got better.” What can be concluded from a study of this kind? Did the treatment make the patients better or would they have improved anyway? We don’t know.

The missing ingredient here is a comparison group of untreated or differently treated individuals known as a control group. The other mark of a quality study is that the chosen treatment is randomized, meaning that the research subjects agreed in advance to be assigned to one treatment group or another based on the equivalent of a coin-toss. So out of the hundreds of published studies involving treatment of this common condition, how many were randomized controlled trials? Unfortunately, the answer is just one.

Liselott Persson, Carl-Axel Carlsson and Jane Carlsson at the University Hospital of Lund, Sweden, randomly allocated 81 patients who had symptoms of cervical radiculopathy present for at least three months to any of three treatments — surgery, physical therapy or a cervical collar. The patients ranged from 28 to 64 years old and 54% of them were male. The surgeons used the so-called Cloward procedure, removing fragments of protruding discs and spurs through an incision in the front of the neck, and then fusing two neck-bones together by means of a bone-graft. Physical therapy involved 15 sessions over a span of three months and consisted of whatever the physical therapist considered appropriate, variously including any of the following: heat application, cold application, electrical stimulation, ultrasound, massage, manipulation, exercise and education. In the cervical collar group, patients wore rigid, shoulder-resting collars every day for three months. Additionally, some of the subjects wore soft collars overnight.

How did the study turn out? Three of the subjects who were assigned to surgery refused the procedure because they had already improved on their own. For statistical purposes their outcomes were included with those who actually received the operation. After three months the surgery and physical therapy groups reported, on average, less pain. After an additional 12 months patients in all three groups had less pain than at the beginning of the study and the outcomes of each treatment were statistically alike. Measurements of mood and overall function following treatment were likewise equal among the groups.

So, over the long haul, no treatment was better than the others. Of course, within each group some patients did better or worse than others and this spread of outcomes was not reflected in the overall averages. In fact, five patients in the collar group and one patient in the physical therapy group went on to receive surgery owing to lack of satisfactory improvement. In addition, eight patients in the surgery group underwent a second operation that in one case was due to a complication of the first operation.

With this Swedish study representing the only rigorous investigation of treatment outcomes in cervical radiculopathy, there are a number of unanswered questions. For example, what are the effects on cervical radiculopathy of painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, local injections, systematic traction or other forms of surgery? We don’t know. What happens if there is no treatment whatsoever? We don’t know the answer to that question either.

Thus, in the care of individual patients there is a yin-yang balancing act between the medical edict of “Above all, do no harm” and the practical dictum of “Do what you have to do.” This balancing act usually means starting with less intrusive treatments like drugs and physical therapy. If symptoms fail to improve or become unbearable, an operation may be helpful.

The part of the nervous system responsible for this annoying
symptom is the ulnar nerve, a peripheral nerve-bundle whose
individual nerve-fibers originate in the spinal cord where it
passes through the neck. The nerve-fibers run most of the length
of the arm, including through the “ulnar groove” which you may
know as the “funny bone” or “crazy bone.”

Some people experience a more persisting impairment of the ulnar
nerve called ulnar neuropathy. With “-pathy” as the medical
suffix meaning illness or impairment, an “ulnar neuropathy”
means an illness or impairment of the ulnar nerve. The ulnar
nerve is vulnerable to injury or pinch in the ulnar groove for
more than one reason. First, instead of being surrounded by
soft, cushioning muscles and tendons, it is sandwiched between a
layer of skin on its exterior surface and nothing but hard bone
on its interior surface. Second, when the elbow bends, the ulnar
nerve stretches because it has to take the long way around the
elbow.

Like a telephone cable containing numerous wires, the ulnar
nerve-bundle contains many individual nerve-fibers, some of
which tell the muscles what to do and others of which carry
messages back to the spinal cord and brain about sensations
experienced by the skin and other tissues. So when the ulnar
nerve is injured, both motor and sensory symptoms are possible.
Most of the muscles of the hand receive their marching orders
via the ulnar nerve, so when the ulnar nerve is out of whack,
there can be weakness in hand muscles. The muscles that spread
the fingers and those that straighten the middle joints of the
ring and little fingers are often affected. Damage to the ulnar
nerve also causes changes in sensation. The ring and little
fingers can become numb, and so can the heel of the hand.

The ulnar nerve can come to harm in more than one way. For some
people the problem might result from leaning on their elbows too
much. This can compress the ulnar nerve within the ulnar groove.
Granted, many people lean on their elbows without damaging their
ulnar nerves, but like most things in medicine, an ulnar
neuropathy is usually caused by a combination of factors, and it
is likely that some people are more vulnerable than others based
on their particular anatomies. Of course, rearranging one’s
anatomy, as for example from a preceding elbow fracture, may
also put one at risk for an ulnar neuropathy.

Another way to injure the ulnar nerve is by over-stretching it.
In the author’s clinical practice a thin, young lady with loose
elbow-joints who worked as an emergency medical technician
injured her ulnar nerves repeatedly while lifting heavy
patients. For her, it was a problem that wouldn’t go away, and
she eventually changed professions.

Although, as discussed, the ulnar nerve at the elbow is
especially vulnerable to injuries, it can also come to harm by
getting compressed or pinched by nearby abnormal tissues. The
usual culprits are tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, cysts and
scars.

Sometimes, an ulnar neuropathy is the leading symptom of a
“polyneuropathy,” meaning that all the peripheral nerves in the
body are somewhat impaired, but the ulnar nerve is the first one
to cause symptoms noticeable to the affected individual.
Polyneuropathy is not the result of injury, but can be seen in a
variety of illnesses, including diabetes, alcoholism and also on
an inherited basis.

Diagnosing an ulnar neuropathy starts with the story of the
symptoms and a physician’s examination. The physician might
subsequently order nerve conduction testing which looks at the
nerve and muscle electricity, and can determine the degree of
impairment. Moreover, nerve conduction studies can also evaluate
other nerves to see if the ulnar nerve is the only one impaired,
or merely one of many.

What if a simple injury to the ulnar nerve at the elbow is
diagnosed? What can be expected? Fortunately, the peripheral
nerves have some capacity to heal themselves. So if the degree
of nerve impairment is not too severe, conservative treatment is
called for. Unfortunately, there are no conservative treatments
that have been studied by good, randomized, controlled trials, a
form of evaluation in which the outcome of a treated group of
patients is compared to that of an untreated group. Randomized,
controlled trials are the gold standard for deciding whether or
not a treatment is effective, so in this case all we have to go
on is “clinical judgment” and observation.

A typical conservative treatment consists of putting a sport-pad
(not a medical brace) on the elbow with the foam covering the
ulnar groove. This accomplishes two things. First, if the elbow
gets leaned on, then the nerve is still protected. Second, a
well-fitting pad also prevents excessive elbow-bending
(including during sleep) that overstretches the nerve and
re-injures it. In addition, eating nutritious, well-rounded
meals, together with vitamins, gives the ulnar nerve the
building-blocks it needs in order to make the best possible
recovery.

If the nerve injury is severe, or fails to respond to
conservative treatment, then surgery might be beneficial. When
the nerve is tied up in scar tissue or compressed by nearby
abnormal tissues, a simple release operation might suffice in
which the nerve is freed up. Otherwise, in a procedure called
“anterior transposition” the nerve is transferred out of the
ulnar groove so it is out of harm’s way from leaning on the
elbow, and also gets to take to the short way around when the
elbow is flexed.

Neurosurgical researchers at Radboud University Nijmegen in The
Netherlands conducted a randomized, controlled trial of patients
with ulnar neuropathy at the elbow in which half the patients
received simple release surgery and the other half received
anterior transposition. In this study there was no difference in
outcomes between the two surgeries. About two-thirds of the
patients in each group obtained an outcome that was considered
either excellent or good. However, there were more complications
in the patients receiving the anterior transposition procedure,
so the results of this study favored the simple release approach.

(C) 2005 by Gary Cordingle

Orthopedic injuries

For the hockey player, one of the most common sports injuries is orthopedic. This makes sense considering injuries that involve the muscles can affect the bones. This means that a physical therapist has to have the right physical therapy equipment to ensure they can change the bone system in order to heal the muscle that is damaged. The same goes for any injured ligaments and tendons that the physical therapist is focusing on. These individuals are trained to deal with the different injuries and the diverse nature of those they treat.

On the Ice

You will notice that there are physical therapists on the ice or in the locker room ready to take on any injuries that occur. This is because it is better that the injury is taken care of as soon as it happens. If the injury is allowed to sit and stew, then it can actually get worse. That is why it is not good for a hockey player to not disclose their injury. Sure, it is no fun to have to be taken out of the game, but worsening the injury simply means that healing will take that much longer.

In the locker room, physical therapists are available to take care of any joint, bone, muscle, ligament, and tendon issues that may occur, assuming they have the right physical therapy supplies. It is much better to have a physical therapist available to take care of any issues right after they occur. Then there are those athletes that have existing issues, so they need physical therapy administered right after physical activity in order to keep the issue from becoming worse.

Types of injuries

Physical therapy takes care of all sorts of injuries. One of the most common injuries is lateral epicondylitis, which is a minor muscle strain. Next to that are broken bones and fractures, which require the rebuilding of muscle in order to heal properly. This is why the physical therapist uses their eyes, their hands, and their physical therapy equipment to evaluate the joints, bones, and muscles of their patients. As stated before, everyone is different, but the physical therapist is trained to deal with these differences so that they can help their patient feel good by the time they are done working with them.

So if you are a hockey player who likes it rough and you have been injured a time or two, physical therapy is going to be a big help. If your team doesn’t have any physical therapists, but they have general physicians available, look into finding a physical therapist for your injuries. That way you can stay on the ice as long as possible. You’ll also feel a lot better after a physical therapy session due to the fact that physical therapists know how to manipulate the bones and muscles the correct way. You’ll even notice that you’ll feel stronger when it is all said and done. This is something that is very important for your overall well-being and for your game.

Taking care of your joints may involve learning to re-do every day things in a way that consciously helps to lower stress on your joints. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

Avoid excessive strain on joints. Avoid being in one position for too long. This is especially true when you’re caught in long traffic jams on your way to work! If it’s a long wait, it’s probably a good idea to get out of the car and stretch your muscles periodically. Keep an active lifestyle. Get a good night’s sleep. Use stronger joints more often. For example, you may want to use your shoulders to push open doors instead of your wrist and elbow. Use both hands to carry your shopping bags.

In fact, common reasons for some joint aches can be simple things we can avoid, such as using incorrect postures while lifting, prolonged sitting or standing in one place, or using incorrect exercise techniques. Many kinds of work that might force you into an “unnatural” position repeatedly can lead to joint aches. Take for example, sitting in an uncomfortable position, twisting a screwdriver, or gripping tools.

It’s hard to escape the jobs we do, but we can start taking some conscious steps to avoid unnecessary stress on joints that may gradually lead to joint injury. By taking care of our joints today, you might find that they will take care of you well into your senior years.

Tips for Taking Care of Your Joints

Exercise Regularly
Exercise not only helps you keep generally fit, but regular exercise can help in many specific ways: It tones the muscles and strengthens them so that they are more able to bear the brunt of everyday movement. Exercise can help to keep joints mobile and flexible. Other benefits of exercise can include improved weight management, blood circulation, sleep patterns, balance and posture; it keeps the heart healthy, relieves muscle tension, and strengthens the bones.
There are particular exercises that can help you increase mobility and range of flexibility, strengthen muscles and bones through weight training. These types of exercises include walking, swimming, hydrotherapy, Pilates, dancing and aerobics. As with any exercise program always consult your physician before beginning.

Avoid Carrying Excessive Weight
Carrying too many grocery bags at one time into your home in order to avoid extra trips to the garage may tax your joints. Use both hands, carry bags from the bottom up and distribute the weight evenly, minimizing strain on any particular joint.
If you are engaged in lifting weights, avoid lifting heavy weights repeatedly and overtraining. Vary your exercise routine with low and heavy weights and make sure to give your joints adequate recovery period between exercises. It’s important to get a good night’s sleep as well to allow your body to recover.

Manage Your Body Weight
If you are overweight, you may be able to reduce a lot of stress on weight-bearing joints by losing weight and coming down to your optimal body weight. This is one of the best ways to take care of your joints.

Avoid on-the-Job Wear and Tear of Joints
Joint injury can take place if you have a job which requires you to constantly perform repeated motions—this is known as repetitive strain injury (RSI). You can avoid trauma on joints by rotating such tasks with other tasks that do not place heavy stress on the joints. Take repeated rest breaks to break up monotonous and repetitive tasks.
Take care of your posture while sitting or standing for long hours. Take regular breaks to stretch your muscles.

Eat Healthy
Joint health requires adequate nutrition and proper rest. Lack of nutrition can lead to lack of sufficient nutrients required for supporting joint health. Without these nutrients, the cartilage may weaken and tear, synovial fluid in the cavity may become less, leading to progression in joint degeneration.

Joint Health Supplements
Supplementing your nutrition with joint health supplements will help to give your joints the nutrients they need for long-term joint health. Joint health supplements containing glucosamine sulfate, hyal joint, Interhealth collagen type II and MSM provide nutritional support for joint health.
When joints are stressed we need more nutrients to help keep them functioning well. Joint health supplements, like GoFlex, contain important nutrients to support all the 10 most stress-prone joints of the body. Nutrients combined with herbs that act as natural analgesics help to support joint health. GoFlex comes with a free fast-acting joint cream which contains an FDA-approved ingredient for pain relief, capsicum, for times when you need quick pain relief!
Take nutritional care of your joints, and you’ll find they will take care of you well into the senior years of your life.

Another thing to look at when looking at any type of a weight loss program is the cost of the program. There are many different programs that are available on the market today, but some of them cost quite a bit to get started. Some don’t cost a fortune to get started with and come with all that you need in order to get started on a weight loss program without too much trouble. You will also want to look at the diets closely as some are low sugar, low Glycemic, lean protein and other such factors such as purchasing food and other dietary needs before starting on any type of program of this sort.

Most weight loss program offerings will have a balance between nutrients and will also recommend an exercise program to go along with the program in question. Ones to watch out for though are those that are based simply on supplements only such as the teas that are reputed to help you to lose weight. You have to have a balanced diet and exercise as well as possibly taking medication. Supplements alone, do not make a diet. Nor do they make a safe weight loss program by themselves. Proper medical supervision is suggested when embarking on one of these programs.

Any weight loss program can be good to use, but bear in mind that no two people using the same diet will lose the same amount of weight in the same amount of time. Look for a weight loss program that can be tailored specifically to your needs and for your level of health and fitness. Also bear in mind that the program needs to be tailored to you specifically. This includes any type of medication or supplements that would be used in the program in question. As each diet needs to be tailored to the individual, it goes without saying that a professional’s help should be sought.

There are many different weight loss program systems out there and most of them are good for dieting. The choice comes in when you want the best weight loss program for you. A careful researching either online or by phone can give you more information as to what the best one is for you. By researching the facts, you can choose a program that best suits your weight loss needs and weight loss goals that you want to reach in a safe and effective manner. Safety is mandatory when dealing with weight loss and weight reduction for anyone regardless of size or weight.

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The Therall Joint Warming Wrist Support is constructed with four-way stretch material for light compression to counteract swelling. Material has ceramic fibers that insulate the joint by retaining heat and slowly reflecting it back into the joint and surrounding tissues. The result is therapeutic heat penetrated deep into the aching joint, muscles and surrounding tissues to provide long-lasting, soothing relief. Support promotes healing by increasing circulation around the tender joint and improves joint mobility to allow for faster return to daily activities. Can be used with Therall Body Warmer Patch (sold separately) for over 12 hours of soothing heat therapy. Color: Beige. Measure around wrist. To determine size, measure around wrist: Small 5 – 6″ ,Medium 6 – 6 3/4″, Large 6 3/4 -71/2″, X-Large 7 1/2 – 8 1/4″ SKUs: 53-4024, 53-4025, 53-4026, 53-4027

Download click here

The Therall Joint Warming Wrist Support is constructed with four-way stretch material for light compression to counteract swelling. Material has ceramic fibers that insulate the joint by retaining heat and slowly reflecting it back into the joint and surrounding tissues. The result is therapeutic heat penetrated deep into the aching joint, muscles and surrounding tissues to provide long-lasting, soothing relief. Support promotes healing by increasing circulation around the tender joint and improves joint mobility to allow for faster return to daily activities. Can be used with Therall Body Warmer Patch (sold separately) for over 12 hours of soothing heat therapy. Color: Beige. Measure around wrist. To determine size, measure around wrist: Small 5 – 6″ ,Medium 6 – 6 3/4″, Large 6 3/4 -71/2″, X-Large 7 1/2 – 8 1/4″ SKUs: 53-4024, 53-4025, 53-4026, 53-4027

Joint mobility can mean a lot – it makes somebody mobile. Joint mobility may be one of the most important aspects in staying active as one is aging. It shows also the overall state of somebody’s condition. Therefore it should be taken care of as early as possible. Joints have several functions – they support the body, they let the body move and accelerate and they keep it in movement. All at the same time, joints bear a lot of pressure – most of the time joints fulfill at least two seperate functions, which make them a really important parts of the human body.

Muscle and Joint Relief

When one thinks of joint relief, there may also be other things involved. Like muscles (and fascia) supporting the joints. Muscles are important too, let’s not forget them for this reason. They also fulfill an important function within the body – start the movements, support the movements and stop the movements, which all takes place in milliseconds, making them a really effective machinery, which has been the interest of study for centuries now.

Overall joint health can depend on several factors, namely:

- joint mobility;

- how well the joints are being oiled on an ongoing basis;

- how much the given person is moving around on regular basis (one needs to keep  active at any age, at least the minimum required – going for a walk, etc.)

Higher Nature Product Series

There is a product named Higher Nature Collaflex Drink, which is designed to provide the joints with higher level of constituents which are needed and welcome by the joints.

Another product with a similar name is Higher Nature Collaflex Gold – it is also a good way to improve the state of one’s joints to reach new levels of mobility in one’s life. Just consider this – how important it is to be mobile as everything one does involves movement in the joints?

There is nothing to lose in trying these products and so much to gain, provided they are taken regularly enough, which means at least a couple of weeks of uninterrupted use of a certain product. Afterwards the consumer can be the judge. Anything less than a couple weeks does not affect the body to a great degree as it is a system of systems which have certain defensive mechanisms – anything new is considered foreign first. After the body finds out that the foreign object is actually beneficial, it will start assimilate things better.

So, sometimes there is a certain period of adaptation needed. We urge you to try these products – give at least a week or two and then see what happens!

A physical exam – You can feel your neck area for lumps and swelling.

Blood tests – TSH or thyroid-stimulating hormone levels can be measured. This reveals useful information in reference to a prognosis.

Needle biopsy – This is the means of removing cells from the thyroid gland and examining these cells using a microscope to find the cancer.

Imaging tests – These tests include ultrasound of the neck area to find swollen or enlarged lymph nodes.

Treatments And Drugs

Any treatment of thyroid cancer will depend on the type of cancer one has and the stage it is in. Your overall health and particular preferences will also affect the treatment received or recommended.

Surgery

There are operations used to treat cancer. Having an operation is one option usually taken by people already at risk. Such surgery could consist of:

Removing the thyroid (or a part of it). This procedure is referred to as thyroidectomy. Surgery for removing the entire thyroid gland is quite common for treating thyroid cancer. In many instances, the surgeon will leave small rims of thyroid tissue around parathyroid glands to reduce any risk of damage to parathyroid.

Removal of Lymph Nodes. When removing the thyroid gland, enlarged lymph nodes of the neck may be included in that removal. These can be tested for cancer cells.

This type of surgery is performed by making an incision into the skin on the base of the neck. There are risks of infection and bleeding associated with thyroid surgery. There can also be damage to the parathyroid glands during the course of surgery. This will cause low calcium levels in the body. Surgery of the thyroid gland also carries the risk of damage to nerves connected to the vocal cords. Damage to these nerves can cause paralysis of the vocal cords, hoarseness, or difficulty in breathing.

Hormone Therapy

Following thyroid cancer surgery, you may have to take thyroid hormone medication for life. These medications include levothyroxine such as in Levothroid, Synthroid, etc. There are two benefits to hormone therapy. One, it supplies missing hormones your thyroid would normally produce. The second benefit is that the hormone therapy suppresses the production of thyroid-stimulating hormone or TSH in the pituitary gland. Since high levels of TSH could possibly stimulate any remaining cancer cells to grow, the second benefit mentioned is very important.

There will be appointments set for you to get blood tests done to check your thyroid hormone levels every few months. Your doctor may require that this be continually done until your doctor finds the appropriate dosage for your specific case.

Radioactive Iodine

This form of thyroid cancer treatment uses large doses of a radioactive form of iodine. Radioactive iodine treatments are usually conducted after thyroidectomy. The purpose is to destroy any remaining healthy thyroid tissue and any microscopic areas of thyroid cancer that were missed during the surgery. Radioactive iodine treatment is also used when cancer recurs after treatment or if the cancer spreads to other parts of the body.

Radioactive iodine treatment can be administered in capsule form or liquid. This radioactive iodine is taken up by the thyroid cells or thyroid cancer cells. This ensures that there is a very low risk of harming the other cells in the body.

There are side effects to this treatment. These side effects include:

Nausea Drying of eyes Dryness in mouth Changes in sense of smell or taste Pain in neck or chest (where thyroid cancer may have spread)

In the first couple of days after treatment, the radioactive iodine leaves your body through the urine. You should take precautions and make sure that no one you come in contact with is exposed to this radiation. Pay particular attention to your proximity to pregnant women and children. Your physician may in fact provide specific guidance in this area.

External Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy can be conducted externally. It involves the use of a machine that points energy beams at targeted areas on the body. The patient lies on a table as still as possible while the machine moves around areas of the body. This treatment is only administered for a few minutes at a time. It can go on for several weeks with treatments administered daily.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a form of treatment that utilizes chemicals to destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy is usually administered intravenously. The chemicals in the drug used in chemotherapy travel through the entire body, destroying growing cancer cells rapidly.

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are studies conducted to find treatments for illnesses. They often involve trying out a newly discovered form of treatment or drug to test its effectiveness. It is widely used for new cancer treatments or new ways to use existing cancer treatments. The advantage of volunteering for a clinical trial is that it provides you with the opportunity to try the latest options in cancer treatment. However, clinical trials do not guarantee a cure. If you tried everything else, this may be an option for you. Your physician can tell you if you are eligible to enroll in a clinical trial. These trials usually have specific requirements that the patients needs to satisfy such as pre-existing health conditions. Discuss the risks and benefits of enrolling in a trial with your physician.

These are the benefits of this routine:

Increases joint mobility Helps relieve joint pain Aides weight management Speeds healing time And your dog will love you for it

Ready, let’s go!

Start with a 10-15 minute warm up. A slow paced walk is great for this. It helps loosen stiff muscles and joints.

20-30 Minutes Aerobic – Match activities to your dog’s ability such as a fast leash walk. Take your dog along while you jog or bike. Swimming is one of best exercises to sooth your dog’s joint pain. It builds muscles without straining the joints and promotes blood circulation for faster healing. If you have access to a place where your dog can swim, it’s an excellent way to introduce low impact aerobic exercise.

20-30 Minutes Play Time – Play is a great way to keep your dog active. Play your dog’s favorite game; a ball, a frisbee or anything else that keeps your dog’s interest.

5-10 Minutes Cool Off – Slow down the pace with a gentle walk and be sure to give your dog plenty of water.

Just like in humans, the levels of joint pain from arthritis can change from day to day. You can see if your dog is excited to play or lethargic. Match your pet’s ability to the amount of exercise each day. Remember, the purpose of these exercises is to get your pet in shape, feeling better and never strain them.

Get more information on arthritis including healthy diet, unconventional treatments and homeopathic dog pain relief.

Visit my Pet Health Guide to get insider tips on canine arthritis.

Wham! Your jaw just smashed into your teammates’ elbow and of course, you weren’t wearing a sportsguard! So what? Your tooth feels a little loose, but it doesn’t seem serious. After all, in a couple days your tooth tightens up and everything seems fine. Or is it?

Well if your tooth was loosened enough, the vessels supplying blood to your tooth may be severed. The disrupted supply of blood causes your tooth to discolor. This means that your tooth is dying. Once your tooth starts to die you may eventually lose it, or leave it permanently discolored.

If you have a loose tooth, contact your dentist ASAP to see if emergency care is necessary! The sooner we can examine and determine the extent of the damage, the better your chances are of saving the tooth. Even if your tooth does not fall out in a couple of days, there still may be permanent damage. Left untreated, your tooth may discolor and fall out later.

To determine the extent of the damage, a dentist may need to do a full exam, including x-rays of the mouth. Even if your tooth has begun to discolor, a dentist may be able to stabilize and save it. Dentists can even treat discoloration with bleaching.

If your tooth is beyond repair, there are three common courses of treatment available. The first is Stayplate, a retainer-like device with an artificial tooth attached to the plastic and wire. The retainer is discreet and the artificial tooth looks identical to your natural teeth. Like dentures, Stayplate is removable and cleaned every evening.

Another common solution is to create a bridge by attaching an artificial tooth to your healthy teeth on either side. By anchoring to nearby teeth, a permanent bond holds the artificial tooth in place.

Your most permanent solution is an implant. A dentist would insert a titanium post into the jaw where the damaged tooth was. Your jaw then heals over the next six to twelve months. Once fully healed, an artificial tooth attaches to the post. The result is a permanent replacement tooth.

Of the solutions available, Stayplate is the least costly. However, the best solution depends on the injury, your lifestyle, and budget. So remember, if you have a loose tooth, see your dentist ASAP.