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Involuntary movement may be disturbing, causing symptoms that may be disabling. Therefore, you may seek treatment before the condition can advance and cause disability. One choice you can consider can be the Falls Church movement disorders treatment option. The essential goal of movement disorder treatment aims to relieve the symptoms and pain you may experience. Do not allow the symptoms of any movement disorder to worsen before you can consider treatment. Seek treatment to minimize their impact on your life and how you perform your daily work.

What is A Movement Disorder?

You may develop a neurological disorder that leads to abnormal involuntary movements. The disorder reduces your quality of movement, speed, and ease. You may experience movements you cannot control and not want, voluntarily and involuntarily.

What are the Types of Movement Disorders?

There are different types of movement disorders you may develop.

Ataxia

The disorder may affect your brain, especially the one responsible for coordinating movement. The symptoms of ataxia may be clumsiness in balance and uncoordinated speech and movements. You can develop ataxia as a genetic factor and also from an infection.

Chorea

Involuntary, repetitive, and rapid movements may be a sign of chorea. You may experience the movements around your face, limbs, and mouth, which may somewhat appear like extreme fidgeting.

Parkinson’s disease

The disorder comes with stiffness, reduced movement and imbalance, and tremor. You will likely have constipation, cognitive decline, and reduced smelling ability. A progression in Parkinson’s disease may lead to Parkinsonism which defines slowness and stiffed movements.

Tremor

Rhythmic shaking of body parts like the hands and head may indicate a tremor type of movement disorder.

Multiple system atrophy

The disorder may not be common but mostly affects the brain systems. As it worsens, it may cause ataxia and Parkinsonism leading to low blood pressure and reduced bladder functionality.

What is the Diagnosis of Movement Disorders?

Your doctor will have to undergo an extensive evaluation during your first visit. You may have to review your medical and family history fully. You will also need a physical exam and any imaging tests to give a complete diagnosis. Your doctor will use your diagnosis to formulate a treatment plan.

How can Your Doctor Treat Movement Disorders?

 Treatment depends on the individual movement disorder condition. Cases like Parkinson’s require medications available to help address the condition. Your doctor may also suggest physical and occupational therapy. Injections like Botox relax the muscles and work best for a person with dystonia. Your doctor may recommend surgery known as deep brain stimulation, especially for progressive dystonia, Parkinson’s disease, and tremor. Your doctor implants a device to stimulate impulses to your brain, thereby relieving symptoms. The device may look like a pacemaker but works for the brain in this case.

You can work with your doctor if you have a movement disorder. Visit Integrated Neurology Services to get exceptional care alongside accurate diagnoses and treatment for any movement disorder. The team will formulate a treatment plan to help improve your symptoms and alleviate your pain. Schedule your appointment at the facility today. You can call or visit the website.

Clinical research is a healthcare medical study that determines how to diagnose, prevent and treat illnesses in people safely. It encourages human participation to help find new medical information and treatments that benefit patients through various scientific medical investigations. Clinical research combines multiple medical studies in pathophysiology, epidemiology, health services, mental health, and physiology under one umbrella. To participate in these medical health studies, you can join the clinical research Falls Church team to understand how disease treatments can effectively improve the quality of life. Learn more about clinical research and how it can improve care for people globally. 

 Types of Clinical Research

There are two types of clinical research studies in which people of all ages, races, ethnicity, gender, and health status can participate. They include observational studies and clinical trial research. Observational studies are clinical research studies that gather information and patterns of your environment, which are then used for medical data and biological tests.

Based on the collected data, including questionnaires, a new clinical trial can effectively begin under supervision from other senior clinical research scientists. On the other hand, clinical trials, also known as interventional studies, involve testing medical, surgical, and behavioral procedures and tools on people.

Are Clinical Research Studies Safe to Participate In?

Several steps should take place for a clinical research study to be deemed safe. For starters, it needs to be regulated by the federal government. Secondly, it should have the Human Subjects Research Protection Program and the institutional review board in every study location to safeguard the safety and privacy of participants.

Also, all clinical research experts must approve a safe clinical research project, including the general public. Also, all institutional review board members should review all the detailed plans for the clinical studies and ensure all participants are not at any risk.

What Are the Phases of a Clinical Trial?

The drugs should undergo four main phases of medication clinical trials to test their effectiveness, safety, side effects, risks, and benefits. However, before the researchers begin the clinical trials of the drugs, they must first conduct animal and lab testing. 

If the drugs’ effectiveness gets approved by the FDA, the treatment can be clinically tested by researchers on humans. After approval, the medication’s clinical treatments are monitored to determine their long-term effectiveness and safety for the people. 

What Are the Benefits of Participating in Clinical Trials?

You can access and enjoy multiple benefits in partaking in a clinical trial study. For instance, you may be able to access a new treatment for a particular disease before it gets introduced to the public/general population. Also, participating in a clinical trial can help you get more personalized medical care and health check-ups as part of your treatment plan.

You can also take a more personalized active role in monitoring your own health. Participating in a clinical trial study can help you better understand your health condition and help other people get better treatments in the future for their health issues. You can also get paid for your cooperation and your will to volunteer.

Call or email the Integrated Neurology Services research organization if you want to volunteer for a clinical research study. You will learn more about the best innovative and advanced new treatments for diseases through the team of dedicated clinical research specialists. Please schedule an appointment through their service telephone or online portal system.

At least 3 in 10 Americans suffer from chronic pain. The condition results from several things and lasts longer, hurting most of the time, and can significantly alter the quality of life. The pain management Falls Church specialists agree that the better ways of managing chronic pain involve you taking charge. Remember that everyone’s experience is unique and so do the treatment options. The main aim of any chronic pain management strategy is to ensure that you can continue with your quality of life with ease. Here are some techniques you can adapt to overcome chronic pain.

Massage Therapy

Massage therapy has been used in managing different health complications. In managing chronic pain, myofascial release techniques are applied to provide relief. Your provider can help you understand if your chronic pain has trigger points for effective facilitation of the myofascial techniques. The techniques are applied to induce pressure to the trigger points directly or indirectly. The tissues are loosened, easing pain gradually over time. Although the techniques can be self-administered, it is important to seek expert help.

Stay Active

You ought to get moving even when enduring chronic pain. Research has shown that some exercises significantly improve nerve function, minimize anxiety and depression, reduce neuropathy symptoms, and reduce chronic pain. Although exercises can be hard to begin when enduring chronic pain, they form a crucial part of your daily chronic pain management plan. Even when in severe pain, exercises are necessary. You only need to start slow and increase gradually as you gain pain relief.

Ice and Heat

Hot baths can offer significant pain relief. The heat boosts your blood circulation by dilating your blood vessels. It also helps your joints and muscles to relax, minimizing inflammation in painful areas. However, you must use heat carefully to avoid skin complications like burns. Ice is also essential when managing chronic pain and can help reduce swelling. It can also numb pain for a while, working best with other techniques. You might want to try heat and cold therapies to find out which is best for you.

Meditate

Anxiety and stress are some of the common triggers of chronic pain. They also affect your immune system and might affect the effectiveness of other chronic pain management options. Therefore, managing them is critical for your overall pain management plan. Meditation is one of the effective ways of managing stress levels, simplifying possible symptoms like pain. You only need to close your eyes in a special and quiet place and focus on breathing for about ten minutes. The simple practices do wonders in calming your nervous system, which may translate to pain relief.

Distract Yourself

Pai can worsen when you focus on it. You might realize that your pain persists despite the efforts mentioned earlier. Taking your mind away from your symptoms might help minimize the extent of your pain. Your hobbies can help you here. Read a book or solve a jigsaw puzzle to distract yourself from the pain. You can also use the internet and watch funny memes, favorite tv shows, or talk with your favorite people.

Managing chronic pain requires a comprehensive plan which can combine different techniques. Get in touch with the pain management specialists at Integrated Neurology Services for help. Wait no more to get pain relief. Make a call today or schedule your appointment online for help.

You may not realize how helpful your shoulders are until you sustain an injury. Shoulder injuries mainly result from athletic activities involving excessive and repetitive overhead motions. Examples of such activities include swimming, pitching, tennis, and weightlifting. Sometimes shoulder injuries occur during everyday activities like gardening, hanging curtains, and washing walls. Shoulder pain may also stem from problems in other body parts (referred pain) or may be due to a condition like arthritis. Some shoulder injuries improve with simple treatments like rest and ice, but sometimes you may need to see your La Jolla, CA orthopedic shoulder & elbow surgeon right away.

Below are some of the signs that you need to see a professional.

  • Inability to use your shoulder
  • Intense pain
  • Deformed shoulder
  • Sudden shoulder swelling
  • Weakness or numbness in your arm or hand

Common shoulder injuries

Impingement

Shoulder impingement occurs when tendons of the rotator cuff get compressed or pinched in the shoulder bones. It is caused by excessive rubbing of the shoulder muscles against the acromion, which is the top part of the shoulder blade. Performing activities that require excessive overhead arm motion elevates your risk of impingement problems. Seek immediate medical care if you have inflammation in the shoulder since that could lead to a more severe injury.

Instability

Instability is an injury whereby one of the shoulder joints moves or is forced out of its normal position; it can cause a dislocation of one of the joints in the shoulder. When you have instability, you experience pain when raising your arm, and you may also feel as though your shoulder is slipping out of place.

Rotator cuff injuries

The rotator cuff is a vital shoulder component; it comprises a group of muscles and tendons that hold the bones of the shoulder joint together. These muscles allow you to lift your arm and reach overhead. When the rotator cuff is injured, one may sometimes not regain the full shoulder function needed to participate in an athletic activity.

Shoulder exercises

Your orthopedic surgeon will prescribe exercises to strengthen your shoulder muscles. Below are some simple activities to strengthen your shoulder muscles and prevent injuries.

  • Attach an elastic band of tubing to a steady area like a door known. Gently pull the elastic string towards your body and hold for a count of five. Repeat at least five times with each arm at least twice a day.
  • Face a wall while standing and place your hands on it while your feet are shoulder-width apart. Gently and slowly perform a push-up and hold for a count of five. Repeat five times and perform the exercise at least twice a day.
  • Sit straight on a chair with an armrest with your feet on the floor. Use your arms for support as you slowly rise off the chair and hold for a count of five. Repeat the action five times and perform it twice a day.

If you have shoulder pain, schedule an appointment with your orthopedic surgeon at Upper Extremity Specialists for treatment to restore your full function.