chance of developing the condition, including: previous radiotherapy treatment, other bone conditions, such as Paget’s disease of the bone, a history of certain other conditions, including retinoblastoma and umbilical hernia

Overuse of a muscle, dehydration, muscle strain or simply holding a position for a prolonged period can cause a muscle cramp. In many cases, however, the cause isn't known.

Although most muscle cramps are harmless, some may be related to an underlying medical condition, such as:

·         Inadequate blood supply. Narrowing of the arteries that deliver blood to your legs (arteriosclerosis of the extremities) can produce cramp-like pain in your legs and feet while you're exercising. These cramps usually go away soon after you stop exercising.

·         Nerve compression. Compression of nerves in your spine (lumbar stenosis) also can produce cramp-like pain in your legs. The pain usually worsens the longer you walk. Walking in a slightly flexed position — such as you would use when pushing a shopping cart ahead of you — may improve or delay the onset of your symptoms.

·         Mineral depletion. Too little potassium, calcium or magnesium in your diet can contribute to leg cramps. Diuretics — medications often prescribed for high blood pressure — also can deplete these minerals.

 

Factors that might increase your risk of muscle cramps include:

·         Age. Older people lose muscle mass, so the remaining muscle can get overstressed more easily.

·         Dehydration. Athletes who become fatigued and dehydrated while participating in warm-weather sports frequently develop muscle cramps.

·         Pregnancy. Muscle cramps also are common during pregnancy.

·         Medical conditions. You might be at higher risk of muscle cramps if you have diabetes, or nerve, liver or thyroid disorders.

 

Varicose veins may not cause any pain. Signs you may have with varicose veins include:

·         Veins that are dark purple or blue in colour

·         Veins that appear twisted and bulging; often like cords on your legs

When painful signs and symptoms occur, they may include:

·         An achy or heavy feeling in your legs

·         Burning, throbbing, muscle cramping and swelling in your lower legs

·         Worsened pain after sitting or standing for a long time

·         Itching around one or more of your veins

·         Bleeding from varicose veins

·         A painful cord in the vein with red discoloration of the skin

·         Color changes, hardening of the vein, inflammation of the skin or skin ulcers near your ankle, which can mean you have a serious form of vascular disease that requires medical attention.

 

Causes of varicose veins can include:

·         Age. As you get older, your veins can lose elasticity, causing them to stretch. The valves in your veins may become weak, allowing blood that should be moving toward your heart to flow backward.

Blood pools in your veins, and your veins enlarge and become varicose. The veins appear blue because they contain deoxygenated blood, which is in the process of being recirculated through the lungs.

·         Pregnancy. Some pregnant women develop varicose veins. Pregnancy increases the volume of blood in your body, but decreases the flow of blood from your legs to your pelvis. This circulatory change is designed to support the growing fetus, but it can produce an unfortunate side effect — enlarged veins in your legs.

Varicose veins may surface for the first time or may worsen during late pregnancy, when your uterus exerts greater pressure on the veins in your legs. Changes in your hormones during pregnancy also may play a role. Varicose veins that develop during pregnancy generally improve without medical treatment three to 12 months after delivery.

These factors increase your risk of developing varicose veins:

·         Age. The risk of varicose veins increases with age. Aging causes wear and tear on the valves in your veins that help regulate blood flow. Eventually, that wear causes the valves to allow some blood to flow back into your veins where it collects instead of flowing up to your heart.

·         Sex. Women are more likely to develop the condition. Hormonal changes during pregnancy, premenstruation or menopause may be a factor because female hormones tend to relax vein walls. Taking hormone replacement therapy or birth control pills may increase your risk of varicose veins.

·         Family history. If other family members had varicose veins, there's a greater chance you will too.

·         Obesity. Being overweight puts added pressure on your veins.

·         Standing or sitting for long periods of time. Your blood doesn't flow as well if you're in the same position for long periods.

 

Complications of varicose veins, although rare, can include:

·         Ulcers. Extremely painful ulcers may form on the skin near varicose veins, particularly near the ankles. Ulcers are caused by long-term fluid buildup in these tissues, caused by increased pressure of blood within affected veins.

A discolored spot on the skin usually begins before an ulcer forms. See your doctor immediately if you suspect you've developed an ulcer.

·         Blood clots. Occasionally, veins deep within the legs become enlarged. In such cases, the affected leg may swell considerably. Any sudden leg swelling warrants urgent medical attention because it may indicate a blood clot — a condition known medically as thrombophlebitis.

·         Bleeding. Occasionally, veins very close to the skin may burst. This usually causes only minor bleeding. But, any bleeding warrants medical attention because there's a high risk it can happen again.

 

Healthy lymphocytes travel around your body in your lymphatic system, which is part of your immune system. The lymphatic system runs throughout your body and includes lymph nodes (glands) as well as organs of your immune system like your thymus and your spleen. Lymphocytes collect in your lymph nodes ready to fight infection. Lymph nodes are found throughout your body, often in groups.

If you have lymphoma, abnormal lymphocytes can collect in your lymph nodes, often in your armpits, neck or groin. However, abnormal lymphocytes can collect in almost any part of your body. They might be found in lymph nodes deeper in your body or in other parts of your lymphatic system, like your spleen. Less commonly, lymphoma can be extranodal, which means it starts in areas outside of the lymphatic system. These areas can include your lungs, liver or bones.

When a joint develops osteoarthritis, some of the cartilage covering the ends of the bones gradually roughens and becomes thin, and the bone underneath thickens. All the tissues within the joint become more active than normal – as if your body is trying to repair the damage:

Depression – it can occur due to several things. The causes of depression can be: a stressful event – this includes things like bereavement or relationship breakdown; Your personality – some people are more vulnerable to depression if they have certain personality traits such as low self-esteem or being overly self-critical; family history – if you have a close family member that has it then you are more likely to develop it; giving birth; loneliness; drugs and alcohol; illness. The symptoms are: continuous low mood or sadness, feeling hopeless and helpless, having low self-esteem, feeling tearful, feeling guilt-ridden, feeling irritable and intolerant of others, having no motivation or interest in things, finding it difficult to make decisions, not getting any enjoyment out of life, feeling anxious or worried, having suicidal thoughts or thoughts of harming yourself. 

Hypertension – (high blood pressure). The cause isn’t exactly known, however, there are factor that can increase your risk of having high blood pressure. These include: your age – the older you are the more at risk you are, family history of it, high amount of slat in your diet, lack of exercise, being obese or overweight, smoking, drinking large amounts of alcohol regularly and long term sleep deprivation. The known causes include: kidney disease, diabetes, kidney infections, obstructive sleep apnoea, narrowing of the arteries supplying the kidneys, hormone problems, lupus and scleroderma. Some medication can cause high blood pressure: the combined oral contraceptive pill, steroid medication, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) – such as ibuprofen and naproxen, some over-the-counter cough and cold remedies, some herbal remedies – particularly those containing liquorice, some recreational drugs – such as cocaine and amphetamines, some selective serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SSNRI) antidepressants – such as venlafaxine. 

Pneumonia – this is swelling (inflammation) of the tissue in one or both lungs. It's usually caused by a bacterial infection. At the end of the breathing tubes in your lungs are clusters of tiny air sacs. If you have pneumonia, these tiny sacs become inflamed and fill up with fluid. The symptoms include: A cough – which can become dry and produce think mucus; difficulty breathing; rapid heartbeat, fever, feeling unwell, sweating and shivering, loss of appetite and chest pain.

 [MM1]http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Osteoporosis/Pages/Causes.aspx

 [MM2]http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Depression/Pages/Causes.aspx

 [MM3]http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Blood-pressure-(high)/Pages/Causes.aspx

 [MM4]http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Pneumonia/Pages/Introduction.aspx

These plaques cause the arteries to harden and narrow, restricting the blood flow and oxygen supply to vital organs, and increasing the risk ofblood clots that could potentially block the flow of blood to the heart or brain.

Atherosclerosis doesn't tend to have any symptoms at first, and many people may be unaware they have it, but it can eventually cause life-threatening problems such as heart attacks and strokes if it gets worse.

However, the condition is largely preventable with a healthy lifestyle, and treatment can help reduce the risk of serious problems occurring.

The main symptom is muscle stiffness in the morning that lasts longer than 45 minutes. It may also cause other symptoms, including:

If you have pain and stiffness that lasts longer than a week, you should see your GP so the cause can be investigated.

Diagnosing polymyalgia rheumatica can be difficult because the symptoms are similar to those of many other conditions, includingrheumatoid arthritis. These conditions will need to be ruled out before polymyalgia rheumatica is diagnosed.

Your brain’s role

Your brain gets involved by modifying and fine-tuning reflex actions. For example, when you trip and fall, reflexes automatically command your hands and arms to reach out and break your fall. Muscles will contract throughout your body to minimize injury. But what if you were carrying a priceless object, say, a Ming vase? Would you drop the vase in order to use your hands to break the fall?

Not necessarily, experts say. Within 10 to 30 milliseconds after tripping, the conscious motor centers of the brain would take control of the fall, weighing the chances of breaking the vase versus breaking your neck.

If the object in your hands is important enough to you, you can modify the reflex action and keep a grip on the vase.

Modifying reaction time

Reflexes do play a role in reaction time. Some people are born with faster reflexes. Electrical impulses actually travel more quickly through their nerves. But you can also speed up nerve conduction through practice.

A soccer player, for example, can improve his running or kicking, and in the process, his knee jerk might get faster. But those kinds of improvements are specific to the activity. A soccer player's feet and legs might develop faster nerve conduction than average. But if that same soccer player were to engage in a contest of finger speed with a classical pianist, the pianist would win, hands down.

The real key to reaction time is practice. By repeating the same movements, you make them almost automatic. That's why professional baseball players can dive to catch a sizzling line drive. And it’s also why once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget.

These actions aren’t classical reflexes, but with so much practice, your movements almost mimic a reflex. They are motor skills that have been etched into your nerves and brain so that those motor pathways are almost reflexive.

Reflexes and age

Reflexes do slow with age. Physical changes in nerve fibers slow the speed of conduction. And the parts of the brain involved in motor control lose cells over time. But the effect of age on reflexes and reaction time varies tremendously from person to person. You can actually slow down — even reverse — the effects of aging by staying physically active

 

Reference:

 http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/conditions/aches-and-pains/a2845/low-back-pain-lumbago/ - Assessed 20/01/17

Useful video: http://www.spine-health.com/video/video-what-lumbago 

 

 

Parkinson’s (Related to the Nervous system)

References:

 

Phlebitis (Related to Cardiovascular system)

Defined as the inflammation of a vein, and this is usually on the lower leg. It can be quiet painful but shouldn’t affect a person’s daily task. There is a small risk of a blood clot travelling around the body and causing problems in a vein deeper under the skin, called deep vein thrombosis: This can cause more pain and swelling, plus aching in a leg.

·         Painful, hard lumps underneath the skin

·         Redness of the overlying skin