Shooting pain is usually caused by nerve-ending impingements in certain joints such as the elbow, shoulder and lower back. Shooting pain is commonly known as sciatica pain. Most shooting pain is caused by inflammation where the tendons grow larger than normal and put pressure on the nerves. The best way to treat shooting pain is to use treatment that will first reduce the inflammation or swelling. Treatment for inflammation usually includes rest, immobilization when necessary, ice, heat, medication, massage and exercise.

You should first rest if you exerperience any shooting pain. This includes not engaging in any physical activity or workouts. If your pain is severe, you may want to also immobilize your joint with a splint or brace. This can prevent your injury or condition from getting worse. During the first 48 hours or so, ice your joint for 15 to 20 minutes every three or four hours. Ice causes vasconstriction or a narrowing of the blood vessels. It limits blood flow which can contribute to swelling, inflammation and pain early on. Ice works best if you apply it directly against your injury. Once the inflammation and swelling have been reduced, you can use heat such as hot water of a heating pad to treat your injury. Heat will get the blood flowing to your joint again. Blood contains nutrients including oxygen and vitamine C that are necessary for healing to take place.

Use massage to treat your shooting pain. Massage also increase blood flow to the joint. It also relaxes the nerves and muscles which relieves pain. Certain stretching and resistance exercises can also benefit your shooting pain. Start exercising after the initial swelling and inflammation have subsided. During stretching exercises, bend you joint in one direction and get a good stretch for up to a half minute. Then stretch your ljoint in the other direction and hold that position for 15-30 seconds. If your joint bends in more than two directions, move it from side to side and stretch it on both sides. Resistance exercises such as light weight training can add strength and stability to the joint or area in which you have shooting pain.

If you are consistent with your ice, heat, medication, massage and exercise treatments, you can get over shooting pain within a few week. Without treatment, it may take you much longer, during which time you could tear certain tendons or muscles.

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