Pain Archive

Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between a heart attack, heartburn, and lung problems.

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Many kinds of health problems can cause chest discomfort, with symptoms so intense that you rush to the hospital. "I see older adults with chest pain or something related to it every time I work in the emergency department," says Dr. Kei Ouchi, an emergency medicine physician at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

The big fear

You may worry that chest pain is due to a heart attack, which occurs when blood flow to the heart is blocked, typically by a blood clot and narrowed arteries. Classic symptoms include pressure or squeezing in the chest, lightheadedness, and pain in the shoulder, arm, neck, jaw, or back.

Osteoarthritis pain can be debilitating. Strategies can help get you moving again.

Pain from osteoarthritis is more than just a nuisance. Knee pain, in particular, can not only keep people from exercising, but also have a chilling effect on their ability to participate in social activities, especially those that involve walking or traveling, says Elena Losina, the Robert W. Lovett Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Orthopaedic and Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

"In fact, the quality of life of a person with persistent pain due to knee osteoarthritis is similar to quality of life in women with metastatic breast cancer controlled by therapy," she says.

On call

Q. I occasionally get an excruciating leg cramp that wakes me from sleep. What causes leg cramps, and how can I prevent them?

A. Although nocturnal leg cramps can strike people at any time of life, they become more frequent with age. Among people older than age 50, about half report having leg cramps, a third say they are awakened at night by them, and 15% report having cramps about once per week.

Sciatica's (pronounced sigh-AT-eh-ka) hallmarks are pain and numbness that radiates down the leg, often below the knee. In nine out of 10 cases, sciatica is caused by a displaced disk in the lower spine.

The best medicine is often patience — with some stoicism mixed in — because the pain often goes away, even if the problem disk does not. Researchers have found that the pain usually improves within a month.