Pain Archive

Better support for your spine is key in avoiding neck ache.

Few women realize how common pelvic prolapse is—and how easily treated. Here are five things you should know.

Chest pain, dizziness, and shortness of breath mean you should back off and call your doctor.

It can reduce discomfort and get you back on your feet faster.

The abnormal heart rhythms from atrial fibrillation (afib) can form clots that, in turn, trigger strokes. To prevent that, people with afib take a blood-thinning medication to prevent clotting. But also taking common over-the-counter painkillers can block clotting too much and lead to dangerous bleeding, according to a study in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Danish researchers examined health records of more than 150,000 people with afib. A third of them had also been prescribed nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve). These common pain relievers interfere with the body's natural clotting function. Paradoxically, some NSAIDs have also been linked to higher risk of thromboembolism, or a clot that forms in the body and travel to the lungs, brain, or elsewhere.

Which pain reliever should you take, acetaminophen or NSAIDs?

What you need to know about common pain relievers, from Tylenol to Aspirin. Once upon a time, easing pain was relatively simple: take two aspirin and call the doctor in the morning. Now there are many pain relievers to choose from (see "Pain relievers at a glance").

Willow bark was one of the earliest painkillers. Extracts or teas of willow bark have been used to treat fever and pain for more than 2,000 years. Unfortunately, the active ingredient, salicylic acid, is very hard on the stomach. In 1897, a German chemist working for the Bayer Company found a way to modify salicylic acid so it was less irritating to the stomach. The compound he created, acetylsalicyclic acid, was called Aspirin. It remained the premier over-the-counter painkiller until the development of acetaminophen in 1956 and ibuprofen in 1962. Since then, more than a dozen others have come onto the market.

This common complaint, called plantar fasciitis, often gets better after a few months. You can hasten healing with a few easy exercises.

Getting out of bed in the morning may be hard for many of us, but if you have plantar fasciitis, it can be agonizing. The first step of the day triggers deep, intense pain in your heel—the hallmark of a condition that is fairly common, especially for women.

Chiropractic manipulation of the spine provides limited and short-term relief from back-related leg pain, reports a study in Annals of Internal Medicine. Shooting nerve pain in the legs, or sciatica, is a common problem for men with back pain related to spinal disc problems or narrowing of the space around the spinal cord (spinal stenosis).

Pain from ruptured discs and arthritis doesn't have to flatten you. There are a variety of ways to ease lower back pain discomfort and reduce disability, often without drugs.

Spinal problems are the price we pay for walking upright. Wear and tear on our backbones and the constant pull of gravity on our vertebrae take their toll over time. Nearly every adult has had a stiff or sore back at some time.