Pain Archive

Most acute back pain happens because of weak muscles related to aging and inactivity. Symptoms usually last a few days, but pain and stiffness sometimes linger for a couple of weeks or longer. Frequent episodes can make people less active, as they are fearful about straining their back. Managing acute back pain is a two-step approach. First, treat the pain with over-the-counter remedies, cold and heat therapy, and rest, and then strengthen the back muscles and improve flexibility to prevent recurrent back pain episodes.

Hand arthritis makes it tough to do winter activities, such as preparing holiday feasts, shoveling snow, wrapping presents, or using walking or ski poles. It helps to plan out activities, break them up when possible, take lots of breaks, use tools to make the jobs easier, and enlist help if needed. For example, consider asking family and friends to assist with holiday meal prep, or hire a service to remove snow.

There are different underlying reasons for the types of orofacial pain commonly called temporomandibular joint problems, or TMJ. Not all of them are caused by problems with the joint itself, and specialists are getting better at diagnosing them. Orofacial pain may result from a joint problem, a muscle-based problem, a headache syndrome, or a pain processing problem.

Women are disproportionately affected by conditions that cause chronic pain, but they sometimes have difficulty getting a definitive diagnosis as to what is causing their pain and may be less likely to receive appropriate treatments even when they do.

Women are three times more likely than men to get migraine headaches, in part because of the hormone estrogen. A number of different medications are available to prevent migraine and stop them when they first start.

Plantar fasciitis is a common cause of heel pain. It affects the band of tissue on the bottom of the foot that connects to the heel.