Pain Archive

NSAIDs can help relieve pain and reduce inflammation from arthritis and other chronic aches and pains. However, you want to use the lowest dose for the shortest time.

Stretching keeps the muscles flexible, strong, and healthy, which is needed to maintain a range of motion in the joints. If possible one should stretch daily, focusing on the lower extremities. It's important to stretch after a workout, not before.

Stretching and strengthening daily is your best bet to delay the next attack of low back pain.

When low back pain flares up, most men can't do more than grit their teeth, reach for a numbing cold pack, and wait for it to get better. Four out of five of us experience low back pain sometime in our lives, but this common source of suffering is also an opportunity.

Q. Where do you stand on glucosamine and chondroitin? Do you think they're helpful or just hype?

A. Randomized clinical trials have compared each of these two supplements, alone and in combination, against placebo in people suffering from osteoarthritis of the hip and knee. An analysis of 10 different studies that included nearly 4,000 patients concluded that there was not much evidence of reduced pain from glucosamine and chondroitin. Some studies have found a temporary benefit (for several months) among patients with the greatest degree of pain, but the benefit then disappeared. On the other hand, there also was no evidence of side effects from these substances.

Consider alternative therapies for chronic pelvic pain.

Prostatitis means pain and swelling near the prostate gland. If the cause is a bacterial infection, antibiotics can often clear up the problem. But for 90% or more of men with pain near the prostate, it isn't that simple. The pain and soreness is more widespread, affecting the groin, genitals, and area behind the scrotum. Some men even develop nausea and other flu-like symptoms. Doctors call it chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS).

It is sometimes misdiagnosed as bacterial prostatitis and treated (unsuccessfully) with antibiotics. Doctors can offer no cure that works reliably in all men. "It's a tough problem because there's just not a lot out there," says Dr. Michael O'Leary, professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and a urologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Q. Since I went through menopause, sex has become very painful. I no longer enjoy it. Are there any treatments I can try?

A. Sexual intercourse should be a pleasurable part of your relationship, but for some women it becomes very uncomfortable after menopause. One common cause of painful sex (termed dyspareunia) is the drop in estrogen after menopause, which leads to vaginal dryness. Other reasons include conditions such as uterine prolapse, vaginal infections, tense vaginal muscles, endometriosis, lichen sclerosis (a skin condition that causes thinning of the genital skin), uterine fibroids, or pelvic surgery (for example, hysterectomy).

Why you need to know your heart risks, and respond quickly to the warning signs.

Plaque-clogged arteries that reduce blood flow to the heart can lead to temporary chest pain—a symptom known as angina. A recent study in JAMA Internal Medicine finds that women and men use different terms to describe the feeling of angina. While men tend to complain of "chest pain," women use words like "heaviness."

To reduce painful recurrences of gouty arthritis, know your uric acid level and take appropriate doses of medication.

Gout is a painful joint condition that affects 3.4 million American men. Historically, it was called the "disease of kings" because of its association with excess aristocratic consumption of mutton and mead, but the underlying cause is more down to earth: Gout attacks flare when uric acid, a chemical produced in the body, builds up to an excessive level and starts to form crystals in the affected joint. This triggers inflammation and severe pain, sometimes with fever, muscle aches, and other flu-like symptoms.

These nonsurgical solutions will enhance daily activities and independence.

Hand pain is more than just annoying. The stiffness and swelling that go along with hand pain can sap strength and diminish the ability to carry out routine functions, like buttoning clothes.

One common cause of hand pain is osteoarthritis—when the shock-absorbing cartilage between bones in the finger joints and at the base of the thumb becomes worn or damaged. Hand pain can also result from nerve conditions, like the pain and tingling you feel when there is pressure on the median nerve in the wrist or the ulnar nerve near the elbow. Sometimes hand pain results from tendinitis, an inflammation of the tissue that attaches muscles to the bones. Here are five methods to help manage hand pain, retain hand function, and avoid surgery.

Epidural steroid injections (ESIs) are a common treatment for certain causes of back pain. They received national attention after contaminated epidural injections in several states led to hundreds of fungal meningitis cases and dozens of deaths in 2012. Authorities isolated the source of contamination to one compounding pharmacy; other compounding pharmacies continue to provide valuable service. If you have an ESI, be sure to ask your doctor if the compound prescribed for you is safe, or consult the website below.

The injection

The shot is a combination of an anti-inflammatory medicine called a corticosteroid plus an anesthetic. It's injected into the epidural space, in an attempt to reduce nerve inflammation.