Millions of Americans feel the pain of sciatica every year. Though not everyone experiences it the same way, it typically feels like pain that begins around the lower back or buttock area and travels into the leg. The sciatic nerve is the largest and longest nerve in your body, and when it (or one of the spinal nerve roots that contributes to it) gets irritated or compressed,
Back pain can come from seemingly nowhere. It can happen after a day of standing at work or after cooking a large meal or waiting in a long line, even if you didn’t lift anything heavy or bend awkwardly. It’s as if standing itself is a problem, like your back struggles just to support its own weight.
It’s something that comes on slowly for most people. You find yourself reaching for the railing more often. Maybe you’re a little less confident on uneven ground. Or maybe you suddenly notice that turning quickly makes you a bit wobbly.
Balance problems are very common as we age. Though it’s easy to take for granted,
Moving an arthritic joint hurts. This unavoidable fact can make it seem like physical therapy could be painful and counterproductive, a possibility that keeps many people from getting the help they need. While it’s true that physical therapy can’t cure arthritis or reverse existing joint damage, it can be very effective in helping reduce pain and stiffness.
You reach into a kitchen cabinet and suddenly there’s a sharp pain in your shoulder. Or maybe it happens when you’re trying on a new shirt or simply brushing your hair. Or maybe the pain isn’t really sudden at all. Maybe you know it happens all the time, but you forget about it until the next time you raise your arm and get a reminder.
Is it possible that something happening in your mind can contribute to actual physical pain? Isn’t that the sort of pseudoscientific theory you read about in a fringe magazine or hear from some self-styled “guru” on a podcast? Maybe.
Mental stress is something we all experience. We may worry about our work, our finances,
You can walk around for hours without a problem, then suddenly you encounter a flight of stairs and your knee hurts. Maybe it only hurts when going down, or maybe it hurts going in both directions. This is not uncommon, since climbing and descending stairs puts a different type of stress on your knees than other activities.
Does your back hurt? That means there must be some kind of problem with your back, right? Just like a sore knee tells you something is wrong with your knee and hip pain suggests an issue with your hips. These are all reasonable assumptions, but the human body is a complex, interconnected system. One muscle group affects another,
Most people have neck pain at some point, sometimes after something as simple as waking up from a night’s sleep. Many people are also familiar with what’s commonly called “tech neck”, a specific type of neck pain that follows long days of looking at a computer screen. Neck pain can accumulate over time or occur suddenly.
Do you wake up sometimes with a stiff back? Maybe feel some aches and pains after a day of work or a long drive? You’re getting older, after all, and it’s easy to feel like some minor aches and pains are just part of that process.
Back pain or discomfort is something nearly everyone deals with at some point,