Pain should come and go, but some pain is here to stay. Chronic pain conditions plague about one-fifth of American adults, and about 7.4 percent of Americans struggle with debilitating high-impact chronic pain – the kind that leaves one unable to work, go to school, or perform some of their usual duties. A pain management…

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Neurologically, pain is the body’s alarm system for harm – it signals that something is wrong, whether internally or externally. But like many other systems, our body’s pain receptors can malfunction, eliciting signals where none should be, or repeating the same signals over and over. “Normal” pain is a reaction, acute and short-term, lasting no…

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Nerve blocks are utilized to treat chronic pain and other health conditions wherein a damaged, or disordered nerve must be temporarily blocked to reduce or even stop the pain and address other symptoms. Nerve blocks involve injecting an anesthetic or steroid around the nerve, disrupting the transmission of signals through the nerve. A well-known example…

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Yoga is an ancient religious and spiritual practice with thousands of years of history attached to it. Still, you can benefit from its asanas (or poses) without the hefty historical, philosophical, and metaphysical context behind it. At their core, asanas are positions and exercises that are meant to partner with intense meditation and self-reflection within…

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Our spine is the structural foundation of the human body, which is why spinal injuries and diseases can have widespread effects on our quality of life and countless everyday activities. These injuries are not always the result of significant trauma, and some can occur spontaneously – especially in patients with a family history of osteoporosis…

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We have been told time and time again to take our vitamins – but aside from promoting general health, there are a few key reasons why we should pay special attention to specific nutrients we likely are not getting enough of. Vitamin D is one of those nutrients, particularly because the most effective way of…

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Do you feel weak or numb in one or multiple limbs? Does this feeling seem to come and go, and is it sometimes accompanied by back pain? Have you noticed that you’ve had to change the way you walk or that your foot doesn’t seem to obey your commands anymore wholly? Then you may be…

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Chronic pain affects millions of Americans, and about 8 percent of American adults struggle with severe high-impact chronic pain. In many of these cases, over-the-counter pain medication does little take the edge off, and for these patients, few drugs are seemingly as effective or well-tolerated as opioids. But while opioids have been prescribed for decades…

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The spinal cord is protected by a column of bones called vertebrae, separated by specialized spongy discs. Over time, stress and weakening bones can cause vertebrae to become more brittle and eventually fracture. When these fractures cause a vertebra to slowly compress and lose at least 15 to 20 percent of its height original height,…

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Pain scales are tools used to measure and assess a patient’s pain, usually for diagnostic purposes. Since pain is subjective, pain scales try to help patients effectively convey how severe their pain is. Each pain scale has its pros and cons are given different situations and diagnostic circumstances. Like one-dimensional pain scales, some scales prioritize…

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