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Pain Archive

Articles

Shaking off shingles

Shingles is a painful neurological condition that is more likely to attack as people age. Left untreated, it can increase risk for chronic pain, blindness, and other long-term health problems.

When pain slows your new walking regimen

There are lots of aches and pains that can slow down a new walking regimen. Examples include heel pain from plantar fasciitis, shin pain from spinal stenosis, and joint pain from osteoarthritis. Treatment varies, depending on the cause. Once pain has been addressed, it’s important to set realistic goals for a walking routine, starting with five or 10 minutes per day and gradually increasing the time. Doctors recommend an ultimate goal of 30 minutes of daily brisk walking.

Pain relief: Taking NSAIDs safely

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.

Sickle cell disease: Ways to help teens and parents

Children with sickle cell disease are at higher risk for many health problems and possible complications get more serious as children grow into adults. Here are ways for parents to support teens with SCD in learning to take care of themselves.

Ì첩ÌåÓý Ad Watch: Aches, pains, and muscle cramps â€� do well-advertised remedies actually work?

Several heavily-advertised products that are applied to the skin claim to relieve muscle or joint pain, but are not regulated by the FDA, and none of them offers any solid scientific evidence to back up their claims. So are they worth trying?

Study finds these shoes are better at keeping knee pain in check

News briefs

When you have knee pain, you just want it to go away so you can walk without having to limp or wince with every step. And a small, randomized trial published online Jan. 12, 2021, by Annals of Internal Medicine found that one type of shoe might be best for the job. Researchers took 164 people ages 50 or older with moderate or severe knee arthritis and randomly assigned half of the group to wear stable, supportive shoes with thick soles that didn't bend much. The other half was assigned flat shoes with thin, flexible soles, which are believed by some to provide a benefit by allowing more natural movement of the leg and foot. Both groups wore their assigned shoes for six hours per day and took part in activities such as walking during that time. After six months, 58% of people in the stable, supportive shoe group reported a reduction in knee pain while walking, compared with 40% of people reporting pain reduction after wearing the flat, flexible shoes. In both groups, the pain reduction probably was a benefit of regular walking. The people wearing flexible shoes were also twice as likely to develop ankle or foot pain, compared with those wearing sturdy shoes. So if you have knee pain, keep walking � in sturdy shoes.

Image: © chictype/Getty Images

The 3 main options for physical rehabilitation

Inpatient, outpatient, and at-home rehab all aim to restore your function and independence.

Have shoulder pain? Recovering from traumatic illness, surgery, or a bad fall? Your doctor may well recommend physical rehabilitation or physical therapy to get you back to your daily routine and the activities you love. There are several options available, depending on your needs.

1. Inpatient rehab

Inpatient rehab is prescribed after a hospital stay, when you're not well enough to go home. It offers comprehensive care from doctors, nurses, therapists, and other health professionals. There are two types of this rehab.

Moving away from knee osteoarthritis

Men may avoid activity because of their knee pain, but movement is exactly what they need.

It is perhaps the ultimate exercise catch-22: it's hard to move with knee osteoarthritis, but moving helps relieve osteoarthritis knee pain.

More than 30 million Americans have osteoarthritis, the most common kind of arthritis. While osteoarthritis can affect the hips, lower back, neck, and fingers, it occurs most often in the knees. In fact, an estimated 10% of men ages 60 and older have symptoms of knee osteoarthritis.

Are antidepressants also pain relievers?

Antidepressant medications are frequently prescribed for chronic pain, particularly neck or low back pain and certain types of arthritis — though other treatments are usually tried first. An analysis of past research considered how effective antidepressants are for these types of pain, but the results are not encouraging.

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