Pain Management

Low-Intensity Strength Training Sufficient for Knee Arthritis A cornerstone of treatment for knee osteoarthritis is exercises to strengthen muscles. A study published in JAMA (February 2021) examined whether high-intensity activity is more effective than low-intensity activity for reducing knee pain. The study compared high-intensity with low-intensity strength training in 377 people ages 50 and older […]

When your knee or hip hurts, it seems logical to see a doctor who specializes in knee or hip problems. It might surprise you to be sent from this specialist to a spine doctor. Hip and knee pain can sometimes stem from a problem higher up in the body. Spine disorders that can send pain […]

Many people suffer with low back pain, and the causes can vary. When back pain stems from osteoarthritis in the joints at the back of the spine (facet joints), pain relief may be possible from a procedure called radiofrequency ablation (RFA), which disrupts pain-signaling nerve cells. “The type of person who might be helped has […]

Q: My husband (in his 70s) and I (in my 80s) suffer with leg cramps, which have gotten worse lately. They are happening more often in the night. What should we do? I’ve heard magnesium is good for this. A: Leg cramps (a “charley horse”) are sudden, involuntary muscle pains, usually in the calf, but […]

The ongoing search to improve treatment for osteoarthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions has fueled investigation into therapies called orthobiologics. These are based on substances (such as cells or molecules) that naturally occur in the body and have properties that might aid in the treatment of injured or degenerated tissues. Orthobiologics include placental tissue, amniotic tissue, […]

Pain Medication Use Reduced After Exercise Therapy for Osteoarthritis Among people with hip or knee osteoarthritis, use of pain medications was found to be reduced after an exercise program in a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (September 2020). The study included 16,499 people with hip or knee osteoarthritis. The researchers analyzed […]

If you have pain and stiffness in your shoulder, you may think you have a rotator cuff injury, tendi­nitis or osteo­arthritis. But there’s another possibility. Adhesive capsulitis, commonly called frozen shoulder, causes similar symptoms. Once frozen shoulder starts, it can take up to two years to fully recover. Jason Genin, DO, and the Tendinopathy Evaluation Assessment […]

Q: After a fall, I started having severe pain in my lower back and then my lower abdomen. I was diagnosed with sacroiliitis. I was given celecoxib (Celebrex®) for 10 days. I still have pain. What can I do about this? A: Sacroiliitis is inflammation of one or both sacroiliac joints. These joints extend about […]

Strides have been made in acknowledging and understanding fibromyalgia, but challenges remain. No blood or imaging test can confirm it, and there is no single solution to manage it. It takes a multipronged approach to ease its debilitating symptoms. “Fibromyalgia is a chronic, stress-related condition that affects about 5% of the population and at least 20% […]

We rely on our shoulders, which provide the widest range of motion of any joint in the body, for countless everyday activities. Shoulder pain can seriously interfere with daily life. If you have pain in your upper arm when you reach up for something on a high shelf or when you stretch your arm out […]

Q: I have scoliosis and have been told there is no cure. How can I deal with the pain? A: Scoliosis is a sideways curve in the spine. The disorder can develop in childhood, but adult-onset scoliosis is even more common. Many adults ages 60 and older have some amount of spine curvature that can […]

Sharp, stabbing pain at the elbow that doesn’t go away may mean you have what is commonly referred to as tennis elbow or golfer’s elbow. In medical terminology these are called tendinopathies because they involve tendons. Tendons are cords of fibrous tissue that attach a muscle to a bone. Tennis elbow occurs when the tendon […]