How Long Is Too Long? When To Seek Help for Pain
The majority of individuals have experienced some form of physical pain or injury over the course their lives. Some adopt the “no pain, no gain” mentality while others seek medical attention right away. Is it ok to “work through the pain”? What about taking a “wait and see” approach prior to seeking medical care? How long is too long to wait prior to receiving medical care for pain?
4 Safe Ways To Manage Your Pain
We are all too familiar with pain; it is truly one of the unfavorable guarantees that we have in life. Whether it be emotional or physical pain, we learn at a young age that pain is a reality that we all must face. In fact, there is a direct link between our physical pain and emotional wellness. Often times, emotional stressors are manifested in our physical ailments. Just as often, we find ourselves with physical impairments that can trigger certain emotional responses affecting our moods and perspectives.
Are You Growing Used to Your Pain?
Approximately 30 percent of adults over 18 are experiencing chronic pain with a slightly higher prevalence (34 percent) among females.1 Pain can significantly influence an individual’s recovery and functional ability.
Skier’s Thumb
Skier’s Thumb, Gamekeeper’s Thumb….. Baseball Player’s Thumb? Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injuries of the Thumb: An injury for all seasons. (more…)
Do knee braces or sleeves work for knee osteoarthritis?
Knee osteoarthritis (breakdown of articular cartilage along the joint surfaces) is rampant in the aging population. Some statistics show nearly 1 in 2 people may develop symptomatic knee osteoarthritis by age 85 years (1). These are odds are not good! (more…)
Chronic Pain
Pain, though far from enjoyable, is something every one of us will experience at some point in our life. In many cases pain is acute and caused by some type of trauma, incident, surgery, disease, or illness and there’s an end in sight once the healing process occurs. Chronic pain however is a different animal as this type of pain persists sometimes days, weeks, months, or even years. In fact, you may be surprised to find out chronic pain affects more people than coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancer combined. Below is a chart from the American Academy of Pain Medicine which depicts this comparison.
Adjusting Your Bicycle to Alleviate Pain
Due to the repetitive nature of cycling, cyclists are at a higher risk for repetitive stress injuries. Some of these injuries may be caused by an improperly adjusted bicycle. When a bicycle is not ideally adjusted to fit you, you will experience higher levels of stress in certain areas of the body. This will eventually lead to tissue injury and pain. Think of it this way: if you were to use your finger to push on one small area of your skin 10 times, your body is able to adapt to that stress and there is no injury. If you were to push on that same area of your skin 1,000 times, you end up with a bruise, which indicates tissue injury. (more…)
Stretch of the Week: Calf Massage Technique
This week we are going to give our calves a little extra love with a calf massage technique instead of a stretch. This is one I use all the time because my calves are so tight. If you have trigger points or “knots” in your muscles, this is a great way to work them out on your own. I’ll warn you right now, it might be tender, so just apply as much pressure as you feel comfortable. That’s the great thing about this technique, you have control over how much you sink into the tissue. (more…)
