Years ago, if you wanted relief from knee pain caused by osteoarthritis, you would get a prescription for medication, cortisone shots, or ointments. Of course, those treatments only mask the pain without fixing the problem. The next step typically would be surgery. In some cases, knee surgery is the only option, especially for severe cases […]

Did you know there are two joints in the knee? Both connect to the femur (thigh bone), the longest bone in the body. One joint connects the femur with the tibia (shin bone), which is the second longest bone in the body. The other joint connects the femur to the patella (kneecap). These bones in […]

Let me clarify two things. I’ve never smoked marijuana in my life, and this post has nothing to do with recreational marijuana use. But that’s a big reason why the conversation about cannabis for pain relief goes off the tracks. People automatically associate marijuana, or cannabis, with illegal drug use. What they don’t understand is […]

In the previous post, I discussed the real reasons for the opioid epidemic in our country. A letter was published in a highly respected medical journal that discussed flawed research about the risk of addiction when using prescription opioids for pain management. This led to several other similarly flawed studies. Of course, big pharma capitalized […]

According to research from the Institute of Medicine, 100 million Americans deal with chronic pain. That’s more than heart disease, cancer and diabetes combined. Back pain is the most common form of chronic pain, while headaches, neck pain and joint pain are also prevalent. First, let’s define chronic pain. Chronic pain is pain that lasts […]

In the previous post, I discussed the differences between osteoarthritis, which is the gradual degeneration of cartilage and bone at the joints caused by wear and tear, and autoimmune arthritis, which occurs when the body’s immune system attacks normal cells at the lining of joints. Most people think the default treatment for arthritis is a […]

When you hear the word “arthritis,” it’s similar to when you hear the word “cancer.” Most people tend to lump all forms of arthritis or cancer into the same group. Just like there are many forms of cancer, there are many forms of arthritis that fall into one of two general categories – osteoarthritis and […]

Nine out of 10 Americans get headaches. Some headaches are worse than others. When a headache is really bad, many people assume it’s a migraine. But before you start popping pills, it’s important to try to figure out what kind of headache you have. A headache involves dull, unpleasant pain or pressure that can occur […]

We’ve all experienced aches and pains from head to toe over the course of our lives. We may experience back pain after working in the yard, or our entire bodies could ache when we come down with the flu. In the simplest of terms, myalgia is the medical term for muscle pain. Depending on the […]

In a previous post, I discussed why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered the makers of over-the-counter and prescription pain relievers to strengthen language on warning labels. Drugs like ibuprofen and naproxen increase the risk of heart attack and stroke by up to 50 percent when taken on a regular basis. Prescription pain […]