Knee pain due to hip? Confused? Yes, you might have got your knees examined and scanned to find the fault in your knees but actually, the real culprit behind it can be your hips.

Hip and Knee Pain, What is the Connection?

Our knee and hip joint are connected together. In fact, it is the hip muscles that control the position of knees while we are walking, running, or jumping, among which the prime muscle group around the hips called the gluteus medius can be the main cause of knee pain. The reason being, it is responsible for the range of movement of your leg and in keeping your pelvis level active.

Knee Problems Caused By Hip

● Tightness or weakness of gluteus medius muscle can impact kneecaps
● Injury or trauma to the hip can trigger knee pain
● Patellofemoral stress syndrome
● Iliotibial band friction syndrome
● Patellar tendonitis
● Pes anserine bursitis

What to do for Knee Pain?
Once it is confirmed that your hip is at fault for the knee pain, focus on below-mentioned hip pain treatments without surgery which will relieve your knee pain once and forever without any side-effects.

1. Hip Extensions

Work on the gluteus maximus muscles in the buttocks to strengthen your hips and get rid of knee pain. Place a resistance band behind one knee while standing, Attach the ends to a fixed point such as a doorknob. Bring the knee about 10 degrees behind the hip, then return to the starting position.

You can also give your other parts of the leg a good stretch by changing the position of the resistance band to your feet or ankle and strengthen different muscles of your legs which is an effective knee pain remedy.

2. Tennis Ball Treatment

A tennis ball is all you need to treat knee pain at home. Lie flat on the floor with your knees bent and aligned. Place a tennis ball under one side of your buttocks. Slowly move around on the tennis ball to find the sore spot. Once you get, stay there for 10-20 seconds. As soon as you feel like the tension is released, move to a new spot. This will help relieve the stress and strain off your knees.

You can also place the tennis ball on hip flexor muscle which originates on the lumbar spine, cross the pelvis and attaches to the top of the leg in order to increase the mobility of your hip and soothe your knee pain. To do this, lie face down on the floor and place the tennis ball under the front of your hip/leg and find a sore spot. Stay on the spot for a few seconds and move around to find another.

3. Physiotherapy Exercises for Knee Pain

There are certain stretches that you can perform daily to keep your hip and knees in good health like the hamstring stretch, quadriceps stretch, leg and calf raises, wall squats, lunges, kick back, clam-shell, and bridging exercises which are some of the simplest and safest physiotherapy exercises to treat knee pain associated with the hip.

If in case the knee pain is constant and you feel no relief from the above treatment options, chances are your knee is at fault. Check for osteoarthritis, swollen knees or signs of knee injuries and carry out natural remedies for knee pain or knee replacement alternatives accordingly to fix it well and good. Above all, ultrasound therapy works magic. If nothing gives you relief from knee pain, electrotherapy devices will, as they are safe, free from side-effects and 100% effective than any other osteoarthritis knee treatment at home.

When knee starts aching, in the eagerness to get rid of it as soon as possible, we think of big treatments ignoring certain small and effective natural remedies which can actually treat knee pain quickly and more soundly.

Knee pain is becoming a very common problem today due to the current sedentary lifestyles, lack of physical movements, inadequate diet, ignorance of minor injuries and pains etc. India has a higher proliferative rate of Osteoarthritis (OA) especially in knee joint among the world and is expected to be at top rank in chronic diseases by 2025. Well, this can be brought down if each one of us doesn’t wait for something to happen and make a habit of practising the below 7 best moves to strengthen our knees.

What to do for knee pain?

1. Knee Marches

This less strenuous cure for knee pain focuses on strengthening the quad muscles.
● Sit straight on a chair.
● Hold on to the edge of the chair or on top of lifting knee.
● Raise right leg up toward your chest (keep the knee bent).
● Lower and switch sides, alternating for 20 to 30 reps.
● To make it a strenuous one, add weights to your ankle and then lift.

2. Heel Raises

An excellent and known knee pain remedy that supports the knees from the bottom.
● Seek the support of a wall or chair for balance and stand tall with your feet shoulder width apart.
● Rise up onto the balls of your feet without leaning forward.
● Hold for few seconds, then lower and repeat.

3. Quad Stretch

Can be performed, standing or lying down, with or without any equipment like a strap or band, as you feel comfortable. No matter how you do, it improves the flexibility of the quad muscles that help in straightening knees.
● Stand tall or lie down on one side.
● Start bending your one leg till your foot comes toward your buttocks. (Here you can use a prop to help stretch)
● Feel the stretch in the front of your thigh.
● Hold, switch sides and repeat.

4. Sit-to-Stand

Known as an incredible knee pain treatment at home, sit-to-stand works all the way from the glutes down to your toes, bolstering your knees against shock and strain.
● Grab a stable chair and sit with your feet flat on the floor.
● Engage your glutes and core and push forward and stand up (don’t jump or stand up swiftly).
● Sit again by putting your weight on heels and engaging your glutes once more.
● Repeat the cycle.

5. Side Lunge Stretch

Relieves knee pain and increases the hip and knee stability.
● Stand with your feet spread wide.
● Sink to one side in a lunge while keeping the opposite leg straight.
● Keep your foot flat on the floor the best you can.
● Feel the stretch in your inner thigh.
● Hold for few seconds.
● Switch and repeat with the other leg

6. Wall Squats

Can be counted as a part of osteoarthritis knee treatment, wall squats strengthen the knees and surrounding muscles in the thighs, glutes, and quadriceps.
● Stand straight against a wall.
● Step your feet out, hip-width apart, roughly two feet in front of you.
● Slide your butt down slowly until your hips are parallel with your knees (don’t slide down below your knees).
● Hold for 20 to 30 seconds and repeat 2 to 3 times.

7. Clams

Actually, a physiotherapy exercise for knee pain, clams strengthen the glutes and remove excess pressure from the knees.
● Lie down on your side
● Support your head with your arm or a prop.
● Bend your hips at 45°and your knees at 90° while resting one leg on top of the other.
● Lift your top leg, keeping your toes together.
● Feel your glutes engage.
● Repeat for 10 to 15 reps on each leg.

The above-mentioned knee replacement alternatives are best effective when combined with ultrasound therapy devices, which together act as the one-stop knee pain treatment, giving you permanent relief.

With all the time our heads bent low over computers and cell phones, what we ignore the most is our neck, which is bearing all the weight of our head. Every 10° tilt forward, adds the pressure of about 10 pounds on the neck.
Later, begins the nagging pain that impairs the ability to perform even our daily activities. A slight ache may be due to a strain but a prolonged one can be an indication of something very serious condition like Cervical Spondylosis.

Cervical spondylosis is a condition where an abnormality is seen in one or more discs, the cushion-like substance that lies between the neck bones. It most often leads to a stiff neck, severe neck and shoulder pain, and occasional headaches. In extreme cases, the pain may extend to the arms and hands and base of the skull. In India itself, 20% of people having neck conditions fall in the age group of 16-34 who neglect treatment considering it to be a minor strain.

Neck Pain Causes

Cervical spondylosis generally causes because of degeneration and wear-and-tear of the cervical spine over a long period of time. Ageing is the most common cause of neck pain, while, engaging into some strenuous activities like lifting heavy objects, neck injury, practising martial arts, performing dance or gymnast etc., are counted as other neck pain reasons. Since the constant pain in the neck can be annoying, we have some pain management tips i.e. some dos and don’ts that you must follow so as to avoid turning your neck pain into something major.

Dos

1. Watch your posture while sitting, working, sleeping etc. Correct your posture and maintain it. Sit erect and keep your neck in a neutral position.
2. Use an appropriately sized, comfortable pillow, neither too big nor too small.
3. Take a break from work in between and stretch your neck upwards, downwards and sideways to relieve pressure and strain on the structures within the neck.
4. Make sure your computer screen is at eye level and rest your wrists on the table or the elbow on the chair while using the computer to give comfort to your neck.
5. Check for bike shock absorbers often and use smooth roads to avoid sudden jerks on your neck.
6. Wear neck belt to support your painful neck if necessary.
7. Practice cervical spondylosis exercises at home to strengthen the neck muscles and improve the flexibility of your neck.
8. Take high fibre content diet like vegetables, fruits, containing zinc, omega3 fatty acids to have better healing or relief from neck pain.
9. Use a neck massager to loosen up the stiff neck muscles.
10. Make use of ultrasound therapy devices as a cervical spondylosis home treatment option, which is safe, sound, natural, non-invasive and 100% effective than any other neck pain remedies.

Don’ts

1. Don’t hang your head too low for more than 10 minutes no matter what you are doing.
2. Don’t put your hands under the head while sleeping.
3. Don’t talk on the phone, leaning your head to one side or the other.
4. Don’t lift any heavy weight or do any strenuous cervical exercises all of a sudden.
5. Don’t roll your neck as it will grind your neck bones together.
6. Don’t try any hardcore massages, since it will only worsen the neck condition.
7. Don’t use neck collars for too long.
8. Avoid cold exposures and cold bath. Keep your neck warm and covered during the cold.
9. Avoid citrus fruits, egg, tomato, potato, since they can precipitate pain.
10. Don’t go for any random spondylosis treatment at cheaper prices.

Conclusion
Keeping in mind the above dos and don’ts will prevent you from developing any serious neck conditions. Take care of your neck. Nod yes to good health!

Most of our daily life activities are impossible without being on feet. The feet which carry the entire burden of your body, if neglected, can cause discomforts in life. Heel pain is one such cause of the negligibility. It is most often caused by plantar fasciitis, which is sometimes also called heel spur syndrome when a spur is formed.

If you feel stabbing heel pain in the morning especially at the sole, then you are most likely suffering from Plantar Fasciitis. It occurs when a tissue called plantar fascia that connects the heel bones to the toes gets deformed and leads to inflammation, irritation, severe pain and sometimes the formation of heel spurs. This condition makes moving around on the feet difficult. Simple activities like walking, running and even standing for a longer period of time become highly uncomfortable. Approximately 15% of the general population is currently affected by this disorder.

Heel pain causes

It is most commonly seen in the people aged between 30 and 60. The heel pain due to plantar fasciitis is mainly caused by the strain in the tissue that typically occurs in the strenuous sports-related activities, improper foot structure, non-supportive footwear, being overweight and getting involved in the activities which require prolonged standing etc.

Plantar Fasciitis Treatments v/s Electrotherapy
Simple conservative treatments can often resolve the effects of the above-stated heel pain reasons if diagnosed earlier to some extent. Let’s have a look at some of the effective home remedies for heel pain and why electrotherapy is effective among all.

1. Rest and exercises:

Getting involved in strenuous activities is the main cause of heel pain. Hence, rest is required to counter the effect and to ease off the heel pain. Coupling that up with some light plantar fasciitis foot exercises can help to prevent the pulling or tightening of the plantar fascia tissue.

2. Correct footwear:

Opt for the shoes that are a good fit with natural arch support. This will prevent the tissue from getting deformed. Skip walking barefoot on the floor to avoid further stress on the tissue.

3. Splints:

Wearing night splints can help brace the ankles and feet in the proper position and stretch the tissue, reducing the pain.

4. Ice pack:

Using an ice pack is a great way to soothe the inflammation and pain in the sole of feet. Instead of applying ice directly; use an Ultracool ice pack.

5. Electrotherapy:

It is considered the most effective, non-invasive and drug-free treatment of all. Use of Ultrasound devices over the heels can help in increasing the blood flow by eliciting muscular contractions in soft tissues, alleviating the inflammation and the heel pain. It is also an effective method for heel spur treatment and when combined with the traditional R.I.C.E (Rest, Ice, Elevate, Compression) i.e. U.R.I.C.E, can be an excellent plantar fasciitis cure.

Benefits of Electrotherapy

The low-frequency electrical current stimulation of Electrotherapy blocks the body’s pain signals, thereby reducing the heel pain.

It is very much cost-effective compared to other expensive treatments.

While some treatments reduce pain temporarily, electrotherapy works on the root cause in order to give permanent relief naturally.

The electrotherapy stimulation in addition to the stretches and due care can help fight the pain associated with the plantar fasciitis and heel spur showing an overall improvement in functional activity levels, helping you to get back your happy feet.

With the comfort of getting the maximum of our tasks done at our fingertip today, we are becoming lazier day by day to get up move, which is actually no less than a slow poison to our health.

Seated all day, our physical movements are almost becoming zero which is extremely bad for our joints as well as our overall health. We are so much getting attached to sitting be at work or home, that our neck, shoulders and mainly our back is paying for our immobility with chronic aches. Don’t worry, we have curated some pretty simple stretches for your tightening muscles, sores and sprains, enough to keep them healthy and working for a long term, here are they;

1. Office Chair Back Stretch

If sitting all day at work is making your back hurt, try this chair exercise to give your back a good stretch. Sit with your back straight. Take your both hands behind the office chair and try to reach them. Once you have a good hold, arch your back and move your chest forward. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat. This will also open up your chest well and good. To avoid back damage from constant sitting, always use back support for your office chair if you don’t feel comfortable.

2. Hamstring Stretch

Stretching exercises for legs becomes extremely important if you are seated all day because or else your joints will become stiff and in no time you may develop Knee Osteoarthritis. A regular stretch of hamstrings can improve the range of motion of legs as well as prevent back pain, sciatica or other hip and back related problems from developing.

To perform the stretch, lay down on your back with both feet flat and your hips and lower back pressing into the floor. Slowly, lift your right leg up to the ceiling and grab behind your thigh, calf, or ankle depending on your flexibility using both your hands. Extend the leg as straight as possible, without locking out the knee. To increase the stretch, flex through the foot. Hold for 60 seconds and repeat with the other.

3. Hip Release

Due to the sedentary lifestyle, hip flexors can become tight and painful with time. To release the tension, kneel on the floor and put your left leg forward at a 90° angle with your right foot in the same kneeling position. Gently, press your hips forward until you start feeling a stretch. Raise your right hand above your head for an added stretch. Hold for 10-15 seconds and then switch sides. Hip releases can also benefit those having lower back pain.

4. Neck Release

A tight sore neck is common today due to staring at a computer for hours and crouching over the phone without a break. To release neck stress, sit with your back straight and relax your shoulders. Place your hands behind the back of the neck and clasp your fingers together tightly. Tuck your chin and roll your head forward until your chin meets your chest. Hold for 3-5 seconds and come back up. Repeat.

5. The One Arm Hug

Your hands and shoulders are constantly resting on the laptop/phone whether at work/home. Lack of mobility in them can tighten up the muscles which can be loosened up by performing one of the best sitting exercises – one arm hug.

Sit straight. Take your right arm across your body and place it on the back of your left shoulder. To stretch a bit deeper, use your left arm to push back on the elbow of the right one. Feel this stretch on the outside of your arm and shoulder. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat.

Benefits of Stretching
Stretching not only refreshes our body but can also revitalize our mind. It increases the blood flow to tight joints and muscles, making us feel energized throughout the day. It improves flexibility and range of motion of joints thus preventing from any kind of chronic pain to develop slowly, and with the use of ultrasound therapy devices along with the above stretching exercises, the pain will become a thing of the past undoubtedly.

Health Tip
Never sit continuously for hours. Keep changing your sitting position at the office/home, take a break. Move around if you can or stretch sitting on your chair itself to keep your joints healthy and strong.

Nothing hurts as bad as the radiating pain of sciatic nerve. When the tingling, shooting pain starts all the way through the longest nerve in our body – Sciatic nerve from the lower spinal cord through the deep layers of the buttocks, down the back of the thigh, along with the outer edge of the leg, and all the way into the foot, we scream for solutions. Well, here’s one for, go get your yoga mat.

Restorative yoga poses are proven to be the finest way to relax your sciatic nerve from erupting throbbing pain every now and then. 1 to 10% of the population aged 25 to 45 years is reported to have Sciatica. Now, the pain can also be a sign of something serious like a herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, prolapsed disc or a pinched nerve. which you may confirm and then proceed to make a habit of practising these 4 restorative yoga poses as a part of sciatica pain treatment.

Restorative yoga poses are comforting and supportive stretches that open the body and relaxes the mind to the core.

1. Supported Backbend

● Grab a bolster and place it perpendicular to the mat at the top.
● Lie down with your upper back on the bolster and your head touching the mat.
● Use a block or another bolster as a headrest to support your neck.
● Extend your legs out in front of and place another bolster under your knees for support.
● Spread your arms out to your sides, breathe and relax.

2. Supported Supine Spinal Twist

● Place two bolsters on both sides of the mat.
● Lie flat on the mat in between the bolsters.
● Rest your arms flat on the mat with your palms up.
● Lift and bend your left leg, bringing it across your body and place it on the yoga bolster on your right side.
● Rest and repeat with the other leg on the other side.

3. Supported Child’s Pose

● Kneel on your mat and spread your knees until they’re open as wide as your hips.
● Place a bolster lengthwise onto the mat between your thighs.
● Bend forward and hug the bolster, turning your head sideways.
● Allow your torso and head to rest completely on the bolster.
● Let your arms rest on to the ground.
● Close your eyes and focus on your breath.

4. Supported Savasana

● Lie down onto your back.
● Place a bolster directly under your knees and a blanket under your head for support.
● Rest your arms onto your sides with the palms facing up.
● Close the eyes, take a deep breath in, and let it go.
● Stay relaxed for as long as you can.

Conclusion
All the above restorative yoga poses can prove to be the best beneficial sciatica pain treatment you can get at home. Each is a gentle stretch which will release the pressure from the sciatic nerve and melt the tension stored in the back away. Your back will feel relaxed and the pain and stiffness will vanish, and if practised regularly, it will improve your posture too. For faster recovery, you can combine them with another best home remedy for sciatica i.e ultrasound therapy and get quick and effective results in the comfort of your home.
To know more about sciatica and its treatment options click here.

All of us might be experiencing mid back pain at some point in our daily routine, the reason being our back is put into so many movements from sunrise to sunset that is is quite natural for it to hurt.

Our middle back includes 12 spinal disks, several vertebrae, muscles and ligaments. Irritation or damage due to poor posture or injury is enough for a middle back pain to develop and stay forever. However, there are solutions to deal with it from the beginning or even before its onset. One among which is stretching exercise which is considered as one of the best back pain treatment at home. Here are the 8 simple and effective stretches for a backache.

8 Back Pain Exercises That Can Be Practiced At Home/Work
1. Cobra Pose

● Lie on your stomach, place your hands underneath the shoulders.
● Bend the elbows and keep your arms close to the body.
● Inhale and slowly lift your head, chest and abdomen while keeping your navel on the floor.
● Bend from your back as much as possible by straightening the arms.
● Hold, exhale & repeat.

2. Seated Twist

● Sit on a chair or if possible, cross-legged on the floor.
● Inhale, sit up tall, and place your right hand behind you, bringing your left hand to your right knee.
● Exhale and gently twist your heart to the right. Feel the twist release the tension in the middle of your back.
● Hold and repeat.

3. Child’s Pose

● Sit on your knees with your hips and buttocks resting on the lower legs and feet.
● Bring the body forward such that your chest touches the knees.
● If possible, bring the forehead to the floor and stretch your arms out in front.
● Rest your hands gently on the floor, keeping the arms straight.
● Hold and repeat.

4. Bridge Pose

● Lie on your back. Bend knees and place your feet flat on the floor & as close as possible to the buttocks.
● Make your fingers touch your heels and tuck your shoulders further to your back.
● Press into your feet and lift your hips upwards until the back is off the ground.
● Bring awareness to your upper back and consciously send your chest toward the wall behind you. This helps bring the backbend out of the lower back and more toward the middle and upper back.
● Hold and repeat

5. Latissimus dorsi stretch

● Raise the right hand straight up, over the head.
● Bend the elbow, so that the right-hand drops toward the upper back.
● Place the left hand on the right elbow and gently pull the right arm to the left.
● While pulling the right elbow, bend the body in a straight line to the left, making sure not to lean forward or backwards.
● Hold and repeat on the other side.

6. Cat-Cow Pose

● Take the crawling position with your wrists under shoulders and knees under hips.
● Spread your fingers wide to evenly distribute your weight on them.
● Inhale, gently sending your pelvis upward and your heart forward, dipping your belly down and your face up which is cow pose.
● Exhale and arch your back like a cat, rounding your spine, tucking in your pelvis, and letting your head hang loose.
● Hold and repeat.

7. Passive Backbend

● Place a supporting object beneath the back, such as a back roller/foam noodle/rolled up towel/yoga mat.
● Lie on the roll such that it rests beneath the shoulder blades, near the middle of your back. Use something to support your head if necessary.
● Bring the arms away from the body, resting at a 45° angle.
● Hold and repeat.

8. Thread the Needle

If you have middle back pain in the left side or right, this stretch can help.
● Start in the crawling position, with knees directly below the hips and feet in line with the knees.
● Pass the right arm from under the left arm while rotating the chest. The right hand should rest on the floor.
● Lower the right shoulder while gently placing the right side of the head onto the floor. Look past the armpit, toward the ceiling.
● Hold and repeat with other.

All the above stretches are actually yoga poses for back pain which will give your spine an excellent stretch, release the tension from mid back and improve the flexibility of your back. In short, are the best middle back pain treatment that can be done at home.

Generally, when pain strikes, we hit the bed and skip doing anything. Well, in case of arthritis pain, its something one must avoid and instead should get moving.

Arthritis and pain go hand in hand. Once diagnosed, there is hardly any respite. With approximately 277 million people living with Knee Osteoarthritis (OA) worldwide, it is today the most common form of arthritis where the cartilage, a cushion-like flexible connective tissue that absorbs pressure and stress in the knee joint, slowly wears away resulting in the rubbing of bones against each other and causing pain, stiffness, swelling, decreased ability to move and, sometimes, the formation of bone spurs too.

Osteoarthritis sees no age. It can occur to anyone anytime due to heavyweight, heredity, repetitive knee injuries, illnesses like rheumatoid arthritis, certain metabolic disorders etc. Though various osteoarthritis treatment options are available, taking a natural approach to pain relief is in trend nowadays and exercising is one such important measure which is vital for body strength and flexibility.

When down with knee pain, exercising would be the last thing on the list to consider. But sparing fifteen minutes a day might make a considerable difference to the pain and fatigue associated with it. Let’s have a look at some of the best and gentle knee pain relief exercises that will not only relieve pain but also strengthen the hamstrings, quadriceps and glutes muscles attached to knee joints.

1. Leg Lifts 

• Lie straight on your back with arms resting on side and toes up.
• Tighten the leg muscles, keeping them straight
• Slowly raise the leg several inches above the floor
• Push your lower back down by tightening the stomach muscles
• Hold up to the count of five, then slowly bring back the legs down
• Repeat the same with the other leg

This exercise strengthens the quadriceps, a group of muscles on the front of your thighs that are powerful extensors of the knee joint.

2. Hamstring stretch

• Lie on the floor/bed as per your comfort with both legs bent
• Slowly lift the bent leg and bring the knee towards the chest
• Lock your hands behind the thigh, not the knee, and straighten your leg to the upward direction
• Pull the straightened leg further towards the head till you feel the stretch
• Hold for 30-60 seconds, then slowly lower the leg back to the floor
• Repeat the same with the other leg

It will strengthen the hamstrings, a group of muscles at the rear of the thigh which flexes the knee.

3. One-leg dips

• Hold onto a wall for balance and stand straight
• Lift one leg 12 inches above the floor and hold it in the front
• Bend the other leg on the floor from knees and keeping your back straight lower your body as if you are going to sit on a chair. Don’t bend or cross the other straightened leg.
• Hold it for five seconds and slowly come back to the standing position
• Switch the leg and repeat the same.

This will strengthen both the front and rear muscles of your thighs and also your buttocks.

Conclusion

These low-impact and 15-minutes exercises are safe for senior citizens and can be performed by anyone for improving their knee strength and flexibility. Other natural cures for arthritis that can be considered are walking, swimming, meditation, yoga, anti-inflammatory foods, hot and cold therapies, home treatments using electrotherapy devices etc. Combination of any of these home remedies for arthritis with exercise, if done right can help lessen or even relieve knee pain forever.

Our backs are put into so many stress and movements that it is natural to take our hands back to support our back. By the end of the day, we become so eager to lie down as standing with the lower back pain almost become unbearable. Isn’t it?

Lower back pain is the worst as it makes us so much uncomfortable that we forget standing, sitting or walking, even lying down doesn’t help. Approximately, 60%–80% of adults experience Low back pain (LBP) at some point in their lifetime. It is no silly matter to be ignored, acute low back pain can turn into a chronic one and even cause serious damage to your back if not treated timely. Let’s take a look at the causes of severe lower back pain first.

Causes

With so many complex structures like muscles, ligaments, tendons, disks, and bones in it, even a slight pressure or stress in any of them is enough to trigger pain in the back. The following are the possible reasons:
● Sprains and strains due to injuries, fractures, or falls
● Muscle tear or tension
● Spasms due to lifting or twisting some heavy and improperly
● Sudden jerk or awkward movement
● Damaged disks, vertebral fractures
● Medical conditions like – Infections, tumours, abdominal aortic aneurysms, kidney stones, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, ankylosing spondylitis, sciatica nerve and spinal stenosis
● Pregnancy, overweight, poor postures
● Standing or sitting for long periods
● Long drives, sleeping on a bad mattress and others

Symptoms

The type and intensity of pain although depends on the cause of back pain, still it generally can be mild, deep, aching, stabbing, or throbbing. If its the nerve that causing the back pain like sciatica, it may radiate to other areas of the body like the hips and leg. If the pain gets better with movement and stretching, it is the muscle that is affected. Other signs to look out are; weight loss, lower back pain on the right side, lower back pain on the left side, inflammation or swelling on the back, pain and numbness in legs, urinary incontinence, fever etc.

Back pain treatments

1. For starters, you can apply a hot compress or an ice pack to the painful area to get relief from back pain.
2. Take a break from hardcore activities and give your back ample rest which is good for sciatic pain relief.
3. To avoid lower back pain from sitting too much, get up and move around a little in between to prevent muscles weakening.
4. Practice yoga, perform back and muscle strengthening exercises to improve the flexibility of the back.
5. For chronic back pain, Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can be a good treatment option where muscle relaxation techniques and ways of maintaining a positive attitude are taught.
6. Other treatment options like chiropractic (for the spine, joint, muscle and bone problems), osteopathy (for skeleton and muscles), shiatsu (finger pressure therapy, where the pressure is applied along energy lines in the body), acupuncture (that help the body release its natural painkillers, endorphins) are also proved to be beneficial.
7. For complete relief from lower back pain, one must opt for the safest, noninvasive, inexpensive, and patient-friendly treatment Electrotherapy.

Preventive Tips
Shed extra kilos and eat a healthy diet with calcium and vitamin D, train your muscles with regular strengthening exercises, while lifting heavy objects, bend from the hips and knees and not the back, watch your posture while sitting and standing, sleep on a mattress that keeps your spine straight and use supports for your back while driving. Your back will thank you.

Yes, the chilly season of fall can trigger pain in your joints, especially your knees and can flare up if you are weather-sensitive and have the condition of chronic joint disorders, such as arthritis.

We often complain about joint aches during winter. In fact, the feeling of muscle stiffness even makes us hate winters. Then, we can only imagine the extent of discomfort in joints for the people living with arthritis, isn’t it?

In a survey published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, out of 712 people with Osteoarthritis (OA), 469 (67%) of them said winters made their knees hurt.

Some of the scientific researches state that the following are the causes of knee pain in cold weather;

Barometric pressure changes

Compared to the summers, a drop in barometric (atmospheric) pressure can make the joints hurt badly. It is because when the weather is damp and cold, the tissues in our joints expand, putting more pressure on our nerves that control pain signals. It is due to this our joints feel weak during winters.

Increased nerve sensitivity

Our nerves start to misbehave due to the freeze outside. They become extremely hypersensitive to the change in temperature. The pain signals travelling along nerves from a joint are amplified in the brain by signals carried on separate nerves called sympathetic nerves, which are a part of the body’s system for maintaining its internal functioning without us having to think about it.

During winters, these nerves constrict blood vessels in the limbs, to minimise heat loss and help keep the core of the body where vital organs are, warm. But, due to the cold weather, the nerves around joints become very much active, leading to an increase in the pain a person feels.

Joint fluid thickness

Cold weather increases the thickness of the shock absorber within our joint, synovial fluid, making it lose some of its lubrication properties. Due to its increased viscosity, the fluid may not flow freely resulting in stiff and creaking joints.

Cold & humidity

High levels of humidity can harm bone and cartilage cells, making our bones to ache in the cold weather

Inactivity

The cosy and lazy feeling of winter prevents us from getting out and doing any kind of physical activity. And such long periods of inactivity affects our joint health.

Knee Pain Remedies
To survive the cold weather pain-free, you can try the following methods for knee pain relief;
1. Keep yourself warm. Wrap some extra woolen clothes around your painful joints
2. Wear knee bands or braces to reduce swelling and improve stability in the knee
3. Take hot water baths
4. Stay active indoors. Stretch, exercise, move around, perform yoga
5. Soak in the morning sunlight for some Vitamin D
6. Drink water and eat healthily
7. Use electrotherapy devices for knee pain treatment at home
Read more about the knee joint pain relief measures in detail here.

Wrapping up
Joint aches in cold weather are painful, but you must not let it take over you. Keep your spirits up, take care of yourself and enjoy the beautiful season of Winter!