What is Shingles? Shingles is a painful skin rash caused by a virus. This virus is the same one that causes chickenpox. After you recover from chickenpox, the virus stays in your body but remains inactive. Years later, the virus can wake up and cause shingles. The shingles rash usually appears as a stripe of blisters on one side of your body. Before the rash shows up, you might feel pain, itching, or tingling in that area. The rash typically forms blisters that crust over within 7-10 days and usually heal within 2-4 weeks. Shingles can affect anyone who has had chickenpox, but it's more common in older adults and people with weak immune systems. Some people may experience long-lasting nerve pain called postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) after the rash heals. What Causes Shingles? Shingles happens when the chickenpox virus (called varicella-zoster virus) that's been hiding in your nerve cells wakes up. Doctors aren't completely sure why the virus wakes up in some people, but several things can increase the risk: Getting older (your immune system naturally weakens with age) Having diseases that weaken your immune system, like HIV/AIDS or cancer Taking medications that suppress your immune system Being under a lot of stress Having an injury in the area where the rash appears You can only get shingles if you've had chickenpox before. If you've never had chickenpox, you can't get shingles. However, if you're around someone with shingles, you could catch chickenpox if you've never had it. Can You Get Shingles More Than Once? Yes, you can get shingles more than once, although it doesn't happen very often. Most people who have had shingles won't get it again. About 1-6 out of 100 people might have shingles a second or third time in their life. The risk of getting shingles again is higher for people with: Weak immune systems Other health problems A severe first case of shingles Lasting nerve pain after their first bout of shingles What Makes Shingles Come Back? Several things can make shingles more likely to come back: Age As you get older, your immune system gets weaker, making it harder for your body to keep the virus inactive. Weak Immune System People with conditions like HIV/AIDS, cancer, or those taking medicines that weaken the immune system (like steroids or chemotherapy) have a higher risk. Genetics Some people might be born with genes that make them more likely to get shingles multiple times. Lifestyle Factors High stress, poor diet, and lack of sleep can weaken your immune system and may increase your risk. Environmental Triggers Things like too much sunlight or injury to an area of nerves might trigger the virus to wake up again.

What is Postherpetic Neuralgia? Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is long-lasting pain that happens after a shingles rash goes away. Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you recover from chickenpox, the virus stays in your body but is not active. Years later, the virus can wake up and cause shingles. When you have shingles, you get a painful rash. This rash usually heals in a few weeks. But sometimes, the pain doesn't go away after the rash heals. This ongoing pain is called postherpetic neuralgia. PHN happens when the shingles virus damages your nerves. The damaged nerves send pain signals to your brain even when there is no rash anymore. This can cause burning, stabbing, or throbbing pain that lasts for months or even years. Who Gets Postherpetic Neuralgia? Some people are more likely to get PHN after having shingles: People over 50 years old People who had severe shingles with a bad rash People who didn't get treatment for shingles right away People with health problems that weaken the immune system Women (slightly more than men)

Living with discomfort or pain in your big toe can significantly impact your quality of life. Whether hindering your ability to walk, exercise, or even wear particular shoes, big toe arthritis, (medically known as hallux rigidus), can be frustrating and debilitating. However, by delving deeper into understanding this ailment and exploring the available treatment options, you can take proactive steps towards managing your symptoms and regaining control over your mobility. What is big toe arthritis (hallux rigidus)? Big toe arthritis, or hallux rigidus, is a degenerative condition that affects the metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint, which is the joint at the base of the big toe. A degenerative condition is a medical condition that causes progressive deterioration or breakdown of tissues, organs, or systems within the body over time. This condition is caused by the gradual breakdown of the cartilage that cushions the ends of the bones within the joint. As the cartilage wears away, the bones may begin to rub against each other, causing pain, stiffness, and inflammation. Hallux rigidus typically develops over time, often due to repetitive stress on the joint or natural wear and tear associated with ageing. However, it can also be triggered or accelerated by factors such as trauma, injury, or underlying conditions like gout or rheumatoid arthritis. The severity of hallux rigidus can vary widely among individuals, ranging from mild discomfort and stiffness to severe pain and limited mobility. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of this condition is essential for devising an effective management and treatment plan.

The Achilles tendon is the large tendon just above your heel that you can feel like a cord when you move your foot up and down. It’s the largest and strongest tendon in the body and is prone to inflammation, causing a painful disorder called Achilles tendinopathy. It’s not well understood why this tendinopathy occurs. One working theory is that micro-tears in the tendon accumulate from overuse, and in trying to repair, this results in pain and swelling, especially where the tendon attaches to the heel bone. Pain is often worse in the morning and improves throughout the day, but as it progresses it can be there all the time and interfere with activities including walking.. Pain may restrict you completely from exercising, but if you do manage to, you may find that pain is worse when you start but gradually eases as you proceed with your workout. Achilles tendinopathy is more common over 30 and in those who suddenly increase their exercise levels. Other contributors include obesity or a lack of strength or flexibility in your leg muscles. Occasionally, the tendon may actually rupture. If you are unsure if you have ruptured your Achilles, have a read through our article.

The Achilles tendon is the large tendon just above your heel that you can feel like a cord when you move your foot up and down. It’s the largest and strongest tendon in the body. If the tendon tears, or snaps then this is called an Achilles tendon rupture. A rupture can be partial or total, depending on whether any of the tendon is still attached.

Cluster headaches (CH) are terrible attacks of pain – sometimes called the worst pain you can imagine - that affect one side of the head, usually around the eye. The cause for them is not completely clear but they have a tendency to run in families and occur more commonly in people that smoke. They can also be triggered by things such as alcohol and even strong smells. They aren’t very common but can affect anyone and usually occur in ‘clusters’. There are two types - episodic and chronic.  In episodic CH the attacks occur on a daily basis over a period of weeks or months and then stop as suddenly as they started, disappearing for weeks, months or even years before returning at some point.  In chronic CH, the attacks occur regularly with a pain-free remission of less than four weeks in any twelve-month period. In most episodic sufferers the headaches start at the same time of year and occur at the same time during the day or night, with each attack usually lasting between 15 minutes and 3 hours (or more), and can occur up to 6 or 8 times a day.  It’s also common for sufferers to experience an attack within 30-90 minutes of falling asleep.

Costochondritis is the inflammation of the cartilage that connects your ribs to your breast bone (the sternum). Cartilage is a connective tissue that covers the joints and acts as a shock absorber. Costochondritis is a type of chest wall pain that has no clear cause. It usually goes away by itself after a few weeks, with simple pain relief and rest but unfortunately it can also come back again in the future.

Disk herniation describes the sudden onset of pain as a result of a problem with an intervertebral disk in the spine. Disk herniation is characterized by the sudden onset of pain that can be severe. Disk herniation can cause pain in the back or neck, numbness, tingling, weakness in arms or legs, muscle spasm, and muscle weakness.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes pain all over the body. It can be a lifelong condition, although there are treatments that help to relieve pain and make living with the symptoms much easier. The name fibromyalgia comes from the words fibrous tissue (fibro), muscles (my) and pain (algia). It’s a syndrome (FMS), which means it can cause a collection of symptoms. Alongside pain, these include tiredness, headaches, bowel symptoms (bloating), constipation, diarrhea), difficulty concentrating and remembering, sleep disturbances (including restless leg syndrome), muscle stiffness and increased sensitivity to pain. However, fibromyalgia is not a type of arthritis and so joints are not usually affected but many areas of the body can feel tender when pressed. About 1 in 25 people develop fibromyalgia at some time, and it’s much more common in women than in men. It typically begins between the ages of 25 and 55, and has often been present for a long time before it’s diagnosed. Symptoms may wax and wane, so the aims of treatment are to keep most symptoms at bay, and reduce the severity of symptoms if you get a flare-up. Fibromyalgia can also go hand-in-hand with other conditions, including depression and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Disk herniation, also known as a slipped or ruptured disk, occurs when the soft cushion-like disks between the vertebrae in the spine get damaged or shift out of place. Symptoms are characterized by a sudden onset of pain (usually back pain or neck pain. Cervical disk herniation describes a disk prolapse in one of the intervertebral disks in the neck. This can cause pain in the neck along with numbness, tingling or weakness in the arms. Cervical disk herniation can also cause severe symptoms of weakness of the legs and even affect the ability to walk properly. In this guide, we explore cervical disk herniation to help you understand what it is, causes, its symptoms, treatment options, and prevention strategies.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by the compression of one of the nerves in your hand (the median nerve) that helps you move your thumb. It also gives a particular area of skin the sensation of touch, pain, and temperature - this is the skin over the thumb and parts of the first two fingers. The median nerve runs through something called the carpal tunnel as it navigates through your wrist into your hand. The carpal tunnel, which is a gap formed from the bones in your wrist and a big ligament, can swell up and squash the nerve. This usually causes pins and needles, numbness, and pain in your thumb, index finger, and middle finger, and sufferers typically say symptoms are worse at night. Sometimes, if you’ve suffered from this for a long time, the muscle at the bottom of the thumb loses power as the muscle wastes away. There is no one specific cause of carpal tunnel syndrome, but it is more common in women, the elderly, and during pregnancy or menopause. Swelling of the carpal tunnel can occur from injury to your hand or wrist, joint conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, and from diabetes or obesity. You may be at higher risk if your job or hobby involves a lot of manual work, such as bending the wrist or gripping things for a long time, or using work tools that vibrate, such as a pneumatic drill. It is thought to be more common in pregnancy and menopause as there is often increased water retention, so the tissues in the wrists and hands may be more swollen, causing the carpal tunnel to narrow and put pressure on the nerve.

Frozen shoulder is a condition characterized by pain and loss of movement of the shoulder. Otherwise known as adhesive capsulitis, frozen shoulder is a disorder affecting the lining of the shoulder joint which becomes inflamed and tightens. What causes a frozen shoulder? The exact cause is unclear but because it becomes more common as we get older, it’s thought to be due to some form of irritation to the shoulder joint and surrounding capsule of the shoulder. This irritation causes inflammation, which then causes small adhesions or scarring between folds of the shoulder capsule. This is why it’s also sometimes called ‘adhesive capsulitis’.