What Is Menopausal Joint Pain? Menopause is a natural part of the aging process. While most people associate it with hot flushes and mood swings, joint pain is also common. Sometimes referred to as "menopausal arthritis," this condition can cause pain in the knees, hips, neck, hands, and shoulders, making daily activities more challenging and reducing overall quality of life.

Abdominal pain, commonly referred to as a stomachache, is a discomfort or ache felt anywhere between the chest and pelvis. It is one of the most frequent reasons people visit their doctor or seek medical advice. While abdominal pain can be mild and short-lived, it can sometimes indicate a more serious underlying condition. Understanding the causes and symptoms of abdominal pain is essential for managing it effectively. The nature of the pain: whether it is sharp, dull, crampy, or constant: can provide important clues about its origin. By learning to identify what might be causing your discomfort, you can make informed decisions about whether to manage it at home or seek professional care. This guide will help you navigate the possible causes of abdominal pain, when it might be a cause for concern, and practical ways to find relief. Whether it’s a simple case of indigestion or something more serious, being informed is the first step to feeling better. You can also get pain that feels like colic – waves of sharp pain that can stop and start suddenly. Common causes of this abdominal pain are kidney stones and gallstones.

Experiencing pain when you pee can be scary and uncomfortable. This problem, called dysuria, is pretty common and can happen to both men and women, though it happens more often in women. The pain can feel like a mild burn or be much worse, and there are many reasons why it might happen. Knowing what causes pain when you pee is important so you can get the right treatment and feel better. Some causes are not serious and are easy to treat, but others might mean you need to see a doctor. Figuring out what’s causing your pain is the first step to getting the right care. This article will explain the common reasons for pain when urinating, the symptoms to look out for, and the different ways to treat it. We’ll also tell you when you should see a doctor and give you tips for managing symptoms at home.

Back pain will affect most of us, but it's usually a short-lived episode with no serious consequences. Most cases are managed without seeing your doctor if you can avoid strenuous activity and treat yourself with gentle stretches, hot or cold compresses, plus painkillers if needed. More severe or chronic back pain may require medical attention. Back pain can arise from a variety of causes, and there are several factors, such as age, lifestyle, and weight, that can increase the likelihood of it occurring. Thankfully, there are several measures you can take to manage and treat symptoms of back pain. In this guide, we’ll talk you through the possible causes and suitable treatment options to help you live a happy and healthy life. About your back The back is a complex structure that comprises the bones of the spine (vertebrae), stacking on top of each other with the spinal cord - a bundle of nerves providing vital signals to the body - running through them. Movement of the back comes from ligaments, tendons and surrounding muscles. Intervertebral disks provide a cushion between each vertebra, and your rib cage encloses the lungs from front to back, where it attaches to the vertebrae. The spine flexes side to side and front to back, and it has 4 natural curves, named the cervical (neck), thoracic (upper), lumbar (lower) and sacral (lowest) regions. The lower back is the part most vulnerable to injury, as it carries most of the load if we’re lifting something. Injury is usually to the muscles here, and doctors call this mechanical back pain or musculoskeletal back pain, but anywhere in the back – upper, middle or lower – can become injured and painful, and it may only affect one side. Referred pain from surrounding organs and structures can be felt in the back, such as kidney pain in either side of your flanks, lung conditions, pain from the heart or major blood vessels in the chest, and injury or illness referred from the shoulders, neck or pelvis. There are certain cases where doctors worry about what’s causing back pain, and these can relate to your age, how long you've been suffering, specific symptoms and any underlying health conditions or lifestyle risk factors. Let's take you through worrying symptoms and signs of backache, and ways to help heal a back injury.

The brain and the spine are a complex system that work together as part of the central nervous system. The spinal nerves send messages from the rest of the body to the brain, so it can process what’s in the environment and anything that might be feeling good or bad within the body. It is the brain that interprets some of these messages as pain. The brain’s response to pain is one that has evolved to protect us, as animals, from threat and danger. In the simplest terms, it tells us of an injury so we can protect the area and recover. But pain can be complex: the brain occasionally misinterprets messages as pain when there is none, or the response to minor pain can be disproportionate. Pain is expected to subside over time, especially when related to an injury or trauma, but chronic pain persists for more than 3 months and sometimes without any clear triggers. Behaviors develop around this that can exacerbate the problem and reinforce the nerve signals, making treatment difficult.

Chest pain is a broad term, and feels very different depending on the cause. Most chest pain is not anything serious, but cause for concern depends on your particular symptoms, your age and any other medical problems or risk factors you might have for heart problems. Chest pain can be a sign of something serious and life-threatening, such as a heart attack. If there are any concerns, you should seek immediate medical attention. Symptoms can vary from short, sharp jabs, to dull and persistent aches. People are usually very specific about how it feels, and other descriptive terms include feeling heavy, tight, burning, crushing or searing. It can come on quickly or gradually. It can be fleeting for seconds to minutes, or last several hours. It can occur while walking or exercising, lying down or when sitting doing nothing, and you might notice other symptoms alongside, like a cough, sweating, feeling sick or feeling the heart beating fast or hard. All of these specifics help doctors to determine which part of the body is causing the pain and what the underlying problem is. Let’s talk you through the causes, depending on which part of the body is involved, and also, importantly, when you should worry.

Foot pain is common, and there are many different causes. If you have had some sort of trauma, like kicking something hard or dropping something on your foot, there may be the possibility of a broken bone. If you have not had any trauma, there are many different causes: skin problems like blisters and ulcers, joint problems like arthritis or gout, or muscle and tendon problems like Achilles tendinopathy and plantar fasciitis. If you have severe pain or pain not subsiding with simple pain relief, you may need to seek advice from your doctor.

Do you experience back pain when you sneeze? If so, it could be a sign of an underlying problem. In this guide, we’ll cover the causes, symptoms and treatments of back pain linked to sneezing - it happens more often than you may think! First of all though, let’s look at why we sometimes sneeze in the first place. What happens when we sneeze? Sneezing is normal. It’s one of our reflex (involuntary) actions that happens when our body wants to clear an irritant out of the nose or throat. These are things like pollen, smoke, viruses and dust that can irritate the sensitive lining of this part of your body which then causes a sneeze. Some people sneeze only once, while others can sneeze many times in succession. A sneeze is extremely powerful - sometimes reaching a force of over 100 miles per hour - and so it can sometimes put a lot of stress on our body. When we feel a sneeze about to happen, we breathe in deeply and this increases our abdominal pressure. When we sneeze, we suddenly release all that pressure quickly and violently, and this is when a health problem may occur.

Back pain is extremely common and many of us have experienced it at some time in our lives. There are many possible causes of back pain and it can be short-lived and severe, or more chronic and low-level. Whatever the cause, back pain may also be linked to feeling dizzy, and there are a number of conditions that can cause dizziness and which can also involve back discomfort. We look at some of the common ones in this article. Remember - you can suffer from any of these conditions with or without back pain

Headaches are very common, and most people suffer from them at some point in their life. They are usually mild, go away without any treatment within a few hours, and in most cases, are not a sign of anything serious. There are a number of different types of headache, such as: Tension headaches Tension headaches are the commonest type of headache and may occur occasionally or every day. Occasional tension headaches are often described as a mild to moderate constant band-like pain, tightness, or pressure around the forehead or back of the head and neck and can last from 30 minutes to several days, often starting in the middle of the day. Regular or chronic tension headaches come and go over a prolonged period of time with a throbbing pain affecting the front, top, or sides of the head. It helps to learn to avoid the triggers for these headaches (such as reducing stress, and improving the set-up of your workstation) and, if possible, taking a break and using a simple pain reliever. There is no single cause for tension headaches, but for some people they are caused by the tightening of the muscles in the back of the neck and scalp. This muscle tension may be caused by: Inadequate rest Poor posture Emotional or mental stress, including depression Anxiety Fatigue Hunger Overexertion Migraine A migraine headache may be like a tension headache but is usually recognized as being different by being one-sided, pulsating, more severe and debilitating. Migraine most commonly brings other symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting and aversion to light and noise. The migraine may or may not be preceded by gradual visual disturbances (aura, spectra) such as moving lights, patterns and shapes, which develop over a few minutes and disappear as the headache worsens. The most common migraine symptoms are: Throbbing, pulsating pain Sound sensitivity Pain on one side of the head Vision changes, blurred vision Aura Vomiting More women than men suffer from migraine, and it is common in children, teenagers and young adults but may begin at any age. Your genes are mostly responsible – no other single explanation has been found. Ways of treating a migraine include reducing lifestyle factors that can trigger it, using a rescue medicine that relieves migraine attacks when taken at the first sign of migraine, and - if migraines are frequent – to take a prophylactic medicine every day. If you are using rescue medicines more than three times a month, talk to your doctor about taking a prophylactic medicine. Cluster headaches These are repeated, sudden, short-lived, usually one-sided and severe, frontal headaches (often behind the eye). They can recur many times over weeks or months and then the person may have a spell with no headaches. Men are more prone to these and, once diagnosed, treatment with prophylactic medicines can help. Chronic daily headaches Some people have headaches daily or near daily for months and the headaches can be any of a number of types. However, a common factor in many people with daily headache is overuse of medicines for headache, which in itself causes what is called a painkiller headache. This may sound unusual but overusing simple painkillers and other migraine drugs can trigger regular headaches. Women and headaches Migraine often happens around menstruation or at other regular times of the menstrual cycle and are called menstrual migraines. Non-migraine headache is also a common feature of premenstrual syndrome, with female hormone fluctuations influencing these headaches. The oral contraceptive, menopause and pregnancy also may affect migraine.

Joint pain is a common condition that affects millions of people worldwide. Whether it's a nagging discomfort or a debilitating sensation, joint pain can significantly impact daily life and limit mobility. Understanding the causes, symptoms, and available treatments is essential for managing this condition effectively. With many different possible causes, it’s usually best to speak to a doctor. Your doctor will narrow down different potential causes depending on how or when the pain started, how many joints are affected, and if there are any other symptoms alongside. In this article, we’ll take a look at the common causes of joint pain and how to treat it. Understanding joint pain Joints are the connections between bones in the human body. For example, the separate bones in the upper and lower arm are connected by our elbow joint. Joints provide the bones with stability and allow for easy movement, and are made up of several components including bones, cartilage, ligaments, tendons, and synovial fluid. Joints can be rigid - such as the joints between your skull bones - or more commonly movable, such as in your shoulders, hips and knees. However, when joints don’t function as they should, this can lead to pain. As complex parts of the body, there are many types of joint pain that people commonly experience. The medical term for joint pain is ‘arthralgia’ and refers to discomfort in any joint in the body. It’s important to realize that this is different from the term ‘arthritis’, which specifically means joint inflammation. It’s possible to have a joint that is painful but not inflamed, but you can also have a joint that is both inflamed and painful. Types of joint pain Types of joint pain can affect various areas of the body, resulting in discomfort and restricted movement. Understanding the specific regions where joint pain commonly occurs is crucial for accurate diagnosis and targeted treatment. Some of the most common types include: knee pain shoulder pain back pain hip pain foot pain, including your ankle and toes hand pain, including your wrist and fingers elbow pain neck pain

If you're suffering from pain in your knee when you go up or down stairs, you're not alone. This is a really common problem, especially in people after they reach middle age as cartilage wears down around the joints. The pain you feel in your knee will differ from person to person and could start immediately when you go up or down the first step, or could happen later on, particularly if you've overexerted yourself. Read on to find out why you could be feeling knee pain on the stairs and how to treat it.