Work overload really blows your mind! Work stress and chronic headaches go together. But too much angst hits you in physical ways you might not realize, resulting in a stress-related disorder. Here’s a story about how stress overload really blows your mind! Stress has a sneaky way of destroying your life. When you go…
Nerve Sensitization Symptom Evaluator Author: Shana L Johnson MD, AskDrShana Signs that pain is related to nerve sensitization (nociplastic pain) includes long-standing symptoms symptoms (> 3 months), spread of symptoms beyond the boundary of the injury area, marked increased sensitivity to painful stimuli, and non-pain symptoms that cause system-wide symptoms like severe fatigue, disrupted…
Does your doctor believe you? How to find one who does. Does your healthcare provider take the time to listen? Do you feel more like an inconvenience than a client? And when you share your symptoms and concerns, does your doctor believe you? You need to learn how to find one who does. The relationship…
Is your stress showing up as back pain? When you feel a twinge of pain in your back, you probably attribute the source to “overdoing it”. What you might be overdoing is the stress you’re living with. Is your stress showing up as back pain? Stress changes the way the body works. Stress can trigger…
30M people with a painful condition often go undiagnosed SCOTTSDALE AZ—Imagine being afraid to move, afraid to eat, or afraid to be close to your partner. An estimated 30 million people in the United States suffer from a central sensitization syndrome (CSS). A condition that stems from dysfunction in the nervous system leading to…
February is National Wise Health Care Consumer Month Feb 08, 2023 (PRNewswire via COMTEX) — PR Newswire SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Feb. 8, 2023 Do you have the right provider, for you? SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Feb. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — February is the month when a certain groundhog predicts the length of the already-too-long winter and when romance…
January 25, 2023 Nerve sensitization is a serious and underdiagnosed stress-related condition. SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Jan. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Severe headaches, digestive issues, and chronic neck and back pain can result when stress isn’t properly identified and managed. Known as central sensitization syndromes (CSS), the debilitating conditions are often missed by traditional healthcare practices, leading to a…
Author: Shana L Johnson MD, AskDrShana There are multiple classes of medications that lower the reactivity and pain signals from nerves. Many of the medications were developed for other medical conditions but were found to reduce nerve pain. I refer to them as “neuropathic agents” since they lower reactivity and pain signaling from the nerves.…
Author: Shana L Johnson MD, AskDrShana Nerves gone rogue! How stress sparks extreme pain Imagine suffering from constant headaches, debilitating back pain, or embarrasing digestive symptoms but being told nothing is wrong. Your told your medical tests are mostly normal. This discrepancy between pain and pathology can be explained by nerve sensitization.…
Author: Shana L Johnson MD, AskDrShana Leaning In How an overworked mom went numb from stress. Jenna was a 30-year-old mom with a precious four-year-old named Chase. Her son, Chase had big, blue eyes and an even bigger heart. Chase was on the autism spectrum. He needed extra help with talking and communicating in…
Author: Shana L Johnson MD, AskDrShana Technology-induced thumb pain is common. As people spend more time working on computers, texting, and swiping right, overuse injuries occur. Tech thumb describes multiple injuries that occur from repetitive motion injury. It may injure the muscles, tendons, or joints resulting in tendonitis, and joint pain. The thumb plays…
Mechanical low back pain is back pain coming from the bones and muscles of the spine. It is very common and increases in frequency with age. Many people start experiencing back pain in their 30’s and 40’s. Fortunately, exercise helps most people with back pain feel better. More specifically, functional exercise that includes core strengthening…
Central sensitization is a phenomenon that complicates chronic pain. It represents a change in the nervous system that is associated with the development and maintenance of pain. The change results in a persistent state of high reactivity and a lowered threshold for feeling pain. For example, in one study, a person with central sensitization…
Mindfulness is the process of connecting to our essential identity and being in conscious control of our thought processes. The concept of mindfulness on one hand is simple, yet on another, difficult and abstract to apply. Eckhart Tolle has written numerous books surrounding the concepts of mindfulness. This article breaks down key concepts from…
Lower back pain arises from multiple areas in the back. Whiles many are familiar with back pain from injured discs, pain may also arise from small joints in the back called the facet joints. Facet joint pain is a cause of lower back pain that is frequently overlooked.
A disc herniation in the back is a common cause of lower back pain and pinched nerves. The pain often shoots down the leg and into the toes. The pain is from both nerve compression and inflammation. The symptoms are commonly described as painful numbness and tingling, as well as burning shooting down the…
Lower back pain is very common and increases in frequency with age. Many people start experiencing back pain in their 30’s and 40’s. Fortunately, exercise helps most people with back pain feel better. More specifically, functional exercise that includes core strengthening and stretching gets people back to the activities they enjoy.
Chronic pain is different from the pain after a new injury for many reasons. Inflammation is no longer the predominant cause of the discomfort. Treatment with opioid pain medications is also less effective because it fails to treat the other contributing factors. Additionally, opioid pain medications carry addiction risks. Their prescribed use contributed to an…
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common concern in the dawn of the teleworking age. It is frequently seen in those who work heavily with their hands. These days, that often includes long days on the computer, smartphone, or tablet. Carpal tunnel syndrome results from compression of the median nerve as it passes through the wrist…
De Quervain’s tenosynovitis is a common cause of pain and discomfort in the wrist and thumb. It often arises from repetitive use or overuse of the muscles and tendons. The tendons connect the muscles to the bone for movement. The tendons that help the thumb with grip run through a tunnel. With overuse, the tendons…
Tennis elbow occurs when the muscles that extend the wrist become overused. These muscles attach to the bony part of the elbow. The tendon attaches the muscle to the bone. This is where the pain is located. Repetitive movements of the wrist strain these muscles and tendons. The pain is from inflammation initially (tendinitis). With…
Lower Back Pain from Spinal Stenosis A common cause of lower back pain in older adults is spinal stenosis. Spinal stenosis is commonly caused by arthritis changes in the spine. Arthritis causes narrowing of the spinal canal. If the spinal canal becomes too narrow the nerves are compressed which results in pain. Then, a unique…
