Where Does It Hurt?

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The main painful topics on PainScience.com are stubborn pain problems like trigger points (poorly named, but incredibly common, and often confused with muscle strain), neck pain and low back pain (of course), and repetitive strain injury, like plantar fasciitis or IT band syndrome.

But that’s the tip of the iceberg, and there are dozens of other articles about treatments and therapies, the nature of pain, or browse the index of all articles.

Articles containing members-only content are badged with MEMBERS and they are also highlighted if it’s a substantial section.

Head, neck & throat

• The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — A detailed, science-based tour of stubborn headache diagnosis and treatment, for both patients and professionals. BOOKPainScience tutorials are book-length. There’s a large free introduction, and then it’s $20 to read the whole thing. There are ten paid tutorials on PainScience.com, but also hundreds of other free articles.
• The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — An extremely detailed guide to chronic neck pain and the disturbing sensation of a “crick”. BOOKPainScience tutorials are book-length. There’s a large free introduction, and then it’s $20 to read the whole thing. There are ten paid tutorials on PainScience.com, but also hundreds of other free articles.
• Massage Therapy for Bruxism, Jaw Clenching, and TMJ Syndrome — Perfect Spot No. 7, the masseter muscle of the jaw.
• The Respiration Connection — How dysfunctional breathing might be a root cause of a variety of common upper body pain problems and injuries.
• Stuck in My Throat — A “globus pharyngeus” nightmare, with a side of science.
• When to Worry About Neck Pain … and when not to! — Red flags versus non-scary possible explanations for bad neck pain.
• What Happened To My Barber? — Either atlantoaxial instability or vertebrobasilar insufficiency causes severe dizziness and vomiting after massage therapy, with lessons for health care consumers.
• Painfully tongue-tied — The (bogus) link between a tight lingual frenulum and head, neck, and jaw pain. My headache pain book has some extra information.

Back, chest & torso

• The Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — An extremely detailed guide to the myths, controversies, and treatment options for low back pain. BOOKPainScience tutorials are book-length. There’s a large free introduction, and then it’s $20 to read the whole thing. There are ten paid tutorials on PainScience.com, but also hundreds of other free articles.
• How to Treat Sciatic Nerve Pain — A user-friendly, evidence-based guide for patients about how to manage buttock and leg pain (which may or may not actually involve the sciatic nerve).
• When to Worry About Low Back Pain — And when not to! What’s bark and what’s bite? Checklists and red flags for the scary causes of back pain
• 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — Why is back pain worst first thing in the morning, and what can you do about it? MEMBERSThis article contains a members-only area. There are ten large members-only areas (highlighted items) scattered around the site, plus a growing selection of articles with smaller members-only sections. In most cases, the exclusive content is digressive and interesting, a bonus for members, while the most useful/essential points remain freely available to all visitors. Most PainScience.com content is free and always will be.
• When To Worry About Shortness of Breath … and When Not To — Three minor causes of a scary symptom that might be treatable.
• MRI and X-Ray Often Worse than Useless for Back Pain — Medical guidelines “strongly” discourage the use of MRI and X-ray in diagnosing low back pain, because they produce so many false alarms.

Pelvis

• Vaginismus — The psychology, biology, and pain science of vaginal penetration pain disorders.

Shoulders, elbows, wrists & hands

• Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — An extremely detailed science-based guide to one of the strangest of all common musculoskeletal problems, for both patients and pros. BOOKPainScience tutorials are book-length. There’s a large free introduction, and then it’s $20 to read the whole thing. There are ten paid tutorials on PainScience.com, but also hundreds of other free articles.
• The Role of “Spasm” in Frozen Shoulder — How to identify cases of functional frozen shoulder, dominated by muscular inhibition.
• Vibration Therapies, from Massage Guns to Jacuzzis — What are the medical benefits of vibrating massage and other kinds of tissue jiggling? (Included here because the article uses frozen shoulder as an major example.)
• Tennis Elbow Guide — Not just for tennis players! A detailed, science-based tour of the nature of the beast and reviews of all the treatment options.
• Dupuytren’s Contracture — The tip of a mysterious pathological iceberg.
• Massage Therapy for Tennis Elbow and Wrist Pain — Perfect Spot No. 5, in the common extensor tendon of the forearm.
• Massage Therapy for Shoulder Pain — Perfect Spot No. 14, The Most Predictable Unsuspected Cause of Shoulder Pain.

Hips, legs, knees & feet

• The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Muscle strain (pulled muscle) and muscle pain explained and discussed in great detail, plus reviews of every imaginable treatment option, with lots of referencing. BOOKPainScience tutorials are book-length. There’s a large free introduction, and then it’s $20 to read the whole thing. There are ten paid tutorials on PainScience.com, but also hundreds of other free articles.
• The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — An extremely detailed guide to iliotibial band syndrome (runner’s knee), with detailed reviews of every treatment option. BOOKPainScience tutorials are book-length. There’s a large free introduction, and then it’s $20 to read the whole thing. There are ten paid tutorials on PainScience.com, but also hundreds of other free articles.
• The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — An extremely detailed guide to rehab from patellofemoral pain syndrome (aka runner’s knee), with thorough reviews of every treatment option. BOOKPainScience tutorials are book-length. There’s a large free introduction, and then it’s $20 to read the whole thing. There are ten paid tutorials on PainScience.com, but also hundreds of other free articles.
• Patellofemoral Pain & the Vastus Medialis Myth — Can just one quarter of the quadriceps be the key to anterior knee pain?
• Diagnosing Runner’s Knee — It usually starts with lateral knee pain during and after runs, but there are two major types.
• How to Treat Sciatic Nerve Pain — A user-friendly, evidence-based guide for patients about how to manage buttock and leg pain (which may or may not actually involve the sciatic nerve).
• Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — An extremely detailed guide to all types of shin splints for both patients and professionals, including thorough reviews of every possible treatment option, and all about the nature of the beast. BOOKPainScience tutorials are book-length. There’s a large free introduction, and then it’s $20 to read the whole thing. There are ten paid tutorials on PainScience.com, but also hundreds of other free articles.
• Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — An extremely detailed guide to plantar fasciitis, especially every possible treatment option, and all supported by recent scientific research.
• Plantar Fasciitis Patients Have Thick Soles — There’s a connection between plantar fasciitis and a surprisingly thick tissue in the arch of the foot.
• Baxter’s Neuritis versus Plantar Fasciitis — A rare nerve entrapment that can explain some stubborn cases of “plantar fasciitis”.
• Achilles Tendinitis Treatment Science — Evidence-based guidelines for the fastest possible recovery
• The Tibiofibular Joint and Knee Pain — A neglected joint in the diagnosis of knee pain (and near-knee pain)
• Bone on Bone — How often are those dirty words about arthritis a harmful exaggeration? And should we ever use them, even when it’s accurate? (“BOB” may be used to describe any arthritic joint, but mostly hips and knees.) MEMBERSThis article contains a members-only area. There are ten large members-only areas (highlighted items) scattered around the site, plus a growing selection of articles with smaller members-only sections. In most cases, the exclusive content is digressive and interesting, a bonus for members, while the most useful/essential points remain freely available to all visitors. Most PainScience.com content is free and always will be.

Pain anywhere and/or everywhere

• Guide to Repetitive Strain Injuries — Five surprising and important ideas about repetitive strain injuries for patients and professionals. MEMBERSThis article contains a members-only area. There are ten large members-only areas (highlighted items) scattered around the site, plus a growing selection of articles with smaller members-only sections. In most cases, the exclusive content is digressive and interesting, a bonus for members, while the most useful/essential points remain freely available to all visitors. Most PainScience.com content is free and always will be.
• The Double-Edged Sword of Imaging to Diagnose Pain — When and why to get scanned when you’re trying to figure out why something just keeps hurting.
• A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — The science (and not the pseudoscience) of the mysterious disease of pain, exhaustion, and mental fog.
• The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — An extremely detailed guide to the unfinished science of muscle pain, with reviews of every theory and treatment option. BOOKPainScience tutorials are book-length. There’s a large free introduction, and then it’s $20 to read the whole thing. There are ten paid tutorials on PainScience.com, but also hundreds of other free articles.
• Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — The biology and treatment of unwanted muscle contractions.
• Why Do Muscles Feel Stiff and Tight? — Maybe your range of motion is actually limited, or maybe it just feels that way.
• Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — One possible sneaky cause of puzzling chronic pain. MEMBERSThis article contains a members-only area. There are ten large members-only areas (highlighted items) scattered around the site, plus a growing selection of articles with smaller members-only sections. In most cases, the exclusive content is digressive and interesting, a bonus for members, while the most useful/essential points remain freely available to all visitors. Most PainScience.com content is free and always will be.
• The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Muscle strain (pulled muscle) and muscle pain explained and discussed in great detail, plus reviews of every imaginable treatment option, with lots of referencing. BOOKPainScience tutorials are book-length. There’s a large free introduction, and then it’s $20 to read the whole thing. There are ten paid tutorials on PainScience.com, but also hundreds of other free articles.
• 38 Surprising Causes of Pain — Trying to understand pain when there is no obvious explanation.
• A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — The biology & treatment of “muscle fever,” the deep muscle soreness that surges 24-48 hours after an unfamiliar workout intensity. MEMBERSThis article contains a members-only area. There are ten large members-only areas (highlighted items) scattered around the site, plus a growing selection of articles with smaller members-only sections. In most cases, the exclusive content is digressive and interesting, a bonus for members, while the most useful/essential points remain freely available to all visitors. Most PainScience.com content is free and always will be.
• Hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome — In patients with persistent and widespread muscle pain.

Whenever something painful happens to me, amid all the distress I am surprised at being reminded of how painful pain is. That thought is always followed by another, “What if I hurt like this all the time?” Chronic pain syndromes are extraordinarily debilitating.

Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, by Robert M Sapolsky, p. 396

Things that complicate pain (sometimes more than expected, sometimes much less)

• Smoking and Chronic Pain — We often underestimate the power of (tobacco) smoking to make things hurt more and longer.
• Sensitization in Chronic Pain — Pain itself can change how pain works, resulting in more pain with less provocation.
• Poisoned by Massage MEMBERSThis article contains a members-only area. There are ten large members-only areas (highlighted items) scattered around the site, plus a growing selection of articles with smaller members-only sections. In most cases, the exclusive content is digressive and interesting, a bonus for members, while the most useful/essential points remain freely available to all visitors. Most PainScience.com content is free and always will be. — This article explores a fascinating and disturbingly plausible explanation for massage that backfires and actually causes widespread aches, pains, and malaise.
• The Trouble with Chairs — The science of being sedentary and how much it does (or doesn’t) affect your health and back pain.
• Does Posture Matter? — A detailed guide to posture and postural correction strategies (especially why none of it matters very much).
• Water Fever and the Fear of Chronic Dehydration — Do we really need eight glasses of water per day?
• The Insomnia Guide for Chronic Pain Patients — Serious insomnia-fighting advice from a veteran of the sleep wars.
• Vitamin D Deficiency — Quite common, easily fixed, and painful. Often misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia. MEMBERSThis article contains a members-only area. There are ten large members-only areas (highlighted items) scattered around the site, plus a growing selection of articles with smaller members-only sections. In most cases, the exclusive content is digressive and interesting, a bonus for members, while the most useful/essential points remain freely available to all visitors. Most PainScience.com content is free and always will be.
• Anxiety & Chronic Pain — A self-help guide for people who worry and hurt MEMBERSThis article contains a members-only area. There are ten large members-only areas (highlighted items) scattered around the site, plus a growing selection of articles with smaller members-only sections. In most cases, the exclusive content is digressive and interesting, a bonus for members, while the most useful/essential points remain freely available to all visitors. Most PainScience.com content is free and always will be.
• Menopause — This topic is briefly addressed in an article about inflammation, and a book about plantar fasciitis.