Pain advice

We all experience pain at some point, and whether you have an aching back, cramping muscles or a stiff neck, it can be unpleasant. The upside is that pain plays an important role as part of the body’s defence system – it’s your body’s way of alerting you to injury and encouraging protection from further damage. Despite its protective role, pain can be disruptive – as well as impacting on everyday activities it can also affect your sleep. Understanding how pain works may help you find effective ways to manage and relieve your pain. Here are three key things to know about pain.

Joint pain is a common complaint, particularly affecting us as we get older. If your joints have been affected by an injury or condition, it can cause aches and pains that affect your ability to move around normally. Any joint in your body can be affected. Whether your joint pain is mildly annoying or is getting in the way of your daily activities, there are ways to find relief. 

There are many different factors that can cause a headache. Here we are going to discuss how dehydration can be a cause. Headaches can affect each of us in different ways and are classified into various types into various types. Dehydration is believed to be a contributing factor to some headaches like tension-type headaches and migraines. 

If you’ve ever exercised, chances are you’ve had a strain or sprain at some time or another. They’re the most common type of sports injury, but they can also occur during everyday activities when muscles are injured during activities such as work, housework and gardening. Although they often feel the same, strains and sprains are different conditions because they can affect different structures in the body. Strains are caused by damage to muscles or tendons. A tendon is a band of connective tissue that joins a muscle to a bone. Sprains, however, are caused by damage to ligaments. These are the bands of connective tissue that join bones together in a joint. 

When you have a cold or flu, chances are that people around you will have some handy advice. Out of all these many stories connected with both colds and flu, who gets it, how we get it, what we should or shouldn't do to avoid it, and so on – it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction. But let's take a look at some of the most often repeated myths about colds and flu, to see exactly what's true, and what is not! 

“Sit up straight!” “Stop slouching” Many will have heard those two lines before whether it came from your teacher when you were at school, your parents at the dinner table or even your masseuse after that very rare massage. It’s easy to get into bad habits and whilst hearing it over and over can be annoying, they were all right. Hunching over for long periods of time can affect your body and can cause negative effects on your health. Whether you are leaning over your desk at work, picking up a heavy box or staring down at your mobile phone for hours on end, posture is very important and slouching can affect more than just the way you look. A healthy spine has three natural curves that form an S-shape. Good posture helps to maintain these curves to keeps bones and joints in the correct alignment so that muscles are being used properly and your chance of lower back pain, amongst others, is reduced. It’s very important to keep the many intricate structures in the back and spine healthy. Poor posture can have an effect on many parts of your body, making you more prone to injuries. Without good posture, your muscles tighten over time and become fatigued, leaving you feeling pain and in the long term, potentially causing musculoskeletal issues. 

The normal body temperature is generally around 37°C, although this can vary slightly from person to person, and it may be affected by factors like time of day, the weather, running around or wearing warm clothing. Fever is when your body temperature rises above 38°C. It’s a sign your body is fighting some kind of underlying illness and is often a symptom of infection. Both bacterial and viral infections can cause fever. While fever symptoms can leave you feeling pretty miserable, a low-grade fever is usually no cause for alarm. Most of the time fever will get better within a few days, and often can be managed at home. 

As we head into the middle of the year, the cold, wintery chill begins and along with that comes the sniffles and sneezes of cold and flu season. In this article, we will look at a few different things you can do to help keep yourself, your family and everyone around you protected and relieved through these cold winter months and all year round.

So, you’ve just gone through teething (or you’re about to) and now your baby has a brand-new tooth that needs to be looked after. You may think that your baby is too young for any sort of dental care routine but that couldn’t be further from the truth! From the moment that first, shiny tooth pops its head out into the open, dental health becomes important. Until their adult teeth come through, your child will need to rely on their milk teeth so it is very important that you begin to care for them as early as possible, beginning with a trip to the dentist

Although migraines are common, they are quite unlike any other type of headache. Unless you have personally experienced one, it can be difficult to understand what makes them so different. Migraines can have a significant impact on the daily lives of sufferers. Here is some useful advice on how to spot migraines, plus a few helpful tips and ways to cope when they strike.

As your baby begins to interact with the world, it is not unusual for them to get a mild fever. A fever isn’t an actual illness itself - it’s a sign of one and can be caused by many things, including a simple cold or your baby’s first vaccinations. The signs of  fever in babies can vary depending on the underlying cause, but here are some of the most common signs to look out for if you suspect your baby has a fever.

Stress is an imbalance in demands being made and our ability to meet them. The reasons people get stressed vary, for example moving house, losing a loved one, starting a new job, worrying about a deadline… they all can have an effect on us in different ways. Interestingly enough, stress in itself isn't necessarily harmful. A little bit can actually help motivate you to achieve goals and ambitions. It’s when you’re under too much stress that your health can suffer. Thankfully, there are a number of simple steps you can take to help manage stress and stressful situations. The first step is to recognise the signs of stress.