For many years, acupuncture has been helping patients with chronic back pain find relief. Though many traditional medical professionals have been reluctant to explore the advantages of this painless, non-surgical treatment, at Long Island Rehabilitation Medicine we have been using it successfully for years.  Western medicine has continued to be dismissive, even suspicious, of Eastern…

While there are many underlying reasons for back pain during prolonged standing, the precipitating cause is usually postural. When you stand for a length of time, your pelvis is often pushed backward, increasing the curve of your lower back (lumbar region). This puts increased pressure on the soft tissues surrounding the spine, causing your lower…

Being a new parent, in addition to being joyful and exciting, is a tough job, one that requires great expenditures of energy while sleep-deprived. In addition to emotional commitment, it also requires a great many physical actions your body is not accustomed to, such as performing myriad tasks while carrying that sweet new member of…

Though it may seem counterintuitive that you can injure your spine, joints, and muscles while sitting at your computer or watching TV, the fact is that a great many people experience pain and dysfunction as a result of spending too much time sitting in a supposedly relaxed position. According to the National Institutes of Health,…

If you are plagued by back pain, either chronically or during acute episodes, it is important to have your problem correctly diagnosed and treated. It is also important to learn how to strengthen your core muscles and to learn which activities and habits may be undermining your efforts to heal.  Consulting with an astute physiatrist…

Back pain causes economic as well as physical distress. As the primary reason workers take sick days, back pain has a strong negative impact on both workers and employers. Government studies have shown that there are several important ways businesses and their employees can be proactive in addressing acute and chronic back pain. Taking these…

Back pain is the most common reason for lost work days, suffered by the vast majority of people during their lifetimes. What is most important to remember is that most of these episodes of pain, even when quite pronounced, are entirely benign from a general health perspective.  Less commonly, such pain results from unavoidable causes,…

What is myofascial pain syndrome and are trigger point injections an effective treatment method? What is Myofascial Pain Syndrome? Myofascial pain has been described as muscle pain, a very simple and straightforward explanation. However, the fascia, where that pain actually originates, is proving to be anything but simple. There are organizations and conferences focused solely on gaining…

What causes osteoporosis and how does it lead to back pain? One of the leading causes of back pain is due to the fracturing of the vertebrae that make up the spinal column. This results in the space around the spinal column collapsing or compressing, which explains it being referred to as a spinal compression…