Seven years ago I had a left mastectomy due to breast cancer… I was in the bathroom, turned to the right and bend ever so slightly to throw something away in the waste basket, and BAM!! Excruciating sudden back pain and terrible  spasm in my lower left back. I ran and laid down

––A contracture is a permanent or near-permanent shortening of a muscle, tendon, the skin or tissues immediately below the skin, or the tissues around a major joint causing a structural change and loss of movement.  Contractures can develop most anywhere. A contracture develops when n

How do you define osteoporosis? Everyone wants an osteoporosis definition when they first are given this diagnosis and are warned their bones are brittle.  Many of us have heard the term, but are unsure how to exactly define osteoporosis  or how to deal with it.  Besides, osteoporosis

What to do when your body aches all over Body aches and pains are common.  When you hurt all over it can seem like the discomfort is coming from multiple groups of muscles, joints and deep in the bones. Body aches arise from the soft tissue of the body: Muscles Tendons Ligaments Fasci

Reduced vitamin D levels and skeletal pain Vitamin D deficiency should be important for readers of the Dr. Lumbago website to understand.   A lack of vitamin D, a fat soluble vitamin, is known to cause skeletal pain in all parts of the body especially the low back and hips, but also s

 What is osteomalacia? Osteomalacia is a medical term that means “soft bones.”   The significance of this bone problem is that soft bones are likely to bow or bend and far more like to fracture than hard healthy bones.  People over 50, especially those who are house-confin

Spinal Facet Joints or Zygapophyseal Joint Hypertrophy A lot can be done to reduce or eliminate pain and related symptoms of facet hypertrophy and facet arthropathy, depending on the degree of involvement.  First, it is necessary to know more a bit more about the problem so treatment

A caffeine headache can occur because caffeine is a drug that is common in our diet.  This drug is highly advertised and socially acceptable in our culture so many people are exposed to it – often to excess. It is no wonder that caffeine headaches are so common.  People refer to their

What can I do to help the pulled muscle in my low back?   A pulled muscle, no matter where it occurs, is just another name for a muscle strain.  A muscle pull or strain occurs when all or an isolated portion of a muscle is stretched beyond its normal limits. This results in some degre

Muscle spasm, muscle cramp or Charlie horse?  What is the difference? Before discussing muscle spasms and fibromyalgia, here is a description of a few overlapping and synonymous terms: Muscle spasm – a sudden, painful, involuntary and prolonged contraction of a muscle or group of musc