Wounds & Injuries

The rotator cuff consists of four muscles, some tendons and ligaments and is located in the shoulder. It controls the mobility of the shoulder joint and is often injured in association with...

Injuries to the roof of the mouth may affect the hard palate, an immovable vault attached to the upper teeth, or the soft palate, which is near the back of the throat. Deeper tissues may be...

Arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis are common causes of knee stiffness, along with tendonitis and bursitis. These conditions, as well as knee injuries, are caused by inflammation...

The quadriceps tendon and the patellar tendon are heavily involved in knee movement. Tendonitis in this area is most common in athletes who do a lot of jumping. It usually responds well to...

A repetitive stress injury (RSI) occurs due to the overuse of a certain body part, usually the hand, arm or wrist. Although precautions to prevent these injuries can be taken, treatment is needed...

Prior to 1980, it was believed that infants could not feel pain, so anesthesia was not used during circumcision surgeries. Since this time, the medical community has become wise to the fact that...

All of a sudden you hear a loud pop. Then you realize you cannot rise up on your toes. You have ruptured your Achilles tendon. This can happen after a bout of extended tendonitis or with no...

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a painful wrist condition which is three times more common in men than women.

Calf pain and walking pain in your lower leg can be the result of pulled or torn muscles from walking or other activities. Symptoms can be aggravating, but you can reduce the pain and prevent...

A pinched nerve results when the nerve is compressed due to excessive pressure or injury. It can cause pain, tingling, weakness, numbness or decreased sensation. Fortunately, conservative measures...

Patients healing from a skin injury serious enough to require stitches often complain of itching and pain associated with the stitches. Although discomfort is a natural and expected part of the...

Skin protects the inside of our bodies from infection. When an abrasion occurs, the skin is no longer present to protect that area of the body, and bacteria can enter quickly, causing infection....

A dislocated finger joint requires medical care. It is not a serious problem, but failure to treat it properly can cause joint damage. There are, however, several things you can do to help it...

Sciatica refers to the pain that occurs when the sciatic nerve is aggravated, inflamed or injured. This nerve runs from the back, through the buttocks and down both legs. Sciatic pain can take...

Painful areas around the heel are very common and can cause considerable discomfort. Aside from arthritis, infections or trauma-caused bone injuries, other painful points are caused by...

Neuropathy is the medical term for nerve damage, most commonly in the arms, legs, fingers and toes. It can result from certain conditions like diabetes, from medications or from toxic exposure or...

Canker sores are stinging, shallow white or yellowish wounds with a red border that appear inside your mouth--seemingly at random. Though the exact causes of canker sores are unknown, the Nemours...

Tendons are fibrous tissues that connect muscles to bones. Injury can occur due to overuse, causing inflammation. There are different stages of injury. Serious tendon injuries require medical...

Patella tendonitis---aka patellar tendonitis or jumper's knee---is inflammation of the patellar tendon, which is located below the knee cap. This tendonitis usually occurs when the knee is...

Piriformis syndrome occurs when the piriformis muscle, heavily involved in thigh movement, aggravates the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in the body, running from the lower...

At some point in life, most people experience the shock of slamming their fingers in a car door--and the surging pain that follows. Although severely wounded fingers may require medical attention,...

Tendinitis is condition that involves an inflamed, or irritated, tendon. Tendinitis is common in elbows, wrists, heels and shoulders but it can occur anywhere there is a tendon. This irritation is...

A bruised toe nail can be very painful. A couple months ago I dropped a table on my toe and my whole foot was throbbing so bad I thought my foot was going to fall off. I did not want to wear...

The plantar fascia is ligament composed of a long fibrous band of tissue that runs from your heel to your toes. The plantar fascia provides support to the longitudinal arch of the foot and...

A pinched nerve in the neck is a result of excessive pressure on the nerve from nearby tissue such as bones, muscles or tendons. This pressure interferes with proper functioning and causes pain,...

Sciatica pain can affect the body from lower back to calves, creating a dull, nagging pain or sharp, debilitating pain that makes it impossible to move. The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in...

We depend on our feet to get us where we want to go. From walking to dancing, running to tennis, a healthy foot is taken for granted. Foot and toe pain from injury, disease or overuse can...

Pain in or around a joint can raise questions. What if I have arthritis? Could it be something else? Tendonitis and arthritis can be confused because they affect similar areas and both cause pain...

A pinched nerve occurs when pressure from surrounding tissues inhibits the normal function of a nerve. Improper posture, repetitive hand movements and osteoarthritis are common causes. Any area of...

Knee injuries can be complex or they can be simple. The deal is when you have one you need to know what to do asap. If not, there can be serious consequences. The first 24 hours of the injury are...

Stiffness and pain in the knee can be caused by a variety of different factors, such as a ligament injury or arthritis. If you play high-impact sports or your job involves repetitive use of your...

Computer users often encounter neck and shoulder injuries from poor sitting posture or improper ergonomics. Repetitious arm and hand motions for mouse clicking and key strokes can cause...

More than 37,000 types of spider are recognized worldwide. In North America alone there are about 3,800 species. Spiders are easily distinguished by their eight legs, and most also have eight...

The shoulder is one of the easiest joints to dislocate, according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS). The dislocation can be complete or partial. Symptoms of a dislocation...

The human wrist is composed of eight carpal bones and a complex web of ligaments and nerves. These eight carpal bones support the area called the carpal tunnel. The carpal tunnel contains the...

When looking to answer the question, what to do for a swollen and numb hand, you first have to ask what the underlying cause of the trouble is. These days, repetitive computer use is causing more...

Sciatica is a term used to describe pain in the sciatic nerve, which reaches from the spinal cord to the hips and buttocks and down each leg. It is not a separate condition but rather a symptom of...

The tailbone, or coccyx, is a part of the vertebral column at the end of the lower back made up of three different bone segments that are held together by joints and ligaments (reference 1). Due...

Rotator cuff injuries are common. The rotator cuff consists of muscles and tendons that connect the humerus and the shoulder blade and keep the ball of the upper arm bone firmly in the socket of...

Tendonosis is a condition of the tendons that causes aches, pains and general discomfort, typically in the joints of the body. The pain that results from tendonosis can most be likened to a...

Testicular torsion is a serious emergency condition in which the testes rotate and the blood supply to the scrotum is blocked. A man who experiences acute pain in the scrotum, nausea and vomiting...

Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the sheath of connective tissue that spans from your heel to the ball of your foot. It can be caused by many factors, including shoes that don't provide...

Most people who have abdominal adhesions never know that the scar tissue is there. Those who do have symptoms caused by adhesions often experience chronic pain. Because there is no reliably...

If you have ever stepped out of bed in the morning and almost fallen down from the immediate and excruciating pain stabbing up from the soles of your feet, you may have Plantar Fasciitis. Some...

Thousands of people suffer from different levels of disability due to brachial plexus injuries, in which the shoulder gets pressed down with force while the head is forced upward, away from that...

Heel spurs are also known as plantar fasciitis. They are due to a bony overgrowth on the bottom of the foot at the heel and happen when the plantar fascia tissue that connects the heel of the...

The sciatic nerve is located on the back of the leg and provides sensation on the thighs, the lower leg and the soles of the feet. Because the sciatic nerve is connected to and supplies the...

Acute back pain usually relates to an injury (fall, sports injury), with pain lasting from a few days to three to four weeks and improving with rest and therapy. However, chronic back pain...

Blood blisters are caused by a small amount of blood under the skin that has been pinched together like a bubble, similar to a normal blister, which is filled with water instead of blood. Most...