Pain stems from many causes, and all people experience it differently. It might last for only a few days, or be ongoing for weeks or even months. You might feel it in your head, your hand, your heel, or your hip. There are many ways to address it, and one approach that combines multiple strategies is comprehensive pain management. (1)

Whether you’re dealing with injury recovery, chronic pain, or pain after surgery, pain management is serious business. Finding the right way to manage pain means finding effective relief while considering the side effects of any treatment and the mental health challenges that often come with pain.

Regardless of activity level, no one is immune to muscle strains. And what is a muscle strain? It’s damage to a muscle or tendon (AKA the tissue that attaches muscle to bone).(1,2) A strain can be as mild as over-stretching and as severe as tearing in the muscle or tendon. Muscle strains are not limited to athletes, either; you can strain a muscle by lifting something too heavy (say, a box of books, or an eager grandkid). Using one muscle over and over can cause strain, as can falling, reaching, turning your head too far or too quickly... the list goes on.(1)

Whether you’re throwing passes or passing the potato salad, injuries happen. Along with that twinge in your shoulder or twisted ankle comes swelling and inflammation. Why?