We’ve all been there – the day after a heavy workout, a twisted ankle or an accidental bang or bruise to one of the many muscles or joints in our body. Joint issues can cause a great deal of pain! Here at Healthwords we have recommendations for a sensible pain-relief ladder to follow, along with some other top tips to go alongside pain relief to help soothe those painful symptoms.

Repetitive strain injury (RSI) is very common and is when repetitive movement causes pain due to overuse or strain of muscles, ligaments, or tendons. The symptoms can range from pain and aching to numbness or tingling and they tend to start and are made worse by doing repetitive movement. It can occur in the areas around different joints or muscles in the body switch the most common areas being the hands, wrists, forearms, shoulders, and neck. Along with repetitive movements, stress, vibrating work tools, and cold weather can also increase your risk of developing RSI. Common reasons for developing RSI are doing repetitive tasks at work, using a computer or mouse, gaming, sportspeople, wheelchair users, and musicians. However, not everyone in these categories develops RSI.

If you’re dealing with knee pain, you’re not alone. It’s a very common problem that many people experience every day and it can be brought on by lots of different things. The likely cause of your knee pain will depend on how or when it started, its location and if there are any other associated symptoms.

Migraines can be extremely painful and can last hours to days. Unfortunately, there is no cure but there are ways to help manage migraines and their symptoms. The best pain relief for a migraine starts with simple over-the-counter pain relief and decreasing stimuli or triggers (just a medical term for things that make the symptoms worse!) by lying in a dark quiet room. Further options are a group of medications known as triptans, along with using ice or cold treatment to ease the pain.

Migraines can be debilitating to those who suffer from them, which is why it’s important to try and identify what factors could be triggering your migraine. The exact cause of migraines is not known but it is thought to be a mix of affected nerve signals, chemicals and blood vessels in the brain. The cause of this change in brain activity is not known, but could be genetic – which leads to you experiencing a migraine after encountering a specific trigger.

The term ‘tennis elbow’ is more correctly known as lateral epicondylitis and is a painful condition affecting the outside part of the elbow. The lateral epicondyle is the bony prominence at the outer part of base of the humerus or upper arm bone. A similar condition affects the medial epicondyle (the bony prominence at the inner part of the elbow) and is usually called 'golfer's elbow'. What causes tennis elbow? This is all because of our anatomy. The muscles that straighten out our wrist and fingers anchor onto a small bone at the outer side of the elbow. Repetitive movement under tension of these muscles can irritate the sheath these muscles are contained within and also cause tiny tears of the muscle too. The subsequent irritation and inflammation then causes all the symptoms and these symptoms are probably related to the poor healing process rather than to any original injury. Who gets tennis and golfer's elbow? Any sport, hobby or work activity in which repetitive arm movement, a type of RSI and muscle overstraining are involved can cause it, with the highest risk involving using a bent elbow while holding a racquet or tool. It also affects people more frequently over the age of 35 and both men and women are affected equally. It is uncommon in people under 30, probably because the healing ability of the tissues is better below that age. How do I know I have tennis elbow? It usually starts with discomfort on the outer part of the elbow that gradually increases with movement. Pressing on this part is painful as is bending the wrist upwards against pressure. The wrist may feel weak so picking up everyday objects such as books or pans may become difficult. Eventually, the pain travels all along the upper arm and outer part of the forearm and it may get so painful that the arm is held close to the body to prevent it hurting. There is usually tenderness over the lateral epicondyle in tennis elbow, and over the medial epicondyle in golfer's elbow.