If you’ve been battling nagging back pain that doesn’t seem to follow the usual rules, I get it. A few years ago, I kept wondering why my lower back would flare up out of nowhere — even on days when I wasn’t pushing myself physically. It wasn’t until a specialist mentioned “mast cell activation” that…
Let me be honest — dealing with Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) is a daily balancing act. For me, it’s not just about standing up without feeling like I’ll pass out; it’s the annoying, nagging back pain that tags along. Most people wouldn’t think POTS and back pain are connected, but when your nervous system is…
Ever wake up and feel like your back’s been hit by a truck, even though you’ve barely done anything strenuous the day before? That was me for years. At first, I blamed my office chair, poor posture, even my old mattress. But nothing clicked until I learned about a condition called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)—also known…
Ever since I recovered from a viral infection earlier this year, there’s been this lingering tightness in my back that just wouldn’t quit. I thought it was just me, overthinking it. But after speaking to others and doing a bit of digging, turns out post-viral syndrome and spine stiffness are far more common than we…
So here’s something weird: I never thought I’d be reading up on the Epstein-Barr virus again after college biology. And yet, here I am, a few years older, sitting with an aching back that just wouldn’t quit—and what do I stumble across? A rabbit hole of medical chatter suggesting that back pain might be linked…
I used to think back pain was just something you had to “stretch through.” That was until a few years ago, when post-workout tightness became a daily reality. No matter how much I stretched, foam-rolled, or hit the chiropractor, that deep ache in my lower back stuck around. A friend mentioned trying infrared saunas. I…
So, I used to think blue light was only something to worry about when it came to sleep. You know—phones before bed, tossing and turning all night. But it turns out, blue light is doing a number on something way deeper than sleep. I’m talking about your skin’s collagen. Yep, that vital protein that keeps…
I know this might sound a bit woo-woo at first glance, but just hear me out — I used to think the moon only affected tides and maybe a few werewolves. But after tracking my back pain patterns over several months (yeah, I went there with the spreadsheet), I noticed something odd. My flare-ups had…
For the longest time, I couldn’t figure out why my back always felt stiff in the early morning and weirdly again around mid-evening—even though I wasn’t doing anything physically demanding. I chalked it up to age, posture, stress, maybe my mattress. But after talking to a physical therapist and diving into sleep and neuroscience rabbit…