Human beings have a natural tendency to rest when something hurts. As back pain specialists here at Lone Star, we see it all the time. Sometimes rest is appropriate, other times it’s not. In fact, long-term sitting and resting tends to make things worse for a lot of patients. Only you and your doctor can determine what is best for your back pain. That being said, we’ve decided to use the occasion of this post to explain why sitting and resting are not always the best strategy, especially over the long term. Human Anatomy Wasn’t Designed for It A study of human anatomy suggests that we were not ..read more

Acute myofascial pain can be difficult to diagnose. Once a doctor has done so, traditional therapies are based primarily on management. Patients are offered both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments designed to provide relief until the situation resolves itself. However, trigger point injections are another option. We offer them here at Lone Star Pain Medicine. Scientific literature regarding the effectiveness of trigger point injections is contradictory. Some literature says the injections provide appropriate pain relief while other literature says they do not. Nevertheless, a s ..read more

All the doctors here at Lone Star Pain Medicine are certified pain specialists. Pain management is their specialty; it is what they focus on. That being the case, you might wonder what qualifies a doctor as a pain specialist. How is a pain management doctor any different than a primary care physician? It’s a fair question and one that deserves an answer. Let us start with the understanding that both pain management doctors and primary care physicians undergo years of medical training. Both attend medical school and get their degrees. Both must pass licensing exams and undergo residencies. Thei ..read more

When it comes to getting appropriate medical treatment, a person’s choice of provider is important on many levels. A new study out of UC Davis shows just how important it is. According to the study, a person’s first choice affects everything that happens afterward. Researchers at UC Davis focused on patients with acute cervical pain for their study. They looked at data regarding medical services patterns covering everything from medical providers to follow up treatments. Their findings are fascinating from a clinical perspective. We suspect that patients might have their own thoughts on the ma ..read more

The pain management doctors here at Lone Star Pain Medicine specialize in treatments that are not typically offered in primary care settings. But we would never go so far as to say that any of our treatments is guaranteed to work. People respond differently to their treatments, so there is no one-size-fits-all option. With that being the case, we are excited about an emerging therapy known as ACT. ACT is an acronym that stands for ‘acceptance and commitment therapy’. It is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a therapy that helps people overcome certain types of problems by changing t ..read more

For the purposes of diagnosis and treatment, the spine is divided into three sections: cervical, thoracic, and lumbar. The lumbar spine consists of the five bones at the bottom of the spine. In essence, the lumbar spine is your lower back. And it can be a source of significant pain. The five bones that make up the lumbar region are the biggest of the bones in your spine. They should be, as they need to support the entire weight of the upper body. The way our bodies are designed dictates that the lumbar spine undergoes a lot of stress on a daily basis. So much so that lumbar pain is pretty comm ..read more

We are guessing you have heard of sciatica before. And if not, perhaps you’ve experienced it without even knowing what it was. Sciatica is one of the most common nerve -related conditions that causes pain in the lower back and legs. It is so common that an estimated 40% of us will experience it at least once. A recent Yahoo! Life article published in mid-October, 2023 cites data showing that the term ‘sciatica’ has been searched on Google more this fall than at any other time in Google’s history. Needless to say that a lot of people are looking it up online. What is sciatica? Sciatica is a con ..read more

Lone Star Pain Medicine takes neck and shoulder pain seriously. We see a lot of different cases involving many different causes. In recent years, we have seen an increase in something now known as text neck syndrome. Yes, it is a real thing. As the name implies, text neck syndrome is a technology-related condition. It is so named because of the pain associated with spending a lot of time using a smartphone, particularly sending and receiving text messages. That should tell you a lot of what you need to know about what text neck syndrome’s main cause is. Text Neck and Screen Time Text neck synd ..read more

One of the best things about medical science is that it remains open to learning and understanding new things – at least when it is practiced properly. It should always be receptive to new discoveries and studies, even when the data goes against traditional thinking. Enter a shocking new study that upends traditional thinking on treating back pain. The Australian study undercuts the idea that prescription pain medications – and opioids in particular – are the best course of action for treating acute or chronic back pain. Researchers discovered that prescription opioids are no better than place ..read more

Many different things can cause shoulder pain. When shoulder pain is severe enough, it can limit mobility and function. Here at Lone Star Pain Medicine, one of our primary goals is to help patients feel better so that function and mobility are restored. That is the approach we take in treating pain related to the latissimus dorsi trigger point. Do not let the complicated sound of the term scare you. The latissimus dorsi, also known as the lats, is a very large muscle in the back. Its key function is to help extend and internally rotate the shoulder. But it also adds strength and stability to t ..read more