The never-ending shopping list on top of the holiday chores is a lot to be responsible for during the holidays. As the days get shorter, our obligations become greater, almost always increasing stress and anxiety. When you add all the holiday stress with your chronic pain or spine condition, its never easy or fun.

Our Southwest Spine and Pain Center medical staff knows the holidays can be stressful and have created an environment of compassion and ease in all of our locations. We want each and every one of our patients to be prepared for every obstacle that comes their ways during their treatment. That is why we have provided a list of essential tips for fighting off holiday stress and depression.

Don’t hide your feelings. Know that it is okay to feel...

Chronic pain can feel unbearable at times. Medications and alternative therapies work differently for each patient, and sometimes patients take matters into their own hands. Let’s face it; we’ve all been guilty of it before. The prescription bottle says to take one but we take two because we think it will help. Physicians prescribe medications according to dosage and what they believe will help the patient best, and patients should adhere to these instructions.

At Southwest Spine and Pain Center, we work effortlessly to inform our patients about the risk of deviating from our direction and what will help with their pain management. We have provided a list of four common pain medication mistakes that will hopefully help chronic pain patients use their pain management therapies...

The holidays can be a real pain in the back! What is supposed to be a season filled with scented candles, and joyful music, ends up being stressful and strenuous on our bodies. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 50,000 Americans sustain a back injury from a winter-related activity. In addition, 5,800 of those injuries are decorating-related.

At Southwest Spine and Pain Center, we want to spread joy through holiday pain management. Ordinary tips such as using good posture is helpful, but during the holiday season everything is bigger and our patients need bigger tips.

Most of our days and nights will be spend at the mall shopping for our families. Instead of letting back pain hold you back from getting your loved ones gifts, follow these...

Scientists and researchers alike agree that pain worsens with colder weather conditions, but could your pain actually predict the weather? On sunny days your pain may be excruciating and sure enough, it rains the following day. One of the longest controversies in medicine is weather conditions and the aggravating affects of physical pain.

In 400 B.C., Hippocrates noticed and hypothesized seasonal illnesses. The Chinese term for rheumatism translates to “wind-damp disease.” However, modern research shows inconclusive and inconsistent results matching weather patterns to reported pain. The inconsistency has left some people to dismiss the relationship at all and chalk it up to physiological misunderstandings.

Amos Tversky, a late Stanford psychologist in the mid-1990s, said...