Although we still have a lot to learn about how muscles contract, we do understand the basics of how the nervous system initiates a series of actions that contract a muscle. What about muscle movements that we don’t consciously decide to make, like breathing, digestion, and heartbeats? And what about
Walk into any gym, and you’ll likely find a variety of balance equipment stacked on racks or strewn about the floor, like wobble boards, BOSU balls, and foam pads. But how effective is balance training for improving athletic performance and injury recovery? Let’s see what the research says. Strength and
Even as clinical guidelines discourage routine imaging for low back pain, many patients continue to ask for MRIs, X-rays, or CT scans. Not necessarily for diagnosis, but for something harder to measure: reassurance. A 2025 study published in BMC Primary Care suggests that imaging is less about medical necessity and
A 2025 editorial published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine argued that increasing muscular strength is not the main driver for reducing pain. Instead, they wrote that strength training is one component among several factors that contribute to pain reduction, based on the biopsychosocial framework of pain. These other
An inguinal hernia occurs when a weakness in the lower abdominal wall at the inguinal canal allows the contents of the abdomen to bulge through the rupture. “Hernia,” from the Latin for “rupture,” is used to describe several conditions in your body, and inguinal hernia is one of the most
A 2015 study published in Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport found that cricket fast bowlers with abdominal symmetry have higher incidences of low back pain than those who have abdominal muscle asymmetry. Sixteen of the 25 teenage cricket fast bowlers in South Africa participated in the study have
Lumbar epidural steroid injections (LESIs) remain a popular minimally invasive option to reduce nerve-root inflammation and buy time before—or instead of—surgery. A 2025 narrative review published in Cureus by Soin et al. synthesized the latest evidence on LESIs’ real-world performance from 2020 to 2025. The authors concluded that LESIs function
Pain is one of the most common reasons people seek health care, yet it remains widely misunderstood. In Tell Me Where It Hurts: The New Science of Pain and How to Heal, pain psychologist Rachel Zoffness translates modern pain science into accessible language. The result is not just an
A 2025 study published in PLOS One examined how passive and active warm-up methods interact with stretching to improve flexibility and muscle performance. The researchers Hitier et al. examined a group of competitive athletes who completed three different warm-ups: An active warm-up involving cycling and submaximal muscle contractions, a passive
Shoulder abnormalities, such as osteoarthritis and rotator cuff tears, do not always mean they are the primary cause of shoulder pain. A 2024 systematic review published in Osteoarthritis & Cartilage found 30% to 75% of the general population with such shoulder abnormalities are asymptomatic. Although researchers Ibounig et al. wrote
Confounding factors can cause some researchers to believe that there’s a direct cause-and-effect relationship in their studies. For example, if they were to examine whether taking a vitamin would increase an athlete’s stamina, there are likely other factors besides the vitamin that could influence their results. It could be sleep
Lymph drainage massage (or manual lymphatic drainage, MLD) is a type of gentle massage that is supposed to reduce swelling in the limbs due to fluid buildup. It may help “clear out” congested lymph nodes in a particular area of your body by performing a series of rhythmic, compressive strokes