by Gary | Jun 18, 2026 | Back & Spine Pain
Stress causes back pain — but not only through muscle tension. The more clinically significant pathway runs through cortisol, the primary stress hormone produced by the adrenal glands in response to activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. In small,... 
by Gary | Jun 16, 2026 | Back & Spine Pain
Yes — and the mechanism is more specific than most people realise. Anxiety does not simply make pain feel worse through mood alone. It triggers a cascade of physiological responses that directly load the muscles of the neck, upper back, and lower back with sustained... 
by Gary | Jun 11, 2026 | Back & Spine Pain
Left arm pain, right shoulder ache, jaw tightness, sudden fatigue — these symptoms can all have musculoskeletal explanations. They can also be warning signs of a myocardial infarction. The overlap between cardiac referred pain and musculoskeletal pain is one of the... 
by Gary | Jun 9, 2026 | Back & Spine Pain
The liver is unique among the body’s major organs in one clinically important way: it has no pain receptors. The liver parenchyma — the functional tissue making up the bulk of the organ — contains no nociceptors and cannot generate a pain signal directly. Pain... 
by Gary | Jun 2, 2026 | Back & Spine Pain
Irritable bowel syndrome and lower back pain are closely linked — yet the connection between them is rarely explained to the people living with both. IBS is a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterised by abdominal pain, bloating, and changes in bowel habits,...