Head

Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) - With problems of the temporomandibular joint, jaw movements may create a clicking sound, due to problems with that joint cartilage. In all cases of TMJ problems, it is essential to examine the movements of neck and shoulders and spine.

Neck

Whiplash - A whiplash injury may be the result of impulsive stretching of the spine, mainly the ligament: anterior longitudinal ligament which is stretched or tears, as the head snaps forward and then back again causing a whiplash injury.

Herniated Disc - AKA a slipped disc, is a condition in which nucleus tissue is moved from the center of a disc into the spinal canal. Herniated discs cause great pain in the low back and leg or the neck and arm and they create pressure against one or more of the spinal nerves.

Arms and Shoulders

Rotator Cuff - Injuries involve the muscles that run from the shoulder blade to the the upper arm, or humerus which together stabilize the shoulder joint. (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis).

Chronic Impingement Syndrome - Impingement symptoms may be the result of rotator cuff pathology, shoulder instability, scapular dyskinesis or muscle dysfunction, biceps pathology, SLAP lesions and chronic stiffness of the posterior capsule.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - A type of compression neuropathy (nerve damage) caused by compression and irritation of the median nerve in the wrist. The nerve is compressed within the carpal tunnel, a bony canal in the palm side of the wrist that provides passage for the median nerve to the hand. The irritation of the median nerve is specifically due to pressure from the transverse carpal ligament.

Tennis Elbow - is a condition where the outer part of the elbow becomes sore and tender. It is a condition that is commonly associated with playing tennis and other racquet sports, though the injury can happen to almost anybody.

Golfers Elbow - is an inflammatory condition of the elbow which in some ways is similar to tennis elbow.

Elbow Strain - The onset of pain, on the outside (lateral) of the elbow, is usually gradual with tenderness felt on or below the joint's bony prominence. Movements such as gripping, lifting and carrying tend to be troublesome.

Wrist Tendonitis - Wrist tendonitis, also called tenosynovitis, is a common condition characterized by irritation and inflammation of the tendons around the wrist joint. Many tendons surround the wrist joint. Wrist tendonitis usually affect one of the tendons, but it may also involve two or more.

Iliotibial Band Syndrome - ITBS - is a common injury to the thigh, generally associated with running, cycling, hiking or weight-lifting (especially squats).

Tendinitis - Tendinitis is inflammation or irritation of a tendon — any one of the thick fibrous cords that attach muscles to bones. The condition, which causes pain and tenderness just outside a joint, can occur in any of your body's tendons. Tendinitis is common around your shoulders, elbows, wrists and heels.

Bursitis - Bursitis is a painful condition that affects the small fluid-filled pads — called bursae — that act as cushions among your bones and the tendons and muscles near your joints. Bursitis occurs when a bursa becomes inflamed.

Back, Stomach and Chest

Back Strain - A back strain occurs when you injure one or more muscles that move the spine. Most of the time, back strains are caused by lifting heavy objects with a bent spine.

Lumbago - Lumbago is the term used to describe general lower back pain. The exact cause of the lumbago/back pain is often unknown. The back pain can come on after lifting things, or overuse (see weak back) or it may come on without previous exercise or training.

Sciatica - Sciatica is a set of symptoms including pain that may be caused by general compression and/or irritation of one of five nerve roots that give rise to the sciatic nerve, or by compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve itself. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock, and/or various parts of the leg and foot.

Lordosis - Lordosis , AKA swayback / saddle back is a medical term used to describe an inward curvature of a portion of the vertebral column .

Spinal Canal Stenosis - Spinal stenosis is a condition seen more in older athletes where the spinal canal narrows causing pressure on the nerves with resulting pain and numbness. The lumbar spinal canal is the space in the spine through which nerves pass into the legs. Over time this space can narrow due to bone and tissue thickening (stenosis).

Paravertebral Muscular Trigger Points - The word paravertebral means either side of the spine. Paravertebral trigger points are tight localized knots or lumps in the muscles either side of the spine which cause back pain. Trigger points can be active or latent.

Lower Back Pain - Lower back pain is very common and can generally be classified into acute lower back pain and mild to moderate lower back pain.

Upper Back Pain - Upper back pain can occur as a result of trauma or sudden injury, or it can occur through strain or poor posture over time. As an example of the latter cause, in recent years, upper back pain has become a familiar complaint from people who work at computers most of the day. Often, upper back pain occurs along with neck pain and/or shoulder pain.

Abdominal Strain - Abdominal pain may be due to a stomach muscle strain sustained during sport. A muscle strain refers to a tear within the muscle. Usually the muscle is stretched beyond its limits and the muscle tissue becomes torn.

Hernia - A hernia is protrusion of an organ or the muscular wall of an organ through the cavity that normally contains it. A hiatal hernia occurs when the stomach protrudes upwards into the mediastinum through the esophageal opening in the diaphragm.

Fibromyalgia - A chronic condition that causes pain and stiffness throughout the tissues that support and move the bones and joints. Pain and localized tender points occur in the muscles, particularly those that support the neck, spine, shoulders and hips.

Hips

Hip Pointer - A hip pointer is a contusion (bruise) on the pelvis caused by a direct blow to an iliac crest. Contact sports are a frequent cause of this type of injury.

Snapping Hip Syndrome - AKA Dancer's Hip - With Snapping Hip Syndrome, a snapping sensation is felt when the hip is flexed and extended. This may be accompanied by an audible snapping or popping noise and possibly pain or discomfort.

Hip Bursitis - A bursa is a fluid-filled sac that functions as a gliding surface to reduce friction between moving tissues of the body. There are two major bursae of the hip. Bursitis is usually not infectious, but the bursa can become infected.

Tendinitis - Tendinitis refers to an inflammation of the tendons, and produces pain and tenderness near a joint. It is often associated with a specific movement, probably one repeated often or intensely. Tendinitis is most common in the shoulders, elbows, forearms, and wrists.

Piriformis Syndrome - Piriformis Syndrome is a neuromuscular disorder that occurs when the sciatic nerve is compressed or otherwise irritated by the piriformis muscle causing pain, tingling and numbness in the buttocks and along the path of the sciatic nerve descending down the lower thigh and into the leg.

Sacroiliac Joint Pain - Located between the sacrum (tailbone) and ilium (hip bone) in the pelvis, the sacroiliac (SI) joint is a common but frequently overlooked source of lower back pain.

Facet Joint Pain - Facet Syndrome is not a common cause of back pain. A severe acute episode of Facet joint pain may be due to sudden movement, which traumatises the Facet joint. More often, Facet pain, or Facet Syndrome is chronic in nature - that is, the underlying cause is due to long term changes in the Facet joint that are often associated with degenerative disc disease.

Sciatica - Sciatica is a set of symptoms including pain that may be caused by general compression and/or irritation of one of five nerve roots that give rise to the sciatic nerve, or by compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve itself. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock, and/or various parts of the leg and foot.

Legs

Knees - A knee injury can affect any of the ligaments, tendons or fluid-filled sacs (bursae) that surround your knee joint as well as the bones, cartilage and ligaments that form the joint itself. Because of the knee's complexity, the number of structures involved, the amount of use it gets over a lifetime, and the range of injuries and diseases that can cause knee pain, the signs and symptoms of knee problems can vary widely.

Pulled Hamstring - Hamstring injuries are common among athletes who play sports that require powerful accelerations, decelerations or lots of running. The hamstring muscles run down the back of the leg from the pelvis to the bones of the lower leg.

Shin Splints - The term shin splints is a name often given to any pain at the front of the lower leg. However, true shin splints symptoms occur at the front inside of the shin bone and can arise from a number of causes.

Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome AKA Shin Splints - The term "shin splints" refers to pain along the shinbone (tibia) — the large bone in the front of your lower leg. The pain is caused by an overload on the shinbone and the connective tissues that attach your muscles to the bone.

Tendinitis - Tendinitis refers to an inflammation of the tendons, and produces pain and tenderness near a joint. It is often associated with a specific movement, probably one repeated often or intensely. Tendinitis is most common in the shoulders, elbows, forearms, and wrists.

Patella Tendinitis AKA Jumper's Knee - It is an overuse injury from repetitive overloading of the extensor mechanism of the knee.

Hamstring Strain - A hamstring strain or a pulled hamstring as it is sometimes called is a tear in one of the hamstrings muscles.

Calf Strain - Pain that occurs in the calf muscle on the lower part of the leg often is the result of a pulled or torn calf muscle. This is called a calf strain.

Patellofemoral Syndrome (Runner's Knee) - The kneecap or patella is a small, triangular bone in the front of your knee that moves with the knee as it flexes. It glides up and down along a track at the end of the thighbone (femur) and gives the front thigh muscles (quadriceps) extra leverage for straightening the leg. The patella also protects the other bones in the knee against collisions and falls.

Dislocating Kneecap - Kneecap dislocation occurs when the triangle-shaped bone covering the knee (patella) moves or slides out of place.

Plica Syndrome - The plica on the inner side of the knee, called the "medial plica," is the synovial tissue most prone to irritation and injury. When the knee is bent, the plica is exposed to direct injury, and it may also be injured in overuse syndromes. When the plica becomes irritated and inflamed, the condition called "plica syndrome" results.

Exertional Compartment Syndrome - Exercise-induced compartment syndrome, also called exertional compartment syndrome and chronic compartment syndrome, is a condition that causes pain over the front of the shin bone.

Sciatica - Sciatica is a set of symptoms including pain that may be caused by general compression and/or irritation of one of five nerve roots that give rise to the sciatic nerve, or by compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve itself. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock, and/or various parts of the leg and foot.

Hands and Feet

Achilles heel - Achilles tendonitis is an inflammation of the tendon. It often results from a small stretch injury that causes the tendon to become swollen, painful and less flexibility than the normal tendon.

Ankle Sprains - An ankle sprain is an injury to one or more ligaments in the ankle, usually on the outside of the ankle.

Collateral Ligament Injuries - Because the medial collateral ligament resists widening of the inside of the knee joint, the MCL is usually injured when the outside of the knee joint is struck. This action causes the outside of the knee to buckle, and the inside to widen.

Plantar Fasciitis - Plantar fasciitis is irritation and swelling of the thick tissue on the bottom of the foot.

Navicular Stress Fracture - The navicular bone is a bone in the ankle which sits on top of the calcaneus or heel bone. A stress fracture of this done is one of the more common stress fractures seen in the feet of athletes, especially those involved in sprinting, jumping or hurdling.

Lateral Plantar Nerve Entrapment - The lateral plantar nerve passes through the tarsal tunnel between the abductor hallusis muscle and the quadratus planus muscle. This nerve can become trapped causing pain in under the heel on the inside (medial aspect) and up into the inside of the ankle.

Talus Bone Stress Fracture - Talus Bone Stress Fracture is the bone at the top of the ankle which the tibia or shin bone sits on. Stess fractures of the talus are sometimes seen in footballers and track and field athletes.

Sinus Tarsi Syndrome - Often confused with an ankle sprain, sinus tarsi syndrome (STS) is a painful condition of the sinus tarsi, the opening on the outside of the foot between the ankle and heel bone. It is more often misdiagnosed than accurately identified.

Midtarsal Joint Sprain - The midtarsal joints are those that join the small bones in the mid foot together. If the foot is excessively unstable or flat these small joints in the mid foot are prone to strain. These injuries are common in jumping sports such as football and gymnastics. A sharp pain followed by swelling and stiffness is commonly felt in the mid foot with midtarsal joint injury. Ice and rest may help improve prognosis.

Cuboid Syndrome - Cuboid Syndrome is a subluxation or disruption of the cuboid bone which lies on the outside of the foot. The disruption of this bone causes irritation to the surrounding soft tissue structures that attach to this bone.

Abductor Halucis Strain - Abductor hallucis strain is caused when the muscle connecting the outside of the big toe to the heel bone is overstretched or torn.

Tibialis posterior tendinopathy - Posterior tibial tendon dysfunction (PTTD) is an inflammation and/or overstretching of the posterior tibial tendon in the foot. An important function of the posterior tibial tendon is to help support the arch. But in PTTD, the tendon’s ability to perform that job is impaired, often resulting in a flattening of the foot.

Metatarsalgia (Metatarsophalangeal joint synovitis) - Metatarsalgia is a general term used to refer to any painful foot condition affecting the metatarsal region of the foot. This is a common problem that can affect the joints and bones of the metatarsals.

Turf Toe - Turf toe is a condition of pain at the base of the big toe. Usually the result of athletic activities on a hard surface, turf toe is especially common in athletes who compete on artificial turf.