Back pain, joint issues, and everyday aches can affect people of all ages, but knowing when to seek help and how to treat those conditions can make all the difference in staying active and pain-free.

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“Hip joint pain is typically categorized as pain originating from inside the hip joint and pain from the surrounding soft tissues,” said Dr. Barsoum,. The hip joint, a ball-and-socket structure cushioned by cartilage, is one of the body’s largest weight-bearing joints and plays a crucial role in our mobility, she explained.

Building muscle strength around the hip is one of the most effective ways to ease and prevent hip joint pain when walking, said Dr. Barsoum. And one of the best moves to try is squats, she explained.

Using a wall for support can help maintain proper form and reduce the risk of knee injury. “The key is to imagine sitting back into a chair,” Dr. Barsoum said. “You’re sticking your butt out to the back and lowering yourself down as if you were going to sit down into a chair.” 

Walking, using an elliptical machine and running are also good for hip strength. Just be careful not to push through pain, or you may put yourself at risk of injury. “Use your body as a guide,” said Dr. Barsoum. “Let’s say you want to go out for a walk and your hip is feeling good, then that’s a good time to go for a walk or run.”

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“The injury was a big fear that it might have an impact on my active life,“ noted Farag. To Farag, running this year’s marathon didn’t seem possible, however her care team felt otherwise. “Essentially for her it came down to strength. Getting her whole body stronger to prepare for when she was running,” said Jones. Dr. Barsoum added, “She was just so motivated to run the marathon. It didn’t seem like there was going to be anything that would hold her back.”

“Without HSS I would’ve stopped running at some point because of the pain. HSS gave me the best treatment ever. They are my heroes,” concluded Farag.

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Dr. Barsoum added, that waist trainers can potentially squeeze the digestive system, which could lead to constipation by “blocking the normal motility and flow of materials through the intestines.”

Additionally, she added that muscles get stronger via activity, “so if a waist trainer is holding your waist in a certain position, the muscles aren't doing anything.”

Dr. Barsoum noted, “The muscles can sometimes get weaker because they’re not having to do any work.”

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Dr. Barsoum explained, “The medical term [for sciatica] is lumbar radiculopathy, and it often happens when the S1 nerve root in the low back gets pinched.”

She recommended seeing a healthcare provider for a diagnosis, who will “do an extensive [manual] neurological exam so they can assess strength, sensation, and reflexes, and try to understand which nerve or nerves might be pinched.”

Surgery is usually uncommon for sciatica. “More often than not, a patient can get completely better without surgery,” Dr. Barsoum added.

Read the full article at Creakyjoints.org.

Dr. Barsoum explained what to expect with a physical exam and that is important to pay attention to the specific location of pain. She said, “Tendonitis can happen almost anywhere in the body, but it often happens around the joints at the hip or in the hamstrings, shoulder, elbow, or around the foot and ankle.”

For tendonitis treatment, Dr. Barsoum advised caution with injectable corticosteroids. “We never want to inject steroids into a tendon because it can cause it to tear,” she noted.

Another newer treatment is platelet-rich plasma (PRP). “Tendons have a poor blood supply, so when a tendon gets injured, it tends to stay that way for a while. We don’t really know if PRP can heal a tear, but we do have evidence that it’s helpful for pain,” added Dr. Barsoum.

Read the full article at CreakyJoints.org.

The Fashion Spot spoke to Dena Barsoum, MD, physiatrist at HSS, who explained the potential issues that can arise after wearing a waist trainer for extended periods of time. “Waist trainers don’t promote healthy weight loss — in fact, they may alter your shape, not by weight loss or burning fat, but by forcibly moving your body structures, including your internal organs,” said Dr. Barsoum. “The compressive forces on your internal organs, such as your intestines and stomach, can cause reflux and heartburn. Your internal organs require space to work and compressing those organs can compromise their function. Furthermore, waist trainers can cause nerve impingement and rib injury, both of which can be very painful,” she added.

Read the article at Thefashionspot.com.

Page Six Style spoke to Dena Barsoum, MD, physiatrist at HSS, who said, "While they seem like a quick and easy fix, waist trainers don’t actually burn fat or make you lose weight, and there can be a lot of harmful side effects."

Dr. Barsoum explained, "There’s a reason our bodies have the shape that they do. Waist trainers compress everything in the abdomen; not just your muscles and skin, but your intestines, stomach, liver, spleen and kidneys, and all of those need space to function." As a result, wearers could experience indigestion and heartburn — or worse, cracked ribs and pinched nerves, she added.

While celebrities praise waist trainers as being the perfect gift for new moms to lose their baby weight, Dr. Barsoum advised, "It’s understandable that women are anxious to get back to their pre-baby physique, but between a healthy, balanced diet and exercise, you can shed those pounds in a healthy way — safely, over time — that will allow you to keep that weight off. Whereas with waist trainers, they’re not causing you to lose weight, they’re just pushing things in different directions.”

Read the full article at Pagesix.com. This also appeared in the print edition of New York Post on Monday, October 7, 2019.

Additional coverage: Mycolumbusmagic.com.