If one of the tires on your car looks underinflated, you don’t check your oil dipstick for a solution, you check your tire pressure. But if you’re experiencing knee, hip, or leg pain, you might skip past those pain points and examine your back instead. Physiotherapist Joe Uhan explains why in: “Hip, Knee, or L3: Leg Pain from the Upper Lumbar Spine in Runners.” Irritation of nerves near the upper lumbar spine (L1–L3) can be the root cause of leg pain. Sudden symptoms without an obvious injury, pain that changes with spinal position, or little relief from treating the leg are reasons to have a clinician look further upstream. For knee pain caused by osteoarthritis, movement may be part of the solution, according to a new story in the Washington Post: “4 knee pain treatments to reconsider — and one that really works.” They report that among 1,212 people with knee arthritis, those who walked for exercise were less likely to develop new pain or worsening joint degeneration over the following two years than non-walkers. The article also questions long-term reliance on ibuprofen, repeated cortisone injections, and certain meniscus surgeries, noting that gentle exercise could be the simplest and most reliable fix to try first. Another study drew a similar conclusion, which you can learn about in “Exercise May Match Common Pain Medications, Major Review Finds.” The analysis spanning more than 221,000 participants found exercise reduced pain by roughly 1.1 points on a 10-point scale. Gentler workouts like yoga and tai chi performed especially well, though the medication comparison came from separate studies rather than direct testing. For the last tool in your pain-management kit, revisit our recent article “Your favorite music could help you push through pain.” Patients listening to their own favorite songs felt less pain during a needle procedure. Maybe a good playlist can help you through your next tough run, too – provided you’re not ignoring signs of injury.

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