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By Sara Altshul
Last week, I wrote about the secret to a great massage: to focus in and fight the temptation to drift off into nothingness. This week, I’m shifting gears slightly, to discuss two slightly-under-the-radar techniques that I think are light years more evolved than the traditional Swedish massage. What’s surprising about these therapies is how gentle they are; the therapist’s hands work your body so lightly that it’s hard to believe you’ll get much benefit. But trust me, you do. Read More
In the past year, some of the biggest headlines in pain management have been about fibromyalgia (chronic bodywide pain in joints, muscles, and tendons) and CFS, two conditions that strike women at as much as six times the rate of men. After years of failing to take these conditions seriously, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other groups have recently mounted aggressive public-information campaigns alerting women to the prevalence of these conditions and the importance of accurate diagnosis and treatment. Experts have also made dramatic gains in finding treatments that work by focusing on the sleep problems and physical weakness that seem to fuel these diseases. 
It’s no wonder laptops are now more popular than desktops—they’re just so liberating. But anyone who loves her laptop knows there can be agony in all that ecstasy: Using them regularly can make your neck throb, eyes ache, and shoulders cry uncle. Thankfully, some simple accessories and adjustments can help ease the ache without tying you down.
Are you sitting up straight? Super—because if you slump, slouch, or hunch through the day, you may join the 80 percent of Americans who will suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Recent research confirms that what you do every day can trigger soreness or spasms. So whether you’re at home Googling for a great deal on Jimmy Choos or sashaying down the street in those heels, you can save yourself some discomfort by babying your back. Here’s how. 
