Pain from desk work, sport, or a baby? Let's find out why.

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Long hours at a desk can leave you with upper back pain, neck pain, headaches, hip pain and pain in the front of the shoulder. It is frustrating to feel stiff and sore by afternoon and not know what to change. Working around the pain tends to shrink what you do, so it is worth finding out what is behind it.

• Move often. Try to break up desk sitting about every 30 minutes with 2 to 5 minutes of walking or other comfortable movement. No single posture is the problem. Staying in the same position all day can be.
• Don't chase a perfect rule. Researchers have found short walking breaks improve short-term blood sugar responses, but there's no proven universal maximum safe sitting time.
• Stay active overall. Aim for 150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity per week, plus strengthening exercise at least twice a week.
• Set up your workspace well. Ergonomics matter, and we can help you adjust your desk, chair and screen.
• Get a plan for your pain. See our Neck Pain, Back Pain and Headaches pages.

How we help: We examine how you move and sit, find what is driving the pain, and combine treatment with desk and movement advice.

Sources: Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition (HHS) · Interrupting prolonged sitting with standing and light walking: systematic review and meta-analysis (Sports Medicine, 2022)

Pickleball, golf, running, weight lifting, soccer, baseball and tennis all put repeated stress on the same muscles and joints. We commonly see:

• Tennis elbow
• Patellar tendinitis (knee)
• Plantar fasciitis (heel and foot)
• Biceps tendinitis (shoulder)
• Muscle spasms
• Neck pain with nerve irritation ("pinched nerves")
• Back pain

Being told to "just rest" without an answer is frustrating.

Dr. Lintz was a collegiate athlete herself, worked as a sports rehabilitation intern, and has presented on assessing and treating women athletes.

What we recommend

• A plan matched to you. We examine you, find what's driving the pain and build care around your sport and goals. See our Sports Injuries page.
• Rest and recovery. Recovery is part of training, and we'll help you work out how much rest your injury needs.

Caring for a baby or toddler is physically demanding, and pregnancy changes how your body carries load. You have enough to carry, and pain should not be one more thing you just put up with. We work with your OB-GYN or midwife as necessary.

• During pregnancy: hip pain and low back pain
• New moms and caregivers: upper back and neck pain from feeding and from picking up babies and toddlers

How we help: Treatment suited to your stage of life, plus practical at-home advice for feeding and lifting. See our Back Pain and Neck Pain pages.