Straight-leg raises can fulfill both diagnostic and muscle-toning functions. Orthopedists can use the exercise to diagnose certain spine problems; you can do straight-leg lifts to strengthen leg muscles. Those are both done lying down. Performing...
If you told a group of well-meaning friends that you had a pain in one side of your buttocks and the back of your thigh, one might suggest that you that you have "sciatica." But do you? How do you know it's not just a pulled muscle, or bursitis or...
Back pain and other symptoms can be caused by many factors. A person can pull a muscle, have degenerative changes in the spine due to arthritis or stenosis, or may have a herniated disk. Since some of the symptoms of a herniated disk can mimic...
Lumbar radiculitis is the irritation or inflammation of the nerve root in the lumbar spine and the sacrum that can cause numerous pain in different parts of your body, including your lower back and one side of the hip, leg or foot, according to...
The hamstrings are a group of muscles found at the back of the thigh. Three muscles are in this group: the biceps femoris, the semitendinosus and the semimembranosus. The function of these muscles is to bend the knee and to extend the hip. It is...
