Stop pain in its tracks with these remedies [5]

Low-back pain

Understand it: "The most common problem is muscle strain," says Dr. Matava. "The muscles are stretched and microscopic tears occur in those fibers, which release chemicals that activate nerve endings throughout the area."

Stop it: Take ibuprofen and heat the area for 10 to 15 minutes a few times a day. But don't shut things down completely. "Bed rest leads to stiffness and decreased flexibility, both of which only increase pain," says Dr. Smith. Dial down your activity a bit, and then dial it back up as the pain begins to ease.

Still hurts? If dialing down your activity level doesn't work, the next steps might include physical therapy, deep-tissue injection, or even surgery. So see your doctor.

Prevent it: Stretch your hamstrings once your body is already warmed up, not before. "When the hamstrings are tight, they can pull on the small postural muscles of the low back, causing pain," says Perry Fine, M.D., a professor of anesthesiology at University of Utah school of medicine.

Pain lets you know that health trouble has arrived. But sometimes pain won't go away after delivering the message. Consider the case of Dave Brown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who develops GPS systems for fire departments. He's 27, but when he rolls out of bed he feels like he should be AARP-eligible next June. "My pain is nearly constant," says Brown, who attributes his achy back and neck to 14 years of soccer. "I deal with it, but it makes me less productive." At night he usually winds up on the couch, too drained to move.

"When pain is no longer useful, it becomes detrimental to the body," says Carol A. Warfield, M.D., a professor of anesthesia at Harvard medical school. "It can affect everything from mood to quality of life." But with these tips from top medical experts, you can learn to control pain, not be a slave to it.