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Wear comfortable clothes and shoes with non-skid soles, even for your first visit. Your therapist may move the joint that's bothering you to test how well it works or check how you walk, get up out of a chair, or do other motions. If they assign you exercises to do at home right away, they'll watch you do them to make sure your form is right.

Bring a list of your meds to your first appointment and any X-rays or MRIs. Make notes ahead of time about your symptoms, such as which movements cause pain and when the problem started. That will help your physical therapist identify your condition and design your treatment plan.

Just like your doctor, you want a physical therapist who has experience with your condition. Ask questions about their background, the plan for your therapy, any special equipment you'll need, and how long your treatment will last. You should be able to talk comfortably about what's going on during your sessions.

Few women enjoy excess hair on their face and body, but while hirsutism can be embarrassing, it's generally harmless. Hirsutism affects about 5% of women. It may be genetic or caused by polycystic o***y syndrome (PCOS), a condition characterized by an excess of androgens (male hormones). In rare cases, hirsutism is caused by hormone-secreting tumors. Treatment depends on the cause and can include bleaching, electrolysis, hormone therapies, and laser hair removal.

Got raccoon eyes? People blame age or fatigue for these dark circles and they're right. Lack of sleep makes your skin pale, emphasizing the dark circles, while age means thinner skin around the eyes, making it easier to see any discoloration. Allergies can also lead to dark circles, and heredity plays a role, as well.

Eyelid spasms are unpredictable, bothersome, and harmless. Eye twitching can be caused by stress, fatigue, eyestrain, caffeine, and dry eyes, though more serious twitching may be caused by neurological disorders, like Tourette's syndrome. Eyelid spasms usually go away on their own, but if they are severe, Botox injections may be recommended.

We've all yawned on a plane trip to "pop" our ears. What we're doing is equalizing the pressure between the inside and the outside of our eardrum as the altitude changes. That "pop" means a tube connecting your middle ear to the back of your throat has opened, relieving pressure. To help, you can also close your mouth, hold your nose, and blow gently; or try chewing gum or yawning.

Hiccups are an uncontrollable contraction of the diaphragm (the breathing muscle under the lungs). Eating too much or too fast, overdoing alcohol, or swallowing air can all cause the hiccups. They usually go away on their own, but you can try remedies like holding your breath, quickly drinking water, and breathing in a bag to help hasten hiccups away.

Ever get that dull feeling in your arm or leg like it's asleep? This temporary and harmless sensation is caused by constant pressure on nerves, leaving them unable to transmit messages to your brain. The cure is simple: change positions. As feeling starts to come back to the area, you may experience tingling ("pins and needles") for a little while. Chronic tingling indicates a more serious underlying condition that should be evaluated.

Whoa! If it feels like the room's moving when it's not, it could be vertigo. Sometimes caused by inner ear problems or nerve damage, vertigo can last minutes, even hours. To distinguish vertigo from dizziness, there must be a feeling of motion; other symptoms that may occur include hearing loss, ear discomfort, and unusual eye movements. Treating vertigo depends on the cause. Go to your doctor for a complete evaluation.