It seems like whenever I have a painful problem, more than one part of my acts up. First I had back pain. Then my knee started bothering me. Before I knew it, my neck was hurting too. Am I just more susceptible to pain once it gets started?

There may be a biomechanical explanation for your painful symptoms. For example, if the sacrum and pelvis aren't centered and stable, then back, leg, knee, and even neck and shoulder pain can develop.

Chiropractic and osteopathic physicians base much of their treatment on this notion. They believe that restoring normal balance to the pelvis will reduce or eliminate these other painful problems.

But it's also been observed that few people ever experience pain in just one area. Most people report multiple sites of pain and/or symptoms. This is especially true in adults who have chronic pain of any kind. In fact, studies show that the risk of pain in multiple areas increases with each instance of regional pain.

The reasons for these pain patterns remains a mystery. Scientists are trying to unravel specific links and risk factors for multiple sites of pain. The hope is that by identifying who's at risk, it may be possible to prevent pain from progressing from an acute state to a chronic pain syndrome.