Most of the time, pain has a purpose. It alerts us to injury or forces us to rest or avoid certain activities while the body heals. That’s why random aches and pain are so frustrating. What is your body trying to tell you? And why should you just suddenly start having pain for no reason?...Continue reading
The opioid abuse epidemic in the United States was already urgent when the COVID-19 pandemic began, but health authorities fear the virus has made the opioid epidemic even worse. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report released in December 2020 notes that 10 western states saw opioid overdoses increase in that year. Most...
How can patients lower their use of opioid medications while managing chronic pain, or eliminate use of these drugs altogether? To answer that question, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) launched a funding initiative in 2016 on Clinical Strategies for Managing and Reducing Long Term Opioid Use for Chronic Pain. PCORI was established by Congress in 2012...Continue reading
Every year, approximately 60,000 people are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. In addition, about 10 million people in the United States have essential tremor—a neurological condition that causes a person’s hands, head, or voice to shake. These conditions can seriously affect a person’s quality of life, preventing them from being able to dress or feed themselves or drive. At...Continue reading
If you are someone who deals with chronic pain on a daily basis, you already know that exercise sometimes isn’t in the cards. If getting you to move requires taking 2 to 4 NSAIDs before and after, then something probably has to change. It may be that your physical activity routine is contributing to your...Continue reading
Chances are you or someone you know has had a kidney stone at some point in their life; they are very common, affecting approximately one in ten people throughout their lifetime. The risk of kidney stones is higher in the United States than the rest of the world and this number has only been increasing over the past...Continue reading
The holiday season can be hazardous to your health – and we’re not just talking about the thousands of extra calories typically consumed at family dinners, work parties and cocktail hours. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), 250 injuries are reported daily during the holiday season (November and December). Falls (34%) and...Continue reading
I give a Certificate of Honor to specially recognize every patient on whom I perform a vasectomy. It’s really quite nice and very frameable. “Why?” You ask. Well, it’s not that a no scalpel vasectomy is the most gruesome thing that a man could experience in his life. It’s just that, in the real world of fish stories and Internet tales,...Continue reading
Many people who’ve had cancer that has metastasized to their bones have had to endure multiple doses of radiation to control the pain. But it doesn’t have to be that way. According to recent research, a single dose is just as effective at controlling pain as multiple ones. The study, led by Justin Bekelman and...Continue reading
When people talk about Vitamin D, it usually has to do with bone health. And last week I did a post that talked about the many benefits of getting enough D—and the health risk associated with not getting enough. Two recent studies highlight even more of those risks, especially for African-Americans: arthritis pain in the...Continue reading