A Landmark Study on Palliation of Bone Mets PainWhen a primary cancer such as cancer of the breast, prostate or lung spreads to the bone (bone mets), treatment strategies become complex. In today’s world of oncology, better systemic chemotherapies can add months and even years to a patient’s life; in addition, local cancer control of […] KEEP READING
What You Should Know About CartilageOne of the most fascinating components of the human body is cartilage, an incredibly versatile material. Trying to describe cartilage is like the six blind men who try to figure out what an elephant is: “The elephant is like a pillar,” said the man who touched his leg. “Oh no! […] KEEP READING
How Stress Makes Essential Tremor WorseEssential tremor (ET) is the most common form of uncontrollable rhythmic shaking, though it is sometimes misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s disease. The involuntary trembling results from abnormal communication between certain areas of the brain (cerebellum, thalamus, and brain stem). It is estimated that 10 million Americans suffer from ET, though many […] KEEP READING
There’s no way around the fact that humans will be technically outsmarted by machines in the near future, so the best thing we can bring to health care is those traits (like empathy and concern) that are uniquely human. – Idea embraced by Eric Topol, M.D. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a rapidly advancing information technology, […] CONTINUE
Becoming aware of your back and how you can prevent arthritis in the spine’s facet joints is an investment in years of back health. CONTINUE
Could you afford to be out of work for several weeks? Back pain is not only a leading cause for calling in sick, it prolongs absence for weeks at a time. According to one study, “…the proportion of people with back pain returning to work was 68.2% at 1 month, 85.6% at 1-6 months and […] CONTINUE
When you think of joints in your body, the “usual suspects” come immediately to mind: knees, ankles, wrists, knuckles in fingers and toes, shoulders and elbows. Even before you can remember, back when you were learning to talk, your parents may have played a little game with you. Where’s your nose? Where’s your ear? Where’s […] CONTINUE
Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is not picky. Like an equal opportunity employer, it chooses all ethnicities and excludes no genders. “The prevalence of CLBP in adults has increased more than 100% in the last decade and continues to increase dramatically in the aging population … with a significant impact on functional capacity and occupational […] CONTINUE
If something is worth writing about, it’s worth writing about twice. This is the second time I have occasion to bring up glucosamine in connection with facet joint pain. The first time was an article called “Can Glucosamine Prevent Facet Joint Pain?” in which I indicated that evidence of cartilage benefit in the spine is […] CONTINUE
Lower back pain is one of the most common sources of discomfort, often severe enough to hamper normal daily activities. Family life, job performance, and social activities start to slip. It may be short-lived, e.g. due to injury, and manageable with over-the-counter pain relievers and home treatment so it soon eases off. However, other conditions […] CONTINUE
If cancer spreads from the primary tumor (e.g. breast cancer, prostate cancer, etc.) to the bone, it can do a lot of damage. Metastasis to the bone—or bone mets—can weaken the bone, making it vulnerable to a fracture that’s difficult to repair. Even more frightening, bone mets cause fierce pain for 50-75% of patients. For […] CONTINUE
The Riddle of the Sphinx: “What is the creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three in the evening?” If you’re not familiar with the Riddle of the Sphinx, it was a trap posed by this mythical creature in order to devour travelers. If you couldn’t answer the […] CONTINUE
“…let’s see if we can’t prevent being ill by trying to offer a love of prevention before illness.”– MAYA ANGELOU Do you remember your first car? Once you had the means to afford one, whether new or used, it was exciting to shop the ads or the car lots, and do some research on gas […] CONTINUE
