An allograft is a bone or tissue surgically transplanted from one human donor to another, which may sound frightening, but is actually safe and has been in use for quite some time. The most common tissues are amniotic tissues which are attained only during childbirth. The tissues are processed and preserved to maintain viability from… Read more »
Dr. Jones, a busy local surgeon, presented with a six-week history of knee pain, which was not improved with aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication. A knee MRI showed moderate to severe osteoarthritis without a definitive surgical indication. Dr. Jones was offered an image-guided cortisone injection directly into the knee joint, and 48 hours after the… Read more »
Health care in United States is very costly. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the U.S. spent 17.1% of its Gross Domestic Products (GDP) on health care in 2013. A report published by Common Wealth Fund last year states that the U.S. spends most of its money on medical technology, procedures… Read more »
“Life is 5 % what happens to you and 95% what you do with that.” Although life doesn’t come with a re-set button, you can give your personal life a fresh start anytime you choose. Why not declare that “2016 is going to be a fresh start”? I believe that what we do every day… Read more »
There are many things you need to do before going on a trip. You need to know what you will be doing, how long you’re going to be there, how you will get there, where you will be staying, and when you will be coming home. Getting ready for joint surgery is like that –… Read more »
Low back pain is a significant health issue and one of the most common reasons for a doctor’s visit. Over 80% of the population has experienced at least one memorable episode of significant back pain in their lifetime, and it is the leading cause of disability and days lost from work. The spine is a… Read more »
It’s very common to fear what we don’t understand and then hide behind blinders, living in denial or buried in fear. This pattern usually causes more problems than are necessary. This is certainly true around the subject of memory loss. We see some changes in ourselves or a loved one and imagine the worst–something we… Read more »
How many doctors do you know who are truly healthy and fit? Why is that? Aren’t they in the health industry? The answer to that is no. Most doctors learned their trade in traditional medical schools which taught little about health and wellness, and a lot about medicine. We can be thankful for the latter,… Read more »
Do you know the most important part of an inpatient treatment program for addiction? The first hour after discharge. Learning much about the “addict self” which looms large, while supporting and building a sometimes underdeveloped and undernourished “sober self” is quickly put to the test when on one’s own, often feeling vulnerable and raw. There… Read more »
“TMJ” is a term many people have heard but few know what it really means. The TMJ refers to the Temporomandibular joint, the connection between the jawbone and the skull. As many people who experience problems associated to it know, it can be very fickle. The official term for any dysfunction of the TMJ is… Read more »
Dr. Joe Crowe, a famous breast cancer surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, had operated tirelessly all day on that Friday in November 1996. After he said goodbye to his last patient, he got a very bad headache, which hit him in a flash, and he had to sit down. A minute or two after that,… Read more »
The majority of people believe that men and women have about an equal incidence of eye disease causing vision impairment. The reality is that women are more affected than men, with the difference starting to accelerate at about age 50. Women have a higher incidence of cataract, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. This trend… Read more »
Humans are funny. More often than not, it takes a dive in the wrong direction to make us consider doing something to prevent that fall in the first place. Science seems to follow the same bell curve. As problems or statistics start to rise, researchers (who are human by the way) increase their efforts to… Read more »
Recent media attention has been paid to the serious risk of traumatic brain injury in National Football League players. An upcoming film featuring Will Smith portrays the dramatic revelations of Dr. Bennet Omalu, who researched brain injuries in professional football players and documented evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE is a debilitating condition with… Read more »
Pain is a universal experience of the human condition. It has a protective function to notify us of damage occurring to the body so we may make changes and avoid further injury. In many cases, pain may continue beyond the usual tissue healing time and become a prolonged excruciating life-altering problem. We are in the… Read more »
Most of us were probably told from a young age that sugar is bad for your teeth, and it was pretty much left at that. Many have never received a full explanation of what really happens to our teeth when we consume sugar or carbohydrates. The good news is that there are “good” and “bad”… Read more »
Microbial keratitis, corneal ulcers, conjunctivitis and uveitis are all part of the day-to-day clinical presentations for eye doctors. Medications are often prescribed to combat these conditions; however, we are seeing more and more resistance to commonly used drugs. There is an ongoing study called the ARMOR (Antibiotic Resistance Monitoring in Ocular Microorganisms) Surveillance Study designed… Read more »
Too many people put their lives at risk driving themselves to the hospital when they’re experiencing the symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. Indeed, only 30 percent of patients who come to JFK Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Room complaining of chest pain come by ambulance. But reducing the time it takes to get medical treatment… Read more »
Concussion and traumatic brain injury (TBI) prevention is an increasingly prevalent topic, especially with the current rise in incidence. Thankfully, new research is constantly being done to improve safety in the leading causes of TBI including falls, motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) and contact sports. Primary prevention strategies include proper safety equipment and fall prevention methods.… Read more »
Cathedral City High School held its annual disaster drill on Thursday, October 15th. The event goes hand in hand with the Great California Shakeout, which helps prepare all students in California for a massive 7.0 earthquake that could occur at any time. The drill offers a vital tool to inform students how to properly evacuate… Read more »