Wellness is finally getting the respect it deserves. Practices, products and places that balance our beings are in higher demand than ever before with millennials and boomers leading the way. The rise in chronic disease has more and more of us striving to stay, or get, well and the industries which benefit are listening –… Read more »
Terry Wahls could be considered a miracle. Bound to a reclining wheelchair with progressive multiple sclerosis, she reversed her condition and, today, enjoys an active lifestyle, returning to her medical practice and leading research to help others. However, her methods are far from miraculous; they are simply a change in nutrition and lifestyle that reduced… Read more »
We live in a pretty extraordinary place. From hot air balloons and horses, to palm trees and mountains, vast sky with no scrapers, and bright sun shining down on our towns and farmlands, the Coachella Valley is a pretty incredible place to call home. Many in the desert have yet to experience it all. They’ve… Read more »
This year, Desert Regional’s Comprehensive Cancer Center celebrates 30 years of serving our community. In 2011, we interviewed the center’s management team for a story on integrative cancer care – the use of both medical and natural therapies – and wanted to see how things have evolved. We followed up with the manager of Oncology… Read more »
A new study published recently in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, suggests that using sex-specific scores on memory tests may change who gets diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by 20 percent, with possibly more women and fewer men being diagnosed. “Women may be more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease,… Read more »
Capturing vital signs is a critical skill learned and practiced at the Palm Desert High School Health Academy to prepare students for their future careers. Health professionals must understand what vital signs are, what the monitoring procedures include and how to perform each in a proper manner. Vital signs allow physicians and nurses to check… Read more »
The popular TED conferences feature inspiring talks about technology, entertainment or design. This “TED Talk,” however, is focused on thyroid eye disease (TED) and expands upon my January/February article about how the small thyroid gland affects the entire body, including our precious eyes. If someone with thyroid dysfunction is experiencing symptoms of eyelid swelling, eye… Read more »
What’s something both fishermen and sports medicine have in common? Believe it or not, they both utilize ultrasound to get the job done. While submarines and boats have been employing the use of ultrasound throughout the 20th century to locate fish and animals in the water, its use in medicine only became popularized in the… Read more »
With February (“love and heart month”) behind us, that time when you give a little more – flowers, cards, gifts or an “I love you” to that special someone – have you ever taken a step back to ask, “What if I gave as much love to myself as I give to others?” Well, that… Read more »
Low back pain is the most common type of pain experienced by people in the United States. It contributes significantly toward growing health care costs and over utilization of the medical system through invasive surgeries and prescription pain medication. Patients with low back pain that is acute and chronic are routinely referred for extensive diagnostic… Read more »
Many people have fully embraced robotically-assisted surgery, but some fear the use of artificial intelligence in medicine. Maybe that’s due to sci-fi movies depicting computers capable of overtaking humans, or perhaps they simply don’t understand how it can help. Off the big screen, artificial intelligence (AI) is simply programming machines to perform specific tasks as… Read more »
The easiest way to think about a hernia is as a hole in your abdominal wall. Whether at your groin, belly button or an old incision, a hernia is a hole. This allows intra-abdominal contents to protrude through the hole creating a bulge which may be accompanied by pain or discomfort. Hernias tend to be… Read more »
We men seldom talk about our health and are even more reluctant to seek medical assistance. In fact, studies show that 61 percent of men do not engage in regular health checkups, representing a missed opportunity for preventive health care discussions.1 Growing up on a dairy farm in Southeast Minnesota, for me, medical doctors were… Read more »
Cold sores and canker sores, although they may look similar and cause comparable discomfort, are actually completely different conditions. Each has different origins and therefore particular ways they can be treated or prevented. One of the best ways to determine if a lesion is a canker or a cold sore is to see where it… Read more »
Chi self-massage is a Taoist concept originating back thousands of years. I was first introduced to the practice when studying at the Taoist Institute and taught to do chi self-massage before getting out of bed in the morning. The idea is to cultivate “chi,” or energy, using breathing, visualizations and movement to direct life force… Read more »
Ozone therapy has a wide range of clinical applications. While most clinical studies have focused on cardiovascular disease, ozone therapy also plays a role in the management of diabetes, cancer, chronic infections, auto-immune disease, aging and pain. Topical or local injections also are effective for dermatological infections, cystitis, colitis, osteoarthritis, rotator cuff tears and spinal… Read more »
The ketogenic, or keto, diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet growing in popularity due to the many health benefits it can offer. The concept is to drastically reduce carbohydrate intake and increase healthy fat intake which puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis. When this happens, your body becomes very efficient at burning… Read more »
The kidneys are vital organs in the human body, yet we rarely focus on them until something goes wrong, such as a painful urinary infection or the passing of kidney stones. The kidneys play a role in controlling blood pressure, acid-base balance, electrolyte concentrations and the removal of toxins. They participate in converting vitamin D… Read more »
One of the most common reasons for a child’s doctor visit is digestive complaints. Children can experience chronic abdominal pain, intermittent abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea and general discomfort from eating. These symptoms often cause them to miss school, leave school early or refrain from social activities. Parents may try at-home elimination diets such as removing… Read more »
When a loved one dies, the emotional devastation can leave us with a strong desire to see them one more time. We want a second chance to say things we didn’t share. Regret can feel like a clamp around our hearts. What if we can still connect with our loved ones in visitation dreams? Visitation… Read more »