PainCare Blog
Pain management is tricky business
Salt Lake Tribune By michael jaffe First published Jan 07 2012 01:01AM Updated Jan 7, 2012 01:01AM The conviction and 20-year prison sentence of Dr. Dewey MacKay for illegal distribution of opioids (pain pills) provides us all with an opportunity for reflection. He is an orthopedic physician who developed a pain medicine practice with suboptimal oversight. He was convicted of …
How Massage Heals Sore Muscles
HEALTH | February 06, 2012 By NICHOLAS BAKALAR A massage after vigorous exercise unquestionably feels good, and it seems to reduce pain and help muscles recover. Many people — both athletes and health professionals – have long contended it eases inflammation, improves blood flow and reduces muscle tightness. But until now no one has understood why massage …
How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body
By WILLIAM J. BROAD The New York Times January 5, 2012 On a cold Saturday in early 2009, Glenn Black, a yoga teacher of nearly four decades, whose devoted clientele includes a number of celebrities and prominent gurus, was giving a master class at Sankalpah Yoga in Manhattan. Black is, in many ways, a classic yogi: he studied in Pune, …
Tai Chi Shown to Ease Back Pain
After 10 weeks, the tai chi group reported that, on a 10-point scale, their pain was reduced by 1 point and they found the pain 1.3 points less bothersome. By comparison, the control group experienced an increase in both pain and how bothersome the pain was. The tai chi group also reported greater improvements in their disability levels than the …
Why Ice May Be Bad for Sore Muscles
Already, the benches in gym locker rooms and beside basketball courts are filling with 2012’s early casualties, those of us who, goaded by New Year’s resolutions, are exercising a bit too enthusiastically and developing sore muscles. Many of us will then drape ice packs over our aching muscles. But a new review article published this month in the journal Sports …
For Older Runners, Good News and Bad
Sometimes it’s good news when a study’s hypothesis is not proved. That was the case, certainly, with a new study of older runners, in which researchers assumed that athletes over 60 would be noticeably less efficient than their younger counterparts. For the experiment, published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, researchers at the University of New Hampshire and …
Disparities: In the E.R., the Elderly Get Less Pain Relief
Older people who go to an emergency room in pain are less likely to get medication for it than younger people with similar levels of distress, a new analysis has found. A seven-year nationwide study of emergency room patient data has found that 49 percent of patients over age 75 were given pain medication, compared with slightly more than 65 …
Hip Procedure Grows Popular Despite Doubt
By GINA KOLATA Published: November 15, 2011 It is one of the most popular operations in sports medicine. It comes in various forms, all with the same name: Hip impingement or bone shaving surgery. World-renowned athletes have had the operation — the Yankees’ third baseman Alex Rodriguez had it about two years ago and the sprinter Tyson Gay had it …
PERSONAL HEALTH: Ancient Moves for Orthopedic Problems
By JANE E. BRODY Published: August 1, 2011 New York Times With the costs of medical care spiraling out of control and an ever-growing shortage of doctors to treat an aging population, it pays to know about methods of prevention and treatment for orthopedic problems that are low-cost and rely almost entirely on self-care. As certain methods of alternative medicine …
Consumer Reports: Overuse of pain relievers can be hazardous
Washington Post NationalPublished: July 18,2011 Aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, are good at fighting fevers and relieving pain from arthritis, injuries and other causes. But many people who take the drugs are putting themselves at risk by taking too much or taking them too long or too often. In a 2005 study, one in four …