I just read an interesting article published in the New York Times on September 4 2011 about whether there is enough “good” evidence to support common procedures currently being used by sports medicine doctors. These include steroid injections, platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections, taping, and surgery. It’s an interesting article and it mirrors what I hear people tell me after undergoing these procedures – sure, it works for some, but for others it doesn’t help at all, and for some it has made their injuries worse. One woman I treated …

So, I’ve got some good news, I met a girl. Intelligent, beautiful, funny, cool, amazing (first to admit I’m batting well above my average). Rocks my world. Brightens each and every day. Thing is, she lives in Singapore. And so, what’s a guy to do, right?
I’ve resigned from my Bondi Junction Clinic and will be moving to Singapore to start anew. My last day in clinic will be Wednesday May 25th.
I am passing on all of your files to a brilliant young Osteopath, Omar Mograby, who has been working in …

Following on from my last article on the risks associated with the use of common over the counter anti-inflammatory medications, I wanted to see what the other options were and more importantly, how effective they are. I found an article which compared the results of 47 different studies on the effectiveness of different forms of ‘non tablet’ anti-inflammatories, ie gels, sprays, and creams. The attraction of these options is that there are none of the associated systemic adverse events.
The results of 47 studies were included. In these studies, the gels/creams/sprays …

It was quite an alarming series of headlines last week as news broke of a large scale analysis of the risks associated with the use of common over the counter anti-inflammatory medications. “Common painkillers linked to heart disease” reported The Australian, along with “The findings confirm that drugs such as Nurofen and Voltaren can significantly increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.”
Previous studies have examined these medications mostly on an individual basis, but this study tried to compare their relative risks, in short it asked the question “which NSAID is …

2 questions I am routinely asked are whether the fundamental principles of Osteopathy have ever been proven scientifically (ok, I made that up) , and whether I can do a treatment that will help people lose weight (I didn’t make that one up, I work in the Eastern Suburbs after all). A new article in Scientific American will help answer both.
“Osteopathy, that’s all about bones, right?”. Well, kind of. Yes, the prefix “osteo-” pertains to bones. And the suffix “-pathy” pertains to disease. The founder of Osteopathy, Andrew Taylor Still …

I’m going to take information from a couple of recent articles to outline the effects of chronic stress. Obviously this year has been very stressful for a lot of people, and we’ve certainly been seeing that in clinic. Everyone is feeling the pressure this year, and it’s easy for things to escalate out of control. But the good news is relaxation can reverse the negative effects stress has on your body.
Stress is bad enough in the short term, but when it is maintained for a longer period of time, it …

Science meets common sense. I read an article last week which summarises findings relating to how stress can affect your immune systemt, and thought I would post a quick summary. It’s something I think we all know deep down, but it’s worth reminding ourselves of, especially as we all get towards the end of the year and start to feel the effects of the last 12 months.
Researchers asked whether the widespread phenomenon of getting a cold during exam time or feeling run-down after a big meeting is merely coincidence, or is …

Regular moderate physical activity positively influences many aspects of health. For example, a physically active lifestyle is associated with decreased risks of coronary heart disease and high blood pressure.
It has been believed for some time that a physically active lifestyle may also decrease the risk of bacterial or viral illness.
Previous studies had shown that people who were sedentary and under high levels of stress had elevated disease incidence.
Researchers hypothesised that voluntary physical activity may prevent stress-induced suppression of the immune system, thereby reducing the increased susceptibility and severity of infectious …

I asked my colleague, the legendary Deb Cooper, Naturopath at Health & Fertility Matters, Maroubra Junction and my old stomping ground The Wholistic Medical Centre, Surry Hills, to give us all some advice leading into the dreaded cold and flu season. God love her, here’s what she’s come up with.
Simple Measures for Common Colds
Generally a cold takes 3 days to come on, 3 days with you and 3 days to go. You may not prevent it but you can ease the symptoms and prevent it worsening. The best treatment is echinacea …

I’m going to be commenting on a couple of articles related to a bit of a fight going on in the UK between the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) and, well, a lot of people who are keen to have a bit of a go at them. The BCA recently sued a journalist for libel after he described chiropractic treatment as “bogus” ( http://bit.ly/h1Ux3). Ever since there’s been a bit of to and fro between the BCA and various journalists and scientists.
Recently New Scientist ( http://bit.ly/unO7B) published an article which cited …