A new study has come out saying that the best treatment for arthritis is exercise. This makes sense and is something I’ve long believed and I may even have posted about it once before with respect to knee arthritis and tai chi.
The pain associated with arthritis comes from things like the muscles tightening up around the joint (to try to stabilise it), the joint losing mobility and there being less fluid in the joint.
It would make sense then, that exercise would help. Exercise increase your flexibility, your balance, promotes blood flow …

New research has come out questioning the effectiveness of spinal injections. Titled “Time to reconsider steroid injections in the spine?”, the article in the latest edition of the Medical Journal of Australia lists the following points, which I’ll post for your consideration:

The largest of these showed marginal short-term (2-week) improvement in the steroid and local anaesthetic group over the saline group for the primary outcome (leg pain), an effect that was not sustained by 4 weeks.
Short-term relief is a common finding in studies that use local anaesthetic in the active group.
We …

I just read an article in the New York Times Health section answering a reader query about knee pain when walking down stairs. This is a really common occurrence and I thought the information in the article was pretty good so I’ve posted the link to it here.
Basically, you want to have good strength and flexibility in your knee joint. If your knee is stiff then the joint becomes compressed, so do plenty of stretching. And if your knee is weak or unstable (which can be a sign there is …

I just read this article on The New York Times website which talked about the rate of misdiagnosis in the medical fraternity. This follows on from a number of earlier articles questioning the necessity of many surgeries. If your condition is not life threatening and especially if it involves your musculoskeletal system don’t be afraid to seek a second opinion before agreeing to surgery or injections.
I’ll leave you with this quote: “In the United States and Canada it is estimated that 50,000 hospital deaths each year could have been prevented …

I just read a great article that ran with the title “The truth about back pain“. It was a breakdown of the success (or otherwise) of various treatment approaches for low back pain, and it’s well worth a read. It outlines the risks associated with injections, painkillers, unnecessary medical scans and surgery. But if you’re short on time, here are a few choice quotes:
“In 2012, an outbreak of fungal meningitis in the US was traced to contaminated epidural steroid injections administered for back pain – more than 700 people had …

At this time of year I see a lot of people with new injuries. When I ask them what they think caused it, they give me a sheepish kind of look, like they know they did something wrong. They then proceed to give me a list of “reasons” as to why they were a bit slack about exercising during winter but now that summer is approaching, they really need to get in shape fast, so they’re trying to fit 6 months of training into 3.

I think the most common times …

The use of paracetamol, such as Panadol, for conditions like arthritis, has come under fire after a panel of medical experts “said they were ‘extremely concerned’ about the links of higher doses to cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and renal adverse events.
An article on Pulse.co.uk outlined the panel’s findings, which included:

warnings about the potential side effects of paracetamol
findings that paracetamol only provides ‘limited benefit’
when used, it should be the ‘lowest effective dose’ for the ‘shortest possible time’
clinicians should be particularly cautious of using it in combination with an oral NSAID (anti-inflammatory)
‘There is more evidence of …

Heya, I was recently asked to write an article for the Michelle Bridges 12WBT website. They asked me to write a piece responding to concerns from some of their members about being pushed too hard by personal trainers. The article is about learning when to tell if the pain you are feeling is a sign that you’ve hurt yourself, or if it’s just that deep burn you get from a good workout? Want the answers – Click here…

Well, maybe not all drugs. But a recent study showed having your back adjusted resulted in greater pain relief than anti-inflammatory drugs (dicolfenac).
In the study, people with acute lower back pain either had their back adjusted or were given diclofenac. The drug is sold under the name Voltaren in Australia.
The authors concluded that ” spinal manipulation was significantly better than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac and clinically superior to placebo”.
Oh, I forgot to mention that. Our treatment is also better than doing nothing.
To read the abstract of the study, click here…

Kevin MD recently posted an article where he reviewed the effectiveness of various injections commonly used for low back pain. These consist of  local anesthetics, steroids like cortisone, and pain meds. The article included a summary of an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, as well as notes from a couple of other reviews previously done on whether injections work well for low back pain. The news wasn’t good:

In a review of 18 trials, only 6 found that the injections had a positive effect. The authors of this review concluded …