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 …

Seasons Greetings! Many of you will no doubt still be under the pump at work, clocking long hours all the way up until Christmas. Hopefully you then get some time off with family and friends to recharge the batteries. I certainly get the impression when talking to patients that 2013 has been a long, hard year, so it’s important to use your break wisely. You don’t want to be starting 2014 still feeling the hangover of this year. Aim to look after yourself, enjoy yourself, and get the right mix …

I’ve seen a couple of articles on this recently and I think it’s pretty interesting. Here’s one. Here’s another. There’s growing support for the idea that Alzheimers is related to diabetes, specifically, Type 2 diabetes, and though they aren’t quite sure how yet, this is actually good news. It’s good news because Type 2 diabetes, for those who don’t know, is strongly related to lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise levels, which are things you can obviously do a lot to improve. Type 1 diabetes, on the other hand, …

After unsuccessfully attempting to become a professional golfer recently, I thought I’d continue to explore what professional sporting options I still have before I’m past it, and so on the weekend I took to Eastern Creek raceway to do a session in the Formula Ford’s. For those who don’t know (like myself before last weekend) these are the cars Mark Webber drove before he got into Formula 1.
The Aim: I figured I’d just nail a few hot laps and sign on the dotted line with, well, whoever would offer me …

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 …

Yes, that’s a picture of my Nan and I playing the pokies. I was browsing a bunch of nerdy medical sites the other day trying to make myself seem knowledgeable when I stumbled across an article with the title “Aging process reversed with positive lifestyle changes“. I opened it and had a read and it had merit, so I thought I’d share the contents with you.
There’s these tiny things in your chromosomes called Telomeres, and according to scientists Telomeres control the aging process: “If the telomeres are shortened or damaged, …

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 …

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…