_ Pain Management 9 Ways to Tame Your Chronic Pain By Jane Farrell article When it comes to chronic pain, thereΓÇÖs usually a limit to how much relief medications and procedures can bring. ThatΓÇÖs where changes to your daily life can help bridge the gap. Cleveland Clinic pain and wellness specialists Daniel Leizman, MD, and Mladen Golubi─ç, MD, PhD, offer nine ΓÇ£pain wellnessΓÇ¥ tips to make sure youΓÇÖre following for maximum pain management. Take deep breaths. The average adult takes eight to 16 breaths per minute. Slowing that down to five or six deep breaths that really fill your lungs will help you relax, which can lessen your discomfort.
_ Osteoarthritis Omega-3 Lessens Severity of Osteoarthritis By Sondra Forsyth article Mice consuming a supplement of omega-3 fatty acids had healthier joints than those fed diets high in saturated fats and omega-6 fatty acids, according to Duke Medicine researchers. The findings, published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases on July 11th 2014, suggest that unhealthy dietary fats ΓÇô not just obesity ΓÇô may contribute to worsening osteoarthritis.
_ Sex Restarting Your Sex Life By Jane Farrell article Normal aging brings physical changes in both men and women. These changes sometimes affect the ability to have and enjoy sex. A woman may notice changes in her vagina. As a woman ages, her vagina can shorten and narrow. Her vaginal walls can become thinner and also a little stiffer. Most women will have less vaginal lubrication. These changes could affect sexual function and/or pleasure.
_ How to Fight Prediabetes By Jane Farrell article Type 2 diabetes is one of the most serious chronic illnesses in existence; it puts people at risk for everything from heart and kidney disease to amputation of limbs. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), it is shockingly widespread 29.1 million Americans have the illness. And the ADA estimates that 86 million more Americans have prediabetes, a condition that indicates a high risk of developing the illness. Here, from the federal National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse and the ADA, is what you need to know about prediabetes:
_ Medical Care Debunking Myths About Robotic Surgery By Sondra Forsyth article By Keith Chisholm, MD Robotics-assisted surgery has become enormously popular, with physicians around the world performing 1.5 million procedures from hysterectomies to heart valve repairs in 2011.
_ Exercise Does Air Pollution Make Outdoor Exercise Risky? By Sondra Forsyth article By Edward R. Laskowski, M.D. While aerobic activity is one of the keys to a healthy lifestyle, air pollution and exercise can be an unhealthy combination. This is especially true if you have asthma, diabetes, heart or lung conditions, or lower respiratory disease. Even when you're not exercising, exposure to air pollution can cause health problems. But with the combination of air pollution and exercise, the potential health problems are increased.
_ Alcohol and Aging By Jane Farrell article Although we often associate drinking too much with younger people (parties, bars, spring break vacations), alcohol abuse is a problem at any age. And while itΓÇÖs true that younger people drink more than older people, alcohol abuse presents some age-specific issues for seniors. Here, from the SeniorHealth division of the National of Health (NIH), is an explanation of the damaging effects, and how you or a loved one can get help if itΓÇÖs needed.
_ Aging Well Life Expectancy Gains Threatened By Sondra Forsyth article A study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health finds that the more ailments you have after retirement age, the shorter your life expectancy. The analysis, one of the first to examine the burden of multiple chronic conditions on life expectancy among the elderly, may help explain why increases in life expectancy among older Americans are slowing. A report on the findings, based on an analysis of 1.4 million Medicare enrollees, appears in the August 2014 issue of the journal Medical Care.
_ Exercise 5 Best Tips to Get Started Doing Yoga By Sondra Forsyth article By Judi Bar, E-RYT 500, and Dawn Lorring, PT, MEd, MPT, CSCS, SCS Some people think as they get older, they just get less flexible. But yoga can counteract this tendency and do so much more to keep you feeling good.
Functional Foods Give A Boost to Your Wellness By blog What we eat plays a key role in keeping us healthy and protecting from major diseases, such as cancer and heart disease. Researchers are studying how certain foods can help enhance health and prevent illness.
My FatherΓÇÖs Stay at GodΓÇÖs Hotel: A Slow-Medicine Approach to Healing Mental Illness By blog ItΓÇÖs been a long journey to come to peace with my fatherΓÇÖs life and how it has impacted my own. I was born on December 21, 1943 in New York City. My parents had tried to conceive for many years, but had been unsuccessful. They finally were successful when my father was 37 and my mother was 35 following a procedure where my fatherΓÇÖs sperm was injected mother, a radical approach back then.
_ Heart Health Niacin Linked to Death Risk By Sondra Forsyth article Niacin has been a mainstay of cholesterol therapy for 50 years, but Northwestern Medicine preventive cardiologist Donald Lloyd-Jones, M.D. maintains that the drug should no longer be prescribed for most patients due to potential increased risk of death, dangerous side effects, and no benefit in reducing heart attacks and strokes. His editorial was published in the July 17th 2014 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
_ Stroke Fewer Stroke Deaths Over Past 2 Decades By Sondra Forsyth article Fewer Americans are having strokes and those who do have a lower risk of dying from them according to a a study led by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers and is published in the July 16th 2014 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
_ Kidney Health Supplements & OTCs May Hurt Your Kidneys By Sondra Forsyth article How well are your kidneys working? Unless youΓÇÖve had problems in the past, you probably take for granted that your kidneys are working as they should. But more than one in 10 adults in the United States has kidney disease, and most people who have it donΓÇÖt know it.
_ Senior Health Older Adults Can Safely Donate Kidneys By Sondra Forsyth article Previous studies linking older age with kidney and heart disease have raised concerns about the safety of living kidney donation among older adults. However, in the first study to look closely at this issue, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report that older kidney donors (55 years and above) enjoy similar life expectancy and cardiovascular health as very healthy older people who did not donate their kidneys.
_ Protect Yourself from Wildfire Smoke By Sondra Forsyth article Dry conditions in parts of the United States increase the potential for wildfires in or near wilderness areas. Stay alert for wildfire warnings and take action to protect yourself and your family from wildfire smoke. When wildfires burn in your area, they produce smoke that may reach your community. Smoke from wildfires is a mixture of gases and fine particles from burning trees and other plant materials. Smoke can hurt your eyes, irritate your respiratory system, and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases. Who is at greatest risk from wildfire smoke?
Aging Well Senior Health WhatΓÇÖs Really Keeping You From Aging Well? By Sondra Forsyth article By Dr. Kevin J. McLaughlin During my experience as a health care provider, I have realized that, when it comes to aging well, many older women are worried about developing cancer, especially breast cancer, more than any other age-related diseases.
_ 6 Reasons Your Hypertension Meds Might Not Be Working By Jane Farrell article From the Cleveland Clinic A hypertension specialist looks at potential causes. Usually, itΓÇÖs not just one single issue but various factors that contribute to the problem. Your doctor will work to figure out why ΓÇô and from there, create a new plan of attack. ΓÇ£Finding the right combination of medications for uncontrolled hypertension may require some trial and error,ΓÇ¥ says hypertension specialist George Thomas, MD. In his work with patients, Thomas investigates possible explanations for difficulty in controlling blood pressures. These can include: