How Can We Fight Inflammation? – Part Two

In Part One, we considered several things that we can do to control chronic, systemic inflammation. Let’s review: -Improve body composition -Exercise regularly -Get between 7 and 8 hours of sleep -Watch our intake of “vegetable”…

How Can We Fight Inflammation? – Part One

When we study the causes of chronic disease, our investigations often reveal a usual suspect – inflammation. It is thought that inflammation plays a central role in the development of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, COPD, Alzheimer’s disease,…

Death By Chair?

How many hours do you spend in a chair each day? If you’re anything like the average American, it’s likelythat you’re seated for 9 to 13 out of 24 hours. Wow! Doesn’t that seem like a fairly unfortunate way to experience the ride of…

How to Treat Tendon Injuries – Part Two

In Part One of the series on how to treat tendon injuries, we considered the proper diagnosis of tendon disorders and how exercise and nutrition might contribute to injury recovery. In Part Two, we will examine additional treatment options. Nutritional…

How to Treat Tendon Injuries – Part One

In last month’s article we reviewed the anatomy and physiology of tendons. This month we will examine available treatment options for tendon disorders. After having started this article, I quickly realized that the content would exceed the…

Tendons – What You Need to Know

Tendons. When they’re injured, they hurt, and when they hurt, function can be significantly impaired. Treatment of tendon disorders constitutes a significant portion of my medical practice. While we still have much to learn about tendon physiology…

Wrong about RICE?

What are you supposed to do after experiencing an acute muscle strain or ligament sprain? For decades, people have been told that Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation (RICE) will expedite recovery and enhance healing. But is this so? In 1978,…

Our Crazy Bodies, Our Crazy Bones

Adaptation. This has been defined as a change or the process of change by which an organism or species becomes better suited to its environment. This is what living organisms do – they adapt. And perhaps there is no better example of this…

Treat The Patient, Not The Image

When people present to my medical clinic and begin to describe their “symptoms”, I often hear some version of the following: “I have a bone spur.” “I have bulging discs.” “I have a labral tear.” These statements,…

A Common Pain in The Butt

I’ve been thinking about something a lot recently – proximal hamstring problems. (Seems like an exciting place to live – in my head, doesn’t it?) It all started with a number of patients that were seen in my medical clinic. In fact,…

Hanging for Shoulder Health

I have received several recent questions related to shoulder pain. Those who have experienced shoulder discomfort to any significant degree are painfully aware of the limitations that it imposes, not only on training, but also on general…

Everything You Thought You Knew About Stretching is Wrong

Tight muscles can generate pain, impair performance, and lead to a host of musculoskeletal problems; or so we’re taught. As a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician, stretching for tightness is a topic of discussion as common among…