A few months back I presented two of the more common causes of upper back or rib pain on breathing. Because of its intimate relation to the heart and lungs, pain on inspiration is a cause for concern, especially when coupled with other symptoms like fever, cough, or shortness of breath. But in the absence…
read moreBleeding gums, hair loss, dry, itchy skin – what were once symptoms reserved for British sailors and soldiers of the American Civil War are becoming more common today in the average person’s convenience-laden lifestyle. These symptoms collectively are known as scurvy, a nutritional deficiency syndrome related to vitamin C. British sailors in the 15-18th centuries…
read more“It hurts to breathe.” Have you ever said these words? Did you mean them literally, or were you trying to say that you carried out something grueling, like an ass-kicking workout, or that you worked your third restaurant shift in a row, or even after you were injured from a fall or car crash? Sometimes…
read moreSometimes the pain you feel comes from an area other than where it hurts. Sometimes the problem is caused by an adjacent tissue, and others times from a distant, seemingly unrelated structure. As a chiropractic doctor who works with people suffering from many kinds of pain, I am grateful when I can recreate a client’s…
read moreSo here’s a new one for me: I woke up yesterday morning with a very sore ring fingernail on my left hand. I felt it as I staggered to the bathroom still ninety percent asleep. I bumped my hand against the wall, “Ow!” What the heck? I rubbed the edge of the nail a few…
read moreHave you shed your Covid-15 yet? Those fifteen pounds just about everybody has put on; have you started burning it or are you waiting for the new year? Whether you go back to the mat at home or take it to the gym, whether to slay the Covid-15 or to grunt out knee rehab, the…
read moreAuto accidents are more common than we would like to admit. The average driver, and that’s probably you, has a greater chance of getting into a car crash on a 1,000 mile trip (1 in 366). than a professional bowler has in bowling a perfect game (1 in 460). While auto accident fatalities appear as…
read moreI woke up one morning a few years back with the middle finger of my right hand contracted as if I was going to fling a spitball. I thought I must have been dreaming and my body was simply carrying out the action I was performing in the dream. When I tried to move my…
read moreI have been teaching sports injuries assessment and treatment to doctors for over a decade. Relative to complex injuries of the shoulder or hip, knee injuries are somewhat simple to assess. Every knee malady has one or more characteristic signs that lead us to suspect the injured tissue, and thus it isn’t that difficult to…
read moreThe temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is responsible for opening or closing the jaw: chewing, yawning, clenching, biting, all rely on the TMJ to work smoothly and painlessly to function properly. The movement of the jaw joint is just another function we can easily take for granted, because it is only when we have pain and dysfunction…
read more