One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime. That makes skin cancer the most common form of cancer in the United States. Nearly 13,000 people die from skin cancer in America every year. Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, will claim an estimated 10,000 lives this year.
Your knees take a beating day in and day out. Every step you take puts a force equal to 1.5 times your bodyweight on your knees—and that’s when you’re walking on level ground. That force is greater on an incline, and even an activity as simple as squatting to tie your shoelace puts a force equal to four or five times your bodyweight on your knees.
Do you feel like you can predict changes in the weather based on how your joints feel? Millions of Americans suffer from joint pain due to arthritis and other joint-related issues, and many of them are able to recognize a coming change in weather based on an increase in pain. While it might sound crazy, there may actually be science to explain the correlation between joint pain and weather changes.
Shin splints are a painful, exercise-related problem. Shin splints are defined as pain along the front and inner part of the leg—the shinbone (tibia). They are common among people who are physically active, particularly runners and dancers.
On November 8, 2014, Dr. J. Marcus Downs and his wife, Carol Lee, headed to Ecuador to participate in a medical mission trip with Medical Ministry International—the ninth time they have done so. Carol Lee is a physical therapist, and Dr. Downs is a Colorectal Surgeon. They began their service in Ecuador twelve years ago, and most of their trips have included their children, Colleen and Brian. However, this year’s trip was special, since Colleen graduated from medical school in 2013 and was having her first mission medicine experience as a physician.
When it comes to treating sports injuries, everyone has an opinion about what works best. But most people aren’t doctors or specialists who work in the areas of sports medicine or physical rehabilitation, and some of the “tried-and-true” treatments you may have heard may not be based in sound medical knowledge.
Ice and heat are commonly used to treat sports-related injuries, such as sprained ankles or shoulder injuries. Sometimes, the best treatment for an acute injury or chronic soreness can be the application of ice or heat to the affected area. But how do you know whether you need to use ice or heat for your injury or chronic pain or soreness?
Hypothermia is a lowering of the body’s core temperature, and it’s a potentially dangerous condition that can occur when the body is exposed to cold or moisture. Your body’s natural response to cold is shivering, which is a mechanism used to re-warm the body. Eventually, however, that shiver response is not enough to keep your body warm, which can result in hypothermia. When left untreated, hypothermia can be fatal.
If you’ve ever experienced joint pain, you know that it can affect even the simplest daily tasks, such as writing, walking, cooking and gardening. By taking proper care of your joints, you can help to prevent or reduce pain that can affect the quality of your life.
Perhaps due to the increasingly stressful lifestyle of many Americans, yoga has become an increasingly popular way to release stress and strengthen the body. Studies have demonstrated yoga’s many benefits, including increased flexibility, better posture, improved breathing, reduced stress and improved heart health. But as with any form of physical activity, there is a risk of injury involved in yoga practice.
