October 2003
Ask Dr. Marks: 10/03
Subscribers Only I have severe osteoarthritis of the knee but I'd rather avoid a total knee replacement if I can. I have heard about hyaluronic acid injections. Do they work and will they work for me? Hyaluronic acid injections consist of highly purified sodium hyaluronate that comes from rooster combs. Hyaluronate is a natural chemical that is found in high concentrations in the fluid that fills the joint. It has been used since 1987 in Europe, South America,…
Are Clinical Trials For You?
Subscribers Only Do news stories about research studies reporting great success with experimental drugs make you think: “I wish I’d been in on that”? Maybe you can be, next time—by volunteering for a clinical trial. A clinical trial is a research study that investigates the safety and effectiveness of new drugs, medical devices, and procedures on human volunteers. Once treatments have been tested in the laboratory or on animals, they are moved into clinical trials to learn…
After Surgery, Don’t Overdo It
Subscribers Only If you’re a candidate for hip or knee replacement, you’re probably thinking that life after surgery will be just like life before it, only without the pain. In many ways, you’re right. But painlessness doesn’t happen overnight, and how you handle the healing process is critical to achieving a satisfactory result. …
Chronic Shoulder Pain?
Subscribers Only No other joint in your body can go through as wide and varied a range of motion as your shoulder. From throwing a ball to swinging a racquet to scratching your back, this ball-and-socket joint lets you do it all. Yet, it is this exceptional flexibility that can make the shoulder unstable and subject to a variety of problems, …
Living With An Ailing Thumb
Subscribers Only If you're a golfer, fly fisherman, play tennis or racquetball, or regularly engage in activities in which you frequently operate equipment, machinery or tools that involve pinching or grasping motions, you eventually may develop painful arthritis of the thumb base. This is the joint that enables the thumb to swivel, pivot, and pinch so that you’re able to grasp things with your hand. …
In the News: 10/03
Subscribers Only Why We Feel Pain Differently Brain imaging has confirmed that some people really are more sensitive to pain than others. Researchers at Wake Forest University’s Baptist Medical Center placed a heat simulator on the legs of 17 subjects. Their brains were then scanned by MRI to assess brain activity. Participants who reported that the heat stimulus was extremely painful showed pronounced activity in certain regions of the brain; others, who said that the stimulus was only…
Pain: What Meds Do You Grab First?
Subscribers Only Joint pain is one of the early symptoms of osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Because the pain can become so debilitating, patients typically ask their doctor: “Is there anything I can take that will make the pain go away?” The answer is “yes,” but what pain reliever you should take depends on whether you suffer from OA or RA, and how persistent and severe your pain happens to be. …