As parents and adults, we are tasked with preparing children for adulthood and the real world. When asked what traits parents, future employers and other adults would like children to have now and as adults, one of the most common responses is “to be responsible and successful.” These are broad terms, which can mean many different things, including: Being dependable Meeting commitments and obligations Keeping your word and promises Doing something to the best of your ability … [Read more...] about Growing Responsible, Successful Children
M.D.
Mother Nature Offers Health and Happiness
Summer has arrived in Northern Arizona, beckoning us to grab our hats, dust off our bikes, lace up the trail shoes and shake out the picnic blankets. Being in the open spaces and great outdoors is enjoyable. But did you know there is evidence that proves spending time outside can actually make you happier and healthier? Here are just a few reasons to go outdoors: Nature Decreases Stress Being in a natural environment provides a feeling of relaxation that reduces anxiety and stress. In … [Read more...] about Mother Nature Offers Health and Happiness
Using Joint Denervation to Treat Arthritis in the Hand, Wrist, Elbow
Physicians and surgeons are continually looking for ways to improve patients’ lives and solve medical problems with less invasive and less painful techniques. Just as important to patients, however, is minimizing the recovery time after medical procedures. In many ways, orthopedics has made great gains in reducing the invasiveness, pain and recovery time in orthopedic surgeries. For example, many of the orthopedic surgeries performed today are done arthroscopically, or through very small … [Read more...] about Using Joint Denervation to Treat Arthritis in the Hand, Wrist, Elbow
The Indomitable MRI: Achieving New Levels of Detail
As radiologists, we use many types (modalities) of imaging technology to learn more about how the human body is working without having to resort to surgery. These include: X-rays, computed tomography (CT) scans, and positron emission tomography (PET) scans as well as ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Regarding this last modality, the idea of using magnets to look at electrically charged particles inside the human body was once ridiculed as crazy. Today, MRI is used in … [Read more...] about The Indomitable MRI: Achieving New Levels of Detail
Moles, Barnacles, Liver Spots – What Are Those Growths on My Body?
Only a small number of babies have skin growths at birth. By the time we are 80-90 years of age, it is normal to have numerous benign skin growths. Benign skin growths usually appear rather suddenly over days or weeks and then stay the same. These stable lesions are often readily identifiable, asymptomatic and require no treatment. Skin cancer will continuously change and progressively increase in size. Skin cancer is more often irregular in appearance and shape and may be painful or … [Read more...] about Moles, Barnacles, Liver Spots – What Are Those Growths on My Body?
Image-Guided Spinal Injections Ensuring Safety, Effectiveness
The first use of spinal injections for pain dates back to 1901. That’s when researchers injected cocaine just above the tailbone to help relieve lower back pain. The first report of epidural steroid injection for back pain was in 1952; that’s when researchers injected the steroid hydrocortisone into the epidura – the space that surrounds the spinal cord – of the lower back. Today, epidural injection of steroidal painkillers is commonly used to treat difficult problems with lower back pain, … [Read more...] about Image-Guided Spinal Injections Ensuring Safety, Effectiveness
Understanding the Professionalism of Youth Sports
As the total number of children who participate in sport continues to increase, so, too, has the number of those children who are specializing in a single sport. There is no doubt that focused, deliberate sport-specific practice and years of dedication are required to achieve excellence in both individual and team sports. The question is, should this intense sport specialization begin during childhood and early adolescence? Parents are major players in this drive toward early sport … [Read more...] about Understanding the Professionalism of Youth Sports
Preventing and Treating Osteoporosis
We humans often take our bones for granted, but bones are actually living, growing tissue. Our bones are made up of connective tissue, one of the four basic types of human tissue. In addition to giving our bodies structure and protection, bones make red blood cells, which supply proteins and oxygen to tissues, and they make white blood cells, which help fight infection. Although human bones stop growing in our 20s, we replace and repair bone throughout our lifetimes. When bone replacement … [Read more...] about Preventing and Treating Osteoporosis
How Diet Affects Your Skin
Patients in my dermatology clinic frequently ask me about how their diet is affecting their skin. I love these questions, because I have an opportunity to use my background in nutrition to guide patients toward a more skin-healthy diet. Unfortunately, there are not evidence-based recommendations I can offer regarding supplements and vitamins because high-quality, non-industry studies are lacking. However, I can share some emerging theories on inflammation and the skin that encourage a diet … [Read more...] about How Diet Affects Your Skin