I saw a 60 year old artist who had been complaining of neck pain for 2 months. The pain began without any accident and had been getting worse. He had problems moving his neck, especially extending it backwards, and found that wearing a soft collar prevented movement and diminished his pain.  The only way he could exercise on his stationary bike was to use the collar.  He was taking anti-inflammatory medication but it wasn’t helping.

May 21, 2010 - 6:02am — Posted by Dr. Norman Marcus

A recent article showed that even gentle but regular physical activity in middle aged women reduced the incidence of hip fractures. Lack of exercise contributes to many of the health problems with which we are confronted- obesity, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, dementia, and osteoporosis. At a time when the cost of health care is so important to each of us as Americans, awareness of inexpensive interventions and self responsibility for our well being should be foremost in our minds.

May 18, 2010 - 9:09am — Posted by Dr. Norman Marcus

Although Low Back Pain (LBP) is thought to affect around 80% of individuals, it is also thought to be self limiting and get better quickly (within weeks). Studies of patient populations however suggest that it is actually a more serious problem. Although most patients who experience back pain do not see a doctor, 60-80% of those that do are still reporting pain one year later and in those whose pain has disappeared, 20% will have a recurrence within months.

May 11, 2010 - 4:54pm — Posted by Dr. Norman Marcus