The misuse and abuse of prescription painkillers was responsible for more than 475,000 emergency department visits in 2009, a number that nearly doubled in just five years.

Let me state for the record that I am totally against pain. But, I can't agree with the overuse, misuse, and inappropriate use of pain medications. It is important to understand that pain is not all bad for it serves a useful purpose like the smoke alarm in your home. It's actually a good idea to be alerted to the fact that a situation is brewing before the house burns to the ground although I will admit that the constant shrieking does become tiresome in a hurry. By all means turn off the alarm, but please don't neglect to fight the fire - the consequences can be devastating. Pain is no more and no less than the body's warning system that a physical or chemical stimuli has stressed your body beyond its ability to compensate.

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) states that, "Althou... more

Osteoarthritis (OA), Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD), degenerative arthritis, osteophytes, arthrosis, spondylosis, hypertrophy, sclerosis, stenosis, sciatica, desiccation - and several other scary terms, all boil down to a single word - arthritis.

There are over 100 different forms of arthritis. The word comes from the Greek "arthro" for joint and the suffix "itis" indicating in pathology an inflammatory condition (bronchitis; gastritis; neuritis, etc. ). So, arthritis means an infla more

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Desiccation is a scientific word meaning "dry" and when referring to a spinal intervertebral disc it means that the inside of the disc is drying out.

The individual bones that comprise the spine are called vertebrae. Each vertebrae except the top two in the neck are separated by a cushion, an intervertebral disc. The outside of the disc is surrounded by fibrous, ligamentous tissue called the annular fibers named as such from the same root word from which we get annual or year rou more

Exercise is used to improve health, maintain fitness and is important as a means of physical rehabilitation. Bed rest is the opposite of exercise.

The dictionary definition of exercise is any physical activity that is planned, structured, and repetitive for the purpose of conditioning any part of the body. Certainly this is true, but the fact is that any activity of any kind whatsoever is exercise, and in regards to your health any exercise is better than no exercise. Several decades ag more

To some degree discs lose their flexibility, elasticity, and shock absorbing characteristics as we age as do the other tissues in the body making them susceptible to injury.

The back is a complicated structure of bones called vertebrae separated by cartilage-like shock absorbers called discs, held together by ligaments and muscles. It must be flexible enough to provide a wide range of movements and yet strong enough to protect the spinal cord and the delicate nerve fibers which exit bet more

You get started on the road to exercising by walking because walking is the easiest and most convenient way to exercise at all levels of fitness and, thereby, reduce stress and improve your health in a vast number of ways.

Part of the magic of walking is that there aren't any rules! True, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends these exercise guidelines: 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity. You also can more

Spinal Decompression Therapy, first approved by the FDA in 2001, has since evolved into a cost-effective treatment for herniated and degenerative spinal discs; one of the major causes of back pain and neck pain.

Spinal Decompression Therapy is a non-invasive, non-surgical treatment performed on a special, computer controlled table similar in some ways to an ordinary traction table. A single disc level is isolated and by utilizing specific traction and relaxation cycles throughout the t more

In Part I we discussed that when you exercise you're essentially burning away the bad hormones plus promoting the release of good hormones into the blood stream so you get a double dose of benefit.

There is no part of your body that doesn't benefit from moderate exercise. Clearly, there are the physical benefits to the musculo-skeletal system, cardio-vascular system, and respiratory system with which everyone is well acquainted. Less obvious, and arguably more important, are the more

To say that something as simple and as fundamental as walking is the best medicine seems to be a very broad and sweeping statement. Why is it true?


What is the secret to good health? Diet and exercise, of course. Not much of a secret if everyone already knows the answer, but how and why do these improve health? We've all heard that the negative effects of stress causes health problems so it sounds reasonable to say that anything that reduces stress would improve health, and more