Below you’ll find blog articles by Dr. David F Scott MD, a leading researcher in the field of orthopedics. To learn more about Dr. Scott, click here.
Spring is off to a running start and with it comes many of our favorite outdoor activities. Among them, races of every kind: bike races, triathlons, 5ks, and even races in the mud! Being active is great for our health, but another part of taking care of our bodies is knowing how to rest after intense physical activity. Here’s a quick overview of how to properly rest after the big race from start to finish.
Your joints can make a lot of noises: popping, cracking, and snapping. It could be the casual knuckle crack that you do while thinking or the pop in your knees or ankles when you stand up suddenly. If you’re like most people, you probably don’t think much about the chorus of noises that your joints make while moving through your day. But what are these noises? As surprising as it sounds,
There are a lot of things that change as you age. Hopefully, you get wiser, more confident in your abilities and enjoy longer and healthier relationships. Unfortunately as you get older, you will also begin to feel the effects of aging on your body. The biggest change that many people begin to notice, besides clothes not fitting the way they used to, is a decrease in flexibility. Dropping your car keys feels like more of a struggle as you strain to reach the floor,
Think about the way you’re sitting as you read this. More specifically, how is your posture? As you move throughout your day, you are constantly changing postures and situations. It’s not something that you may pay attention to but the way you carry yourself, especially over time, has a huge impact on your health. Correct posture is having your body in alignment with all its conjoining parts. Poor posture can place strain on the back that can change the anatomical characteristics of the spine.
Among road races it’s legendary, attracting about 50,000 people from all over the world to participate in the world’s largest 10k. Bloomsday is Spokane’s crowning jewel of sporting events and it’s hard to imagine springtime in Spokane without it. With registration open, now is the perfect time to start your training programs and get ready for Race Day on May 3rd. Before you get started though, here are a few of the most common running injuries and how how to avoid them during your training this year.
By now, you probably realize that sitting down at a desk all day isn’t good for your health. High blood pressure, obesity, and increased risk of stroke are just a few of the effects of chronic inactivity. Knowing about the risks is one thing, but changing your lifestyle can be more difficult. And if you’re like the average worker, changing careers isn’t really an option. That’s why it’s becoming more and more common to stay active any way and anywhere that you can.
The most common type of car accident is the dreaded rear-end collision. The fender bender. Chances are you’ve been involved in one or several in your driving experience and if you have, you may know a few things about whiplash. Whiplash is the most commonly reported injury from car accidents each year. Muscles and ligaments in your neck are extended beyond their normal range, and then whipped back,
We’ve heard that a change in diet may help cholesterol levels or help to bring down blood pressure, but what effect can diet have on our joints? Although orthopedics tends to be a field of fixing things that are already broken, there are some things you can start changing about your diet that may go a long way in preventing some common problems.
Most injuries that develop or linger in the joints can be summed up in one word: inflammation.
If you’ve ever sprained your ankle, stubbed your toe, or bumped into an unseen object in the dark, then you know how bad minor injuries can hurt. Sometimes we walk it off and move on. Other times the swelling doesn’t come down and mobility decreases, and that’s when you might wonder if its time to see a doctor. So how do you tell the difference between a break, sprain or strain?
Sprain
Sometimes,
As new research is constantly emerging, it’s hard to keep track of what health routine to add to your life. Some new trend comes out one year only to be replaced by another claiming better results. (Do you still have your barefoot running shoes?) But here’s an exercise that all healthcare professionals can agree on: walking. It’s low-impact, easy to start and the benefits are impressive. Allow me to walk you through a few of them!
Hitting your ‘funny bone’. It’s one of the only injuries that we can laugh about, literally. It’s even become an expression that we use for something funny that catches us off guard. The sensation is so strange that we’re not sure whether to laugh or cry. However, contrary to its title, the pain that we feel from hitting the funny bone isn’t from a bone at all – it’s a nerve.
Some nerve
The ulnar nerve is the longest unprotected nerve in the human body,
A great mind once said, ‘we are what we repeatedly do’. It is our habits that define not only our character but also our physical health. Bad form in any repetitive motion will eventually lead to injury. When this happens, it’s called RSI, a Repetitive Stress Injury from overuse of tendons, muscles nerves and other soft body tissues. RSI can act as a gateway for a host of other problems including,
Before reaching into the medicine cabinet the next time you have a minor ache, pain or fever, think twice. Not all pain relievers work the same way and depending on your symptoms, there are a few things you should know about how different over-the-counter pain relievers work. Here are some general guidelines to consider about the most common over-the-counter, or commonly known as OTC painkillers,
It’s that time of year. The weather is getting colder and the mountains are calling. Ski season is just around the corner and you can’t wait to get in that first run of the year. Skiing is something we look forward to and love doing, but in all the excitement, it’s easy to forget about preparing your knees and hips for the twists and turns of the slopes. Each year, there are plenty of people who start their first trip without the right physical preparation and end up injured early in the season.
Prior to going in for orthopedic surgery it is ideal to begin advanced planning to prepare yourself and your home for the recovery process. After surgery has been completed, you will likely be sent home with special instructions on how to heal over time. It will be extremely important to follow the instructions and recommendations of the surgeon until you are completely rehabilitated. Discuss your discharge plans with your physician in advance so that you can begin to get things in order.
