By Dr. Sam Pegram Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is unlike osteoarthritis, which the latter is a result of mechanical wear and tear on your joints. Instead, Rheumatoid Arthritis is a chronic auto-immune disease characterized by the infiltration of inflammatory cells into the joint capsules. Those cells release enzymes that reduce the overall cartilage and primarily affect the smaller joints in your body, such as your wrists and hands.  Rheumatoid arthritis can spread to bigger joints in your body, like your elbows, ankles, and knees, but it typically doesn’t attack the largest joints in your body, like the ones in your back, for example.

By Rey Ximenes MD Eastern medicine is simply a term the western world has coined. Still, it typically refers to traditional medicine practices that derive from the rest of the world that look at the totality of the body, mind, and spirit rather than focus on a particular aspect of the body that is ailing.  Even in Australia, the Indigenous population has their own form of traditional medicine they use, which is a combination of healing practices and herbs to heal the body.  The great part about Eastern medicine is its holistic view. Where Western medicine has a reductionist approach to healing, Eastern

By Advanced Pain Care At every stage of your pregnancy, it is normal to feel some pain or discomfort with hormonal changes and the growth of the baby in your uterus. “Normal” pains usually materialize as back, pelvic, and even ligament pain.  Though these might be considered “normal,” it doesn’t mean that any pain should be overlooked. You should always talk to your OBGYN when you are feeling any type of pain, even if you think that pain is “typical.” Some pains are considered dangerous, even if they appear in “typical” ways or in those three areas.  A lot of home remedies can

By Bradley Wisler M.D. Currently, there is a lot of debate around what is considered Fibromyalgia, its causes, and its derivation. With the growing research, we do know that it is a very real condition and not one that is made up or an overreaction. It is not linked to people with brain disorders or necessarily those who have psychological disorders. However, if you do suffer from anxiety or depression, you are more likely to develop fibromyalgia.  It tends to affect more women than men and usually starts in middle age, with an increased likelihood of getting it as you get older. 

By Advanced Pain Care There are many causes of chronic shoulder pain. The most common is rotator cuff tendonitis or bursitis. Rotator cuff tendonitis happens when the tendons become inflamed. Bursitis is also an inflammatory disorder in the shoulder, but this is when the inflammation is due to the growth of a fluid-filled sac.  Nerve problems, such as cervical radiculopathy, i.e., nerve impingement along the cervical spinal cord, can also cause motor weakness in the shoulders as well.  Other causes of shoulder pain include: osteoarthritis in the should joint, overuse, injury to the nearby tendons, such as in the biceps, poor posture,

Degenerative Disc disorder (DDD) is not a disorder at all. It is a common side effect of aging and usually gets worse as we age. It happens when the fluid-filled cushions between the bones in your back or neck begin to break down and dry out. Essentially, the cushions wear away, and the bones end up rubbing together.  Several things could happen as a result of DDD. You could have a less stable spine, which could impact your movement. You could also experience an increased risk of having a herniated disc or experience bone spurs. If you suspect you have DDD,

By Clayton Adams, M.D. Neuropathy is a dysfunction usually occurring in the peripheral nervous system or the nerves that are located outside the brain and spinal cord. It can manifest itself as pain, weakness, and numbness. Whereas neuralgia is just nerve pain where the patient may feel a burning, tingling, pins and needles, and electric shock sensation that can occur with the lightest form of stimuli. Neuralgia is a type of neuropathy, but neuropathy tends to affect the motor components, such as causing slow digestion, nausea, or light-headedness.  Both denote conditions that affect the nerves and may cause pain wherever the nerve