Tag Archives: 3 Years

Sports Health, Wellness Programs

Questions to Ask When Selecting Your Sports Medicine Doctor

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Just as cars are not created equally, and neither are sports shoes there are some rather large differences between sports medicine doctors. The good news is this creates huge amounts of diversity; the bad news is that this can create numerous problems with finding someone who is well qualified to treat sports related injuries and help prevent injuries from occurring. To help you find the best sports doctor to help you meet your needs, use these questions as a guideline when you are interviewing doctors.

You should first ask your doctor how long they have been treating athletes. This should be at least several years if you are looking for experience, do not expect someone with less than 3 years of experience to be very helpful. If you decide to use a doctor new to the field, be aware that they should be cheaper and willing to work closely with you.

It is also wise to ask your doctor if they are currently the official team physician for any teams in your area. If they say yes, ask what teams so that you can contact the coach for a reference. Remember, if the coach does not give a positive reference that is still an excellent opportunity of information. Find out exactly why they do not recommend the doctor you are considering so that you can gather as many facts as possible.

Ask your potential doctor if they are a member of any special organizations such as the American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine. Memberships into these groups typically require credentials to be verified in order for acceptance, this helps to keep only the better doctors amongst membership ranks.

You should also ask if your doctor has attended any specialized training courses. Some examples are the American College of Sports Medicine team physician training course as well as the course that is offered by the US Olympic Committee. If they have not attended any special programs this is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is worth noting for your own piece of mind.

A very important question that you should ask is what percentage of the practice is pertaining to sports medicine. Unless the doctor is a sports medicine specialist, you should not expect to hear 100% and even if they are a specialist, they are unlikely to really have a 100% level. Most practices are as low as only 30%

Ask if the doctor has any particular specialties. For example, there are doctors who specialize in orthopedic surgery, as well as various other medical fields. If you are just looking for a basic sports medicine doctor then often choosing a family practice or even an internal medicine doctor is the best decision. From the primary doctor that you choose you can receive referrals to other doctors as they become necessary.

Your final consideration should be looking for a doctor that is willing to meet with you before you filling out any paperwork. This means that they should be willing to do an interview, preferably free where you can talk to them for a few minutes to learn about them, their experience, and their practice. Many doctors do this, especially those who are pediatricians. This means that your sports medicine doctor should be willing to have an initial interview as well. Using this to your benefit means you can ask your questions and see how comfortable you are before you actually need their services.

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General Health

How to start bettering your memory

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It will be cool to actually remember all the names of the people we meet or recite from memory all of the books that we have read. But not all people are blessed with a photographic memory that can capture a lot of data. The most that most people can do is to remember about 50 percent of the details in the books that they have read and recall about 10 names in the 50 people they meet. But hey, this does not mean that we should all give up wanting to make our memory better.

Although we cannot actually make our memory as powerful as one with a photographic memory, we can at least improve its processes so that we can recall more names than we usually do. This is especially true with people who are already aging. As we grow older, our memory slips. This is why most of our grandfathers and mothers often forget a lot of things, even our names.

Below are some names on how to make your memory a little bit better. Read on and you might still be able to do something with that faulty memory of yours.

1. Start early
It is important to take care of the brain early on to avoid forgetfulness when old age comes. Brain development starts at a very young age, from 0-3 years old. It is during this time when your brain grows the fastest. Although you may not have any power over your parents actions during this time, you can at least add to their care when you are much older, say 6 or 7 years old, by eating the right foods and avoiding as you grow old vices like cigarettes and alcohol which are proven to lessen memory skills.

2. Commit to the improvement
You should at least be able to commit to the task of bettering your memory. You may not realize it but it is not as simple as memorizing a grocery list and practicing your brain with crossword puzzles and memory games; you will also be changing the way you live your life and the food that you eat. Changing your lifestyle and your diet takes a lot of gumption and self-discipline from you. You will not be able to do it if you do not commit wholeheartedly to the task.

3. Practice
Use your brain. Whether it is something as simple as reading a book or playing a strategy game like chess, exercising your brain will help keep those neurons awake and working. In fact, studies have shown that those who answer crossword puzzles, read or generally use their brains will less likely become senile or acquire Alzheimers Disease. Using your brain will prevent it from being rusty and dusty.

4. Visualize it
One of the most common techniques to improve memory is to visualize words and things. You see, the brain sees data as pictures. It will be easily stored and faster to retrieve if it is seen and visualized as one picture than when it is memorized as numbers or words. For instance, if you are trying to memorize a grocery list, you do not memorize the words. You memorize the pictures of the things that you need to buy. That way, when you go to the grocery store, you will remember to buy that item, bettering your memory in the process.

General Health

Breast Implant Ruptures

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A saline implant rupture results in quick deflation and is easily removed. Recent FDA approved studies show rupture/deflation rates of 3-5% at 3 years and 7-10% at 5 years. Older studies depended on clinical exams to determine rupture rates.

Recent reports have determined these exams arent adequate to evaluate rupture rates. One study reported ruptures in asymptomatic patients are correctly detected by experienced plastic surgeons 30% of the time. This is compared to a detection rate of 86% by MRIs.

The FDA currently recommends MRIs be used to screen for ruptures beginning three years after implantation and continuing every two years thereafter.

Other countries consider MRIs useful only in cases of suspected ruptures and to confirm ultrasound or mammographic studies suggesting a rupture.

Silicone implant ruptures rarely result in deflation. The silicone leaks into the space around the implant. This indicates the need for removal of the implant. The risk and treatment of extracapsular leakage is controversial. Its agreed the gel is difficult to remove, but theres disagreement about the health effects.

The majority of MRI data for silicone gel implants indicates after 11 years, most women had at least one ruptured implant with silicone leakage outside the capsule of 21% of the women. The available long term data deals with 3rd and 4th generation implants and shows a 15-30% risk of silent rupture. MRI evaluation of the 5th generation implants implies improved durability. A rupture rate of 1% or less at an average age of six years is reported.