ECZEMA
WHAT IS IT?
Your skin is your body’s largest organ, and one of its most hardworking. It protects you from the sun, stores water and fat, helps control your body’s temperature, and fends off assaults from invaders such as dirt, insects, smoky air, and germs.
Despite the heroic job your skin does, you probably don’t give it much thought until something goes wrong-for instance, eczema, a skin disease marked by red, crusty, itchy patches or rashes, and sometimes blistering, oozing sores. These symptoms most often stem from an allergy or other reaction to something you touch, eat, or breathe in. Continue reading
FOOT PROBLEMS
WHAT IS IT?
Most people in the United States walk about 10,000 steps a day. Small wonder, then, that one in six complains of aching feet, most often from overexercise, ill-fitting shoes, years of daily wear and tear, or aging. Women are more likely than men to have foot problems-mostly from tight or high-heeled shoes. Continue reading
OSTEOARTHRITIS
WHAT IS IT?
Arthritis is a name for many joint problems that cause swelling, pain, and stiffness. Two types are common: Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis, which can be very serious, affects more than 2 million men, women, and children in the United States. It’s a system-wide disease that often inflames the joints but can also get into other organs. Osteoarthritis, from wear and tear in a joint, affects about 21 million people, most of them older adults. Continue reading
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
WHAT IS IT?
Arthritis is a name for many joint problems that cause swelling, pain, and stiffness. Two common types are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis, from wear and tear in a joint, affects about 21 million people in the United States. Rheumatoid arthritis, which affects more than 2 million, is more serious; it often involves the whole body, causing swelling in the joints and sometimes inflaming organs such as the eyes and lungs. Continue reading
LOW BACK PAIN
WHAT IS IT?
Almost all of us can expect to have pains in the lower back at least once in our lives. Low back pain strikes in many ways. You might feel a dull ache, sometimes along with burning, or even numbness or tingling. The pain may shoot down your buttocks and into your legs.
Low back pain can come on quickly, or it can get worse slowly over many days or weeks. Some people may have bouts of back pain on and off for weeks or months. It can be so severe that it turns daily life into a painful chore. Continue reading
BURSITIS AND TENDINITIS
WHAT IS IT?
Every year more than 12 million Americans suffer from bursitis and tendinitis, two common injuries to soft tissues near the joints.
Bursitis affects a bursa, one of many small fluid-filled sacs that cushion muscles, bones, and tendons when you move. Tendinitis affects the tendons, hardworking bands of tissue that connect muscles to bones. If you injure a joint or use it too much, a nearby bursa or tendon may swell. The result: pain-sometimes fiery and throbbing, sometimes sharp and aching. If you move the joint, the pain often feels worse. Continue reading
HERNIAS
WHAT IS IT?
A hernia is a bulge of tissue that pushes through the muscles that should contain it. Hernias are also called ruptures. They happen most often in the abdominal wall, the sheet of muscle that covers the stomach, intestines, and kidneys. These are called abdominal hernias. Hiatal hernias, another common type, occur in the diaphragm, the layer of muscle that lies between the chest and the abdomen. Continue reading
HIP REPLACEMENT SURGERY
HIP REPLACEMENT SURGERY
WHAT IS IT?
The hips are among the body’s largest weight-bearing joints. When they’re healthy, your hips allow you to move easily and painlessly. But for people with arthritis or hip injury, just walking can bring on stiffness and crippling aches.
Each year, more than 160,000 Americans have hip replacement surgery in which damaged parts of the hip bone are removed and artificial parts are implanted to take their place. Hip replacement surgery can help relieve pain and restore movement. Continue reading