DocTalk

This week's column about the medical stuff we can learn from the sports world: cardiomyopathy and heart transplants, heat cramps and exhaustion, salivary gland cancer and sports hernias

http://mddirect.org/2014/06/16/medical-stuff-learn-sports-world/

 

In the age of high def instant replay, referees have a thankless job. They work in real time, at real speed and every error is dissected, frame by frame. Welcome to the world of medicine, where there are acceptable error rates and the goal is to minimize that rate but being 100% perfect may not be an option.

http://mddirect.org/2014/06/30/err-human/

 

This week's column talks about what we can learn from Dempsey's broken nose, Di Maria's quad strain and Neymar's vertebra fracture. It's bedside medicine 101 from the World Cup

http://mddirect.org/2014/07/07/touch-v-tech/

 

One can learn many things other than soccer when watching the World Cup. Things like universal precautions, infection control and hand washing. This week's column inspired by the Dutch team doctor.

http://mddirect.org/2014/07/14/universal-precautions/

 

Pro athletes cross the country getting second or third opinions deciding who will be their surgeon. Then they let chance decide who will put them to sleep. This week's column talks about anesthesia and the other invisible doctors in medicine.

http://mddirect.org/2014/07/21/putting-sleep/

Thanks for reading

 

The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow are the first large event since amateur boxing decided to eliminate head gear for male boxers (not women...yet). The science behind the International Boxing Association's decision may not be solid, since it has not been published. The NFL has the same issue with helmets.
This week's column:
http://mddirect.org/2014/07/28/boxing-concussion/

 

Sadness that Ray Rice makes headlines the same week as the Hall of Fame inductions in Canton. Football is all about controlled violence, but in many homes that control is lacking. 1.3 million domestic violence victims every year in the US and counting. This week's column:
http://mddirect.org/2014/08/03/domestic-violence/

 

DocTalk:

I'm on 10mg of Lisinopril for high blood pressure. That, plus some dietary changes and acupuncture, have worked wonders. I haven't had a single reading higher than 119/76 since late March (I had one of 178/108 last January). No side effects or anything from the medication.

However, I'm wondering whether the body becomes accustomed to the medicine over time and will eventually demand higher doses. Both my older brothers are on 40mg --- however, both are overweight, whereas I'm built like a jockey.

 

Blood pressure control is a lifelong commitment to diet, exercise and occasionally medication. It sounds like low dose lisinopril works for you and that medication mat not change for years to come...or an increased dose or added medications may be needed, or not.

Predicting the future for maintenance issues is not really possible. The good news is that your blood pressure is perfect now and that decreases your risk heart attack, stroke and peripheral artery disease.

 

While PEDs get all the press, nothing derails an athlete's career like a legal drug. This week's column talks about the Flyer's Kimmo Timonen, his blood clot diagnosis, (both DVT and PE) and how the treatment may end his career.

http://mddirect.org/2014/08/11/blood-clots/

 

It took a CT and MRI to prove that Cam Newton had a broken rib. But did it really make a difference in his care. Sometimes there are just too many tests in medicine. This weeks column;
http://mddirect.org/2014/08/25/many-tests/

 

Eugenie Bouchard had two opponents at the US Open, Ekatarina Makarova and the heat. The heat won. It's a little late in the summer to be writing about heat related illness, but Andy Murray barely survived heat cramps in his first round match, and American Steve Johnson did not.

It's been a relatively cool summer and some of the players haven't had a chance to acclimate to the heat and humidity. This week, we do the numbers about heat illness:

http://mddirect.org/2014/09/01/heat-goes/