DocTalk

Re: DocTalk at your service

DCM or dilated cardiomyopathy is a condition where there is less functioning muscle and the chambers of the heart dilate. This stretches the already thin muscle and decreases its ability to contract and pump blood. Think of a coiled spring that is overstretched and loses its ability to recoil.

As for your exercise regimen, you develop a more efficient heart and cardiovascular system. It is able to pump blood more efficiently and use less energy, and your body's cell are able to extract oxygen better and use it more efficiently as well. An athlete's heart hs a lower resting heart rate and its muscle may be thicker as well.

Hope this helps. Thaks for reading and keep asking questions.

Ben

 

Re: DocTalk at your service

I had a chance to practice my own advice this weekend as I drove to the wilds of northern Wisconsin. Long drives and plane trips are risk factors for blood clots in the legs, and even with gas prices north of $3 a gallon people are on he road. Only fair that we talk about how to prevent those clots on the website.

Thanks for reading.

www.MdDirect.org

 

Re: DocTalk at your service

Doc, forgive me if this has been asked and answered, but I'm just wondering (unsarcastically) why you volunteer your time to be useful to us goofs.

 

Re: DocTalk at your service

There is an altruistic component to my posting here. I believe that the media can use its power to educate people about common medical issues. Sports allows that education to occur under the radar. When people read about injuries on the field of play, about illnesses that befall their heroes or about drug and alcohol abuse, there is a learning opportunity. Hopefully, those people who report can get the medicine right and influence their readers' behavior. A concussion on the football field should be treated similarly to the concussion at the workplace and a shoulder injury for an elite athlete may give insight to a recreatinal athlete.

On the business side, I have been fortunate to provide medical support to a variety of media outlets and other corporations as they attend and cover both sports and news events. Since I continue to practice Emergency Medicine full time and maintain an active background in sports, I believe that I have the tools to provide up to date, fair and accurate medical information. Consider SportsJournalists.com an advertisement vehicle of sorts (with the blessing of Webby).

For more about me, my background and the services offered, please check the website. www.MDdirect.org

 

Re: DocTalk at your service

Emedicinehealth.com and WebMD.com have been kind in allowing me to provide some of the basic content on their sites. The latest installment has to do with the general approach to knee injuries.

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/knee_injury/article_em.htm

 

Re: DocTalk at your service

People often want an xray or blood test to "prove" what I believe to be their diagnosis. Logically, though, If they don't trust my assessment of their ailment, I wonder why they would trust my interpretation of their test. Talking to the patient is key to making a diagnosis. More on the website. Thanks for reading.

 

Re: DocTalk at your service

I like to sew. I get immediate gratification to see the wound edges come together to form a nice scar. It's alos one of the few times in my day, when I get to sit next to a patient and visit. A USA Today article on Monday talked about when wounds should be repaired and one of their quotes talks about the pain of stitches. Time to address a couple issues about sutures.

http://www.mddirect.org/blog/index.php

By the way, for those of you who care, the month has flown and I've been lax in updating the website because of some volunteer work in a kids' camp in the northwoods of Wisconsin. Good for the soul, but less so for internet access.

Thanks for reading.

 

Re: DocTalk at your service

The Chief Justice of the United States has a seizure and perhaps the happiest people in the country are those who have a seizure disorder. As John Roberts returns to his highly visible work day, he will be a reminder that for most people with seizures, life goes on without skipping a beat.

More on the basics of seizures on the website.

 

Re: DocTalk at your service

Doc, question:

I'm really trying to tone down my belly. Doing all sorts of work at the gym, aided by cardio. My problem is this: At work I sit for stretches at a time, and I wonder if that offsets all of the hard work I put in.

I don't know if I worded that correctly, but does sitting in a chair cancel out ab-work?

 

Re: DocTalk at your service

Extra weight around the midsection is lost when total body fat is lost. Looking for the six pack abs look requires working the three major muscle groups of the abdominal wall and then having a low enough body fat percentage for those muscles to show through. Sitting at a desk doesn't negate your good work away from it.

 

Re: DocTalk at your service

Just back from the wilds of Alaska, almost in the middle of nowhere, though from our camp we could see it. Newspapers and internet were pretty much non existent as were other luxuries like electricity and plumbing. I guess plenty of things have happened in the sports world while I've been gone and it's hard to catch up. Best to look forward then.

Sadly, football makes for better opportunity to talk about injuries, treatment options and rehabilitation potential. Always happy to help out with background information should the need arise. Just email or call.

And there is a new entry on the website.

Ben

 

Re: DocTalk at your service

Xan ... not to jump in on Doc's action but a nicely toned belly is made more in the kitchen than in the gym.

Doc ... fracture of the Bennett's joint in May. I'm back playing but using a spica. How much longer should I wear it?