A 32yr old man with pain in the mid-back
Mark is 32yrs old. He came to the clinic complaining of pain in the mid-back, in between his shoulder blades. It had started about six weeks previously, for no obvious reason, and he felt it particularly badly in the morning, when he woke up. The pain seemed to come and go. He did say […]
Is your BP monitor any good?
This article was stimulated by me seeing an article by Dean Piccone and colleagues [1] in the JAMA. I thought that all blood pressure (BP) monitors that are sold in the UK would be equally valid, but apparently not! Why is measuring BP important? We know that elevated systolic BP is a risk factor for […]
Does too much exercise cause back pain?
Sometimes you wonder about scientists. Do they want their research to be understood? Or do they want to cloak it in mystery? One study, published quite a number of years ago (2009), sounds like the title of the latest instructions from a piece of drainage kit from Plumbers World: ‘Physical activity and low back pain: […]
Can you run faster with these?
I’ve never been a very fast runner. My Parkrun speed is only 6.2 mph. Mostly I run for the mood ‘high’ that running gives me. I reckon that Jill, the family guinea pig, can run faster than me (size related). Guinea pigs can run at speeds of up to 8 mph! How come they can […]
A 45-yr old lady with mid-back pain
A few weeks ago I did a cycle ride from Bath to Bristol. I cycled down to Didcot and took my folding bike on the train to Bath to meet up with Alex, (the older son). While I was waiting for him outside Bath station I popped into the bike shop there (it’s brilliant, btw) […]
Muscle tear….or DVT?
I’ve just done my first Parkrun. For those that don’t know anything about Parkrun, it is a free, community-led international event that happens somewhere near you on a Saturday morning. It is a 5kilometre run, which is timed. It felt like hard work, and I got too hot as I had kept my fleece on, […]
When cycling is better than walking…
We all agree, walking is good for you. Unfortunately, patients with spinal stenosis find that they get leg pain when they walk, because they get nerve compression at the bottom of the spine. Bending forward, however, relieves the pain. This means that getting around on a bike is much easier for these patients than walking. […]
An older lady with back pain
This older lady had back pain. Why did we do a urine test? What did it show? Find out in this short video!
This check-up was a really good idea!
People have different opinions about check-ups. Most of us go to the dentist for check-ups, for instance. Some don\’t. Many medical specialities recommend check-ups, like opticians. Some of us go along with it, sometimes we forget, or can\’t be bothered! Anyway, here is a little video about a check-up that was a huge help…..
An uncommon cause of low back pain in an older man
I had to scan one of the family guinea-pigs (Jill) the other day (my girlfriend is a vet). This poor little pig was weeing a lot, and there was blood in her urine. It seems that she was in pain too, as she didn\’t like to be handled too much. My girlfriend suspected that Jill […]