I seem to have contracted polymyalgia rheumatica, a type of arthritis that affects the muscles, but not the bones or joints. It’s causing the muscles in the backs of my legs to ache badly when I walk or sit for more than a few minutes. It also...
GIVING BIRTH: Water's good, and the sooner the better
* Prenatal perineal massage. There is significant evidence to show that you can increase the flexibility of your perineum by regularly massaging the tissue before giving birth. In a randomised controlled trial carried out across five hospitals in...
HYSTERECTOMIES: Is this really the only 'cure' for heavy periods?
Q I have been suffering from intense pain in my coccyx for several years. The pain started after a bad epidural and the subsequent therapeutic blood patch, but became infinitely worse after back surgery four years ago. I have sought help from...
If you thought Vioxx was bad, Bextra could be even worse. Things are unravelling quickly for the COX-2 inhibitor painkillers, which were pushed as a safer and better option than the NSAIDs (non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs). Within days of...
Q An elderly colleague, aged 82, is experiencing symptoms that he feels may be attributable to his medication for high blood pressure. His daily regime is levothyroxine (150 mcg), aspirin (150 mcg), nifedipine (30 mg), alfuzocin (400 mcg) and...
MISCARRIAGE: Aspirin increases the risk
In the heady world of the pharmaceutical industry, the most profitable industry in the world - where world sales doubled over the last five years - the pressure is always intense to develop new product.
What is carpal tunnel syndrome?
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common condition that now affects 10 per cent of the UK workforce. It is caused by compression of the median nerve, which runs through a U-shaped