Blog & Columns
Useful information about health and Korean medicine.
Total 207 posts
If you have spinal stenosis, rethink those back-bending stretches
In spinal stenosis, the narrowed passage gets even narrower when you bend your back backward, and opens up a little when you bend forward. That's why back-straightening stretches can work against you with stenosis. Here are four exercise directions that fit, and two checks to try today.
Gongjindan for students facing exams: what to expect, and what to check
If you're considering Gongjindan for a student preparing for exams, we've used two studies to sort out what you can expect and what you shouldn't. There are no studies yet on grades or concentration. Before prescribing, we check the cause of fatigue, digestion and constitution, current medications and the possibility of pregnancy, and liver values.
My shoulder has stiffened. Why are you asking about my blood sugar?
In an analysis of 18 studies, people with diabetes were about 5 times more likely to have frozen shoulder, and about 3 in 10 people with frozen shoulder had diabetes. Here's why we ask about blood sugar in the exam room, four things to know if you have diabetes, and one thing to check today.
Frozen shoulder exercises: do you have to push through the pain to loosen it?
There's no evidence for the idea that you have to grit your teeth and force a frozen shoulder to loosen it. In a study that followed 77 people for two years, the group that exercised within a pain-free range improved more, and faster. Here are exercises for each stage, the rule "up to a pulling feeling, stop at a stabbing pain," and the signs to check before you start.
My inner knee aches. Is it because of my bow legs?
When the legs curve outward, body weight lands more on the inside of the knee. The load on the inner knee is close to "how curved × how heavy." You may not be able to change the angle, but you can change your weight and your muscles. Here are the three common sources of inner knee pain, the warning signs to check first, and three things to write down today.
Bow leg correction exercises: will they really straighten your legs?
There's no solid research showing that exercise can change bone angles in fully grown adults. But the hip joints, muscles and habits can change, so the goal of bow leg exercises is to reduce the load that shifts onto the inside of the knee. We've laid out four things: the muscles at the side of the hips, knee direction when standing up, splitting your weight, and how you sit.
My child's legs are bowed like an O. Is that okay?
Bow legs in toddlers are mostly part of growing up. Children's legs grow from an O shape to straight, to an X shape, and then straight again. But if the bowing gets worse after age 2–3, affects only one leg, your child is clearly short for their age, or complains of pain, get it checked first. While you watch, record it with a front-view photo every 3 months.
My leg is numb. Is it a herniated disc or spinal stenosis?
Numbness in the leg is usually from a pinched nerve, and what pinches it is mainly a herniated disc or spinal stenosis. The most useful clue is whether it hurts more when you sit or when you walk. The two can occur together, or it may be a blood vessel problem, so confirmation comes from examination and imaging. Once it has a name, the goal of treatment changes.
Disc surgery, yes or no? Four questions to ask yourself before you decide
If there are no emergency signs, disc surgery is a choice. One-year results were the same for patients who had surgery right away and those who waited and watched first; the difference was speed. Ask yourself four things: are there signs you shouldn't wait on, is your strength steadily fading, how much does faster relief weigh for you, and if you wait, until when and how will you check?
A badly ruptured disc is actually more likely to be reabsorbed?
The body often clears away a ruptured disc on its own, and badly ruptured ones are cleared more readily. That's because immune cells recognize the fragment that has come out of the outer layer. But it takes time, so wait for a set period, and if you have bladder or bowel problems or steadily weakening legs, get a surgical assessment right away.
Disc surgery: do you get better results if you hurry?
In a trial that divided patients with severe leg pain into immediate surgery or non-surgical treatment first, results after one year were the same, while the surgery group got relief about twice as fast. Unless it's an emergency, surgery is a matter of choice. But non-surgical treatment should be checked over a set period, and bladder or bowel problems or steadily weakening legs are the exception.
Three questions to ask before getting a knee injection
There's no such thing as "a knee injection." Depending on the name, the evidence, the schedule and the precautions all differ. This isn't a post telling you not to get injections. It gives you three questions to ask at any clinic: what it's called, how many times and until when, and whether exercise goes along with it.