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Health Matters: Radiowaves solve many nail issues

ESCANABA — Life can be painful. Sometimes it’s the emotional kind, but the physical kind is experienced by most of us, at least eventually. Time takes its toll on the human body and the years too often bring illness or disease. This can frequently result in pain. The location of the undesirable sensation may carry with it great concern, the obvious example being pain coming from your chest. But a particularly common location doesn’t usually generate the same level of interest: the area of the toenail (aka nail unit). Other than beautification, much of the focus directed at our ...

Health Matters: U.S. health care in critical condition

ESCANABA — Our healthcare system is in crisis mode. Millions of Americans go through their daily lives without any form of healthcare insurance. Physicians are calling for strikes and pushing to unionize, proposals once considered heretical. Private, for-profit, privately held insurance companies profit to the tune of billions by denying services, restricting access to care, and delaying payments to millions of Americans. Every insurance plan seems to have its own rules, varying greatly, making it nearly impossible for anyone to know what services are covered. There is no definitive ...

Health Matters: Big toe joint disease leads to gait pain

ESCANABA — Walking can be a traumatic act. This may seem a ridiculous statement but when examined from a perspective of an individual’s biomechanics, it is accurate. Although we don’t particularly think about it, walking is extremely complex. With every single step, various joints are moving, muscles pulling, ligaments tightening. Often, with less than optimal anatomy, these structures won’t function correctly, and gait is disturbed, altered, or changed in some fashion. Also important in this discussion is the intricate interrelationship between the many body parts involved in ...

Health Matters: Plantar fasciitis – dispelling the myths

ESCANABA — The scourge to humanity that is heel pain. (Taking some dramatic license here.) But if you want drama, talk to someone in the throes of acute plantar fasciitis, the most common cause of heel or arch pain. Although we don’t have precise data, it is believed that this has been occurring for generations. For various reasons, it has become far more common, one experienced in greater numbers than ever before. Part of the confusion surrounding this condition is the variability in presentation. Some experience a sharp piercing pain while others note only a burning sensation. A ...

ESCANABA — The attention directed at the opioid epidemic has been considerable of late, a consequence of the many deaths and hospitalizations resulting from its abuse. Too often, some injury or surgical procedure necessitates a prescription for pain, treated with one of the many prescription opioids. Should the pain continue, or an addiction develop, desperate measures are sometimes taken. Another example of careless, inaccurate marketing claims leading to overuse and misuse. When it comes to pain relief from a chronic condition, there are few options. Most frequently utilized are ...

Health Matters: Plantar fasciitis – dispelling the myths

ESCANABA — The scourge to humanity that is heel pain. (Taking some dramatic license here.) But if you want drama, talk to someone in the throes of acute plantar fasciitis, the most common cause of heel or arch pain. Although we don’t have precise data, it is believed that this has been occurring for generations. For various reasons, it has become far more common, one experienced in greater numbers than ever before. Part of the confusion surrounding this condition is the variability in presentation. Some experience a sharp piercing pain while others note only a burning sensation. A ...