A few weeks ago an 8-year old patient stumped me with a wonderfully refreshing question: is it bad to crack your knuckles? Well, these common-sense questions aren’t taught in medical school, so I dug around and found the answers. First, from the Naked Scientists Discussion Forum is a description of what actually makes the popping sound:
The reason that joints “crack” is that when you pull on them, or put the joint into a certain position, the pressure drops within the synovial fluid that lubricates the joint.
Last week I had a post discussing immune-boosting foods. Here’s a semi-followup, discussing a nice article from the New York Time’s always informative Well Blog. This time they review The 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating. These foods all have an underlying similarity in terms of good nutrition and immune-boosting properties; many also taste really good (blueberries!).… Read the rest
There’s been quite a shift in official recommendations regarding the popular PSA blood test. As most men know, this is by far the most popular screening test for prostate cancer. The problem, as I’ve mentioned before, is that the PSA test is not only poor at finding real cancers, it’s also bad at creating many falsely positive tests.… Read the rest
The website WebMD is a bit too commercial for me to consider as my first-line source, but they often have informative articles that at least provide a good starting point for research and discussion. I wanted to share their recent slideshow on immune-boosting foods.… Read the rest
A few weeks ago I wrote a popular piece regarding brain exercise, detailing the exciting research showing how keeping your brain stimulated as we age can literally improve your memory. One underlying concept was to always stray from your comfort zone and challenge yourself to new situations and ideas.… Read the rest
A few weeks ago an 8-year old patient stumped me with a wonderfully refreshing question: is it bad to crack your knuckles? Well, these common-sense questions aren’t taught in medical school, so I dug around and found the answers. First, from the Naked Scientists Discussion Forum is a description of what actually makes the popping sound:
