Wow. This guy had to have his spine broken in four places to be able to straighten up. Mars researcher Tanya Harrison suffers from this disease (and I’m always impressed by her accomplishments despite it). I hope they can come up with a cure eventually, if not sooner.
Category Archives: Health
Coffee
I choke the stuff down every morning on faith, but this is the first time I’ve heard about it as a product for skin care.
My Back Problem
I had an appointment for an epidural on Monday, but after reading up on it, I decided to cancel. Seems like some risk involved, and I’m not in enough pain to bother. I really just need some strength training in my lower back. Unfortunately, the earliest appointment I could get for an evaluation for physical therapy is Boxing Day.
But I am feeling back to normal (that is, somewhat stiff in the morning when I get out of bed, but more limber once I start moving around, with little pain). I’ve been getting gradually better for the past couple weeks (it’s hard to believe that it’s been four weeks since it started). I managed a trip to DC this week with quite a bit of walking, including carrying a suitcase up and down stairs, and putting it in and getting it out of an overhead, so I think I need something more prophylactic at this point, so it doesn’t happen again.
Teaching Kids About Nutrition
The CDC says that schools aren’t doing enough of it.
That seems like good news to me, given how terrible the nutrition advice would be.
A Health-Care Win
Thanks to Trump, hospitals will have to disclose prices for procedures starting in 2021.
What a concept.
[Late-morning update]
Hospitals sue to be allowed to keep their prices secret.
Gosh, it’s almost as though they have something to hide.
Back Update
The bad news is that I can’t get an epidural until December 16th. The good news is that maybe I don’t need it. I’m no longer in back pain, though the problem has migrated lower into my upper thigh, making me a little gimpy. On the other hand, that’s getting better, too. At this rate, I should be back to normal this weekend. Now I have to start some strength training to prevent a recurrence.
Back Update
Well, I’m doing better than Friday and over the weekend, but I’m still getting twinges, that occasionally elicit a yelp. I have a ticket to Houston for SpaceCom tomorrow morning, but thinking I’ll probably just have to cancel and eat the ticket. I don’t want to aggravate it on the trip and not be able to get home Thursday night. I was supposed to have a meeting with some JSC folks, but it may have to be a telecon.
[Friday-afternoon update]
Just got my MRI results. I have a compressed disk (and a little arthritis, but I don’t think that’s the issue). For our Colorado road trip, just got another shot in the ass of a muscle relaxant, and prescriptions for oral muscle relaxant (that they should have given me last week instead of the steroids), and prescription-strength ibuprofen (instead of Vicodin, which apparently isn’t that effective for nerve pain) for pain and to reduce inflammation.
When we get back, I’ll start epidurals and physical therapy (I assume basically strength training) to build up some muscular protection of the spine down there.
[Bumped]
Meat, Saturated Fat, and Long Life
It’s just amazing how much crap nutrition advice we’ve been given for decades, and many continue to spew the nonsense.
3-D Printed Skin
…that can develop blood vessels.
Faster, please.
Age-Resistant Mice
…with hyperlong telomeres.
“These unprecedented results show that longer than normal telomeres in a given species are not harmful but quite the contrary: they have beneficial effects, such as increased longevity, delayed metabolic age and less cancer,” concludes the team.
The telomere theory has been around for decades, but we seem to be getting closer to actual implementation.