May 19, 2012 / 5:00 am
Photo: Contributed
Golfer's elbow, or medial epicondylitis, is similar to tennis elbow except that it occurs on the inside, rather than the outside, of the elbow. Golfer’s elbow involves pain and inflammation on the inner side of the elbow, where the tendons of...
May 5, 2012 / 5:00 am
Menorrhagia is the medical term for menstrual periods in which bleeding is abnormally heavy or prolonged. Officially, the flow of more than 80 ml per menstrual period is considered menorrhagia, however a flow of 45-60 ml per period can actually be considered menorrhagia as well. Menorrhagia can...
Apr 21, 2012 / 5:00 am
Perimenopause, also called the menopausal transition, is the natural shift in a woman’s reproductive cycle toward menopause, or ceasing of the cycle. When a woman has gone through 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period, she is considered to have reached menopause, and the...
Apr 7, 2012 / 5:00 am
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by a constant dull pain throughout the body accompanied by fatigue and sleep disturbances. Symptoms can vary depending on the weather, stress, physical activity, and even time of day. Generally the pain is widespread and occurs in the muscles,...
Mar 24, 2012 / 5:00 am
Sports injuries are injuries that occur in athletic activities. Some sports injuries result from accidents; others are due to poor training practices, improper equipment, lack of conditioning, or insufficient warm up and stretching. Many sports injuries can be due to overuse of a part of the...
Mar 10, 2012 / 5:00 am
Thoracic outlet syndrome occurs when the blood vessels or nerves in the thoracic outlet- the space just under the collarbone- become compressed. This can cause pain in the shoulders and neck and numbness in the fingers. The symptoms vary depending on whether it is the nerves or the blood vessels...
Feb 25, 2012 / 5:00 am
The rotator cuff is made up of the various muscles and tendons in the shoulder that connect the upper arm bone to the shoulder blade. They also help hold the ball of the upper arm bone firmly in the shoulder socket. The shoulder has the greatest range of motion of any joint in our body.
A...
Feb 11, 2012 / 5:00 am
(Photo: Flickr user, mystifiedcat)
Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is a type of depression that follows a seasonal pattern, starting in the fall and continuing through the winter, sapping energy and making a person feel moody. Symptoms can include depression, changes...
Jan 28, 2012 / 6:00 am
Surgery is a powerful tool in the modern medical tool kit and used today in a wide range of applications. Surgery for musculoskeletal conditions is called orthopedic surgery, and is used to treat musculoskeletal trauma, degenerative diseases, sports injuries, infections, tumours, and...
Jan 14, 2012 / 5:00 am
Diarrhea is characterized by loose, watery stools, bloating, and abdominal cramps or pain, as well as more frequent trips to the washroom. Acute diarrhea is something that nearly everyone has likely experienced at one time or another and usually lasts only a couple of days. Chronic...
Dec 31, 2011 / 5:00 am
Constipation is a frequent gastrointestinal problem that can cause a lot of discomfort and put strain on the digestive system. Being constipated means not being able to have regular bowel movements but it can also include having difficulty passing stools, hard stools, or a feeling of blockage or...
Dec 3, 2011 / 5:00 am
Heart palpitations are the sensation of rapid, fluttering, or pounding heartbeats. Common causes of heart palpitations include anxiety, stress, exercise, caffeine, nicotine, fever, hormonal changes in women (due to pregnancy, menses, or menopause), and certain medications. Heart...
Nov 19, 2011 / 5:00 am
Photo: Contributed - (Flickr user, lauralei)
Teeth grinding is a condition of clenching, grinding, or gnashing the teeth either unconsciously during the day, or at night while sleeping. The medical term for teeth grinding is bruxism, and nighttime...
Nov 5, 2011 / 5:00 am
Nausea is a common ailment with many different causes, from stomach flu, morning sickness and medications to vertigo, motion sickness, migraines, surgery, cancer treatment, the foods we eat, and GERD, among many others. Morning sickness is a type of nausea commonly experienced during...
Oct 22, 2011 / 5:00 am
Photo: Contributed - (Flickr user, 75491103@N00)
Eczema is an itchy eruption of the skin that is usually more common in children but can appear in adulthood. Eczema symptoms include discoloured patches of skin, itching which may be worse at night and can be quite severe,...
Oct 8, 2011 / 5:00 am
Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes inflammation of the digestive tract lining. This inflammation often spreads deep into the layers of affected bowel tissues. Symptoms of Crohn’s disease can range from mild to severe and may develop gradually...
Sep 24, 2011 / 5:00 am
Meniere's disease is a disorder of the inner ear that causes spontaneous episodes of vertigo along with fluctuating hearing loss, ringing in the ear (tinnitus), and sometimes a feeling of pressure or fullness in the ear. In most cases, Meniere's disease will affect only one...
Sep 10, 2011 / 5:00 am
Depression, also called major depression, major depressive disorder and clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by low moods and a loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Other symptoms may include preoccupation or over-thinking, irritability or...
Aug 13, 2011 / 5:00 am
Frequent urination can have wide-ranging causes, whether due to a medical condition such as diabetes or a neurological disorder, or from poor kidney function, urinary tract inflammation, bladder infection, or certain medications. In many cases, doctors aren’t able to exactly...
Jul 30, 2011 / 5:00 am
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder that affects the lining of the joints, causing a painful swelling that can eventually lead to bone erosion and joint deformity. This condition is an auto-immune disorder where the immune system mistakenly attacks its own body...