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Posted March 20, 2023 by Roger Chaffee, M.D.
For people who wear smartwatches or fitness trackers, knowing how fast your heart is beating is as simple as glancing at your wrist. Your heart rate, also known as your pulse, is an indicator of how many times your heart beats per minute. Since the heart is responsible for pumping blood and oxygen throughout your body, its health is vital to yours.
It’s typical for your heart to beat faster during exercise and slower during rest. However, if your heart beats too fast (…
Posted March 15, 2023 by Shannon Speaks, MSSA, LISW-S
Posted March 13, 2023 by Zachary Vallandingham, D.O.
A sports injury can be scary, especially if you're facing surgery that could keep you sidelined for weeks, if not months.
Fortunately, surgery isn't always the best option when you suffer an injury from playing a sport, exercising, or participating in recreational activities. A wide range of non-surgical treatments are available today that effectively treat muscle pain, joint pain, and lack of mobility.
A sports injury encompasses the musculoskeletal system, including…
Posted March 06, 2023 by Teresa Edwards, APRN-CNM
While midwives are growing in popularity in this country, there are still many who aren’t aware of the care they can provide. Many people believe midwives help moms-to-be give birth in private settings, such as in their homes, without medication or medical intervention. While this may be true for some midwives, hospital-based midwives, like the ones at Summa, provide quality care in the hospital while maintaining a “home-like” feel.
In truth, certified nurse…
Posted March 02, 2023 by Paul Hartzfeld, M.D.
Posted February 27, 2023 by Smita I Negi, MD
Each time you visit a doctor’s office, your blood pressure is probably taken. This is one of the many vital sign checks that helps your provider keep tabs on your health. Just as some people are prone to heart disease based on their genetics and family history, blood pressure is an important predictor of future heart disease. While the risks associated with high blood pressure are well known, blood pressure that’s too low also can cause problems.
Blood pressure is…
Posted February 20, 2023 by Faisal Qadir, M.D.
Prioritizing your lung health is very important, especially if you’re suffering from chronic lung conditions, such as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), lung cancer or asthma.
Your lungs allow you to take in oxygen from the air you breathe and are the key to carrying it to all your organ systems to keep them running efficiently, while clearing your body of carbon dioxide.
The body has a natural defense system designed to protect the lungs, and help keep dirt…
Posted February 14, 2023 by Cheryl Johnson, MD, FACOG and Jacqueline Tulodzieski-Ahlstrom, DPM
Posted February 13, 2023 by Aisha Rahman, MD
Pain relief after surgical procedures is an important part of treatment and recovery. With reduced pain, patients are more likely to have a more comfortable recovery and faster return to everyday activities.
The problem is the most common way to treat pain after surgery is using opioids, such as morphine and oxycodone, and it’s no secret our country is battling an opioid epidemic.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were an estimated 75…
Posted February 09, 2023 by Deanna Nickerson, Au.D. CCC-A, CH-TM
Posted February 06, 2023 by Roger Chaffee, MD
Whether you’re a beginner trying to improve your endurance to lose weight or an avid trainer trying to improve your cardiovascular fitness, exercising in your targeted heart rate zone is the best way to ensure your workout is both safe and effective.
Your heart rate (HR) is measured by the number of times your heart beats in one minute. As you increase the intensity of your workout, the demands on your heart increase. The higher your HR, the more calories you burn.
Your…
Posted February 01, 2023 by Kevin Spear, M.D.
Posted January 30, 2023 by Joseph Rabe, M.D.
Do frigid temperatures cause slow, achy joints that make it difficult for you to get moving? It’s not just your imagination. People living with joint pain related to conditions, such as: arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus or fibromyalgia, often report when temperatures drop, their joint pain acts up.
It’s true, cold weather causes muscles to tense, which can lead to less mobility and flexibility in the joints. Some studies also associate joint pain with…
Posted January 23, 2023 by Phillip Dayley, D.O.
You’re pregnant, so you can now “eat for two,” as the popular saying goes, right? Not quite. While pregnancy increases your body’s need for extra calories and nutrition, eating double the calories could cause you to gain an excessive amount of weight.
To maintain a healthy pregnancy, you only need about 350 extra calories each day — and maybe slightly more during your third trimester. That’s roughly the number of calories in a half a…
Posted January 16, 2023 by Manveen Mann, MD
When it comes to hydration, it’s a simple rule: Drink eight glasses of water each day, right? Wrong. There is a lot of misinformation surrounding hydration, including this common myth, which can make it difficult to distinguish fact from fiction.
Water is essential for healthy bodies, as we are made up mostly of water. Getting enough water enables our bodies to regulate body temperature, keep joints lubricated, prevent infection, deliver nutrients to cells and keep organ…
Posted January 09, 2023 by Natalie Hiltbrand, MSN, APRN, FNP-C
How strong are your bones? You may have no idea until you break one doing some mundane activity, such as bumping into furniture, coughing or sneezing.
Osteoporosis is a bone disease that occurs when your body breaks down more bone than it creates. Bone is living tissue that is constantly broken down and replaced. The disease causes your bones to become weak and brittle, and breaking a bone doing seemingly ordinary activities is typically the first sign of osteoporosis.…
Posted January 03, 2023 by Keith Blough, Robin Brown and Tracy Carter
Posted January 03, 2023 by Munshi Moyenuddin, MD
It’s that time of year again. You just woke up with a fever, sore throat and cough. Could it be COVID-19? The flu? Maybe just the common cold?
Different viruses that infect the respiratory tract can cause any of these illnesses. All of them are contagious and share similar symptoms, which can make it difficult to distinguish between COVID-19, the flu and common cold.
COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory disease caused by infection from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The flu is…
