Costochondritis vs. Heart Attack, Angina: Symptom Comparison
People with costochondritis may say it “feels like a heart attack,” that the pain can be severe, but is there a way to tell the difference? Is there a way for a layperson to tell [...]
Pain After Total Knee Replacement: Your Course of Action
Learn exactly what you should do, tests to have, etc., if you have knee pain and swelling long after TKR. If you have knee pain despite having “recovered” from total knee replacement surgery, and especially [...]
How to Do a Deadlift if You Have Golfer’s Elbow
Believe it or not, there IS a version of the deadlift that can be done if you have golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis). I've had golfer’s elbow. Until the tendon healed, I couldn't do deadlifts or [...]
Should You Avoid Flip Flops? Yes, They Can Hurt Your Feet
There’s a very unsuspecting explanation for why sometimes feet hurt even though you haven’t sprained or twisted anything or worn high heels. Next time you think of showing your bare feet in public with flip-flops, [...]
Chest Pain but Normal Test Results: What’s Next?
Find out what you should do if you have chest pain but “all the tests” are normal. Many people have chest pain but the cardiac tests come back normal. Chest pain is the No. 1 [...]
Why Some Athletes Have Higher Resting Heart Rate
Find out why it’s a myth that all athletes or gym rats have a low resting heart rate. Do you work out hard at the gym and even do high intensity interval training, yet are [...]
Non-Surgical Treatment of Failed Total Knee Replacement
Could there be any nonsurgical alternatives to knee revision surgery for a failed TKR? After all, revision surgery involves just as much recovery time as the original operation. Furthermore, knee revision surgery is more complicated than [...]
Knee Replacement Revision without General Anesthesia?
An orthopedic surgeon discusses anesthesia options for knee revision surgery. Are you wondering if general anesthesia is absolutely necessary for knee revision surgery? After all, this is quite unnerving, being that a tube is stuck [...]
Gold Standard for Diagnosing Failed Knee Replacement
There is a gold standard for the identification and diagnosis of a failed or loosened knee replacement. The hardware can fail due to unknown factors in some cases. In other words, when a failure occurs [...]
Does a Marcaine Gel Exist for Failed TKR Pain?
Marcaine injections can do wonders to suppress the pain of a failed or loosened knee replacement. This begs the question of if a gel form of this drug can also be effective. Very Fast Pain [...]
Elderly Patient’s Knee Revision Surgery’s Biggest Risk?
Find out just how much advanced age plays a role in determining if you’re a poor candidate for knee revision surgery. Can you be too old for knee revision surgery due to failed implants? Is [...]
Failed Knee Replacement: Can Marcaine INJECTION Diagnose?
Find out how effective a Marcaine injection might be for detecting a loosened knee replacement (failed TKR). If your doctor suspects that you have a failed total knee replacement (TKR), he might give you an [...]
Treating Failed Knee Replacement Surgery: Latest Techniques
Exciting new techniques are available for treating failed or loosened total knee replacements, which can cause pain and mobility issues, reducing quality of life. A typical TKR surgery takes three hours. Knee revision surgery is [...]
Bone Scans Difference of Opinion Re: Loosened TKR
Unfortunately, there is no one, single test that can definitively detect a failed total knee replacement. Individual doctor interpretation is much involved. Have you seen your surgeon about the possibility that your total knee replacement [...]
How Low Must Ejection Fraction Be for Congestive Heart Failure?
Find out what the cut-off point is for when ejection fraction could be low enough to mean congestive heart failure. People with congestive heart failure have a low ejection fraction, but does a low ejection [...]
Overcome Your Fear of Twitching Muscles Once and for All!
Overcome Your Fear of Twitching Muscles Once and for All! Here is the sequence of events: 1) You notice a muscle twitching and it won’t stop. It may be under your leg while you're sitting; on [...]
ALS Tongue Twitching, Weakness, EMG Test
Why can’t ALS patients feel their tongue twitching? Did you know that if you can feel your tongue twitching, this is not a symptom of ALS? That’s because people with this neurological disease cannot, ever, [...]
Why Muscles Seem to Twitch More When at Rest
Find out why your muscles begin twitching while at rest, but stop when you move. One day I sat at my computer and began noticing that my leg muscles were twitching all over. Not much [...]
Sudden Onset Transient Double Vision: Get to ER
Just because your sudden-onset double vision disappeared after a few minutes doesn’t mean that the cause can’t kill you. There are many causes of double vision (diplopia), but sudden-onset, transient double vision is a different [...]
Numbness in Tip of Middle Finger: Cause & Solution
If the tip of your middle finger has suddenly become numb, here is some reassuring news. It’s hard to ignore numbness in the tip of your middle finger. However, the extreme locality of this should [...]
Can Cause of Numb Lips Be Serious Like ALS?
As innocent as a numb lip may sound, some causes can be quite serious--can one be ALS? There are a number of causes for numbness in a lip, says Anthony P. Geraci, MD, associate professor of [...]
What Causes INTERMITTENT Muscle Twitching?
This article is about the causes of intermittent muscle twitching (fasciculations), not spasms. Intermittent muscle twitching (fasciculations) is not the same phenomenon as spasms. If you’re wondering what can be causing intermittent twitching of your [...]
Strength Tests for Foot Drop, Quads, Calves, Fingers
Strength Tests for Foot Drop, Quads, Calves, Fingers As a former personal trainer, I have designed some brilliant strength tests that should give any healthy person loads of reassurance that they are healthy. Of course, always [...]
Why Don’t Websites Say ALS Tongue Twitching Can’t Be Felt?
Those who fear ALS would benefit by knowing that bulbar-onset tongue twitching cannot be felt by the patient. Bulbar-onset ALS tongue twitching cannot be felt by the patient, but are there web sites that make [...]
Why Can’t ALS Patients Feel Their Tongue Twitching?
Though tongue twitching can result from bulbar-onset ALS, the patient never feels the fasciculations. When a person has bulbar-onset ALS, one of the symptoms can be a twitching tongue. These fasciculations look like worms squirming [...]
What Bulbar Tongue Twitching Really Looks Like
A neurologist describes what bulbar-onset ALS tongue twitching actually looks like. If you’re scared that you might have bulbar-onset ALS because you see your tongue twitching when you look at it in the mirror, you [...]
Causes of Twitching in Neck and Shoulder Muscles
A neurologist explains what may be causing twitching in your neck and shoulder muscles. Have your neck and shoulder areas been twitching lately? “For almost everyone – particularly young healthy persons -- a simple twitch [...]
Why You Get Paralyzed During Sleep and Why It’s Harmless
Don’t be frightened of “sleep paralysis,” but instead, embrace it! Have you awakened in the morning to find that your body is totally paralyzed? I have! And I love it! “Almost everyone has had the [...]
Cause of Muscle Twitching in Arms: Biceps & Triceps
A neurologist answers what could make the arms twitch and whether or not the twitching is a worrisome symptom. Do your arms (namely biceps and triceps muscles) twitch? “Many people experience annoying twitching of the [...]
Normal EMG Means NO ALS even with Neuro Symptoms
Finally, here’s the article that answers the question, “Can a person with ALS have a normal EMG?” Does a normal EMG always mean no ALS? Can a person have ALS and have a normal EMG? [...]
Twitching Above Ears: Causes & Solutions by a Neurologist
Find out from a neurologist what causes twitching above the ears and what to do about this. Are you experiencing twitching above your ears? It may feel like a very tiny muscle moving involuntarily. Or, [...]
Muscle Twitches During Sleep that Aren’t Myoclonus Jerks
Find out about regular muscle twitching during sleep or shortly before, not the “jerks” of myoclonus... This article is about regular muscle twitching as one falls asleep or during sleep, not the jerking movements that [...]
Cause of Twitching Muscles in Your Chest
A neurologist explains what’s going on when your chest muscle (pecs) keeps twitching. Does your chest muscle keep twitching? “For those of you who bench press and are bulking up, the major upper chest muscle [...]
Visible Muscle Twitches: Why You Can See Them, What It Means
A neurologist explains why some muscle twitching is visible and if there’s a difference between ones you can see and hidden fasciculations. Have you been wondering if being able to SEE a muscle twitching has [...]
Cause of Muscle Twitching in Quads from Lifting Weights
A neurologist explains exactly what makes the quad muscles twitch after a workout of squats, deads or whatever leg workouts you do. You trashed your quads in the gym and now they’re twitching like mad; [...]
Perceived Weakness vs. ALS Weakness: Telling the Difference
A neurologist explains in detail how to tell perceived weakness from ALS weakness. Is there a way to tell the difference between perceived weakness and weakness from ALS? “Imagine: You just completed your workout at [...]
Why the Room Gets Black & You Feel Dizzy when Standing Up
When you rise after sitting for a while, do you feel faint or like the room is blacking out? This is called syncope or orthostatic hypotension. “It is a result of a drop in blood [...]
Can ALS Be Diagnosed with an EMG Test Alone?
Are you suffering from the agony of thinking you might have ALS, but have not had an EMG test? When a doctor suspects that a patient might have ALS, the patient is told they should [...]
Can Muscle Twitching from Lifting Weights Mean a Disease?
If you’ve noticed that lifting weights triggers muscle twitching in the muscles you worked, find out if you should be worried about this. So you go into the gym and lift weights hard, feeling like [...]
Beeturia Q & A: Worried About Beets in Urine and Stools?
A Gastroenterologist Answers Questions About Beeturia If what you see in the toilet after eating beets alarms you, here are some responses from Mervyn D. Danilewitz, MD, FACG, a board certified gastroenterologist based in Philadelphia, PA. [...]