- Infectious DiseaseGeneral Page Tier 3BlogIt’s been more than a year since the first cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) were reported in Wuhan, China, sparking the beginning of a global pandemic. Information changed daily, especially in those early days. We all had a lot to learn about this new virus. Its symptoms. How it spreads. Who’s most at risk. As we begin 2021, here’s what we have learned about COVID-19. COVID-19 spreads from person to person through respiratory droplets, produced when you cough, sneeze, talk and breathe. This happens when people are within about six feet of each other. We believe this is the main way the virus spreads. That’s why it’s so important to remember the 3Ws. Wash your hands. Wear a mask. Watch your distance. Certain people are at higher risk of becoming more ill from COVID-19 than others. This includes older adults, particularly those who are 65 and older, and people with underlying health conditions. If you fall into these categories, it’s especially important to take precautions against getting the virus. But the virus can be unpredictable. Younger people, including those without pre-existing conditions, aren’t immune to getting sick. The long-term effects of COVID-19 are still unknown. Most people who contract the virus recover within about two weeks. Yet others, known as “long haulers,” have symptoms that can last for months – even those who were never treated in the hospital. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the most commonly reported long-term COVID symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, joint pain and chest pain. Other COVID long haulers have reported brain fog, depression, muscle pain, headache, fever that comes and goes and heart palpitations. Still others have experienced more serious complications, including heart, respiratory and neurological problems. It will be several years before we fully understand the virus’ long-term effects on people. Vaccines are a ray of hope. But we’ll still have to be vigilant. The arrival of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in Maryland last month was a big step forward. And we’re excited and optimistic that this means the beginning of the end of the pandemic. But it will be months before the majority of Maryland residents receive the vaccination. Gov. Larry Hogan has rolled out a plan that involves a multi-tiered distribution process, allowing frontline health care workers and residents and employees of long-term care facilities to get the vaccine first. It will eventually be available to everyone who wants it. We believe this is our best shot at ending the pandemic. But it will take time. So, again, let’s continue to practice the 3Ws. We’re all in this together. It’s going to take a collective effort to defeat this pandemic once and for all. Follow safety guidelines to protect yourself and others from COVID-19. Get the vaccine once it’s available to you. Encourage your loved ones to do the same. If we can work together to do these things, there’s reason to believe in a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. Author Kanak Patel, MD, is Luminis Health’s system director of Critical Care Medicine.0
- Men's Health, Orthopedics, Women's Health, UncategorizedGeneral Page Tier 3BlogLiving with arthritis can be distracting and difficult—quite literally a pain. More than 50 million people in the United States have some form of arthritis, with osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, found in nearly 27 million. While the risk for developing osteoarthritis increases with age, there can be other contributing factors, such as: Previous joint injury; Certain infections in the joint; Occupations that involve a lot of squatting and bending of the knee; and Obesity. Here are six steps you can take that can make the difference between coping and living well with the pain from osteoarthritis: Maintain a Healthy Weight Did you know for every pound you lose, you take three pounds of force off your joints? Ease your pain by maintaining a healthy weight. Plus, excess weight can speed the progression of knee osteoarthritis. Adjust Your Diet In some cases your diet can help with inflammation that can cause joint pain. There are foods, like those with omega-3 fatty acids that can be beneficial. Also, cutting back on fried and processed foods can help reduce inflammation. Get Ample Sleep, But Watch the Naps If you’re having trouble sleeping, cutting caffeine and alcohol can help, too. Lack of sleep is a vicious cycle where pain keeps you awake and then sleeplessness leads to more fatigue and pain. Avoid naps and cut electronics before bed to help ensure a more restful night’s sleep. Stay Active Good nutrition, ample sleep and regular exercise are key to helping you live well with joint pain. You’ll be inclined to stop being active, but you must resist. Regular exercise helps maintain joint function while relieving stiffness and fatigue. Strong muscles help support your joints. Work with your doctor to determine the best exercise for your lifestyle and needs. Walking, swimming, yoga or resistance training are often good places to start. Know What Doesn’t Work Don’t be fooled by claims not backed by science. Two of the more common ones I hear from patients are that taking glucosamine or wearing a copper bracelet helps with joint pain. Neither has been shown effective for treating arthritis pain, so please save your money. Partner With Your Doctor Living well with pain isn’t easy, but it helps to have your doctor as your partner. Your doctor can help you diagnose the cause of the pain and develop strategies to improve your mobility. Often your doctor will start with conservative treatments, such as prescribing anti-inflammatories, cortisone injections, braces, or physical therapy. If you don’t respond to those treatments, your doctor can connect you with the latest advances in joint care. Author By Justin Hoover, MD, orthopedic surgeon at AAMC Orthopedics. To reach his practice, call 410-268-8862. Originally published March 2015. Last updated August 2018.0
- Lung CareGeneral Page Tier 3BlogIn the fall and winter, staying vigilant about our health becomes paramount during the peak of respiratory illness season. During this period, the convergence of various respiratory infections, such as the flu, COVID-19 and RSV, underscores the importance of knowing how to prevent the spread of germs and maintaining robust health practices. Through vaccination and rigorous hygiene measures, we can strengthen our defenses against these illnesses. Who’s at Risk Flu, RSV, and SARs CoV2 which causes COVID-19 disease are all viruses. High risk groups for all three viruses include, but aren’t limited to, adults over 65, very young children and those with chronic conditions such as asthma, heart disease, neurologic issues, weakened immune systems and obesity. Women who are pregnant may also be at risk. About Vaccination Flu vaccines are available, so get yours, sooner rather than later. It takes two weeks for antibodies to be effective. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone six months and older receive a flu vaccine each year, with rare exceptions. Vaccination is particularly important during pregnancy and for those at higher risk of serious complications such as pneumonia and even death. Flu can also cause problems that may result in inflammation of the heart, brain, muscle tissues, and multi-organ failure. The CDC recommends that everyone five years and older receive one dose of the updated COVID-19 omicron-specific booster, even if you had the original series. RSV vaccines are recommended for adults 60 years and older and pregnant women. There is also an RSV antibody shot that is recommended for babies at birth to 8 months old, but has been difficult for many health care providers to get adequate supply this season. RSV can inflame the small airways of the lungs or cause pneumonia—which is a lung infection—in children younger than one year. What You Can Do You’ve heard this before, but truthfully, these are the best ways to protect yourself from serious respiratory illness: Wash your hands often. Keep your hands off your face. Avoid close contact with sick people. Cover your coughs and sneezes. Clean and disinfect surfaces. Stay home when you are sick. In addition, experts agree that vaccination will keep you from being hospitalized for severe illness and keep you home with family this holiday season. Author Jean Murray is the system director of Infection Prevention and Epidemiology at Luminis Health. She has over 26 years of experience in infection control, outbreak surveillance and epidemiology.0
- Orthopedics, WellnessGeneral Page Tier 3BlogThink strength and resistance training is only for athletes or those who want to bulk up? Think again! Strength training can help everyone. Working it into your exercise routine can have a number of benefits outside of simply gaining muscle. For starters, it’s a great way to burn calories and increase metabolism. When you increase your muscle mass from strength training, you boost your resting metabolism. This means your body will naturally burn more calories. “If you look at metabolic rates — the way we process food and turn it into energy in the body — you can boost that just by getting on a weight training program,” says Louis Ruland, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Anne Arundel Medical Center. Strength training can also help you prevent injury. It builds strength in the muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints. This allows them to absorb more impact and force without breaking or tearing. “If you’re a runner, and you do strength training to build up certain muscles around the knee, those muscles are critical for tracking of the patella,” Dr. Ruland says. “In doing that, you reduce common overuse injuries of the knee.” To achieve this effect, you should participate in a training regimen that strengthens a wide number of muscle groups. Muscle imbalances are one of the most common causes of athletic injuries. That’s why it’s important to work out a variety of muscles, not just the “beach muscles” (to show off at the beach) such as your arms and legs, but more importantly, the trunk or “core muscles.” Dr. Ruland also recommends weight training for people in their 70s and 80s. “The benefits enable that age group to more easily perform activities of daily living,” he says. “It can even increase overall bone density, which produces greater bone strength and can lower the incidence of fractures.” You don’t need a gym membership; push-ups, sit-ups, planks, squats and single leg stance are just a few easy strength exercises that don’t require any equipment. “You can do a variety of simple exercises just using your body weight,” Dr. Ruland says. “In addition, resistance bands or dumbbells are relatively inexpensive, and it’s also possible to do resistance exercises with large books or other heavy household objects.” Get illustrated tips on proper form for performing body weight exercises. Author Louis Ruland, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon at Anne Arundel Medical Center. Originally published Dec. 5, 2016. Last updated July 6, 2020.0
- Orthopedics, Women's Health, Pediatrics, WellnessGeneral Page Tier 3BlogWhen it comes to back-to-school sports injury prevention, we hear a lot about how to protect our young athletes from sports-related injuries. As a former quarterback and now team doctor for several local college and high school football teams, as well as the Chesapeake Bayhawks, I know there’s good reason for these safety precautions. But as an orthopedic surgeon and father of a daughter, I know there’s a fact that parents of our young female athletes need to know: Female athletes are up to eight times as likely to suffer an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury as male athletes. In fact, a recent University of North Carolina School of Medicine study found a sharp 59 percent increase in the number of ACL reconstruction surgeries performed in females aged 13 to 17 in the last 13 years. The ACL runs diagonally in the middle of each knee. It controls rotational movement and prevents the tibia from sliding out in the front of the femur. A torn ACL is a serious, potentially career-ending sports injury. Surprisingly, more than two-thirds of ACL injuries involve little or no contact with another player. The rates of ACL injuries are higher for jumping and cutting sports. These include soccer, basketball, volleyball and lacrosse. Non-contact ACL injuries result from things like: Sudden change in direction. Cutting movements. Landing from a jump incorrectly. Pivoting with your foot firmly planted. ACL injuries and female athletes I start seeing these injuries appear in my office as female athletes enter puberty. In order to help prevent these injuries, it’s important to understand the hormonal changes and anatomical differences between boys and girls that develop during puberty. Boys entering puberty are flooded with testosterone, which allows them to more easily add lean muscle mass and lose body fat. Added muscle often makes them stronger, but less flexible. On the other hand, the increased estrogen levels that girls experience makes their ligaments lax. Girls often have better overall body flexibility compared to boys. While this increased flexibility can be a competitive advantage, it can lead to increased risk of injury if there isn’t enough muscle to keep joints in stable, safe positions. Estrogen also has less of an effect than testosterone on lean muscle mass gains, and actually increases body fat percentage in females going through puberty. This combination of increased laxity, less lean muscle mass gains and higher body fat percentage is thought to be related to the greater rate of ACL tears in female athletes. Is there a way to identify females at an increased risk for ACL tears? Yes, there’s a two-legged jump test that a coach, trainer or parent can give: Jump off of a stair or box and land with your hips, knees and ankles in line with each other. This shows the athlete’s landing technique and whether there’s good core, hip and thigh strength. If your knees buckle inward or assume a “knock knee” posture, that’s a sign of muscle weakness and shows an increased risk for ACL tear. Athletes at risk can start jump training and other strengthening exercises to help decrease their risk of ACL tears. Other preventative measures include: Do strength training for core, hip and pelvis, and thigh muscles. Start balance and stability training to increase the ability of all muscles to work in unison surrounding the hip, knee and ankle joints. Learn how to safely accelerate, decelerate, jump, land and cut. Begin proper training prior to the start of sports season. Many female athlete ACL injuries can be prevented with early detection and putting into practice strength and stability training. Author Daniel Redziniak, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon with Luminis Health Orthopedics and is board-certified in sports medicine. His office can be reached at 410-268-8862. Originally published Aug. 14, 2017. Last updated July 8, 2019.0
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