Technology

Six million people in Canada live with some form of chronic pain, according to recent estimates by Statistics Canada. Long-term chronic pain can be complex, and the causes varied – including inflammation, injury, an underlying medical condition such as cancer. Other times, there may be no defining cause, such as in the case of fibromyalgia or chronic headaches. “A pain...

It’s time to sink our teeth into an important topic – oral health care. A healthy mouth is, quite simply, something to smile about. At one time, getting older meant getting dentures. That is no longer the case. “There is no reason we have to lose our teeth as we get older,” notes Halifax dental hygienist Careen McNeil, owner of...

More than six million Canadians live with arthritis. It can occur at any age, but the likelihood increases with age. It can be painful and debilitating because it causes inflammation of joints and surrounding tissues.1 It can affect any part of the body; however, the most common areas are the hip, knee, spine or fingers.2 There are many different types...

With the legalization of recreational cannabis on Oct. 17, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) has renewed its calls for the medical stream introduced in 2001 to be discontinued. Speaking with CBC News Calgary in August, Dr. Jeff Blackmer, the CMA’s vice president of medical professionalism, said that the majority of its members have always had concerns about medical cannabis. He...

If your smile is less than dazzling, brace yourself: Adult orthodontics is a hot trend. Today’s materials are lighter, cheaper and more effective than the ‘metal mouth’ options we grew up with. The number of adults choosing to straighten their teeth and improve their smile has increased by 40 percent in the past two decades, according to the American...

When it comes to eliminating “liver spots,” those skin blemishes that multiply with age, the oil and nutrients derived from berries, including lingonberries, seem to be all the rage. But Judy Hu, MD, board-certified dermatologist with Advanced Dermatology PC in Ridgewood, NJ, advises patients to exercise caution when it comes to treatment fads claiming to lighten or rid the...

When Katie Murray* first sought medical attention for a growing constellation of concerning symptoms, doctors didn’t know what to offer her. Before suddenly falling ill, the then 50-year-old was an active, healthy, full-time nurse who loved her job and lived life to its fullest. That changed in the blink of an eye after an outdoor adventure trip canoeing and...

Chronic pain is the number one cause of disability in older adults 1and the number two cause of workplace absences and of visits to the family doctor. As an interventional physiatrist based at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, and the Canadian Centre for Integrative Medicine in Markham, ON, I see firsthand the toll chronic pain takes on individuals...

If your dream is to stop aging altogether, there are some media stories that you might find intriguing. Headlines about anti-aging pills draw eyeballs and set expectations high, but how viable are they, and what exactly do they do? As our population grows older, more research time is being dedicated to minimizing the biological impact of aging. One approach is...

Limited access to specialist care is a major barrier to health care in Canada. But what started as a pilot project by two frustrated doctors from Ontario is now prompting healthcare providers to rethink the traditional (and time consuming) consultant referral model. Champlain BASE is a secure, web-based tool that allows family doctors to quickly access specialist care for their...