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“The basic principle is to apply a load and overload the muscle so it needs to adapt and get stronger,” explains Neal Pire, CSCS, an ACSM-certified exercise physiologist and account manager at The Gym at Englewood in Englewood, New Jersey. “For some people, the phrase strength training is intimidating, but it’s enhancing your ability to move safely and effectively in your life,” she says. For example: Your ability to lift something and put it on a shelf, carry your groceries in the door, bend down and pick something up, or get up after you’ve fallen down....

A new British study found the popular pain reliever ineffective at treating symptoms like sore throat, cough, and sinus pain associated with respiratory tract infections, such as colds. Doctors often recommend ibuprofen either alone or in combination with acetaminophen to relieve aches and reduce fever associated with the common cold. These results may change that advice, but there’s still plenty you can do to feel better when a cold has you down....

While I love it as much as the next person, there’s no denying that ice cream is not a health food. A ½ cup serving — that’s right, a serving is supposed to be only ½ cup, which is barely a single scoop — of vanilla has 137 calories, 7 grams (g) of fat (half of which is the unhealthy saturated kind), 16 g of carbohydrates, and 14 g of sugar, according to USDA data....

Tingling of the shoulder, neck up to the face can occur for many reasons. This can occur with multiple sclerosis; however, it can also occur with irritation of nerves in the neck due to “a pinched nerve in the neck” either from arthritis or a disc problem in the neck. It would certainly be important to be sure there is not an anatomical problem irritating the nerve going to your neck, with an MRI of the neck to be certain that there is not a physical problem rather than just attributing it all to multiple sclerosis....

“Though I had times when life was tough and I was sad, frustrated, or angry, I didn’t actually struggle with anxiety and my mental health until after surgery,” says Cleasby, founder of the blog SoBadAss, who says she also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “It wasn’t the surgeries themselves but the loss of control that was the source of my panic attacks and anxiety,” explains Cleasby. Around 30 percent of people with IBD suffer from either anxiety or depression, nearly double that of the general adult population in the United States, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America....

That’s where symptom tracking comes in. Some hospitals and cancer centers offer electronic symptom tracking tools in the form of online worksheets or smartphone apps, which can also alert your team if your responses indicate a severe or worsening symptom. But trackers don’t have to be high tech to be helpful, stresses Deanna Attai, MD, a surgical oncologist at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Just jotting down how you feel each day and sharing that information with your doctor at visits is extremely helpful,” says Dr....

But a number of treatments for asthma are available — both to help prevent symptoms and to treat them when they do occur. Without proper treatment, asthma may get worse as you get older, with asthma attacks increasing in their frequency and severity. Quickly improve symptoms when they occurPrevent symptoms and attacksImprove your sleep and activity level The treatment your doctor prescribes for your asthma will likely depend on your age, type of asthma, severity of your condition, and how your body responds to various treatment options....

About 70 percent of people diagnosed with lupus have what is called systemic lupus erythematosus, although several other subtypes exist. (4) Here are some of the most important differences between the types of the disease. Common SLE Symptoms Common systemic lupus erythematosus symptoms include a rash, arthritis, fever, and fatigue, says Roberto Caricchio, MD, the chair of rheumatology at the UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts. Headaches and sun sensitivity are other common symptoms....

Promoting the health and maintenance of our digestive tract’s cell liningSupporting immunityManaging inflammation Reduced Cancer Risk Prevention of Allergies and Digestive Disorders Lower Risk of COVID-19 Better Oral Health Reduced Risk of Food Allergies Improved Weight Loss Success Another growing area of research on probiotics is weight loss. Also, a systematic review and meta-analysis found that using a probiotic supplement was associated with decreases in body mass index (BMI), weight, and fat mass with a probiotic dose of at least 30 billion for greater than 12 weeks....

Yes, Paxil can cause weight gain, as can other SSRI antidepressant medications. In its class, Paxil causes the most weight gain perhaps because it can be sedating, which tends to limit physical activity. Other antidepressants such as MAOIs and tricyclics can cause weight gain as well. We are not really sure why this occurs, and the reasons may differ among the various types of medications. In some cases, antidepressants can cause an increase in appetite, due to the effect on the brain’s appetite center....

What Are the Different Types of Bronchitis? Bronchitis can be either acute or chronic, and both types have different causes, treatments, and outcomes. Acute Bronchitis The defining symptom of acute bronchitis is a cough that typically develops after a cold or the flu and lasts for about 10 to 14 days (though it may linger for as long as three or more weeks). (3,4) Chronic Bronchitis The other type, chronic bronchitis, is a far more serious, incurable lung disease involving periods of persistent coughing and inflammation....

The term “guttate” comes from the Latin word “gutta,” meaning droplet or speck, which describes the appearance of guttate psoriasis. Instead of the thick lesions that characterize plaque psoriasis, guttate psoriasis involves tiny spots — “and there can be hundreds,” says Jeffrey Sugarman, MD, PhD, a clinical professor in the departments of dermatology and family medicine at the University of California in San Francisco, and the medical director at Redwood Family Dermatology in Santa Rosa....

Though these genotypes appear to affect people similarly, they respond differently to treatments, and it’s possible to be infected with more than one HCV genotype at the same time. Whatever the genotype, hepatitis C is considered either acute (clears up within six months) or chronic (lasts more than six months). Learn More About Signs and Symptoms of Hepatitis C Before 1992, when widespread screening of the blood supply began, people could contract the virus through blood transfusions and organ transplants....

The term “myasthenia gravis” is Latin and Greek in origin, and means “grave (or heavy) muscle weakness.” The condition primarily affects the skeletal muscles, or the muscles attached to bones that are responsible for skeletal movement. As many as 60,000 Americans are living with the condition, the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America says, but the disease often goes undiagnosed. (1) There’s no cure for myasthenia gravis. However, available treatments usually can control symptoms, allowing those diagnosed with the condition to lead relatively normal lives....

Though it’s not usually not serious, here’s what you need to know when you feel nauseated — and when you should see a doctor. WeaknessSweatingA buildup of saliva in your mouthUrge to vomit To avoid or reduce motion sickness in a car, sit facing the front windshield (watching fast movement out the side windows can make nausea worse). Medication Options Dimenhydrinate (Dramamine)Meclizine (Travel Sickness) Chewable or liquid antacidsBismuth sub-salicylate (Pepto-Bismol)A solution of glucose, fructose, and phosphoric acid (Emetrol)...

Charcot’s neurological triad refers to the three symptoms Charcot identified as fundamental to MS: nystagmus, intention tremors, and scanning or staccato speech — and I live with all of them. I looked at the three traits carefully and soon realized that each one of those traits deals with the cerebellum — the part of the brain responsible for coordinating voluntary movement in addition to balance and posture. As I look at my 35-year journey with MS, I have come to realize that I have incurred a lot of cerebellar damage....

You can often pinpoint a reason for the burn (that five-alarm chili, perhaps?), but if heartburn happens often — defined as a couple of times a week — it could be a symptom of a more serious condition called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). While it may seem that GERD is just a fancy name for heartburn, they are more like close cousins than identical twins. What Is Heartburn? After you swallow food, it makes its way down the esophagus and into the stomach, where a ring of muscle, called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), closes to keep the food in....

Mark Heslin, an MD candidate at the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden, New Jersey, reviewed treatment differences in men and women who underwent PCI at Cooper University Hospital from January 2014 to May 2018. PCI is a nonsurgical procedure that uses a catheter to place a stent in a narrowing coronary artery to restore blood flow to the heart. The researchers analyzed data from 5,872 men and 2,681 women before, during, and after the procedure....

The first doctor you see sends you home with a prescription for a steroid cream, which seems to do nothing. Weeks later, the discoloration finally fades but your muscles ache and you feel depleted, and another doctor guesses you have chronic fatigue syndrome. You feel sick for months before you consult yet another physician, who finally runs the right tests and informs you, correctly, that you have Lyme disease. With Lyme disease, early diagnosis and treatment are critical....

Scientists presenting at the annual conference of the American Association of Diabetes Educators in August 2019 (AADE19), in Houston, noted that the benefits of plant-based diets such as a vegan diet may be due to better beta cell function. According to the American Diabetes Association, beta cells in the pancreas produce insulin, a hormone that enables the body to use blood sugar (glucose) it gets from food. As type 2 diabetes progresses, these cells lose mass and function, past research reveals....