Top videos
A stress fracture typically feels like an aching or burning localized pain somewhere along a bone. Usually, it will hurt to press on it, and the pain will get progressively worse as you run on it, eventually hurting while walking or even when you're not putting any weight on it at all.
If you have been diagnosed with a bulging disc, you are not alone. Bulging discs, also known as a disc protrusion, are a very common occurrence. They usually remain asymptomatic; however, they can cause discomfort and disability in various parts of the body if the disc compresses an adjacent nerve root or the spinal cord. As we age, the outer fibrous portion of our discs can weaken. Pressure from the central core of the disc can then stretch to the outer rim, causing the disc to bulge. If left untreated, the disc can continue to bulge until it tears, which is classified as a herniated disc. Because a bulging disc does not always show symptoms, many people have bulging discs without realizing it. As long as the bulging area does not press against a nearby nerve, no symptoms occur. When the bulging disc does cause a pinched nerve, however, you may begin to experience symptoms. In the lower back, the damaged disc can cause pain to travel to the hips, buttocks, legs and feet. In the cervical spine, pain can radiate from the neck, down the arm and to the fingers.
Emergency Contraception is a way to prevent pregnancy AFTER unprotected sex. Lots of people have questions about it: What does the morning after pill do? How does emergency contraception work to prevent pregnancy? What are the different types of emergency contraception? This video answers these questions and more.
Rubber band ligation is a procedure in which the hemorrhoid is tied off at its base with rubber bands, cutting off the blood flow to the hemorrhoid. This treatment is only for internal hemorrhoids. To do this procedure, a doctor inserts a viewing instrument (anoscope) into the anus. The hemorrhoid is grasped with an instrument, and a device places a rubber band around the base of the hemorrhoid. The hemorrhoid then shrinks and dies and, in about a week, falls off. A scar will form in place of the hemorrhoid, holding nearby veins so they don't bulge into the anal canal. The procedure is done in a doctor's office. You will be asked whether the rubber bands feel too tight. If the bands are extremely painful, a medicine may be injected into the banded hemorrhoids to numb them. After the procedure, you may feel pain and have a sensation of fullness in the lower abdomen. Or you may feel as if you need to have a bowel movement. Treatment is limited to 1 to 2 hemorrhoids at a time if done in the doctor's office. Several hemorrhoids may be treated at one time if the person has general anesthesia. Additional areas may be treated at 4- to 6-week intervals.
Women are routinely invited to have cervical screening tests (also called smear tests). The tests are done to prevent cervical cancer, not to diagnose cancer. During each test some cells are removed from the neck of the womb (cervix), with a plastic brush. The cells are examined under a microscope to look for early changes that, if ignored and not treated, could develop into cancer of the cervix. You are very unlikely to develop cervical cancer if you have regular cervical screening tests at the times advised by your doctor. If the test shows any abnormality, you will have treatment to stop you ever getting cancer of the cervix. So, an abnormal test does not mean you have cancer. It means you should have some treatment to stop you getting cancer.