Waking up in the middle of the night with a painful, red, hot and swollen big toe is a common phenomenon for patients suffering with gout. Most patients describe the pain as being out of this world. Interestingly, in my clinic men rate the pain at 10+ out of 10 and women rate it 8 out 10. Nothing in our Rheumatology clinic causes more anxiety than a current gout attack or the thought of another gout attack. (more…)
Athletic or not, most of us have experienced the misfortune of a jammed finger injury – which is actually a finger sprain. Casually walking past a dining room chair, opening a car door or even gardening can be the everyday activity that puts your finger at risk.
Jammed fingers are a frequent injury for many sports – but especially for basketball when the ball hits the tip of the finger and pushes it back toward the hand. It’s not often serious but pain and swelling can affect one or more of the joints and cause discomfort.
“The knuckles, or joints, of our fingers each have ligaments that help provide stability,” explains orthopedic surgeon Jacqueline Geissler, MD. “If the fingertip takes the full impact of an object, it can sprain these ligaments. A sprained – or jammed finger can be quite painful and can be hard to move initially but usually gets better.”
These types of injuries can be very difficult to avoid because they happen so fast. Following good technique for ball handling, passing, and maintaining focus during play could minimize the risk for injury. (more…)
If you’ve had a fall, a car accident, or been involved in any other event where you hit your head or could have, it’s important for you to know the signs and symptoms of a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Some symptoms are present right away, but others can develop over days. Following is a list of common symptoms of a mild TBI, also known as a concussion. (more…)
by Kate Pfaff, APRN, CNM
Did you know that the word midwife means literally, “with woman”? It is a simplified but accurate description of what Hennepin Healthcare Birth Center midwives do every day. We are skilled at listening to women’s concerns and priorities, and strive to be fully present for them through important life stages.
At the heart of midwifery is the belief that labor and birth are normal life events for most women. We, therefore, try our best to maintain the “normalcy” of the situation. This might look like quiet reassurance when labor is hard, or the encouragement to continue eating and drinking to keep up energy levels. Our laboring patients can be seen meandering the hallways slowly, soaking in our large hydrotherapy tub, or creatively positioned with pillows and yoga balls in a comfortable resting state. Many of our patients choose to use pain medication in labor, and we fully support these choices too. (more…)
Alicia Bravo is an emergency medicine nurse here at Hennepin Healthcare. Healthy and athletic, Alicia was training for a triathlon swimming across a lake, her dad and sister boating alongside.
Suddenly, Alicia stopped cold and mouthed the word ‘help’. Still unresponsive after being thrown a flotation device, her sister dove in and brought her to the boat. Her father began CPR all the way to the dock. Continuing CPR, along with Alicia’s husband, the EMTs arrived and took over from there. They continued CPR with a device called LUCAS, which administers chest compressions. Ironically, the LUCAS device was purchased with money raised from a fundraiser race the previous year of which Alicia was a part of. (more…)
When traumatic events that may make children feel unsafe and scared are in the news, it is often difficult for parents to find ways to communicate and comfort them. For many parents, it can be difficult to have conversations with children about topics like death, violence and crime. (more…)
Hennepin EMS paramedics respond to a variety of scenes for emergency calls – often the same ones as the Minneapolis Fire Department. On Saturday, September 29, 2018, paramedics Stephanie Young and Derek Smith were in their ambulance at Minneapolis Fire Station No. 22 when they received a call to a very familiar address.
“I recognized it as Fire Station No. 8 near Whittier Clinic,” said Young. “We know the guys there and my heart just sank. When we arrived we found Captain Colm Black waiting for us on the ‘launch pad’ where the fire trucks go out.” (more…)
Arthritis is arthritis, right? And it’s just something every adult must face and endure as we get older, right? Wrong, wrong and wrong! There are two main types of arthritis, not every adult will experience arthritis, and there are pain management options for those who do experience either form of the disease.
When your body’s own immune system attacks your joints and causes inflammation and pain, rheumatoid arthritis is the culprit. Rheumatoid arthritis can cause permanent damage to your cartilage when it disrupts the balance of synovial fluids in joints, and it can be hereditary. (more…)
