Ask a Doctor
SPONSORED CONTENT
Two local MDs answer common questions about their work and share tips on how their patients can stay healthy.
Have you noticed a trend in patient complaints or injuries over the past year? And if so, how do you address them?
From an ergonomic perspective, there has been a slight uptick. Peo ple are using makeshift desks and are sharing space with spouses and children. We are seeing musculo skeletal, neck and arm pain complaints. We are seeing less in the way of industrial injuries and trauma as people have not been out and about as much over the past year. Many of these issues can be handled non-operatively with home exercises, physical and/or occupational therapy. My best advice for people working from home is to stretch before sitting down for the day, take frequent breaks, get a good night’s sleep, diet and exercise as prescribed by your doctor, and to overall be in tune with your body.
82 milwaukeemag.com
We will partner with our occupational and physical therapists to address these types of issues before considering a surgical treatment option. We now have the ability to use computer-generated models to preplan and walk through surgeries before we get in the operating room. This is a great advance ment, particularly for shoulder replacements and other complicated surgeries. Patients requiring a complicated revision surgery now have access to more advanced instru mentation and implants than they would have a decade ago. These allow the surgeon to address difficult anatomy revision situations, particularly if there is bone loss or deformity from prior surgeries. – Steven Grindel, MD, an orthopedic surgeon with The Froedtert and The Medical College of Wisconsin Health Network.
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
By EVERETT SULLIVAN
SPONSORED CONTENT
Are regular eye exams necessary at all ages? Regular eye exams should start at an early age, especially since it’s estimated that 80% of learning happens visually. Pediatric visits and school screenings may catch the need for glasses, but they aren’t equipped to detect problems of the retina, optic nerve and eye muscles, like “lazy” and “crossed” eyes, which can lead to permanent vision loss if left untreated. And, proper contact lens wearing habits and sun and sports protection should be instituted early to prevent infection, injuries and later development of diseases, like cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. Adults should have eye exams every two years to address annoyances like dry eyes, digital eye strain and presbyopia (the age-related decreased ability to see things up close) as well as to uncover any
underlying sight-robbing conditions that can develop gradually and painlessly and be masked by good vision in the other eye (such as glaucoma or diabetes). Older adults should also keep up with regular exams since six out of 10 people over age 60 and almost everyone over age 80 has or has had a cataract, which is relatively easily treated.
Make regularly scheduled eye exams part of your family’s routine. Besides thwarting potential blindness, proper vision care can reduce accidents, boost mood, improve performance, decrease stress, increase interaction and maintain independence. – Daniel Paskowitz, MD, PhD, a partner and ophthalmologist at Eye Care Specialists. ◆
November 2021 83