Posts Tagged ‘trauma’

A study in this month’s Anesthesia & Analgesics journal suggests that phantom limb pain, pain often experienced by amputees that’s perceived to be in a missing limb, can be alleviated by mirror therapy. Researchers at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego say they were able to reduce phantom pain in some soldiers via this form of therapy in which patients sit with a mirror vertically between their legs and arms so that the limbs are reflected in it. The reflection in the mirror makes it appear like the injured arm or leg is healthy and normal. The theory behind phantom limb pain is that the pain pathways in the brain and spinal cord can recall the traumatic injury, thus the missing limb somehow continues to hurt, despite not being there anymore. In performing mirror therapy, the brain and spinal cord are visually tricked into believing that all of the person’s limbs are intact and without pain, thus reducing brain activity associated with pain and modulating the pain response experienced by the amputee. [via BusinessWeek]

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In the midst of the U.S. healthcare debate comes another reason why everyone of us should have basic health coverage. A new study by Harvard University researchers found that uninsured patients with traumatic injuries (such as car crashes, falls and gunshot wounds) were almost twice as likely to die in the hospital as similarly injured patients with health insurance. Taking into account injury severity, race, gender and age uninsured patients were still 80% more likely to die than those with insurance, including Medicaid. It’s shocking and unclear just why the uninsured fare worse in terms of ER care, since it’s largely assumed – and federally mandated – that all unstable patient receive equal care in ERs. One reason this might occur is that private hospitals can transfer uninsured patients to public hospitals once patients are stable. A transfer could then worsen a patient’s condition by delaying treatment. The findings are based on an analysis of data from the National Trauma Data Bank, which includes more than 900 U.S. hospitals. [via New York Times]

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After the popular American hospital drama Grey’s Anatomy depicted this condition in its last episode, I’ve received numerous questions as to whether this can, in fact, occur – and the answer is yes, albeit extremely rarely. Because the penis does not actually contain bones it can’t be “fractured” like bones. Rather, the very strong fibrous tissue that envelopes the corpus cavernosum, the part of the penis that engorges with blood during an erection, can rupture due to blunt trauma. This usually causes a great deal of pain, swelling, bruising and loss of erection. Treatment usually requires surgery to repair the tear.

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