Editor's Note, Volume 6 Issue 3

D’Arcy Little, MD, CCFP, FRCPC
Medical Director, JCCC and HealthPlexus.NET

I am pleased to introduce the next issue of the Journal of Current Clinical Care that you can add to your summer reading list.

Drs. Heidi Godbout and Sean Christie, present Cervical Radiculopathy: Diagnosis and Management. Neck and arm pain are common reasons to seek medical attention. There are several diagnostic pitfalls that must be avoided. Appropriate management will lead to improvement in a significant number of patients. Knowing when to refer a patient as well as what imaging modalities are indicated is crucial to managing cervical radiculopathy in the primary care setting. This article will help primary care physicians diagnose, investigate, and treat cervical radiculopathy and to know when a surgical referral is needed.

In their article, The Blamed Bladder, Lauren Campbell and Jessica Nargi, physiotherapists from Toronto, ON, examine bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis that is associated with symptoms of urgency, frequency, and pain in the bladder or pelvis, in the absence of infection or disease. While manual therapy skills performed by a specialized pelvic floor physiotherapist can improve pain and symptoms by as much as 75-80%, treatment strategies need to look beyond, because the persistent nature of this condition suggests there is also dysfunction occurring within the peripheral and central nervous systems. Other symptom-improving treatments include bladder retraining, neurophysiology-based pain education, mindfulness meditation, and a variety of other strategies to help quiet their hypersensitive nervous systems.

For his Ethics column, Metal Implants and Travel, Dr. Michael Gordon, from the Baycrest Centre of Geriatric Care in Toronto examines an interesting problem in this age of the bionic person. There is concern about whether older patients who have metal parts in their limbs following reconstructive surgery might delay or lead to problems when they pass through security metal detectors at airports and on cruise ships.

In his blog, Where’s the Beef? Dr. Michael Gordon, examines the relationship between media reporting of medical issues and the way in which the masses and medical professionals decipher the real implications of the many reports that focus on public health threats from around the world.

I hope you enjoy this latest edition. Please consider commenting or submitting an article of your own.