March 24, 2017
Shift in back pain guidelines favors non-medication therapies
When the American College of Physicians issued new guidelines for treating lower back pain last month it represented a big shift: instead of recommending prescription medications as the first line of treatment, as it had for years, the new recommendations favored non-invasive treatments such as exercise and heat therapy. The previous guidelines, issued in […]
Tags: Back Pain Quality Improvement program, back pain treatment, back surgery, BPQI, chronic back pain, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Dr. John Mafi, lower back pain, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, NSAIDs
October 12, 2016
I am excited to be living again
By uclahealth 
Michelle’s Story Total Lost: 50 pounds in the first 8 months since surgery* Reaching the point where I was contemplating bariatric surgery was not where I ever thought I would be. Weight loss is supposed to be as simple as ‘calories in versus calories out’. I had taken college level nutrition classes. Worked with nutritionists and […]
Tags: bariatric, bariatric surgery, chronic back pain, degenerative disc disease, exercise, loss weight, nutrition, overeating, patient story, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Sleeve Gastrectomy, weight gain
July 22, 2016
Opioid pain medication: How to protect yourself from addiction and overdose
By uclahealth
In June, autopsy results were released for music icon Prince, who was found dead April 21 at his Minneapolis-area home. The results confirmed Prince died of an overdose of fentanyl, a powerful prescription painkiller that’s part of the opioid family. Sadly, Prince was just the latest victim in the growing opioid epidemic. In 2014, almost […]
Tags: acute pain, addiction, addiction medicine, Anxiety, arthritis, chronic back pain, dependence, depression, Dr. Keith Heinzerling, fentanyl, fibromyalgia, medication
