The Narcotics Trap

When you show up complaining that something hurts, the easiest way for a doctor to get you out of the office is to send you off with a prescription for a pain medication that contains a narcotic (like Vicodin or OxyContin). The drugs are relatively easy to get and tempting to take, but you should never use them for chronic pain. Narcotics addiction is insidious. The drugs change who you are, and over time they make any and every pain worse. Stay away from them except in cases of acute, time-limited pain — and if you're on them already, work hard to get off them.

Risks of Coumadin

There is one drug whose reportedly serious complications are not publicized nearly enough, in my opinion: the blood-thinner Coumadin (warfarin). If you're taking it, your doctor should be continually monitoring its effect via regular blood tests (at least once a month). And even if you've been taking the same dose for years, the degree to which it thins your blood may suddenly change because of changes in your other meds, your diet or your underlying metabolism. That can lead to severe joint problems, gastrointestinal bleeding, strokes and hemorrhage.

Statins' Side Effects

Millions of Americans take statins to lower their cholesterol. Common side effects from these drugs include muscle pain and soreness. Usually those effects are just annoying, but some patients suffer muscle weakness as well, especially around the haunches, which can be debilitating. My findings? The side effects don't always go away when you stop taking the pills. Orthopedists see this all the time and say it is a concern, but most docs downplay it. Be vigilant if you're starting a statin regimen, and talk to your doctor about switching or discontinuing drugs immediately if you develop severe or disabling symptoms.

Delaying Treatment

Most folks will hurry to the emergency room for pain in their chest, belly or head. What many patients don't realize is that pain, numbness or weakness in other parts of the body — particularly in the limbs — can be a sign of something serious too. It could be a fractured bone, an infection or nerve damage and needs to be seen by a doctor immediately. Too many patients compromise their long-term health by ignoring nerve problems like carpal tunnel, tendon issues like rotator cuff tears or curious moles that they assume are harmless. Don't wait until your hand freezes numbly in a claw or your knee is crippled by arthritis or the little black spot on your arm turns into metastatic cancer. By then it's too late. Too macho or scared to see a doctor? Too bad. Don't wait.

Exercising an Injury

When you rip, tear, sprain or break something, it needs to be immobilized, not stretched, kneaded, heated or worked. A large number of patients (and some trainers) mistakenly take dysfunction as a sign of needing more exercise. So they recommend overusing athletic injuries, like muscle tears and stress fractures, which prolongs pain and delays healing for months and months. A good rule of thumb: no stretching or hard work until tenderness (pain when you push on the muscle or joint) is gone.

麻醉陷阱

当你由于某种受伤而痛苦不堪求助医生时，对他们来说最简单的方法就是给你开一些用于止疼的处方药，这些药常常含有麻醉成分（比如维柯定和奥克斯康定）。这种药物相对来说比较常见，效用也很明显，但是对于一些慢性疼痛，你不应该再服用这种药物了。这种药物有潜在上瘾危险。他们会使你的生理机能产生变化，事实上，一旦你服用这些药物，你的病患就会变的更加严重。除非非常紧急、极大的病痛，否则不要服用这种药物，但是如果你现在已经在服用了，那么要想停止服用，就很困难了。

可迈丁风险

可迈丁具有严重的并发症，但是这一风险却没有被详尽告知于患者，在我看来：像可迈丁（华法林）这样的抗凝剂，假如你使用它，那么你的医生应该通过定期的血液测验持续观察它的影响（至少一个月一次）。并且即使你是多年前服用过此药物，它对于你血液的稀释程度也可能会因为你服用其他药物，你的日常饮食或者基本的新陈代谢的改变而突然改变。这可能会导致严重的关节病症、肠胃出血、中风和大出血。

斯他丁的副作用

数百万的美国人服用斯他丁类药物降低胆固醇含量。这种药物的常见副作用有肌肉疼痛，发炎。通常这些症状就已经很让人烦恼了，但是还有些病人会感觉肌肉无力，特别是在腰部，这使人非常虚弱，这可不是我首先发现的！这些副作用常常不会因为你停止服药而消失。骨科医生常常发现这种症状，也因此忧心忡忡，但大多数医生会低调处理此事。如果你即将开始一个斯他丁药物的治疗疗程，希望你保持警惕，当你发现有严重反应的或者其他相关症状时，立即告诉你的医生更换或者干脆停止服用该药物。

耽误治疗

大多数人们在感觉到胸腔疼痛，肚子疼或者头疼的时候都会火速到急症室就医，但是许多病人都没有意识到这种疼痛----身体其他部位的麻木或者虚弱无力，特别是在肢体部位，这也是某种严重疾病的症状。这能导致骨折，某种感染或者神经损害，需要立即看医生。众多病人损害了自身的长期健康，正是由于忽略了像腕管综合症这样的神经疾病、肩袖撕裂这样的肌腱问题、或者长出奇怪的痣，但自己却猜想无损健康。不要等到僵硬的手在一次撕扯中折碎、你的关节因为关节炎而变跛或者手臂上小小的黑点变成转移性癌症的时候才会想到去看医生，到那个时候就太晚了。无畏的人或者胆小的人才会去看医生吗？如果是这样就太糟了，不要等待！！

受伤时锻炼

当你有伤口、撕裂、扭伤或者身体某处折断时，你需要使受伤处固定，不要伸展、揉、捂或者动它。很多病人（包括一些教练）错误的把机能失调当作需要更多锻炼的信号。所以他们出现运动损伤时，往往更加过度运动，比如肌肉撕裂、应力骨折等情况，这样会数月数月的延长痛苦、耽误治疗。告诉大家一个很好的拇指判别法：除非触痛（当你用拇指按肌肉或者关节时）消失，否则不要拉伸患处或者做大量运动！