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Popular Places in Polk to Pump-Up Your Pedometers

by MATT COBBLE Although it’s been more than 50 years since Dr. Yoshiro Hatano first proposed the idea of taking 10,000 steps in a day for health, the notion has truly caught on in the past half-decade thanks to wearable fitness devices, such as FitBits and Apple Watches. While some may see this gamifying of…
Kick off 2019 With These Healthy Physical and Nutritional Guidelines

The new year is a time for resolutions and renewal, and the leading resolutions that Americans make is, without question, to lose weight, get into shape, and to live a healthier lifestyle. However, many Americans might not know exactly what that looks like! How well do you think you know your stats and suggested amounts…
Healthy Foods for the Holiday Season

by TRENT ROWE, food editor Here’s to Uncle Harry. He’s your mom’s roly-poly brother who always plays Santa because he doesn’t need a pillow for padding. When it comes to dinner his favorite phrase isn’t, “ho ho ho”, but “Please pass the gravy.” It’s too bad too, because Uncle Harry is a really nice guy.…

Health Impacts of Opioid Addiction on Patients

As a spine surgeon, I routinely see various life-threatening consequences of opioid addiction. These could include severe spinal instability and paralysis that develops from infection, that occurs due to intravenous injections of opioids — by patients who are addicted to opioids. These patients typically started by taking that single initial opioid tablet, and quickly developed…
COVID-19 and the Heart

COVID-19 (coronavirus SARS 2) is obviously an infection that primarily affects the lungs. As we know, this is a pandemic that has affected all our lives. Does it have any cardiac issues directly or indirectly? Direct Problems COVID-19 has been known to cause weakening of the heart in some cases. Thankfully this is rare, but…
Myopia Control in the COVID-19 Era

My weekends are admittedly different now. Before my weekends were filled with time spent with friends, in person, but now they are Zoom calls, Brady Bunch style. We hosted our game night online, and we chat while we bake or make dinner. Even at our practice, we are utilizing the ability to work remotely, and…