Heard of gonorrhea? Most likely. What about gonococcal arthritis? Maybe not. Most folks are familiar with what is gonorrhea, but few may know about gonococcal arthritis, a rare side effect of this sexually transmitted disease (STD). Unfortunately, gonorrhea cases are on the rise, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, especially among…  read on >  read on >

Treating depression with talk therapy may provide protection against heart disease, new research suggests. As depression lifts, people may begin to engage more in healthy eating and exercise, investigators believe. In a study of nearly 637,000 people who took part in talk therapy offered by the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) between 2012 and…  read on >  read on >

Sciatica can send searing, unrelenting pain down your legs, and surgery is often recommended if other less invasive measures fail to bring relief. Unfortunately, a new study review suggests that such operations likely only provide temporary results, with pain typically returning within a year. Sciatica is “characterized by pain going down the back of the…  read on >  read on >

While overall support for childhood vaccines remains strong, a new UNICEF report documents a significant decline in the public’s faith in the importance of these vaccines. Confidence in childhood immunizations dropped by up to 44 percentage points in some countries during the pandemic, according to the report. Meanwhile, 67 million children missed one or more…  read on >  read on >

There are more than 100 types of arthritis and related conditions, and they affect at least 54 million adults and 300,000 children in the United States, according to the Arthritis Foundation. Fortunately, there are also many medications, non-medication options, lifestyle changes and surgeries available to help you manage arthritis pain and other symptoms. “We’ve really…  read on >  read on >

Have you heard the old wives’ tale that knuckle cracking will enlarge your knuckles? What about the one that cracking your knuckles causes arthritis? There are many beliefs about this common behavior, but it’s time to debunk the myths about knuckle cracking. Why do people crack their knuckles? Harvard Health cites several possible reasons. “Knuckle…  read on >  read on >