Research has repeatedly shown that people of faith report feeling better and healthier. Yet faith healing practice remains neglected in health care literature. In this episode, hosts Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips talk to Dr. Mark Kauffman, who has a doctorate of Divinity, about how and why individuals seek faith healing modalities in an age when western medicine is touted as the most effective treatment for most diseases.
Researchers in Scotland are using Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) as a method of pain relief for people suffering from peripheral artery disease (P.A.D.), a circulation issue that causes leg pain and leg cramps while walking. Walking is the best medicine for P.A.D. patients because it helps stimulate the body's ability to establish a collateral network of vessels that can re-route blood flow around blockages and severely narrowed areas in the arteries. The problem is each step can be painful for these patients due to the nerve pain caused by restricted blood flow to muscles, tissues and nerves in the lower extremities. Physiotherapist Dr. Chris Seenan and Doctorate student and researcher Daniel Tiboldi have been studying this issue and trying to get a greater understanding on physical, emotional, and behavioral barriers limiting mobility. One research project led by Dr. Seenan involves attaching a TENS unit to strategic areas on these patients where the pain is occurring while they walk. This study found improved walking distance in those patients who wore the TENS unit. Dr. Seenan talk with hosts Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips about the results and next steps in their research.
A study released in 2019 in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology states that 1 in 10 people with end-stage renal disease, which is those who have kidney disease and are on dialysis, undergo a major amputation of one of their legs in their last year of life. How does kidney disease lead to leg loss. That's the heart of this episode's discussion. If you've listened to this show for awhile, co-hosts Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips talk a lot about Peripheral Artery Disease, which is plaque build-up in mainly the leg arteries, that restricts blood flow to the feet, leading to amputation. A new study by Interventional cardiologists at the University of Pennsylvania, that was presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) Annual Scientific Meeting recently, reinforces conclusions of previous studies that people with end stage kidney disease are more likely to undergo lower extremity amputation. We have Dr. Rotimi Badero an Interventional CardioNephrologist - a very unique practice, who will talk about this serious issue, which impacts 10% of medicare fee for service spending.
April is Limb Difference Awareness Month so we are focusing on a big problem you may not be aware of in America. Did you know more than 2 million people in America are limb different, meaning they have had an amputation for one medical reason or another? However, Sixty-percent of those amputees don't have a prosthesis, and remain immobile. Paul Kent, founder and CEO of the disAbled Life Alliance, hopes to change that with a new Prosthesis for Every Limb initiative. During this episode, he will talk about the gaps in care for amputees and his strategy to help ensure all who desire to be mobile, can get back on their feet and thrive limb different.