Author: D. Bents

Our monthly newsletter focused on alternatives to prescription medications for pain control, so on the heels of that, today we are talking about increasing your pain tolerance.  Did you know this was possible?  An article from Healthline.com discusses what pain tolerance is, why some people experience pain more than others, how to test your level of pain tolerance, and features five ways to try to increase yours.  You can’t always change the source of your pain, but you can alter how you perceive it.  Check it out:

High Pain Tolerance: How to Measure and Increase Your Pain Tolerance (healthline.com)

Our monthly Paragon Press newsletter has just been released!  We are talking about alternative ways to control pain.  Some patients, for a variety of reasons, do not want to take opioids or prescription medicines to control pain.  Dr. Bents and Dr. Van Horne take pain control very seriously because controlling your pain directly relates to how you heal from your surgery.  You will not do a good job in therapy to rehabilitate after surgery if you are immobilized by pain.  There are options available to you, and while we don’t have the space to do a deep dive on all of them, we have information in the newsletter for you to do some further investigation.

Paragon Press, April 2022

Whether it is a small cut or something larger, wounds are uncomfortable and cannot be ignored.  Here we will present some treatments for minor wounds that you can find fairly easily to possibly cut down on the healing time.  Medical News Today offers six that are easily found in most grocery stores:

• antibacterial ointment
• aloe vera
• honey
• coconut oil
• garlic–it has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties!
• turmeric paste

The article goes over the healing properties of each, how to use these suggestions, and reviews the research.  The CDC recommends checking your wound at least every 24 hours to monitor for infection and clean up the wound when needed.  Also note that some wounds cannot be treated at home and need professional care, such as large wounds needing stitches, infected wounds, or wounds that won’t stop bleeding.  When in doubt, contact your healthcare provider.

How to make a wound heal faster: 6 tips (medicalnewstoday.com)

Websites will remind you to change your passwords, but most of us ignore it, or rotate a few easy to remember words that can be recalled every time we need to change one.  We have an article that helps you choose smart passwords and gives you tips to stay safe from hackers.  Did you know Microsoft had to ban the use of the word “password” because so many people were using it and it was too easily hacked?  Remember that hackers are looking for low hanging fruit, so if you create a very secure password in the first place, you are a lot less likely to be hacked when there are people out there using “password,” their children’s names, or their birthdate.  (Personal information that can easily be obtained should not be used for passwords.)  Quick tips: keep it long, don’t reuse between sites, and pay attention to what is known about securing passwords.  We all know about the Nigerian Prince scam or bogus sweepstakes, but the hackers are always scheming, and you need to keep up with what is known about their most recent hacking techniques.  No April Fool’s about this threat.  Read on and educate yourself here:

How to Create a Secure Password. A Simple Guide (vpnoverview.com)

If you are in Paragon Orthopedic Center anytime soon, please wish Shelby Logan, one of our wicked smart Physician’s Assistants, a very happy birthday.  We like to celebrate all the birthdays in the office with cake, and Shelby was open to any kind, so she got a green tea cake with a nice spring-green glaze.  Cake makes a birthday sweeter!  Happy birthday Shelby!

Music has the ability to change our mood, but can it change our health?  Studies show that music has many benefits, including helping us learn better, improving our memory, help with mental illness, lowering anxiety, and even managing pain.  Paragon Orthopedic Center would encourage you to read up and understand how music can manage pain.  The mind is an amazing tool and if music can decrease the use of post-operative pain medicines, it would benefit your recovery in the short and long term.  An article by Healthline.com has details about these benefits and many more.  Did you know that the oldest musical instrument discovered in southern Germany is over 40,000 years old?  Humans have understood there are advantages to music for a very long time.

Benefits of Music on Body, Mind, Relationships & More (healthline.com)

Yoga uses your own weight as you perform the various poses, which can help build stronger bones.  It also helps you with balance and flexibility as you move through the poses.  Having better flexibility and balance can reduce accidents and falls.  Paragon Orthopedic Center is big on accident prevention.  Maybe yoga appeals to you for a healthier body and if so, this is information for you.  There are some yoga poses that are better than others for building your bones.  Here is an article showing you nine poses that strengthen bones with detailed instructions about each.  Don’t miss the best ways to increase bone density at the end of the article.

9 Yoga Poses to Strengthen Your Bones – eMediHealth

St. Patrick’s Day is a chance for some to wear too many green pieces of clothing at the same time, drink green beer, and maybe find a wee bit of luck in the day.  We are grateful for Saint Patrick, who was taken to Ireland as a slave at 16 for six years, escaped and returned to his homeland, Britain, and then returned to Ireland as a missionary.  There are many myths about St. Patrick, but one that remains strong is how he used the three-leaf clover, or shamrock, to explain the Holy Trinity.  Therein lies the reason we wear green.  Why March 17th, you ask?  It is the day of St. Patrick’s death.  Why corned beef?  It was a cheap and readily available meat to the Irish who came to New England, and a boiled meal became a tradition for them.  Check out IrishCentral.com for all sorts of facts and myths about St. Patrick’s Day, and don’t forget to wear green today!

Weird and wonderful facts about St. Patrick and March 17 (irishcentral.com)

As promised, here is the March Paragon Press newsletter that discusses the new very high-tech option for your knee surgery in Grants Pass.  Check it out and learn about the cutting edge technology right here in our town!

Paragon Press, March 2022

This month, the Paragon Orthopedic Center’s newsletter will reveal a high-tech way to have your knee surgery done right here in Grants Pass!  Be on the lookout for it this week and learn how wonderful it is that the people of Southern Oregon will have this option for knee surgeries.  Paragon Orthopedic Center stays on the cutting edge!