Codeine is the most widely available opioid analgesic in Australia, but the problems with its well-intentioned overuse are not so widely known or talked about. I was therefore delighted to see it being…
- Conjoint Clinical Associate Professor, Deakin University School of Medicine and Specialist Pain Medicine Physician, Deakin University
Over the weekend there was a story in the Fairfax press which highlights why I think the bizarre anti-fluoride conspiracy beliefs that you see around the place are not harmless whimsy. I’ve discussed in…
Reflecting on today’s very underwhelming health policy ‘debate’ at the National Press Club left me feeling like a very large, brightly coloured bus had been missed. The Federal Minister for Health Tanya…
I’ve seen a few things this last week or so which have made me very pleased that we live in the Lucky Country. The first of them was the news that the UK Conservative government has sold off to venture…
The Federal Government announced back in April in the leadup to the Budget that the tax deduction for self-education expenses will be limited to $2000 a year. The stated point of this cap was to reduce…
How many dealers did you visit before you last bought a car? Were you happy with the first quote you got for a painting job or kitchen renovation? When it comes to your finances, your house and your belongings…
The Walking Corpse Syndrome This remarkable case of Cotard Syndrome that was reported recently got me thinking about how much studying zombies can teach us about the brain. There’s no good reason for anyone…
Beep….beep……….beep……….beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. “We’re losing him. Out of my way, nurse!” The quick-thinking young doctor charges the defibrillator paddles and places them on the chest of the lifeless…
You are most definitely going to hear a lot more about this Danish study regarding back pain. The claim the researchers are making is very interesting. They present plausible preliminary evidence that…
It’s not very often I’m completely lost for words. As a rehabilitation doctor, I’m very hard to shock and I can usually come up with at least a platitude for an given situation. And then you see something…
Of all the cultural beliefs about health and illness that saturate the developed world, there is none so pervasive and deeply held as the idea that you can “battle” an illness by sheer force of will. We…
Taking a marijuana pill is more effective at relieving pain than smoking the drug, a new US study of daily marijuana smokers has shown, but the authors warn the findings may not translate to non-regular…
Put a finger on the point of your elbow. Feel inwards from there about half and inch or slightly more until you find another bony outcrop. Got it? Good. Tap with your finger in the valley between those…
Few readers would have seen this story yesterday in the Fairfax media – vitamin company Swisse has evaded an attempt by TGA to ban its appetite suppressant product by registering a new product with the…
It was a sunny day outside the ward when Evelyn told the medical student she longed to die. She wasn’t being melodramatic, or even particularly emotional when she said it. It ruined the student’s day…
I do spend quite a bit of time banging on about evidence, plausibility and the like, but it’s nice to know I’m not the only one. Dr Rachelle Buchbinder is Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at my old medical…
I was notified today that last week’s article on chiropractic care of children and the related concerns about antivax CPD activities has resulted in a response from the Chiropractic Board of Australia…
Changing the way people think and move can have a huge impact on their experience of unexplained lower back pain, a study has found. The new findings, published in the European Journal of Pain, show that…
This weekend saw another exchange of views between chiropractors, the AMA and the Friends of Science in Medicine. It was set off by a number of stories by Amy Corderoy, the Health Editor at the Sydney…
The belief that nervous shock can cause you to go grey overnight (medically termed canities subita) is one of those tales which could nearly be true. There are certainly cases in medical literature of…
The ‘blame game’ between Federal and State Health Ministers reached a new low overnight with Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu announcing that he had received ‘an extraordinary threatening letter’ from the…
A new study on diclofenac and cardiac risk suggests that the risk-benefit analysis for this commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) should now be regarded as completely unfavourable. The…
Happy New Year to all Convo readers! Here’s one in your eye to see in 2013. But sadly, I predict that some of us may overindulge this festive season. I’m sure none of my intelligent and thoughtful readership…
The recent resurrection of the fluoride debate by a sitting LNP Member is just the latest example of pollies who alter reality to suit their particular brand of populism. Perhaps Mr Woodforth wants to…
Researchers have mapped the genes that control pain perception in fruit flies, mice, and potentially humans. The map consists of gene pathways that help flies and mice sense pain and set pain thresholds…
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