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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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15-Sep-2023
By 4:30 p.m. most days, after 10 hours of demolishing concrete, sanding railings and installing light switches, Cade Hall’s muscles ache. It’s a pain he can live with. After spending well over a decade battering his body as he blitzed quarterbacks, Hall has found peace working construction. His hourly wage is a fraction of what he could be making as a professional football player. A ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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6-Sep-2023
As you age, preserving and promoting your cognitive health becomes ever more important. And while there are countless tools and programs that claim to keep your mind sharp as you get older, experts say that the most important things you can do are actually simple, accessible, and free. Not only do these everyday interventions promote excellent cognitive health, but many of them also contribute to ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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14-Aug-2023
Ninety-five days before Damar Hamlin collapsed on the same yard line on the same field, Tua Tagovailoa was thrown to the turf at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati. His elbow slammed down first, then his back, then finally his helmet ricocheting off the field and leaving him unconscious. It was a legal play with a vicious consequence, a horrifying scene similar to the one that played out three months ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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1-Aug-2023
A new analysis looking at data from five population-based studies delved deeper into the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea, lack of sufficient sleep, and cognitive function. The analysis found that preventing obstructive sleep apnea — when a person’s breathing is interrupted during sleep — and better sleep consolidation was linked to better cognitive function in the ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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31-Jul-2023
As you get older, it's normal to notice some minor changes in your cognitive abilities. For instance, you may find as you reach your senior years that it's a bit more difficult to sustain your attention, multitask, find the right word, or recall information as quickly as you once did. "Some changes in the ability to think are considered a normal part of the aging process," says ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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12-Jul-2023
Researchers looked at cognitive function over 10 years in 8,958 people aged 50 and older in England. The study found people who slept between 6 and 8 hours per night and engaged in higher levels of physical activity were linked with better cognitive function. People who slept fewer than 6 hours a night, even if they engaged in higher levels of physical activity, experienced more rapid cognitive ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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7-Jul-2023
As a physician specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain, I am often faced with the truth that pain is not simply a sensation but an experience unique to the individual. Each person's pain response to an acute injury or chronic condition is contingent upon a wide array of factors that aren't only physical. Among the many reasons that pain can be challenging to manage is ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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7-Jul-2023
Lower back pain is the single leading cause of disability worldwide. In 2020, 619 million people globally were affected by the condition. By 2050, this figure is expected to increase to 843 million. Neck pain is also a leading contributor to disability worldwide and is estimated to be the fourth leading cause of disability in terms of “years lived with disability.” Clinical guidelines ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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26-Jun-2023
Pain occurs when nerve cells detect damage and transmit signals to the brain for interpretation. Everyone feels pain differently, which makes it challenging for doctors to define and treat. A new study, using brain scans, has found that gamma oscillations — brain waves linked to pain perception — have different timing, frequency, and location in different people. This finding could ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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8-Jun-2023
Drinking plenty of water is essential to your health : It helps your organs perform their vital functions, regulates your body temperature, lubricates your joints, and helps rid your body of waste, among other things. And with so many important functions hanging in the balance, it doesn't take long for problems to arise when you're inadequately hydrated, experts say. "Dehydration is ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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5-Jun-2023
As a neurologist who has cared for many patients experiencing migraines and chronic headaches, I can confidently state that rarely are two patients’ experiences the same. What one person may find debilitating, another may experience as only a nuisance. Some people can maintain a high quality of life with specific headache symptoms, while others may be unable to work or live well while ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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10-May-2023
Whatever age you are, the best time to start prioritizing your health is now. However, certain health habits are especially beneficial as you reach your 50s, before the health consequences of not doing so set in. Adopting a few simple interventions could be the key to health and longevity, doctors say, helping to stave off disease, preserve cognitive function, improve your quality of life, and ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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5-May-2023
Migraine affects more than 1 billion people globally every year. There is currently no cure for migraine headaches, which can have a major impact on a person’s quality of life. Researchers from Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Spain recently presented research showing the drug atogepant helps prevent headaches in people with episodic migraine who have had no success with other ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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24-Apr-2023
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious public health problem that can significantly impact a person's quality of life, the healthcare system, and society as a whole. Health disparities in TBI refer to the unequal distribution of TBI-related morbidity (the state of having a specific illness) and mortality (the number of deaths due to a particular disease) across different populations. These ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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13-Apr-2023
Migraine is a neurological condition characterized by recurring headaches felt as a throbbing pain on one side of the head. Other symptoms include nausea, dizziness, and increased sensitivity to light and sound. Between 14% and 15% of the world’s population are affected by migraine. Women are 2 to 3 times more likely than men to have the condition. Recently, several new ways of treating ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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12-Apr-2023
Getting enough high-quality sleep —a minimum of seven hours of sleep per night, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—is essential to maintaining a healthy body and mind. Yet as the Cleveland Clinic points out, sleep deprivation is a common problem, affecting between 50 million to 70 million adults in the U.S. at any given time. "Virtually every human ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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6-Mar-2023
If you’re like most humans, Patrick Mahomes and Steph Curry excluded, you’ve experienced a time or two in your life where you felt like your body’s reaction to something was out of your control. Whether it was an anxious response to something stressful that got your heart galloping inside your chest or fear of something chasing you that left you frozen, with breath racing, ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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20-Feb-2023
E.O. Wilson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist known for developing the field of sociobiology, said – “We are drowning in information while starving for wisdom.” The “answer” to many of life’s questions can now be “found” with a few keystrokes on a computer keyboard or swipes on a smartphone. Especially for patients experiencing chronic pain, they ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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9-Feb-2023
SprintAI, a leading artificial intelligence platform focused on maximizing athlete performance, is expanding the spectrum of its platform by adding Dr. Vernon Williams to its advisory team. Dr. Williams is one of the most respected neurologists in the world of sports, working with elite athletes from the NFL, MLB, NBA and other top leagues to improve their cognitive performance. SprintAI's ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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8-Feb-2023
The ankle sprain was so severe that the pain covered a distance that could be measured in both miles and years. The images of Patrick Mahomes traveled all the way from Kansas City, arriving on Jack Youngblood’s television down in Florida as a reminder of a similar scene more than four decades old. “He was wound up on the sidelines,” Youngblood said. “Did you see him? He was ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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3-Feb-2023
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments: John P. Fitzpatrick II, 54, of Davis, has been appointed Chief Financial Officer, Veterans Homes at the Veterans Homes Division of the California Department of Veterans Affairs. Fitzpatrick has been Finance Budget Analyst at the California Department of Finance since 2008 and has served in several positions there ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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23-Jan-2023
It’s that time of year again. The turn of the calendar over to day 1 of 365 days of opportunity to do better, be better and feel better. If you’re like the millions of Americans who make New Year’s resolutions each year, you probably have something in mind that you’d like to improve upon during the next several hundred days of your life. But what if I told you that ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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20-Dec-2022
The human brain has remained a wonder and fascination of mine for as long as I can remember. As a sports neurologist, I am passionate about helping patients of all abilities – athletic, academic, and vocational – tap into and harness the brain's incredible power to aid them in performing at peak levels. Because my field of medicine also addresses the needs of patients experiencing ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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2-Dec-2022
Article Link: Migraine statistics 2022 (singlecare.com) Migraines are a common type of headache that can cause intense, pulsating pain. According to the Migraine Research Foundation, migraines affect more than 39 million Americans and women are three times more likely to get migraines than men. With such a large number of people affected, it is not surprising that migraines can have a big impact ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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29-Nov-2022
The entire article can be read here: ‘They were in tears’: Unruly fans force California high schools to take action (msn.com) For a week after she was the victim of a racist taunt during a girls soccer regional championship game in March, Ciara Wilson barely left her house. The soccer field had long been her haven. Now, as video of the heckling went viral, the Buchanan High School ...
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