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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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1-Dec-2023
The winter months are among the toughest for people experiencing the effects of chronic pain. The latter part of the calendar year is characterized by holiday activities, which can bring tremendous joy but also significantly affect one’s routine, including sleep and dietary choices. Of course, the burgeoning chill in the air can also contribute to pain's impact on the body and feelings ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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1-Dec-2023
Often, when people think about "research," it brings to mind sterilized labs where closely controlled tests are conducted by scientists in white coats on various subjects. Although lab research is fundamental to the progress of science and medicine, it isn't the only way scientific research studies are performed. Recently, I was involved in a type of research called the Modified ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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1-Dec-2023
The American Academy of Neurology (AAN), the organization involved in promoting high-quality neurologic care and assistance to neurologic health professionals, recently released a position statement on its goals for the brain health of all Americans by the year 2050. In its report, the AAN provides a highlighted overview of its plan to help people improve their brain health across the lifespan. ...
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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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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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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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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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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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3-Oct-2022
Want to reach your full potential with any skill and in any field of human endeavor? Practice, practice, practice. Whether considering sports, musical instruments, or academic lessons in the classroom, most people believe that getting better at anything requires practice. The overwhelming majority of people are aware of the concepts of practicing to train a craft or practicing to train your ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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19-Sep-2022
Chronic pain, in and of itself, is considered an often intractable condition that millions of Americans suffer from every year. Chronic pain generally refers to persistent pain experienced by a person for 3 months or longer. It is often debilitating, frustrating, and depression-inducing for the person suffering it. So, when "treatments" come along that have the potential to provide ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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1-Sep-2022
Especially for students in America, the culmination of Labor Day Weekend usually marks the unofficial end of summer, even if the calendar says we have until late September before the fall season begins. With school likely back in session for most students in the United States, parents everywhere may be faced with groggy, sleepy-eyed kiddos whose morning wake-up calls were probably much later ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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17-Aug-2022
Thoracic outlet syndrome is a condition that was brought into the national spotlight by high-profile professional athletes who suffered from its initial debilitating effects. Whether it’s a basketball player unable to accurately shoot a jumper or a pitcher unable to spot a fastball, thoracic outlet syndrome, or TOS, can wreak havoc on both the body and mind. While TOS may initially appear to ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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3-Aug-2022
The concept of stress – essentially defined as the body’s reaction when under pressure or threat – has long been studied and known to impact overall health. The difficulty in determining how much stress is too much on a body and a brain resides mainly in an individual's circumstances – their age, socioeconomic status, genetics, psychosocial resources like healthy ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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1-Aug-2022
Crossword puzzles alone won’t give your brain what it needs for optimal health across the lifespan. Today, an Internet search of "brain training" will yield results that almost entirely include websites, apps, or subscriptions for stationary activities such as crosswords, Sudoku, jigsaw puzzles, or the latest rage – Wordle – an online and social media-based word game. ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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6-Jul-2022
A lack of quality sleep has a negative impact on performance. After an Opening Day delay, the 2022 Major League Baseball Season is now in full swing, to the delight of many. I recently came across the jam-packed travel schedule for most MLB teams. Doing so has caused this sports neurologist to consider again the significant implications of an inconsistent sleep schedule on neurological and ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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13-Jun-2022
No matter your age, there is plenty YOU can do to protect your brain health – across your lifespan. My passion and sub-specialty as a sports neurologist have led me down some fantastic and exciting paths when it comes to helping people harness the brain's power to help them achieve optimal performance – whether it's on a sports field, in a classroom, or a boardroom. Yet my ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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6-Jun-2022
Is cannabis a good choice for treating chronic pain? That’s a question shared by doctors, researchers, and people living with chronic pain. But it’s a surprisingly difficult one to answer. A recent review of cannabis products in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine looked at the existing body of knowledge related to this question. And the answer? We just don’t have enough ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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1-Jun-2022
How can attentional focus improve athletic performance? It’s that time of year again – when many people choose a stronger focus on exercise or physical fitness as their New Year’s resolution. In terms of overall body and neurological health, I wholeheartedly endorse such athletic performance goals. However, as many of us have also likely experienced, keeping New Year’s ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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29-Apr-2022
Cognitive “clutter” is real, but there are simple ways to help keep your brain space neat and tidy. Especially as we age, a “cluttered” brain can lead to unnecessary cognitive decline. For some people, a busy memory scape can increase creativity. But for most, all that brain noise comes at a cost and can propagate forgetfulness and other cognitive disorders the older we ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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10-Feb-2022
Hydration has a significant impact on brain health over the course of a lifetime. Mainstream news media reports and citations from some physicians indicate that chronic dehydration might be as high as 75 percent in the American population. The notion that up to three-quarters of the people in our country aren't adequately hydrated is disturbing, but not shocking. The act of drinking enough ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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4-Feb-2022
Exercise has long been known and frequently touted as beneficial to your waistline and your heart health. Yet, in more recent years, the benefits of exercise on the brain and mental health have become a more mainstream topic of conversation. Still, many people may not understand why those brain benefits of physical activity are so remarkable and profound. The neurological science behind the scenes ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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3-Dec-2021
Research suggests the health of the gut biome as a conduit to optimal brain health. I'm a neurologist, a sports neurologist, but certainly not a gastroenterologist, so it may seem strange, on the surface, that I'd write an article about gut health. However, there is increasing clinical evidence to suggest (if not yet prove) that our intestinal health may have a significant influence on our ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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2-Nov-2021
But the opportunity to recognize one and intervene early isn’t always readily available to Black athletes. A recent study published in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation (JHTR) found that among college athletes, concussion-related symptoms were recognized less by Black athletes than their White counterparts. Medically speaking, concussions don't discriminate. They can affect ...
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