treatment | Biomechanics in the Wild

Twists and Curves: Spinal Analysis and the Correction of Scoliosis

For anyone who had braces as a kid, you know how miserable the process can be. From rubber bands to the restrictions on what foods you could enjoy, having braces was a real pain. However, once the braces came off, it was all worth it to have perfectly straight teeth. While many adolescents go through orthodontic bracing to straighten crooked teeth, there are some who go through a similar process to correct the curvature of their spines.

Pressed and stressed: How understanding tumor biomechanics may be the future for treating patients with triple-negative breast cancer

Despite unstinting interventions such as chemotherapy and surgical tumor removal, approximately 40% of patients with stage I-III triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) will experience tumor recurrence. Fortunately, not all hope is lost. The advent of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) immunotherapy—a type of therapy that uses one’s own immune cells to kill the cancer—has shown great promise for the treatment of TNBC. However, as Dr. Azra Raza says in her book, The First Cell: And the Human Costs of Pursuing Cancer to the Last, these “immune approaches are not universally curative and, at present, help very few patients.”

Sensing tension in the brain tumor microenvironment

According to Azra Raza, a Professor of Medicine at Columbia University in New York, high-grade brain cancer called glioblastoma is “one of the most aggressive, ruthless killers known to mankind”. Indeed, despite recent advances in cancer therapies, glioblastoma remains incurable with a median survival of 15 months which has not improved substantially in the last 20 years. This poor prognosis is, in part, due to the highly immunosuppressive microenvironment that allows tumors to evade anti-tumor immune response and promotes resistance to immunotherapy – a kind of therapy that uses your body’s own immune system to find and eliminate tumor cells.

Arthritis is NOT Just For The Elderly: Early Signs Of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that, according to the Arthritis Foundation, affects 1.5 million people in the US. Women are 3 times more likely to develop RA and are usually diagnosed between ages 30 and 60, while men are rarely diagnosed before the age of 45.

What Can Different Types of Facial Wrinkles Tell Us?

Decoration — Credit: MEG STORM AND ROXANNE ADAMIYATT

Few people enjoy having wrinkles. Some people spend a lot of time, money and efforts trying to reduce the wrinkles on their face, while others simply appreciate them as something naturally occurs with aging. Regardless, wrinkles are always associated with aging. However, if we look into what different types of wrinkles are and how they form, we will find that not all wrinkles are bad. Not all wrinkles are caused by aging, and not all wrinkles should be treated the same way. Here, we introduce different types of facial wrinkles categorized by plastic surgeon and their corresponding treatment.

Not Everyone Breathes While they Sleep: The Dangers of Sleep Apnea

You might think that breathing in our sleep should come naturally – if breathing and sleeping are both physiologically necessary, then we must be able to do them simultaneously right? Unfortunately, almost a quarter of middle-aged American men and nearly 10% of women suffer from sleep apnea, a chronic condition characterized by repeatedly stopping breathing while sleeping. The clinical symptoms seem rather benign – snoring, sleepiness, fatigue during the day or other issues sleeping. However, by far the most dangerous aspect of this disease is that it puts patients at increased risk of high blood pressure, stroke, coronary heart disease, as well as occupational and/or automobile accidents. Over the last several decades, a variety of therapy options have been studied to treat this condition, ranging from drugs to masks to surgery.

Ankle Sprains: An Epidemic in the World of Athletics

Have you ever been out running on a gorgeous fall day, only to have the run cut short by a painful misstep on a tree root covered by leaves? I have, and let me tell you – it’s awful! And even if you aren’t a runner, according to the Sports Medicine Research Manual, ankle sprains are a common, if not the most common, injury for sports involving lower body movements. Now, the solution to preventing this painful and annoying injury could be as simple as avoiding tree roots and uneven ground, but the real problem behind ankle sprains deals with the anatomy of the ankle.

Hell for your Heels: Plantar Fasciitis and Heel Spurs

Heel and foot pain are somewhat universal issues, impacting people of all different sizes and activity levels. This type of pain can be seen in obese people, who have increased strain on their feet and heels. This pain can limit their mobility, and even discourage healthy amounts of exercise. It is also common to extremely active people, such as runners or sports players. This type of pain can prevent a person from participating in the athletics that they work so hard to compete in. I experienced a great deal of heel pain during high school, which made it difficult for me to play sports such as soccer, basketball, and track and field. This was an issue I had to deal with throughout high school, however I never understood what caused this pain that kept me on the sidelines at times.

Patellar Tendinitis: The Kryptonite of Jumping Athletes

Volleyball is a sport of quick movements. For hitters, one of the most common movements in the game is the jump, whether that be to block or to hit. Although a higher vertical leads to improvement in game performance, it can increase the risk of developing a serious injury that affects many volleyball players: patellar tendinitis. This condition is associated with pain and tenderness directly below the knee cap that is especially apparent during explosive, jumping movements. But what exactly causes this condition? And what can be done to remedy it?

Ways to Prevent and Treat a Common Annoyance: Headaches

Headaches can range from a mild annoyance to a debilitating condition that results in the inability to complete simple daily tasks. Odds are you have experienced a headache since about 50% of the population has suffered some type of headache. While there are many different variables that may have triggered it (injury, stress, chemical imbalances, etc.), the resulting symptoms are always negative. Scientists have been investigating what causes different types of headaches in hopes that they can help people prevent their occurrence and mitigate their symptoms.

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