Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-09-02
Stop Killing
Yourself
By Dr.. Peter J. Steincrohn

~G~%N S@NN
der is so painful l can't lift
my arm up high enough to
shave. What shall l do now?",'
Answer: "Bursitis, like
many other medical problems,
grows more stubborn the
longer you put off treatment.
You've been suffering for,
NOTWITHSTANDING sleep and suf- ,
fering pain-and yet you've {"
been doing nothing for your
self but filling up with aspirin. !
Now you have what we call a
frozen joint What might
have been more simple cure
has become a difficult prob
lem"
Question: what could have
been done earlier?"
Answer: II don't recon-,
mend that every patient with a
pain somewhere in a joint i'm
mediately go running to his r
doctor. It's sensible to try
aspirin, heat and other simple
treatments for a few days. But
for PHYS sake don't 60 along
like that for weeks and
months.
II am not lecturing you, al
though l may sound it--only
telling you what l hope other
people will understand. Don't
procraStinate when you have
what is apparently bursitiS.'
When those little sacs which.
help Intricate the joints be-
come inflamed, they require
specialized treatment"
Question: "You still haven't
told me what could have been.
done and what can be done
even now. l promise not to
let things 60 so long next time
Il hope there Is no next time
but all I'm interested In
now is what to do to relieve
my trouble"
Answer: eff you had come
earlier l might have sent you
to an orthopedist who would
have injected one of the corti-
some family drugs right into
the troublesome area. A small
series of injections often cures
the bursitis within days or
weeks. Or, l might have sent
you to an X-ray specialist for
a series Of X-ray treatments
which are often miraculously
effective. There are also other
methods used.
"As Of now, it will be up
to an orthopedist to determine
what treatment he will use.
Exercises to make your Shout
der joint mobile again viii
probably be an important part
Of the treatment. It will take
longer to cure you, but even
stubborn bursitis like yours
will respond to treatment II
you will be a cooperative pa
tent" y
Question: "Well, that sounds
encouraging. What caused the
trouble in the first placer"
Answer: II wish we knew. In
some cases actual strain on the
joint by unusual exercise Is
the culprit. At other times,
we just don't know. II we
can't always prevent bursitis,
at least the sensible thing Is
to overcome it early when
treatment is easy.
49,
Dear DR.. Steincrohn: 0cca-
sionally, / get periods Of rapid
heart action. The palpitation
is severe. My doctor took an
electrocardiogram and went
over me carefully. He says
my heart is all right. He gave
me something for my nerves.
l went to another doctor Il
understand he is not a regular
doctor but is supposed to be
good) who said my heart
valves needed checking with a
special machine. He took the
test and said he'd have to
send the findings to another
doctor for analysis. It's quite
an expensive test. Who would
you believe?-Mr. X.
BELIEVE YOUR own doc
tor. | know of no machine that
will "check heart valves"
(Beu-Mcclure syndicate)
DR.. Steincrohn's ledtlet,
practical Information for
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