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Woman with back pain inquires about strengthening devices

Dear Dr. Roach: I’m a 77-year-old woman with degenerative disc disease. I had an L4 microdiscectomy surgery in 2020, but I still have chronic pain in my lower back. Although I do core strengthening exercises with physical therapy (which helps), I’m still in daily pain. I’ve been seeing advertisements for multifidus muscle-strengthening devices, such as NeuroMD and ReliveX. What’s your opinion on this type of exercise device? — C.K. Answer: I think that better non-pharmacologic therapies are needed for back pain, and the theory of electrical stimulation to strengthen the back ...

Horoscope: Thursday, August 20

You will solve problems of all kinds with your generous attention, rare generosity and signature tenacity. Aries (March 21-April 19) Your resources seem limited, and that’s exactly what inspires you to embark on the quest. Adventure begins with need. The search will reward you as much as the prize. Taurus (April 20-May 20) Few skills take longer to develop than knowing yourself. Since you are always living from the inside, you need the outside world to fill in the blind spots. Today brings a perspective that helps the picture come into focus. Gemini (May 21-June 21) People tend ...

Private versus politics

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has begun the process of freezing her eggs for future childbearing. Not only does AOC talk about it, she shares Instagram videos of her getting hormone shots in her belly. AOC is 36, approaching her later baby-making years. Frozen eggs can later be fertilized with sperm in a lab to create an embryo that could be transferred to the uterus, the result being a child. Surely, I’m not alone in feeling squeamish at references to AOC’s reproductive organs. Many women have eggs removed from their ovaries for later use but generally do so in private. ...

Drawing a line on deputy game wardens

How does affirming private property rights affect the future of hunting in Pennsylvania? It is leading to fewer game wardens on the ground. The Pennsylvania Game Commission has announced the end of the state’s Deputy Game Warden Program. More than 100 part-time or volunteer workers are seeing their service come to an end. That cuts the number of wardens almost in half, dropping to just the 155 full-timers. Do the math. With 67 counties, that means there might be just two wardens, maybe fewer, per county. The move comes after a unanimous July ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme ...

Net zero finally dead and gone

It was only a few years ago when the climate change alarms and green energy fad were all the rage at the White House and corporate board rooms. Former President Joe Biden’s policies were all tilted to ending fossil fuels, and many of America’s biggest corporations embraced the concept of net-zero fossil fuels. This was the movement during the Biden years to eliminate virtually ALL oil, natural gas and coal production, and replace these energy sources with windmills, solar panels and electric vehicles. This goal was pure virtue-signaling, and it never made any practical sense. ...