Can changing my sleep habits help with neck pain?

Ask the doctors

1. I often wake up with a sore neck in the morning. What can I do to prevent this?
2. Poor sleep habits can cause neck pain or make it worse. Simple changes can make it less likely that you will wake up in pain in the morning.

First: if you sleep on your stomach, try a new sleep position. Stomach sleeping forces the head to one side and puts pressure on your neck. Experts say that sleeping on your back or your side puts less strain on your neck.

Second: make sure youve got a good pillow. Skip pillows that are stiff or too thick, which can put your neck into an uncomfortable position. Ideally you should find a pillow that is soft and on the flatter side. You might want to try out memory foam or down options, which mold to the shape of your head and neck.

Also, focus on establishing good sleep habits. There is some evidence that its not just sleep position but also sleep quality that is linked to neck pain. One study, for example, found that people who experienced sleep problems were more likely to report chronic musculoskeletal pain, including neck pain, than those who slept soundly through the night. Practices such as sleeping in a cool, dark room and going to bed and waking at the same time each day can help you get a better nights rest.

ACC principles for overcoming compensation and opportunity inequity

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) believes that

1.Cardiologist compensation should be equitable and fair for equivalent work.

2.Cardiologist compensation should be objectively determined by a modeled systems approach that is prospectively developed and based on consensus principles.

3.Cardiologist compensation should be fully aligned with an organization/practice’s business strategies, mission, and core values.

4.Cardiologist compensation should be individualized to reflect performance, productivity, and other prospectively determined factors.

5.Cardiologist compensation plans should be designed to minimize unwarranted systemic differences based solely on subspecialty.

6.Cardiologist compensation plans should value and explicitly reward nonbillable work, including quality improvement, leadership/administration, teaching/mentoring, research, community service, and outreach activities.

7.Cardiologist compensation plans should include strategies and formulas that offer flexibility to accommodate different job descriptions.

8.Cardiologist compensation plans should explicitly address and incorporate leave policies.

(To be contd)

(Source: Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Sept 12, 2019)

Healthcare News Monitor

47 lakh people got treatment in 1st year under Ayushman Bharat scheme

ET Healthworld-ANI

New Delhi: With the first year of its operation, nearly 47 lakh people have got benefits from Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). Last year on September 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched PM-JAY from Ranchi, Jharkhand. In this short period of 12 months, 46.4 lakh hospital treatments, worth Rs 7,500 crores have been carried out, and 60 per cent of the amount spent is on tertiary care. As on date, the scheme has been implemented in 32 States and Union Territories. In one year, 10.3 crore e-cards have been issued to entitled beneficiaries under PM-JAY. This is more than the total combined population of France and Canada. The distribution of e-cards is continuing to take place at a very fast pace. 3 e-cards are being distributed every second across the length and breadth of India, and 91 per cent e-cards linked with Aadhar, which aids verification of the entitled beneficiaries. Dr Indu Bhushan, CEO, National Health Authority (NHA) said: "Our focus is to ensure that more and more vulnerable Indians are being made aware of their entitlements so that they can avail of the hospitalisation benefits during their illness. PM-JAY aims to ensure improved healthcare delivery, through a combination of government hospitals and strategic purchasing of services from private hospitals, in health care deficit areas."

Coma dilemma: White paper soon on ventilator plug

ET Healthworld

Lucknow has reported 125 cases of dengue in two months, with 13 more patients testing positive. The victims who have tested positive on Thursday include six females, one of them an 82-year-old woman. Of the seven male patients, two are minor boys - aged 11 and 15 years. The cases have come in from different localities inclding Gomti Nagar, Ruchi Khand, Hazratganj, Tikrohi, Bazarkhala, Salehnagar, Neelmatha, Indira Nagar, Sharda Nagar and Rajajipuram. According to health officials, dengue fever has affected 173 persons in the state capital alone, with the maximum number of cases being reported in August and September. The officials said of the total breeding grounds found till date, 70 per cent were found in water accumulated in desert coolers. People need to clean coolers on a weekly basis or pour kerosene oil in the water tank to kill larvae, the officials said. "A number of cases go unreported because people mistake the symptoms for viral fever which is also very common in this season," said a senior doctor of the Balrampur hospital.

Dengue crisis in Hyderabad worst in three decades: Doctors

ET Healthworld

Lucknow: Should a terminally ill patient be put on ventilator? How long should doctors and caregivers continue to treat a patient in coma? These questions that haunt doctors and attendants may soon be addressed by the Union government’s decision to bring out a white paper on Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) – a concept that gives patients and kin the right to withhold or withdraw treatment like use of ventilator. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is scheduled to release the white paper by December, said director-General ICMR Dr Balram Bhargava, who was in Lucknow on Saturday to address the annual conference of Association of Physicians of India. “Doctors and family members are in perpetual dilemma when it comes to reviving an elderly or critically ill patient, who could be suffering from multiple chronic problems or syndrome with minimal chances to bounce back. Medical law on this count is imprecise and decision-making for family members is a Catch-22 situation, which often aggravates due to social pressure. Many developed nations follow the ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ guidelines to address the issue. We are also working on similar lines,” said Dr Bhargava.

Thousands of Swiss protest 5G wireless over health fears

ET Healthworld-PTI

Berne, Sep 21 (AFP) Thousands of people protested in the Swiss capital Bern Saturday over the roll-out of a 5G wireless technology across the country, which they fear could damage peoples health. The protesters, many carrying placards, gathered in front of the Swiss parliament building, in a bid to stop the construction of more 5G-compatible antennae. "The fact that so many people turned out today is a strong sign against the uncontrolled introduction of 5G," said Tamlin Schibler Ulmann, co-president of Frequencia, the group that organised the rally. The tiny principality of Monaco became the first country in Europe to inaugurate a 5G mobile phone network in July based on technology from Chinese firm Huawei, which is seen by the US as a major security risk. But critics in Switzerland argue that the electromagnetic radiation the new system emits poses unprecedented health and environmental risks compared to previous generations of mobile technology. Online petitions have helped persuade several Swiss cantons -- in Geneva, Vaud, Fribourg and Neuchatel -- to postpone the construction of antennae as a precaution. The Swiss Federation of Doctors (FMH) has also argued for a cautious approach to the new technology.

Doctors hail new heart health tools on Apple Watch in India

The Pioneer-IANS

The medical fraternity on Friday welcomed the arrival of the ECG app and irregular rhythm notification feature on Apple Watch for users in India, stressing that it will make people more aware about their heart health. Although the Apple Watch will not provide a final conclusion into whether a person is actually suffering from Atrial fibrillation (AFib) -- irregular heartbeat that can lead to blood clot formation in the heart which then embolises to the brain causing stroke -- the readings will make more Indians consult their physicians about their heart health, doctors feel. Although accurate worldwide estimates are lacking, calculations suggest that over one per cent of the adult population is affected in the developed world, wrote Vijay Bohra, Gautam Sharma and Rajnish Juneja from Department of Cardiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in their research. "In our country, there is virtually no data on AF (AFib), most of the data that has been derived is from international studies with an Indian cohort," the trio wrote, adding that there is "indeed a dearth of data on epidemiologic outcomes in patients of rheumatic AF in the country leading to inconsistent practice patterns as regards medical therapy, especially oral anticoagulation".