Blog Archive

May is National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month. You may wonder, then, if it’s time to get a bone-density test (aka, bone scan, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, DEXA or DXA scan). Unless you’ve suffered a fracture in the past, you probably don’t know much about your bone health. You can’t measure...

Your knee is the largest joint in your body — larger even than your hips and shoulders. This complex joint connects the thigh bone (i.e., femur) to your shinbone (i.e., tibia) so you can bend your leg while walking, running, jumping, or sitting.  In addition to the complex muscles, tendons,...

Laser hair removal allows you to check off one more item on your to-do list every day, week, or month, without having to do anything. Once we remove unwanted hair on your legs, arms, face, or other areas, you can throw away your razors, wax, and depilatory creams. But before...

You want to look happy, healthy, and youthful. But you also want to be sure that you avoid any substances that do damage over the long term, whether that’s from the wrong foods or other poor lifestyle choices. Then you start to think about your Botox® treatments. They sure make...

Considering how complex and mobile the shoulder joint is — it’s the most mobile joint in the human body — it’s no wonder that so many women and men suffer from shoulder pain. About 2.4% of women and men aged 45-64 in the United States suffer from some kind of...

Approximately 50 million men and 30 million women in the United States suffer from androgenetic alopecia (aka, male-pattern baldness), a type of hair loss due to genetics, hormones, and the environment.  Another 700,000 have a rarer form of hair loss known as alopecia areata, which can affect children, too.  Unlike...

Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which your body attacks healthy cells, putting your health — and even your life — at risk.  The most common and serious type of lupus is systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). SLE can affect and shut down organs and cause blood clotting. Other types of...

Osteoporosis is a progressive disease in which you lose bone cells and mass at a greater rate than you can replace them. In the United States, half of the women over age 50 will eventually fracture a bone due to osteoporosis.  Women are more at risk for osteoporosis than men...

Your shoulder joint is a marvel of biological engineering. It can rotate in multiple directions and withstand the forces of throwing and lifting, over and over. But when you throw or lift over and over, you risk breaking down that marvel of engineering. Shoulder pain is so common that about...

Acne scars are the backhanded slap to your skin once you clear a case of acne. Even if you’re no longer bothered by pimples or cysts, you may be left with a series of common scars that disfigure your skin, including: Ice pick scars (deep and narrow) Rolling scars (wide...

You probably grew up believing that all you had to do was eat a healthy, well-rounded diet to get all of the vitamins and minerals you need. While that may have been true a few generations ago, the food supply has changed drastically since then. Conspiring against that age-old strategy...

Osteoporosis — a clinically significant loss of bone mass, density, and strength — affects 8 million women and 2 million men over age 50 in the United States. Another 43 million have osteopenia, which is a precursor condition. You don’t usually know that you have osteopenia or osteoporosis unless you...

The FDA-approved neuromodulator Botox® has been a favorite of women, men, and their dermatologists and aestheticians since 2002. Although competitors have jumped aboard, Botox is still the No. 1 form of injectable botulinum toxin for cosmetic and medical uses. And what are those other uses? They may surprise you. Botox...

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy has been around for about 40 years, though its popularity has surged in the past decade or so as researchers find more and more uses for it.  While PRP is now used for everything from skin rejuvenation to hair growth, it’s most often used for sports...

When your pubes peek out of your bathing suit and panties, you might grab a razor or make a waxing appointment at a nearby spa. But shaving, waxing, and other methods of hair removal are temporary at best. Shaving and waxing can leave you irritated, bleeding, or itchy. In contrast,...

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered dramatic changes throughout everyday life — and in the medical community as well. Not only are providers across the country postponing elective procedures, but many are also encouraging people to avoid in-office appointments to reduce their risk of exposure to this highly contagious coronavirus.But what...

Lupus is an autoimmune disease that affects 1.5 million Americans. If you have lupus, your immune system erroneously attacks healthy tissues and organs in your body, including your skin, your brain, and your kidneys. Although there’s no cure for lupus, you can manage the disease to minimize the risk of...

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy first reached public consciousness when athletes like Tiger Woods used it to accelerate healing from injuries. But PRP has a long history that began more than 70 years ago and continues to this day as techniques evolve. If you have knee arthritis, you may be frustrated...

Of the 3% of women and men in the United States who have the autoimmune disease psoriasis — which causes rashes and plaques to break out over your skin — about a third go on to develop a complication called psoriatic arthritis (PsA).  As with any form of arthritis, psoriatic...

Arthritis is an umbrella term that covers various types of joint conditions and affects more than 58 million women, men, and children in the United States alone.  The inflammatory condition bursitis, in contrast, only accounts for about 0.4% of primary care visits, but if you have arthritis, you’re at increased...

When you’re one of the 1.5 million adults and kids in the United States who have the autoimmune disease lupus, just about every organ and system is affected, from your skin to your brain.  You may experience fatigue that saps your energy, headaches, joint pain, and sensitivity to the sun....

Whether you’re a musician, athlete, laborer, or artist, you’re at risk for an overuse injury if you use repetitive motion in your vocation or avocation.  Unfortunately, the very movements that make you good at what you do also lead to damaged tendons, ligaments, and muscles. Even worse, you won’t be...

Up to 3% of women, men, and children around the globe suffer from psoriasis. Psoriasis is an inflammatory, chronic skin condition that causes you to break out into rough, itchy, red or silver patches. An overactive immune system is at the heart of psoriasis. Instead of regularly shedding old skin cells...

Osteoporosis occurs when your bones lose minerals and mass, making them more fragile and prone to breakage. Although most women are aware that they’re at increased risk for osteoporosis after menopause, few men realize that aging puts them at risk, too. In fact, aging isn't the only cause of osteoporosis...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects about 1.3 million women and men in the United States. Unlike the more common osteoarthritis, RA doesn’t occur due to advanced age, injury, or overuse of your joints. Instead, it’s an autoimmune disease in which your body attacks the tissues of your joints, causing pain and...

Gout is a form of arthritis that typically strikes in the big toe joint. Gout is extremely painful and can be debilitating. Screenwriters and actors often use gout to comically suggest that a character is either wealthy or a glutton. At the Rheumatology Center of New Jersey, our board-certified rheumatologists...

Every three seconds, someone around the world suffers a fracture due to osteoporosis. In the year 2000, 1.7 million of these fractures were hip fractures, which are associated with poor outcome and early death. Normal, healthy bones — like normal, healthy skin — continually renews itself. Your body breaks down...

When you sleep, your body is hard at work repairing damaged cells, removing toxins, and subduing inflammation so you can function well the next day. If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, your sleep is disrupted … and so is your body’s repair cycle. Up to 80% of...

When you have the autoimmune disease lupus, your immune system is on high alert. It reacts to benign substances as if your body is under attack and so launches an inflammatory response that brings on a flare of the disease.  Each of the 1.5 million Americans with lupus has different triggers. Part of...

Psoriatic arthritis (PA) is a complication that affects about a third of the 2-3% of women and men around the globe who suffer from psoriasis. Psoriatic arthritis causes symptoms such as painful and swollen joints. Over time, it can distort your joints and lead to significant disability if not treated...

Life may begin at 40, but that’s when bone cells start to die. Whether you’re a woman or a man, changes in your hormonal balance and metabolism influence the rate at which your bones build new cells and get rid of the old, dead ones.  Lose too many old cells...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder that affects about 1.5% of the population in North America. Though the percentage is relatively small, when you’re the one who’s suffering, all you want is relief. Every form of arthritis — including RA, osteoarthritis, and psoriatic arthritis — may improve with lifestyle...

Stiff, painful joints want to stay where they are. But if they stay where they are, so will you. As counterintuitive as it seems, moving your joints through pain and stiffness actually helps them become less painful and stiff. When your joints move, they actually release a lubricant called synovial...

Acute inflammation is necessary for your survival. A pathogen enters your body and your immune system rallies to the front, rushing in white blood cells to kill off the invaders.  The result is inflammation that lasts as long as it takes to subdue the infection or heal the wound. Then...

Osteoporosis literally means “porous bones.” Because bones make up the supporting structure of your body, the last thing you want them to be is porous and weak. Unfortunately, if you have osteoporosis, your bones are weak. Porous, weak bones are more susceptible to fracture, including dangerous hip fractures. Hip fractures are...

Lupus is a type of autoimmune disease that affects about 1.5 million adults and children in the United States. If you have lupus, your immune system attacks healthy tissue, mistaking it for a pathogen.  The immune attack then creates a range of symptoms that can affect everything from your skin to your eyes...

Strong, healthy bones are densely packed with minerals such as calcium and continually renew themselves by getting rid of tired, old bone cells and replacing them with fresh, healthy new ones.  But as you age, your bones slow down their production of new bone cells and your bones become more...

Lupus is a complex disorder of the immune system that affects approximately 1.5 million Americans of all ages. Although most people with lupus are women who’ve developed it between the ages of 15-44, lupus can strike anyone at any age. Complicating the disease is the fact that people with lupus...

Arthritis isn’t a single disease. In fact, arthritis is an umbrella term that covers a group of more than 100 conditions that affect the joints and their connective tissues, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and gout. At the Rheumatology Center of New Jersey, we diagnose and treat all forms...

Gout is a form of arthritis associated with a rich diet and sedentary lifestyle. One way to prevent gout flare-ups is to make healthy lifestyle choices. At the Rheumatology Center of New Jersey, our expert rheumatologists treat gout and all forms of arthritis. But they believe the best kind of...

Bone scans are a fast, simple way to measure the concentration of minerals in your bones. When your bones are dense with minerals, they’re strong and resist breakage. But if your bones lose density, they become more porous and fracture more easily.  Normal, healthy bone mass consists of about 65%...

Lupus is an autoimmune disease that may affect you externally, internally, or both. As with all autoimmune diseases, your immune system erroneously perceives healthy tissue as a threat and attacks it, creating damage and chronic inflammation.  At the Rheumatology Center of New Jersey, our expert rheumatologists diagnose and treat lupus...

Your body is an amazing factory that produces all the substances it needs to keep you in good repair. But some injuries tax your body’s capabilities. And, in some instances, your body might not work as efficiently and quickly as it should. Our expert rheumatologists at the Rheumatology Center of...

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a painful and frustrating complication of the autoimmune disease psoriasis, which causes red, rashy, swollen skin.  If you have PsA, your joints may become difficult to move, swollen, and painful. You may develop PsA in your fingers and toes first, particularly if your psoriasis affects your...

Arthritis isn’t a single disorder. It’s a term that encompasses more than 100 different types of inflamed and sore joints. The type of arthritis you have determines the kind of treatment that will help you live a more comfortable, pain-free life. Our expert rheumatologists at the Rheumatology Center of New...

Stereotypical presentations in popular culture of someone who suffers from gout usually depict a large, overweight, middle-aged man with one foot wrapped in a cast. From a broad perspective, that’s pretty accurate; you’re more likely to get gout if you’re man, postmenopausal woman, or are middle-aged. But gout is a...

Whether you’ve ever considered cutting-edge, regenerative therapies before or not, there’s something about platelet-rich plasma (PRP) that intrigues you. You’ve heard that PRP helps your body heal damaged tissues without side effects. After all, PRP is made from your own cells.  At the Rheumatology Center of New Jersey, our expert...

You may have noticed that inflammation is at the root of almost every chronic disease and condition that humankind suffers. You’re more at risk for inflammation and the symptoms it brings as you age. One inflammatory condition that’s common, but not well known, is polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). Although PMR may...

If you suffer the itchy, scaly, reddened skin of psoriasis, you’re not alone. Almost 8 million Americans are in the same boat. Psoriasis is a disease in which your immune system becomes overactive and speeds up the production of new skin cells.  When you have normal, healthy skin, your skin...

One of every 1.5 million women, men, and children in the United States has an autoimmune disease called lupus. If you have lupus, your immune system attacks healthy tissue. Lupus has no cure, but once you get a diagnosis, you can learn to manage it so you can live a...

A shoulder may look like a simple joint. After all, it’s just a ball and socket. But your shoulder requires a number of muscles, ligaments, and tendons to keep the joint in place and permit its (significant) full range of motion. If your shoulder hurts, the root cause could be...

Whether it’s acute or chronic, pain is a sign that something isn’t right in your body.  If you have chronic muscular pain in the same spot, such as your neck or shoulder, you may have myofascial pain syndrome. “Myo” means muscle, while “fascia” refers to the thin layer of connective...

Infusion therapy could be the answer to controlling your pain. You may benefit from infusion therapy if: You can’t tolerate oral medications The drug you need causes gastrointestinal distress Your current medication doesn’t fully control your pain Infusion therapy is a type of intravenous (IV) therapy in which your medical...

If you have gout, your rheumatologist has probably already explained that it’s a form of arthritis caused by an accumulation of uric acid crystals in the tissues of your big toe joint and possibly other joints. Where did those crystals come from?  When you eat foods that contain a substance...

Your shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint that takes a lot of wear-and-tear, particularly if you engage in sports, perform manual labor, or play certain musical instruments. About 70% of women and men experience shoulder pain at least once during their lifetime. Our expert rheumatologists at the Rheumatology Center of New...

If you believe your joints are more accurate than your smartphone at telling you what the weather’s like, it’s not in your head.  The Arthritis Foundation® even has a weather and arthritis index on its site that warns you if the temperature and weather conditions in your zip code are...

If you’ve ever seen a human skeleton, you might think that your bones look like the ones you saw hanging before you: hard and brittle. But young, healthy bones aren’t brittle like sticks. They’re spongier, more flexible, and very much alive. At Rheumatology Center of New Jersey, our expert rheumatologists...

Doctors use platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to treat everything from sports injuries to sexual dysfunction to hair loss. The reason this regenerative therapy has such widespread application is because it’s made from the healing components of your own blood.  Your body uses the concentrated platelets in PRP to prompt or accelerate...

Arthritis is an umbrella term for more than 100 conditions that affect the comfort and mobility of your joints. According to the Arthritis Foundation, more than 50 million women and men in the United States — as well as 300,000 children and teens — have some form of arthritis.  ...

It’s no secret that exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays damages your skin. UVA rays are more strongly associated with sunburns and skin cancer, while UVB rays also damage skin and raise your risk for skin cancer.  If you have the autoimmune disease lupus, though, you have extra reason...

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is everywhere in the news and in health care these days. Though PRP first came into the public’s consciousness because superstar athletes like Tiger Woods turned to it to accelerate healing, it’s now being used for everything from skin rejuvenation to boosting libido. Our expert rheumatologists at...

Whether you’ve just suffered an injury, you suffer from chronic pain, or you’re undergoing joint treatment, your doctor may recommend a musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSKUS). Isn’t ultrasound used to evaluate soft organs and to monitor a developing baby? If you’re not sure why you need an ultrasound or how it may...

When you suddenly feel a sharp, stabbing pain in your big toe, your first thought probably isn’t gout. After all, gout’s the condition that stereotypically affects rich people who eat rich foods. But if you don’t remember injuring your toe and it throbs painfully, you might be just rich enough...

More than 30 million women and men in the United States have the age- and overuse-related joint disorder known as osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis can’t be cured and tends to get worse as you get older. But that doesn’t mean you have to spend your life downing painkillers that irritate your stomach...

If you have rheumatoid arthritis (RA), you may find that you’ve lost your appetite or only eat a few foods. Medications that stop inflammation can cause ulcers and digestive issues.  But getting enough nourishment is more important than ever when you have an autoimmune condition such as RA. Without enough...

Your shoulder joints are the most mobile joints in your body, enabling your arms to move up and down, move frontward and backward, and cross over both sides of your body. But that degree of flexibility and mobility comes with a cost.  The shoulder joint itself has to be shallow...

Your knee is one of the largest joints in your body, and it takes a beating. Not only does it support most of your body’s weight, it’s a complex joint with a lot of moving parts that can become injured or torn. Jumping, stopping short, or landing wrong when you...

More than 5,000,000 women, men, and children around the world have been diagnosed with the autoimmune disease lupus. With so many people affected, you might assume that the disease is well understood by the general public. But many myths still surround this disease, and these myths can affect the way...

Osteoporosis is a silent, gradual loss of calcium and other bone minerals that leads to less dense, more fragile bones that are prone to breaking and shrinking. In the United States, about 8 million women have osteoporosis, compared with only 2 million men. Most women and men don’t even know...

About 30% of women, men, and children with the autoimmune skin disease psoriasis may develop a complication called psoriatic arthritis (PsA), according to the National Psoriasis Association. Rarely, you can develop PsA without having skin-related psoriasis. There’s no cure for psoriatic arthritis, but it can be managed. Our expert rheumatologists...

If you have osteoarthritis — the gradual wearing down of your joint bones’ protective cartilage — or rheumatoid arthritis — in which your immune system attacks healthy tissues in your joints — you’ve probably relied on drugs to manage your pain so you can get through your day. But if...

A normal, healthy immune system attacks pathogens such as bacteria and viruses that could compromise your health. When you have lupus, though, your immune system is overactive and mistakenly attacks your own healthy tissues and organs as if they were pathogens.  Though lupus is a serious autoimmune disorder and there’s...

Whether you injured your knee through playing sports, an accident, or just developed knee pain with time, knee osteoarthritis can make getting through your day a painful chore. Your knee may be difficult to move, stiff, or even locked. In a normal, healthy knee joint, each end of the joint...

Arthritis is a collection of joint diseases where you feel pain, stiffness, and swelling in one or more joints, such as your shoulder, hips, hands, or knees. Whether you have osteoarthritis (caused by overuse or aging), or rheumatoid arthritis (an autoimmune disease), moving your afflicted joint is probably painful and...

The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) estimates that about 30% of postmenopausal women in the United States and Europe have osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease in which your bones don’t produce enough new bone cells to replace old ones. Your bones become porous, brittle, and are at a greater risk for...

If you’re at all interested in cutting-edge medicine, you’ve probably heard about platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy. Even though PRP first made headlines when athletes like Pittsburgh Steeler Hines Ward used it to accelerate recovery from sports injuries, doctors and researchers seem to find new applications for PRP ever day. Google...

The Arthritis Foundation estimates that arthritis is the No. 1 source of disability in the United States, affecting more than 300,000 children and 50 million women and men. Arthritis isn’t a single disease. Instead, it’s a group of more than 100 joint conditions, the most common of which are osteoarthritis,...

Your knees are among the largest ball-and-socket joints in your body, and one of the most complex, too.  Because your knee has so many moving parts and supports most of your weight when you walk, run, jump, or dance, your knee is easily injured. As the population in the United...

Osteoporosis — a condition in which your bones lose density and become fragile and brittle — has no symptoms. In the past, breaking a bone or developing a deformity such as a hunched back were among the few signs that led your doctor to suspect that you had osteoporosis. Today,...

If you’ve already experienced the intense pain and swelling in your big toe that’s a key sign of a form of arthritis called gout, the last thing you want to do is trigger another attack. Thanks to your rheumatologist, you’ve been pretty good about sticking to your diet, avoiding foods...

While the cure for arthritis eludes medical science, there are many potent treatments for the condition. Chief among these are avoiding foods that exacerbate joint pain and eating foods that reduce it. Here are the five worst and best foods for arthritis and joint pain. Foods to Avoid Trans Fats...

The benefits of yoga for overall physical and emotional well-being are numerous — from increased flexibility and muscle strength to lower stress levels and mental clarity. September is National Yoga Month, and the team of board-certified rheumatologists at the Rheumatology Center of New Jersey, with offices in Princeton, Somerville, Flemington,...

According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, some 44 million Americans have osteoporosis or low bone mass. If you have osteoporosis, you’re at a greater risk for fractures, hospitalization, and a host of other complications. Taking steps to protect your bone health is an important part of overall healthy living.Although more...

Traveling requires a lot of preparation. Factor in an autoimmune disease like lupus and the thought of traveling can become overwhelming and seem nearly impossible, particularly during a flare. However, patients with lupus can fulfill their travel dreams or obligations. We’ve put together a brief guide to traveling with lupus...

You may not play golf like Tiger Woods or basketball like Kobe Bryant, but that doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from the same revolutionary therapies star athletes use to rehabilitate and repair damaged and aching joints. Whether your joints are creaking from a poorly healed sports injury or because of...