The Scope Radio

If you’ve just been diagnosed with chronic or acute kidney failure, you might have all kinds of questions going through your mind. Transplant surgeon Dr. Jeffery Campsen talks with nephrologist Dr. Martin Gregory about some common questions patients have and the steps to take after your initial diagnosis. From communicating with your doctor to starting dialysis, these two doctors talk about some important things to keep in mind going forward in your treatment.

Do you experience foot pain early in the morning or when you’ve spent a lot of time on your feet during the day? It could be what’s called plantar fasciitis. Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Alexej Barg talks about what can cause chronic foot pain and some exercises and treatments to help it. Not a lot is known about the causes of plantar fasciitis, but in this podcast Dr. Barg talks about what he thinks it really is.

Hiking is a fun summer activity for the whole family, as long as safety is a top priority. Dr. Cindy Gellner gives some tips for letting your kids have some fun in the outdoors without getting into trouble. She lists some important things to bring and how to set some ground rules for your young children and teenagers.

Years ago, cancer patients were told to limit physical activity and rest, but new research shows that exercise is the way to go. Dr. Pamela Hansen is the medical director at the Wellness and Survivorship Center at Huntsman Cancer Institute, and she has seen many patients transform after they begin exercise programs. She says exercise not only helps with physical health, but with the depression, anxiety, fatigue and chronic pain often experienced by cancer patients. In this podcast, she talks about what exercises are best for cancer patients and other tips for being active while you’re being treated or recovering.

Film presentations and art projects are usually not what you would expect to find at a medical school. But Dr. Gretchen Case from the University of Utah School of Medicine says this is a new and creative way of teaching the fundamentals of medicine that all medical students need to become a brilliant physician. Dr. Case talks about how she incorporates video and art in her class projects to better enhance her students’ medical education, and gives advice for other institutes that are looking to do the same.

Transitioning from volume to value in health care is a difficult but necessary change. Each hospital is different, has different challenges, cultures, etc., so there is no one size fits all solution. Even though, we can still learn from each other’s experiences. The CEO of Blue Mountain Hospital in Blanding, UT, Jeremy Lyman, talks about the challenges they’ve faced moving from volume to value and what they’re doing to overcome them. Thank you to the Robert Wood Foundation for making this journey possible.

The ADA became law in 1990 to ensure equal access and opportunities for individuals with disabilities. With that spirit in mind, scientists, researchers and physicians use technology to create devices that expand that access further than anyone could have imagined 25 years ago. Dr. Richard Kendall from University of Utah Health Care talks about how the TRAILS program’s sip & puff kayaks, robot legs, Bluetooth knees and other amazing inventions impact the lives of people disabled with spinal cord injuries by opening up a new world of recreation.

It is normal for women to sweat. But how much sweat is too much? Women expert Kirtly Parker Jones lists reasons why women sweat, and it isn’t just because you ran the mile. Dr. Jones also talks about medical conditions that can cause the problem, which is called hyperhidrosis, and why it is recommended to see your physician if you are sweating all the time or too much at a time.

What you learned as a Boy Scout on how to handle snakebites probably won’t come in handy and can even make the situation worse. Brad Dahl with the Utah Poison Control Center says once you’ve been bitten, those venom extraction kits won’t help much either. In this podcast he’ll tell you what you should—and shouldn’t—do if a rattlesnake bites you.

Nitrous oxide—or laughing gas—is used widely around the world for labor pain relief. But the United States only has approximately 100 hospitals that make it available to women in labor. Certified Nurse Midwives Debra Penney and Michelle Collins discuss the benefits of using nitrous oxide and why more hospitals should include it as a labor pain relief choice. They also talk about nitrous oxide’s other benefits and potential side affects to help you determine if it’s the better choice for you.

The Americans with Disabilities Act is 25 years old this month, and if you’re among the one in five Americans that has a disability, odds are it has impacted your life. Dr. Richard Kendall talks about the impact of the ADA , why it’s still important today and how to utilize it if you have a disability.

Back problems are painful. You might be thinking that more movement will cause more pain, so medication is your safest bet. But medicine is neither the only nor the best treatment for back pain. Dr. Richard Kendall talks with Dr. Tom Miller about treating back pain without medication. The two doctors discuss the benefits of exercise therapy, the stigma against it, and why seeing a physical therapist for back pain is so important.

Not all fat is bad for you. Unlike white fat, which stores energy and unwanted pounds, brown fat dissipates that same energy into heat when we’re cold. Claudio Villanueva, Ph.D. assistant professor in biochemistry and investigator at the Center for Diabetes and Metabolism at the University of Utah, talks about his research investigating how to convert white fat into good, brown fat. Doing so could be the first step toward developing novel therapeutics to combat obesity.

Would you let your three-year-old run around the yard waving a 2000-degree blowtorch? That’s how hot sparklers burn. Brad Wiggins from the University of Utah Burn Center says the injuries sparklers cause are real and can last a lifetime. Don’t underestimate the danger. Take a moment to find out the way most kids get hurt with sparklers—and with other fireworks—and what you should do to keep your child safe.

Unlike knee and hip arthritis, ankle arthritis usually surfaces in patients who are much younger and often lead very active lives. In this podcast, Dr. Tom Miller talks to specialist Dr. Alexej Barg about the main factors that lead to arthritis in the ankle and how patients can work to prevent it. He also talks about how his treatment plan differs from many other doctors and how that philosophy can help you to keep living an active lifestyle.