DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 64-year-old female in good health, but after years at a desk I have upper back and shoulder flexibility issues. About 20 years ago I had frozen shoulder syndrome that resolved through physiotherapy and exercise. I now want to keep my upper shoulder flexibility and maybe enhance it. I have […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Can you comment on the benefits of weightlifting over aerobic exercise? I know that any exercise is beneficial compared with nothing, but which is better for losing weight long term? Running or jogging can burn calories, but I have read that muscle requires more energy metabolically and therefore the more muscle you […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I recently spent time with a seasoned hearing-impaired citizen. She told me that tinnitus is sometimes caused by prescription meds, especially those for high blood pressure. I have been taking 25 milligrams of losartan, one per day in the morning for about 15 years. About five years ago, my tinnitus began. Lately, […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: If I have the beginnings of arthritis of the knee, is an elliptical machine better to use than a treadmill? — M.D. ANSWER: If you had an inflammatory arthritis like rheumatoid arthritis, there are powerful medicines that can dramatically slow or stop progression of the disease. So I’m going to assume you […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Sixty years ago, I was diagnosed with Raynaud’s syndrome by my doctor. I started taking nifedipine during winter months, but not during the summer. After moving to Colorado, I took the medication year-round because the weather here was often cool in the mountains even in summer. Then I was told to take […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Sixty years ago, I was diagnosed with Raynaud’s syndrome by my doctor. I started taking nifedipine during winter months, but not during the summer. After moving to Colorado, I took the medication year-round because the weather here was often cool in the mountains even in summer. Then I was told to take […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 74-year-old male, and I recently received a negative result from my mail-in fecal test. I have been on an every-five-years colonoscopy cycle for the past 20 years (noncancerous polyps were always found) and since my colorectal surgeon recently retired, I decided to use the FIT. Since then, I have […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 74-year-old male, and I recently received a negative result from my mail-in fecal test. I have been on an every-five-years colonoscopy cycle for the past 20 years (noncancerous polyps were always found) and since my colorectal surgeon recently retired, I decided to use the FIT. Since then, I have […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: You once wrote a column on chronic cough and suggested a medication that might be useful in treating this. Would you please remind me of the drug name? I have an elderly mother who suffers daily with this affliction. She can no longer have a conversation or speak on the phone because […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: You once wrote a column on chronic cough and suggested a medication that might be useful in treating this. Would you please remind me of the drug name? I have an elderly mother who suffers daily with this affliction. She can no longer have a conversation or speak on the phone because […]