Cervical disc replacement can be life changing for those suffering relentless and ongoing pain from a pinched nerve in the neck
Dr Laurence McEntee is an orthopaedic spinal surgeon at the Gold Coast Private Hospital. He said that neck and arm pain were common and cervical disc replacements yielded good outcomes. But only a small percentage of patients referred to him are operated on. “Most of the time GPs refer to me for an opinion and in the majority of cases patients don’t require surgery.
“Instead, I give advice and reassurance that non-operative care through physiotherapy or nerve steroid injections should lead to resolution of symptoms. If the pain hasn’t settled in three months using conservative methods, or if the patient gets marked weakness or muscle wasting, I would look at surgical disc replacement.”
Cervical Disc Replacement > Traditional Fusion Methods
Dr McEntee, who specialises in spinal disc replacement surgery and is an Assistant Professor at Bond University, said cervical disc replacement had many benefits over traditional fusion methods, which often led to unwanted future operations.
“Fusion puts more stress on the levels above and below the fused disc so the chances of needing to operate on those adjoining discs in the future are higher,” he said.
“The ability to replace the disc, rather than fuse it, also means you don’t lose movement in the neck which helps patients get back to normal sport and activities. Cervical disc replacement also allows for a quicker recovery as there is no need to wait for something to fuse; and it also eliminates the risk of it not fusing.”
The Replacement
Cervical disc replacement involves removing a damaged or degenerated cervical disc and replacing it with an artificial disc device. Dr McEntee said the procedure was generally suitable for younger to middle-aged patients who presented with predominately arm pain due to a pinched nerve at one-two levels of their neck.
“This pain is usually from wear and tear or they may have had an injury but often there’s no clear history of an accident. For single-level cervical disc replacement there is usually a one- to two‑night hospital stay. Pain from the procedure is usually limited and improves markedly within two to three days. Nerve symptoms such as pain, numbness and weakness are often dramatically improved within hours of the surgery.
After discharge, patients will require physiotherapy rehabilitation for three months, after which time they return to normal activities, including sport. The procedure has no specific age cut-off but if the disc is really collapsed down, or if the patient has arthritis in the facet joints, they wouldn’t be suitable for a disc replacement and a fusion is a better option.”
Dr McEntee also performs multi-level disc replacements, however in Australia this procedure is currently only available for WorkCover patients.
For information contact: Pacific Private Clinic Suite 6.5B, Level 6 123 Nerang Street Southport QLD 4215 P: 07 5613 2065 E: info@drlaurencemcentee.com.au
A SOUND NIGHT’S SLEEP grows more elusive as people get older. But what some call insomnia may actually be an age-old survival mechanism, researchers report.
A study of modern hunter-gatherers in Tanzania finds that, for people who live in groups, differences in sleep patterns commonly associated with age help ensure that at least one person is awake at all times. This means that if a lion comes looking for a meal, there will be at least one person in the tribe to give off the alarm call.
Mismatched sleep schedules and restless nights seem to be an evolutionary leftover from a time many, many years ago. Says researcher Dr David Samson, “The idea that there’s a benefit to living with grandparents has been around for a while, but this study extends that idea to vigilance during night-time sleep.”
Sleep Studies Reveal All
The Hadza people of northern Tanzania live by hunting and gathering their food, following the rhythms of day and night just as humans did for hundreds of thousands of years before people started growing crops and herding livestock.
The Hadza live and sleep in groups of 20 to 30 people. During the day, men and women go their separate ways. Women forage for tubers, berries, and honey. The men hunt for meat in the savanna woodlands near Tanzania’s Lake Eyasi. Then each night they reunite in the same place, where young and old alike sleep outside, or together in huts made of woven grass and branches.
Alyssa Crittendenis a professor of anthropology and says that the Hadza people tell an important part of the human evolutionary story because they live a lifestyle that is the most similar to our hunting and gathering past. “They sleep on the ground, and have no synthetic lighting or controlled climate – traits that characterised the ancestral sleeping environment for early humans.”
Sleep Trackers
As part of the study, 33 healthy men and women aged 20 to 60 agreed to wear a small watch-like device on their wrists for 20 days, that recorded their night-time movements from one minute to the next.
Hadza sleep patterns were rarely in sync, the researchers found. On average, the participants went to bed shortly after 10 p.m. and woke up around 7 a.m. But some tended to retire as early as 8:00 p.m. and wake up by 6 a.m., while others stayed up past 11 p.m. and snoozed until after 8 a.m.
In between, they roused from slumber several times during the night, tossing and turning or getting up to smoke, tend to a crying baby, or relieve themselves before nodding off again.
As a result, moments when everyone was out cold at once were rare. Out of more than 220 total hours of observation, the researchers were surprised to find only 18 minutes when all adults were sound asleep simultaneously. On average, more than a third of the group was alert, or dozing very lightly, at any given time. And that’s just out of the healthy adults; it doesn’t include children, or people who were injured or sick. Yet the participants didn’t complain of sleep problems.
Guards Not Needed
The findings may help explain why Hadza generally don’t post sentinels to keep watch throughout the night. They don’t need to, the researchers say. Their natural variation in sleep patterns, coupled with light or restless sleep in older adults, is enough to ensure that at least one person is on guard at all times.
Previous studies have found similar patterns in birds, mice and other animals, but this is the first time the phenomenon has been tested in humans. The researchers found that the misaligned sleep schedules were a byproduct of changing sleep patterns common with age.
Older participants in their 50s and 60s generally went to bed earlier, and woke up earlier than those in their 20s and 30s.
They call their theory the “poorly sleeping grandparent hypothesis.” The basic idea is that, for much of human history, living and sleeping in mixed-age groups of people with different sleep habits helped our ancestors keep a watchful eye and make it through the night.
Any time you have a mixed-age group population, some go to bed early, some later. If you’re older you’re more of a morning lark. If you’re younger you’re more of a night owl.
Clues to the Puzzle
The researchers hope the findings will shift our understanding of age-related sleep disorders.
“A lot of older people go to doctors complaining that they wake up early and can’t get back to sleep,” the researchers said. “But maybe there’s nothing wrong with them. Maybe some of the medical issues we have today could be explained not as disorders, but as a relic of an evolutionary past in which they were beneficial.”
If you are up before dawn, don’t forget to look out for lions.
The Cervical Centre at the Gold Coast Private Hospital have seen a significant increase in referrals for colposcopy – a procedure undertaken to detect cancer after a woman returns an abnormal pap smear. This is following the new cervical cancer screening program which now includes the human papillomavirus (HPV) testing. Head of The Cervical Center, gynaecologist Graeme Walker, said the public system was under immense pressure. “Some public hospitals have a 12-week waiting list for the most abnormal pap smears, whereas we can see most patients within two weeks and urgent patients almost immediately.”
Practice Manager, Robyn Densley
The new tests give a positive or negative result for HPV. This can lead a “positive” patient to think they are at a higher risk of significant abnormality, but this might not necessarily be the case. “A lot of patients wrongly believing they have cervical cancer, and they attend my rooms in a state of heighted anxiety and distress.”
Alleviating patient stress and giving women faster access to quality care was why The Cervical Centre was created. Dr Walker wants to make sure women were not scared off regular testing. “Of the women who have cervical cancer, 85 per cent haven’t been screened for the past five years so the message is simple – screening saves lives. We want to make sure every woman feels comfortable enough to have a pap smear and come for colposcopy, if necessary, so that we can find any abnormalities early and give them the best chance of survival.
Dr Walker says, “At The Cervical Centre, we focus on relieving anxiety by creating a calm and safe environment, quick and efficient testing and treatment, and strong lines of communication. Women are well-educated on what their individual circumstances are and the next steps they need to take. I have been performing colposcopies for two decades and in my experience, while the thought of the procedure is quite stressful, if done correctly, women barely feel the anaesthetic or the following treatment. We can treat almost all patients in the rooms so removing the need for hospital admission further reduces the anxiety.”
Dr Walker and Gold Coast Private Hospital established the clinic in 2018. He is supported by his wife Hilary – a specialist nurse colposcopist. The Cervical Centre is the Gold Coast’s first and only dedicated colposcopy clinic, giving women access to an outpatient service offering cervical examinations, biopsies and Loop Excision of the Transformation Zone (LETZ) in minutes, under local anaesthetic.
Dr Walker said, “We set this clinic up in consultation and partnership with Gold Coast Private Hospital with the intention of making it accessible to everyone, regardless of whether they have private health insurance or not.”
Women who do not have private health cover will be charged a one-off fee of $350, which includes referral, colposcopy, biopsy and, when necessary, recall and LETZ. Women with private health insurance are eligible to be fully covered for the procedure, depending on their level of cover.
For information contact: Dr Graeme Walker Gold Coast Private Hospital Suite 15, Ground Floor 14 Hill Street, Southport Qld P: (07) 5530 0491 W: www.thecervicalcentre.com.au
Want to read more about the amazing Gold Coast Private Hospital? Just click here.
It’s rice time! Erfan from Shiraz Persian Restaurant in Surfers Paradise teaches us how to make a classic Persian dish, Zereshk Polo.
I was asked to do a simple recipe for Silver Magazine, but being a Persian, I can’t! All ingredients came from our Persian Store at Shiraz. So next time you are in for a meal, grab the ingredients from our food store!
This is a very popular Iranian dish, both at restaurants and home. This dish can be made in various ways. But this way is how I like it.
Prep time: 10-15 mins
Cooking time: 45 mins–1 hour
You need:
-Onions
-Carrots, grated or finely julienned
-Chicken thighs or breast
-Rosewater
-Takdaneh Tomato Paste
-Barberries
-Saffron
-Garlic (optional)
-Lime
-2 celery sticks (optional)
-Rice
-Sheep ghee
-Sugar
-Turmeric, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.
METHOD
Finely dice the onions. Garlic is optional (Persians hate the smell of chicken, so we use garlic and onion or whatever we can make that smell go away). Put in the oil and cook the onions until they soften and go brown, then add one teaspoon of turmeric. Put a heavily-stacked tablespoon of tomato paste on the side of the pan, and cook on a medium-low heat. Use the Iranian tomato paste, it has a much more intense flavour than the paste you find here in supermarkets. We use the Takdaneh brand in all of our dishes at the restaurant. It is an excellent product.
Once it is slightly heated, add the carrot, and some boiling water, and stir together everything in the pan. Cook for another five minutes or so. Add two teaspoons of salt and one teaspoon of pepper.
Then, add the chicken on top. Close the lid and let it all cook for ten to fifteen minutes. Then, open the lid and turn the chicken over. Add a couple of celery sticks for flavour. You can put them aside before serving the dish.
While that is simmering away, you can prepare the saffron water. We use premium Iranian saffron in the restaurant. Everyone knows how expensive saffron is, so here’s a tip on how to get the most out of it: Don’t just take it out and throw it in the food. You have to grind it in a herb grinder to get the most flavour from it. After grinding, store it in a jar that you never use for anything else, and never wash it! Keep it in the fridge. It’s just too expensive to waste!
There are two ways to dissolve saffron. The first is to mix it with hot water. The other way is to throw it on ice, which makes the colour way more vibrant. What I do is melt it in ice, then put it in a clear pumppack dispenser. It’s always ready to go for that night. For this dish you just need the tip of a teaspoon worth of ground saffron.
You also need to prepare the rice. The best brand in my opinion is Woolworths brand basmati rice. It’s actually a very good rice!
Iranians always soak the rice overnight because we believe if there is any residue, or anything that’s inside the rice, it will come out at this stage. I wash the rice three times with warm water. The fourth time I add a little bit of cold water, and a bit of salt. One cup of rice serves about two people. For every cup of rice, add 1.5 cups of water.
Grab one full tablespoon of barberries. Soak for a few minutes in water to soften them, and to get off any residual particles.
About 10 to 15 minutes before your chicken is ready, put your rice in a pan and add water. Put a lid on it and put it in the oven on medium heat. Let it boil and the water will evaporate. Once you see the water has almost evaporated, turn the heat down low and let the bottom of the rice get crispy. We call it tahdig – the bottom of the pot. Then add a little saffron to the rice.
Back to the chicken. Once fully cooked, turned the heat off and then add one tablespoon of rosewater, plus two tablespoons of the saffron water you made previously. Add half a teaspoon of cinnamon, half a lime.
Grab a very small frying pan and add a teaspoon of sheep ghee. You can get it from our store here, it tastes ten times better than anything else available. When it is melted, add the barberries. You don’t want to cook them, just heat them. The barberries are very sour, so it needs to be balanced with sweetness, so add one or two teaspoons of sugar to taste. Also add a teaspoon of saffron water and a touch of rosewater. Then you can mix it in with the rice, or lay it across the top.
Then serve it all up and let the praise of your family and friends wash over you!
All the ingredients for this dish can be bought at the Shiraz Bazaar.
Volunteer now! There are many projects around the world that need your life skills! Many people are using their retirement to volunteer and give back. Here are some of their stories.
VOLUNTEER STORY 1 – DOCTOR MAGGI GOES TO PERU
Retired doctor Maggi Gallaher said retirement has liberated her to indulge her appetite for volunteering. Maggi served at Sagrada Familia, a community in Peru. It serves 1,400 at-risk children, from one month of age to 17 years of age. The community shelters about 600 homeless and abandoned children and provides nutrition, healthcare and education. Another 800 day-students attend public school at Sagrada Familia from the surrounding shanty towns outside Ancon. Maggi said her service program in Peru was a true inspiration.
So why did Maggi choose the community of Sagrada Familia? She says she was impressed by the story and commitment of the founder Miguel. “He created this facility after he lost his young son, helpless to save him despite having lots of resources. As he looked at the other children in the hospital, he felt the spirit of his son in their faces. For 30 years now, he has worked tirelessly to care for street children that are brought to the facility. I was reminded why I chose to do Paediatrics after med school. I love children, especially the little ones!”
Dr Maggi loved helping out at-risk kids
Maggi was assigned to conduct paediatric examinations at the clinic. “The children enjoyed having me listening to their hearts and then listening themselves with the stethoscope. Each had an issue that was addressed. The second day, I was instructed to look for nutritional deficiencies in the kids. We spent the morning checking 23 beautiful 3-year-olds. The teacher chose to bring the class to the clinic. What fun!”
Maggi also did exams on the other kids, mostly finding needs for dental care and screening for anaemia. “My translator Diego was a delight to work with. We would go to the daycare after a morning in the clinic to help feed the 35 youngsters there. Feeding all those little ones was quite an adventure on my volunteer service program in Peru.”
There was some downtime too!
During pauses in clinic visits, Maggi helped serve the first shift of lunches in the dining room. “It was an organised chaos as the 600 children came in for lunch. Very impressive to see it all unfold into no spilled food. It was quite an operation feeding that many children. I don’t know how the regular staff does it without extra help, but they seem to have everything under control, always calm. I could learn a lot from them.
“When we first entered Sagrada Familia, students ran to greet us. I haven’t been hugged and kissed so much in a single day. The children are sweet, happy, and full of love. They really know how to make you feel welcome.”
Happy faces in Peru
Sagrada Familia is a remarkable charity. “They feed lunch to all 1,400 students every day, mostly consisting of rice and either lentils or vegetable stew with a tiny bit of meat. Sagrada Familia depends on donations of food, often receiving the things that grocery stores were going to throw out. We ate lunch with the children – it was delicious. On my last day with the team, they had a special celebration preparing Pachamanca (food from the earth). When we arrived in the morning, the students were busy digging a hole about 10 feet long and 4 feet deep. This is where they lit a fire to heat rocks to cook lamb (donated by a friend of Miguel), chicken, potatoes, and lima beans. What a treat!”
The children’s smiles and hugs were the rewards for Maggi’s volunteer service program in Peru. “I felt that I received so much more than I gave during this week of volunteering.”
VOLUNTEER STORY 2 – TOM AND RONDI OLSON IN GREECE
Retired couple Tom and Rondi chose to do volunteering work in Crete, Greece. The island’s craggy beauty and friendly culture drew them to this volunteer adventure. Here is their story.
We awoke to the sound of the rooster crowing and the church bells chiming – a pleasant alarm clock. We had an early morning visit to the local Greek Church, and a fabulous cup of Greek coffee with a Greek pastry at the local coffee shop. Then, we met Sam, our team leader and teammates for our orientation meeting. The weather was perfect, so we sat outside by the pool, in the shade of the trees in what can only be described as paradise. It was important to clear our minds and be ready, willing and open to learning. We reviewed the program expectations; we are not here to take over, take charge or impose our ideas, but to provide assistance where it’s needed.
Tom and Rhondi clocking up some good karma points
Volunteers stay together in the comfortable and accommodating Hotel Handakas. We were assigned to Tenia’s Language School, which is within perfect distance from our hotel – about a 10-minute cab ride. The work project begins with lesson preparations in the afternoon.
Classes begin at 5pm and end at 9pm. The ultimate goal is for the students to pass an English proficiency test. While universities are free in Greece, admission is not assured, and it is extremely competitive. An English certificate (that is awarded through the proficiency test) is a plus! We feel integrated into their success.
There are a lot worse places in the world to volunteer than Greece!
As volunteer teachers, we provide the students an opportunity to speak with native English speakers. The lessons also provide the perfect opportunity to get to know the students personally. When the principal, Tenia, told the kids the class was over, they’d ask if they could just discuss one more topic. It was really flattering, and they were so cute!
As Tenia grew more confident in our skills as volunteers in her classroom, we were given more responsibility. We practiced the lessons with them one-on-one and in small groups. She usually ended each class with an oral / written exam. When the students successfully complete the test, they go home. The last student may leave 30 minutes after the first student, but they all pass before leaving. She has a 100% pass rate at her school.
Once you get to know the kids, teaching is so much more fun! Many of the students at the school are immigrants/refugees from Albania, Morocco, and Syria.
Crete is the largest of over 3,000 Greek Islands. Most of our travels were along the Northwest coast, experiencing its jaw-dropping beauty. The history of Crete dates back over 8000 years – one of the earliest civilisations ever recorded. Archaeologists have done an amazing job in restoring fragments of artifacts like pottery, frescoes, and crafts.
Volunteers stay in the beach town of Amoudara, a convenient 20-minute bus ride just outside the capital, Heraklion. Here you can find a number of spectacular museums, upscale restaurants, and cafes all offering that special Cretan hospitality. Our experience is the Cretan people are universally friendly, helpful, and extremely generous. Stop for a cup of coffee, (be it in a mountain village or a coastal town) and you’ll be greeted with a smile and friendly hello. You’ll get biscuits, peanuts, water and raki with your coffee all for €1.50. Enjoy a meal, dessert arrives compliments of the house. The same applies to the winery – buy a couple of bottles, and they throw one in free. They are very warm and generous people. ■
VOLUNTEER STORY 3 -JULIET COOKE – TEACHING IN THE COOK ISLANDS
I was assigned to Sister Louisa’s large 32-student first grade class. I mostly helped a few young boys, individually and in groups, who had learning or behavioural difficulties, so that the sister could teach the rest of the class. To keep them occupied during the class, I tried to help them improve their reading and literacy skills.
I redesigned the school’s stationary and reformatted some newsletters for the school. The teachers and administrators need as much help as we can give to keep them operating. They do amazing work themselves, but they need this extra support that volunteers like us can provide. They all are very appreciative of the support the volunteers are giving to the school.
Cook Islands: A volunteer paradise
It was lovely to feel part of a team and just go along and do whatever was required. I spent most mornings keeping a small boy from disrupting the rest of the class. I was really happy to see how individual attention helped the kids develop in such a short period.
One of my favourite moments was when this small boy that I worked with took my hand and walked me to the auditorium while we were going to singing practice. It seemed like I found a friend, and I realised how important my time and attention was for this little first-grade student. I felt sorry to be leaving him behind. For me, volunteering is all about connecting with people. I wanted to connect in a deeper level with the people in the Cook Islands and I certainly did.
After the days’ classes, I got to bike around the island or go snorkelling. It was great to have the other volunteers who were all very nice and interesting, to do things with. Rarotonga offers a variety of activities to do and is a lovely island to explore. ■
Juliet helping out in paradise
HANDS-ON HELP
Volunteering gives you the chance to be a part of something bigger than yourself, find purpose, and use your civic responsibility for the greater good. Take the leap to get your hands dirty, make a difference, and help a community in need. Here are the top 5 ways you can provide hands on help:
PAINT AND REPAIR BUILDINGS
If you can wield a paintbrush or pound a hammer, your skills are needed. Help preserve and maintain community facilities by renovating, repairing, and painting classrooms, community centres, health clinics, and childcare facilities. Brighten the lives of children by providing nicer facilities with a fresh coat of paint. Help with plumbing, electrical, and carpentry assistance. Teach young people to develop their trade skills. If you have experience in any of these areas, you can be of tremendous assistance in many communities.
TUTORING AND CLASSROOM TEACHING
Are math, chemistry, physics, geography, or biology among your passions? Tutor children at the primary or secondary school level. Work one-on-one and in small groups with students of all ages. In some communities, you will assist teachers and in others, you will plan your own lessons and activities.
GARDENING
Do you have a green thumb? Help establish, plant, weed, and harvest household, school, and community gardens. Help community leaders, students, and parents raise bountiful crops of fruits and vegetables.
PARENT WORKSHOPS
If you have a background in healthcare, food, nutrition, education, or business, your skills are needed in Tanzania where volunteer professionals conduct interactive workshops with pregnant women and parents. You can present on a variety of topics, such as staying healthy during pregnancy; caring for newborns; healthy diets; child brain development; growing fruits and vegetables; raising poultry; preparing nutritious meals; positive discipline; and more.
CHILDCARE
Offer the “extra” attention at-risk kids crave and deserve, while also mentoring them in social skills and hygiene. Stimulate their young minds and bodies. Work with children 1 to 5 years of age through co-creating arts and crafts, playing with toys, reading storybooks, teaching hand washing with soap and water, and more. ■
All of these amazing volunteers participated in programs run by Global Volunteers. Their fabulous website has a lot of different ideas about ways you can volunteer. Their packages include accommodation in tourist-class hotels and all food. Get inspired and log onto www.globalvolunteers.org or email info@globalvolunteers.org
And you are never too old. Global Volunteer’s oldest participant was 95 years old. So what are you waiting for?
