Back pain is one of the most common reasons people go to their health care provider or miss work, and it is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Most back pain gradually improves with home treatment and over-the-counter pain relievers. But for some people, back pain can be a debilitating problem that requires more advanced treatment. One option for persistent back pain is an implanted spinal cord stimulator that uses low levels of electricity to intercept or block pain signals.

On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Tim Lamer, an anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist at Mayo Clinic, explains how spinal cord stimulation devices are implanted and used to relieve persistent back pain.

Like many parts of life during the COVID-19 pandemic, medical education has had to adjust to necessary restrictions on in-person training, meetings and classes. While patient safety comes first, training the next generation of medical professionals needed to continue during the ongoing pandemic.

On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Jonathan Barlow, director of the Orthopedic Residency program at Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, explains how Mayo Clinic has adjusted during the pandemic to continue delivering medical education to fellows, residents and medical students. Dr. Barlow also discusses Mayo Clinic's efforts to diversify its cohort of students.

To stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have transitioned to working from home or working from offices with social distancing and using virtual technology to connect with others. Much of life has gone virtual, including schooling, but how does this affect you psychologically and physically?

On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Jeffrey Staab, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at Mayo Clinic, discusses the psychologic and physical effects of virtual meetings.

Monitoring screen time for children can be a challenge for parents and caregivers under normal circumstances. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, remote schooling has increased the amount of time students are glued to computer monitors and smartphone screens.

"Depending on the age of the child there are some considerations, because our younger children are just not meant to be staring at a screen for six, seven hours a day," says Dr. Tina Ardon, a Mayo Clinic Family Medicine physician.

In this Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Ardon talks about the challenges, frustrations and problem-solving skills needed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week, the first COVID-19 vaccine was approved for emergency authorization use in the United Kingdom. Meanwhile in the U.S., plans are being made to distribute COVID-19 vaccines, pending approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a committee within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recommends that health care workers and elderly people living in long-term care facilities receive top priority for COVID-19 vaccination in the U.S.

On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group, gives an update on vaccine approval and discusses logistics COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
Research disclosures for Dr. Gregory Poland.

As the COVID-19 surge sweeps across the U.S., it's crucial that people stay home and avoid gatherings to reduce community spread of the virus.

But for some, that loneliness is becoming an epidemic within the pandemic. Social isolation, especially for people in high-risk health care facilities, like nursing homes, is taking a toll on their mental health.

Health care professionals say people have an intuitive desire to gather and seek companionship. Even introverts are struggling with isolation.

In this Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Anita Bissinger, a Mayo Clinic Health System social worker, says people have been innovative and mindful of the fact people are lonely and need to support each other. This social isolation isn't forever and there are ways to combat the seclusion.

Eating disorders are complex medical issues, and the COVID-19 pandemic has created additional challenges for people who battle these disorders. For some, being home with constant access to food is difficult. For others, the lack of social support is a struggle.

Now isolation and stress are contributing to an increased risk of people developing eating disorders.

In this Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Leslie Sim, a Mayo Clinic psychologist, addresses eating disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pediatric growth charts track growth in infants, children and adolescents. While children can go through brief periods where they gain or lose a little weight, if children don't gain weight or grow well, they may be diagnosed with failure to thrive.

On the other end of the nutrition spectrum are children with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This occurs when too much fat is stored in the liver and can cause problems for the liver’s normal functioning.

This edition of the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast features an #AskMayoMom episode, which is hosted by Dr. Angela Mattke, a pediatrician at Mayo Clinic Children's Center. To discuss the nutrition spectrum in children, Dr. Mattke is joined by Dr. Dana Steien, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic, and Dr. Sara Hassan, a pediatric gastroenterologist and transplant hepatologist at Mayo Clinic.

For generations, people have intentionally and unintentionally exposed their skin to the sun. As a result, skin cancer has become the most common form of cancer in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Treatment options are limited for people with skin cancer, especially on the face and more specifically the nose.

Dr. Brittany E. Howard, a Mayo Clinic otolaryngologist, and head and neck surgeon, says the cancer often leaves a patient with deformities. And these patients sometimes require prosthetics. Dr. Howard specializes in facial plastic and reconstruction.

However, Dr. Howard says there is a relatively uncommon reconstructive surgery, using regenerative medicine techniques, that can help a patient return to a new normal and feel less self-conscious.

"After we treat the cancer, the specialized team can work with the patient all the way through the reconstruction surgery," says Dr. Howard.

In this Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Howard talks about research by Mayo Clinic's Center for Regenerative Medicine and the Mayo Clinic surgical team that can reconstruct parts of a patient's face.

The first COVID-19 vaccines to reach the market are likely to be messenger RNA vaccines, or mRNA. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mRNA vaccines work by teaching cells in the body how to make a protein that triggers an immune response. Unlike many vaccines that use a weakened or inactivated form of a virus, mRNA vaccines do not use the live virus that causes COVID-19.

On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group, explains how mRNA vaccines work, gives a status update on the pandemic and answers listener questions.
Research disclosures for Dr. Gregory Poland.