Articles

By Dr. Mikiko Murakami, DO | Board-Certified in Pain Medicine and PM&R | Walnut Creek, California If you have been living with knee pain, shoulder pain, or another joint condition, there is a good chance your doctor has offered you a cortisone shot. For decades, corticosteroid injections have been the standard go-to for joint pain [read more]

Introduction If you’ve been following this trilogy, this is the grand finale! In the first article, we established that muscle is far more than tissue that moves your skeleton. It’s a signaling organ that communicates with your brain, your liver, your immune system, and your fat tissue. Lose muscle, and in addition to losing strength, [read more]

Midlife Reset Series, Part 2 In the first article of this three-part series, “Midlife Reset: Captain Muscle, Steering Health in Midlife,” we talked about muscle as more than strength. Muscle helps us move with power and agility, but it also acts like an organ. It sends out helpful signals that can lower inflammation and communicate [read more]

Midlife Reset Series, Part 1 Introduction Distinct changes start happening to our bodies in our forties, and then again in our fifties and beyond. I wake up with “bed injuries.” I’m sore for two days after going out dancing. And I’ll be honest, I haven’t fully embraced aging. Some days, it just sucks. Midlife is [read more]

Cut through the noise of health research December 17, 2025 In my last article, “Why 80 Doesn’t Feel Old in Japan,” I shared the reflections and lessons I gathered from watching how Japanese physicians approach illness—and how everyday Japanese habits function as a form of quiet, powerful preventive medicine. In this piece, I want to take you [read more]