Overtreated: Time may be best treatment for back pain - source: USA Today
By one recent estimate, Americans are spending a staggering $86 billion a year in care for aching backs — from MRIs to pain pills to nerve blocks to acupuncture. That research found little evidence that the population got better as the bill soared over the past decade. "The way medicine is so Star-Treky these days, they believe something can be done," said Dr. Charles Rosen, a spine surgeon at the University of California, Irvine. The reality is that time often is the best antidote. Most people will experience back pain at some point, but up to 90% will heal on their own within weeks. In fact, for run-of-the-mill cases, doctors aren't even supposed to do an X-ray or MRI unless the pain lingers for a month to six weeks.
Strength training aids stroke-weakened hands, arms - source: Yahoo News
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Strength training improves hand grip and arm function in people who have suffered a stroke without causing increased muscle spasticity or pain, according to combined data from multiple studies.
Health Tip: Controlling Diabetic Nephropathy - source: Yahoo News
(HealthDay News) -- Diabetic nephropathy is damage to the kidneys that occurs from uncontrolled diabetes. The American Academy of Family Physicians has some suggestions on what you can do to help slow the damage.
Strength training aids stroke-weakened hands, arms - source: Yahoo News
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Strength training improves hand grip and arm function in people who have suffered a stroke without causing increased muscle spasticity or pain, according to combined data from multiple studies.
FDA Warns of Heart Risks With Diet Drug - source: Yahoo News
THURSDAY, Jan. 21 (HealthDay News) -- The weight-loss pill Meridia should not be used by people with a history of heart problems because the drug can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke in such people, U.S. drug regulators said Thursday.
Experts: Sitting too much could be deadly - source: Yahoo News
LONDON – Here's a new warning from health experts: Sitting is deadly. Scientists are increasingly warning that sitting for prolonged periods — even if you also exercise regularly — could be bad for your health. And it doesn't matter where the sitting takes place — at the office, at school, in the car or before a computer or TV — just the overall number of hours it occurs.
Lighten up! How to beat back winter blues - source: msnbc
At northern latitudes, many people experience a lower mood, irritability, decreased energy, and changes in appetite, starting around now and lasting until spring. About 10 percent of people in northern states experience full-blown Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), with depressed mood, anxiety, irritability, fatigue, carbohydrate-craving, and weight gain or loss. Another 30 percent experience sub-syndromal SAD, a low-grade version of seasonal depression.