Three cases of life-threatening illness are linked to an infected worker at popular Mexican restaurant
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/rare-typhoid-fever-qdoba-mexican-restaurant-colorado/
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Weight Gain a Challenge for Children With Autism
Preschoolers, teens on the spectrum are more likely than peers to be overweight, obese
From: http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/news/20151103/weight-gain-a-challenge-for-children-with-autism-study?src=RSS_PUBLIC
Do restaurant calorie labels lead to healthier eating?
Calorie counts on fast-food menus don't necessarily lead to the changes some supporters expected
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/do-restaurant-calorie-labels-lead-to-healthier-eating/
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/do-restaurant-calorie-labels-lead-to-healthier-eating/
Mayo Clinic Researchers Reduce Inflammation in Human Cells, A Major Cause of Frailty
From: Mayo Clinic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3qHn73SK3I
Belly Fat Linked to Gestational Diabetes Risk
Might be a better way to spot women in danger of developing blood sugar disease, researcher says
From: http://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20151103/more-belly-fat-in-first-trimester-linked-to-diabetes-risk-later-in-pregnancy?src=RSS_PUBLIC
USDA Invests $30 Million to Improve Water Quality in Mississippi River Basin
WASHINGTON, Nov. 3, 2015 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will invest $30 million this year in 33 new projects and 40 existing projects to improve water quality in high priority watersheds the Mississippi River Basin. These projects reduce loss of nutrients and sediment to waters that eventually flow into the Gulf of Mexico.
From: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2015/11/0305.xml&contentidonly=true
From: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2015/11/0305.xml&contentidonly=true
Complementary therapies for neck pain
Perhaps this escaped you, but your neck is an amazing thing. At the very top, it houses a rock-hard cage — the cervical vertebrae —that contains and protects the top of the spinal cord, connecting your brain to the rest of your body. Despite this, the neck is fully mobile, allowing you to turn, bend, and nod your head. Then there are the blood vessels, the esophagus, the windpipe, and the thyroid (among other structures). And, of course, day in and day out, your neck carries around the equivalent of a bowling ball — your 11-pound skull and its contents. No wonder, then, that sometimes the neck gets sore.
Neck pain matters
For many people with neck pain, it’s much more than just a “pain in the neck.” It’s a leading cause of doctor’s visits and disability. Improvement can be slow. In many cases, there is no single treatment that is uniformly successful. Chronic (long-lasting) neck pain is an agonizing condition for millions of people worldwide.
A pain of many causes
Neck pain is not a disease. It’s a symptom, and a number of conditions can cause it. Some of the more common causes are:
- muscle strain or spasm
- disc disease
- arthritis
- an injury
In many cases, though, the precise reason for neck pain can’t be identified. Add that to the fact that treatments don’t always work well, or work quickly, and it can be a remarkably frustrating problem.
That’s why the results of a new study are so encouraging — and potentially important.
Complementary therapies for neck pain
Research published in the latest edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine compared two alternative approaches to the treatment of chronic neck pain with the results of standard care. The researchers randomly divided patients with neck pain into three treatment groups:
- “Usual care.” This includes the treatments ordinarily recommended by primary care physicians, such as medications and referral to a physical therapist.
- Acupuncture. These patients received usual care, plus up to 12 acupuncture sessions over 5 months.
- Alexander Technique. This group received usual care plus 20 one-on-one instruction sessions regarding the Alexander technique, a method of self-care that emphasizes “self-observation and subtle behavioral change” to control one’s response to pain and improve how activities of daily living are carried out.
This study is making news because of its major finding: when the participants were assessed a year after the start of the study (that is, 6 to 7 months after completing treatment), those assigned to acupuncture or Alexander Technique lessons reported significantly less pain and disability than those receiving usual care alone. No serious side effects due to treatment were reported.
Of course, there are caveats
Before we declare victory over neck pain, we should mention some important limitations of this research. They include:
- More than half of the patients with neck pain originally considered for the study were excluded. The most common reasons for exclusion were the presence of only minor pain, a “serious” cause of neck pain (such as rheumatoid arthritis), or prior surgery
- Differences in the amount of improvement between the three groups was somewhat modest. For example, compared with symptoms at study entry, there was a 32% improvement in the pain score with acupuncture, 31% with the Alexander Technique, and 23% for usual care.
- These study subjects were particularly motivated to enroll in a clinical trial that required a good deal of time and commitment.
- These treatments require not only a big time commitment but, outside of clinical trials, may be expensive.
- We don’t know whether the benefits extend beyond 1 year.
What do the results mean for neck pain sufferers?
Even with the encouraging results of this study, we need better treatments for neck pain and to understand why they work. For example, the improvements noted in the acupuncture and Alexander Technique groups could be due to the placebo effect. Many chronic pain conditions improve significantly with lots of personal contact between patients and practitioners and an expectation of improvement, both of which are key parts of acupuncture and the Alexander Technique. If these two features alone — as opposed to the actual interventions — could explain the findings of this trial, that means we need to figure out how to exploit this effect so that more people can benefit from it. Finally, future research could demonstrate even better outcomes with a combination of acupuncture, Alexander Technique lessons, and other non-medication approaches.
Considering how much stress we put on our necks, it’s unlikely neck pain will ever be completely eliminated. So, we should be open to any new approach that is safe and better than what we already have.
Related Posts:
The post Complementary therapies for neck pain appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.
From: Robert Shmerling, M.D. http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/complementary-therapies-for-neck-pain-201511038559
Sweetened Drinks May Up Men's Heart Failure Risk
Two servings daily linked to higher odds for the disabling condition, study says
From: http://www.webmd.com/men/news/20151102/sweetened-drinks-might-raise-mens-risk-for-heart-failure?src=RSS_PUBLIC
Fast-Food Menu Calorie Counts Not Changing Habits
Affordable Care Act requires nationwide menu labeling in 2016
From: http://www.webmd.com/diet/20151102/fast-food-menus-with-calorie-counts-not-changing-new-yorkers-habits?src=RSS_PUBLIC
This is Killing More White, Middle-Aged Americans
Experts cite despair, especially among the least educated
From: http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20151102/substance-abuse-suicide-killing-more-white-middle-aged-americans-report?src=RSS_PUBLIC
Study reveals how teens, tweens use tech devices
A report by Common Sense Media shows tweens spend almost six hours a day on "entertainment media"
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/study-reveals-how-teens-tweens-use-tech-devices/
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/study-reveals-how-teens-tweens-use-tech-devices/
Restaurants offer healthier choices as nutrition label deadline nears
New research finds rules already in place may not mean we eat fewer calories, but they could lead restaurants to add healthier offerings for customers
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/restaurants-offer-healthier-choices-as-nutrition-label-deadline-nears/
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/restaurants-offer-healthier-choices-as-nutrition-label-deadline-nears/
Daily aspirin therapy: Understand the benefits and risks
From: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/daily-aspirin-therapy/art-20046797
Monday, November 2, 2015
How young is too young to be using tablets?
New research says that early childhood exposure to tablets has become nearly universal
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/how-young-is-too-young-to-be-using-tablets/
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/how-young-is-too-young-to-be-using-tablets/
Medicare to pay for end of life care
In a major change in policy, Medicare will now pay for end of life counseling
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/medicare-to-pay-for-end-of-life-care/
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/medicare-to-pay-for-end-of-life-care/
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