Therapists have known for a while that yoga can help relieve back pain, but how good a pain reliever is it? Now comes research Boston University that suggests that it’s  just as good as physical therapy. A BU news release reports that the researchers conducted a randomized trial of 320 […]
Pain
Eating Fish Dims Joint Pain
OK, it’s an “observational study,” the kind that doesn’t establish a true cause and effect, but research conducted at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s hospital definitely suggests that eating fish reduces the joint pain and swelling of rheumatoid arthritis. The New York Times reports on the study, which tracked the fish […]
Chondroitin As Good As Celebrex For Knees
What to take for knee osteoarthritis; chondroitin, Celebrex, or both?  Now comes a study of patients in five European countries that suggests that chondroitin sulfate works just as well as Celebrex for the treatment of pain and joint function affected by osteoarthritis. Science Daily reports that 604 patients from five […]
Steroids For Knee Pain? Not So Much
Thinking about getting a steroid shot to relieve the pain of knee arthritis? Think again. A new study by researchers at Tufts Medical Center suggests that you would do just as well if you injected a placebo. The New York Times reports on the research, which randomly assigned 140 men […]
Frequent Steroid Use Can Weaken Muscles
Steroids, such as prednisone, can be a good thing, repairing and strengthening damaged muscles. But too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, and researchers at Northwestern University are convinced that steroids taken too frequently for long periods of time can weaken muscles. A Northwestern news release […]
Gut Trouble? Try Marijuana, or Hot Peppers
Strange but true: both marijuana and chili peppers, not combined, appear to have a calming effect on our stomachs. A University of Connecticut news release reports that researchers at the school have found that both ingredients interact with the same receptors in our gastrointestinal tract. The researchers discovered that capsaicin, the […]
Short Term Steroid Use Comes With Risks
Millions of prescriptions for short term steroid use are written every year to people hoping to ease the misery of everything from back pain to allergies. Now comes a report from researchers at the University of Michigan suggesting that such short term use is not without risks. A U of […]
Now They’re Saying Yes To Prostate Testing
OK, after years of going back and forth on the merits of PSA tests, experts are once again suggesting that they’re a good idea, maybe. The New York Times reports that the recent change of mind is based largely on a European study that found a slightly smaller number of […]
Knee Arthritis Can Chill Exercise
Knee arthritis might be good for eliciting sympathy (or not) but it’s bad for your health, and not just because it hurts. Duke University researcher Alexander Gunn reports that among people with knee arthritis, fear of movement oftens inhibit meaningful exercise. Gunn and his colleagues surveyed 350 people with knee […]
Lack Of Sleep May Up Prostate Cancer Death Risk
Does less sleep equal greater risk of dying from prostate cancer? Let’s look at the numbers revealed in a recent study by epidemiologists at the American Cancer Society. A news release from the American Association for Cancer Research reports that epidemiologists analyzed data from two large, long-term cohort studies, one […]