Month: February 2011

Stretching before you run doesn’t cause or prevent injury, new research finds. But don’t change what you’re doing now. That just might hurt you, the study also suggests. The study included more than 2,000 runners. They were randomly divided into two groups. One group stretched leg muscles for 3 to 5 minutes before running. The other group didn’t stretch. The study lasted 3 months. About 1,400 people completed it. About 16% of the runners got hurt badly enough to miss at least a week of running. Rates of injury were about the same for the stretch and no-stretch groups. But people who changed what they normally did for purposes of the study were more likely to get hurt. Former stretchers who stopped stretching for the study had a 40% increased risk of injury. Risk rose 22% for those who did not stretch before but were assigned to the stretching group.

Having two knees replaced at once may be a good option compared with two operations a few months apart, a study finds. Researchers studied two groups, about 35,000 patients in all. One-third of them had both knees replaced in the same procedure. The others had one knee replaced at a time. There were several months between procedures. Researchers kept track of both groups for a year. In the group that had one surgery, fewer infections occurred. There were also fewer problems that required a second surgery. This group did have a higher risk of heart attack or a blood clot in the lungs, however. Researchers said more study is needed to find out who would fare best with each approach. Study results were presented February 17 at a conference.

Obese people with arthritic knees have about 3 1/2 fewer years of able, pain-free life than slim people with healthy knees. That estimate comes from a new study. It focused on U.S. adults ages 50 to 84. Researchers used census data and other sources. They made estimates of how long people live with obesity and knee osteoarthritis. They also calculated how much of that time is hampered by pain and disability. For example, people may have trouble walking. The study found that obese people with arthritic knees lose an average of 3 1/2 healthy years. For obese people without knee problems, the loss is 2 1/2 healthy years. People with knee arthritis and normal weight lose nearly 2 years of good health, the study found. The journal Annals of Internal Medicine published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it February 14.

New guidelines give doctors more practical advice to help them prevent heart disease in women. The new document is from the American Heart Association. It updates guidelines from 2007. All were based on research. But the updated guidelines also focus on “real world” conditions that affect health. For example, a doctor’s patients may be older, sicker or poorer than those in research studies. The guidelines say doctors need to talk to women about whether they take their medicines and follow other advice. They should ask about side effects or anything else that may hinder women from doing what the doctor advised. Women who have had problems in pregnancy also need more attention. They may be at higher risk of heart attack, stroke or blood clots up to 15 years afterward. Doctors also should screen women for depression.

A simple test done on the sidelines of a game can help to detect a mild concussion, researchers say. Often the symptoms of a mild concussion are very subtle. The new test involves reading a series of numbers off index-size cards. People are told to read them as quickly as possible without errors. Each player first takes the test at the beginning of the season. Then the test is given again if a player takes a hard hit in a game. The reading speed is compared to the baseline test. A delay of more than 5 seconds suggests a concussion. In a study of 39 boxers, researchers found that test times lagged an average of 11 seconds for those who had a concussion. For boxers who had been knocked out, reading time increased about 18 seconds. The journal Neurology published the study online. HealthDay News wrote about it February 12.

Popular teens — but not the most popular — are the ones most likely to bully others, new research suggests. Researchers surveyed about 3,700 teens in 8th through 10th grades. They were asked how often they were the target of bullying or bullied others. Questions dealt with physical violence, threats, teasing, spreading rumors and shutting off someone from a group. Teens also were asked to name their top 5 friends. Researchers used the friends’ names to figure out who were the most popular kids. Those with higher social status were more likely to bully others. Researchers said bullying may have helped them climb the social ladder. But bullying dropped off for the top 2% of popular kids. At that point, maybe they were better off being nice, researchers said. Kids in the bottom 2% also did not bully. Two-thirds of the teens said they did no bullying.