Arthoscopic surgery has been a mainstay for many years to fix knee problems associated with overuse. I had always thought that if I had a problem with my knees from sports that I would opt for this kind of surgery. One problem that I seen to have with my knees is that I have some floating cartilage that every now and then really hurts my knee but this is not what arthoscopic surgery is for, instead arthoscopic surgery is used to cut out arthritis spots in the knee.

A new study questioning the usefulness of arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee should encourage patients to consider physical therapy as an effective non-surgical option, according to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). The study was published in the September 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

The study found that physical therapy, combined with comprehensive medical management, is just as effective at relieving the pain and stiffness of moderate to severe osteoarthritis of the knee as surgery. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: abnormal movement, American Physical Therapy Association, arthritis, arthroscopic surgery, Christopher M Powers, co-director, director of the Biokinesiology program, floating cartilage, knee pain, knee surgery, Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Research Lab, New England Journal, orthopedists, osteoarthritis, pain, physical therapist, physical therapy, president, R. Scott Ward, Sports Medicine, sports medicine clinics, surgery, Swimming, the Annals of Internal Medicine, The New England Journal of Medicine, treatment of osteoarthritis, University of Southern California Division of Biokinesiology & Physical Therapy

In a recent report from the New England Journal of Medicine it was reported that in Scotland where smoking in public places has been banned that at the same time, apparently as a result of this legislation, Coronary heart disease went down by 17%

I have yet to see many studies that show the result of banning smoking in public places. Back when I was a smoker and when I was quitting smoking I am not sure that this really made much of a difference. I wanted to quit smoking because it is so unhealthy, smoking was expensive even then and the banning of smoking in certain public places made it inconvenient.

The real problem with quitting smoking I believe is the fact that governments still love the money that they get from tobacco sales even though they have outlawed most of the places that people can smoke. Smokers are stuck being able to buy smokes but have less and less places to smoke them in. It is really time for governments to decide if banning places is enough or make smoking illegal. Come on one way or the other but as we all know most governments are spineless when it comes to pissing off anyone.

Anyway. I think that years ago I had so much trouble quitting because smoking is very difficult and there is not nearly as good a support system as is needed. Every non-smoker (that never smoked) just says that it is dirty and that you should just go ahead and quit. I know how difficult quitting smoking really is so I started a quit smoking email course to help people out. Check it out now, it is free and helpful.

Tags: coronary heart disease, heart disease, New England Journal, Scotland, The New England Journal of Medicine

A new diet study conducted by the New England Journal of Medicine has had some interesting results. I am always a little shocked by the poor results of these studies but lets dig into it.

The study was done in Israel with a group of 332 moderately obese people, that is people that knew that they had to lose some weight. The group dieted for two years and most of them, 84% were still on the diet at the end.

There were three diets, a low fat diet, (standard diet) a Mediterranean Diet (like the book), and a low carb diet (Atkins). The people stayed on the diet that was chosen for them for the entire two years.

The shocking part? That the did not lose very much weight at all over the two years. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: American Heart Association, atkins diet, diet study, energy intake, england journal of medicine, Israel, low carb diet, low fat diet, Mediterranean, mediterranean diet, New England Journal, olive oil, The New England Journal of Medicine

There is a nutty story making the rounds today about a woman that drank hand sanitizer, you know the stuff that you rub on your hands as a disinfectant. The people in the know about how to find alcoholic beverages in strange places apparently know that hand sanitizer is mostly alcohol…and probably do not care that it is very dangerous to drink.

The 49-year-old Maryland inmate seemed seriously sick after he drank from a gallon-container of hand sanitizer. Described as “loony,” “red-eyed” and “combative,” officials whisked him to a nearby Baltimore hospital for treatment.

But they quickly discovered he wasn’t ill — just very, very drunk on Purell.

The October incident, detailed Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine as one of the first documented cases of its kind, has raised questions about the potential abuse of alcohol-based hand sanitizers by teenagers and other at-risk groups.

“The widespread use of hand sanitizer is fraught with a great deal of danger,” said Suzanne Doyon, medical director of the Maryland Poison Center, who co-authored a letter in the journal about the case. “From an infection control perspective they are excellent, but there is this risk involved.”

Purell, which is 70 per cent alcohol, is far more potent than conventional drinks such as beer (five per cent), wine (10 per cent) or hard liquor (40 per cent)

Since the October incident, the Maryland Poison Center has received reports from five or six other adults in the state who consumed hand sanitizer because “they were looking for a buzz,” Doyon said.

A spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson, the maker of Purell, said when used as directed, Purell is “safe and effective.”

Tags: Baltimore hospital, Johnson & Johnson, Maryland, Maryland Poison Center, medical director, New England Journal, Purell, spokeswoman, Suzanne Doyon, The New England Journal of Medicine

Here is an article from The Salt Lake City Daily Herald. I am including it as it does show the way that METs which are a calculation of workout based on oxygen consumption.

Disheartened by a failed marriage and years of weight gain, Ellen Bowden decided to turn to a personal trainer to help reshape her body and lifestyle.

Since January, the 47-year-old Salt Lake City court mediator has lost 11 percent body fat, shed about 25 pounds, improved her diet, quit smoking and toned up under the guidance of Michael Streeter at the 24 Hour Fitness center in Sugar House.

Streeter designed an exercise program for Bowden using the Karvonen formula, which calculates a person’s target heart rate by a person’s age and pulse. Three or four days a week, Bowden hits her rate of 144 on the elliptical machine.
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: aerobics instructor and personal trainer, Ashley Jensen, Cardiologist, Carey Hamilton, Chicago, Chicago's Rush University Medical Center, diabetes, Ellen Bowden, fitness, Fitness Institute, Fitness Institute at LDS Hospital, Frank Yanowitz, high blood pressure, LDS Hospital, manager of Ladies Workout Express, Marci King, Martha Gulati, mediator, medical director, Melissa Walred, Michael Streeter, Mike Young, personal trainer, personal training director, reporter, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City court, sports science, Stephanie Christian, The New England Journal, The New England Journal of Medicine, The Salt Lake City Daily Herald, the Salt Lake Tribune, University of Utah, Utah, XCel Spa