ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Tension triggers muscle building
• Developing Countries: School sick days could be reduced with safe drinking water
• Stroke patients may benefit from new routines
• Significant increase in painkillers prescribed to US adults visiting emergency departments
• Sleep disturbance following acute fractures not related to injury
• Platelet-rich plasma treatment more effective than cortisone for severe hip bursitis
• Gastric bypass surgery may diminish knee pain in obese patients
• Greater risk for surgical intervention, longer hospital stays in obese trauma patients
• Obese children more likely to have wrist fractures, complications related to healing
• Most Charnley total hip replacements viable after 35 years
• 2.5 million Americans living with artificial hip, 4.7 million with artificial knee
• Universal neuromuscular training reduces ACL injury risk in young athletes
• Significant head, neck injury risk associated with extreme sports
• Innovative solar-powered toilet ready for India unveiling

Tension triggers muscle building Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:22 PM PDT Skeletal muscles are built from small contractile units, the sarcomeres. They are connected in a well-ordered series to form myofibrils that span the entire muscle. Contractions of these sarcomeres result in contraction of the respective muscle. Scientists recently identified a key mechanism how this muscle architecture is built during development. 'Mechanical tension is the essential trigger,' explains the group leader.

Developing Countries: School sick days could be reduced with safe drinking water Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:22 PM PDT Providing free drinking water in schools in developing countries could be key to helping people in developing countries lift themselves out of poverty according to research. The new research shows that schools providing clean water report fewer children off sick. It is the first study to investigate whether providing drinking water in schools can reduce absenteeism.

Stroke patients may benefit from new routines Posted: 14 Mar 2014 01:42 PM PDT People who have suffered a stroke often experience severe fatigue. But doctors find it hard to help these patients as their experiences of fatigue may not necessarily be caused by physiological problems. New research suggests that dreams of returning to everyday life as it was before the stroke may contribute to the patients' experiences of fatigue and that it may be a help to establish new routines instead of trying to regain old ones.

Significant increase in painkillers prescribed to US adults visiting emergency departments Posted: 14 Mar 2014 01:41 PM PDT Researchers report dramatic increases in prescriptions of opioid analgesics, such as Percocet, Vicodin, oxycodone and Dilaudid, during U.S. emergency department visits from 2001 to 2010. These findings were not explained by higher visit rates for painful conditions, which only increased modestly during the time period.

Sleep disturbance following acute fractures not related to injury Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:50 AM PDT Sleep disturbance following acute fractures is more likely related to a patient's emotional well being, rather than their injury, according to new research. According to the study authors, the mental health status of patients with sleep difficulty in the later stages of fracture healing should be carefully assessed in order to provide the highest level of care. In addition, orthopaedic trauma surgeons should counsel patients on the expectations of difficult sleeping following acute fractures.

Platelet-rich plasma treatment more effective than cortisone for severe hip bursitis Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:37 AM PDT Platelet-rich plasma injections are significantly more effective and durable than cortisone injections for the treatment of severe chronic hip bursitis, according to new research. Chronic hip bursitis is a common yet difficult condition to treat successfully.

Gastric bypass surgery may diminish knee pain in obese patients Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:37 AM PDT Gastric bypass surgery may diminish knee pain in obese patients with little or no osteoarthritis, according to new research. The study authors recommend that surgeons consider bariatric consultation for obese patients who have knee symptoms but lack advanced osteoarthritis or other conditions amendable to orthopaedic management.

Greater risk for surgical intervention, longer hospital stays in obese trauma patients Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:37 AM PDT Higher TBMI was associated with longer hospital stays, more days spent in the intensive care unit, more frequent discharge to a long-term care facility, higher rate of orthopedic surgical intervention, and increased total hospital costs, according to new research.

Obese children more likely to have wrist fractures, complications related to healing Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:37 AM PDT Children considered obese are more likely to suffer a distal radius fracture, a bone break near the wrist, and more likely to experience complications related to the healing of the fracture, according to research.

Most Charnley total hip replacements viable after 35 years Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:37 AM PDT In a new study, researchers sought to evaluate the clinical, radiographic and functional outcomes of a Charnley total hip replacement -- a traditional hip prosthesis consisting of a polyethylene acetabular (plastic) cup and a metal femoral head -- in patients under age 50 at a minimum of 35 years after the initial surgery.

2.5 million Americans living with artificial hip, 4.7 million with artificial knee Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:37 AM PDT Two related studies have found a growing incidence of adults younger than age 65 undergoing total knee replacement and total hip replacement surgeries, and a potential under-utilization of these procedures in some segments of the population.

Universal neuromuscular training reduces ACL injury risk in young athletes Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:37 AM PDT Universal neuromuscular training for adolescent athletes -- which focuses on the optimal way to bend, jump, land and pivot the knee -- is an effective and inexpensive way to avoid ACL sprains and tears. The ACL is a critical ligament that stabilizes the knee joint. An ACL injury, one of the most common sports injuries, often requires surgery and a lengthy period of rehabilitation before an athlete can return to sport and other activities.

Significant head, neck injury risk associated with extreme sports Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:37 AM PDT A new study has found that the thrill of extreme sports comes at a price: a higher risk for severe neck and head injuries. The findings provide "an opportunity for sports medicine and orthopaedic surgeons to advocate for safer equipment, improved on-site medical care, and further research regarding extreme sport injuries," said a researcher, who recommends helmet use for biking, skiing, snowboarding and other sports.

Innovative solar-powered toilet ready for India unveiling Posted: 13 Mar 2014 01:45 PM PDT A revolutionary toilet fueled by the sun that is being developed to help some of the 2.5 billion people around the world lacking safe and sustainable sanitation will be unveiled in India this month. The self-contained, waterless toilet has the capability of heating human waste to a high enough temperature to sterilize human waste and create biochar, a highly porous charcoal.

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