If you’ve been told that your blood glucose is higher than normal and that you have prediabetes, your doctor is likely to first suggest lifestyle steps to stop it from progressing to diabetes. The steps that can have the most benefit are losing weight and improving your diet, which obviously go hand in hand. But studies also show that different types of exercise can play an important part in diabetes prevention as well, especially if you’re overweight. Research done at the University of Michigan and published in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that, for overweight people, regular aerobic activity could interrupt the changes in metabolism that set the stage for diabetes. As you’re mapping out a fitness strategy with your doctor, talk about how to incorporate both types of exercise into your life. National guidelines are to get 150 minutes per week of aerobic activity, which could be 30 minutes on each of five days or, for beginners, three chunks of 10 minutes each on five days. Strength training could be done on the two non-aerobic activity days as long as there is a rest period of at least 48 hours between sessions to give muscles time for recovery and growth. More information The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on prediabetes and how to prevent it from progressing.

The range of motion of the human thumb makes so many everyday hand movements possible. Whether you’re an athlete gripping sports equipment, a baker whisking egg whites or a do-it-yourselfer hammering a nail, you’d be at a total loss without your thumbs. Yet most people do little to protect these overlooked but essential digits. First, be aware of the common ways you can injure your thumbs. At the top of the list is overuse from texting and playing video games. Putting out your hand to cushion a fall is another cause. So is oxer-extending the thumbs when you’re playing tennis and when you’re skiing, typically when you fall if your hands get caught in your poles. To prevent problems, take steps to avoid overuse injuries and condition your thumbs just as you would any other body part. Give your thumbs a rest from texting by using your index fingers and/or the voice feature on your phone and other gadgets. Do daily stretches to improve range-of-motion and flexibility, like thumb extensions and flexions. With your palm up and fingers together, first extend your thumb out to the side to make a 90-degree angle with your hand, then cross your thumb over your open palm toward the base of your pinkie and hold for 10 seconds. Next, open and close your fingers in a fist. Finally do…  read on >

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting about 31 million Americans, and is the leading cause of disability among adults. Known as OA, it causes pain and other symptoms in joints, which can affect the ability to do everyday tasks. There’s no known cure, but there are treatments that can relieve pain and maintain joint function, according to a rheumatologist at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, N.C. “Osteoarthritis is the thinning or wearing down of cartilage, which is the cushion between the separate bones in a joint,” Dr. Francis Luk said in a health system news release. “When your doctor says you have arthritis, most often they are referring to osteoarthritis.” The main risk factors are aging, obesity, prior injury, repetitive stress on a joint and genetics. OA can occur in any joint, but the most common are knees, hips and hands. “Symptoms vary from person to person but someone with osteoarthritis of the knee typically will have pain when they stand up from a seated position or when they’re walking, especially when going up and down stairs,” Luk said. “With osteoarthritis of the hands, people typically experience pain when they do things that involve gripping — washing dishes, holding a wrench, opening a jar, things like that,” he added. Treatments include over-the-counter drugs such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs,…  read on >