Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

A small electric “tickle” to the ear may affect the body’s nervous system, and British researchers claim this can promote overall well-being and may potentially slow down some effects of aging. The tickle treatment is called transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS). The procedure involves placing custom-made clips containing electrodes on the part of your ear called the tragus; that’s the small, pointed tip above your ear lobe. A small electrical current is delivered through the clips to affect the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is part of the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for body functions you don’t think about, like blood pressure, temperature and heart rhythm. The study authors suggest that the device may help balance the autonomic system. “We saw that just two weeks of daily tVNS helped to re-balance the levels of activity in the two branches of the autonomic nervous system,” said Susan Deuchars, one of the study’s authors. She’s director of research in the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Leeds in England. “These branches normally work in balance to allow healthy levels of activity. As we age — and also in certain clinical conditions — this balance changes so that the sympathetic branch predominates and this can be detrimental for health. tVNS daily seems to redress the balance of this activity towards that associated with healthy… read on >

Falls from beds, uneven floors and playing football are leading causes of nonfatal brain injuries in American kids, new research shows. For the study, researchers analyzed data on traumatic brain injuries among kids and teens treated at emergency departments of 66 U.S. hospitals between 2010 and 2013. Of those cases, 72% were attributable to products regulated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, according to the report published July 29 in the journal Brain Injury. “Structural designs, such as uneven flooring, often contribute to falls, which is the leading cause of traumatic brain injury in children,” said lead author Bina Ali. She is a research scientist at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in Calverton, Md. “In most cases, infants and children are safe in bed and when playing sports outside, but our study highlights some of the risks and the priorities in different age groups for preventing serious head injuries,” Ali explained in a journal news release. Young people account for about 1 million nonfatal traumatic brain injury cases treated in emergency departments each year, the researchers noted. In infants under a year old, one-quarter of such injuries were caused by falling from beds. Uneven floors were the second-leading cause at 14%. Among 1- to 4-year-olds, 10% of injuries involved beds; 10% involved stairs; and 10% were related to floors. Bunk beds are… read on >

Repetitive strain injury (RSI) can affect anyone who uses his or her hands a lot and repeats the same movements over and over again. It can develop whether you’re working at a computer all day or spending hours of leisure time immersed in handicrafts. At first, symptoms — like pain and tingling — may go away once you stop the motions or the activity. But without treatment, including lifestyle changes, symptoms are likely to become so severe that you could become unable to continue with your work or hobby. Recognizing RSI Symptoms Pain or burning Tingling Numbness Weakness Swelling Soreness Don’t hesitate to see your doctor if you experience one or more of these symptoms — don’t assume that a few days off is enough to stop RSI. If the source of pain isn’t addressed, symptoms can become irreversible. Part of the solution is to take regular breaks from problematic but necessary activities throughout the day. Get up and move around for at least five minutes every half-hour, and stretch your arms, wrists and fingers. Practice good posture. When sitting, your head and back should form a straight line from ears to hips. When at the computer, don’t let your wrists bend to one side. Keep them in line with your forearms, fingers slightly curved over your keyboard. Don’t self-treat by wearing a splint or… read on >

(HealthDay News) — A stomach ulcer is an open sore that develops on the lining of the stomach, says the National Health Service. The ulcer occurs when the layer protecting the stomach lining from stomach acid breaks down, damaging the lining. Signs of a stomach ulcer include: Pain. Indigestion. Heartburn. Loss of appetite. Feeling sick. Weight loss. The agency urges you to seek immediate medical attention if you are vomiting blood, passing sticky, tar-like stools or have worsening, sharp stomach pain.

Even a mild concussion can temporarily affect your sense of smell and trigger longer-term anxiety problems, a new study finds. It’s been known that such problems could occur after a major concussion. But this study found it’s also true for minor concussions caused by accidents such as falling off a bike with a helmet on, having a traffic fender-bender, falling on the ski slopes, or slipping on ice and hitting your head. “A lot of people will suffer a mild concussion at some point in their life, so realizing they have trouble smelling is the first step to telling their doctor about it,” said lead author Fanny Lecuyer Giguere. She did the research as part of her doctoral thesis in neuropsychology at the University of Montreal. The study included 20 people who suffered minor concussions and a “control group” of 22 people who broke limbs but had no concussion. Within 24 hours of their injury, just over half of the patients with mild concussions had a reduced sense of smell, compared with 5% of the patients with broken bones, the Canadian researchers found. A year later, the concussion patients’ sense of smell had returned to normal (most within six months), but their rate of anxiety (65%) was considerably higher than in the control group, the findings showed. Symptoms of anxiety included worry, difficulty relaxing and… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Herbs are plants or plant derivatives that can be used for their scent, flavor or therapeutic properties. Herbal medicines are sold in many forms including tablets, powders, teas, extracts and fresh plants. MedlinePlus urges people to remember that products labeled “natural” aren’t always safe and healthy. Herbal medicines do not have to go through the same rigorous testing that prescription drugs do. Herbs can interact with prescription or over-the-counter medicines. Before using an herbal medicine, get information on it from reliable sources, and discuss its use with your health care provider.

Brian Duncan doesn’t know why his brain still works as well as it does. Duncan, 67, got his bell rung more than once during his life — as a professional football player, an amateur boxer and a bull rider at Texas rodeos. He remembers one time he got slammed into the ground by L.C. Greenwood, a 6-foot, 6-inch defensive end for the Pittsburgh Steelers, so hard that he hallucinated he was back playing high school football. “We used to play a team that had a feed lot behind their football stadium,” Duncan said. “I’m all of a sudden thinking I’m in high school. I’m seeing cows and stuff behind the stadium, and I’m thinking, what in the world? I’m in Three Rivers Stadium. I was in a different world.” Despite that history, Duncan is one of the lucky athletes whose past punishment has not caught up to him. Duncan and players like him highlight what continues to be a point of ferocious debate among brain researchers — the effect of repeated head trauma on both brain structure and the brain’s ability to think, remember and reason. He’s part of a recent study of National Football League (NFL) players that found no link between impaired brain function and either the number of concussions players received or the number of years they played in the NFL. Study… read on >

(HealthDay News) — For those with back pain, even daily activities can be uncomfortable. A common treatment option is chiropractic care, says Duke University. A chiropractor typically will use his or her hands to improve joint mobility, relieve muscle tightness and ease nerve irritation in certain areas. Though chiropractic care can be uncomfortable at first, serious side effects are rare. Typically, patients have slight soreness afterward that eases over time.

Many older men take testosterone to boost their sex drive, but new research suggests that postmenopausal women who struggle with a sagging libido might want to follow suit. Applied topically, the hormone appears to increase women’s sexual function and satisfaction, according to a new review of 36 clinical trials involving nearly 8,500 women. Women naturally produce testosterone as well as estrogen, said lead researcher Susan Davis, a professor of women’s health at the Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in Melbourne, Australia. “Testosterone is a female hormone and there is consistent evidence generated over decades that postmenopausal women with loss of sexual desire or arousal may benefit from treatment with testosterone,” Davis said. The hormone appears to act directly upon sex hormone receptors in women’s brains, Davis explained. “Testosterone has also been shown to increase blood flow, including vaginal blood flow, so treatment may enhance orgasm and arousal by increasing blood flow to genital tissues,” Davis added. The idea of using testosterone to boost female sexuality has been around for decades, but has lain fallow since the mid-2000s, experts said. In 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shot down an effort by Procter & Gamble to sell a testosterone patch for women, said Dr. Andrea Dunaif, chief of endocrinology, diabetes and bone disease for the Mount Sinai Health System in… read on >

Some parents may be reluctant to give their kids powerful stimulants to treat the symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but a new review shows the medications bring significant benefits. In addition to helping kids calm down and concentrate in school, the review also found that the drugs help children avoid a lot of long-term negative consequences associated with ADHD, including depression, substance abuse and even driving problems. “Treating ADHD can help children avert some of the serious complications associated with ADHD,” said study author Dr. Joseph Biederman. He’s chief of clinical and research programs in pediatric psychopharmacology and adult ADHD at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston. Specifically, the study suggested that early use of ADHD stimulant medications was linked to a lower risk of: Major depression Anxiety Oppositional defiant disorder Conduct disorder Bipolar disorder Smoking Substance abuse Driving problems, such as car accidents Poor performance in school Although the current study can’t prove a definitive cause-and-effect relationship, Dr. Alan Geller, a psychiatrist from Gracie Square Hospital in New York City who treats children and adolescents, said it makes sense that treating ADHD symptoms can help prevent other problems. “A hyperactive child who interrupts and disrupts class is annoying. They end up getting marginalized, which can lead to substance abuse or conduct disorders, or depression and anxiety if they’re constantly frustrated,” he explained. Geller said adults… read on >