Category: Health

Backache Relief

Backaches are a common ailment in adults, as well in people who work with heavy loads or sit at the computer for many hours.

Resting is a good way to ease the discomfort, however, certain simple exercises are more effective as eliminating the cause. Swimming is an example of an enjoyable, effective way to rid yourself of pack pain. Swimming strengthens your back muscles while the water supports your body, putting less strain on your back. If you don’t have a convenient pool nearby, or swimming is not for you, here are easy exercises that you can do at home:

• Stand with your back against the wall, with your feet positioned beneath your shoulders. Slide down the wall into a crouch and hold for five seconds. Repeat five times.
• Lie on your stomach. Flex the muscles in one leg and lift it up off the floor, count to ten, then switch legs. Repeat five times with each leg.
• Lie on your back with your arms touching your sides. Lift one leg off the floor for ten seconds, then switch. This can be difficult at first, so you can keep one leg bent with the foot flat on the floor while raising the other leg.
• Stand behind a chair and grip the back with your hands. Lift one leg behind you, making sure to keep it straight. Switch legs.

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Recall

Johnson & Johnson has recalled nearly five million packages of the popular over-the-counter medications Benadryl and Motrin because a J&J review “revealed insufficiencies in the development of the manufacturing process,” J&J said. The recall applied to four million packages of Children’s Benadryl Allergy Fastmelt Tablets in cherry and grape flavors, distributed in the U.S. and elsewhere, as well as 800,000 bottles of the painkiller Junior Strength Motrin Caplets, which had been distributed in the U.S.

The company also recalled about 71,000 packages of Rolaid antacid from throughout the United States. The Rolaids, according to J&J, had been produced by a third party, and were recalled due to consumer complaints regarding “an uncharacteristic consistency or texture, traced to crystallized sugar in the product.”
The recall, like earlier recalls of Tylenol and other consumer items during the past year, involved products at the company’s Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, facility. That facility was shut earlier in the year to deal with quality-control issues, including unsanitary conditions.

Johnson & Johnson stated that the recall was for wholesale and retail outlets; “consumers do not have to take any action,” their spokeswoman said.

Obesity a Problem of Affluence, New Study Confirms

scaleThe Harvard School of Public Health has just published a new study indicating that in developing countries a high body mass index (BMI) is only a problem among the more affluent living . According to research findings obesity is a problem in wealthier, first and second world countries and effects all levels of society. However, obesity has not yet become a society wide problem in poorer countries. There obesity is limited to the rich.

“Previous research on the increasing overweight and obesity burden in developing countries has assumed that the burden is shared by everybody within these countries. However,according to S. V. Subramanian, lead author of the paper and associate professor in the department of society, human development, and health at HSPH, he found that the social patterning of weight continues to closely resemble the unequal distribution of income and other resources.”

New 911 Call Center Services Suggested

Arlington locals may soon be able to text 911 in order to receive emergency help. Yesterday, public safety leaders held a press conference with FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski to discuss possible changes in 911 services.

Genachowski pointed out that 70% of 911 calls now come from mobile phones, and explained that “the current 911 system is efficient and reliable…but it doesn’t support tomorrows communications tools. With today’s advances in commercial mobile broadband technologies, consumers are texting and sending pictures more through their phones. But right now, you can’t text 911. It’s time to bring 911 into the digital age.” He used the shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007 as an example of why this is a good idea. He explained that frantic students and witnesses has attempted to text 911 during the emergency, but their messages never went through. Genachowski added that the systems can help in other situations as well. He explained that new-generation 911 options would enable a witness to send a photo of a car leaving after an armed robbery, or allow a deaf person to communicate with an emergency call center without difficulty. Automatic equipment like highway cameras or personal medical devices would be programmed to text 911 during emergencies.

Currently, no countries are implementing these ideas. The development and utilization of the system will demand a lot of effort and cooperation. The new system will also require an increase in staff at emergency call centers.

The Sun is Our Natural Clock

The secrets of how our body’s biological clocks adjust to the shorter days of winter, can give us insight into the mechanism behind jet-lag and the effects of shift-work. Researchers are studying plants and the daily cycle of activities, called circadian rhythms. They are discovering precisely fine-tuned processes which allow the plant’s genes to change their responses as the hours of dawn and dusk change each day. The plant’s genes apparently also able to respond to the length of the daylight in each day.

This amazingly delicate system allows plants to make the needed adjustments each and every day. The plants daily reset their internal clocks in response to the seasonal variations in daylight. This is what allows the plant to control the timing of crucial activities including growth and flowering.

These findings bear relevance to the same rhythms found in humans. People’s rhythms also respond to variations in amounts of daylight, interruptions in the rhythms, etc. International travel in high speed airplanes can wreak havoc with the delicate balance of our circadian cycles.