Pain
Fit teens less apt to have chronic pain later on
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Good flexibility in the teen years for boys can lower the risk of tension neck in adulthood, while good endurance strength may do the same for girls, Finnish researchers report.
Little is known about how physical fitness in adolescence contributes to the likelihood of common muscle and bone problems later on, such as lower back pain and knee injuries, Dr. Lasse O. Mikkelsson of the Pajulahti Sports Centre in Nastola and colleagues note.
New Mouthwash Helps with Pain Linked to Head and Neck Cancer
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Doctors in Italy are studying whether a new type of mouthwash will help alleviate pain for patients suffering from head and neck cancer who were treated with radiation therapy, according to a study published in the February 1, 2006, issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology - Biology - Physics, the official journal of ASTRO, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.
Fifty patients, suffering from various forms of head and neck cancer and who received radiation therapy as part of their treatment, were observed during the course of their radiation treatment.
Foot pain should not prevent obese from exercising
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Obese people should seek immediate treatment for chronic foot and ankle problems that limit physical activity, the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS) urge.
“As our body weight increases, more load and stress are put on the feet,” foot and ankle surgeon Dr. Sean Wilson of Aspen Ortho & Rehab Specialists in West Allis, Wisconsin, and ACFAS spokesman, told Reuters Health.
Extra Nerve Fibers May Heighten Female Pain Perception
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Women appear to have a greater density of nerve receptors than men, suggesting that they are constitutionally more sensitive to pain, researches here reported.
Women averaged double the number of receptors compared with men in a certain area of facial skin, according to a study conducted by Bradon J. Wilhelmi, M.D., and colleagues at the Plastic Surgery Institute of the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.
Low-Dose Radiation Numbs Lengthy Post-Shingles Pain
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Low-dose radiation could help relieve long-lasting post-herpetic neuralgia that often trails a painful herpes zoster outbreak, Swiss researchers reported.
“We think that radiation is at least as good as antiviral drugs in preventing post-herpetic neuralgia,” said Mohammed Suleiman, M.D., a radiation oncologist at Hospital of Sion in Switzerland. “This treatment,” he said, “could be an alternative for people who can’t take antiviral medications,” such as Zovirax (acyclovir) and Valtrex (valacyclovir).
Got Pain? Play a Video Game
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Got pain? Try a video game. Sports and fighting video games produce a dramatic level of pain distraction than others, according to a new study by Dr. Bryan Raudenbush, associate professor of psychology at Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, WV.
Raudenbush’s study, Effects of Video Game Play Types on Pain Threshold and Tolerance, was presented at the Society for Psychophysiological Research Conference, September 20-25, in Lisbon, Portugal.
Magnetized insoles don’t appear to relieve foot pain
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Magnetized insoles have no greater pain-easing effect than similar insoles that don’t contain magnets, according to a new study.
Some study participants did report pain relief, regardless of which type of insoles they were wearing, and the effect tended to be particularly strong among patients who said they believed that magnets could ease pain.
Bone strength may play a role in ‘growing pains’
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Weaker-than-average bones may contribute to the “growing pains” some children experience in their legs, a small study suggests.
Israeli researchers found that some children who complained of such aches had less dense shinbones compared with the norm for their age. The finding, according to the study authors, suggests that relatively weaker bones may make some kids more vulnerable to pain from exercise.
That does not mean, however, that parents should stop their children from being active; the reduced bone strength seen in some children, say the researchers, is probably innocuous. Moreover, exercise helps build bone during childhood.
Pelvic inflammatory disease linked to pelvic pain
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Researchers have identified a range of factors that increase the risk of developing chronic pelvic pain from pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which results from vaginal infection, often sexually transmitted, that ascends into the pelvis.
“Recurrent PID repeatedly damages the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries, increasing the likelihood of chronic pelvic pain and infertility,” warned the team leader Dr. Catherine L. Haggerty.
Cough suppressant may ease fibromyalgia pain
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A medication normally used to quiet a stubborn cough may also help ease the chronic pain of fibromyalgia, a small study suggests.
Researchers found that the cough suppressant, dextromethorphan, temporarily diminished pain perception in both fibromyalgia patients and healthy adults. The benefit appears to stem from the fact that dextromethorphan blocks the action of a chemical messenger known as NMDA, which helps relay pain signals to the brain.
