Therapist Unlimited Blog

According to a latest research it was discovered that pain in elderly with dementia are often undetected.
The researchers discovered that the elderly who suffer from dementia aren’t able to say when something hurts or is sore.
They may demonstrate their pain through behaviours like rocking or striking out, and we often dismiss these actions as symptoms of the dementia instead of pain, which is usually from a different problem.
The researchers revealed arthritis, diabetic neuropathy, fractures, muscular contractures, bruises, abdominal pain and mouth ulcers are among the list of common ailments that go undetected.

The family of elderly suffering from dementia need to be vigilant since studies show the pain suffered by these people often goes undetected.

The research team explained it is important for those who live or work with persons with dementia to know how to identify when an elderly person is experiencing pain and receive treatment sooner rather than later.
The University of Alberta’s Cary Brown, PhD, has a new tool to help.
She has developed an on-line workshop and toolkit for caregivers, health-care providers, family members and friends of people with dementia.
The researcher from the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine created an evidence-based website with a narrated presentation on pain and dementia, a downloadable resource pack for family members, a downloadable pain log and a facilitator’s toolkit with background material, a planning guide, promotional material and supplemental information for organizations who wish to put on a workshop.

According to a recent medical study music might also help premature infants learn to suckle better and reduce their pain.
Dr. Manoj Kumar, an assistant clinical professor in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry’s
Department of Pediatrics said if confirmed, this would be a simple, low-cost way to help these tiny babies feed on their own faster and move them out of neonatal units sooner.
Kumar said if you can get them to feed earlier then you can save health-care resources.
Kumar added music also appears to reduce infants’ pain during circumcision and some medical procedures.
He explained music is increasingly being played in neonatal units on an informal basis because parents and caregivers have a perception that it’s beneficial for the infants.
Kumar, a clinical epidemiologist who also has training in health economics and several of his colleagues associated with the Alberta Research Centre for Child Health Evidence (ARCHE) in the Pediatrics Department decided to conduct a rigorous, systematic review of medical literature to see what research has shown.
Of 180 studies the U of A team examined, nine randomly controlled trials published between 1989 and 2006 met the review criteria and were included.

Those who have premature babies try to play music to improve their feeding and reduce pain at the same time.

These nine studies were all so different that the review team says it was not possible to reach any definitive conclusion.
But the team did find much "preliminary evidence that music may have beneficial effects in terms of physiological parameters, behavioural states and pain reduction during painful medical procedures."
"Music may also improve oral feeding among premature infants," the U of A researchers say.
In particular, Kumar notes one 2003 U.S. study reported that feeding rates increased significantly with use of a pacifier-activated lullaby (PAL) system in preterm infants who previously were having difficulty in making the transition to oral feeding. This result warrants further investigation, given its potential implications for health-care budgets, he says.
The PAL system consisted of a soother connected to a pressure transducer which was further connected to a tape recorder.
When the baby sucked on the soother, the pressure activated recorded lullabies.
Another high-quality pilot study, conducted in the U.S. in 2001, looked at whether music could help with pain control during circumcision. It found that playing recorded lullabies and nursery rhymes lowered pain levels as measured by the babies’ heart rate and oxygen saturation, and according to established pain scales that measure infants’ behavioural responses.
Moreover, the researchers said the link between late motherhood and longevity could be something that is not inherited. It could be good nutrition or good living, suggesting that if you are a healthier mom you live longer.
With these findings, women who gave birth late are very happy since they will more opportunities to be with their baby despite their old age.

Those people who have large thighs around the world better start rejoicing now.
A recent research has shown that individuals whose thighs are wider than 60cm have a lesser risk of premature death and heart disease.
Lead author, Professor Berit Heitmann, based at Copenhagen University Hospital, says the research may help GPs identify patients who are at an increased risk of early death and developing heart disease.
Heitmann revealed while several studies have already demonstrated that being either very overweight or underweight are related to premature death and disease, this is the first to investigate the implications of thigh size on health.
Almost 3000 individuals took part in the study in Denmark this included 1463 men and 1380 women.
Participants were examined in 1987/88 for height, weight, thigh, hip and waist circumference and body composition.
They were then followed up for 10 years for incidence of heart disease and 12.5 years for total number of deaths.
 

Those who have large thighs have lesser chance of suffering from heart disease and experiencing early death.
 

During the follow-up period 257 men and 155 women died, also 263 men and 140 women experienced cardiovascular disease and 103 men and 34 women suffered from heart disease.
When assessing the results, the authors found that the survivors had higher fat-free thigh circumference levels.
The relationship between thigh size and early death and disease was found after taking body fat and other high risk factors (such as smoking and high cholesterol) into account.
The researchers therefore suggest that the risk from narrow thighs could be associated with too little muscle mass in the region.
This is problematic because it may lead to low insulin sensitivity and type 2 diabetes and, in the long run, heart disease, they explain.
Moreover, the researchers conclude that the study "found that the risk of having small thighs was associated with development of cardiovascular morbidity and early mortality.
This increased risk was found independent of abdominal and general obesity, lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure and lipids related to early cardio vascular morbidity and
mortality".
The researchers believe that doctors could use thigh size as an early marker for at risk patients and suggest that individuals increase lower body exercise in order to increase the size of the their thighs if necessary.
Further research would be needed, however, to assess whether this approach was worthwhile.

According to the latest medical research knee is the most common body part that get injured among high school athletes.
Based on the research made by the Center for Injury Research and Policy (CIRP) of The
Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital it was discovered that ankle accounted for 12 percent followed by shoulder at 11 percent.
The researchers also found out that the most severe and common injury diagnoses were fractures (36 percent), complete ligament sprains (15 percent) and incomplete ligament sprains (14 percent). Commonly fractured body sites included the hand and finger (18 percent), ankle (14 percent) and wrist (11 percent).
The research team also discovered that high school football and wrestling athletes experienced the highest rate of severe injuries that caused high school athletes to miss more than 21 days of sport participation among a nationally representative sample of high school athletes.
It is said that severe injuries accounted for 15 percent of all high school sport-related injuries.
Study co-author Dawn Comstock, PhD, CIRP principal investigator at Nationwide Children’s and a faculty member of The Ohio State University College of Medicine revealed severe injuries negatively affect athletes’ health and often place an increased burden on the health care system.
 

Knee injury is common among high school student athletes.

Comstock added future research is needed to develop effective interventions to decrease the incidence and severity of high school sports injuries.
Among the sports studied in the study were football, boys’ and girls’ soccer, volleyball, boys’ and girls’ basketball, wrestling, and baseball and softball.
The data taken from the study were collected from the 2005-2007 National High School Sports Injury Surveillance Study, which was funded in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Center for Injury Research and Policy (CIRP) in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital works globally to reduce injury-related pediatric death and disabilities. With innovative research at its core, CIRP works to continually improve the scientific understanding of the epidemiology, bio-mechanics, prevention, acute treatment and rehabilitation of injuries.

A recent study has shown that those who drink heavily are at higher risk of getting inflicted with prostate cancer.
Based on the research heavy drinking consist of four glasses of liquor a day on five days a week.
The researchers in their study also found out that heavy drinking made finasteride ineffective for reducing prostate cancer risk.

Heavy drinkers better stop their habit or limit their liquor intake if they wish to avoid suffering from prostate cancer.

The research has shown that that finasteride’s ability to lower prostate cancer risk was blocked in men drinking 50g alcohol per day.
To avoid chances of suffering from prostate cancer, medical experts hope heavy drinkers will stop their habit or limit their liquor intake for the sake of their health.Prostate cancer, a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system is a deadly disease that should not be overlooked.
The cancer cells may metastasize (spread) from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly the bones and lymph nodes.
Prostate cancer may cause pain, difficulty in urinating, problems during sexual intercourse, or erectile dysfunction. Other symptoms can potentially develop during later stages of the disease.

Researchers has recently discovered that women who get pregnant have a more positive outlook in life.
The researchers also found out that due to the positive effect of childbearing women are also protected against any negative impact on their body image.
The team who made the study also discovered that women’s interpersonal relationships were also very important in relation to their body image, and investment in their
relationships with their baby, partner, family and friends also seemed to protect against body image concerns.

Women who get pregnant have a more positive outlook in life due to their condition.

It is said that the result of the research confirmed the fact all along that giving birth is the greatest gift a woman could have in their lifetime.
Not all women were given the privilege to bore their own child so having the opportunity to get pregnant and eventually give birth is such a memorable moment for any woman in this planet.
It had been chronicled that despite the pain in giving birth to a child and the common instances of getting fat due to the situation, women still accept the responsibility bravely.

Those heart patients who wish to avoid heart attack better start undergoing reperfusion therapy now.
According to a latest medical study, the use of reperfusion therapy in patients with heart attack (AMI) can save millions of lives in Europe.
The study has shown that an effective reperfusion therapy in an AMI patient can cut the individual risk of dying by half.
Based on medical facts, AMI is caused by a sudden blockage of a coronary artery, one of the vessels supplying the heart muscle with oxygen and nutrients.
The researchers said an effective reperfusion therapy provides a timely and sustainable reopening of the blockage.
Recent studies has shown that specialist centres can provide effective reperfusion therapy to more than 90% of their AMI patients.
In such centres, in-hospital mortality rate is now as low as around 5%.
The first development in reperfusion therapy was the application of fibrinolytic agents to dissolve the blood clots causing the vessel blockage.
Analysis of data from earlier studies reveals that, on average, fibrinolytic agents can reduce infarct-related mortality rate by 18% compared with no reperfusion therapy.
Fibrinolytic therapy is universally available and is still the mainstay of reperfusion therapy where healthcare resources are limited.
 

Reperfusion therapy offers hope to patients against heart attack.

More modern catheter-based reperfusion strategies, however, are more effective.
Compared with what can be achieved by clot-buster drugs, catheter-based therapy reduces infarct-related mortality by a further 37%. Using this approach, the coronary artery is re-opened mechanically with a balloon catheter and vessel patency is usually stabilised by placement of a stent.
Potent adjunct antithrombotic drug therapy prevents recurrent clot formation.
The larger survival benefit from catheter-based reperfusion therapy as compared with fibrinolytic therapy can be attributed to a higher success rate in reopening blocked vessels (90% versus 40-60%) and to better sustainability.
If no reperfusion therapy is initiated and the infarct-related coronary artery continues to be blocked, the heart muscle supplied by this vessel is destined to die.
Loss of functional heart muscle can cause death by pump failure or break-down of normal heart rhythm.
Moreover, it is a major cause of long-term illness due to heart failure. Effective reperfusion therapy can prevent the death of heart muscle cells and salvages a large proportion of the heart muscle at risk.
In this way, reperfusion therapy effectively prevents chronic illness.The percentage of heart-muscle salvage varies to a large extent on reperfusion modality, timing of reperfusion and patient characteristics.
Catheter-based reperfusion usually salvages around 60% of the heart muscle at risk.
For the individual patient this often means a normal life, despite having suffered a heart attack.

According to a latest study, four simple questions on well-being asked at the start of each session of ongoing couples therapy can greatly increase chances for reconciliation and improved relationships.
Based on the result of the largest clinical trial with couples to date, it shows that divorce and separation rates for couples that used this feedback technique were 46.2 percent less than that of couples who received therapy as usual.
The data are taken from the 2-year study conducted at the Vestfold Family Counseling Center in Norway by a U.S.-Norwegian team of researchers.
The researchers revealed from October 2005 to December 2007, 205 randomly selected couples receiving therapy in southern Norway participated in the study, which investigated the effects of providing ongoing feedback regarding the progress of treatment to both clients and therapists.
The research team said the couples had problems typical of struggling relationships: communication difficulties, loss of feeling for partner, jealousy/infidelity, conflict, and coping with partner’s physical or psychological problems.
They said half of the study group had feedback incorporated into their therapy while the other half did not.
The team bared couples who used the feedback method rated their well-being on an individual, interpersonal, social, and overall basis by using a visual scale called the Outcome Rating Scale (ORS) at the beginning of each session.

Marriages of couples on the brink of separation were saved by a highly effective therapy technique that uses feedback method.

The researchers explained the results were used to guide each session: if progress was not noted, new directions for therapy were discussed and implemented.
It is noted that therapists participating in the study received training on how to integrate the findings of the ORS and collaborate with couples to find new solutions.
Dr. Barry Duncan, one of the authors of the study said adding feedback can be the start of a revolution in couples therapy.
Duncan explained it encourages couples to honestly evaluate their progress and enables therapists to adjust therapy before it’s too late.
It is said that although feedback has been demonstrated to improve individual psychotherapy outcomes, no studies until now have examined couples therapy.
To get the data, participants were contacted 6 months after the last therapy session.
Respondents then answered questions about their experience in treatment, including whether the couple remained together.
Based on the study it was discovered that the feedback couples were not only more satisfied with their relationships but also reported significantly lower rates of separation or divorce: a 18.4 percent separation/divorce rate for ORS couples versus 34.2 percent for non-ORS couples.
The researchers said this study adds to growing evidence that ongoing client feedback in psychotherapy can significantly improve outcomes.

Pregnant women who wish to have a safe delivery and have a healthy baby as well should do some form of exercise during pregnancy.
Researchers have recently discovered that exercise can strengthen and improve overall musculoskeletal and physiologic health as well as pregnancy related symptoms.
Based on their study, researchers found out that exercise such as aerobics, impact and no impact activities, resistance training and swimming: eases back and other musculoskeletal pain; lowers maternal blood pressure; reduces swelling; and improves post-partum mood, including sadness.
Lead researcher Capt. Marlene DeMaio, M.D., M.C., U.S.N., Research Director, Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Virginia, explained the data shows that the pregnant woman’s body can compensate for the changes with no harm to the fetus during low to moderate intensity exercise.

A latest study has shown that doing some form of exercises during pregnancy is beneficial to pregnant women.

DeMaio said it is important to remember that pregnancy is a temporary condition, not a disease, and that the musculoskeletal and physiologic changes that happen are normal in the majority of patients.
According to the latest study, some physicians continue to advise their pregnant patients to ease back on exercise or refrain from it altogether if they have not already made it a part of their lifestyle.
Moreover, DeMaio, who collaborated with Capt. Everett Magann, M.D., M.C. U.S.N., Chairman in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, also at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, not only reports that exercise is important during pregnancy, but also believes that starting an exercise program when pregnant, is a perfect way to begin and stick with a fitness program.

A recent study has shown that the feelings of depression could be one reason patients fail to follow their doctors’ orders on exercising and eventually become less physically active.
It is said that although past research shows that exercise improves chronic health conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes, it also shows that patients with these conditions often suffer from depression.
To get the result, the researchers evaluated 11 studies comprising some 20,000 patients.
Based on eight studies reported that having symptoms of depression after a coronary event, such as heart attack, was a significant risk factor for developing a sedentary lifestyle or a poor adherence to an exercise regimen recommended by the patients’ doctor.

Those patients who are less active could be suffering from depression.

Babak Roshanaei-Moghaddam, M.D. of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at University of Washington in Seattle and lead author of the study explained there are both behavioral habits associated with depression, such as smoking and obesity, which may then limit exercise motivation and enjoyment, as well as biologic factors that can cause obesity and decrease energy level, exercise tolerance and pain threshold.
Evette Joy Ludman, Ph.D., of Seattle-based Group Health Cooperative, who had no affiliation with the study, for her part said depression can indeed make people have less motivation and energy to exercise.
Ludman added the physical activity is not only important for preventing and managing many chronic conditions; it can be very helpful for improving mood and other symptoms of depression.