Therapist Unlimited Blog

If they can avoid it, women should refrain from using high-heels shoes since it could lead to pain in the later part of their lives.
The researchers found that the types of shoes women wear, specifically high-heels, pumps and sandals, may cause future hind-foot (heel and ankle) pain. Nearly 64 percent of women who reported hind-foot pain regularly wore these types of shoes at some point in their life.
We found an increased risk of hind-foot pain among women who wore shoes, such as high-heels or pumps, that lack support and sound structure," says lead author Alyssa B. Dufour, a graduate student in the Institute’s Musculoskeletal Research Program.
Published in the October issue of the journal Arthritis Care & Research, the study is one of the first to examine the association between shoe wear beyond just high-heel use and foot pain. The researchers, who analyzed foot-examination data from more than 3,300 men and women in The Framingham Study, say past shoe wear among women is a key factor for hind-foot pain. They found no significant link between foot pain and the types of shoes men wear.

 

 

High-heels shoes could result in pain in later life for women.
 

While foot pain is a common complaint in the U.S. adult population foot and toe symptoms are among the top 20 reasons for physician visits
among those 65 to 74 years of age relatively little is known about the causes of foot pain in older adults. Women are more likely than men to have foot pain; however, it is not known if this is due to a higher prevalence of foot deformities, underlying disease, shoe wear, or other lifestyle choices.
From a list of 11 shoe types, study participants were asked about the one style of shoe they currently wear on a regular basis, what they regularly wore during five age periods in the past, and if they experience pain, aching or stiffness in either foot on most days.
Nearly 30 percent of women and 20 percent of men reported generalized foot pain, which is in line with other foot-pain studies.
Ms. Dufour’s team, however, found a significant association in women who reported hind-foot pain and past shoe wear that included high-heels and pumps.
The shoe types were classified as "poor" (high-heels, pumps, sandals and slippers), "average" (hard- or rubber-soled shoes and work boots), and "good" (athletic and casual sneakers). More than 60 percent of women reported wearing "poor" shoes in the past, compared to only 2 percent of men (13 percent of women said they currently wear "poor" shoes).
When we walk, a significant biomechanical shock is delivered to the foot each time our heel strikes the ground. "Good" shoes, such as sneakers and other athletic footwear, often have soles and other features that soften this shock and protect the foot. The heel and ankle take the brunt of this shock, which may be why women who wear high-heeled shoes often report pain in this part of the foot.
"Young women," says Ms. Dufour, "should make careful choices regarding their shoe types in order to potentially avoid hind-foot pain later in life."

 

Pregnant women around the world should avoid high fat diet during their pregnancy.
This developed after a recent medical study has shown a mother’s diet of high fat could result in a severe form of liver disease in her child.
Based on the study made by the University of Southampton it was discovered that a high fat diet during a woman’s pregnancy makes her offspring more likely to develop a severe form of fatty liver disease when they reach adulthood.
It is said that non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a condition associated with obesity and caused by the build up of fat in the liver.
The condition advances in some people and it is important to understand the factors that contribute to disease progression. Until recently, NAFLD was considered rare and relatively harmless but now it is one of the most common forms of liver disease that may progress to cirrhosis a serious life threatening chronic liver disease.

 

 

 

Pregnant women should avoid high fat diet since it could lead to a liver disease.

 

 

Professor Christopher Byrne, with colleagues Dr Felino Cagampang and Dr Kim Bruce, of the University’s School of Medicine and researchers at King’s College London, conducted the study, funded by the BBSRC. Prof Byrne explained: "This research shows that too much saturated fat in a mother’s diet can affect the developing liver of a fetus, making it more susceptible to developing fatty liver disease later in life.
An unhealthy saturated fat-enriched diet in the child and young adult compounds the problem further causing a severe form of the fatty liver disease later in adult life."
The next stage of this research, also funded by the BBSRC, will be to understand, more precisely, the reason why fatty liver disease develops and to intervene to prevent the fatty liver disease occurring.
The University’s School of Medicine has a worldwide reputation for its pioneering research into the relationship between mothers’ diets in pregnancy and future health problems in their offspring.

 

Researchers warned those persons who are taking depression medicines to be careful since new pieces of evidence have shown that it could affect the fertility of men.
According to the recent research conducted by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center it was found out that the antidepressant medication paroxetine (trade names Seroxat, Paxil) may have increased sperm DNA fragmentation  a predictor of compromised fertility.
Based on the research made by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center it was also discovered that the changes are reversible with normal levels of sperm returning after discontinuation of the drug.
The researchers said this medical report should serve as warning to those taking depression medicines to be careful on the dosage of the medicine to avoid chances they will suffer from infertility.
Dr. Peter Schlegel, the study’s senior author revealed the study is considered as one of the first scientific investigations into the effect of antidepressants on sperm quality.

 

 

 

Those male patients taking depression medicines should be careful since the medication could result in infertility.

 

Schlegel added although their study doesn’t look directly at fertility, it can infer that as many as half of men taking SSRIs have a reduced ability to conceive.
He said these men should talk with their physician about their treatment options, including non-SSRI depression medications.
The lead researcher said the study also confirmed the effect of SSRIs on sexual function, with more than a third of study participants reporting significant changes in erectile function and almost half reporting ejaculatory difficulties.
With this finding those people who are regularly using depression medicines should always be careful in taking the drugs to avoid chances of suffering that their fertility will be affected.

 

Parents should be more vigilant with regards to the television viewing and computer games playing of their children.
A recent study has shown that watching too much TV and playing computer games could result in high blood pressure for children.
Based on the study, the discovery is a major public health concern and its effect on blood pressure is of particular concern.
In their study, the researchers said the clustering of cardiovascular disease risk factors in overweight youth suggests that risks may be immediate and not just indicative of potential future problems.
The researchers added although elevated blood pressure is associated with genetic factors, healthy physical, dietary and sleep habits seem to be relevant contributors to blood pressure levels in children.
However, the researchers revealed there have not been any clear links between sedentary behavior and elevated blood pressure in children younger than age 9.

 

 

Children should avoid watching too much television and playing computer games since it could lead to high blood pressure.

 

David Martinez-Gomez, B.Sc., of Iowa State University, Ames, and the Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, Spain, and colleagues examined associations between sedentary behavior and elevated blood pressure in 111 young children (57 boys and 54 girls ages 3 to 8).
According to their research they found out that sedentary behavior was determined by an accelerometer generally worn over the right hip and by parental reports stating the average time the children spent watching TV, playing video games, painting, sitting or taking part in other activities with low levels of physical activity each day for seven days.
Moreover, the researchers said the results of this study showed that TV viewing and screen time were associated with elevated blood pressure independent of body composition in children.
The researchers added given that total objective sedentary time was not associated with elevated blood pressure, it appears that other factors, which occur during excessive screen time, should also be considered in the context of sedentary behavior and elevated blood pressure development in children.

 

Smokers who smoked five cigarettes a day are at high risk of suffering from migraines.
According to a recent research, smoking could improve migraines by reducing anxiety, one of the factors that trigger an attack.
The finding was taken from the study made on 361 medicine students from the University of Salamanca in Spain.
The researchers found out that 16% of students fulfilled migraine criteria, while 20% smoked.
The researchers also found out that the percentage of smokers was higher (29%) in those who were also migraine sufferers and migraine frequency in those
students who were migraine sufferers and smokers was clearly higher than in those who were non-smokers and migraine sufferers.

 

 

Smoking five cigarettes a day could lead to migraines.

 

Julio Pascual, one of the authors of this research and doctor at the Neurology Unit of Marqués de Valdecilla, University Hospital (Santander) said smoking is a precipitating factor of this type of headache, as the prevalence of active smokers is one third higher in migraine sufferers and there is a direct relationship between the number of cigarettes consumed and the frequency of migraine attacks.
Pascual and his team stressed the importance of the dosage. The results of the interviews reveal that the migraine sets in after five daily cigarettes.
He said although the percentage of those who smoked was higher in people with migraines, they smoked less than those who did not suffer migraines.

 

Parents around the world need to be careful in the use phthalates as new pieces of evidence, showed that exposure to that kind of chemical compound could result in low birth weights in infants.
Phthalates is a chemical compound used as plasticizers in a wide variety of personal care products, children’s toys, and medical devices.
It is said that low birth weight is the leading cause of death in children under 5 years of age and increases the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease in adulthood.
Based on the research conducted by medical experts they found out that utero phthalate exposure contributes to low birth weight in infants.
Dr. Renshan Ge of the Population Council and colleagues from Fudan University and Second Military Medical University in Shanghai studied 201 pairs of newborns and their mothers between 2005 and 2006.

 

 

Pregnant women need to avoid exposure to phthalates since it could lead to low birth weight for their infants.

 

 Of the 201 infants studied, 88 were born with low birth weight. The researchers analyzed samples of the infants’ meconium, the first bowel movement that occurs after birth, and cord blood to determine phthalate levels.
They found quantifiable levels of phthalate and phthalate metabolites in more than 70% of the samples. Infants with low birth weight had consistently higher levels of phthalates.
Ge said the results showed that phthalate exposure was ubiquitous in these newborns, and that prenatal phthalate exposure might be an environmental risk factor for low birth weight in infants.
The researchers said that with the possible harmful effects it offers there is a need to minimize phthalate exposure.