Articles of the Week Janurary 24, 2021
Even though modern research has shown there isn’t much correlation between posture and pain, it still seems to be something pushed in mainstream media. However, this article shows the other side and has some great advice we could share with patients.
A Scientist’s Guide To Life: How To Sit Correctly – Helen Pilcher
There’s not a ton of research out there on our wonderful profession. It seems most things we can look to revolves around “manual therapy”.
Still more steroid risks
With great power comes great responsibility, and almost every potent medicine has a dark side. Strong topical corticosteroids? New evidence shows they eat away at bone. 😬 Absolute risk low for most patients, but… it’s always “wise to minimize.”
(But what about tropical steroid use? 🍹 🌴 🐠 Where’s the science on that? Yeah, sigh, probably no funding for it…)
[Go to this post on PainScience.
Antidepressants not great for back pain, arthritis
Antidepressants are widely believed to be somewhat useful in treating chronic pain. A new BMJ meta-analysis of 33 RCTs reports that antidepressants are linked to only trivial improvements in back pain, and barely-there benefits for knee arthritis.
As Journal Watch put it, antidepressants “don’t show major effects” on pain.
I woke up with it
@NurseKelsey:
No one warned me that in your 30s you can wake up with injuries you did not have when you went to sleep. That’s some bullshit.
As you might imagine, that tweet got a lot of “just wait until your 40s/50s/60s” replies.
“I woke up with it” is an amazingly common start for stories of painful problems. I have been professionally fascinated by it for 20 years now. People can wake up with 🤬 runners’ knee.
How One Massage Therapist is Touching the Lives of Women of Color & Their Babies
A New Jersey massage therapist is working to help women of color have healthier pregnancies and babies. Shanda Barker, LMT, who is also a doula, has a passion for helping mothers and mothers-to-be. The COVID-19 pandemic has shined a light on the fact that statistically, the health care system produces poorer results for people of […]
The post How One Massage Therapist is Touching the Lives of Women of Color & Their Babies appeared first on MASSAGE Magazine.
Weak collagen science
Consumer Reports reports that there is no science to support that collagen supplements result in smoother skin, shinier hair, stronger nails, healthier joints, or more lean muscle mass.
And pain? What about pain? Only ever-so-slightly promising. For instance, they cite a small “positive” study… funded by a collagen supplement manufacturer. Examine.
Back pain is rarely as dangerous as it feels, except when it is
The BBC on singer Talia Dean’s greatly delayed diagnosis of inflammatory back pain, a type of back pain that can cause severe disability: “Talia Dean: ‘My back pain was misdiagnosed for 15 years — now I can’t dance’.”
“You just make all these excuses, you know the whole world has a back ache, so I didn’t really think anything of it.” ~@taliadean
If you’re worried about your back pain, learn the red flags for more serious causes.
The special threat of health anxiety (hypochondria)
One of the worst problems in the world is not believing people who have real medical problems. That said, unfortunately hypochondria is undoubtedly actually a real thing and probably common. And really quite pernicious.
Health anxiety is particularly nasty in three ways:
It causes itself. Symptoms drive more anxiety which drive more symptoms… a vicious cycle.
It thrives on “seeds of truth.
Understanding Headache Types To Help Manage Concussions
Since Sidney Crosby sat out an NHL season, the word “concussion” took on a whole new meaning. The number of research papers grew exponentially and awareness for the injury increased in popularity in both mainstream media and medicine.
For many of us, this is was not a surprise. For years medical professionals have been aware that a concussion is in fact an injury, a brain injury.
Articles of the Week – January 17, 2021
It’s out of scope for many of us in our professions and jurisdictions to recommend medications. However, it’s important to retain knowledge about the effects of drugs, especially extremely common NSAIDs, on musculoskeletal injuries in our clients.
What Every Physiotherapist Needs to Know about NSAIDs and Musculoskeletal Injuries – Claire Knott
A physiotherapists documents her experience of witnessing racism in the workplace.