Category: Medical Conditions

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Binge drinking by teenage girls “raises osteoporosis risk”…..


“Teenage girls who regularly binge drink have weaker bones and are heightening the risk that they will suffer osteoporosis later in life, according to new research today.

Frequent binge drinking is classed as having four or more alcoholic drinks within two hours more than 1.6 times a month, according to the study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs in the United States.

Eighty seven college students, who regularly binge drink, were found to have lower spinal bone density than more sober students, even when researchers accounted for other risks such as exercise, nutrition and smoking habits.

The findings suggest poorer bone health can be added to the list of binge drinking risks for young women, said lead researcher Joseph LaBrie, PhD, a professor of psychology at Loyola Marymount University, in Los Angeles.

“This study identifies a potential lifetime consequence of binge drinking in young women,” he said about the research, which investigated the health of the women aged between 18 to 20.

Bone mass should still be accruing in young women during these years. Women generally reach peak spinal bone density between 20 and 25.

The new research expands on previous works linking heavy drinking to lower bone mass and higher fracture risk in older adults, but it goes further in linking late-life problems to heavy drinking in earlier years.

Urging parents to discourage their children from drinking during teenage years, Mr LaBrie said: “We always talk about things like exercise, calcium and vitamin D, and not smoking. We may also need to talk about avoiding binge drinking.”’

Source: The Irish Times

Journal Reference:
Joseph W. Labrie, Sarah Boyle, Andrew Earle, Hawley C. Almstedt. Heavy Episodic Drinking Is Associated With Poorer Bone Health in Adolescent and Young Adult Women. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2018; 79 (3): 391 DOI: 10.15288/jsad.2018.79.391

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Man baffles doctors when thigh bone snaps after attempting Yoga pose

yoga-pose-151026
Credit for images: © BMJ 2015

“A man in Ireland broke his leg and spent 10 days in the hospital after injuring himself in a surprising way — while practicing yoga.

The 38-year-old yoga enthusiast fractured the thighbone on his right leg while doing a difficult seated yoga pose known as Marichyasana posture B in his morning yoga class, according to a new report of the man’s case, which was published online Oct. 9 in the journal BMJ Case Reports. The pose involves sitting down, with the knee bent and drawn up to the chest, and then bending the torso toward the floor. “

“At the time of his injury, the man was practicing Ashtanga yoga, a physically demanding style, for an hour every morning.Research suggests that injuries from this style of yoga are more common in the hamstrings, knees and lower back, according to the report.”

femoral-fracture-151026

credit for image: © BMJ 2015

“In the emergency room, the man could not straighten out his right leg, and needed IV morphine to dull his pain. X-rays showed he had a “low-energy femoral shaft fracture.”he had a “low-energy femoral shaft fracture.”

The “low energy” term refers to the amount of force that causes the bone to break, said Dr. Andrew Moriarity, an orthopedic resident at St. James’s Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, who treated the man and co-authored the case report. Low-energy fractures are sometimes called “stress fractures.”

“Although yoga is considered a gentle mind-body practice, injuries can and do happen, especially as the activity’s popularity rises. Still, this type of fracture is extremely rare in a young, healthy person, and it’s even more unusual for it to occur due to yoga, the researchers wrote in their case report.”

Two weeks before the fracture occurred, the man felt a dull pain in his right thigh. He sought advice about the problem from a physical therapist, who diagnosed it as a muscle strain in the man’s quadriceps, telling him he could return to yoga.”

“But that probably wasn’t a good idea,” Moriarity said.

“The pain he felt in his thigh was likely a stress fracture, a warning of impending fracture if he continued to apply stress to this area,” Moriarity told Live Science.

“To treat his femoral shaft fracture, the man needed surgery to insert a titanium rod inside his thighbone, which would allow him to walk safely,” Moriarity said.

“The reason this man sustained such a rare injury from practicing yoga, Moriarity said, “was likely due to repetitive stress on the thighbone, combined with a weakened bone state, known as osteopenia“

“Indeed, a bone scan taken at the hospital revealed that he the man had did in fact have osteopenia, a condition in which his bone density is lower than normal, which could increase his risk for low-energy fractures, Moriarity explained.

“Five months after his release from the hospital, the man could walk almost pain free and had resumed practicing yoga, but was doing only less-demanding postures.”

For article on Live Science
For Irish independent article 

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Duḥkha is a disturbance of the mind…..

Mind

“Duḥkha is a disturbance of the mind. While sometimes the words sorrow, misery, and disease are used to define duḥkha, it is best identified as a feeling of restriction.
Somehow something deeply disturbs us and we feel restricted.
This restriction is duḥkha…….
We all aim to remove duḥkha……..
That is what Yoga is trying to do.”
TKV Desikachar, Religiousness in Yoga

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Scans ‘show mindfulness meditation brain boost’

From the BBC website:

“The theory that meditation can reduce stress, depression and even chronic pain is one that has been gaining in momentum in recent years.

So the BBC’s David Sillito has been learning the art of mindfulness meditation in order to find out for himself.

After getting to grips with the activity, he joined some other devotees for an MRI scan to find out what impact the practice can have on brain activity.”

View article and video.

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Yoga & Rheumatoid Arthritis

RA-and-normal

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease causing the immune system to attack joints. However it can also affect other areas of the body such as lungs, heart and bone marrow. It is a painful inflammatory condition that can lead to loss of mobility due to pain and damage of joints. It is known that the practice of Yoga can help people with rheumatoid arthritis.

The research was completed in United Arab Emirates. The details of the findings were presented at the 2011 Annual Congress of EULAR – The European League Against Rheumatism, in London. The findings state that “….individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who practice yoga showed significant improvements in disease activity….” Their view is that the practice of yoga long term could result in further significant improvements. They are continuing their research into the benefits of Yoga in the context of RA.