Medical Health Blog

Repetitive strain injury or RSI, also known as repetitive stress injury, repetitive motion injuries, repetitive motion disorder (RMD), cumulative trauma disorder (CTD), occupational overuse syndrome, overuse syndrome, and regional musculoskeletal disorder is a range of painful or uncomfortable conditions of the muscles, tendons, nerves and other soft tissues…

Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is a painful condition. It often occurs as a result of strenuous overuse of the muscles and tendons of the forearm and around the elbow joint. As its name suggests, tennis elbow can sometimes be caused by playing tennis, but many other common activities can cause tennis elbow. It is also known as “shooter’s elbow” and “archer’s elbow”…

An article published Online First and in a future edition of The Lancet reports that low-level laser therapy (LLLT) reduces pain after treatment for non-specific neck pain. The article is the work of Dr Roberta Chow, Nerve Research Foundation, Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, Australia, and colleagues. In the next thirty years, chronic pain is predicted to reach epidemic proportions in developed countries with ageing populations.

A study published today on bmj.com reports that supervised exercise therapy is more effective at reducing pain and improving function than usual care for patients with severe knee pain. Knee pain is a common reason to visit the doctor. Patellofemoral pain syndrome is a condition in which pain occurs at the front of the knee during or after exercise. Symptoms usually start during adolescence when participation in sporting activities is high.

The AGS Foundation for Health in Aging (FHA) Tip Sheet about persistent pain — pain or discomfort that lasts for a long time, or comes and goes over the course of months or years — is now available in Spanish translation. The pain tips, initially released in May in English, are the first in a series of Spanish language tips, to become available by the FHA.

Women with breast cancer should be given high doses of vitamin D because a majority of them are likely to have low levels of vitamin D, which could contribute to decreased bone mass and greater risk of fractures, according to scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center. In a study of 166 women undergoing treatment for breast cancer, nearly 70 percent had low levels of vitamin D in their blood, according to a study being presented Thursday, Oct.

An article published Online First and in a future edition of The Lancet reports that combination treatment using gabapentin and nortriptyline reduces neuropathic pain more than either drug alone. This treatment could be used in patients that only partly respond to one drug or the other. The article is the work of Professor Ian Gilron, Director of Clinical Pain Research, Queen’s University, and Kingston General Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues.

An article published Online First and in a future edition of The Lancet reports that combination treatment using gabapentin and nortriptyline reduces neuropathic pain more than either drug alone. This treatment could be used in patients that only partly respond to one drug or the other. The article is the work of Professor Ian Gilron, Director of Clinical Pain Research, Queen’s University, and Kingston General Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues.

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in collaboration with private industry and other government agencies, have produced a new reference material for beryllium. Beryllium, an exotic rare-earth metal used as a hardener in high-performance alloys and ceramics, can cause berylliosis – a chronic, incurable and sometimes fatal illness.

Potentially debilitating Lyme disease doesn’t afflict people everywhere that the ticks harboring it are found. At least not yet. A five-university consortium led by a Michigan State University researcher wants to find out why. “These ticks are on the move. As ticks expand into new areas, more people will likely become infected,” said MSU fisheries and wildlife assistant professor Jean Tsao, who will lead the four-year, $2.5 million study.