Move of the Week: Perfect Lunge

Yes, we know you’ve done a lunge before—but are you sure you’re doing it right? This move is a low impact body-weight move that tone your butt, hips, and thighs, but doing them wrong can be bad news for your body. Watch Health contributing fitness editor, Kristin McGee demonstrate how to do this move perfectly, so you can tone your entire lower body while staying healthy and pain-free.

RELATED: 18 Exercises to Tone Your Butt, Thighs and Legs

Here’s how to do it: Stand tall with your feet hip distance apart with toes pointing forward, keep your core tight and your back straight. Then, step your right foot forward about two feet, lower your body so that both legs make 90 degree angles and push off with your right leg to return to the standing position.

Trainer tip: Common knee-busting mistakes include letting your knee extend beyond your toes and letting your back knee hit the floor. Remember to keep your front shin straight and have your back knee hover a few inches above the ground to prevent injury.

Try this move: Perfect Lunge 

RELATED: 10 Exercises for Healthy Knees

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1IuJz5Y

Lena Dunham’s Inspiring Take on How She Learned to Love Running

 

Lena Dunham has clearly drank the fitness Kool-Aid (which is actually green juice, of course).

She’s talked about her new love of hitting the gym for Acroyoga and Tracy Anderson Method classes in the last few months, and now she’s found another, unexpected favorite: running.

“Not usually one to post a paparazzi shot but this fills me with pride,” Dunham wrote in the caption of the above Instagram post. “Basically my whole life I have hated running and run like a wounded baby Pterodactyl. It was embarrassing and honestly I did not trust myself to escape a burning building or even move briskly towards a buffet.”

RELATED: Your Guide to Running at Any Level

But that’s all changed now, she explains. To prep for an upcoming episode of Girls, Dunham went to a class at Mile High Run Club, a running studio in New York City. And this time, she came out of it with a different perspective.

“Within an hour I had a different relationship to this formerly torturous activity. I felt strong, swift, and proud,” she wrote. “I’m not about to embrace that triathlon life but it’s a true joy to continue getting more connected to my body and its powers.”

And the picture shows exactly that: Dunham looks incredibly strong, swift and proud as she pounds the crowded NYC pavement.

These are just a few of the many benefits from Dunham’s “physical fitness kick.” In an April Instagram post, she opened up about how exercise has helped with her mental health in ways she couldn’t believe.

RELATED: Just 5 Minutes of Running Per Day Could Add Years to Your Life

As fitness lovers ourselves, it’s so much fun to watch in real-time as Dunham continues to come around to exercise and learn about its whole-body benefits. We just want to know what fitness studio she hits up next!

RELATED: The 5 Best Things Kelly Clarkson Has Said About Body Positivity

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1gqN9DU

Foreign Fungus Threatens U.S. Salamanders: Study

THURSDAY, July 30, 2015 (HealthDay News) — North American salamanders could be decimated by a deadly fungus unless a ban is placed on imported salamanders that can carry the fungus, researchers report.

Salamanders are popular pets, and they’re shipped worldwide. However, there are concerns that a certain fungus — nicknamed “Bsal” — could be carried by salamanders that come from Asia, according to an article published July 30 in the journal Science.

Areas in North America that are at highest risk for salamander declines and extinctions because of the fungus include the southeastern United States (particularly the southern Appalachian Mountain range and its southern neighboring region), the Pacific Northwest and the Sierra Nevada, along with the central highlands of Mexico, researchers said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services should enact an immediate ban on live salamander imports to the United States until there is a plan in place to detect and prevent the spread of the fungus, said study author Vance Vredenburg, a biologist at San Francisco State University.

Such a ban has the support of many scientists, but the U.S. government has been slow to act, the researchers said.

“This is an imminent threat, and a place where policy could have a very positive effect. “We actually have a decent chance of preventing a major catastrophe,” Vredenburg said in a university news release.

He noted that salamanders play a crucial role in many North American ecosystems.

“They are very important predators of insects, but also an important part of the food chain,” said Vredenburg.

The Bsal fungus caused a 96 percent death rate among European salamander species that it infected. It’s also been shown to be deadly to American salamander species exposed to the fungus in the lab, the researchers cautioned.

More information

The San Diego Zoo has more about salamanders.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1KD6Y4M

Targeted Workouts May Strengthen Men’s Bones in Middle Age

THURSDAY, July 30, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Certain types of exercise improve bone health in middle-aged men with low bone mass and may lower their risk for osteoporosis, according to a small new study.

Men naturally lose bone mass as they age, which can put them at risk for osteoporosis, a condition that weakens bones and makes them more likely to break. About 16 million American men have low bone mass, and nearly 2 million have osteoporosis.

The new study included 38 healthy, physically active middle-aged men with low bone mass who followed a weight-lifting or jumping program for a year. In both exercise regimens, the men did 60 to 120 minutes of targeted workouts a week.

The men also took calcium and vitamin D supplements. Their bone health was assessed at the start of the study and again at six and 12 months.

Both groups had significant increases in the bone mass of the whole body and lumbar spine at six months, and this increase was maintained at 12 months. Only those who did weight-lifting had increases in hip-bone density, the study found.

“Weight-lifting programs exist to increase muscular strength, but less research has examined what happens to bones during these types of exercises,” Pam Hinton, director of nutritional sciences graduate studies in the department of nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Missouri-Columbia, said in a university news release.

“Our study is the first to show that exercise-based interventions work to increase bone density in middle-aged men with low bone mass who are otherwise healthy. These exercises could be prescribed to reverse bone loss associated with aging,” she added.

However, Hinton pointed out that the findings do not prove that all kinds of weight-lifting will boost bone mass.

“Only the bone experiencing the mechanical load is going to get stronger, so we specifically chose exercises that would load the hip and the spine, which is why we had participants do squats, deadlifts, lunges and the overhead press,” Hinton said.

“Also, the intensity of the loading needs to increase over time to build strength. Both of the training programs gradually increased in intensity, and our participants also had rest weeks. Bones need to rest to continue to maximize the response,” she added.

“The interventions we studied are effective, safe and take 60 to 120 minutes per week to complete, which is feasible for most people. Also, the exercises can be done at home and require minimal exercise equipment, which adds to the ease of implementing and continuing these interventions,” she explained.

The study was published recently in the journal Bone.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases has more about exercise and bone health.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1SkRUQ2

Drones Might Fly Blood Samples to Clinics, Study Finds

THURSDAY, July 30, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Drones can be used to transport blood samples short distances, a new study finds.

Johns Hopkins University researchers found that common and routine blood tests were not affected when blood samples spent up to 40 minutes traveling on hobby-sized drones.

The study was published July 29 in the journal PLoS One.

The findings from test flights in the United States are promising news for patients in areas with poor road networks. Drones could give isolated medical clinics quick access to lab tests required to diagnose and treat health problems, the researchers said.

After this successful proof-of-concept study, the next step would be to test the use of drones in Africa where health care clinics are sometimes 60 miles or more away from testing labs, the researchers said.

“A drone could go 100 kilometers [about 62 miles] in 40 minutes,” study author Dr. Timothy Kien Amukele, a pathologist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, said in a university news release.

“They’re less expensive than motorcycles, are not subject to traffic delays, and the technology already exists for the drone to be programmed to ‘home’ to certain GPS coordinates, like a carrier pigeon,” he explained.

Amukele pointed out that drones have already been tested as carriers of medicines to clinics in remote areas.

More information

The U.S. National Institutes of Health has more about blood tests.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1IsEx5D

Job Stress Might Make You Sick, Study Says

THURSDAY, July 30, 2015 (HealthDay News) — High levels of job stress may increase the risk of sick leave due to mental health disorders, a new study suggests.

Researchers analyzed data from nearly 12,000 workers in Sweden. Over five years, about 8 percent of the workers took mental health sick leave. Three-quarters of those who took mental health sick leave were women.

Workers with demanding jobs, high job strain and little social support at work were at greater risk for mental health sick leave, as were those with unhealthy lifestyles. Smoking was a significant risk factor for mental health sick leave, but alcohol use was not.

High levels of physical activity reduced the risk of mental health sick leave, according to the study in the August issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

The findings add to previous research showing that psychological conditions in the workplace affect rates of mental health sick leave, and may suggest ways to reduce the risk, according to researcher Lisa Mater of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues.

“Interventions to reduce sick leave due to mental disorders that focus on improving the psychosocial work environment, especially reducing high psychosocial job demands, may prove effective,” they wrote.

Attempts to get workers to adopt healthier lifestyles without also addressing problems in the workplace may be less effective, the study authors added.

More information

The American Psychological Association has more about job stress.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1IsEwP9

Knee Replacement May Ease Pain for Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

By Emily Willingham
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, July 30, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Knee replacement surgery can temporarily return the joint to an earlier, better level of function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, new research suggests.

The surgery “acts like a time machine” for these patients, said study senior author Kaleb Michaud, an associate professor of internal medicine in the division of rheumatology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha.

“It’s a very important treatment option, and our study is really about showing how their lives improved afterwards,” Michaud said.

Most studies of knee replacement surgery focus on patients with osteoarthritis, the “wear-and-tear” form of arthritis. This kind of arthritis involves the breakdown of cartilage, the cushiony material at the ends of bones.

On the other hand, patients who have the autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis experience painful inflammation and swelling of tissues around their joints.

When arthritis strikes the knee, both forms can cause so much pain that a patient may choose to have the joint replaced.

This new study, published online recently in Arthritis and Rheumatology, included a large group of rheumatoid arthritis patients so the authors could examine how knee replacement affects patient pain levels and other factors related to quality of life.

The investigators looked at information for patients who underwent total knee replacement surgery between 1999 and 2012. Of the nearly 19,000 study patients, they focused on 834 with rheumatoid arthritis and 315 with osteoarthritis who had undergone the surgery at about the same age (mid-60s). These patients responded to questions about pain and function before the surgery, at the time they had surgery, and six months after their operation. The researchers then compared those ratings across time points.

Regardless of the type of arthritis, the patients experienced a significant decrease in pain following the operation and improved function, the study found. Those with rheumatoid arthritis also reported that they had fewer tender joints after their procedure.

The study is unusual, said Michaud, because it included a large, separate group of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. “A lot of studies look only at osteoarthritis patients or look at the patient groups mixed together,” he explained.

While both groups experienced less pain after healing, the recovery experience between the two can differ after the surgery, one expert said.

“The post-op recovery for rheumatoid arthritis is more complicated because of the tendency for flare-ups,” said Michael Geelhoed, director of clinical education in the department of physical therapy at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. “Osteoarthritis recovery is usually very straightforward.”

Geelhoed also said that for rheumatoid arthritis patients, the recovery is “typically more conservative,” and that this more careful approach lengthens healing time.

Michaud also pointed out that patients with rheumatoid arthritis have to stop taking their anti-rheumatic medications to reduce post-surgery infection risks because these drugs inhibit the body’s ability to fight infections. However, he said, rheumatic arthritis patients having knee surgery are usually younger, which can be a good thing because age is another risk factor for complications.

Having a knee replaced can be costly, around $20,000, said Michaud, although he noted that hospital charges can “vary greatly.” Medicare does cover the procedure, he added.

Michaud also said that for osteoarthritis patients, the improvement in knee pain and function would probably be lasting, which makes choosing total knee replacement a clear option. In addition, often, their only problem joint was the replaced knee.

But rheumatoid arthritis patients will have other painful joints and will experience an eventual decline in the replaced knee as their disease continues, Michaud said, adding that rheumatoid arthritis patients know about this eventual outcome.

“They are aware that this won’t solve everything like it does with osteoarthritis,” he said. “It will make a big difference for them, but in the long term it won’t have the same impact.”

Still, he said, total knee replacement is a “major decision and a turning point” for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, who “choose this replacement after a lot of pain and suffering.”

More information

Find out more about rheumatoid arthritis at the Arthritis Foundation.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1IsEwyH

The Surprising Treatment That Cures Swollen, Itchy Mosquito Bites

Photo: Getty Images

Not too long ago, my boyfriend and I went to the Dominican Republic to visit his family. I was prepared for the humidity, the fast-paced Spanish, and the endless servings of plantains, but I wasn’t ready for the hordes of mosquitoes. “They bite foreigners more than natives,” my boyfriend warned, and he was right. After just one evening (despite sleeping under a netted canopy!), my legs were covered in huge, blotchy marks that were nearly impossible to resist itching.

After seeing all my bites, my boyfriend’s mother passed me a tub of Vicks VapoRub ($5), swearing it would cure them. I was pretty apprehensive. I seem to be particularly sensitive to mosquitoes, because each of my bites turns into a quarter-sized welt that mars my skin for over a week. But I tried out the remedy on a few spots, mostly out of respect to my potential mother-in-law. To my great surprise, not only was the itching quickly soothed, but each bump faded in a few short days! Turns out the product is used for many ailments in DR, including headaches, fevers, toenail fungus, and more. (It reminded me a lot of Windex in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.)

According to NYC dermatologist Dr. Neal Schultz, host of DermTV.com and creator of BeautyRx by Dr. Schultz, there’s some solid science behind this homeopathic remedy. “Three of the ingredients (menthol, camphor, and thymol) are topical analgesics,” he explained. “They create a cooling sensation and stop the itching.”

The VapoRub was also responsible for flatting each bite, thanks to the formula’s nutmeg oil. This essential oil has anti-inflammatory properties, as well as pain-relieving and redness-reducing benefits. (That’s why it makes such a good at-home acne treatment.) Finally, the cedarleaf oil in Vicks acts as a natural mosquito repellent! Sometimes moms really do know best — I’ll never go on another tropical vacation without stashing a jar in my suitcase.

More from Popsugar Beauty:

Why a Self-Tanner Detox Will Give You Perfect Summer Glow

10 Beauty Products You Should Own If You Have a Cool Undertone

This Technique Will Make All Your Selfies Supersexy

How to Keep Your Lipstick From Smudging

POPSUGAR Beauty puts the focus on hair, makeup, nails, and fragrance — from inspiring celebrity photos and fun polls, to easy how-tos to re-create the latest trends at home, to expert tips from the world’s top stylists! Find out the latest color trends for your face, hair, and nails with hot new products and daring nail design ideas. DIY ideas turn your home into a spa, and make you knowledgeable on any beauty topic. Let POPSUGAR Beauty be your guide to all things skin care, makeup, and hair care!

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1H6skCI

In Rare Cases, Infection May Be at Root of Back Pain

THURSDAY, July 30, 2015 (HealthDay News) — People with back pain that doesn’t improve with treatment could have a rare type of spine infection, new guidelines suggest.

The infection — called vertebral osteomyelitis — could lead to paralysis or death if it’s not diagnosed and treated correctly.

The condition is often overlooked because it causes back pain, a common problem typically caused by a pulled muscle or back injury, according to the guidelines published July 30 in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

“Back pain is so common — and usually not caused by infection — that diagnosis often is missed or delayed,” guidelines lead author Dr. Elie Berbari, associate chair of education, division of infectious disease, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minn., said in a news release from the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Vertebral osteomyelitis affects two to six out of 100,000 people a year. The condition develops when bacteria enter the blood stream and lodge in a spinal disc. The infection is most common in older people.

“The infection causes severe pain that often wakes the person at night and does not go away after pain management or rest. If that’s the case, the doctor needs to start considering that something else is going on, especially if the patient has a fever,” Berbari said.

A simple blood test can alert a doctor that a patient may have vertebral osteomyelitis, and an MRI and biopsy can confirm it. Treatment typically involves six weeks of intravenous antibiotics. However, about half of patients may have to undergo surgery to remove the infection, Berbari said.

More information

The North American Spine Society has more about spinal infections.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1KCsLcK

Study Finds Drinking May Ease Fibromyalgia Pain, But Doctors Wary

By Maureen Salamon
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, July 30, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Moderate to heavy drinking might cut the likelihood of disability for people with chronic widespread pain such as that related to fibromyalgia, new Scottish research suggests.

But U.S. pain specialists say consuming alcohol is the wrong approach to coping with disabling pain.

“It’s an odd way to suggest that chronic pain be treated,” said Dr. Lynn Webster, president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, who wasn’t involved in the research.

“I can’t imagine that any physician will suggest alcohol as a therapy,” he added. “The more you drink, the more you need to get the same effects.”

About 2 percent of Americans suffer from fibromyalgia, a mysterious disease characterized by the presence of chronic, widespread pain, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Women outnumber men seven to one in their prevalence of the disorder, whose symptoms also include stiffness, sleep disturbances and thinking and memory problems.

Chronic widespread pain can also be triggered by other conditions, Webster noted, including complex regional pain syndrome and arthritic conditions.

The study — published recently in the journal Arthritis Care & Research — was conducted by Professor Gary Macfarlane and Marcus Beasley of the University of Aberdeen’s Institute of Applied Health Sciences School of Medicine and Dentistry in Scotland.

The researchers surveyed more than 2,200 adults in the United Kingdom — 57 percent of them women — who suffered from chronic widespread pain. They found that disability stemming from pain was strongly linked to alcohol consumption, with moderate to heavy drinkers experiencing less disability.

The scientists found that people drinking 21 to 35 units of alcohol a week were 67 percent less likely than those who never drink to experience disability.

Those amounts translate roughly into 15 to 20 beers or 10 to 15 glasses of wine per week by American standards, U.S. physicians said, constituting moderate to heavy drinking.

Alcohol can ease pain by stimulating the brain’s limbic system, which regulates feelings of pleasure and pain. But “chronic drinking can make pain worse, and withdrawal from chronic alcohol use often increases pain sensitivity,” said Dr. Alan Manevitz, a clinical psychiatrist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Manevitz, who subspecializes in pain disorders such as fibromyalgia, noted that the new study does not prove a cause-and-effect relationship between increased alcohol use and lower disability from pain, only an association between the two.

He said it was “inexplicable” that the study also showed that very heavy drinkers — those consuming more than 35 units of alcohol weekly — experienced similar levels of disabling pain as never-drinkers.

Webster said the amount of alcohol needed to produce lower pain-related disability varies by individual.

“In someone who doesn’t drink, even half a glass of wine will stimulate the limbic system, making them dizzy,” he said. “That effect will trump, then, the pain from fibromyalgia. They’re replacing that sensory input for pain.”

Manevitz agreed with the study authors that the study should not be interpreted to mean that alcohol has a therapeutic benefit for pain. “It’s a poor self-medication and it ultimately causes further deterioration in patients with pain,” he said.

The Scottish researchers could not be reached for comment, but in the study they note that a significant number of participants were drinking more than the recommended limit.

Webster suggested that people experiencing fibromyalgia or other forms of chronic widespread pain “create some alternate stimulation” that produces feelings of well-being, such as exercise, mindfulness or even watching a movie.

“Something that makes you feel good and stimulates the limbic system in a safe way would be an alternate experience,” he said.

More information

The U.S. National Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Association has more about fibromyalgia symptoms.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1KCsJ4G