Hip and Knee Procedures on the Increase

Hip and Knee Procedures on the Increase
General advancements in surgery and prostheses, combined
with a lack of medicines for osteoarthritis, have caused
doctors to perform more hip and knee replacements recently.

Although the procedures are still mostly performed on
people over 65, there is a growing population of
individuals who range from 38 to 56 who are getting hip and
knee implants or prostheses.

According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons,
individuals aged mid-thirties to late fifties had 35,000
hip replacements or 21 percent of the total procedures in
2003, the last year for which figures are available. That's
up from 26 percent of all procedures in 1997. Additionally
individuals in this age group had 48,000 knee replacements
or 15 percent of the total 2003, up from 22 percent in 1997.

Many doctors estimate that over 90 percent of joint
replacements are done because of osteoarthritis, which
affects nearly 21 million people and is the most common
form of arthritis.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease characterized by
the breakdown of a joint's cartilage, and is caused by a
variety of factors including injuries, obesity and
genetics. The breakdown causes bones to rub against each
other, resulting in pain and loss of movement.

The incidence of arthritis increases as people age. In
2002, the latest year that statistics are available, the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
estimated that 43 million adults reported being told by a
doctor that they have some form of arthritis, rheumatoid
arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia.

Also 23 million adults reported chronic joint symptoms
(possible arthritis) but had not been diagnosed with
arthritis. One in five, or 21 percent, of adults report
having doctor-diagnosed arthritis.

In total 51 percent of adults 75 years and over reported an
arthritis diagnosis. The CDC estimates that by 2030,
approximately 64.9 million of Americans aged 18 years or
older will have doctor-diagnosed arthritis.

A decade or so ago, doctors and patients chose to put off
implants as long as possible because prostheses would only
last about 10 years and replacement surgery becomes less
effective and more dangerous each time it is done. Now some
prostheses are expected to last 25 years, but there are
still risks associated with implants and with the surgery
in general.

Artificial joints or prostheses are medical devices; they
must be cleared or approved by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) before they can be marketed in the
United States.

In addition, FDA permission is required before a company
can test a new or redesigned prosthesis in human studies.
The data gathered in these studies, which take place in
specific hospitals, may then be used to support a company's
application for marketing its prosthesis to surgeons and
hospitals. The product or device must be proven safe and
effective.

The FDA assures safety and effectiveness through different
means depending on the risks of a particular device and the
technology that it presents. For devices with a history of
safe and effective use, frequently those using established
technology, the FDA relies on a set of general controls to
determine which devices can be deployed.

The general controls are augmented with special controls
such as standards or standard test methods. However, for
devices that involve new uses or advanced technology the
FDA often requires that a particular device be demonstrated
to be safe and effective through clinical trials.

As has been proven with some devices in the past these
clinical trials do not always identify all of the potential
issues that may be associated with a new type of hip or
knee prostheses.

In addition just like any surgery, hip and knee joint
replacement carries certain life-threatening risks, such as
infection, blood clots and complications from anesthesia.
Other complications include nerve damage, dislocation or
breakage after surgery, and wearing out or loosening of the
joint over time.

After hip replacement surgery, one leg may be shorter than
the other. Infection is an ongoing risk for people with
joint replacements. Not only can it occur in the hospital,
but also it can happen years later if bacteria travel
through the bloodstream to the replacement area. In the
rare case that an infection spreads to the new joint and
does not clear up with antibiotic treatment, the joint must
be replaced. This usually requires two surgeries--one to
remove the infected joint and another surgery later to
insert the new joint.

An individual's choice of device and surgeon to repair hip
or knee injuries is critical to avoiding serious future
complications. If problems relating to prosthesis exist the
person should in many cases seek legal advice.

----------------------------------------------------
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An Overview of Cerebral Palsy

An Overview of Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral Palsy is an umbrella term that encompasses a group
of non-progressive, non-contagious conditions that cause
physical disability in human development. The cerebral part
refers to the affected part of the brain, generally the
cerebrum. Palsy is the disorder of movement. The affected
centers have not been perfectly localized and the disease
most likely involves connections between the cortex and
other portions of the brain.

Cerebral palsy can occur during pregnancy (75% or so of
cases), after birth and up to age 3(roughly 15% of cases),
and during birth (around 5% of cases). Of all the cases of
cerebral palsy, between 40 and 50% of them are cases
involving babies that are born prematurely.

Cerebral palsy is a non-progressive disorder which means
that brain damage does not get worse as time goes on.
Despite this, there are secondary orthopedic difficulties
that often occur. There is no known cure for the
condition. Medical intervention is limited to the treatment
and the prevention of complications possible from this
condition. These include osteoporosis and arthritis
occurring at a younger age in adults born with cerebral
palsy.

There has been a slight increase in the occurrence of
cerebral palsy. The majority of people feel that this is
attributable to low birth weight babies surviving due to
improved neo-natal care. While this is good, babies with a
low birth weight, who are commonly premature as well, are
more susceptible to Cerebral Palsy.

Cerebral Palsy has four major classifications. These four
classifications are spastic, athetoid/diskinetic, ataxic,
and mixed. The classifications are named based on the area
of the brain that is damaged.

Spastic Cerebral Palsy is the most common form. It is the
named classification in 70-80% of all cases. It involves
damage to the motor cortex of the brain. After the
condition is named Spastic, it is further classified based
on the area of the body that has been affected.

Ataxic is a very uncommon form of Cerebral Palsy. It occurs
in at most 10% of all cases. This version involves damage
to the cerebellum. Motor skills like writing, typing, or
using scissors are commonly affected. Also, balance is a
problem as well.

Athetoid, or dyskinetic, occurs second most frequently
after Spastic. It involves problems with muscle tone.
People with this version have problems holding themselves
in an upright, steady position for sitting or walking. They
often show involuntary motions and may not be able to grasp
objects.

There are 10,000 new cases of Cerebral Palsy in the United
States each year. This is true even following the advances
in pregnancy care. This is because of the advances made in
areas related to the care of premature babies. The causes
of Cerebral Palsy are commonly asphyxia, hypoxia of the
brain, birth trauma, premature birth, and illness of the
mother during pregnancy such as strep.

----------------------------------------------------
Joe Devine
For more information visit http://www.habush.com .

1,950 Things You Should Stop Eating So You Can Lose Weight

1,950 Things You Should Stop Eating So You Can Lose Weight
3,900 - According to an article by Michael Pollan that was
published in the New York Times, this is the amount of food
calories produced every day for each American citizen.Think
about this number for a minute. 3,900 calories is easily a
thousand more calories than almost any of us will ever need
in a day- but they are being produced so someone has to eat
them. This is what I like to call the North American
paradox. Food companies and food producers need us to
consume more and more calories to keep their profits
coming, yet we want to consume less and less calories to
maintain our health and weight.This is why it is not an
exaggeration when I say it is a constant battle to try to
avoid overeating, and to make sure that the foods we do eat
are healthy, nutritious foods. Imagine what would happen if
everyone in North American suddenly decided to eat half the
amount of calories produced by the food industry? That's
1,950 less calories per day and that's 1,950 calories worth
of profit that food companies would lose out on. Most
likely this would be financially disastrous. This is why we
are bombarded with food advertising.

The best way to win this battle is to get closer to 1,950
than 3900. The key to doing this is always remembering that
the foods you see in convenience stores and gas stations
are there because someone wants you to buy them. Not only
this, but they have spent a lot of time and effort to
figure out what colors, names, and sizes will make you
notice their products.So the way to win this battle is by
not being a "good little consumer".

Try your best to buy only planned foods - The foods you
plan to buy during your grocery run. Resist all unplanned
purchases...gas stations, convenience stores, vending
machines and checkout lines...these are all examples of
places where we typically make unplanned impulse food buys.

Avoid the temptation to think that eating several meals in
a day will "cause" weight loss. If you are eating too many
calories, you are eating too many calories. It doesn't
matter how many meals you eat.There are diet plans out
there such as my book Eat Stop Eat that promote very brief
periods of short term fasting as a method of weight loss.
Plans like these teach us that we don't have to be
constantly eating to be healthy. In fact, taking small
breaks from eating every once in a while may actually be
healthy for us.

By making at least one of these adjustments (avoiding
"unplanned foods" and avoiding the urge to eat constantly)
you will be one step closer to a healthy and nutritious
diet. And remember, 3,900 calories per day is overeating
for almost everyone.

----------------------------------------------------
Brad Pilon is a strength training and nutrition
professional and author of Eat Stop Eat. You can learn
about his new book "Eat Stop Eat" that is quickly changing
the way people think about dieting, by visiting
http://www.eatstopeat.com

Brad Pilon is an expert
contributor at eFit-Today
http://www.efit-today.com/public/department59.cfm

Confessions of a Lying Fitness Guru

Confessions of a Lying Fitness Guru
You know, life is funny. I went from being a well
conditioned fitness instructor to a fat 40 year old in what
seems like the blink of an eye. I always joked that my
metabolism went on strike at age 30 and just plain quit by
35. But it's more sad than funny and age has little to do
with it.

I know what I have to do to be in peak shape. Even worse, I
often do it but get nowhere near the results I should. Let
me rephrase that... I get nowhere near the results I used
to promise my clients they would get if they would only
"try harder and have more self control." What a schmuck! I
am fully ashamed of myself. I bought into all the hype that
was laid on me. And I lived and breathed that hype
religiously the years I spent as a fitness instructor.

But I was wrong; dead wrong. And based on what I have
recently learned I can say with confidence that if you are
fat, it's probably NOT your fault. And I tell you this from
the bottom of my guilt ridden heart; please don't blame
your fitness specialist or diet advisor. Chances are they
are just as ignorant as I was. I'm sure they mean well.

You see, diet and fitness "experts" can only teach what
they know. And what many of us know is simply wrong. Sure I
was in great shape. I even earned a black belt in karate,
which took more self control than any diet I ever tried.
But I did not know the real truth about losing weight and
being healthy. I'm still not an expert, but in the past
couple months I have lost more weight than in the past ten
years. I feel better than ever and it was easier than I
thought possible.

By the way, I did NOT invent any of the great concepts that
worked so well for me. Dr. Suzanne Gudakunst is the brains
behind the only weight loss plan that ever helped me get
into shape (Thank you Suzanne!)

In my very novice way I can tell you that I made a few
simple changes at first, like eating more fruit and buying
organic produce whenever possible. More importantly I
learned that slow and steady really does win the race. But
here's the real kicker. I found out why making changes too
fast is why so many people not only fail in diets but gain
back more fat than they lost! Talk about a no win
situation. The more I read the more I realized, "Wow! This
really isn't our fault!" But I digress...

Here's what worked for me. I gradually removed unhealthy
influences like soda and certain junk foods over the course
of several weeks. I went from four sodas a day to three.
Then a week later I realized I did not have the urge to
finish the third so I slowly removed that over the course
of a few more days. In just a couple short weeks I gave up
soda completely and it felt amazing. I even had a sip of my
old favorite last week to see what it would taste like, and
I spit it out because it was so nasty. Now, that's a big
deal for me!

But this is only the beginning. There's a lot more to what
makes us fat that we could really know without either being
a doctor or hearing it first hand. Here's one little tidbit
that still makes me quiver...

It's kind of sickening but a big reason most of us can't
lose weight is because of disgusting little parasites
living inside of us. Yeah, that grossed me out too when I
first heard it. But I can tell you that once you accept it
and move on, you can healthily lose weight faster and
easier than you ever dreamed possible. And keep it off! The
free videos at http://LoseFatNow.org helped me a lot.

More than anything I urge you to not lose hope and please
know that you CAN lose weight. I'm embarrassed that I used
to be one of the "fitness enforcer" types but I am
extremely grateful that I got this second chance. And that
it's working!

Thanks and best of luck.

----------------------------------------------------
Mike Small is a 2nd degree black belt and self confessed
recovering fitness junkie. He hosts a free information site
promoting healthy habits at
http://www.LoseWeightRightNow.org .

Staying Healthy During the Cold & Flu Season

Staying Healthy During the Cold & Flu Season
So, in many places here in the U.S., including where I
reside here in Northeastern Ohio, it's the dead of winter,
and that means more than just blustery cold days, snow and
ice. It means the cold and flu season is upon us, full
boar, and it's up to us and our immune systems to keep the
nasty bugs at bay.

In an interesting discovery recently reported in the news,
it was uncovered that the reason for the cold winter months
being the worst time for colds and flu viruses to spread is
that these respiratory and stomach/digestive viruses
actually have a protective coating on them that works best
in the cold.

This protective coating that stays intact in the cold, and
sort of "melts away" in the heat may explain why viruses
are better able to stay intact and infect more people
during colder months, and when people tend to stay indoors
and spread germs more readily.

A partial explanation may also be the sun's heat and
radiation have a destructive effect on this coating, and
therefore may destroy them before they can enter bodies and
infect the respiratory and digestive tracts of humans.

But can we really increase our odds of NOT getting colds
and flu during the season when these germs are most likely
to come in contact with us? Well, yes, there are plenty of
ways for us to increase our immunity and bone up our
defenses against their infiltration.

One surefire way to increase immunity is to be sure you are
eating properly. Eating a diet high in fat and sugar can
actually help to facilitate the weakening of the immune
system by promoting inflammation of cells and making it
easier for viruses to disrupt our normal flow of activity
within the body.

On of my favorite ways to stay healthy is by increasing my
antioxidant intake, by eating more fruits like blueberries,
raspberries, and a berry called acai, which is just now
being touted as a miracle fruit both for it's high
antioxidant count as well as it's natural source of omega 3
fatty acids.

Drinking juices that are derived from citrus fruits like
oranges and lemons is also a good way to help boost the
immune system. You can also perhaps choose to include an
immune boosting supplement such as Echinacea, which many
believe enhances the body's natural capabilities in
fighting off germs and viruses such as the cold and flu
that so often have the opportunity to infect us in the
winter.

Many people, including myself, swear by vitamin C as an
excellent immune system booster, and consider a part of
their daily diet. Guess what, if you believe that anything
works, chances are it does, regardless of it's chemical
interaction in the body, because the mind is a very
powerful thing when it wants to be, and has a huge
connection to our actual physical health.

Some also swear by ACV, or Apple Cider Vinegar, in it's
pure form, because of something that is found in the
organic version of the product called "the mother" which is
a substance found in ACV that may have multiple benefits to
human health, including immune system enhancement, weight
loss, and many other health uses. I once heard someone say
that they take a couple teaspoons of organic ACV every day
and they never get sick. It's something to think about!

Exercise, believe it or not, is a huge immune system
booster, and it has been scientifically proven that active
people get sick much less when compared with sedentary
people. This is starting to sound like a weight loss
article now, but there is a huge connection between
exercise and wellness, not just exercise and staying in a
size 6 pair of jeans, and for the guys, battling bulging
bellies.

It may be in part because exercise increases the amount of
feel good chemicals in the brain, called endorphins, and
since our bodies are very in tune with how our minds are
doing, and depression is linked with actual physical
illness many times, this explains why exercise not only
fends off depression, but also fends off illness.

A common sense approach to avoiding catching these viruses
in the first place is to make sure you minimize your
contact with things that many other hands have touched,
such as banisters on stairs in public places, door knobs in
public places, and especially if you're in a place where
there have been a lot of children, be careful what you
touch.

Also, be sure to wash your hands fairly often, and if you'd
like you can even keep a bottle of hand sanitizer close by
in case you can't wash your hands after touching some
common area in a public place.

Just taking a few extra precautions in the winter months
that are called "cold and flu season", can help ensure that
you are both minimally exposed and adequately prepared to
handle any "foreign invasions" to your immune system.

----------------------------------------------------
Danna Schneider is the founder of the online source for
dieting and weight loss info, including popular diet
reviews at http://www.dietingmagazine.com , where you can
also find information on weightloss products, fitness
equipment. She also founded
http://www.fitnessnewsmagazine.com , an online help site
dedicated to the latest offerings and breakthroughs in
physical fitness, reviews of exercise equipment and
workouts and more.