One minute, you feel invincible: You’re squatting heavy, tossing bags of mulch, helping the lovely passenger in 12D hoist her bag into the overhead compartment. The next, your back barks, leaving you hunched over. Researchers at the University of Sydney recently studied 1,000 patients to pinpoint some of the most common triggers of acute back pain—those sudden, sharp spasms that seemingly occur at any time and can leave you laid up for days. Read the full article for Men’s Health.
Author: cindykuzma
The Top 10 Cancer Signs You Shouldn’t Ignore
If you found a lump on your body where there wasn’t one before, you might proceed to freak out. Doctors call this an “alarm symptom,” or a sign that should put patients on high alert for cancer. Yet when British researchers recently surveyed people who had experienced 10 of these types of signs, about half of the participants didn’t see their docs. Some people brushed the symptoms off as inconsequential, while others feared what they might find out. Read the full article for Men’s Health.
How Not to Be a Head Case at Your Big-City Race
You’ve spent your training runs loping along tree-lined trails or quiet back roads with your herd. But one day, you find yourself on a city street inside an immense crowd of unfamiliar beasts. Music blares, crowds roar, and you have to fight your way through a veritable obstacle course to reach your destination. Add the pressure to perform and months (if not years) of preparation and expectation, and you have the perfect description of a big-city race—and a potential recipe for a major mental meltdown. Read the full article for Runner’s World.
10 Exercises You Hate The Most—And What To Do Instead
It’s bound to happen at some point during your workout. The moment you always dread: Your instructor or workout DVD announces that it’s time to do your LEAST favorite move. You know, the one that always makes your back ache, your knees hurt, or makes you feel like the most uncoordinated person in the room. (We’re looking at you, squats, planks, and burpees.) Read the full article for Prevention.com.
How 8 Minutes a Day May Change Your Life
picture by Moyan Brenn on Flickr
As an overwhelmed first-year law student nearly 30 years ago, Victor Davich saw his classmates turn to medications to battle stress and stay focused. Davich, though, chose a different route. Read the full article on NowU.
6 Serious Health Problems Your Dentist Might Find
Your mouth is like a crystal ball for your health. That’s because a good dentist can spot a wide range of potential medical problems by looking between your chompers. In fact, we found 6 serious health conditions that could be first discovered while you’re getting your teeth cleaned. Read the full article for Men’s Health.
Can You Inherit Cancer?
Forget skeletons: Search your family’s closet for tumors instead. Having a first-degree relative like a parent or sibling with cancer roughly doubles your own risk of that disease, according to Noralane M. Lindor, M.D., medical geneticist at the Mayo Clinic. Read the full article for Men’s Health.
Standing Might Not Counteract the Health Harms of Sitting for Runners
Does your desk chair have fatal intentions? Even if you run regularly, mounting research suggests hours of uninterrupted sedentary time increase your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and an early death. Read the full article for Runner’s World.
Study Suggests Nappers Feel Less Pain
That quick catnap might not always work to make you less sleepy. But a new study suggests a surprising benefit of 30-minute snoozes on the sleep-deprived: less sensitivity to pain. Read the full article for Runner’s World.
6 Ways Your Health Suffers When You Stop Working Out
Just as a good training program builds you up, falling off the workout wagon can have the opposite effect—sometimes almost immediately. Experts call this phenomenon “detraining,” and its consequences can weigh even heavier than the gut you see in the mirror. Fortunately, the condition is fully reversible, as long as you get your butt back to the gym. Read the full article for Men’s Health.