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to your Address Book or Safe List. Learn how here. | July 28, 2011 | |  |  | Ease Arthritis in Just Eight Weeks with
Tai Chi | | | Should Women Take Statin Drugs? | | | The Scary Truth About Manicures | | | Drug-Free Diabetes Cure | | | House Hunters: Beware of Thirdhand Smoke | | | |  |  | |  | |
 | | Ease Arthritis in Just Eight Weeks with
Tai Chi When arthritic joints ache, the last thing you may want to do is work out. But a new study shows that a certain kind of exercise actually can relieve arthritis symptoms fairly quickly—no drugs involved. The secret weapon: Tai chi, a gentle form of martial arts. The study participants included 247 patients (mostly women) who had osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis or another type of arthritis. Lead researcher Leigh Callahan, PhD, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Thurston Arthritis Research Center, told me that after only eight weeks of twice-weekly sessions of tai chi, participants experienced significantly reduced joint pain, stiffness and fatigue... improved ability to extend their reach while maintaining balance (which can be challenging for arthritis patients)... better sleep... and an increased sense of well-being. For some specific moves that can give readers a taste of tai chi, I contacted Paul Lam, MD, a family physician, tai chi master and coauthor of Overcoming Arthritis: How to Relieve Pain and Restore Mobility Through a Unique Tai Chi Program. Dr. Lam suggested that as you practice the two techniques below, you try to move slowly, continuously and gracefully (as you become more familiar with the movements, they will start to flow)... breathe slowly, naturally and easily... and never lock your joints. (Of course, as with any new exercise activity, get your doctor’s OK before you begin.) Tai chi moves to try... Spine stretch. To start: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent... or sit in a sturdy chair. Hold your hands out in front of you, about eight inches from your torso, elbows somewhat bent, left hand at collarbone height (palm facing down) and right hand at belly-button height (palm facing up). Palms should be approximately 12 inches apart, as if holding the top and bottom of a beach ball. Move: Slowly raise your right arm, bringing it overhead and turning your right palm up toward the ceiling... at the same time, lower your left arm until your left hand is near your left hip, left palm still facing toward the floor. (Both elbows should stay slightly bent throughout.) Pause, visualizing the gentle stretch that your spine is getting. Then slowly return to the initial position, but with the right hand on top and the left hand on the bottom of the imaginary beach ball. Repeat the move on the other side, raising your left arm and lowering your right arm. Video demo: Visit www.ArthritisToday.org/fitness/exercise-videos-and-photos/tai-chi/tai-chi-video-spine-stretches.php. Arm circles. To start: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent... or sit in a sturdy chair. Arms are at your sides, elbows slightly bent. Move: Slowly lift your arms, opening them out to your sides and turning the palms upward. Keeping elbows somewhat bent, continue raising your arms until they create a large circle overhead. Then slowly lower your arms, bringing your palms together as your hands move down past your face to heart level... then return to starting position and repeat. To learn more: Check for tai chi classes at your local community center, health clubs or martial arts schools (be sure to ask if the instructor has experience in working with arthritis patients)... and/or contact your local Arthritis Foundation chapter (www.Arthritis.org) for referrals to approved tai chi instructors, Dr. Lam suggested. Sources: Leigh Callahan, PhD, is a professor in the departments of medicine and social medicine at the Thurston Arthritis Research Center of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has more than 20 years of experience in arthritis and health outcomes research.
Paul Lam, MD, is a family physician, tai chi master, and director and cofounder of the Tai Chi for Health Institute in Sydney, Australia. He is the author or coauthor of numerous books, including Overcoming Arthritis: How to Relieve Pain and Restore Mobility Through a Unique Tai Chi Program (DK Adult) and Teaching Tai Chi Effectively (Tai Chi Productions). www.TaiChiForHealthInstitute.com
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 | | Should Women Take Statin Drugs? Here’s a radical thought. Your doctor tells you to take Lipitor® or Zocor® or some other best-selling cholesterol drug, and you refuse. Not because of the oft-reported side effects—but because you’re a woman. Says who? Say two world-acclaimed mainstream women doctors. We put the question to Judith Walsh, MD, MPH, associate clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco—and Beatrice A. Golomb, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego. Both mainstream doctors have nothing against prescription drugs—when they work. But both say there’s simply no evidence that statin drugs work for women. | |
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 | | The Scary Truth About Manicures The last time I got my nails done, the manicurist wanted to trim my cuticles or least push them back. I said no! Though she meant to make my nails look nicer, fiddling with cuticles sets the stage for paronychia, an infection of the skin around the nails. I discussed the importance of cuticles with Neal B. Schultz, MD, an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He said that while most people think of a cuticle as just dead skin, its function is to seal the nail to the skin. When you cut a cuticle, you effectively cut your skin (even though, as when a callus is removed, it does not bleed)... and when you push back a cuticle, you separate the skin from the nail. Either way, you leave an opening for various types of germs to enter. Potential result: Painful, red, swollen areas of skin around the nails that leave fingers looking far from lovely. When caused by bacteria, a paronychial infection is acute and its symptoms, which usually include pus, arise within one to three days. This type of infection can be treated with an oral antibiotic suitable for staph or strep... and it will get better faster, Dr. Schultz noted, if your dermatologist or primary care doctor also drains any pus. When caused by yeast (typically the same Candida yeast that causes vaginal infections), a paronychial infection is chronic and "smolders" for weeks to months, Dr. Schultz said, though it will not form pus. Common error: If you mistake yeast for a bacterial infection and try to treat it yourself with over-the-counter antibacterial ointment, you only feed the yeast by trapping moisture in the nail bed. What is needed instead is a topical prescription anti-yeast medication, such as nystatin. Though a yeast infection takes months to cure, you should see improvement within a few weeks. As an alternative, you can try nonprescription clotrimazole (Lotrimin)—but this may work more slowly than nystatin. Day-to-day care of healthy cuticles: If a bit of skin is sticking up from a cuticle, there is no harm in trimming that, Dr. Schultz said. Or if one section of cuticle has grown over a larger than normal portion of nail, it is safe to trim that excess—but only if you leave at least 1/16 of an inch of cuticle next to the skin and take care not to destroy the seal between the skin and the nail. Source: Neal B. Schultz, MD, is an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and owner of Park Avenue Skin Care, both in New York City. He also is the founder of www.DermTV.com and author of It’s Not Just About Wrinkles (Stewart, Tabori and Chang). www.NealSchultzMD.com
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| | | House Hunters: Beware of Thirdhand Smoke When looking to buy or rent a home, of course you check to see whether a property has problems with radon or lead. But a new study published in Tobacco Control suggests that you also consider whether the previous occupant smoked. San Diego State University researchers examined the homes of 100 smokers and 50 nonsmokers before the residents moved out... and again after new nonsmoking residents moved in. Air, dust and surfaces such as walls and ceilings were tested for tobacco smoke pollutants—also known as thirdhand smoke. Results: Compared with homes previously occupied by nonsmokers, homes that had been occupied by smokers continued to have higher levels of nicotine and other tobacco pollutants in the dust and on surfaces. This occurred even after the homes had been vacant for about two months and even though the homes had been cleaned and repainted before the new residents moved in! Also: New nonsmoking residents were tested about one month after moving in. Compared with people living in homes previously occupied by nonsmokers, those living in smokers’ former homes had higher levels of nicotine on their fingers and greater amounts of a tobacco-related marker in their urine. Self-defense: The health effects of thirdhand smoke are not yet fully understood—but as a precaution, researchers recommend against moving into a smoker’s former home, especially if you have small children... have asthma or another respiratory illness... or can smell stale tobacco smoke (a sign of high pollutant levels). If you already have moved in, consider replacing the main toxin reservoirs (carpets, curtains, upholstery)... having wood floors refinished... and cleaning air ducts and heating/air-conditioning equipment. Source: Georg E. Matt, PhD, is a professor and chair of the department of psychology at San Diego State University in California and lead author of a study on thirdhand smoke in homes.
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 | |  Tamara Eberlein, the editor of HealthyWoman from Bottom Line, has been a health journalist for nearly three decades. An award-winning author or coauthor of four books, she is committed to helping other women in midlife and beyond live healthy, fulfilling lives. Her latest book is the updated, third edition of When You’re Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads (HarperCollins). She is also the "chief health adviser" to her husband of 26 years and three college-age children. | |  | | Bottom Line Publications | 281 Tresser Boulevard, 8th Floor | Stamford, CT 06901
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