Earlier this week, Commander Chris Hadfield and the rest of the team of astronauts arrived back from a 5 month trip orbiting the earth. Out there, they were free of gravity’s effects. Unfortunately, that comes at a cost to the body, which is that muscles lose strength and bones thin.
And now that they are back on earth, the astronauts are feeling pretty uncomfortable. Pain and soreness from not being used to holding their heads and bodies upright for many months, for example, are part of the reason for that discomfort.
More than just an excuse to take pictures and tweet from space, the trip was a valuable research opportunity. One of which is to study the effects of gravity on the human body. So, researchers from NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) have been tracking Hadfield’s blood pressure and bone density to learn more about the human aging process and osteoporosis.
The video above has Commander Hadfield explaining the purpose of collecting and storing medical samples.
A study in Brazil showed that creatine may help build muscle strength in fibromyalgia patients. The study was conducted by Bruno Gualano, a professor at the University of São Paulo School of Physical Education and Sports. Continue reading →
Ergonomics is the study of efficient workplace design, so that work equipment (office desk and chair, for example) allows the body to be placed in the safest and most comfortable position.
Here are a couple of modifications you can make to your office to help make life easier and improve your productivity:
When seated at a desk, position your legs at a 90 degree angle to your body with your thighs parallel to the ground. Try to avoid crossing your legs. Instead, place your feet flat on the floor. For shorter people, that may mean having a footrest. No time to shop and you need one now? A makeshift footrest can be made by duct taping phone books together to the right thickness. (What else are you going to use them for?)
Try to find a chair with adjustable height. Set the chair at a height that allows you to look straight ahead at your computer monitor, rather than having to bend your neck or hunch your shoulders.
Ideally, your chair should have good back support. If not, try a cylindrical pillow, or make that shape with a rolled up towel, to support your lower back.
Even with these changes, it is still a good idea to get up every 15 minutes to move around and stretch.
In a country as large as Canada, meeting every citizen’s healthcare needs is difficult. People with arthritis have their own set of challenges, such as getting a timely diagnosis and early treatment. The difficulties are greater still, for those living in remote or rural areas.
In this issue of JointHealth™ monthly, Arthritis Consumer Experts explores how to improve arthritis healthcare in Canada from a regional and national perspective. We look at solutions being implemented to overcome some of the challenges of providing healthcare in rural and remote settings. On a broader national level, we look at the work underway to create a harmonized standard of arthritis care that will work all across Canada, while considering the individual needs of each province and territory.
In this video, Johanna Kendall, Arthritis Broadcast Network reporter, interviews Serge. Serge is Nathalie’s boyfriend. Nathalie writes about her life with ankylosing spondylitis in her ABN blog series, “Ma vie avec Spondylarthrite Ankylosante”.
Here, Serge talks about what he knew of ankylosing spondylitis and arthritis before he met her, and how that has changed since.
