A popular surgical procedure worked no better than fake operations in helping people with one type of common knee problem, suggesting that thousands of people may be undergoing unnecessary surgery, a new study in The New England Journal of Medicine reports. Two Procedures, Same Result A study compared a common surgical repair to the meniscus and a simulated surgery. [...]

Read more

To those of us in training, the hospital was cursed. At least when it came to a certain operation. We dreaded being asked to scrub in at these operations because we knew we would be forced to hold patient parts until our fingers went numb and arms quivered. The surgeons hunted, stabbed and slashed their way through the procedure; and whenever their knife would go a little too far, or their knot [...]

Read more

Exercise could be described as Nietzschean. To make muscles fitter, you damage them slightly during workouts, prompting the fibers to repair themselves and become stronger. This process “is a good thing,” said Thomas Swensen, a professor of exercise and sports science at Ithaca College in New York. “You want to stress the muscles. They adapt positively.” But in the meantime, they ache [...]

Read more

Injecting steroids into the area around the spinal cord, known as an epidural, is the most commonly used treatment for back pain, but a new review of studies suggests that injecting any liquid, even plain saline solution, works just as well. Researchers pooled the results of 43 studies involving more than 3,600 patients who got various kinds of injections for back pain. As they expected, they [...]

Read more

If you live long enough — that is, beyond 50 or 60 — chances are one or more of your joints, probably your knees or hips, will become arthritic. And if pain or stiffness begin to seriously limit your ability to enjoy life and perform routine tasks, chances are you’ll consider replacing the troublesome joint. “People with osteoarthritis are relying more and more heavily on surgery,” [...]

Read more

One of the most entrenched beliefs about running, at least among nonrunners, is that it causes arthritis and ruins knees. But a nifty new study finds that this idea is a myth and distance running is unlikely to contribute to the development of arthritis, precisely and paradoxically because it involves so much running. It’s easy to understand, of course, why running is thought to harm the knee[...]

Read more

Updated, Oct. 24, 2014 | For a greater challenge, see “The Advanced 7-Minute Workout.” And download our new, free 7-Minute Workout App for your phone, tablet or other device. Exercise science is a fine and intellectually fascinating thing. But sometimes you just want someone to lay out guidelines for how to put the newest fitness research into practice. An article in the May-June issue of [...]

Read more

Walking and running are the most popular physical activities for American adults. But whether one is preferable to the other in terms of improving health has long been debated. Now a variety of new studies that pitted running directly against walking are providing some answers. Their conclusion? It depends almost completely on what you are hoping to accomplish.If, for instance, you are looking to [...]

Read more