A US study of nearly 158,000 women found that, after taking account of other underlying conditions, length and quality of nightly sleep appeared to be linked to the risk of falls and fractures. Women who slept just 5-6 hours per night, or 10 plus hours per night, were at higher risk of falls and fractures than those who slept 7-8 hours per night.

So as part of keeping your joints healthy, please try to keep a healthy sleep pattern!

Reference: Jane A Cauley et al, (2018). Characteristics of Self-Reported Sleep and the Risk of Falls and Fractures: The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). Journal of Bone and Mineral Research

A recent UK government-funded study has found strong evidence that acupuncture is more effective in reducing pain than usual care for chronic musculoskeletal conditions (in particular neck, shoulder and low back pain), osteoarthritis of the knee and headache.

The study reviewed standardised controlled trials encompassing nearly 18,000 patients. The findings of the study will likely be taken into account in the review of clinical guidance by NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence).

Reference: MacPherson H, Vickers A, Bland M, et al. (2017). Acupuncture for chronic pain and depression in primary care: a programme of research. Programme Grants Appl Res 2017;5(3). The project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research [Programme Grants for Applied Research programme] (project number RP-PG-0707-10186).

Hua Sands, the practitioner at Lavenham Physiotherapy and Acupuncture Clinic, recently attended the last in the series of Musculoskeletal Masterclasses put on by Nuffield Health Cambridge Hospital with talks by specialist consultants in spinal injuries and pain management.

A key point made by the consultant neurosurgeon was that the patients who get the best outcomes from spinal surgery are those who are active in doing the exercises to strengthen their back muscles – they are able to return to normal life sooner and are less likely to have the back problems recurring.
The pain management specialist clarified that pain relief injections given in the pain clinic cannot be expected to solve the pain problem – they provide temporary relief to enable patients to get moving again so as to undertake the exercises necessary to resolve the problem.

The overall message therefore is that patients need to realise that surgery and injections are not magical cures for pain – they enable the body to get moving again, and when it is moving right, the body can heal itself and reduce pain for the long term.