Improving you balance is as easy as standing on one leg. THE MOVES: Single leg balance with hip rotation. WORKS ON: Hip and leg strength. Vestibular and "visual flow" balance.   GET HIP - Firefighter Dave Orozco works on balance, leg and hip strength as he stands on one leg and turns his torso to the side. CNS Photo. PRECAUTIONS: Ensure your safety. As with any balance exercise, the risk of falling is a real concern. When ... [full story]

WHAT WOULD JACK DO? In the popular TV series "24," Los Angeles is nuked with a small bomb detonated by a terrorist. The likelihood of such a thing really happening is relatively remote, but the U.S. government, through Web sites like Ready.gov, does offer advice in how to prepare for such threats. Two researchers at Carnegie Mellon University wondered just how practical that advice was. They asked some basic questions: Is it worth the time ... [full story]

It is the first warm day of spring and your daughter ventures outside barefoot. In a few minutes, she's back, her foot gushing blood from a cut she suffered by stepping on broken glass. You wrap a towel around her foot and head for the emergency room.   SURVIVING THE ER - Experts say annual emergency room visits in the United States have reached an all-time high of 114 million, a 26 percent increase from 1993. ... [full story]

Americans are constantly reminded of the importance of proactive participation in their health care.  Public health awareness campaigns tell us that vigilantly observing changes in our bodies, staying current with preventive health screenings, and regularly visiting our doctors are key to preventing or lowering the risk of chronic disease and managing current medical conditions.  It’s good advice, but keeping up with routine screenings and doctor visits is easier said than done for the more than ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - A U.S. report links the first decline in breast cancer cases in 25 years to the sharp drop in hormone use by menopausal women. An analysis published in The New England Journal of Medicine says about 16,000 fewer cases of breast cancer are being diagnosed each year because of the drop in hormone use after 2002, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. There were nearly 10 percent fewer breast cancer cases diagnosed in 2003 ... [full story]

While most people don't much appreciate being the recipient of an angry look, there are those who don't mind. Indeed, they may actually go out of their way to encourage them. In published research, a team of University of Michigan psychologists suggests that some people find angry facial expressions directed at them to be rewarding. "It's kind of striking that an angry facial expression is consciously valued as a very negative signal by almost everyone, ... [full story]

The death of a 12-year-old Maryland boy made national news recently.   X-RAY TELLS THE TALE - Dental X-rays reveal the difference in appearance of a tooth that has undergone a root canal (left) and an untreated tooth. CNS Photo by Ray Stewart.    KEY INSTRUMENTS - Small endodontic files are the main tools used by an endodontist to remove diseased pulp during a root canal procedure. CNS Photo by Ray Stewart. He died of a toothache. And the ... [full story]

Cpl. John Shahin doesn't remember the sound of the bomb that hit his Humvee in Iraq three years ago, leaving the 22-year-old Marine with hearing loss and other lingering injuries. He remembers feeling the pressure of the explosion before he was knocked unconscious. He remembers regaining consciousness as a buddy shook him. He remembers the blood. And he remembers a loud ringing in his ears. Almost three years later, loud noise makes the ringing return, ... [full story]

Eating apples may do more than keep the doctor away. A study published in Thorax Online states that mothers who eat apples during pregnancy might reduce the chances of their children developing asthma later in life. In the study, researchers from the Netherlands and Scotland followed the food intake of approximately 2,000 pregnant women. The researchers then looked at the children's airway development five years later. They found a lower risk of childhood asthma in ... [full story]

Stretching your neck muscles shouldn't be a pain. NECK STRETCH - Holding his wrist behind his back to keep his shoulder down, firefighter Joe Penolio stretches tight neck muscles by tilting his head to the opposite side of the lowered shoulder and holding the position. CNS Photo by Nadia Borowski Scott. THE MOVE: Neck stretching. WORKS ON: Relaxes the lateral (side) neck muscles. SET UP: Standing or sitting with good upright posture. STEP 1: ... [full story]

One day dentists may be an important part in the fight against breast cancer. According to the article "Salivary analysis on the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer," dentists could one day use salivary tests to detect breast cancer. Dentists Sebastian Z. Paige and Charles F. Streckfus wrote about this development in the April/May 2007 issue of General Dentistry. Paige and Streckfus found that saliva protein levels could help in the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up ... [full story]

MEDTRONICA Nutrition Data www.nutritiondata.com A comprehensive site for determining the nutritional value of any food or recipe, which is critical for people on special diets. Navigating the site can be complicated (and requires registration), but the information is detailed and specific. BODY OF KNOWLEDGE There are roughly 250,000 pores on the soles of your feet, secreting about one-quarter of a cup of sweat a day. GET ME THAT. STAT! Less than one-third of American adults ... [full story]

Now, when he reflects on it, John Ness, 64, of Massillon, Ohio, knows his body was sending a message when he was in the service 43 years ago. "We went on a 20-mile hike and afterward I almost couldn't move," Ness recalled. "I was very weak so I went to the doctor. But after I sat in the waiting room for an hour, I felt pretty good when I got in his office. Because of ... [full story]