Golfers face a far more dangerous handicap than their score. They have high risk of developing back problems, because each swing of a club subjects their backs to stresses that are equal to eight times their body weight, according to Dr. Timothy Hosea of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. A study of eight amateur and professional golfers revealed that this stress, along with the twisting and turning of the back and torso, can lead to herniated discs, spinal stress fractures and a variety of back-muscle strains, he said. Amateurs subject their backs to 50 to 80 percent more stress because of improper motions during swings, Hosea said. ”The golf swing is basically an unnatural movement,” he said. ”At any time during the swing, there is undue pressure being applied to the back.” Hosea recommends taking lessons to improve the golf swing and warmup exercises such as bending and easy practice swings.
Childhood trauma
People who have multiple personalities are thought to be suppressing traumatic childhood experiences, a theory that has received strong support from a recent study of 102 patients. Slightly more than 95 percent of the patients had been subjected to sexual or other physical abuse in childhood, said Dr. Colin Ross of the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. Multiple-personality disorder, in which different personalities take over at different times, has a much higher rate of childhood trauma than any other psychiatric disorder, he reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Multiple personalities appear to be a coping mechanism by which victims of child abuse separate themselves from their early traumas, Ross said.
Versatile drug
Medical researchers have found another use for cyclosporine. Besides its remarkable role in making organ transplants routine and as a new potential therapy for autoimmune diseases, scientists at Ohio State University have found that cyclosporine may be an effective treatment for aplastic anemia. Normally, patients with this deadly disease receive bone marrow transplants. The drug appears to stimulate the production of red and white blood cells, which are seriously suppressed in aplastic anemia patients, said Dr. Peter Tutschka. Eight aplastic anemia patients treated with cyclosporine are leading ”virtually normal lives,” he said.
Subjects sought
Schizophrenic patients are being sought by Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke`s Medical Center to test a new drug called remoxipride that previous studies indicate has fewer side effects than drugs now used to treat schizophrenia. For more information about the study, which involves a two-week hospital stay, call 312-942-3532.
Impotence worries
Most older American men are willing to do whatever it takes to keep their sex lives in working order, according to a survey of 1,000 men older than 18. The survey, which was conducted for the Minneapolis-based Im-potence Information Center, found that 9 out of 10 men older than 65 would seek treatment if their impotence was diagnosed as a physical problem, and 7 in 10 said they would seek therapy regardless of the cause. Twenty-three percent of the older men said they would consult their sexual partners about seeking impotence help, compared with 14 percent of men younger than 65.
