One of the criticisms that health professionals sometimes make of evidence-based research is that individual studies or reviews do not apply to the specific patient they are caring for. Of course, each patient is unique with their own values and preferences, as well as their own particular clinical characteristics, genetic make-up, biological markers and sociodemographic [read the full story…]
While talking to a fellow Elf recently at the World Congress of Active Ageing in Glasgow this week about the core set of outcome measures that have been introduced across Scotland as part of its re-designed musculoskeletal pathways (NHS Scotland, 2012) she asked me an interesting question: “do you think that a patient-specific functional scale [read the full story…]
Drug treatments are commonly used to treat children and young people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methylphenidate and amphetamine are two of the most popular, but these are not effective for all patients and sometimes cause problematic side effects. Children and adolescents with ADHD have been shown to have significantly lower plasma and blood [read the full story…]
In this series of blogs with a London 2012 Olympic flavour we have discussed the evidence on the main running related injuries, neuromuscular warm up strategies and tape for patellofemoral pain syndrome. I’m going to London to watch the women’s Olympic football semi finals at Wembley Stadium this week. I hope that I will be [read the full story…]
Weight gain is one of the side effects that people who take antipsychotic drugs complain of the most. Obesity is common in this population and this can often lead to cardiovascular problems and a far shorter life expectancy than the rest of the population. As a result, there is a great deal of interest in [read the full story…]
Have you noticed on the fantastic TV coverage of the London Olympics 2012 that many of the athletes have medical tape applied directly to their skin. The Dutch women beach volleyball players even had designer tape and the water-polo team must have had waterproof tape. When I was a young Elf in the mid 80s [read the full story…]
There are a range of treatment options for people with bipolar disorder who are experiencing a manic episode. An important part of this treatment is to reduce the symptoms of mania and provide the individual with some level of normality. I blogged this time last year about a meta-analysis in the Lancet that showed that [read the full story…]
Today’s blog continues our London 2012 Olympic theme and some of the comments in response to our blog on running related musculoskeletal injuries on 1st August. The old adage that ‘prevention is better than cure’ appears to be true according to the results of a systematic review, published in BMC Medicine. The review evaluated the [read the full story…]
Welcome to the Musculoskeletal Elf! This is the first of many regular articles that we plan to publish on this website; highlighting reliable musculoskeletal research and guidance for health and social care professionals. Our first few blogs will have relevance to the London 2012 summer Olympic Games and Paralympic Games taking place just now. Well done [read the full story…]
Antidepressants and psychotherapies are the mainstay for treating depression, but another option is the benzodiazepine drug alprazolam, which is recommended for treating depression when anxiety is also involved. Some doctors prescribe a short course of benzodiazepines to help depressed and anxious patients, but this is not supported by NICE guidance. High-potency tranquillisers like alprazolam are [read the full story…]
