European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 7, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Knee injuries a plague for women by Jane e. Brody the new York times the knee is fast becoming an Active woman s Achilles Heel. Growing numbers o women who pursue sports and other physical activities Are discovering that there is often a Price to pay for fitness in the form of injury to their body a most vulnerable joint. Orthopaedic surgeons say they Are seeing More and More women with painful Knees sooner or later half of women suffer knee injuries. The problem is not limited to athletes. Women who Are merely fitness buffs seeking to control weight Ward off disease or delay the ravages of age Are sustaining both acute knee injuries and chronic damage caused by gradual Wear and tear. A study by orthopaedic surgeons at the Robert Wood Johnson medical school in new Brunswick n.j., showed that twice As Many women Are undergoing knee operations than was the Case a decade ago. Half or More of All knee surgeries Are now done on women. Or. Stuart i. Springer an Ortho Peist affiliated with the Hospital for joint diseases orthopaedic Institute in new York notes that while women now live for nearly 80 years their Knees Quot Are Only capable of withstanding about 35 to 40 years of  but much can be done to reduce their risk of acute and chronic injury. Women Are More vulnerable to knee injuries than men even in the same activity. For example a study of University basketball players showed that women suffered 60 percent More knee injuries took longer to recover and were More Likely to require surgery. Or. John w. Ewing an orthopaedic surgeon from Akron Ohio says anatomical differences largely explain women a greater susceptibility. Women have wider hips causing the thigh Bone femur to turn slightly inward which puts added pressure on the knee joint. Women s wider hips May also cause More stretching of the quadriceps Muscles in the front of the thigh resulting in knee pain and on average women have less muscle mass and looser ligaments and thus less support for the knee joint. Women and girls also lend to be less Well conditioned. When they first take up an activity they Are More Likely to be injured. In one study girls were almost six times As Likely As boys to be Hurt in the first three months of an athletic season. But injury rates evened out As the season wore on and the girls conditioning improved and in Well conditioned elite athletes there is no significant injury rate difference Between sexes. Although women have experienced a Rise in All sorts of knee injuries a woman s Kneecap seems to be especially at risk. Or. Dan Silver of los Angeles a specialist in knee injuries says that in most women Kneecap problems Start with a pre existing condition often inborn that does not show up until the woman begins an exercise program or aggravates the problem by repealed Pursuit of a stressful activity such As jogging one of the most common inborn conditions is a misalignment of the Patella or Kneecap or. Thomas d. Rizzo or. Of the Mayo sports Medicine Center in Rochester minn., explains that the Kneecap normally moves Back and Forth Between the iwo Large knobs at the end of the thigh Bone. When this movement is not entered the Kneecap May not Glide smoothly. There May also be pressure on the Kneecap that pushes it into the Groove. The result can be an abnormal Wear pattern and softening of the Back of the Kneecap a painful condition known As Chondr Malacia or runner s knee. Factors that predispose women to patellar misalignment include a looseness of knee ligaments a wide Pelvis in relation to the Angle of the knee a tendency to be Knock kneed Flat feet weak quadriceps Muscles and pronation a collapse of the Arch with each Ste Silver said. He cautioned women to heed the symptoms of Kneecap problems which if ignored can weaken the entire leg and cause an abnormal gait or other problems these symptoms include persistent pain and swelling and grinding and clicking sensations when climbing stairs or squatting. Overweight is the Knees greatest enemy. Overloaded joints eventually give Way. Exercise is a double edged sword. It is vital to strengthening Muscles that support the knee but if done it incorrectly or to excess it can damage the Knees. Springer advises against jogging which puts triple the pressure on the Knees when compared to walking. Inveterate joggers with seemingly healthy Knees should vary activity by swimming on alternate Days or by biking to strengthen quadriceps for example. There Are also at Home exercises that can strengthen quadriceps and stretch the Back of the leg. Rizzo says that swimming and water exercises Are excellent for strengthening Knees As Long As you avoid the breast stroke since the whip kick unduly stresses the Knees. Biking Wilh sore Knees is generally not recommended but if you Bike before pain is gone avoid Hills and raise the seat so that you can pedal comfortably without bending your knee More than Halfway to a right Angle. Be sure to warm up for about five minutes before going into your exercise stretching exercises for Muscles and tendons along the Back of the leg Are very important for your Knees also use common sense avoid positions like squatting that put undue stress on the Knees. If you Kneel use a Cushion. If your Knees Hurt see a professional. Reduce any activity that seems to cause or enhance knee pain. Avoid sitting Cross legged or standing or lying Down with straightened Knees. Try to keep your Knees slightly Bent at All times. If your Arch collapses when you run or walk consider getting a shoe insert orthotic to reduce stress on Knees. Always Wear athletic shoes appropriate for the activity. S. Exercise and flu Don t mix by Ira Dreyfuss the associated press you can work out with a cold but in it looks like the flu you re through a unless you re willing to risk death the experts say. A cold stays safely in your head annoying you with a Runny nose stuffiness and coughing although you might also have a slight fever. But the flu is systemic. You get the High fever aches and other symptoms As the virus migrates through your body. And its theoretically possible that a hard workout on a virus Ridden heart muscle can create an irregular heart beat that could kill you said David c. Nieman of appalachian state University in North Carolina it has t been proved that flu viruses specifically cause the heart inflammation called myocarditis but the heart disease can result from an illness that a Layman might confuse with the flu said or. Robert b. Couch director of the influenza research Center at Baylor College of Medicine. A animal research links myocarditis to the Coxsackie b viruses he said. Coxsackie b symptoms can include flu like High fever and Achness a one variety is called break one fever. Couch said. But the symptoms do not include the Runny nose sore Throat or cough of the flu he said. Quot we advise athletes two things if they have a fever or had one within the previous 24 hours they should not exercise Quot said Jennifer a. Stone head athletic Trainer at the Colorado Springs olympic training Center Quot the other is common sense if you feel bad you probably  do  flu victims should not even try a mild walk while they have symptoms said Nieman an associate professor of health Leisure and exercise science. Afterwards they should exercise at no More than moderate intensity for at least two weeks he said. Couch is less conservative suggesting that flu victims listen to their bodies. A recovering athlete can Start exercising instead of waiting any specific time period. Quot if you re really sick a lot of your Energy is going into making you try to get Well Quot said Chris Mcgrew a team physician for the University of new Mexico. Intense exercise could lower your resistance to disease he said in general a cold probably does t affect you that much Mcgrew said. However he advises that if you done to feel up to your usual Pace Don t push severe congestion could make it hard to inhale and exhale quickly and a mild fever May disrupt your body s Normal temperature regulation a Little he said. To control cold symptoms Many of us raid the Medicine Chest. However Mcgrew warns that non pics Crillion medications Don t always mix with exercise he reviewed ingredients Lor a newsletter running research news of Lansing Mich. Antihistamines can relieve sneezing itching watery eyes and Runny nose but they can work too Well and give you dry Mouth nose and eyes he said in addition some antihistamines can make susceptible people drowsy affecting timing and judgment he said. Decongestants can relieve nasal and sinus congestion and perk you up making you More Alert but can increase heart rate and blood pressure he said and being perked up might not be As much fun late at night it can create insomnia Mcgrew said. Fever reducers and pain relievers such As aspirin acetaminophen and Bici proven done to change the Way your body performs athletically Mcgrew said. The pain Relief May make sustained or High intensity workouts go better but you should be careful not to use them to mask the consistent pain which Means that something Basic is wrong he said. Expectorants can make it easier to cough up mucous and expectorants based on the chemical Guai Genesin Don t Hurt your performance Mcgrew said on the other hand drinking lots of fluid can do the Job about As Well he said. Suppressants reduce your desire to cough but the doctor considers this a bad idea because coughing can help to Clear viruses from bronchial tubes and lungs also he said the Active ingredient dextrose Thorman can act As a sedative which could reduce your performance Mcgrew does t like the Shotgun approach that manufacturers often use grouping several ingredients into a single preparation. He advises athletes to try to buy Only preparations targeted at their symptoms Medicine not necessary for child with common cold by the new York times medication probably is unnecessary for a Young child sniffling from a common cold a new study suggests. Or. Nancy Hutton a paediatrician at the Johns Hopkins University school of Medicine and colleagues studied 96 children ranging in age from 6 months to 5 years old. The children were randomly selected when their parents brought them to a walk in clinic because of cold symptoms. Only children with uncomplicated colds were selected. The scientists asked parents to describe their children s symptoms in the past 24 hours and whether they thought the child needed Medicine the children were randomly divided into one of three groups receiving either an Antihistamine decongestant a Dummy Pill or no medication. After two Days the researchers asked parents again about the symptoms and whether the child was better. They found no difference in parental reports of whether the child was better among children receiving medication the Placebo or no treatment. In fact More than half the children were considered better after two Days whether they had received Medicine the Dummy Pill or nothing. At the initial visit most of the parents said hey thought their children needed Medicine. Those parents reported More improvement in their children s symptoms after two Days regardless of whether the child received medication or not. The study was reported in the journal of paediatrics while several previous studies have cast doubt on the effectiveness of cold remedies doctors routinely prescribe them either because they think they will help or because they Are placating parents with medication that they regard As harmless the scientists said Quot the results of this study do not support the common practice of prescribing an anti Stammo decongestant preparation for Young children with the common cold the report said Quot Why waste Money and risk an Adverse reaction by giving Young children medication when the cold really just has to take its course Quot Hutton said Quot whether parents give medication or not the child will usually feel better in a Day or two cold remedies Don t make it happen any faster Quot she said that if a youngster started to feel worse or developed complications like a High lever earache or severe sore Throat then medication might be warranted Quot if a child just has a Runny nose and is feeling a Little Cranky Quot hut Lon said Quot the Best thing to give him is a Box of kleenex Quot a amps Art was Boow Page 14 the stars and stripes tuesday january 7, 1992 the stars and stripes Page 15