Anger Mismanagement

Bite your tongue and you may feel it in your back.  A new study in Psychosomatic Medicine found that holding in anger can lead to lower-back pain.  Scientists attached electrodes along the spines of 94 people with chronic back pain and then asked them to recall an upsetting event.  Those who had bottled up their anger had 30 percent more tension in their lumbar regions, compared with baseline levels, “Anger provokes a flight-or-flight response, which includes preparing large muscle groups for action, “says lead author John Burns, Ph.D.  When someone raises your ire, don’t stew— get it off your chest, and your back will thank you.

Off-The-Cuff Advice

Want to stave off a stroke?  Check your blood pressure in the morning.  In an 11-year study of 1,766 people, scientists at Tohoku University determined that morning BP measurements taken at home were more accurate at predicting stroke than those done at a doctor’s office or at home during any other time of day.  Morning blood pressure is unbiased by stress or diet, so it provides a clear picture of what’s going on inside your arteries, says lead author Kei Asayama, M.D. Slap on a cuff within an hour of your alarm, but after you pee—holding it can boost BP.  Levels over 120/80 millimeters of mercury are considered high.

Snowboarding

Recreational snowboarders are in danger of a back-breaking injury, according to a new study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.  In the review of more than 15,000 snowboarding injuries, 512 were fractured backs, a higher rate than is found with skiing.  The most common cause: an amateur boarder tackling jumps higher than 6 feet.