Therapist Insurance Blog

Do you check your nuts?

John Hartson is a very familiar name if you follow football. He hit the headlines throughout his career with Arsenal and Celtic and many other clubs. Sadly, this week, he hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Initially diagnosed with testicular cancer, the cancer then spread to his brain and has since spread to his lungs. He had surgery earlier this week on his brain to relieve the pressure. This will now allow him to have ongoing treatment.

The stunning fact that has emerged since John's story hit the press is that 99% of testicular cancer could be cured if it was detected early enough. However 1 in 5 men in the UK, or 2.7 million men, never check their testicles for lumps! I guess men just don't do that sort of thing! Apparently 16 - 44 is the vulnerable age group. Apparently 50% of the men questioned in this survey didn't know it was the most common type of cancer amongst men of this age group. 5% didn't know that a lump or swelling might indicate  a cancerous lump! This amazing piece of research was carried out by Screwfix! They have started a campaign to raise awareness of testicular cancer.

The slogan is "CHECK YOUR NUTS!" Go on, you know it makes sense!

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Smell In the Changing Rooms

Anyone who has football, or come to think of it, any sport will know what I mean when I say "that smell in the changing room" Ralgex, linament, rub or deep heat. Call it what you will but it will be there. It part of the game. Even the pro's use it.

Well wait for the stunning news. Research by Cochrane suggests that they..................don't work!

However, don't panic because they were only tested on people with pain from conditions such as arthritis. Dr Andrew Moore of Oxford University said " When it comes to rubs they do not work well enough to take any notice of them"

So the news is if you have pain from an arthritic condition rubs probably don't work for you. However, what the researchers should look at is do they work for pumped up sports people who are about to compete. It's part of the adrenalin rush you get when competing in sport. Having worked in both Rugby and Football changing rooms, believe me, the whole place is not complete withoutn the smell of rubs. And as for the tricks you can play with them..............well thats another matter!

Believe what you read?

This week there was a widely published article entitled "Four Pints Increase Health Risk". This featured on the BBC Website, The Nursing Times, The Daily Star and most National and certainly some local newspapers.

Basically it was a study of over 5,000 Scottish gentlemen and their drinking habits by Glasgow and Bristol Universities. Now I should add that I have not yet seen the original piece of research but that is not the crux of this rant. Basically the article said that anyone who drank four pints a week was more likely to end up in hospital for a longer period during their lifetime. As your alcohol intake increased so did the likely length of stay in hospital.

My moan is that all the articles basically said was that if you drink four pints a week you are in trouble. Their was no mention of any other factors. So could it be that the men who drank more also did no exercise, had a poor diet, had other health problems, came from a lower socio-economic group (yes this can affect your health outlook!) and were unaware of the health risks. Yes I know it doesn't make as good a story but sometimes I wish the media would give the public a little more credit. I am now off to read the original research article. I will report back!

I will also add that there is an alcohol problem in this country which slowly people are starting to address. I am not excusing excessive alcohol intake. I am just asking for fairer and better coverage.