https://medicalxpress.com/health-other-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Allied health Paul Boyer, a psychotherapist for Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California, is experiencing the AI revolution firsthand. He's a little underwhelmed. The health giant has rolled out a new suite of note-taking software, made by health care AI pioneer Abridge, intended to summarize a patient's visit at supersonic speed. For many clinicians, the technology soothes one of the persistent headaches of their lives—administration and paperwork. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-trump-kennedy-safeguards-ai-health.html Thu, 14 May 2026 23:20:02 EDT news697972087 Researchers have proposed new standards into the decades-old prosthetic donations market, improving the quality of lower limb prosthetic feet by two-thirds—a major quality of life boost for recipients. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-prosthetic-feet-curb-medical-equipment.html Wed, 13 May 2026 14:00:03 EDT news697886281 Throughout medical history, men have generally been the target of studies, with results generalized to women. However, there are differences between the sexes in many aspects of human perception. Hormones influence the behavior of cells in the brain, including areas of the brain that process hearing. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-men-women-world-differently-hormones.html Wed, 13 May 2026 09:20:01 EDT news697794165 Icing a sprained ankle or sore muscle, long used to reduce pain and swelling, may in the longer run delay recovery and prolong pain, new research suggests. In a preclinical study published in Anesthesiology, McGill University researchers have found that even though cryotherapy (icing) eased pain in the short term, recovery time was more than doubled in some cases. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-cold-comfort-icing-injuries-prolong.html Tue, 12 May 2026 18:20:07 EDT news697820461 An estimated 595 million people globally are living with osteoarthritis. This makes it one of the leading causes of pain and disability. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-osteoarthritis-muscles-electricity-condition.html Mon, 11 May 2026 16:20:01 EDT news697724102 Frozen shoulder can make simple tasks—such as lifting your arm, sleeping on your side, getting out of bed, putting on a bra, driving or playing with your kids—painful and challenging. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-frozen-shoulder-surgery.html Mon, 11 May 2026 12:00:08 EDT news697715221 Scientists at Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute have the first direct evidence from human studies that brain-controlled hearing technology can help people single out a voice in a crowd. These early findings suggest that researchers may one day develop a hearing augmentation device that can, among other feats, overcome the problems that conventional hearing aids have with noisy surroundings. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-brain-isolates-speaker-noisy-human.html Mon, 11 May 2026 11:00:01 EDT news697361941 If you've ever watched a game of Australian rules football, rugby league or basketball, you've probably seen it happen: a player lands awkwardly, grabs their knee, and doesn't get back up. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-australia-world-highest-acl-reconstruction.html Sun, 10 May 2026 17:00:01 EDT news697454954 A UH nursing researcher has developed the Lactation Psychological Needs Scale, providing a new way to measure the psychological experience of breastfeeding. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-tool-lactating-mothers-psychological-met.html Sat, 09 May 2026 20:30:03 EDT news697377809 You're standing in a supermarket aisle, weighing up whether to buy a microwave meal or a bunch of fresh carrots. We all know making healthy eating choices can be tough. That's especially true if you are hungry, or have a hungry household to feed. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-decision-fatigue-health-nutritionist.html Sat, 09 May 2026 18:30:01 EDT news697210143 A study published in The Permanente Journal sheds light on what's driving physicians to leave clinical practice early—and how those reasons are shifting. Researchers from the American Medical Association (AMA) analyzed survey responses from 971 clinically inactive physicians across all specialties who completed residency between 2000 and 2022. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-physicians-clinical-early.html Thu, 07 May 2026 19:40:01 EDT news697359215 Complaints about hospital food are certainly not new, and Jell-O and fruit juice are often the butt of related jokes. But the Trump administration has recently upped the ante. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-hhs-healthy-food-agenda-hospitals.html Wed, 06 May 2026 22:40:01 EDT news697269637 The robot pauses at the edge of the room as an engineer checks its sensors. Then, with a soft mechanical hum, this humanoid machine begins to move. It lifts a mannequin from a bed, slowly and carefully. The engineers hold their breath. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-japan-robots-fully-fledged-caregivers.html Wed, 06 May 2026 12:20:01 EDT news697280762 After weeks (or months) of putting it off, you book a longer appointment with your GP to talk about your mental health. You explain that you've been feeling low, anxious and overwhelmed. They suggest seeing a psychologist. But how do you know if this psychologist is the right person for you? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-psychologist.html Wed, 06 May 2026 11:20:02 EDT news697280222 Don't feel like standing up for a workout? No problem, you can still get a good workout that helps improve static standing balance, flexibility, and agility, all while lying on your back with your head facing up. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-stronger-minutes-simple-floor-day.html Wed, 06 May 2026 09:28:52 EDT news697278495 We often talk about musculoskeletal pain—pain that occurs in the bones, joints, and other soft tissues such as muscles, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments—that women can experience during pregnancy. This includes discomfort in the lower back and hips, pelvic girdle pain, leg cramps, and more. But for some, musculoskeletal pain begins or extends into the time period following childbirth, making it important to find a solution. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-postpartum-pain-relief.html Tue, 05 May 2026 20:40:01 EDT news697193516 A new study led by researchers from Penn Nursing's Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR) finds that safer nurse staffing levels in Pennsylvania hospitals could prevent thousands of deaths each year while improving care and providing savings that could finance better staffing. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-safe-staffing-policy-pennsylvania-deaths.html Tue, 05 May 2026 15:40:01 EDT news697208942 It is tempting to understand muscle's role in the body as a simple mechanical motor. But the truth is much more complex: our muscles function as an endocrine organ that can influence virtually every system in our bodies. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-benefits-area-body-hormones.html Tue, 05 May 2026 15:20:07 EDT news697206781 Researchers at Mass General Brigham have found that although advanced footwear technology (AFT), commonly known as "super shoes," may improve performance in elite runners, they also cause subtle changes in running mechanics linked to bone stress injuries. The findings are published in PM&R. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-super-contribute-injury.html Tue, 05 May 2026 14:40:05 EDT news697204802 Cross Country Healthcare has released its fifth annual nursing survey, "Purpose Under Pressure: The State of Nursing in 2026," developed in collaboration with Florida Atlantic University's Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-nursing-nearing-people.html Tue, 05 May 2026 06:00:01 EDT news697119241 We don't usually realize it, but every word we speak depends on a series of complex brain processes working behind the scenes. One important part of this is speech motor learning, the brain's ability to learn and remember how to move the muscles used for speech. It helps you adjust and refine how you talk so your speech sounds the way you want it to. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-intertwine-speech-patterns.html Mon, 04 May 2026 15:20:04 EDT news697122844 Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common gastrointestinal condition worldwide, affecting about 1 in 10 people, primarily women. Those who have it suffer abdominal pains and also often develop mental-health issues such as anxiety and depression, significantly impacting their quality of life. IBS cannot be cured and no single treatment is universally effective, so what's left is to manage the symptoms. Diet is key, but it must be tailored to the individual. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-online-tool-tackling-bowel-syndrome.html Mon, 04 May 2026 12:20:07 EDT news697111621 As Australia and the world face rapidly aging populations, technology is increasingly promoted as the answer to helping older people live safely, independently and well—but experts warn that innovation alone is not enough. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-aging-digital-world.html Mon, 04 May 2026 10:00:03 EDT news697106882 With no known cure for Parkinson's disease, research suggests that exercise is one of the most effective ways to slow its progression. "Exercise may be more than just good for your general health, as it can actually help slow the progression of Parkinson's by reducing the brain inflammation at the root of the disease," said Merrill Landers, interim dean for UNLV's School of Integrated Health Sciences and a practicing physical therapist for the past 30 years. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-effective-ways-parkinson-disease.html Sun, 03 May 2026 19:30:02 EDT news696840049 Hospital nurses are often so busy that they have trouble finding time for a bathroom break. Over an eight- to 12-hour shift, they're keeping tabs on multiple patients: checking their vital signs, administering medication, and chatting with family members who've come to visit. Occasionally, a patient seems off, looking tired or pale or drowsier than normal. But if objective measures such as blood pressure and heart rate are normal, it's hard for a nurse to justify pulling the physician out of rounds to check on the patient. Plus, there's not much time to interrogate a gut feeling before moving on to the next room. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-nurses-harness-ai-quantify-instincts.html Sun, 03 May 2026 18:00:01 EDT news696503505 For a blind person, braille is more than just a tool for reading books. It's essential for navigating space, and is used on everything from signage to elevator buttons to 3D tactile maps. Yet very few orientation and mobility (O&M) specialists—professionals trained to help people with low vision or blindness move around independently and safely—incorporate braille in their work with adults. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-braille-adults-mobility.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:00:04 EDT news696773821 NeeDoh is the latest squishy sensory toy to go viral. Social media is reporting how these blobs of gel are flying off the shelves, and are in short supply. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-squishy-toys-good-needoh-craze.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 13:20:09 EDT news696769441 Treating patients who have spent years—sometimes decades—avoiding dental care because of fear, disability, trauma or painful past experiences can be challenging. "They are afraid and don't want to be treated," said Adela Planerova, DDS, MS, chair Special Needs Dentistry at University of Rochester Medicine Eastman Institute for Oral Health. "Some are even afraid to enter the room. When they eventually sit in the chair, they often try to push the provider away. Many of our patients move constantly, while others have persistent involuntary movements because of their condition, such as cerebral palsy." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-music-dental.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 11:20:01 EDT news696763741 Approximately 35 million adults in the United States suffer from chronic kidney disease (CKD), and that number is growing. Meanwhile, there's a critical shortage of nephrologists to manage these patients, according to Calvin Meaney, PharmD, clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice who specializes in nephrology at the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-pharmacists-kidney-disease-team-outcomes.html Wed, 29 Apr 2026 18:40:03 EDT news696680206 Patterns of molecular activity in the blood may hold clues not only to how fit someone is, but also to the biological processes that support physical performance. Researchers at MIT, GE HealthCare, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point have developed a computational model that links thousands of these molecular signals to fitness levels, revealing pathways that could inform future studies to improve fitness training and speed injury or disease recovery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-cellular-pathways-underlie-differences-physical.html Tue, 28 Apr 2026 16:20:05 EDT news696606241