https://medicalxpress.com/health-other-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Allied health The first sign that retired accountant Kathey Parcels had torn her left rotator cuff was pain, sudden and acute pain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-rotator-cuff-aging-pain-isnt.html Mon, 20 Apr 2026 21:40:03 EDT news695900159 Variability in an individual's stuttering pattern has long posed challenges for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) when treating clients, but new research led by Charles Darwin University (CDU) and Michigan State University (MSU) has identified the gaps in clinical practices and how to address them. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-uncovers-gaps-stuttering.html Mon, 20 Apr 2026 21:00:02 EDT news695910996 A baby's first words are a source of pride for parents, but when they're late in coming, it can be a source of worry. While most kids catch up, those whose language troubles persist may have a condition called DLD. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-child-language-disorder.html Mon, 20 Apr 2026 18:40:05 EDT news695894689 The next time you need medical advice for a common ailment like acne, insomnia or pink eye, consider visiting your pharmacist. Pharmacists in Alberta have the widest scope of practice in Canada, and more than 100 new community pharmacy care clinics across the province are designed to complement what is offered by physicians, walk-in clinics and emergency departments. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-pharmacy-clinics-alberta-common-illnesses.html Sun, 19 Apr 2026 20:30:02 EDT news695564678 A landmark trial presented at ESCMID Global 2026 shows that improving oral hygiene for hospital patients can reduce the risk of non-ventilator-associated hospital-acquired pneumonia (NV-HAP) by 60%. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-oral-halves-hospital-pneumonia-major.html Sun, 19 Apr 2026 18:00:04 EDT news695625439 The accumulation of fat in the abdominal region, especially visceral fat (fat that accumulates between organs), significantly increases the risk of stress urinary incontinence in women. A study conducted at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, identified this region as the one most strongly associated with involuntary urine leakage, surpassing total body fat. The results are published in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology and indicate that body fat distribution may be a more decisive factor than weight itself in explaining the condition. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-abdominal-fat-linked-higher-urinary.html Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:40:03 EDT news695647861 The ability to function effectively in intercultural settings has been termed "cultural intelligence"—and it is often celebrated as a kind of modern superpower. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-nurses-higher-cultural-dont.html Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:40:04 EDT news695629921 Working double shifts is associated with alterations in normal cortisol patterns, according to a study published online April 8 in Nursing Open. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-shifts-disrupt-cortisol-patterns.html Thu, 16 Apr 2026 20:00:04 EDT news695564145 It's an athlete's worst fear. Hearing a loud "pop" and feeling severe pain are usually the first signs you've torn your anterior cruciate ligament, also known as the ACL. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-acl-knee-injury.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 19:20:03 EDT news695472661 A new study recently published in Nursing & Health Sciences reveals critical work environment concerns for the Caribbean nursing workforce. Research led by Penn Nursing provides a high-level view of systemic failures contributing to international migration from a region with some of the world's highest nurse out-migration rates. Government Chief Nursing Officers (GCNOs) from nineteen countries have identified several "warning signs" that undermine care and drive nurses abroad. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-caribbean-nursing-health-urgent-regional.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 19:00:01 EDT news695485981 Home is often where recovery begins after being hospitalized for a serious illness. But for some people, it may also be where gaps in care arise. In a recent study, Yale School of Medicine's Snigdha Jain, MD, MHS, and colleagues found that social factors, such as income and education, can be associated with whether an older adult receives home-based rehabilitation services after an intensive care unit (ICU) stay. The findings are published in Annals of the American Thoracic Society. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-icu-older-adults-home-based.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:40:05 EDT news695483154 Assistance dogs are active caregivers, according to a new study by the University of Turku and Aalto University in Finland. The study examined the collaborative interaction between humans and assistance dogs. Dogs perform invisible care work by, for example, anticipating their human's health status, providing mobility assistance, and offering emotional support in ways that neither a human nor a robot could replace. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-dogs-reveal-bond-built-nonverbal.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 12:00:02 EDT news695384347 A new study led by the University of Hertfordshire has highlighted the emotional toll faced by mothers of young children with Down syndrome who require tube feeding. The research, led by Dr. Laura K Hielscher, who completed her Ph.D. at Herts' Department of Psychology, Sport and Geography, found that mothers often felt excluded from decision-making when nasogastric (NG) tubes—soft plastic tubes inserted through a baby's nose and into the stomach—were first inserted to provide essential nutrition and medication. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-mothers-left-dark-tube-decisions.html Sat, 11 Apr 2026 18:00:04 EDT news694876200 Nearly 40% of public-sector physiotherapists want to leave their current job, posing a substantial threat to workforce stability and quality of patient care, University of Otago—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka research has found. The new report, published in the New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy, provides the first detailed picture of the public health physiotherapy workforce in Aotearoa New Zealand. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-physiotherapist-turnover-intention-threatening-patient.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:40:03 EDT news694950599 New research reveals that for many young children, the trauma of war can fundamentally alter how their nervous systems process and respond to the physical world. The study found that nearly half of the young survivors of the October 7 attacks developed atypical sensory patterns, causing common stimuli such as sounds, movements, and touches to be perceived as overwhelming threats. These findings emphasize the critical importance of addressing sensory needs to ensure that daily environments no longer feel like a source of distress for children during their most vulnerable stages of development. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-world-loud-war-sensory-toll.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:20:01 EDT news694946434 Treating chronic diseases can involve intensive programs designed to change people's diet, exercise and other health behaviors. But a typical program, while packed with information and advice, may overlook a fundamental reality: People's lives can contain a variety of barriers to behaviors that can improve their health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-health-personalization-tool.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 09:40:02 EDT news694945922 Researchers at The University of Osaka have developed and evaluated a new eight-week training program that enables psychology trainees to effectively learn cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) by applying its techniques to themselves. Based on Self-Practice/Self-Reflection (SP/SR), the present study suggests that this program may deepen trainees' understanding of CBT while strengthening self-awareness and reflective practice, skills considered important for effective psychological support. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-cognitive-behavioral-therapy-future-psychologists.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:50:01 EDT news694867202 Unionization and working for a public employer are associated with significantly lower turnover among direct care workers (DCW), a group that provides daily care for older adults and those who are disabled and unable to care for themselves, UCLA-led research suggests. The findings on the role of DCW unionization, published in the peer-reviewed JAMA Network Open, apply to both for-profit and nonprofit organizations, suggesting that unionization can play a significant role in keeping DCWs in the workforce—and save the health care system $1.5 billion a year in turnover costs. It can also lead to improvements in care quality due to increased job satisfaction and lower stress. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-unions-play-key-role-workers.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 10:20:01 EDT news694860430 Most of us were told off at some point for how we sat. "Don't cross your legs, you'll ruin your knees." "You'll get varicose veins." "Sit properly." "Sit up straight." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-legs-bad.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 07:00:01 EDT news694846322 Cognitive and physical training can help older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) maintain or improve their ability to move and think simultaneously, but hearing ability and sex influence outcomes, according to a new Concordia-led study published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. The researchers used data from the SYNERGIC clinical trial, a multi-institutional study of how exercise and brain training can improve cognition, mobility and falls in older adults. Their study followed 75 adults between the ages of 60 and 85 with mild cognitive impairment before and after a 20-week intervention involving physical training and cognitive exercises. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-loss-linked-slower-stable-dual.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 14:10:07 EDT news694788238 A violinist plays in a cancer ward. A playlist loops in the waiting room. A surgeon hums along to the radio mid-operation. We assume, almost without thinking, that music helps. But what if it doesn't—or worse, what if it harms? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-dark-side-music-therapy.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:10:01 EDT news694784582 Psychotherapy has always been a deeply human endeavor: a patient talking, a therapist listening and responding, and healing happening through words. But with the rapid rise of conversational artificial intelligence, particularly large language models (LLMs), that paradigm is shifting fast. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-automation-ai-psychotherapy.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 10:30:02 EDT news694773602 Researchers from the University of Aberdeen and NHS Grampian have developed a new, practical approach to help NHS Health Boards plan and implement innovation more effectively—in spite of increasing pressures on time, workforce and finances. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-aims-nhs-ideas-action-quicker.html Mon, 06 Apr 2026 22:30:01 EDT news694678791 Management of sports-related concussions has come a long way in the past 25 years: Once considered a minor problem involving minimal time out of the game, a severe knock to the head is now assessed as a potential traumatic brain injury and, if confirmed, requires a structured recovery and an average wait of 13 days before play resumes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-standards-brain-injuries.html Mon, 06 Apr 2026 16:10:01 EDT news694707601 Older hospitalized patients who struggled with taking their medications correctly were 10% less likely to need to return to the hospital if they had a pharmacist's help at discharge, according to a new multisite clinical trial based at Cedars-Sinai. But the findings, published in JAMA Network Open, found the extra help didn't significantly reduce unplanned hospital visits for the rest of those 55 and older. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-hospital-discharge-day-trial-pharmacist.html Mon, 06 Apr 2026 09:00:05 EDT news694684501 Researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina and elsewhere have linked loneliness in patients with chronic leg and foot wounds to increased expression of genes that are related to inflammation. These pro-inflammatory genes turn on during injury or illness but need to be turned off during healing. If they remain on, wounds do not heal properly. This study focused on patients who live with wounds that remain open for more than four weeks. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-loneliness-pro-inflammatory-gene-chronic.html Mon, 06 Apr 2026 05:40:01 EDT news694672259 Just before the holidays in 2025, Julie Hart felt stuck. A nagging problem she had struggled with for years left her ruminating all day and questioning nearly everything she had ever said, done or could do. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-therapy-session-difference-experts-mindset.html Sun, 05 Apr 2026 06:30:33 EDT news694589386 In aging societies, the role of home-visit rehabilitation (HR)—which provides physical, occupational, and speech therapy in patients' homes—is becoming increasingly important for supporting independent living. Although previous studies have shown that HR can help maintain and improve activities of daily living (ADL) among older adults with limited access to outpatient services, the dose-response relationship between the amount of HR time per week and ADL improvement remains unclear. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-longer-weekly-home-linked-daily.html Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:00:02 EDT news694175257 Artificial limbs look and function more like real limbs than ever before—but that's only helpful if they are used as intended. One of the main reasons amputees give for not using their body-powered prosthesis is a lack of motivation or knowledge of how to properly use them. Part of the reason for this is that compared to the time and resources devoted to improving the comfort and function of prostheses, much less attention is spent on making prosthetic training more effective. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-augmented-reality-prosthesis.html Thu, 02 Apr 2026 18:00:05 EDT news694363070 Autistic children are 160 times more likely to drown than their neurotypical peers, highlighting the importance of providing water safety lessons tailored to their needs. Florida International University researchers Tana Carson and Tania Santiago Perez are addressing this important problem by preparing future therapists to play a key role in keeping autistic children safe in and around the water. Their recent research is published in the journal Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-lessons-safety-skills-autistic-children.html Tue, 31 Mar 2026 17:50:04 EDT news694195562