Author Archives: markdowe1

Books, Health, Medical, Science

New studies reveal why running won’t damage your knees

RUNNING SCIENCE

YOUR excuse for not wishing to run or jog may have just been debunked.

Experts say running is not actually bad for the knees – a view held by many who love to pound the pavements.

Studies show there is no link between running and osteoarthritis, and the exercise may even strengthen cartilage.

A new book entitled Running Science says, “couch potatoes” have around a 45 per cent greater risk of osteoarthritis compared to those who run.

It states that runners place eight times their body weight on to each leg with every step.

Although that is three times as much as when walking, we take wider strides when running, so there is reduced contact time with the ground.

This means the pressure on the knees is broadly similar.

The book’s consultant editor, Professor John Brewer, of St Mary’s University in London, said runners should increase intensity of the exercise gradually, wear the right shoes and run on different terrains.

He said: “The human body is designed to run… although the knees will be under stress when running, the body will adapt to this stress and develop cartilage, muscles, tendons and ligaments that are stronger as a result of running – protecting the knee rather than damaging it.”

Osteoarthritis of the Knee.

Running Science, published last week, says that damage to joints is a “common excuse” for not running.

However, a chapter written by independent physiotherapist Anna Barnsley states: “The good news is that the converse appears to be true.”

She cites studies showing that although runners develop bony growths in their knees, there is no evidence of narrowing of the joint space, which would indicate degeneration.

The agony of osteoarthritis is caused when cartilage is no longer there to cushion the joints from the impact of walking or other exercise.

However, the book states that regular running probably increases the amount of this natural protection.

That could be because exercise helps people lose fat, which can damage cartilage.

Running also prompts blood flow and cell regeneration in the knees.

The advice follows a study by Baylor College of Medicine in the United States, which analysed knee X-rays of 2,683 participants.

The study found that 22.8 per cent of those who had been runners had signs of knee osteoarthritis, compared to 29.8 per cent of non-runners.

Running Science also noted that runners may have a genetic predisposition to osteoarthritis – meaning exercise is not necessarily to blame.

Running Science

Running Science is published by Ivy Press for £20.

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Britain, Government, Society, Technology

DVLA confirms development of electronic driving licence

DIGITAL DRIVING LICENCE

phone-driving-licence

                                                 Digital driving licences will soon become a feature on smart phones.

Mobile phones and driving make an awkward combination – it is illegal to use a phone while driving – but, the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) is planning to bring the two closer together with the introduction of digital driving licences.

It’s thought digital licences would be stored in phones’ virtual ‘wallets’, just as credit and debit cards can already be saved. When asked to present their driving licence by a police officer or official, a quick finger or thumbprint would release the licence to the phone’s display.

Oliver Morley, the DVLA’s CEO, said the organisation was making “good progress” with the prototype digital licence back in December 2016, while in March 2017 he confirmed the idea was “included in the government digital strategy.” When asked on social media whether there was a timeframe for the introduction of digital licences, Mr Morley said there was, but he wouldn’t be drawn on precisely when this would be.

Security will be a key priority for the digital licence, but given the development and success Apple and Android Pay have enjoyed, it’s thought some of the DVLA’s work has already been done for it. A service analyst and mobile device expert for Auto Express, said: “Security has taken a significant step forward to support digital payments on phones, so the framework is in place for other secure applications, such as a digital driving licence.”

Even with established and rigorous security paradigms in place, however, there will still be people who don’t like the idea of storing their driving licence on their phone, as well as those who don’t even own a smartphone capable of doing so. For those individuals, reassurance will be found in the fact that when it arrives, the digital driving licence will act as an “add-on.”

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Britain, Government, Politics, Society

The Conservative Party manifesto leaves us little wiser

GENERAL ELECTION 2017

During this election, Theresa May has conducted such an anodyne campaign that there was an earlier suspicion that she may have felt she could get away with not presenting a manifesto. After all, did she really need too? Riding high in all opinion polls, and with the Labour Party in no proper or fit state to present a genuine challenge, she has been able to glide through on soundbites and rhetoric. Why risk inviting trouble?

In the last few days, that manifesto was delivered. There is little in its pages that really rocks the boat. There is little about Brexit, other than a few broad details we are already aware of. Considering that this snap election was called purely because Mrs May wanted Brexit negotiations to be done her way, the lack of clarity is disappointing if unsurprising.

Whilst not entirely risk-free from voter desertion, the elderly will have good reason to feel hard done by. The triple lock on pensions will no longer be guaranteed, and worryingly for those in England and Wales, a greater proportion of the cost of social care is being passed on to individuals. Many will fear the loss of their home and other capital assets in paying for it.

Aside from that, Mrs May has pledged a ‘mainstream government that would deliver for mainstream Britain’, a slogan which appears accurate for a set of proposals which aren’t too far off centre. It is here where she is likely to succeed in securing victory on June 8, by deliberately moving into the area Labour had to occupy to get Tony Blair into Downing Street (just as Labour under Jeremy Corbyn vacate the middle ground to set up camp on the far left).

The stance taken by the prime minister represents astute politics, and much the same can be said of her handling of the Scottish Government’s request for a second independence referendum. Again, Mrs May plays the ‘now is not the time card’ which kicks another ballot anytime soon into the long grass. No doubt she will try to avoid the matter until after the next Holyrood elections – in the hope that, by that time, the SNP will not be in a position to call a referendum. It’s hard and timely politics at work.

If Mrs May’s advisers can keep her out of trouble, the manifesto should be enough to secure the majority she seeks. By aiming for the middle ground, she has started a process of countering the Tories ‘nasty party’ image. Yet, this manifesto tells us very little about what life will be like under Mrs May, because our future will be determined by Brexit. Until we know what that is, we cannot really judge on whether the Conservative Party has changed for the good.

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