Health & Wellbeing

In honour of World Music Therapy Day on March 1, Percussion Play is highlighting the healing power of music and championing music therapists around the world.

It has long been scientifically proven that listening to and creating music lifts people’s moods and creates a powerful sense of well-being. Outdoor activity has also been shown to enhance our mood, proven most recently during the pandemic when many embraced outdoor activities.

With children finishing school for the Half Term holiday, outdoor attractions including petting farms and zoos will be welcoming many families through their doors – so the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) West Midlands is urging people to take care and practice correct hand hygiene to avoid nasty stomach bugs.

The past few years have undoubtedly proved challenging for the UK’s farming industry. Continued uncertainty surrounding Brexit, a global pandemic, supply chain shortages, the war in Ukraine and now, issues with the egg and poultry sector have been impacting the mental health of those living and working in farming.

A researcher at the University of Wolverhampton is working in collaboration with Ochanomizu University in Japan to investigate how fatigue effects ballet dancers via Xsens motion capture suits.

Professor Matthew Wyon, Professor in Exercise Physiology at the University of Wolverhampton and former ballet dancer, Dr Mayumi Kuno-Mizumura at Ochanomizu University, Japan are working to discover the impact of fatigue on dancers’ quality and precision by the use of Xsens motion capture suits.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data released today shows a sharp increase in confirmed cases of Norovirus – the most common cause of vomiting and diarrhoea bugs.

National surveillance data shows laboratory reports of the virus are 66% higher than the average at this time of year. The biggest increase in laboratory confirmed norovirus has been seen in the 65 and over age group. 

Healthcare students at Birmingham City University (BCU) are set to benefit from new and upgraded teaching facilities, following a major investment of nearly £5 million.

The Professor Carol Doyle Simulation Centre is based at the University’s Seacole Building on its City South Campus in Edgbaston. The new and upgraded facilities will be fundamental to training the next generation of healthcare professionals, further enhancing BCU’s status as one of the country’s leading healthcare education providers.

This week is Tinnitus Week (6-12 February), with latest research suggesting that 1 in 7 adults have tinnitus.

Everyone’s tinnitus is different, but it’s usually described as a ringing, hissing, buzzing, roaring or humming sound.

A new law requiring businesses to offer mental health first aid training has been presented to parliament by Tory MP Dean Rusell.

The proposal follows data from Health and Safety England (HSE) which found that stress, depression, and anxiety accounted for half (51 per cent) of work-related illness last year. Between 2021/2022, HSE found that mental illness accounted for 914,000 new or long-standing ill health.

Being overweight need not be an impediment to safe and successful knee replacement surgery as long as a patient’s body mass index (BMI) is not above 40 and he or she is not suffering from certain medical conditions.

Health City Cayman Islands Chief Orthopaedic Surgeon and Joint Replacement Specialist Dr. Alwin Almeida, who is responsible for endoscopic treatments of joint diseases, said patients with a BMI of 40 or higher are generally advised to lose weight before surgery since overly obese persons are at a higher risk of surgical complications.

Health Tourism is a goal for the Iranian Province of Golestan having three nuclear medical facilities, and world class medical specialists.

Golestan Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, located in the northeast of the country and southeast of the Caspian Sea. The capital city of Golestan Province is Gorgan, formerly known as Esterabad until 1937.

Black women from Caribbean and African backgrounds are up to two times more likely to receive a late-stage diagnosis for some cancers than White British women in England, according to new analysis by Cancer Research UK and NHS Digital.*

The review of cancer data from NHS Digital, published today in BMJ Open, revealed that ethnicity is a significant factor in stage of diagnosis for women in England with breast, ovarian, uterine, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and colon cancer, and for men with prostate cancer.**

Visitors to the next meeting of Bilston’s Memory Café can enjoy a free afternoon tea. The support group, for people living with dementia and their families, friends or carers, meets on the second Tuesday of every month at Bilston Sports and Social Club, Wellington Road, between noon and 2pm, with the next session taking place Valentine's Day, 14 February.

This Cervical Cancer Prevention Week – UKHSA urges young people to catch up on any missed HPV vaccinations

The latest UKHSA report on the routine adolescent Human Papillomavirus (HPV)  immunisation programme for 2021/22, which is primarily delivered in schools, shows that coverage in year 8 and year 9 pupils is yet to return to pre-pandemic levels across the country, including the West Midlands region.

A new report has scientifically proven the benefits of raw olive oil for improving heart health compared with other oils such rapeseed and sunflower.

The report builds on an initial study by Glasgow University, funded in the final stages by Filippo Berio, which found it does not matter whether it is extra virgin or “regular” olive oil, as long as people consume 20ml in its raw form each day - all olive oils produce a beneficial effect in coronary artery disease (CAD).

This February, Raynaud’s Awareness Month, the charity Scleroderma and Raynaud’s UK (SRUK) will be raising awareness of the potentially devastating impact the UK’s cost of living crisis is having on people with Raynaud’s and asking those with the condition to share their stories.

For people with Raynaud’s, cold temperatures and stress trigger painful attacks. This is when the blood temporarily stops flowing to the body’s extremities, most commonly the hands and feet. 

The Middle East's first full immersion wellbeing destination, Zulal Wellness Resort by Chiva-Som introduces its Therapeutic Cleanse Retreat, designed for guests looking to fine-tune their diet or embark on a dietary transformation. Encompassing a holistic approach based on the principles of Traditional Arabic and Islamic Medicine (TAIM), the individually tailored retreat offers guests at Zulal Serenity the opportunity to discover a new path towards more nourishing foods, bringing their digestive and metabolic systems back to optimal function for sustaining health.