Because the temperature drops, chance of fracture increases

Record-setting winter months within the U.S. has brought to plenty of road condition advisories, but tend to there be also a fall alert?

By examining various conditions -- like snow, wind speed, temperature -- right into a 'Slipperiness Score,' a College of Michigan Health System study helps identify what days would be the most dangerous for fall injuries.

The research, released in February's Plastic and Rebuilding Surgery Journal, concentrates on Medicare insurance patients, throughout age 65, but authors note, the chance of falling is available for anybody throughout harsh winter months.

"Although the notion that slippery footing increases your chance of falling is not new, what we have had the ability to show is the fact that these harmful conditions lead to more fractures within this already vulnerable population of grown ups," states lead study author Aviram Giladi, M.D., a homeowner within the U-M Department of Surgery's Division of Cosmetic Surgery.

The research findings include:

With different scale, varying from to 7, on the day having a score above 4 the chance of keeping a wrist fracture elevated by 21 percent.Around the most slippery days, that additional risk increased to almost 40 %.During the cold months, over 1,000 additional wrist fractures happened among grown ups age 65 and older in comparison with other seasons.

Nearly 90,000 Medicare insurance enrollees sustain wrist fractures every year, frequently from falls while standing in most cases outdoors. The fractures can be very restricting, and result in a lack of independence for older patients. Medicare insurance stays greater than $240 million annually dealing with the injuries.

"Understanding the chance of these injuries might help inform prevention and preparation efforts, especially on days in which the weather conditions are certain to lead to more slippery conditions," states senior study author Kevin C. Chung, M.D., professor of cosmetic surgery and memory foam surgery and also the Charles B. G. p Nancrede Professor of Surgery. "Hopefully to help individuals get ready for dangerous conditions and adjust when and where they walk outdoors."

Journal Reference:

Aviram M. Giladi, Melissa J. Shauver, Allison Ho, Lin Zhong, H. Myra Kim, Kevin C. Chung. Variation within the Incidence of Distal Radius Fractures within the U.S. Seniors as Associated with Slippery Climate Conditions. Plastic and Rebuilding Surgery, 2014 133 (2): 321 DOI: 10.1097/01.prs.0000436796.74305.38

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Air drops bring aid to typhoon-isolated Japanese (AP)

TOKYO – Helicopters began ferrying supplies Tuesday to communities cut off from the outside world by Japan's worst typhoon in seven years. The storm has left at least 37 dead and 54 missing in a nation still struggling to recover from its devastating tsunami just six months ago.

Aid-laden helicopters descended on towns in the hardest-hit areas as police, firefighters and soldiers mobilized to clear roads so that they could distribute food, medicine and other assistance to communities fending for themselves since Typhoon Talas made initial landfall on Saturday.

Japan's Kyodo news agency reported that dozens of hamlets in central Japan were still cut off, primarily because of flooding, landslides or other damage to access roads. Officials said they did not have an overall number for the stranded.

More than 3,000 remained in evacuation centers, however.

As Talas approached Japan, nearly a half million people were advised to evacuate. It then dumped record amounts of rain on central and western Japan and lashed wide swaths of the country with destructive winds before being downgraded to a tropical storm.

Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency said 37 deaths had been confirmed and 54 people were still missing Tuesday. Japanese media reported at least 39 people had died.

The path of the typhoon did not take it over the tsunami-devastated northeast coast, where nearly 21,000 people were killed or are missing after the March 11 disaster.

But as the eye of the slow-moving storm hovered offshore in the Sea of Japan on Tuesday, heavy rains began to fall anew on the northern island of Hokkaido, prompting evacuation advisories for hundreds of households as rivers began to swell.

Talas, a word from the Philippines that means "sharpness," is Japan's worst storm since 2004, when Typhoon Tokage left 98 dead or unaccounted for.

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FEMA Drops the Ball Again, This Time with Alabama Tornado Victims (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the government agency assigned to assist victims of natural disasters. The agency has a history of mismanagement, with Hurricane Katrina victims and now in the April and May tornado outbreaks in Alabama.

April and May saw the worst outbreak of tornadoes in the United States in 60 to 80 years. The Joplin, Mo., tornado in May had the highest death toll of any tornado since the 1920s. As of Monday, 153 people have died from the May 22 EF5 tornado.

From April 25-28, many Southern states saw a super tornado outbreak. States hardest hit were Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. 334 confirmed tornadoes across 21 states claimed 332 lives. The April 25-28 outbreak was the largest since the 1927 Tri-State outbreak. April 27 saw the single most widespread tornado damage since the 1936 Tupelo-Gainsborough outbreak.

FEMA is responsible for disaster assistance, particularly with organizing rescue and clean-up efforts and providing financial assistance. It is a government-run, taxpayer funded agency. Chief among the complaints about FEMA have been poorly trained staff, confused organization and leadership, inadequate and ineffectual disaster response plans and worst of all lack of coordination in getting emergency supplies to disaster sites.

FEMA only just announced that trailers for the April 25-28 and Joplin tornado victims were ready. It's been almost two months since the April tornadoes and almost a month since the Joplin tornado. In Katrina, the FEMA trailers caused many health problems with formaldehyde. If delays in getting trailers ready for victims are because of formaldehyde health issues, it doesn't take that long for the smell to dissipate.

FEMA has a history of being parsimonious with federal disaster money, too. Instead of administering grant money to the disaster victims it was intended for, it tends to make victims jump through too many complicated hoops to get it. That's what's happening in Alabama. Many homeowners and tenants who are applying for disaster relief are being denied assistance.

FEMA says tornado victims' homes which are missing walls, roofs and functional utilities show "insufficient damage" to qualify for help. Some homeowners have been able to get help from their insurance policies, but others have gotten trapped in red tape. These people having been living this way for nearly two months now.

FEMA isn't alone in dropping the ball on disaster relief. In Cordova, Ala., the single-wide FEMA trailers were banned. Because of health risks? No. The mayor thinks the trailers aren't pretty enough. Mayor Jack Scott explained that he didn't want "run-down trailers parked all over town years from now".

In February 2006 a report came out stating that the problems with FEMA existed before Hurricane Katrina. Some critics say the agency failed in its response to Hurricane Andrew back in 1992. That was 13 years prior to Katrina and still the agency was rife with unaddressed internal problems. Now in 2011, it seems FEMA still doesn't seem to be learning from its mistakes, nearly 20 years later.

Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes from 22 years parenting four children, 25 teaching K-8, special needs, adult education and home-school and six years in journalism.

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