Healthbeat by Deirdre Cox Baker

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It’s so nice to have spring weather here … I think it raises the spirits of one and all.

The tulips are up at my house, and I just swept out the garage, carefully cleaning around two sets of golf clubs. I’ll join others on the links … any day now.

I hope a daily workout routine will stave off any injuries related to golf. A proactive approach to fitness reduces the likelihood of injury.

Golfers who include preparation in their pre-sports routine have some good company. According to the American Chiropractic Society, Tiger Woods says that lifting weights and regular visits to his chiropractor have made him a better golfer. Woods was fun to watch in last week’s Master’s competition, wasn’t he?

More than 47,300 golf-related injuries required an emergency room visit in 2006, with 53 percent of these concerning the back, according to this Web site. Other common golf injuries involve the shoulder, wrist, elbow or knee.

“Many amateur and professional athletes are sidelined with injuries or perform at less than peak efficiency simply because their structural system is not balanced,” said Dr. Randall Stange, the president of the Iowa Chiropractic Society Board.

The society offers these tips to prepare for a season of pain-free golf:

1. Conditioning

Meet with your healthcare provider, if necessary, to determine areas of weakness, tension and flexibility, and to develop a weightlifting and exercise program.

2. Take lessons

Poor swing mechanics is a primary cause of golf injuries. Lessons will smooth your swing.

3. Use proper equipment

Purchase equipment that fits. Women should not use a husband’s or father’s clubs and senior citizens with arthritis may need specialized grips. Avoid metal-spike shoes, instead choose soft shoes or soft-spiked shoes with, if necessary, custom-made orthotic shoe inserts.

4. Warm up and cool down

Take a brisk walk to get the blood flowing to the muscles. Stretch before each round. Put a club behind your back and rotate your hips to loosen the lower back. Drink plenty of water during the round. Stretch again after the round to reduce post-game stiffness and soreness.

5. Back relief

If you take a cart out, alternate between riding and walking every other hole. Pull your bag versus carrying it while walking. Every third hole, take a few practice swings with the opposite hand to keep your muscles balanced, and to even out the stress in the back.

6. Take the drop

If you are unsure you can get a clean swing, take a drop rather than striking a root or rock with your club. That will hurt your wrist or back.

If you do get hurt, have the pain checked out. Try this Web site for more information on spinal health.

Food safety stories seem to develop almost every day with a few factors in common: Innocent consumers ingest food products that have been contaminated by bacteria. There has been trouble with fresh spinach, peanuts and lately, pistachio nuts and sprouts that have given people cases of food poisoning.

I was at my favorite grocery store the other night when I was reminded of food safety concerns. This state-of-the-art facility has an aggressive conveyor belt. I put several items on the belt and it automatically pushed them toward the cashier. However, I also spotted debris and drops of liquid at the check-out point, so I also brought this to the cashier’s attention.

The cashier was not able to find either paper towels or cleanser at his station, but the cashier at the adjacent register had some that she passed over. In the meantime I held my food away from the debris even as the conveyor belt kept pushing it forward. (This is harder to do than it sounds; the cashier finally just shut the belt off.)

“It must have been the other customer’s chicken that leaked,” the cashier said.

I tried to give him a brief lesson on food safety, but it also bears repeating for all of us: Do not mix fresh food products with the juice of meat products. The meat is probably not contaminated, but there are enough bacteria-driven problems that a shopper can’t be too safe.

Grocery store managers also should suggest that their cashiers regularly clean the conveyor belt and check-out areas. For Web-based information on food safety, see this site sponsored by the U.S. government.

A sore heel of the foot is the most common complaint among Americans on a daily basis, according to a survey by the American Podiatric Medical Association.

Problems such as bunions, corns and dry, cracked skin bother many people, but some 40 percent report they have experienced heel pain more than any other foot ailment in the last 12 months. Some 60 percent believe they have heel pain because they wear ill-fitted footwear.

This subject comes up in the Friday, April 10 Health page. I’ve written a story on general foot health tips, with additional information on the upcoming sandal and flip-flop season.

I’m also part of the 40 percent of adults who experience heel pain. I ripped my Achilles tendon in 2005 and I still have effects. I did some rehab work on the problem, but I probably need to get back to it.

“Any type of foot pain is not normal,” said Vince Mandracchia, president of the Iowa Podiatric Medical Society, Des Moines. “If detected early, most types of heel pain — including the most common, plantar fasciitis — can be treated with non-invasive treatment options. However, the longer one waits to have their heel pain evaluated, the more difficult it is to successfully treat.”

Plantar fasciitis, by the way, involves the inflammation of the band of fibrous connective tissue along the bottom of the foot, from the heel to the ball of the foot. It’s most common for athletes who run and jump a lot and can be very painful.

The medical association’s suggestions include wearing shoes that fit well, and making sure they are the proper shoes for each activity. Shoes should not have excessive or uneven worn heels or soles, and stretching foot and ankle muscles properly before exercising is the best way to avoid heel pain.

This Web site shows the entire heel pain survey. There will also be a full page of foot health information in this Friday’s Quad-City Times, and on the health section of our Web site.

University of Iowa researchers are onto a new genetic abnormality that may prevent some men from conceiving children … a real switch on current practices. The discovery comes as scientists originally looked for a cause for deafness.

The university announced the findings early Thursday (April 2), in the online edition of the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Female contraceptives were developed 40 years ago and emerged as the current most effective family planning methods. Male partners have no similar product, and are limited mostly to condoms or undergoing a vasectomy.

The gene involved is called CATSPER 1. “This finding could have implications for male contraception,” said Michael Hildebrand, co-lead author of the study. He is a postdoctoral researcher in otolaryngology at the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City.

The Iowa research team found the gene while studying families from Iran. This specific population included relatively high rates of disease-causing gene mutations. The team’s research initially focused on identifying causes of deafness.

The genetic information collected allowed researchers to identify two families in which male infertility did not appear to be part of a inherited syndrome. The infertility was diagnosed through a routine semen analysis.

Harvard University studies on mice show the CATSPER 1 gene mutates to affect sperm movements, specifically the very vigorous hyperactive motion the sperm uses when it enters the egg during fertilization.

“Our research suggests that the defect in sperm hyperactivity that is seen in mice without CATSPER 1 also occurs in humans with the genetic mutation,” Hildebrand said. This provides a new target for a male contraceptive pill.

Nice warm weather that doesn’t include high winds is just around the corner. I know it is. I know it is.

(If I repeat that first sentence many more times, I just may come to believe it.)

But my hopes for a nice, calm spring day were helped by the Iowa Department of Public Health, Des Moines.

A publication called “Safe cooking outdoors involves more than just food safety” includes several tips for families who cook food on an outdoor grill. This goes quite often at the Baker household as the husband-in-residence thoroughly enjoys this type of food preparation.

Right now it’s in conflict with my hobby of feeding and watching birds. In the winter we use a birdfeeder on the deck so we can easily see the winged visitors. I also keep a bird book handy for identification purposes.

The grill normally would be located on the patio below the birdfeeder, but that’s obviously a bad idea. We move the grill away from that messy zone and use it sparingly in the cold months.

Right now it’s transition time. Soon we’ll move the grill, the birdfeeder, and other items to their warm-weather locales. Here are the state health department’s grilling tips to share:

1. Check the gas lines and valves on gas grills to make sure there are no cracks, holes or blockages.

2. If you suspect a gas leak, don’t use the grill until the problem is fixed.

3. Store liquid petroleum (LP) tanks in a secure, upright position and don’t store additional full containers under the grill.

4. Keep the grill on level ground at least 10 feet away from a building, shrubs or anyting that could catch fire.

5. Don’t operate gas or charcoal grills in enclosed areas such as garages, campers or tents. That poses a threat of carbon monoxide poisoning.

6. When using charcoal, follow the directions on the charcoal bags and be sure charcoal is completely extinguished before discarding.

7. Follow manufacturer’s directions for the use of a gas grill.

8. Don’t leave grills unattended. Keep children and pets away.

Do you have any gas grill experiences to share? Do tell.