Aches And Pains

With the experience and wisdom they've accumulated, our senior citizens should be considered a national treasure.Instead, when they step into the drugstore they often get the short end of the stick.Although older people take the most medicine and support the pharmaceutical industry with their hard-earned dollars, their 0` needs are often ignored.There's a stereotype that the older customer is difficult: hard of hearing, slow-moving and likely to complain about side effects. In reality, he probably doesn't object nearly as much as he should.

There were times last year when walking in the South Carroll hallway was a painful adventure for senior goalie Kendra Pulis.She first noticed problems with her right shoulder when she was taking throws during the second day of practice in her sophomore year.After, there were dislocations, blackouts from them, cortisone shots and a number of guesses from doctors -- tendinitis and bursitis were a couple.The final straw came late last season in a game against Westminster when she blacked out after making a save.

Before you decide to take your arthritis to Arizona, consider these surprising new findings about the influence of weather and climate on chronic pain: Patients living in the relatively warm, dry climate of San Diego reported a greater sensitivity to changes in the weather than those who had to cope with the cold and damp conditions of Boston or Worcester, Mass.A better bet than any of those three cities for chronic pain sufferers seeking relief from the vagaries of weather might be warm and moist Nashville.

Michael Caylor Diesel truck technician Ryder System Inc., Aberdeen Age: 41 Years in business: 18 Salary: $48,000 a year, plus overtime. The hourly pay for a technician of Caylor's level at Ryder is between $20.53 and $25.67 per hour. How he got started: Caylor said he always liked working with his hands and began working on cars out of high school. A friend told him diesel mechanics made good money, so he attended the Diesel Institute of America (then in Baltimore) and went to work for Ryder.

On the field: Orioles second baseman Roberto Alomar wasted no time in extending his hitting streak to 15 games, lining a single to right in the first inning. Alomar's career-best hitting streak is 19 games, set in 1995.In the dugout: Before the game, Orioles manager Davey Johnson explained to writers at length how a salesman sold him a collection of magnets Thursday that made his aches and pains from a back problem disappear. Johnson wore magnet insoles, and had magnet balls that he rubbed against his leg. Johnson wasn't kidding, explaining how the magnets allowed him to play 18 holes of golf Thursday and 18 more yesterday morning virtually pain-free.

A friend swears by coral calcium that she orders through the mail. She says it cures her aches and pains. What makes coral calcium different from the inexpensive calcium I buy in the grocery story? Coral calcium comes from dead coral from the seabed, while the inexpensive calcium you buy might come from oyster shells or limestone deposits. Some marketers are promoting coral calcium as a cure-all for many chronic and serious conditions. The Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission are beginning to clamp down on unsubstantiated claims.

I got out of my exercise routine over the holidays and am only gradually getting back into shape. My sore muscles are slowing me down and I wonder if you have any home remedies to relieve these aches and pains.A relaxing soak in a warm bath after exercise can work wonders. One reader suggests putting 2 cups of cider vinegar into the bath water for additional relief.A skier offers another idea. He takes 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water after a day on the slopes. The idea is to neutralize the lactic acid buildup in muscles after heavy exercise.

ATLANTIC CITY N.J. -- "The man really hates me, doesn't he?" Sugar Ray Leonard said late Friday night at a Trump Plaza reception for the Boxer of the Decade banquet, an honor the six-time champion would ultimately win.But Leonard seemed more concerned with the rude greeting he received from Marvelous Marvin Hagler, who had dominated the middleweight division in the 1980s until his shocking upset by Leonard in April 1987 by a controversial split decision.It...

Long before memberships in gyms were common, Hy Levasseur preached physical activity and a healthful lifestyle on a morning television show, Trimnastics. Levasseur, nearly 69, and living in Edgewater, practices what he has championed since he appeared live on WBAL television three mornings a week for a full 90 minutes in the 1970s. He runs three times a week on a South River High School track and through his neighborhood, and won seven Maryland Senior Olympics gold medals two years ago. He has a 17-year-old son, Christian, who he says "keeps me in shape."

At least 13 people were injured in a collision involving a school bus and a minivan in the city's Oldtown neighborhood this afternoon, according to the Baltimore Fire Department. The bus, #1622, was transporting the National Academy Foundation #421's high school girls soccer team, which was en route to Baltimore Polytechnic Institute for an afternoon game, said Edie House Foster, a schools spokeswoman. Those injured in the accident, which occurred about 3:10 p.m. at the intersection of Ensor and East Madison streets, included 11 students on the bus and the driver and a passenger in the minivan, said Chief Kevin Cartwright, a fire department spokesman.