Muscles

The White House called it a summit, but with reformers and one-time naysayers, industry execs and consumers, lawmakers and lobbyists in the room with President Barack Obama, the gathering last week had the feeling of a health care love-fest. Everybody was on their best behavior, and the goodwill generated over the president's push to reform America's ailing health care system this year was made for prime-time. But Mr. Obama has set for himself and stakeholders an ambitious goal that won't be realized without his input and political capital.

The holiday season brings plenty of reasons to celebrate and with them the temptation to eat and, perhaps, drink a little more than is wise. As we all know but sometimes forget, drinking too much inevitably leads to headaches, loss of energy and generally feeling rotten. But there's only one sure way to avoid a hangover, says Tyler Cymet, a doctor of osteopathic medicine and an emergency room physician at Northwest Hospital. And we know what it is, don't we? Is alcohol something that people should avoid?

Back pain is the bane of millions, but some simple exercises might help prevent and alleviate those aches and twinges. These maneuvers don't just target the muscles surrounding the spine; they also include the abdominal and oblique muscles on the sides of the trunk. Shoring up all the muscles around the back not only makes lifting heavy loads easier, it also allows for less pain during daily tasks such as gardening, getting in and out of the car or even sitting for hours in front of a computer.

What better time than fall, with its cool, crisp weather, to begin an exercise program that includes walking? Indeed you can walk your way to weight loss and better health, says Kelly Sullivan, a physical therapist with Physiotherapy Associates at the Merritt Downtown Athletic Club. But, as with any new exercise program, it pays to take a few precautions so that you can avoid injuries. What are some of the benefits of walking? Walking is low impact, particularly in comparison to other cardiovascular exercises.

Rain and heavy winds from the fringes of a major storm system hit parts of Maryland last night as emergency management officials prepared for several inches of rainfall expected today in the central and southern parts of the state. Officials in Annapolis and other low-lying areas braced for possible flooding and wind gusts up to 40 mph by employing a public works crew around the clock last night. Sandbags were placed along City Dock businesses, city officials said, and 75 more were piled near the Second Street pumping station.

Jen Zoltoski is expected to make her 2008 soccer debut in the coming days. It will be an emotional and satisfying moment for the John Carroll senior. Zoltoski, who plays defense, had to recover from surgery on both legs this summer. She suffered from pain in both legs while playing lacrosse last spring and eventually was diagnosed with compartment syndrome, a condition that results when pressure within the muscles builds to dangerous levels. This prevents nourishment from reaching nerve and muscle cells.

Mashers are people who walk on your body to help work out stubborn kinks and knots. If you're five-time U.S. Olympic swimmer Dara Torres, your mashers are experienced massage therapists. But you might have an amateur masher like mine: a 30-pound preschooler who thinks it's fun to stand on your neck. Fortunately, the good old $20 foam roller can be an inexpensive alternative. These log-shaped tools, which cost between $18 and $40 and are generally 6 inches wide and 3 feet long, can help break apart adhesions in the connective tissue.

Ravens linebacker Robert McCune doesn't go to beaches. He usually doesn't wear tank-top or sleeveless T-shirts. Because when he does, it causes a lot of commotion. McCune has earned a lot of nicknames from his teammates. Some call him "Swoll," short for swollen. Some call him "Rock." Others call him "Herc" or "Muscles." In a business in which bodies are chiseled and molded every day into human mountains, McCune probably has the best in the NFL. There are estimates that he has only 6 percent to 8 percent body fat. Even his muscles have muscles.

Scientists have discovered what could be the ultimate workout for couch potatoes: exercise in a pill. In experiments on mice that did no exercise, the chemical compound, known as AICAR, allowed them to run 44 percent farther on a treadmill than those that did not receive the drug. The drug, according to the researchers, changed the physical composition of muscle, essentially transforming the tissue from sugar-burning fast-twitch fibers to fat-burning slow-twitch ones - the same change that occurs in distance runners and cyclists through training.

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- In one swoop, the Shiite Muslim militia Hezbollah took over a large section of Lebanon's capital yesterday, altering the country's political balance and demonstrating a level of military discipline and efficiency that left the pro-Western government struggling to exert its authority. In a space of 12 hours, the Iranian-backed group dispatched hundreds of heavily armed Shiite fighters into the western half of the capital, routing pro-government Sunni militiamen, destroying opponents' political offices and shutting down media outlets loyal to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and to Sunni leader Saad Hariri's Future movement.