Health and medicine press releases

A person receiving rehab

Academic experts come together to push forward innovation in clinical rehabilitation

COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of effective rehabilitation post serious illness or injury – saving lives is only one part of an overall care journey which necessarily needs good rehabilitation if a patient is to stand a chance of returning to their former selves.

Illustration of a woman with a prosthetic leg.

Prosthetic limbs affect our attitudes to disability – expressive design might change things for the better

Amputation can have a devastating effect on a person’s body image and sense of self. The use of prosthetic limbs may help, but when it comes to their appearance, options are often limited.

Women clinicians report significant difficulties with coronavirus PPE: “Apparently masks for smaller faces don’t exist!”

A new report which looks at how hospital PPE supplied to protect against the threat of COVID-19 has found that women experience significantly more issues than men.
Illustration of an older woman with a younger woman

New study further supports that age-related hearing loss in patients taking cognitive tests may result in misdiagnoses of dementia

The early and correct diagnosis of a cognitive impairment – such as dementia – is crucial as it allows interventions and treatments that may slow the progression of a patient's symptoms to be quickly put in place.

Loughborough and Royal Air Forces Association to lead new support programme for UK military veterans

Loughborough University and the Royal Air Forces Association are leading a new project offering military veterans who have issues with their mental wellbeing specialist courses, aimed at enhancing their social resilience and overall welfare.

Fussy eating – and parents’ stress – remedied by online guide

Parents battling their children’s fussy eating have been given fresh hope thanks to an online resource proven to relieve the problem.

Swimming makes you hungrier and likely to eat more at the next meal – new research

People often believe that exercise can make you hungrier, so they may therefore eat more during subsequent meals. But for the typical person, single sessions of land-based moderate to high-intensity exercise (such as running, resistance exercise and intermittent sprint cycling) have been shown to temporarily decrease appetite and do not commonly lead to increased food intake on the same day.
Illustration of people pointing at a woman with a LGBT flag.

FEATURE: "LGBTQ people have faced loneliness, job loss and hostility in the COVID-19 lockdown and for some communities it’s been a life or death situation"

“Coronavirus has been labelled as the ‘great leveller’ as it can affect people from all walks of life; on the one hand that’s very true but on the other, it’s a total myth.
a child exercising with their parent

Joe Wicks got children moving – how to keep them active as lockdown ends

When parents in the UK were suddenly forced to become teachers to their kids in lockdown, physical education (PE) was largely an afterthought. As many PE lessons are now delivered by outside professional coaches, few primary schools had the in-house experience or skills to create and suggest content to help parents.

Emotional and social characteristics of young children can impact the success of positive feeding practices

Children’s emotional and social characteristics can impact the success of feeding practices used by parents and caregivers.
Pictured is the Hazelrigg Building.

Loughborough University staff are using their skills and expertise to help with the fight against COVID-19

Staff, students and the wider Loughborough University community have been working hard to help protect and assist those fighting the coronavirus pandemic head-on.

Key workers and vulnerable people struggled to buy basic goods when restrictions and panic buying hit supermarkets – new survey

People have shared their experiences of supermarket shopping following the recent phase of panic-buying and subsequent restrictions, with many reporting problems buying basic goods.
Thermometer on fire.

Global warming now pushing heat into territory humans cannot tolerate

The explosive growth and success of human society over the past 10,000 years has been underpinned by a distinct range of climate conditions.

Illustration of old people taking a survey at home during the pandemic.

Survey launched in a bid to understand how coronavirus restrictions affect osteoarthritis risk in over 60s

Researchers at Loughborough University are investigating how changes in physical activity that are a result of the global health pandemic are related to osteoarthritis development and symptoms.

Five lockdown lessons for helping fussy eating youngsters (VIDEO)

The coronavirus lockdown is forcing new challenges upon families, as well as reinforcing old ones, but encouraging children to eat an array of foods does not have to be one of them.

Early and frequent exposure to childcare increases the risk of youngsters being overweight later in life

Children who start childcare such as nurseries or playgroups at a younger age and attend for most of the week are at higher risk for obesity in later life, according to a new study.
a graphic for the latest expert in sport podcast

Experts in Sport: How can athletes use this period of lockdown to work towards long term success?

With sport competition across the globe currently on pause, attention has turned to maintaining athlete health and well-being.

The coronavirus 'Doomsday' clock: Level of recovery after three weeks

For the last three weeks, Dr Jon Seaton, of Loughborough's School of Business and Economics, has been illustrating, via a Doomsday-style clock, where the world is in relation to eradicating the coronavirus pandemic. He writes...

Research to investigate impact of COVID-19 pandemic on family carers

The experience of family carers during the COVID-19 pandemic will be explored in a new international study by Loughborough University and several universities across the world.

New study aims to improve the sleep quality of athletes with spinal cord injuries

A research project is looking at the relationship between spinal cord injuries and sleep quality.

Rapid manufacture of hospital ventilators could cost lives if not properly designed, according to new guidelines

Experts have warned that the rapid manufacture of ventilators by companies with no prior medical technology experience could be harmful to patients.
woman asleep illustration

Coronavirus: How to sleep better during the lockdown

We are all facing restrictions in a bid to minimise the transmission rate and impact of COVID-19, but there is no denying that life in lockdown is hard.

The coronavirus ‘Doomsday’ clock: Are we approaching a period of new hope?

Britain has now moved past 1pm on the coronavirus clock.

Tracking lifestyles over the course of a pandemic: New coronavirus survey aims to understand more about current and future health and wellbeing

Psychologists from Loughborough University have launched a study which aims to understand the impact of coronavirus on daily life.
An illustration of healthworkers.

COVID-19: Evidence-based advice for health workers having difficult conversations about end of life

A Loughborough University academic is providing guidance to clinicians who are likely to be having - and training people who will have – difficult conversations with patients suffering from COVID-19 or those closest to them.