FRIDAY, Oct. 2, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Seniors who break a hip receive the best care in skilled nursing facilities with the most experience handling such fractures, a new study suggests.

Twenty-five cases a year was the magic number, according to lead author Pedro Gozalo, associate professor of health services, policy and practice at the School of Public Health at Brown University in Providence, R.I., and colleagues.

"Even adjusting for a long list of patient risk factors and for important facility characteristics, facilities that had cared for more than two dozen hip fracture patients in the last 12 months were more than twice as likely to successfully discharge patients in a timely manner compared to facilities that had three or less hip fracture admissions," Gozalo said in a university news release.

SATURDAY, Sept. 26, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Healthy posture is important for your well-being, but achieving it can be an uphill battle in a high-tech, high-heeled world, experts say.

"People who have better posture tend to appear more confident and knowledgeable to others. It makes them feel confident internally as well," said Alynn Kakuk, a physical therapist at the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program in Rochester, Minn.

Simple exercises and stretching can help your posture, she said.

One way to practice healthy posture is to stand with your upper back, shoulders and bottom touching the wall, with your feet a couple of inches away from the wall, she said in a Mayo news release.

TUESDAY, Sept. 15, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- People who need surgery for a broken hip face a higher risk of serious complications and death than those who undergo an elective hip replacement -- and the disparity is not explained by fracture sufferers' older age or poorer health, a new study finds.

Doctors have long known that hip-fracture surgery is a riskier procedure than elective hip replacements, which are done to treat severe arthritis.

"Everyone has recognized that hip-fracture patients are having bad outcomes," said Dr. P.J. Devereaux, the senior researcher on the new study and a professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada.

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 2, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Aging baby boomers are getting bum knees replaced at a greater rate, and at a younger age, than ever before, a new U.S. study confirms.

The data, from the National Hospital Discharge Survey, shows that between 2000 and 2010, more than 5.2 million total knee replacements were performed in the United States. By 2010, the operation had become the leading inpatient surgery performed on adults aged 45 and over.

The rate at which middle-aged and older Americans got their knees replaced almost doubled over the years covered by the study, for men and women, the researchers found.

MONDAY, Aug. 31, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- People who have total hip or knee replacement surgery face a greater risk for a heart attack during the first month following the procedure, a new study finds.

The chances of a heart attack were more than eight times greater in the first 30 days after total knee replacement surgery compared to people who didn't have the procedure. The risk of a heart attack was four times greater during the month following total hip replacement surgery, the study revealed.

But the researchers noted that the findings shouldn't deter people from having these surgeries.

MONDAY, Aug. 24, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Steroid injections for lower back pain may provide some relief for certain patients, but any benefits are temporary, a new study finds.

Lower back pain related to herniated disk (when intervertebral disks become compressed and bulge) and, to a lesser degree, spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal), is often treated with epidural steroid injections, the researchers said. But after reviewing 38 previously published studies, the researchers found no strong evidence to support their use for these conditions.

"These injections may not be as effective as perceived, and decisions should be based on an informed discussion of risks, benefits, and potential options, including surgery, medications and nonpharmacological options like exercise therapy," said lead researcher Dr.

THURSDAY, July 30, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Knee replacement surgery can temporarily return the joint to an earlier, better level of function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, new research suggests.

The surgery "acts like a time machine" for these patients, said study senior author Kaleb Michaud, an associate professor of internal medicine in the division of rheumatology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha.

"It's a very important treatment option, and our study is really about showing how their lives improved afterwards," Michaud said.

Most studies of knee replacement surgery focus on patients with osteoarthritis, the "wear-and-tear" form of arthritis.

THURSDAY, July 30, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- People with back pain that doesn't improve with treatment could have a rare type of spine infection, new guidelines suggest.

The infection -- called vertebral osteomyelitis -- could lead to paralysis or death if it's not diagnosed and treated correctly.

The condition is often overlooked because it causes back pain, a common problem typically caused by a pulled muscle or back injury, according to the guidelines published July 30 in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

"Back pain is so common -- and usually not caused by infection -- that diagnosis often is missed or delayed," guidelines lead author Dr.