How harsh words may hurt your knees

[Celebration]

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727724.800-how-harsh-words-may-hurt-your-knees.html

STICKS and stones may break your bones, but words might make you more likely to get arthritis. Not as catchy as the original, but it seems social rejection could trigger diseases linked to inflammation.

Psychologist George Slavich of the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues asked 124 volunteers to give speeches and perform mental arithmetic in front of a panel of dismissive observers. Saliva analysis showed they exhibited elevated levels of two inflammation markers. A quarter of the volunteers then played a computer game in which other players were instructed to exclude them.

Functional MRI scans showed this triggered increased activity in two brain regions associated with rejection. Participants with the highest inflammatory responses showed the greatest increases in brain activity (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1009164107).

[safeinOhio]

1. May be true, however

I'd guess that is a small variable compared to genetics, injury or excessive wear on joints.

[Liberation Angel]

3. The pain gets worse if you have already had an injury

I know from experience.

Stress aggravates joint injuries and causes actual physical pain. It may be the tensing of muscles or the additional inflammation, but whatever the hell it is it hurts like hell.

[jdlh8894]

2. You kids get off my lawn!!!

Hell, they know I can't run after them! (sigh) :evilgrin:

[hedgehog]

4. It seems to me I've read that monkeys that are rejected by their

troops or suffer low status also have poor health. Stress related?