Your health

Supportive sisters

Has your sister been diagnosed with breast cancer? You can help scientists learn about the interplay of environment and genes by joining the National Institutes of Health's Sisters Study.

Researchers are in the final push to recruit 50,000 participants who have never had breast cancer themselves. The study needs you if you are African-American, Latina, Asian, Pacific Islander or Native American. Caucasian women with a high school degree or less or who are ages 65-74 are also needed. If you've ever held a blue-collar or nontraditional job, they want you, too.

"Future generations will truly benefit from the collective efforts of sisters participating in this study," said spokeswoman Sally-Ann Roberts, a New Orleans news anchor. Her younger sister, Robin Roberts of ABC's "Good Morning America," was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007.

To volunteer or learn more, visit sisterstudy.org or estudiodehermanas.org or call (877) 474-7837.

Just checking

Hockey players are bigger and fitter than they used to be, say researchers who studied 703 players on a Canadian-based NHL team over 26 seasons. Defensemen got taller and heavier; forwards are younger and have higher peak aerobic power outputs, and goalies are shorter and more flexible.

"The game has changed over the years and those who are bigger and have additional strength and power are more successful," said lead researcher Art Quinney of the University of Alberta. "With changes in rules, however, smaller and faster players also have a place in the NHL." But researchers also found fitness levels are not as important as skill and other factors when it comes to team performance.

Women's workouts

Women's joints are looser than men's, which can make them more injury prone. Personal trainer Kristal Richardson, a professional figure competitor - it's similar to female bodybuilding but emphasizes muscle tone instead of size - describes some common exercises she thinks women should avoid:

Sit-ups: Not very effective, and can be bad for the neck. Do a bicycle crunch instead. Lie on your back and using a pedaling motion, lift the left shoulder to the right knee and vice versa.

Squats: Put stress on the lower back and knees. Lunges are a great alternative. "If you have bad knees, try doing a reverse-lunge by stepping backwards," Richardson said.

Push-ups: Can lead to neck, lower back, elbow and shoulder pain. "Leave them to the Marines and try the dumbbell bench press instead for toning the chest and shoulders. Lie flat on your back and, with arms straight up and dumbbells in hand, slowly lower the arms to just past a 90-angle or until you feel a slight stretch in your chest." Do three sets of 10 reps.