The Artificial Limb Program was established in 1945 by the National Academy of Sciences. Back then the options for amputees were crude, wooden prostheses; if that didn’t appeal to you, the alternative was life confined to a wheelchair. But thanks to advances in science over the past 20 years, artificial limbs offer more function than ever before; the following are some of these important advancements:

Asthma is sometimes called bronchial asthma or reactive airway disease, and has symptoms which include coughing, wheezing, and chest tightness. It affects more than 34 million Americans, and asthma in children is on the rise.

If you have a disability, chronic breathing condition, diabetes, arthritis, or other ongoing illness you may think it is impossible for you to exercise effectively, if at all. But, there are plenty of ways to overcome your mobility issues and reap the physical, mental, and emotional rewards of exercise such as easing depression symptoms, and relieving stress and anxiety.

If you have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) it is urgent that you quit smoking because it may be possible to slow down the disease and lessen the toll it takes on your breathing, but only if you cut out cigarettes permanently − and soon. Here’s how to do it:

If you have type 2 diabetes, you know that blood sugar control, a balanced diet, weight management, regular exercise, and checkups are vital to your health. But, every part of your body requires care to avoid any serious complications. Five areas of concerns are:

Blood pressure is recorded as two numbers written like this: 117/76 mm Hg (read as 117 over 76 millimeters of mercury). The top number, systolic, measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats (when the heart muscle contracts). The bottom number, diastolic, measures the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats (when the heart muscle is resting and refilling with blood). 

There is more to heart health than just your blood pressure numbers. Here are some other very important numbers to have as a goal in your heart-healthy life.

For people with limited mobility, maneuvering around the house can be troublesome. Stairs present a difficult obstacle; however, stair lifts can help people travel up and down stairs independently. There are both inclined platform lifts and chair stair lifts. They travel up and down a staircase along one or two tracks mounted to the wall or to the steps themselves. Track systems are available for straight or curved stairways.

If your child shows signs of disturbed sleep – snoring, long pauses in breathing, tossing and turning, chronic mouth breathing during sleep, or night sweats – they may have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA is more common in children than once thought, with an estimated one to four percent of children suffering from the disorder, many of them between the ages of 2 and 8.

Almost all women have some degree of glucose intolerance during pregnancy, resulting from increased levels of hormones made in the placenta. Usually the mother's pancreas is able to produce more insulin to overcome the higher blood sugar levels. If not, gestational diabetes (diabetes that develops during pregnancy) can occur.

Ryan McIntosh, 23, and Denise Castelli, 26, were two of the 252 ball boys and girls at the U.S. Open. McIntosh and Castelli, both amputees, competed against about 500 able-bodied women and men for their spots at the Open and, for both, it was an unlikely journey.

When the Director of Spirit Squads at the University of Arkansas saw the DVD application of incoming freshman cheerleader Patience Beard, it was different than any application she had ever seen: Patience has a prosthetic left leg.

People with obstructive sleep apnea have an increased risk for high blood pressure and heart disease. But, two new studies, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, add to the evidence that continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment lowers heart risk in these patients.

Oxygen is essential for all normal bodily functions. When a condition prevents your body from converting air that you breathe into usable oxygen in the blood, your doctor can prescribe oxygen therapy to ensure you receive the oxygen you need. Oxygen therapy is helpful for both chronic and acute conditions.

Special Olympics Athletes are both young and old. Some are gifted athletes; others work hard just to reach the finish line. Michigan has one of the largest Special Olympics programs in the U.S. with more than 19,620 participating athletes. Although sports is the "vehicle," the ultimate goal of Special Olympics is to help persons with disabilities receive respect as members of their communities. Through Special Olympics, athletes gain self-confidence and prove their own capabilities. Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) is not just training for sports − it's training for life!

Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee runner was named to South Africa’s (RSA) Olympic track team for the London Games. Pistorius, 25, was born in Johannesburg, RSA and was just 11 months old when he was diagnosed with congenital absence of the fibula in both legs and had them amputated halfway between his knees and ankles.

A venous skin ulcer, or stasis leg ulcer, is a shallow wound that develops when the one-way valves in leg veins are damaged and do not return blood to the heart as they normally would (venous insufficiency). Blood backs up and pools in the vein, then leaks into surrounding tissue breaking it down and leading to an ulcer. Ulcers usually develop on the side of the lower leg, above the ankle and below the calf, they are slow to heal and often come back if you don't take steps to prevent them.

Food allergies can actually cause diabetic responses complicating anti-diabetic treatments. Inflammation, auto-immune destruction of cells, and insulin resistance can be triggered by food intolerances.