Health

Walk it off. It’s more than just a jesting turn of phrase for ’90s tough guys. When it comes to back pain, according to a recent study, it might be the key to relief.

A few years after World War II, Margaret Craig Dikes told her mother about a family business idea for improving senior care, saying, "Mom, I think we can do better." That 1949 company – still operated by a third generation of family members  –  is Sunshine Health Facilities in Spokane Valley, offering longtime senior and behavioral health services, and it plans to celebrate 75 years with activities on Thursday.

As schools empty and beaches and playgrounds fill, the prolonged heat wave baking swaths of the country this week poses significant health risks to children, from newborns enjoying a shady nap to older teens exerting themselves in sports or summer jobs.

The Spokane Regional Health District is looking for input on a proposal to privatize its opioid treatment services.

MultiCare cancer center nurse practitioner Marie Brenden, 59, has a record for a 270-pound bench press. She's also a grandmother who got a pacemaker in April.

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center tech workers have ratified a new contract with Providence a month after the workers’ strike of the hospital ended.

Inside every human is a thriving zoo of bacteria, fungi, viruses and other microscopic organisms collectively known as the microbiome. Trillions of microbes live in the digestive tract alone, a menagerie estimated to contain more than 1,000 species.

New robotics at MultiCare Valley Hospital ensure patients will not need to travel outside Spokane Valley to receive a broad range of surgeries.

Carl Garabedian still recalls sickly, lethargic children staying at his parent's house, and then days later, those kids after heart surgeries couldn't stop running. He was struck then by his dad Hriar Garabedian's work as a pediatric cardiologist and entered the same field. Two Garabedian doctors, father and son, have since helped shape children's critical care.

Students at Shadle Park and North Central high schools can now get their basic primary health care right inside their school.

After a national search for a new director, Panhandle Health District selected one of its own. Erik Ketner, first hired by the district in 2001, began the new job May 24 and was previously administrator of the agency's environmental and health protection division.

U.S. heart failure mortality is climbing after decades of a decline, and it started with a 2012-21 reversal, according to research in the Journal of the American Medical Association that relied on death certificate data. It cited a peak particularly among people under age 45. Two Spokane cardiologists asked about the JAMA report said the picture is broader. One key: People are living longer after heart attacks, cardiac treatments and with other diseases that affect the heart.

In recent years, debate has gripped society regarding whether it is fair to allow transgender women to participate in women’s sports. One University of Washington professor believes an answer to the debate cannot be found in science or simple biology.

Out-of-state abortions have increased by 50% in Washington since the Supreme Court ruled the procedure is not constitutionally protected, according to a new University of Washington study.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, there are “over 20,000 prescription drug products approved for marketing.” In addition, there are more than 300,000 over-the-counter drug products with 800 active ingredients.

Free PFAS well testing has restarted on the West Plains as the EPA and state Department of Ecology determine the scope of contamination.