Docs: Needles have fat chance against big butts

Injections Can Be A Pain In The Butt
Researchers say injections in the rear for people like this are futile

While the above picture may be a bit extreme to make the point of this Daily Mail story, it doesn't diminish the findings of Irish researchers who say traditional shots in the buttocks are virtually ineffective on people with a lot of fat in that area.

Lead researcher Dr. Victoria Chan from the Adelaide and Meath Hospital in Dublin, Ireland said some injections for vaccines and other medicines are ineffective because the needles cannot penetrate through the excessive amount of body fat to get to the muscle where the drug is needed. Interestingly, women have this problem more so than men.

Even before I started livin' la vida low-carb, I've never had a particularly big butt. I guess it's the curse of the Moore genes. None of us Moore boys suffered with it more than Nathan.

My younger brother "Nat," who lost a significant amount of weight on the low-carb lifestyle a few years back, used to have problems wearing pants growing up because his belly would stick out profusely. Yet he didn't have a big bum to hold up the backside of his pants, so they'd keep slipping down until you could see his crack.

We laugh about that now that we are grown up, but this new finding is nothing to laugh about. Medicines that are injected through the behind are necessary to help the patient with whatever ailment they have.

Dr. Chan theorizes about why she believes butts have gotten bigger in recent years.

"There is no question that obesity is the underlying cause," she concluded. "We have identified a new problem related, in part, to the increasing amount of fat in patients' buttocks."

Can we really blame it on obesity, Dr. Chan? While an increase in overall weight CAN result in a larger rear end, it's not automatic. Just as my brother and I were obese and didn't have big butts, there are some examples of people with large behinds but are anything but overweight.

Might I remind you of this prime example of what I am referring to:

Of course, that's the beautifully blessed bombshell beauty Jennifer Lopez sporting her signature big bottom. Would anybody accuse HER of being overweight or obese? Hardly! And yet this Dr. Chan wants to blame obesity for large butts. That's just narrow-minded thinking and doesn't look at other factors (such as genes) that can contribute to it.

Dr. Chan looked at 50 male and female patients aged 21-87 by injecting a small air bubble into their buttocks using a standard hypodermic needle to examine how far the needle could penetrate. They used computed tomography (CT) scans of the abdomen and pelvis areas to determine where the air bubble was.

Nearly six in ten of the men received the injection into their muscle as it should. But surprisingly, only 8% of the women received the injection correctly. Overall, just under one-third of the participants in the study had their injections delivered to the correct place where the medicine could do what it is supposed to do.

To remedy this problem, Dr. Chan said it may create the need for longer needles.
"Our study has shown that 68% of intramuscular injections do not reach the muscles of the buttock. The amount of fat tissue overlying the muscles exceeds the length of the needles commonly used for these injections," Dr. Chan revealed.

I don't know about you, but just the sight of a needle regardless of the size looks like a telephone pole to me. I hate needles with a passion and, yes, I'm a big baby with them. When I had my blood work done last month, I told the lady who was taking blood from me that I hated needles and she assured me everything would be fine.

But when she said "uh-oh" in the middle of poking me, I knew I was in trouble. Of all the people to have an "uh-oh" to happen to, it HAD to be me! It turns out the need was faulty and wasn't sucking the blood out like it needed to. The nurse said she could pull it out and put another one in, but I balked. If she pulled it out, there was no way she was sticking me again! Eventually the defective needle got the blood she needed. This didn't make me like needles any better! :-~

So Dr. Chan's suggestion that we may need LONGER needles can't sit well (no pun intended!) with those who have larger bottoms. Maybe they can think of better ways to get the medicine in your system without resorting to shoving a longer piece of metal of your backside! What say you?

Ah, yes. Buttes.

everyone have one

Sheesh, this doctor never heard of shooting someone in the arm, back of the hand or hip (which is the side, and different from the actual rump-like area)? Methinks the doc needs an anatomy lesson.

The doc probably has more fun this way.

First the proof that a change of policy is needed--then the change of policy. I'd guess that a lot of pear shaped people were being underdosed on vaccines, antibiotics, contraceptives and painkillers because the hospital staff wasn't aware of the need to inject muscle tissue rather than fat.

certain types of medications must be given in the gluteus maximus muscle