Inflammation

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS If you have sex about once a week, count yourself average, not lucky. Luckiest of all are those in their 30s, who do it 78 times a year. They even beat out the 18- to 29-year-olds, who have sex 77 times a year. You're just plain typical, too, if you've had seven sex partners since you turned 18. These and other barometers of adult sexual behavior, from the National Opinion Research Center's annual survey, are reported in this month's issue of Family Planning Perspectives.

Barry Bonds, sidelined by back pain, took treatment and exercised yesterday but did not take batting practice. The San Francisco Giants outfielder wouldn't talk about the condition of his back, which began to bother him Wednesday. "Ask the trainer, that's what he's for," Bonds said. "There's a baseball game going on - don't worry about me. I'm 40 years old. " Bonds likely will miss at least 1 more day but could return to the lineup tomorrow. Giants trainer Stan Conte described Bonds' condition as inflammation and irritation of the joint at the base of his spine.

Having survived one of Philadelphia International Airport's infamous delays Tuesday night, Cole Hamels returned to Phillies camp yesterday and quickly endorsed Brett Myers for opening-night starter. That is, if Hamels himself can't answer the call. Although pitching coach Rich Dubee has called Hamels a long shot to start against Atlanta in 17 days, the Phillies' ace believes he can do it. "I love long shots," said the 25-year-old lefty, who is being treated for soreness and inflammation in his left elbow.

As any trauma surgeon will tell you, two people can suffer similar injuries from a car crash or bullet wound, yet one will live while the other dies. There's no good way to tell who will make it. Princeton University scientists say they now are starting to get some answers. The key, they reported in a new study, is to track activity levels in certain of the patient's genetic pathways - in particular, two that regulate inflammation and help the body recognize harmful microbes.

There is the growing possibility that 76ers point guard Maurice Cheeks will not be ready for the regular-season opener because of a recurring groin muscle pull. Cheeks, who played in exhibition games Friday in Salt Lake City and Saturday in Dallas, flew back to Philadelphia on Sunday night. He will engage only in light workouts for at least the next week, skipping the remaining three stops on the Sixers' preseason road tour. Cheeks, 32, is entering his 11th NBA season.

Question: I have severe varicose veins and leg swelling that led to sores that haven't been easy to heal. I'm getting regular home health-care visits, but do you have any other suggestions? Answer: Try laughing several times a day. Yes, really! According to a new study in the British Medical Journal, good-quality nursing care and belly laughs are the best treatments for people who have severe leg ulcers caused by the breakdown of skin from the chronic inflammation and swelling of severe varicose veins.

LAKELAND, Fla. - Something about Domonic Brown's right hand attracts injuries. "I'm telling you," Brown said. "I do everything with it. " In the last two years, Brown has suffered four injuries to his right hand. The latest, a sprained right thumb, was deemed not serious after an MRI exam Thursday showed only inflammation. He says he expects to play next week. Brown said he planned to take some swings in the cage Friday. Much of the inflammation and scar tissue is remnants of a similar injury he suffered last May at triple-A Lehigh Valley while diving for a ball.

Please floss and brush, by all means. It's still good for your teeth and gums. But don't imagine that you're going to ward off heart disease in the process. That's the message of a new "scientific statement" from an expert committee of the American Heart Association, which analyzed more than 500 papers and articles on the topic. The idea that periodontal disease might impair the cardiovascular system dates back more than a century, according to the statement, published in the journal Circulation, and the hypothesis had a resurgence beginning about 20 years ago. Indeed, people with bad gums are more likely to have strokes, heart attacks, and hardening of the arteries.

Curt Schilling says there's no reason to be alarmed. The Phillies say there's no reason to be alarmed. You can make your own call. In the latest attempt to cool off the tendinitis that has simmered inside Schilling's right shoulder for the last month, Phillies medical personnel administered Schilling a shot of cortisone on Sunday. The injection came one day after Schilling, pitching for the first time in 15 days, was roughed up for eight runs in 6 1/3 innings by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The advice Roy Halladay received from the Phillies, the single-best thing he can do to return his strained shoulder to baseball shape, runs counter to the hard-driving ethic that has made the all-star righthander one of the game's best and most diligent pitchers. Rest. "Really, in the end, it's going to be time," Bradford Parsons, an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital, said Wednesday when asked what the now-disabled Halladay might do to hasten his return.