Weekly Health Update

Mental Attitude: Bad Day?
Researchers found that adding just a couple extra minutes of exercise to your daily exercise routine can significantly increase your outlook on life.
Penn State, October 2012

Health Alert: 'Smoke-Free' Laws!
Laws that ended smoking at work and public places have resulted in lowered hospitalizations for heart attacks by 15%, strokes by 16%, and asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by 24%. It has reduced health care costs and also increased quality of life.
Circulation, November 2012

Diet: Soda Consumption and Knee Osteoarthritis.
After controlling for risk factors for knee osteoarthritis (obesity, age, prior knee injury, extreme stress to joints, and family history), men who drank sugary soft drinks experienced worse knee osteoarthritis progression than those who did not. This correlation was not apparent in women.
American College of Rheumatology, November 2012

Exercise: Increased Life Expectancy!
Low amounts of physical activity (75 minutes of brisk walking per week) increased longevity by 1.8 years after age 40, compared with doing no such activity. Walking briskly for at least 450 minutes a week was associated with a gain of 4.5 years.
PLOS Medicine, November 2012

Chiropractic: Now That's Fast!
Your brain sends electric messages at 270 mph to every muscle and organ in your body.
Guyton's Physiology

Wellness/Prevention: High Blood Pressure and The Brain!
A recent study found evidence of structural damage in the brains of hypertensive and pre-hypertensive people in their 30s and 40s. This sort of damage to the brain has been linked to cognitive decline in older people. According to Dr. Charles DeCarli, professor of neurology and director of the Alzheimer's Disease Center at UC Davis, "The message here is really clear: people can influence their late-life brain health by knowing and treating their blood pressure at a young age, when you wouldn't necessarily be thinking about it."
The Lancet, November 2012

Weekly Health Update

Mental Attitude: Math Anxiety.
People who experience high levels of anxiety about mathematics have increased activity in the brain regions connected with the feeling of physical pain. Previous research showed children with a higher math anxiety have a decreased math performance level.
PLOS One, November 2012

Health Alert: Booster Seats.
States with booster seat requirements for children up to 6-7 years olds were found to have a 35% lower rate of mortality and incapacitating injuries. States which had booster seat laws for children up to ages 4-6 had 20% lower death and incapacitating injury rates from car accidents than those without the laws.
Pediatrics, November 2012

Diet: Red Meat and Dairy Products.
As part of the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study, researchers analyzed the diets of 525,000 participants to determine whether there is an association between dietary fat and pancreatic cancer. This study showed that consuming fat from red meat and dairy products is associated with increased risk of pancreatic cancer. There was no association between plant-food fat and pancreatic cancer.
Journal of the National Cancer Institute, June 2009

Exercise: 6,000 Steps.
Women 45-72 years old who walked 6,000 or more steps a day had a significantly lower risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
The North American Menopause Society, November 2012

Chiropractic: Savings!
Adding Chiropractic coverage to insurance plans decreased the total cost to treat back pain by 28%, reduced hospitalization for back pain by 41%, reduced back surgeries by 32%, and reduced the cost of medical imaging (ie X-Rays and MRIs) by 37%.
WebMD, October 2004

Wellness/Prevention: BMI.
The most frequently used measurement for body fat is the body mass index (BMI). BMI is figured by dividing a person's weight (in kilograms) by his or her height in meters squared. Obesity is a BMI of 30 or higher, while an ideal BMI is 18.5-24.9. The higher the BMI, the greater the risk for diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and certain cancers.
American Journal of Epidemiology, November 2012

What if Your Back Pain is a Herniated Disc?

What is a herniated disc?
Discs are shock absorbers for the spine – they’re flexible, almost gelatinous disks between vertebrae that cushion the spine and permit full range of motion. Sometimes these discs can degenerate and herniate, which means material from inside the disc can leak out. This can cause a great deal of pain, because when a disc herniates it presses on spinal nerves. Approximately 90% of disc herniations occur toward the bottom of the spine, known as the lumbar spine. A herniated disc with a pinched nerve can be extremely painful.

What are the symptoms of a herniated disc with a pinched nerve?
Symptoms of this nerve impingement are weakness in extending the big toe and ankle (foot drop), numbness can be felt on top of the foot, and can radiate into the buttock. If a different nerve is involved, the ankle reflex is lost and the patient cannot rise to their toes using their ankle. Pain in this case radiates down to the sole or outside the foot.

How is a herniated disc treated non-surgically?
Pain from a herniated disc often resolves on its own over time, as the prolapsed material is reabsorbed by the body, but until this happens (usually between four and six weeks) there can be considerable pain.

Bed rest is not recommended beyond a day or two for a herniated disc with a pinched nerve. Even in these cases, regular movement is advised to maintain muscle tone. Pain medication, cold and/or heat therapy, electrostimulation, bracing, traction, steroid injections and hydrotherapy are often used to control discomfort until the condition resolves.

While many people turn to medications and even surgery, they are very often ineffective and sometimes not necessary. It is during this period that chiropractic manipulations and physical therapy are often recommended, and in 80 to 90% of cases of a herniated disc with a pinched nerve, no surgery is required. New technological advances, such as class IV deep tissue laser and spinal decompression, comprise some of the latest non-surgical therapeutic modalities that can successfully resolve the problem and eliminate the need for surgery.

Other treatment options include medication to reduce the pain associated with herniated discs and, in severe cases where conservative treatments fail to relieve the symptoms, surgery may be performed to remove the protruding portion of the disc. Rarely, the entire disc may be removed and spinal stability may need to be provided by fusing metal hardware, or in some cases, an artificial disc may be implanted. Surgery should always be the last resort because of the statistically high failure rate and long recovery time.

Reprinted with permission from Think Teachers Magazine.

Fight to Stay Healthy NOW!

The song says, "It's the most wonderful time of the year" and in many ways it is. However, it's also the most stressful when it comes to all of our obligation: no time, holiday parties, traffic, shopping, bills, eating is at it's worst, extra weight, etc. So, what's a smart person to do? My suggestion is that you do your absolute best to get in for your treatments.

Not everyone can stick perfectly to their treatment plan, but our experience is that the patients who completely stop treatments all together slide backward. We understand that our patients schedules are all over the place during the holidays. If that sounds like you - then call us to see how we can make your appointments easier for you until the holidays are over. And never forget that during this time of year, getting some of your treatments is infinitely more valuable then skipping all of them.

One patient told me today that she was going to drop out of care until after the New Year. I asked her if she was unhappy with her treatment. She said, "No. I am feeling much better". When I asked her why she would stop if she was feeling so much better, she said it was because she could only come once this week and once next week because of family obligation and she wouldn't be able to come 3 times per week. She was surprised to hear me say "That's fine. Do what you can right now and we will re-engage when the holidays are over". She said to me that she didn't think that was acceptable and she was thrilled to know that "doing her best" to get here this time of the year is just fine.

Does that sound like you? If so, call the office and ask the staff to help you schedule your visits in a way that works for you until the holidays are over. I promise - YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID.

Weekly Health Update

Mental Attitude: Reaction To Stress.
How people react to stress determines how that stress will affect their health. Study volunteers were separated in two groups: 1) those who let their troubles affect their emotional state and 2) those who didn't let stress bother them at all. At a 10-year follow up, those who let stress affect them (group 1) were more likely to suffer from chronic health problems.
Penn State, November 2012

Health Alert: Hip Replacement and Stroke Risk.
Hemorrhagic stroke and ischemic stroke risk is ~4% higher within 2 weeks of total hip replacement surgery. A hemorrhagic stroke is brought on by bleeding in the brain, while an ischemic stroke is brought on by arterial blockage. Total hip replacement is extremely common in the United States. Around 1 million hip replacement surgeries are done around the world every year, 300,000 in the United States alone.
Stroke, November 2012

Diet: Vitamin D Levels Decreasing?
Women with health issues such as arthritis, hypothyroidism, cancer, high blood pressure, and osteoporosis are much more likely to have inadequate levels of vitamin D during seasons with decreased daylight. 28% of women had deficient levels and 33% had insufficient levels of vitamin D. Women taking supplements were able to significantly elevate their vitamin D levels.
American Society for Clinical Pathology, November 2012

Exercise: Exercise When You're Sick?
The choice to exercise or not sometimes depends on the sickness or disease. Our bodies work harder and use more energy when we are fighting an illness. If symptoms are above the neck (sore throat, runny nose), it is probably okay to exercise. If you're sick but still want to exercise, simply reduce your intensity and duration. You should not exercise if you have body aches, fever, diarrhea or vomiting, shortness of breath or chest congestion, dizziness or light-headedness. When resuming your regular exercise routine, try starting with 50% effort and 50% duration.
Loyola University Health System, November 2012

Chiropractic: Complexity of The Brain.
How complex is the brain? One cubic inch of brain cortex contains over 10,000 miles of connecting tissue.
Guyton's Physiology

Wellness/Prevention: Staying Healthy!
"The preservation of health is easier than the cure for disease."
~ B.J. Palmer

It's the Most Stressful Time of the Year (Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!)

A little STRESS is healthy... a lot is not!

Stress symptoms may be affecting your health without you even realizing it. We all experience stress at times in our lives. Stress can come from your environment, your body and your thoughts. No one is immune to it, and everyone handles it differently. It can be positive, keeping us alert and helping us avoid danger... and it can be negative when facing continuous challenges without relief or relaxation to recover from it.

Stress that is constant without any relief can lead to a negative stress reaction called distress. Distress can lead to physical symptoms including headaches, neck and back pain, upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, insomnia, chest pains and more.

Recognizing common stress symptoms can give you a jump on managing them. You may think that illness is to blame for that nagging headache or persistent backache, but it could very well be your body's reaction to stress that is causing your pain. To get your stress under control, first find out what is causing the stress in your life. Then look for ways to reduce the amount of stress you're experiencing, and implement some healthy ways to relieve stress or reduce its harmful effects.

Strategies to prevent and manage stress include a positive attitude, regular exercise, a healthy diet, time with friends and social situations, massage therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments to release muscle tension and reduce irritation, mental health professional support, relaxation techniques and a night of good, restorative sleep.

Reprinted with permission from Think Teachers Magazine.

Weekly Health Update

Mental Attitude: What You See Is What You Like.
After viewing images of successful women with varying body sizes, women who had strongly preferred only thin body types now had more favorable attitudes towards other body shapes.
PLoS One, November 2012

Health Alert: Children, Cars and Second-Hand Smoke.
Just ten minutes in the back seat of a car with a smoker in the front seat increased a child's exposure to harmful pollutants by 30%, even with the front windows completely rolled down.
British Medical Journal, November 2012

Diet: Cholesterol and Probiotics.
Two daily doses (200mg) of a probiotics lowered "bad" (LDL) and total cholesterol in study participants. Probiotics are live microorganisms (naturally occurring bacteria in the gut) thought to have beneficial effects. Common sources are yogurt or dietary supplements. Those taking the probiotics had LDL levels 11.6% lower than those on placebo after nine weeks.
American Heart Association, November 2012

Exercise: Belly Fat and Sleep Quality?
Losing weight can directly aid in improving sleep quality among obese or overweight people. Sleep quality was meaningfully associated with weight loss, either from changes in diet or a healthy diet combined with exercise. Sleep quality improvement was also observed with a loss in belly fat. With an average loss of 15 pounds and 15% belly fat, sleep scores improved by 20%. Chronic sleep disruptions can elevate the risk of heart attack, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeats, and stroke.
American Heart Association, November 2012

Chiropractic: Spinal Degenerative Joint Disease.
Spinal DJD (degenerative joint disease) occurs in most people as early as 40 years of age. The degeneration is due to gravity, major traumas, and repetitive micro-traumas (activities of daily living). Once the spine degenerates, simple mechanical compression (moving) can change nerve impulses, and the central nervous system may interpret that as pain.
Pain, 1977

Wellness/Prevention: Sleep and The Immune System.
Sleep deprivation increases the risk for developing inflammation related illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and diabetes.

Biological Psychiatry, September 2008