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As a chiropractor I believe in exercise, whether it’s aerobics, bike riding, or team sports. Keeping the body active keeps the body healthy and strong. However, when it comes to sports activies, it seems that sports injuries are inevitable among young and old alike. And, though many sports injuries can be very serious, I was especially happy to see that there is a current focus on concussions among young athletes who participate in school sports. The question people are asking is: Are schools doing enough to protect their student-athletes? Do you, as a parent, feel that your child is safe when participating in sports at school?  Many parents worry that their young athletes are at risk for serious sports injuries, especially concussions. In fact, the latest C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health found that nearly two-thirds of parents of young athletes between the ages 12 – 17 worry that their children will get a concussion while playing school sports.

To make matters worse, researchers have found that youth athletes are more likely to sustain concussions and to take longer to recover from concussions than adults. Furthermore, if a second concussion occurs before a child’s brain recovers from the first, there is a possibility of long-term neurologic conditions.

When surveyed, most parents indicated that they would strongly support school requirements, such as:

    * If a student-athlete sustained a concussion, he or she would need to be evaluated and cleared by a doctor before returning to sports – 84 percent

    * Coaches should to receive education about the risks of concussions

    * After a concussion there should be a mandatory period of non-participation in sports

    * A certified trainer should be on-site for practices and games

High school athletic organizations, injury prevention groups and professional sports leagues have become increasingly active in promoting policies to minimize the risks of repeat concussions among young athletes. But, let’s face it, parents are in a unique position to recognize concussion signs and symptoms that occur outside of school, and to work with coaches, trainers, and other health care personnel to ensure that their child is appropriately monitored throughout his or her recovery and return to play.

Source: University of Michigan Health System

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It isn’t news to anyone that elderly people are more prone to bone fractures, especially of the hip. Fortunately, there are a number of preventative measures that older adults can take to help avoid bone fractures, especially from falls. As a chiropractor, I recommend a number of preventative measures to my older patients, not the least of which is for them to have regular chiropractic treatment to help to improve and maintain balance and to keep their body in good alignment. As far as I’m concerned, in addition to balance challenges and poor muscle strength, an aging body that is out of alignment is a hip condition waiting to fracture.

According to a new study by Dr. Marian Hannan, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical school and co-director of the Musculoskeletal Research Program at the Institute for Aging Research, elderly people who eat more protein are less likely to suffer hip fractures. Why? Because consuming proteins such as meat, eggs, fish or cheese helps to build stronger muscles in the legs, which, in turn can reduce an older individual’s chances of falling.  In addition to helping to build stronger muscles, other studies have shown that protein intake can increase bone density.

For more on protein study go to: dailymail.co.uk

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As a chiropractor who works with athletes, both young and old, and one who preaches a healthy diet in addition to regular chiropractic care, I am often asked by my more active patients about “fuel foods,” especially before a big high school football game or prior to a weekend warrior event. The most frequently asked question is: Are carbohydrates the best source to “fuel my sport”? And, my answer is “yes and no.” If you play sports, it’s important for you to know that even though carbohydrates burn off quickly, and are generally the best source of energy (and I recommend them highly), other factors come into play when the body is under the “stress” of the game. And, while pasta, energy bars, fruits, breads, yogurt, potatoes, cereals, and milk may all be great energy foods to eat before your sport, you should also include high sources of protein, including meat and peanut butter. Why? Because even though carbohydrates give you energy, proteins rebuild your cells and help you to maintain your muscle mass. 

Another important thing to remember is that not all carbohydrates are equal. And while healthy fats can be an excellent source of energy during your sport, it isn’t wise before the game to eat fats that digest too slowly, like the fats contained in potato chips, fried foods, doughnuts, candy bars, and other sugary foods. Not only can hard-to-digest fats cause stomach cramping, but these types of fats are hard on the body systems for many reasons.

Maintaining an active lifestyle is important to overall health. But, doing it right and not overdoing it will make a big difference in how well you perform.

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As a chiropractor, I recommend daily exercise to all of my patients.Regular moderate exercise improves the health of every system in the human body, including the musculoskeletal system, my specialty. Exercise helps to keep joints mobile, reduces the symptoms of arthritis, increases bone health, and improves muscle performance. In other words, exercise is essential to good health. And, because I know that most of my patients are very busy people, I always suggest that they make exercise as much a necessary part of their day as brushing their teeth or having a nutritious meal, which is to say that they don't need to put on special clothing and head for the gym to get a beneficial workout. That's why I was very interested in an article I just read in the health page of msnbc.com that described the results of a study done on women that linked a moderate activity like walking to a substantial decrease in stroke risk. In addition to walking, the study looked at vigorous activities like running, swimming and biking, but didn't find a link between those activities and the 37 percent reduction in stroke risk that walking provided.

So ladies, take a walk! Do it for your health's sake! For more information on this interesting story, click the link provided above.

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As a chiropractor who treats many senior patients suffering from painful back problems, I was very concerned when I read about a new study published this month in The Journal of the American Medical Association that found that the percentage of older adults undergoing a complicated fusion procedure for the painful lower-back condition called spinal stenosis has increased sharply– rising fifteenfold from 2002 to 2007.

This type of fusion procedure is not only complicated, but costly. And worse, it carries three times the rate of life-threatening complications than alternative procedures such as decompression (removal of part of the bone pressing on the nerve) or simple fusion (in which two or three vertebrae are fused and only the front or back of the vertebrae, rather than front and back).  And, the bottom line is that earlier studies haven’t found that the complex surgery leads to better results or greater pain relief.

Gentle, non-invasive chiropractic treatment can often relieve the severe back pain caused by spinal stenosis. I fully recommend a short conservative trial of chiropractic care prior to considering most surgeries involving the musculoskeletal system. Any type of surgery carries risks and such risks increase exponentially as we age. But, when a study reveals that a costly, life-threatening surgery does little to relieve pain or improve an individual’s quality of life, in my opinion such a surgery should not even be considered.

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As a chiropractor who believes in the human body’s ability to heal itself, often with the aid of natural, non-invasive, drug-free treatment, I am always dismayed, but never surprised, at some of the pernicious claims and tenacious effrontery of drug companies when it comes to pain killers, in general, and the “treatment” of a number of conditions that don’t get any better with drugs or are made worse by them. And, as a chiropractor  who has helped hundreds of headache sufferers not only get temporary, but permanent relief, when I read about a drug study for yet another pain med that will likely keep headache sufferers numbed to their pain, but in the process numb to the rest of their life as well, I feel like shouting from the rooftops: “Try chiropractic first!” But, today, when I read about a study, sponsored by Merck (who also makes the product), I really felt compelled to say that this particular study is shamefully playing to the fears of migraine sufferers when, in fact, the drug itself only offers “less severity” at best when it comes to a migraine headache.

The study, conducted by Dr. X. Henry Hu of Merck & Co.and colleagues, found that one in five migraine sufferers had “avoided” a work-related commitment because they were afraid of getting a migraine, while 27 percent reported canceling a work commitment for this reason, and round 28 percent said they had avoided or canceled social commitments due to fear of migraines.

 I have treated many patients who told me how much they’d “feared” the onset of a migraine and limited their activities in life because of that fear, so I do understand how devastating the fear migraines can be. And, yet, the only “solution” this study offered?

This study is “important,” said Dr. Hu, the unpredictability of migraines could contribute to people’s anxiety and fear about them and early treatment with migraine drugs called triptans can help reduce headache severity. “Because of the lack of predictability of future migraine attacks, migraine sufferers may benefit from increased education on the importance of keeping medications available at all times,” they concluded.

My conclusion? If you suffer from migraines, give your chiropractor a call today!

SOURCE: Headache, published online March 25, 2010.

 

 

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Chiropractic News:  Chiropractic Marketing internet radio show, Chiropractic Masters on Blog Talk Radio, interviews expert chiropractors around the country. The first episode featured Ventura Chiropractor, Dr. Steven Alff. Dr. Alff talked about spinal decompression and how it benefits his patients.

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Chiropractic News:  Chiropractic Marketing internet radio show, Chiropractic Masters on Blog Talk Radio, interviews expert chiropractors around the country. The first episode featured Ventura Chiropractor, Dr. Steven Alff. Dr. Alff talked about spinal decompression and how it benefits his patients.

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Does your refrigerator light stay on when you close the frig door? No? Well, new research is suggesting that perhaps it should! As a chiropractor, I’m all about “total wellness,” which means that I believe in routine chiropractic care along with a healthy lifestyle that includes good nutrition, regular exercise, drinking plenty of water, and dealing effectively with life stresses. Getting the nutrition we need from fruits and vegetables used to be a “no brainer,” i.e., just buy them fresh. But, with the current trend towards big farm over-planting that has lead to soil depletion in many areas, sadly the fruits and vegetables grown in, and pulled from, soil lacking in nutrients lack much of the health benefits they once offered. We generally need to search for fruit and veggie stands and farmers’ markets to get anything close to the natural nutrition that was once “a given” when we were children because, let’s face it, it’s hard to find healthy produce in our supermarkets anymore. So, I was pleasantly surprised and very interested in a new study that the harsh, unnatural lighting in most supermarkets — the kind of lighting that seems to have no environmental upside — apparently has a bright side: healthier fruits and vegetables.

That’s right! A recent study found that spinach actually gained nutritional value as it sat for days under fluorescent lights! And, not just “minor” value gains. Some vitamins doubled their concentrations. Apparently, fluorescent supermarket lights mimic the spectrum of natural sunlight, and some supermarkets keep them on all the time, 24-hours a day. Continuous light exposure allows plants to maintain photosynthesis and, of course, photosynthesis produces nutrients.

The study’s author, Gene Lester, is a research plant physiologist at the United States Department of Agriculture in Beltsville, MD. He and his colleagues chose to study spinach because it is one of the most nutritionally complete vegetables commonly available, with significant concentrations of vitamins C, A, K, E and folate.

You can read about how the research was done in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry or by going to discovery.com

Bottom line: To boost the nutritional content of spinach and other produce, researchers suggest (counter-intuitively) that consumers select packages from the front of display cases that are kept under continuous light.

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