Archive for December, 2009
How to Avoid Winter Snow-Shoveling Injuries
If you live where it snows or if you’re planning to following the “chill” until you find a snowy scene for the holidays, here’s a little advice from the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress.
Every winter, millions of Americans grab their shovels and start digging their way out of the snow and into pain. Shoveling snow improperly can lead to potential spasms, strains, and aches. When shoveling snow, the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress suggests the following tips to maintain overall health:
- Always stretch and warm-up before shoveling
- Wear extra layers to maintain muscle warmth and flexibility
- Avoid sudden twisting and turning motions
- Limit the amount of weight lifted per load
- Bend your knees, not your back
– Take frequent breaks to avoid body fatigue
If you happen to experience discomfort or pain as a result of shoveling snow, please contact your local chiropractor.
To find out more information please visit the Foundation at www.yes2chiropractic.org or call 866-901-3427
Chiropractic Medicine for Neck Pain
Primary Causes of Chronic Neck Pain-
Sudden trauma – whiplash
When the head is suddenly thrust forward and stopped, the resulting injury is known as whiplash. Generally, a person knows when this type of injury occurs. However, you may not always recognize the accident. It does not have to occur in a car as any sudden jerking motion can cause whiplash.
Bad posture
Hunching over a steering wheel or computer can cause the head to lean forward and the muscles in the neck to strain. Since the average human head weighs between eight and ten pounds, this strain can add up and cause quite a bit of pain.
Slipped Disc/ Herniated Disc/ Disc out of Alignment
Sometimes a disc in the spine moves slightly out of place and causes pain in the neck. When this happens, the pressure is put on the nerves resulting in pain on the nerves.
What to Expect from a Chiropractor On Your First Visit-
On your first visit, the chiropractor will ask you for a complete medical history. He or she will want to know when the pain started and what makes it better or worse. X-rays may be taken to better examine the cause of the pain. The more information you provide the chiropractor, the better results you can expect from the visit.
Many times, the chiropractor will ask you to rank the pain on a scale from one to ten with ten being the worst pain in your life. This s not a competition but a way to rank how well the treatment works. Therefore, think carefully and be honest. It is important if the treatment is to be effective.
Treatment Options Provided by a Chiropractor-
It is a myth that chiropractors only “pop” your back. Nothing could be further from the truth. A chiropractor is more of a holistic healer. They offer a wide range of healing options to help you understand why your neck is hurting and to get to the root of your neck injury.
Treatment options may include:
” Progressive Rehab – a combination of chiropractic adjustments and pain relieving techniques
” Nutrition Counseling – A nutritionist can help you understand any deficiencies in your diet.
” Massage Therapy – Sometimes neck pain is caused by muscle strain and tension and massage therapy helps.
” Physical Therapy – Strength training is always available when you need it even for your neck.
” Chiropractic adjustment – This is what most people think of when they think of the chiropractor. The “pop” is actually gases escaping when the joints are moved back into place.
The most important part of being treated is choosing a chiropractor you trust. A chiropractor should be able to see you the same day. You are already hurting. You should not have to wait several days or even weeks to get an appointment. You should be greeted in a friendly manner and be treated well. Go with your instincts and you will be fine.
Source: HealthSourceChiro
Study Explains How Exercise Helps Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) affects 5 million individuals in the U.S. and is the leading cause of limb amputations. Doctors have long considered exercise to be the single best therapy for PAD, and now a new study helps explain why. Led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and published in this week’s Online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the findings demonstrate that a protein called PGC-1alpha plays a key role in the process.
“Exercise is a staple of healthy living,” notes senior author Zoltan Arany, MD, PhD, an investigator in BIDMC’s Cardiovascular Institute and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “One of the many benefits of exercise, endurance exercise in particular, is the generation of new blood vessels in leg muscles.” Known as angiogenesis, this naturally occurring process comes to the rescue when an injury or artery blockage leaves normal tissue starved for blood. PAD is a common circulatory problem in which narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to the limbs. The end result is leg pain primarily encountered while walking. More seriously, PAD is also likely to be a sign of widespread accumulation of fatty deposits in the arteries, which may be reducing blood flow to the heart and brain as well as to the legs. Read more…Fit Teenage Boys Are Smarter?
In the first study to demonstrate a clear positive association between adolescent fitness and adult cognitive performance, Nancy Pedersen of the University of Southern California and colleagues in Sweden find that better cardiovascular health among teenage boys correlates to higher scores on a range of intelligence tests – and more education and income later in life.
“During early adolescence and adulthood, the central nervous system displays considerable plasticity,” said Pedersen, research professor of psychology at the USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences. “Yet, the effect of exercise on cognition remains poorly understood.” Pedersen, lead author Maria Åberg of the University of Gothenburg and the research team looked at data for all 1.2 million Swedish men born between 1950 and 1976 who enlisted for mandatory military service at the age of 18. In every measure of cognitive functioning they analyzed – from verbal ability to logical performance to geometric perception to mechanical skills – average test scores increased according to aerobic fitness. However, scores on intelligence tests did not increase along with muscle strength, the researchers found. Read more…Teens Lose More Weight Using Healthy Strategies
Increasing exercise, water and fruit consumption leads to success, study finds
(HealthDay News) — Increased exercise, reduced soda consumption and self-weighing are among the most effective weight control strategies for adolescents, a new study shows.
Researchers surveyed 130 adolescents about their weight-control strategies and lifestyle habits. Sixty-two had succeeded in losing weight and 68 had not. The responses were grouped into four categories:
- Healthy weight control behaviors, which included eating fewer calories, increasing exercise, eating less high fat and junk food, drinking less soda, drinking more water, weighing oneself, eating more fruits and vegetables and doing different types of exercise.
- Unhealthy weight control behaviors, which included laxatives, vomiting, diuretics, smoking and fasting.
- Extreme dietary changes, which included use of liquid diet supplements, the Atkins diet, a structured diet, fasting and increasing protein consumption.
- Structured behaviors, which included eating a certain amount of calories, counting calories, recording food intake and working with a professional.
Overall, a higher percentage of participants who lost weight used six or more of the healthy weight control behaviors, compared to those who didn’t lose weight. A minority of adolescents who lost weight reported using any of the structured weight control behaviors or extreme dietary changes. Read more…