Low Back and Obesity Part 2.

10 Feb

Losing weight can dramatically reduce low back pain (LBP). Like last month, we will look at easy ways to lose weight without the need for fancy, hard to follow diets. As the saying goes, this is a “no-brainer.”

Alcohol hints. When consuming alcohol, follow the first beverage with a glass of water. This will reduce calories and often reduces unhealthy snack intake such as chips or nuts.

Go “green” as in tea! Studies show green tea can “rev up” calorie burning.

Try Yoga! According to the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, women who do Yoga tend to weigh less. Plus, yoga is  calming and promotes self-awareness!

Eat at home. According to Consumer Reports, eating at home at least 5 days a week was a top habit of “successful losers.” Emphasize foods like fruits and vegetables!

Chew strong mint gum! Studies have shown a strong flavored sugarless gum can curb your risk for a snack attack. Chewing gum is a great substitute for “mindless eating” when socializing, watching TV, studying, or working on that computer project.

Shrink your dishes! By choosing a 10” vs. 12” plate, the amount eaten automatically reduces by 100-200 calories a day (according to Cornell University research)!

The “80-20 rule.”  Eating until you are 80% full vs. 100% can be accomplished 2 ways: 1. Stop eating at the 80% full point or, 2. Dish out 20% less food.

Eating out options: A. Split an entrée with a friend; B. Order an appetizer as a meal; C. Use a small plate; D. Have them pack ½ the meal into a “doggie bag” BEFORE serving it and order a salad or extra veggies to substitute for the other half.

Reach for Red Sauce: Choose marinara over Alfredo sauce as it has fewer calories and much less fat than cream-based sauces. A serving = the size of a tennis ball.

Go meatless more often. Consider bean burgers, lentil soup, veggies and fruit and when you have to have meat, make it a lean variety, remove the fat, and cook in olive oil.

Burn 100 calories by doing one of the following: A. Walk a mile, or about 20 minutes; B. Pull weeds or plant flowers for 20 minutes; C. Mow the lawn (walking) for 20 minutes; D. Clean the house for 30 minutes; E. Jog for 10 minutes.

CELEBRATE! Once you’ve successfully kicked the habit of soda, ice cream or other “calorie-poor” foods, be PROUD of your accomplishment! You’ve also improved your quality of life, longevity, and reduced your chances of developing diabetes, heart disease and other health issues. PLUS, you’ll feel better!

We realize you have a choice in who you choose to provide your healthcare services.  If you, a friend or family member requires care for low back pain, we sincerely appreciate the trust and confidence shown by choosing our services and look forward in serving you and your family presently and, in the future.

 

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – A Yoga Class!

3 Feb

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a very common problem that affects many people. In fact, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports about 28,000 CTS cases per year and because so many sufferers jump to a surgical option, it’s become THE LEADING CAUSE of lost workdays in the United States. Women are 71% more likely more likely to develop CTS than men!

In a review of over 31,000 cases, women spent an average of 30 days off work because of CTS. Jobs most commonly affected include: production workers in food processing and clothing manufacturing, typists who work at keyboards for hours on end, and construction workers who use tools that vibrate, such as jackhammers or tools that have poorly designed handles. The Journal of the American Medical Association recently estimated that almost 3 percent of adults in the United States may suffer from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome at some point in their lives.

Now that we’ve learned how susceptible we are to CTS, what are some things you can do to decrease your chances of acquiring Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? For starters, keep your weight reasonable (Body Mass Index between 19 and 25), take “mini-breaks” during the repetitive work day, and receive chiropractic treatments aimed at releasing the tight muscles in the neck, shoulders, upper arms, forearms, hand and adjusting the associated joints.

You can also stretch! There are many different types of stretches that should be considered. Feel free to watch the entire 37-minute YouTube video at the link below that addresses many exercises that may help:

http://tinyurl.com/CTSYOGA

(CTSYOGA is ALL CAPS)

As you perform these various stretches, take deep breaths, “feel” the different fibers of muscles stretch and keep the intensity, “…within reasonable pain boundaries.” That is, a “good hurt” is what you’re striving for here, no sharp pain is allowed!

We realize you have a choice in who you consider for your health care provision and we sincerely appreciate your trust in choosing our service for those needs.  If you, a friend or family member require care for CTS, we would be honored to render our services.

 

3 Steps To More Active & Healthier Kids.

3 Feb

The Most Important Principles For Staying Young: 

3 Steps To More Active & Healthier Kids

Dr. Michael F. Roizen

Co-Author of 4 #1 NY Times Bestsellers including: YOU Staying Young.

The Owner’s Manual For Extending Your Warranty (Free Press)

Our basic premise is that your body is amazing:  You get a do over: it doesn’t take that long, and it isn’t that hard if you know what to do.  In these notes, we give you a short course in what to do so it becomes easy for you, and for you to teach others. We want you to know how much control you have over your quality and length of life.

Believe it or not, in the United States only 6% of middle and high schools provide daily physical education (PE) for everyone, and 20% of elementary schools have abolished PE altogether.

We want everyone to realize physical education reduces stress and calms kids, making them happier and more attentive in the classroom. Physically fit kids are more likely to skip risky behaviors. PE is also the best way to battle obesity (30% of all teens) and type 2 diabetes (21% more kids have type 2 now than in 2001), which threaten children’s heart health even while they’re young.

Now, the summer is a great time to start a year-round plan for getting your kids active. You’ll establish habits for life-long good health.

Step One: Get yourself off the sofa and away from the computer! Active parents have kids who are 5 to 6 times more physical than children of couch-potatoes.

Step Two: Plan all-season family activities: Walk for 45 minutes after dinner; take kids to a swim club twice a week; go on weekend hikes; garden or do tasks around the yard!

Step Three: Make it a community effort. Call teachers, neighbors, and the parents of your kids’ friends. Even if your kids go to a private school, the health of your community may depend on it.  Plan activities together, and lobby that school board to get PE back into your school!

Thanks for reading,

Young Dr Mike

NOTE: You should NOT take this as medical advice. 

This article is of the opinion of its author.

Before you do anything, please consult with your doctor.

You can follow Dr Roizen  (and get updates on the latest and most important medical stories  of the week) on twitter @YoungDrMike. 

Feel free to continue to send questions to youdocs@gmail.com. You can follow Dr Roizen on twitter @YoungDrMike (and get updates on the latest and most important medical stories of the week).  The YOU docs have a new web site: YOUBeauty.com  and its companion BeautySage.com the only site we know of where you can find skin products proven to meet the claims (opened for business on June 1st, 2012), and a new book: YOU: The Owner’s Manual for Teens.

Michael F. Roizen, M.D., is chief wellness officer and chair of the Wellness Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. His radio show streams live on http://www.healthradio.net  Saturdays from 5-7 p.m . E-mail him questions at YouDocs@gmail.com.   He is the co-author of 4 #1 NY Times Best Sellers including : YOU Staying Young and YOU: The Owner’s Manual. He is Chief Medical Consultant to the two year running Emmy award winning Dr Oz show– The Dr Oz show is #2 nationally in daytime TV.  See what all the fun is about, and what he, The Enforcer, is up to. Check local listings or log onto DoctorOz.com for channel and time. And for more health info, log onto youbeauty.com anytime.

 

Low Back and Obesity.

3 Feb

Losing weight can dramatically reduce Low back pain (LBP). For the next 2 months, we will look at easy ways to lose weight without the need for fancy, hard to follow diets. As the saying goes, this is a “no-brainer.”

Time you meals. Set a timer for 20 minutes and “pace yourself” so that you eat slower. This is one of the most effective ways to reduce weight without a complicated diet plan. Make each bite “count” and enjoy the food’s flavor! This tricks your brain into thinking you’re more full while wolfing down your food in a hurry blocks those brain signals, resulting in over-eating.

Sleep an extra hour. This can result in a drop of 14 pounds a year according to University of Michigan research.

Serve three vegetables and/or fruit vs. one in your evening meal. You can eat more and STILL reduce weight!

Add a broth-based soup to your day. It fills you up without adding calories. Avoid creamy soups as they can be high in fat and calories.

Eat more whole grains. Add brown rice, barley, oats, buckwheat and/or whole wheat when consuming waffles, pizza crust, English muffins, and pasta. If you are gluten sensitive, look for alternatives like quinoa.

Visualize your favorite “skinny clothes.” Think about, or literally take out, a favorite dress or pair of pants that you no longer fit into and use it as a target or goal to wear them again.

Skip the bacon! If you avoid that 2 strips of bacon at breakfast or on your sandwich at lunch, you’ll save about 100 calories / day, about 10 pounds per year! Instead add tomato slices, banana peppers, roasted red bell peppers, grainy mustard, or a light spread of herbed goat cheese.

Pizza perfect! Choose a veggie topping vs. meat and shave 100 calories from your meal. Consider going light on the cheese, use reduced fat cheese and choose a thin, bread-like crust made with olive oil.

Drink “smart!” Trade that soda in for water or zero-calorie seltzer and you’ll avoid about 10 teaspoons of sugar! Add a lemon, mint or frozen strawberries for a much more satisfying beverage.

We realize you have a choice in who you choose to provide your healthcare services.  If you, a friend or family member requires care for low back pain, we sincerely appreciate the trust and confidence shown by choosing our services and look forward in serving you and your family presently and, in the future.

 

Is It Fibromyalgia?

3 Feb

Fibromyalgia (FM) symptoms are characterized by chronic generalized pain, and can include debilitating fatigue, sleep disturbance, joint stiffness, numbness or tingling, bowel/bladder dysfunction, and sometimes effects our ability to process thought clearly (cognitive dysfunction).  It can come on fast, almost overnight, or, develop very slowly over years of time. This highly variable onset makes establishing a diagnosis very challenging, and can also sometimes take years before the diagnosis is firmly established. In fact, the term “fibromyalgia” was not formally recognized as a diagnosis by the American College of Rheumatology and American Medical Association until 1987, and it remains a diagnosis made by excluding other diseases!

POPULAR MYTHS

MYTH: “Your symptoms are all in your head.” TRUTH: FM is a “MEDICAL DISORDER” where the nervous system’s ability to process pain is different when compared to those who don’t have FM. Why there is a difference between individuals is the big question. Some research suggests these brain processing differences may be the result of childhood stress, or prolonged or severe stress.

MYTH: “Only lazy, inactive people get fibromyalgia.” TRUTH: Research shows this not to be the case. In fact, most people with FM are focused and driven, and that stress associated with that intense drive may play a significant role in the development of FM symptoms.

MYTH: “There are no effective fibro treatments.” TRUTH: The good news is that as more studies on FM arise, we are beginning to understand more about FM, resulting in more effective treatments. The “catch” is that what works for one individual may not work for another making it essential to find a “good doctor” (or rather, a good team of health care providers) who is willing to listen and continually try different approaches until an effective management approach is found.

COEXISTING CONDITIONS

There are some specific conditions that go hand in hand with FM, and though it’s not clear which comes first (FM or the condition), a clear relationship has been established. Some of these co-existing conditions include irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis (several different types can be associated), chronic fatigue syndrome, various sleep disorders, post-traumatic stress syndrome, anxiety, depression, and others. Often, blood and other lab tests come back negative and hence, the diagnosis is made by excluding those other conditions. What is MOST important is that to feel your best, these other conditions also need to be managed.

TREATMENT

As stated above, the management of FM is aimed at all the condition(s) affecting the person with FM. This is why a multidiscipline “team” of health care providers is so important, as we all have our own emphasis and perspective on what to do for patients. Options include: a clinical psychologist to manage the chemical and hormonal imbalances, a primary care doctor whom “believes in FM,” and a chiropractor to manage the musculoskeletal issues of FM. Other alternative approaches such as massage therapy, Yoga classes, and acupuncture can also provide significant relief. Nutritional counseling is also highly effective in the management strategy of FM. Most important is the fact that coordination between these various approaches be supervised. Since we deal with the whole person, chiropractors are the PERFECT CANDIDATE for that job!

If you, a friend or family member requires care for FM, we sincerely appreciate the trust and confidence shown by choosing our services!

 

Neck Pain and Smoking – What’s the Connection?

3 Feb

There is a lot of convincing peer reviewed literature (research) that supports chiropractic as one of the first and best courses of care to consider when choosing a treatment option for neck pain and headaches. This is because there is low risk, few rare side-effects, and most importantly, IT REALLY WORKS!  But, there are other considerations in the management of neck and headache pain that perhaps we haven’t thought about. One is smoking.

There are several convincing studies that have looked at the exposure to tobacco smoke and smoking in terms of its effect on neck pain. Let’s look at some statistics. One study reported that as many as 213 per 1000 people reported neck pain. The 12-month prevalence of neck pain ranged between 30-50% of which activity-limiting pain was reportedly as high as 11.5%. Women were found to be more at risk than men which peaks in middle age. Risk factors for neck pain include genetics, poor psychological health, and EXPOSURE TO TOBACCO. Interestingly, smoking / exposure to tobacco is listed as a risk factors but disk degeneration is not! Researchers also pointed out that the use of equipment made to prevent injury to the head/neck such as helmets and face shields was NOT associated with increased risk for neck injury in bicycling, hockey or skiing as some have suggested that wearing protective head gear increases vulnerability to injury. THIS IS NOT THE CASE, so wear your helmet! This study concluded that there are some things we can’t modify regarding increased risk of developing neck pain (such as gender, genetics, and age); however, the modifiable risk factors of smoking, exposure to tobacco, and psychological health CAN be helped so that’s the LEAST WE SHOULD DO!

Two new studies show that smoking is directly tied to neck / back pain and the development of arthritis. Interestingly, the Harvard study reported that the risk of developing psoriatic arthritis was twice as high for current vs. past smokers, and both current and past smokers were at greater risk when compared to those who had never smoked. The 2nd study (Paris, France) found that smokers had an earlier onset of inflammatory back / neck pain and a worse course of the disease than non-smokers. Taking these two studies together, the interactions between environmental factors and the onset, the degree of severity and the ultimate outcomes of rheumatic diseases, “…it’s becoming increasingly clear how detrimental the influence of smoking is on most of these diseases.” The worst scenario was found in those who smoked >25 years and, >20 “pack years” (>1 pack/day for 20+ years).  The “bottom line” is that smoking and exposure to smoke have significant negative health affects, not only for present health, but also for future pain, suffering and quality of life. Thankfully, it’s been shown that if you quit smoking, the likelihood of improved health affects is high so of course, QUIT NOW and you’ll be ahead of the curve.

In fact, a conscientious surgeon recommending a spinal fusion may say, “…you must quit smoking or else I will not perform the surgery that you need.” The reason for this insistence is because the risk of fusion failure goes up 500% in smokers (fusions are needed in certain types of back and neck surgeries).

We realize that you have a choice in where you choose your healthcare services.  If you, a friend or family member requires care for neck pain, we sincerely appreciate the trust and confidence shown by choosing our services and look forward in serving you and your family presently and, in the future.

 

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