From the monthly archives:

April 2010

Where Your Health is Concerned, It All Adds Up

There is just no getting around it, if you want to get healthy and stay healthy, you must commit to a healthy lifestyle. Though it may not seem like it, every little thing you do each day from eating a banana to walking around the block makes a big difference in helping you to maintain your overall health and longevity potential. And, in just the same way, every little thing you don’t do makes a big difference as well.  In fact, according to a new study published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the cumulative impact of smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, and excess alcohol consumption can add up to increased risk of death. Or to put it another way, these four bad habits can shorten your life by as much as 12 years. Not to mention, of course, the low quality of life enjoyment you’ll experience right up until “the end” prematurely comes along! In fact, the study authors say that, when compared to a healthy lifestyle that includes none of the above (or excludes all of the above), the combined effect of all four behaviors tripled or even quadrupled the risk of death.

So, yet another wake up for you procrastinators out there. The bad habits you eliminate and the good habits you develop will tip the scales significantly in your favor. Don’t put healthy changes off one more day. A healthy lifestyle can profoundly affect your chances of living to a happy old age.

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When It Comes to Your Pet, Watch Your Step!

As a chiropractor I have treated a good many patients who've been injured by tripping and/or falling over their pets. Although dogs and cats make wonderful companions and are known to have therapeutic health benefits for their caretakers, they come with "risk hazards" that are important for you to be aware of. A resent study found that an estimated 80,000 "pet trips" a year occur while people are chasing their pets or stepping over them, and when it comes to dogs, injuries have occurred while humans were attempting to break up a doggy scuffle.

The study found that dogs caused more injuries than cats. So, even though Fluffy may follow at your heels, or even right beneath your feet, it is Fido who is 7.5 times more likely to inadvertently cause an injury to you, especially if you are a woman or a child. Why? Some dogs are big and strong, and women and children are more likely to get pushed or pulled. In fact, women were more than twice as likely as men to have pet-related fall injuries, but children and middle-aged individuals of both sexes were more likely to end up in an ER.

So, pet owners, listen up. Even though pet-related falls and injuries are bound to happen from time-to-time, and you can always count on your chiropractor to help "straighten you out" if they do, it is important for you to be aware that your pet is a "certified fall hazard." Knowledge is a wonderful thing, and often just our being aware of certain facts can help us avoid accidents and injuries.

The findings are detailed in the current issue of the Journal of Safety Research

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Drugs…Just in Case?

As a chiropractor who believes in the human body's ability to heal itself with the aid of natural, non-invasive, drug-free encouragement, I am always dismayed, but never surprised, at some of the pernicious claims and tenacious effrontery of drug companies when it comes to pain relief and treatment of a number of conditions that don't require 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 drug studies for yet another pain med that will keep headache sufferers numbed to their pain, and numb to the rest of their life as well, I feel like shouting from the rooftops: "Try chiropractic first!" But, today, I read about a study, sponsored by Merck (who also makes the product), I really feel that I must say that this particular study is playing to the fears of migraine sufferers when, in fact, the drug itself only offers "less severity" 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 "feared" the onset of a migraine and limited their activities in life because of that fear, so I do understand how devastating migraines can be. And, yet, the only "solution" this study offered?

This study is "important," according to Dr. X. Henry Hu of Merck & Co.and colleagues say because early treatment with migraine drugs called triptans can help reduce headache severity. The unpredictability of migraines, Hu said, could contribute to people's anxiety and fear about them. "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.

SOURCE: Headache, published online March 25, 2010.

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