July 2013 Health Newsletter

A newly published study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics suggests that one-half to two-thirds of the population suffer from recurring back or neck pain. Researchers conducted face-to-face interviews with over 1000 Croatian participants, roughly split along male and female lines. They found that nearly 67 percent of women and 63 percent of men reported experiencing back pain. Further, 58 percent of women and 54 percent of men reported recurring neck pain. After tallying the combined results the researchers concluded that approximately half to two-thirds of the research subjects experienced frequent untreated pain that impacted the quality of their lives. Research indicates that most back and neck aliments are far better addressed by non-invasive treatments like chiropractic care than by traditional surgical remedies. Also, research has shown chiropractic care to be less expensive, far less dangerous and more effective than surgery as a treatment for the majority of these issues.

New research indicates stress, mental fatigue and lack of focus all make you susceptible to back injuries during periods of heavy lifting and high stress spinal movements. The study, conducted by the International University of Health and Welfare in Japan and published in the medical journal Spine, used a 3D motion analysis system and four force plates to record kinetic data while inviting subjects to lift a box off the ground. Subjects were required to lift the box while solving arithmetic problems and again without the mental calculations. Interestingly, while solving the math problems the research subjects exhibited poor trunk and pelvis angles for squat and stoop postures which resulted in increased low back load. The researchers concluded that the increased load increased the risk of back injuries and helped to explain the effect of ergonomic demands of lifting tasks, as well as psychosocial factors responsible for the onset of disabling back pain. They recommended that individuals reduce the risks by focusing on the task and avoiding heavy lifting when fatigued or distracted.

Fitness buffs are familiar with the difficulties summer can pose when working out. As temperatures rise, it can be difficult to maintain a workout routine. However, experts advise the best way to deal with the heat is to reduce the impact of your exercise routine and give yourself time to acclimate to it. Researchers from the American Council on Exercise report that the average, healthy individual needs 10-14 days to fully acclimate to exercising in increased temperatures. They advise that the only way to do that is to embrace the heat and continue to exercise. After your body has adjusted to the new temperatures, individuals sweat sooner, have a lower core temperature and heart rate response, and are at a reduced risk for dehydration. Experts caution that during the acclimation period, it's important to adjust the strenuousness of your workouts and be aware of the increased risks. But, while approximately 25 percent of individuals report being heat-intolerant when the season begins, that number drops to 2 percent after the acclimation period, according to experts. Unfortunately, the increased tolerance to heat is easy to lose. Experts estimate that for every two days you fail to exercise in the heat, one day of acclimation is lost, thus after a two week break, you are back at square one with the acclimation process.

A five year study of people's eating habits suggests that people who limit or eliminate meat from their diets are less likely to die over time. Researchers at Loma Linda University in California studied data from over 70,000 participants and found that people who eat mostly fruits and vegetables enjoyed a reduced risk of heart disease and other diet-related causes of death. In the test group, 8 percent of subjects described themselves as vegans who didn't eat any animal products, 29 percent were lacto-ovo-vegetarians who didn't eat fish or meat but did eat dairy and egg products, and 15 percent occasionally ate meat and fish. The researchers found that while seven out of 1000 individuals died in any given period of time, the death rate among vegetarians and occasional meat-eaters dropped to five or six individuals in the same time period. However, the researchers were reluctant to attribute the effect solely to the test subject's diet choices. They pointed out that the vegetarians also generally worked out more, were better educated, less likely to smoke and weighed less, all of which contributed to their decreased mortality rate. Still, they concluded that the data suggests that reducing or eliminating animal products from your diet could lead to healthier overall outcomes.