But, as with most “good news,” it is accompanied by “bad news.” Why? Well, longevity is only a good thing if we take care of our health along the way, wouldn’t you say? Life, it would seem to me at least, is more about quality than quantity. And, just from a musculoskeletal point of view, there are changes that individuals need to make early on to avoid age-related problems such as arthritis.

Arthritic changes happen as the body ages. Living longer means that, over time, wear of certain joints as the result of misalignment, repetitive stresses, poor gait, bad posture, and lack of healthy activity can add up to a future that feels painfully long.  Along with causing arthritic changes in the spine and escalating pain, misaligned vertebra can also weaken the body’s resistance and immunity.

So, if you’re an Australian, it’s all the more important for you to get regular chiropractic care early in life since you’re likely to live to a ripe old age. And, the good news (with no apparent bad news) is that if you’ve waited until your senior years to seek chiropractic care, recent studies done on older individuals confirmed that those who received regular chiropractic care stayed healthier.

So, good on you, Australia! Here’s to your health…and your pain-free longevity!

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But, the good news is that size doesn’t matter! Proving that bigger isn’t always better in the mating game, the tiniest of males sometimes approach female redbacks after offering the critical 100 minutes of wooing and successfully mate without being eaten, according to the paper in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The study shows that a puny male of this species can win at love after spending the time (but without exerting much effort). “Based upon our data of the timing of premature lethal cannibalism, it appears as though females are not tuned to select male size, but rather the duration of courtship,” said Jeffrey Stoltz who, a long with colleague Maydianne Andrade, co-authored the study.

Well, I think I’ve proved my point! Patience, if not virtuous, can often bear fruit!

For more on the “courtship dance” and other interesting facts about mating ritual of the redback spider, go to: discovery.com

Technorati Tags: Australian redback spider, chiropractic adjustment, chiropractic care, mating ritual, musculoskeletal

For their research, Hay and colleagues reviewed 48 studies that assessed various psychotherapies for bulimia nervosa and binge eating. The assessment included not only clinical psychotherapies such as interpersonal, psychoanalytic, hypnosis, and bulimia-specific CBT, but also following procedures of a self-help book.  While the effectiveness of the other psychotherapies took about a year, bulimia-specific CBT took around 4 to 5 months to reach the same level, according to Hay.

The target of bulimia-specific talk therapy is overeating and subsequent self-induced vomiting or heavy laxative use that purges food from the body after binge eating episodes. The therapy focuses on specific issues such as dietary habits, fear of weight gain, and how to “normalize” thoughts about food and body image.

It’s good to know that there is timely, effective treatment out there for those suffering from bulimia nervosa!

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Measurements taken at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science on the harbor’s north shore show a tripling of microscopic plant life, or phytoplankton. The scientists measure the presence of phytoplankton using remote sensing technology that can detect chlorophyll in the plants, which form the base of the ocean food chain. Microscopic plant life needs nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphate to grow. These nutrients have become scarce over the years in our ocean water, but apparently they were abundant in the topsoil that blew across our country.

This is not only “miraculous” news for our country, but according to Ian Jones, director of the Ocean Technology Group at University of Sydney, the dust storm was a natural experiment that supports their work in fertilizing the ocean by adding nitrogen-rich urea to the sea. This promotes the growth of phytoplankton near the surface of the ocean, which then leads to an increase in fish numbers.

“More phytoplankton growth means more stocks of fish. I see much promise in ocean nourishment being able to provide economical protein for vast numbers of malnourished people,” said Jones. Plus, enriching oceans with nitrogen will also aid in the fight against climate change.

So, I leave you with this thought for today: When a seemingly catastrophic and meaningless event occurs in our lives, until the dust clears we can’t be sure that we haven’t witnessed a miracle in the making.

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Of course, those changes won’t last without an effective program of rehabilitation because the problem most horses experience is that their used to their joints and muscles being out of the alignment. The chiropractor may put the joint back into proper place, but the memory of the muscles and the habits your horse has developed to compensate will probably result in the joint returning to what it considers a ‘normal’ state. An effective program of rehabilitation will help your horse to maintain the new and proper alignment through a progressive exercise program that allows the changed muscle positions and correct movements to become habit.

The chiropractor can give you a proper plan of rehabilitation exercises and, it’ll come as no surprise that the longer your horse has been out of correct alignment, the longer the rehab period will be. Just like your own muscles, your horse’s muscles need time to develop strength, mass and flexibility. If you have ever had a broken leg or arm, then you know that the muscles of that limb atrophied and didn’t return to normal as soon as the cast was removed. In fact, it required an extended period of carefully planned physical therapy. Remember this when you plan the recovery of your horse after chiropractic treatment.

Here’s to happy, healthy trails…for you and your horse!

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We are happy to report, however, that in addition to chiropractic care, a study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology reports that a week of continuous auricular acupuncture can reduce pain and disability in pregnant women with low back and posterior pelvic pain.

Shu-Ming Wang, M.D., of the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., and colleagues conducted a randomized, controlled trial and found that women receiving auricular acupuncture reported the best results. At the seven-day mark, about 80 percent of the acupuncture group reported a clinically significant reduction in pain, whereas only 56 percent of the sham acupuncture group and 36 percent of those in the control group did.

Although Wang and colleagues concluded that long-term efficacy of auricular acupuncture as a treatment for pregnancy-related low back and posterior pelvic pain clearly shows promise but is “still inconclusive,” it may be a valuable adjunct to chiropractic care when needed.

A bonus to seeing a chiropractor routinely during your pregnancy, however, is that it has been shown to actually decrease labor time. Why? Simply put, if the pelvis is aligned properly, the muscles contracting during the labor process are more efficient and won’t have to strain against misaligned joints.  And, should the need arise, certain trained chiropractors can also help a mother who has a breached baby. This is done by using the Webster Technique, a low force technique to manipulate the uterus and get the baby into the proper presentation for delivery. A simple Google search on the Webster Technique can give you much more information.

For more on the study go to alegent.com

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Our aging “Baby Boomer” population is discovering just how true this cautionary advice is when it comes to energy, vitality, mobility, and good health in later years. With every year of our life, we have much to gain from being physically active…and plenty to lose by living an immobile or sedentary lifestyle.

An article I just read proves my point about this, mates, that our lack of movement and sedentary lifestyle causes obesity and other age-related problems. The article said that THE blueprint for a healthy nation has drawn headlines about controversial ‘’sin taxes,” but its toughest challenge will be to get Australians off the couch, says the public health campaigner Mike Daube.  ”The truth is that we may think of ourselves as a sporting nation but [we] are becoming a sedentary, car-focused and obese nation. We are a great nation of sports watchers,” said Professor Daube, the president of the Public Health Association.

He was deputy chairman of the National Preventative Health Taskforce, which this week proposed an array of measures to counter obesity that is threatening to afflict 6 million Australians by 2020 unless the population shifts behaviour to embrace physical activity.

As our age-related risks of chronic disease increase and our weight increases as well, regular physical activity can actually slow down the trend. In addition, research has shown that people who have already developed coronary artery disease, osteoarthritis, high blood pressure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Type 2 diabetes, and other age-related chronic diseases can benefit substantially by increasing their physical activity and, therefore, often can manage their chronic illness with fewer medicines.

Furthermore, some studies suggest that the cardiovascular benefits an individual gets from physical activity may also help the brain stay healthy. “Physical activity influences the frontal region of the brain,” says Dr. Bradley Hatfield, professor of Sports Psychology at the University of Maryland, College Park. So, if you’ve been wondering what the best thing is that you can do to keep your brain young, the answer may be for you to take a long walk. A key factor is that exercise thickens the brain tissue and builds more synapses in the brain.  The brain has 10 billion nerve cells, called neurons, and on average, neurons are connected to each other through 10,000 synapses.  Every time we exercise, more synapses form and the active brain gets stronger.

On a regular basis, being physically active increases the quality of life (period).  Some of the benefits include improved energy levels, mental sharpness, balance, strength, flexibility, and weight control. Moreover, regular aerobic exercise has been shown to help in the management of depression, anxiety, and stress.

With Australians now among the most overweight in the world, it will be the activity campaign that’s likely to face the most resistance, Professor Daube says. The taskforce has suggested tax incentives to get us active, similar to a program in Nova Scotia in which parents get a $150 credit for registering a child for sport or recreation. It urges the inclusion of health and physical education in the national core curriculum for schools and children up to year 10 to be given a minimum of two hours physical activity a week.

The report says if more people were active for just 30 minutes a day, the health system would save $1.5 billion a year. It sort of gives “move it or lose it” a whole new meaning!

Full article is at: theage.com

Technorati Tags: chiropractors, health, obesity, taskforce

Even though hip pain and related problems are often signs of age-related degenerative conditions, especially osteoarthritis of the hip joint, osteoarthritis isn’t always the “bad guy”. In fact, instead of causing the original problem, osteoarthritis of the hip joint can be the ultimate result of damage to your hips at a previous time.

Gait changes caused by biomechanical problems such as an ankle sprain or knee strain, can produce hip pain. Also, if you change jobs, alter the way you sit, take on a new sport or activity, or start driving for long periods of a regular basis, your gait may alter to compensate for these new changes.

In addition, gait asymmetries can occur from carrying a baby or small child on your hip, leg length dissimilarities, or foot pronation problems. The point is, anything that produces an asymmetry or imbalance when you are in motion can bring about painful hip problems.

Along with your adjustments, as part of the chiropractic management of your hip problem your chiropractor may determine that you require orthotics. Your chiropractor will also offer applicable progressive rehabilitative exercises that include muscle stretching and strengthening.

Hip pain won’t diminish on its own. Hip pain is an indication that something needs to be corrected. Your chiropractor can help to get you out of pain, get back into balance, and get your life back!

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In fact, according to a new University of Iowa, USA, study, rather than making an effort to slow these little ones down, five-year-olds ought be aided in being as active as possible. Why? “Because it pays off as they grow older,” said Kathleen Janz, lead author of the study and professor of health and sport studies in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Being active at age five assists kids in staying lean as they age even if they don’t continue to be as active later in childhood. “We call this effect ‘banking’ because the kids benefit later on, similar to having a savings account at a bank. The protective effect is independent of what happens in between,” Janz went on to say.

Using a special scanner that accurately measures bone, fat, and muscle tissue, and an accelerometer that measures movement every minute, the UI team tested the body fat and activity level of 333 kids at ages five, eight, and eleven. The kids wore accelerometers to record their activity level for up to five days, providing much more reliable data than relying on kids or parents to track minutes of exercise.

Even when controlling for their accumulated level of activity, the study (published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine) indicated that kids who are active at age five end up with less fat at age eight and eleven.  The average five-year-old in the study got thirty minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per day. For every ten minutes on top of that, kids had one-third of a pound less fat tissue at ages eight and eleven.

Although further research is required to determine what happens to the active kids’ bodies that keeps them in better shape down the road, Janz said that it could be that the active 5-year-olds didn’t develop as many fat cells, improved their insulin response, or that something occurred metabolically that supplied some protection even as they became less active.

Weight moderation, however, isn’t the only benefit of early exercise. As Australian chiropractors we have observed over the years that active kids have far less ordinary childhood health challenges, like catching colds and the flu. Chiropractic care is, of course, exceptionally beneficial in helping kids to stay healthier. But, in addition, the stimulation to the brain that occurs during activities, especially those that necessitate “cross pattern” motor movements of the larger muscles, i.e., right hand/left leg and left hand/right leg, such as crawling, running, climbing, and skipping, also boosts the autoimmune system and keeps kids healthier.

A large number children today are overweight and unhealthy. Though part of the problem is an unhealthy diet, lack of exercise is also a major contributing factor. If you have a five-year-old who prefers to watch television or play video games rather than participating in more active play, help your child to get up and get moving into healthier activities. Moderate to vigorous activity will not only benefit your child now, but will aid in building a healthier future. You can bank on it!

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When the nerves are irritated, your shoulder muscles can become tight, even weak, and movement is painful and confined. This often occurs in the ligaments and a group of muscles (and their tendon attachments) referred to as the rotator cuff. These muscles and tendons join your upper arm bone with your shoulder blade and also help hold the ball of your upper arm stably in its shoulder socket. It is the consequence of this elegant combination that affords the opportunity for the greatest range of motion of any joint in your body.

The intensity of this shoulder impingement syndrome can extend from a slight “catching” pain with activity (particularly lifting your arm overhead), to a nearly entire inability to use the shoulder. Do not, under any circumstance either ignore your shoulder pain or continue an activity while in pain. It is crucial for you to attend to your shoulder problem as quickly as you’re able because the pain will only go from bad to worse. Unfortunately, if disregarded, some shoulder conditions, such as Rotator Cuff Syndrome, often end up needing surgery and extensive rehabilitation.

Your chiropractor is an authority in the area of muscular-skeletal conditions, and is very knowledgeable about what to do to relieve your suffering. Because chiropractic care focuses on the reason for your shoulder pain, it is treated at its source. Your chiropractor will assist in restoring healthy mobility to your shoulder joints, and will also talk to you about rehabilitation exercises that will not only support you in getting rid of the shoulder problem you have now, but will help you to avoid shoulder problems in the future.

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