Arlington Texas Chiropractic|Chiropractor reveals:

Alzheimer’s can be a debilitating disease that can dramatically transform your life. It’s an insidious disease that can rock your confidence and rob you of your yesterdays. As one sufferer says, “I feel that I am robbed of any future because while I will live in it, I will be unlikely to remember it.”

It’s a brutal reality to have to accept. But scientists are offering hope in fighting the disease. Over 4,000 scientists attended the recent International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease. And amidst a flurry of presentations, they reported that simple vitamin D may be your best defense against Alzheimer’s.

“Sunshine” Vitamin Boosts Brain Function

Sounds too good to be true? Not according to a new study revealed at the conference. The study says that vitamin D deficiency raises your risk of mental decline by up to 394 percent.

The study is just the latest to show that the “sunshine vitamin” is essential to good brain health. It was conducted by the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter, England. It reviewed participants as they completed a series of tests and exams.

Tests included memory, time and space orientation, and attention-focusing exercises. Vitamin D levels were measured from blood samples and compared with test performances.

“There are some fantastic findings this year,” said Professor William Thies, the chief medical and scientific officer of the Alzheimer’s Association. He said these findings “are some of the first reports of this type in Alzheimer’s” and “have the “potential to move the field forward.”

Study results showed that the risk of cognitive impairment was 42 percent higher in people deficient in vitamin D. Impairment was 394 percent higher in those who were severely deficient in it.

“The odds of cognitive impairment increase as vitamin D levels go down,” says study author David Llewellyn. “Given that both vitamin D deficiency and dementia are common throughout the world, this is a major public health concern.”

The Peninsula Medical School also worked on an earlier related study. It too offered evidence supporting this simple truth: seniors who get their daily dose of “sunshine” maintain stronger cognitive functioning.

Critical research, based on tests conducted on almost 2,000 U.K. senior citizens, showed a clear correlation between the presence of the “sunshine vitamin” and healthy mental function.

Sunshine is an important source of vitamin D. UVB rays initiate the production of the vitamin in human skin. Vitamin D also helps maintain strong bones (through the absorption of calcium and phosphorus) and a healthy immune system.

According to study author Dr. Iain Lang, the results indicate that individuals with the lowest levels of Vitamin D were 50 percent more likely to suffer impaired mental faculties. In other words, as vitamin D levels in seniors decreases, mental impairment increases.

“Getting enough vitamin D can be a real problem,” said Dr. Lang. “Particularly for older people, who absorb less vitamin D from sunlight. One way to address this might be to provide older adults with vitamin D supplements.”

Older people lose their capacity to absorb Vitamin D from sunlight as the body ages. That means they must seek other sources of the “sunshine vitamin.”

Sources of “Sunshine”

According to Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, Vitamin D can also be found in foods such as oily fish and eggs. She adds that these foods are key sources of vitamin B12, which studies have shown to also help in protecting the brain.

Maggie Ward – nutrition director at The UltraWellness Center in Lennox, MA – says the best animal source is liver, especially from cod, herring, and sardines.

“That’s why those living in dark climates have these fish as a staple in the diet,” she says. “Nature always knows best.”

But she believes the best source of vitamin D is simple, old-fashioned sunlight.

“This is one of the many reasons I love summer,” she says. “I get my vitamin D from the sun and have one less supplement to take.”

Supplement Your Sunshine

The Vitamin D Council offers several good tips to ensure you get just the right amount of “sunshine.” Check out these four ideas:

1. Have your doctor check your vitamin D levels. This will give you a good idea of how much vitamin D you need to supplement.
2. Make sure you’re getting vitamin D3 in your diet. Smart options are capsules or drops. To improve absorption, take it with food containing fat. Fat makes it more soluble.
3. Have your levels rechecked every three months. Vitamin D is a hormone, so it fluctuates for everyone. Seasonal changes also affect it.
4. People with dark skin need at least 5 to 10 times more sunlight than light-skinned people.

“Vitamin D supplements have proven to be a safe, inexpensive, and effective way to treat deficiency,” says Llewellyn. “However, few foods contain vitamin D and levels of supplementation in the U.S. are currently inadequate.”

But you don’t have to be deficient. If you get inadequate sunlight exposure, or your ability to produce Vitamin D from sunlight exposure has been compromised by age or illness, then, you MUST take a Vitamin D nutritional supplement.

Consider also seeing your

Arlington Texas Chiropractic|Chiropractor

to make sure that there are not issues with your spine which will effect intestinal absorption of Vitamin D, as well as other vital nutrients.

An Arlington Texas Chiropractic Report

A new study in the journal Spine suggests some amazing results that have always been known to Chiropractors. Namely, it has been revealed that patients with back pain for at least 6 months experienced greater and sustained improvement by receiving an initial one month (12 treatments) of spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) followed by “maintenance” spinal manipulative therapy at a frequency of one visit every other week.

The type of SMT performed was a high velocity|low force technique (HVLF), where the joint was mobilized beyond its restricted range of movement, but within it’s normal range of motion.

The study followed 93 patients, ages 20-60 years of age, who had unspecific and chronic low back pain lasting 6 months or more. All patients came from a hospital-based outpatient rheumatolgy and rehabilitation clinic.

The patients were divided into 3 groups:

1. One group was a control group that received only “sham” SMT.

2. One group received only the initial month (12 visits) of the real SMT “without maintenance” followup.

3. And, one group received both the initial month (12 visits) of real SMT, plus nine months of “maintenance” SMT at an interval of one visit every other week.

Patients in all 3 treatment groups were also instructed on a core pelvic-tilt range of motion exercise to be performed after each SMT (10 times) and at home (30 times) between visits.

Basically, the patients in the sham SMT group reported significantly less improvement than either of the real SMT groups, with return to pre-treatment pain levels following the end of treatment.

Additionally, the SMT “without maintenance” group reported a gradual return to pre-treatment pain levels at the 4th and 7th month re-evaluation visits.

However, the pain scores in the “maintained” SMT group continued to improve throughout care.

This study clearly demonstrates the efficacy of SMT followed by maintenance care in the treatment and continued reduction of chronic low back pain.

Not too many people put much thought into the various factors involved in lifting and the potential for back pain.

Most simply move to complete what ever lifting task is required whether it is lifting a child at home or a box at work.

But, the Revised National Institute for Health and Occupational Safety and Health Lifting Equation (RNLE), which is based upon the assumed estimate that the average worker can safely lift a 51 lbs load in ideal conditions, provides some good information to consider:

1. How far away from the body that an object is held

Obviously, objects held closer to the body require less lifting force and are easy to carry. If there is any doubt of this, try holding a squirming toddler out in front of yourself at arms length, and then, compare to when holding them close and tight.

2. The location of the object at the start of the lift and where it is finally placed

An object lifted and carried from counter height is less stressful than having to pick an object up from off the floor. Likewise, placement of the object on a counter surface is less stressful than having to place the object on the ground, or out front above the head (such as in a cupboard or closet shelf).

3. Distance traveled with the load

A load carried for a longer period requires more muscular effort and places more mechanical stress on the body. The capacity for lift actually will diminish over time which increases the risk of injury and back pain.

4. Frequency/Duration of lifting

Classified into 3 categories:

1) short- lifting for 1 hour or less followed by rest period of at least 1.2 times the duration of lifting

2) moderate- lifting for 2 hours or less followed by a rest period of at least 0.3 times the duration of lifting

3) long- lifting for between 2 hours and 8 hours with standard industrial rest periods

5. Hand-load coupling

Hand-load coupling involves the interaction of the hands in maintaining the load being lifted. Intrinsic muscles of the hand are small and will fatigue faster than larger muscle groups. Compensatory mechanisms employed to continue carrying the load, despite fatigue, can lead to injury.

6. and, Asymmetry or twisting of the spine while performing the lift or the carry

Asymmetry of carry, and lifting while twisted, are perhaps the leading causes of spinal disc injury and back pain. Quite simply, the supporting structures of the spine and discs are not designed to resist such unnatural forces. While in asymmetrical or twisted positions, the mechanical forces either displace internal loads towards the weakest areas of the body, or cause structures to perform tasks that they were not designed to do.

Therefore, in less than ideal lifting situations, such as with an awkward load, in reference to the 6 items above, or with weights exceeding 51 lbs, there is an increased risk of injury and back pain.

All lifting activities, whether at home or at work, should be engaged with the above concepts in mind in order to protect yourself from serious injury and back pain.

Low Back Pain: America, Best Health Care System in the World?

An Arlington TX Chiropractor reveals the following startling facts:

For more information, click on this low back pain link.

One out of every 5 Americans have some type of surgical procedure each and every year. No other country does even nearly as many surgical procedures on its citizens.

Medical Care is not the third leading cause of DEATH in the USA accounting for 225,000 preventable deaths each and every year. Over 100,000 Americans die directly from complications of surgery.

Death from prescription drugs rank fourth, only behind cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. When added to the deaths of botched surgeries, over 3,000 people die each and every week in the USA.

We could logically argue that if the USA spends the most on health care and has the best doctors of anywhere else in the world, then the USA would have the healthiest citizens. This could not be further from the objective truth.

At last assessment, WHO (World Health Organization) rated the USA as #1 in cost, #72 in population health, and #37 in health care delivery. It was estimated that 48 million lacked health insurance coverage.

Again, the USA is #1 in only one statistic: the amount of money spent per capita. In every other category, the USA lags far behind.

The annual cost of health care in the USA is 2.4 trillion. This amount could be drastically reduced if the numbers of unnecessary or questionable treatments were decreased.

In this article, back pain will specifically be addressed:

Back pain is in the Top 10 list of diseases in America coming in at #8.

The annual cost of directly treating back pain is $40 billion per year in the USA. When we add to this cost the estimates that include disability, lost work , and total indirect costs, the cost of treating back pain ranges between $100-$200 billion each and every year.

Back pain sent 3 million people to the ER in 2008 at a cost of $9.5 billion making it the 9th most expensive condition treated in the US hospital ER.

Combining crippling back pain with osteoarthritis (ahead on Top 10list at $48 billion cost), these two conditions rank 4th with a cost of $88 billion per year.

Despite the recent wave of objective data by researchers regarding the high cost and ineffectiveness of most medical back treatments, the use of dangerous drugs, steroid injections, and spine surgeries has greatly increased.

Despite historic medical prejudice, spinal manipulation has been repetitively shown to be the most clinically and cost effective method for the treatment of low back pain (the single largest cause of disability today).

According to Dr. Pran Manga, PhD, MPhil, health economist, “There is an overwhelming body of evidence indicating that chiropractic management of low back pain is more cost effective than medical management.”

Anthony Rosner, PhD, testified before the Institute of Medicine, “Today, we can argue that Chiropractic care, at least for back pain, appears to have vaulted from last to first place as a treatment option.

Chiropractic has not only moved ahead to the top of the list for back pain care, but patient satisfaction scores also top the charts: 94.3% satisfaction from Army personnel, 100% at Air Force bases (12 of 19 facilities reporting), 90% from Navy personnel, and 88.54% from the TRICARE Health Care program for military personnel and retirees. however, despite these glowing ratings, Chiropractic care is still experiencing limited use due to medical bureaucracy within the Department of Defense.

The reality is that on top of subjective patient satisfaction, objective investigation by researchers lead to the conclusion that medical management is not the best front line care, and that Chiropractic care is for the vast majority of low back and neck pain.

Dr. Gordon Waddell, DSc, MD, FRCS, as director of the orthopedic surgical clinic in Glasgow, Scotland states, “Low back pain has been a 20th century health care disaster. Medical care certainly has not solved the everyday symptom of low back pain and even may be reinforcing and exacerbating the problem.”

Even the 1994 “Patient Guide,” published by the US Public Health Service’s Agency For Health Care Policy and Research, concluded and advised that low back surgery was helpful in only 1 out of 100 cases. Further, that a lot of back pain, alone, did not indicate the need for surgery.

Note: Out of the 14 guidelines published by the US Public Health Service’s Agency For Health Care Policy and Research, only the acute low back pain guideline, cautioning restraint and recommending initial conservative care by experienced spinal manipulators, was attacked by the medical profession.

Leading “medical professionals” from prestigious universities, journals, and the US Public Health Service are openly criticizing the onslaught of ineffective use of dangerous drugs, steroid injections, and surgical procedures by the medical community.

When viewing the issue of low back pain in conjunction with the dismal global rankings of America’s health care system, we should all take pause for reflection.

The current health care system controlled and lead by the medical profession, that has existed for decades now, has lead America down the path of financial ruin at the expense of our health.

For more information, click on this low back pain link.