It is estimated 24.3 million people worldwide suffer from dementia. In the new study, researchers at Boston University School of Medicine examined the medical records of 733 people with an average age of 60 years. (Note: Nearly 70 percent were women.) The study found that increasing levels of body-mass index in middle-aged individuals corresponded with lower brain volumes when they are older, i.e., lost mental capacity, especially when the excess fat was in the middle.

So, there you have it. You have one more good reason to get rid of those extra pounds, especially around your midsection. Lose the weight, lose your back pain, and avoid losing your mind!

Technorati Tags: belly fat, Chiropractor, dementia, low back pain, obesity, sciatica, Where:Ventura-CA

The same is true when you go to see a chiropractor. Most of the time, individuals go to see a chiropractor because they’re in pain (not feeling well). After the chiropractor has treated them and gotten them out of pain (a ‘prescription,’ so to speak, for a temporary condition), the chiropractor will probably suggest maintenance care (a general checkup even when you’re feeling okay). The only difference is that a chiropractor will likely suggest that you come in monthly. Why? Because chiropractors are all about preventative care whenever possible. Maintenance care is like a “tune up” that not only helps your body to maintain the “crisis” treatment you received when you were in pain and keeps you healthier and stronger so that you can avoid future injuries, but during your maintenance visit your chiropractor can make sure that you don’t have a “temporary condition” that needs to be corrected before it becomes “crisis” treatment.

Cumulative effects of awkward sitting posture, bad work habits, incorrect lifting, lack of regular exercise, and other unhealthy lifestyle-related influences can produce pain, often excruciating pain, in your back, neck, shoulders, hips, knees, etc. Getting “checked out” and “readjusted” on a regular basis keeps small conditions from becoming big problems.

So, to the question “If I start doing to a chiropractor, will I need to go “forever”? The answer is “No, but you may want to, for your health’s sake!”

Technorati Tags: chiropractic, Chiropractor, Where:Ventura-CA

It could be practical for you to have some concept, ahead of time, about the versatile chiropractic treatment plans Dr. Alff will likely propose.

Relief Care is the specific chiropractic option made available to individuals who are in the throes of pain and distress, no matter what the source of the condition. The purpose of this type of treatment is to offer prompt pain relief. The length of the treatment time period can be difficult to pinpoint as it depends exclusively on the extent of the problem or disability experienced by the individual and how quickly it can be remedied.

Corrective Care typically is a “more advanced” method of chiropractic treatment. This is for those who have endured spinal issues over an extended time period, which is to say, for those who have a chronic problem that has evolved into a more problematic situation owing to their putting off proper care. Remedial treatment in most cases stretches over a longer period of time. How long care is necessary is determined by the magnitude of the progressive affect and how rapidly the individual responds to the treatment.

Maintenance Care, as the name suggests, is intended to maintain or sustain any kind of procedure previously administered to a patient. Many times, chiropractic care is extended solely after the initial treatments have been estimated to be successful. The goal of this kind of chiropractic care is to minimize the possibility of the original affliction coming back and to discourage degenerative changes in the future.

Wellness Care is extended to those people that are not feeling severe discomfort, but are looking to enrich their overall health. Periodic chiropractic treatment improves the flow of blood and oxygen inside the body, enhances muscle flexibility, helps prevent work and play injury, and boosts an individual’s entire sense of well-being.

It doesn’t matter if you are presently suffering from pain or you want to increase your overall health, chiropractic care can help. Call Dr. Alff, your Ventura Chiropractor, today!

Technorati Tags: chiropractic, chiropractic treatment, Chiropractor, Where:Ventura-CA

Let’s face it, wherever there’s a musculoskeletal system, just as in the human body, there’s the likelihood of musculoskeletal dysfunction such as lower back pain and neck pain, pain in the shoulder, elbow, hip and knee joints, and ankle and foot pain. No one is immune from misalignment of the spine and joint inflammation, even though numerous health issues are often the outcome of sports injuries, accidents, and the aging process. Irrespective of the origin, any type of movement on a traumatized spot of the body can not only lead to more pain or suffering, but plenty of down time and inactivity. And, of course, particular musculoskeletal problems, if left untreated, can result in permanent disability.

It has been said of chiropractic care that its “pros surpass” merely eliminating a specific condition. Actually, a patient who comes in to see a chiropractor for back pain, for example, not only gains from pain relief, but also from improved circulation, a lowering or elimination of lactic acid, easier travel of oxygen and nutrients within the body, much more flexibility, less general pain and soreness, better recuperation time, a more tranquil experience, and the reduction of future injury! Is it any wonder why chiropractic care has become the treatment of choice for so many people?

Besides delivering experienced musculoskeletal treatment, chiropractors also provide education and counseling as it pertains to improving your total health and wellness. Chiropractors understand that in order for you to get healthy and stay that way, it is important for you to choose a simple health-oriented lifestyle, especially drinking lots of water to keep the body hydrated, following a nutritious diet program, and establishing a regular stretching and exercise routine.

Chiropractic treatment isn’t going to quite work “miracles, ” however it comes very close in quite a few areas that will possibly surprise you. For instance, chiropractic care can help pregnant women give birth more easily. It can sharpen the developmental capabilities of babies, like enhanced motor skills, and often prevent scoliosis. Chiropractic adjustments for kids can help decrease asthma discomforts, ear infections, even bed-wetting. Besides the positive factors just mentioned, consistent chiropractic management can help adults to feel more vital and dynamic, which consequently increases productivity. And, then finally, for maturing baby boomers and the senior population, not only can chiropractic care help to reduce age-related challenges and assist in keeping an individual more lively in later years, it can also lessen the balance problems that commonly bring about critical injury from falls.

If you’re currently visiting a chiropractor, that’s great! You have no doubt already experienced any number of the health benefits mentioned above. In that case, why not enlighten your friends and members of your family about chiropractic? Don’t let someone you care about fall victim to the kind of misinformation pertaining to chiropractic care that will keep them from living their day more completely. Tell a friend or family member to give Dr. Alff, your chiropractor in Ventura, a call. They will be happy they did because he can help!

Technorati Tags: asthma, balance problems, bed-wetting, chiropractic care, chiropractic treatment, Chiropractor, healthy lifestyle, infections, pregnancy, regular exercise, Where:Ventura-CA

Usually tendinitis is referred to by the body part involved, for example, Achilles tendinitis which affects the Achilles tendon, or patellar tendinitis which affects the patellar tendon (jumper's knee). Tendinitis can occur in various other parts of the body, including the elbow, wrist, finger, or thigh. It is caused by overusing a tendon or injuring it, as may happen during sport.

Tendinitis can affect people of any age, but is more common among adults who do a lot of sports. Elderly individuals are also susceptible to tendinitis because our tendons tend to lose their elasticity and become weaker as we get older.

According to Medilexicon's medical dictionary:

Tendonitis is "Inflammation of a tendon."

Some common lay terms for tendinitis include:

• Golfer's elbow
• Jumper's knee
• Pitcher's shoulder
• Swimmer's shoulder
• Tennis elbow

What are tendons?

A tendon is tissue which attaches muscle to bone. It is flexible, tough and fibrous and is capable of withstanding tension. A ligament extends from bone to bone at a joint, while a tendon extends from muscle to bone. Tendons and muscles work together and can only exert a pulling force. Although tendons and ligaments are tough and fibrous, they are referred to as soft tissue, because of their common comparison to bone or cartilage.

The Latin word tendere and the Greek word teinein mean "to stretch".

Inflamed tendons (tendinitis) are more likely to get ruptured. If the sheath around the tendon becomes inflamed, rather than the tendon itself, the condition is called tenosynovitis. People can have tendinitis and tenosynovitis simultaneously.

What are the signs and symptoms of tendinitis?

A symptom is something the patient feels and reports, while a sign is something other people, such as the doctor detect. For example, pain may be a symptom while a rash may be a sign.

Tendinitis signs and symptoms occur where the tendon attaches to a bone; and usually include:

• Pain – if the affected area is moved the pain worsens
• A feeling that the tendon is crackling or grating as it moves. This sensation is more common on examination.
• Swelling in the affected area
• The affected area may be hot and red
• A lump that develops along the tendon

If there is a rupture a gap may be felt in the line of the tendon and movement will be very difficult. Read more…

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Atlanta, GA, January 07, 2010 –(PR.com)– According to the Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation there is no human experimental evidence that chiropractic adjustments or neck manipulations are causally related to strokes.

“While plaintiff’s attorneys and expert witness make claims and statements contending that such a causative link exists, the fact remains that these are based largely on anecdotes, case reports, and case controlled studies and cannot be used to prove causation” stated Foundation President Christopher Kent DC, JD a chiropractic researcher and attorney.

According to researchers and the scientific method itself there are all sorts of biases and distortions that effect conclusions drawn from such studies and other criteria must be used to determine whether such a link exists.

“What this boils down to is a simple lack of understanding of biostatistics and epidemiology” stated Foundation Vice President Matthew McCoy DC, MPH, a chiropractic researcher and public health expert. “Words like ‘association’ and ‘causation’ and ‘risk’ have very specific meanings when it comes to their use in epidemiology and it’s clear that laypersons involved in this debate are using these terms inappropriately.”

While the experience of a stroke can be devastating and no one would suggest ignoring the concerns of those who have suffered one, the reality is that when it comes to the contention that chiropractic causes strokes – the evidence just isn’t there. And while the strokes these people have experienced are indeed real, McCoy suggests there are often other issues involved and offered an example. “Millions of people visit a dentist every year and a certain number of those same people get into car accidents on their way home. If we were to run the stats on it we might find that there is a statistical association between visiting a dentist and getting into a car accident on the way home. But no one would even consider suggesting that the dentists are causing the car accidents.”

Self described chiropractic stroke victims say there is a risk and that people should be advised about it prior to undergoing chiropractic care. The majority of chiropractors would agree that patients should be informed of the risks, benefits and alternatives of any health care intervention, but according to Dr. Kent “Such informed consent must be based on appropriate information and since there is no scientific evidence that chiropractic adjustments or neck manipulations actually cause strokes, it is inappropriate to require a doctor to suggest that such a risk exists.”

Dr. McCoy added another often overlooked issue “Chiropractors utilize a number of techniques to address joint dysfunction and vertebral subluxation and in fact there are over 300 named chiropractic techniques and many do not employ the type of manipulation that has been alleged to be a factor in vertebrobasilar accidents. This adds to the inappropriate nature of such a disclosure.”

In the end, chiropractic has an impressive safety record compared to traditional medical care with estimates are that anywhere from 100,000 (Institute of medicine) to 750,000 (Null et al) people die every year from medical care. In comparison, other than some minor soreness following chiropractic treatment, research has shown chiropractic to be very safe.

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Overweight middle-aged men may have a higher risk of heart problems and strokes and die earlier than their thinner peers — even in the absence of some traditional risk factors, a new study suggests.

Some past research has suggested that when obese and overweight adults do not have the so-called metabolic syndrome, their risks of diabetes, heart disease and stroke are no higher than those of normal-weight people.

Metabolic syndrome refers to a collection of risk factors for diabetes and heart problems — including abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, low levels of “good” HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides (another type of blood fat). It is typically diagnosed when a person has three or more of those conditions.

In the current study, which followed more than 1,700 Swedish men for 30 years, overweight and obese men had increased risks of conditions including heart attack and stroke, even when in the absence of metabolic syndrome.

Among all men without metabolic syndrome, those who were overweight were 52 percent more likely to have heart attacks, strokes, and other complications than normal-weight men were, while obese men had nearly double the risk.

The findings are published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. Read more…

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Each year that today’s scanners are used, 14,500 deaths could result, researchers say. When healthy people are exposed to the radiation, the imaging may create more problems than it solves.

(Los Angeles Times) Widespread overuse of CT scans and variations in radiation doses caused by different machines — operated by technicians following an array of procedures — are subjecting patients to high radiation doses that will ultimately lead to tens of thousands of new cancer cases and deaths, researchers reported today.

Several recent studies have suggested that patients have been unnecessarily exposed to radiation from CTs or have received excessive amounts, but two new studies published Tuesday in the Archives of Internal Medicine are the first to quantify the extent of exposure and the related risks.

Each year that current scanners are used, researchers reported, 14,500 deaths could result.

In one study, researchers from UC San Francisco found that the same imaging procedure performed at different institutions — or even on different machines at the same hospital — can yield a 13-fold difference in radiation dose, potentially exposing some patients to inordinately high risk. Read more…

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By R. Morgan Griffin
WebMD Feature

Feeling rundown and foggy on the job? Does the prospect of an afternoon’s worth of housework seem unspeakably grim? It’s time for a break to refresh and boost your energy.

Although you may not be able to take the afternoon off, you can surely afford 10 minutes to recharge yourself, no matter how hectic your life might be. And although a 10-minute break might not be quite as reinvigorating as 10 days on a Caribbean beach, it can boost energy and mood.

So how can you do it? How can you use a 10-minute break for something more energizing than aimless web surfing or yet another game of Minesweeper? To find out, WebMD turned to experts from different fields — therapists, dietitians, and integrative medicine specialists. Read more and find out about their 21 tips for quick ways to boost energy.

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