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IN THIS ISSUE

  Maintenance Care
  Carbs are Killing You

  Childhood Asthma

  Drug Deaths

  Statins and Diabetes

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March 2012

Got a few minutes?  If you’re working, grab a mug of coffee or a cup of Bigelow tea.  If it’s evening, maybe a little red wine and a piece of dark chocolate.  Both can be healthy choices.  I’d like you to think about the other choices you make every day and the impact on your health.  Get enough rest?  Eat a healthy diet?  Any exercise?  Keeping stress under control?  Been adjusted lately?

Take some time to read the articles below and consider making healthy choices.  If you’ve got any questions let me know.  

If you’re having that red wine you’d better be 21!

Medical Research Supports Chiropractic Maintenance Care

Two research studies generated by the medical profession add evidence in support of the value of chiropractic maintenance care.

The first study published in January 2011 in Spine concluded that “spinal manipulative therapy is effective for the treatment of chronic non specific low back pain. To obtain long-term benefit, this study suggests maintenance spinal manipulations after the initial intensive manipulative therapy.”

The second study in April 2011, published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, provides additional support for the value of chiropractic maintenance care for post injury low back pain patients. The study followed 894 injured workers for a period of one year. During that year there were four different types of therapy available to the workers: medical management, physical therapy, chiropractic, and no therapy. Episodes of repeat disability were recorded during the year following the initial injury. Physical therapy had the highest percentage of re-injured workers followed by those receiving medical management or no treatment at all. The lowest incidence of repeat injury was found among those workers who had received chiropractic maintenance care.  
 

Carbs are Killing You

You never get tired of hearing my opinion about the benefits of low carbohydrate diets on your health.  Right?  Well, I’ve come across this great graphical flow chart on the effect of a high carbohydrate diet and how it makes us fat.  It’s named “Carbs Are Killing You!”  Hyperbole?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  You decide.

Flow Chart

An Acetaminophen -Childhood Asthma Link?

I’m always asked about over the counter drugs for acute back and neck pain.  Researchers have shown that NSAIDS, like Advil or Alleve, do little to help with spine pain.  Tylenol (acetaminophen) has a slight pain relief advantage in some studies.  However, it is well established that acetaminophen overuse is a leading cause of liver failure.  Here’s an article that finds a link with childhood asthma as well.

Asthma

Drug Deaths Now Outnumber Traffic Fatalities in the United States

We are not talking about crack cocaine, crystal meth or heroin. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2009, prescription drugs exceeded motor vehicle accidents as a cause of death, killing at least 37,485 people. While almost all other areas of preventable death are declining, drug related deaths have increased to a rate of one every 14 minutes in the United States. That is double what it was a decade ago. The main culprit is thought to be prescription narcotic overdoses-Vicodin, Darvocet, Oxycontin and all their brothers and sisters.

Drug deaths among teens and young adults doubled between 2000 and 2008. The rise is deaths parallels medical doctors prescribing more painkillers and anti-anxiety meds.  By the way, hydrocodone is the most widely prescribed drug in America.

After 25 years as a chiropractor I am thrilled to say we haven’t contributed the first script to this problem.

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Statins and Diabetes

You may have heard about a recent study showing a higher risk of diabetes in people who take statin medication to lower cholesterol.  A colleague sent me this very entertaining video from an MD who frequently criticizes the use of statins.  Here he comments on the study.

Video