Necessity not Luxury

In my constant search for wellness-related subjects, it occurred to me that I’ve neglected all the massage therapists out there.  The biggest misconception regarding massage is that it’s a luxury that only the wealthy indulge in while they’re vacationing in Monaco.  The other stumbling block with massage is the thought that you’re required to take your clothes off. Neither of these is true.  Many people get massage through their clothing even though it’s not as comfortable.  And for the rest, they usually choose to undress to their undergarments, but remain fully covered by sheets.  The therapist only reveals the part of the body they are working on and the experience should always be comfortable and discreet. 

While massage therapy is great for stress relief and tight muscles, it offers much more than this.  In our wellness program, massage is very helpful with the sore muscles from the rigorous exercise.  Massage helps improve circulation and move the blood through and out of the tissues.  Studies have shown that the therapy can reduce blood pressure at least temporarily.  By releasing endorphins and serotonin, massage is proven to help with depression and anxiety.  By reducing this stress and calming what is called the sympathetic nervous system, massage can even help with digestion.  I believe one of the biggest benefits of massage is that it helps move the lymphatic fluid of the immune system.  This will aid in boosting the immune system to help fight off and prevent infection. 

At last count there were over 20 different massage therapists in Jefferson County.  Many of them are very good.  In my experience the best ones provide service that is long-lasting and can help make change even with chronic pain and muscular problems.  It should make a real difference.  As is true with diet, exercise, chiropractic and everything else, massage therapy works best when you make it part of your regular lifestyle as a habit to promote greater wellness.

Kinesio Taping

In the late 70’s, a taping method was developed to facilitate the body’s natural healing process.  While it’s been around for a long time, it gained popularity and credibility in the 2008 Summer Olympics when many of the athletes were sporting the tape to enhance their performance including the unbeatable sand volleyball team of Walsh and May.  The original product, called Kinesio Tape was developed to have a similar texture and elasticity to human tissue.  The misconception is that this tape is designed to support or limit motion of the joints or tissues.  On the contrary, the tape works by increasing range of motion and increasing circulation thereby promoting healing.

By stretching it on the skin, the Kinesio Tape pulls the upper layers of skin, creating more space between the skin and the muscle. The space created is believed to relieve pressure on the lymph channels in the area between the muscle and the skin, creating more space for lymph flow and better lymph drainage through an affected area.  This drainage is beneficial for nearly any injury because it allows the swelling and inflammation involved with the injury to drain out of the injured area back into the circulation.  This, in turn, takes pressure of the muscles and off the nerve receptors that carry messages of pain back to the brain.  Likewise, by reducing pressure and friction on the muscles, the taping procedures also improve muscle performance and reduce muscle fatigue.  As a result, the Kinesio Taping method is thought to re-educate the nerves and muscles to enhance the healing process, reduce pain and inflammation, enhance performance, improve circulation, as well as prevent injuries of overuse and repetitive trauma.  Each application of the tape is only good for a few days and many times must be repeated, but if the inflammation can be resolved, the resulting relief can be long-lasting.

We utilize this procedure often in our office, and we see results with new and older injuries.  I must admit that, initially, I was reluctant to provide this service, simply because it sounded too good to be true.  However, the taping is being used by all health professions from orthopedists, to physical therapist, chiropractors, and medical doctors.  Everyone seems to agree that this stuff works.  What I like most is that even on the occasions that it doesn’t work; it can do no harm or cause any side effects.  Research the tape and the technique yourself and if you’re dealing with a new or even chronic injury, look into Kinesio Taping as a possible method of relief.

A Mousy Mystery

In the year 2000 a simple study performed at Duke University changed the way scientists looked at genetics and DNA.  The study was set up to look at sets of so-called agouti mice which are mice that displayed an agouti gene causing the mice to be extremely obese and yellow in color.  More than this, the presence of this gene also rendered these mice much more prone to cancer and diabetes.  Almost 100% of the time, these agouti mice would give birth to offspring that also displayed the agouti gene and shared the same bleak fate.  The researchers in the study wanted to see if they could change the outcomes of these offspring by making changes in the mother mice.

Understand that the thinking before this study (and still with many today) was that your DNA is your destiny.  This way of thinking leads many to believe, “Well my Mom had a bad heart, so I will too.”  But the researchers at Duke wanted to see if this was really true.  So they took the obese, yellow agouti mother mice and for a short time before the mice were allowed to become pregnant they simply changed their diets.  They put the mother mice on a diet rich in vitamins, minerals, and other micronutrients to see if it would change the destiny of their DNA.  With the first generation, the agouti mothers gave rise to offspring that were slender and mousy brown.  Even more importantly, these offspring did not display their parents’ tendency to cancer and diabetes and therefore lived much longer.  The effects of the gene had essentially been erased.

The importance of this study is its simplicity.  The researchers did not alter the DNA of these mice with genetic therapy or any complicated procedure.  They simply exposed the mice to a healthier lifestyle and they changed the outcome of future generations.  One other point important to understand is that the offspring of the agouti mothers still shared the same genes.  What happened here is that the change in environment, or in this case lifestyle, changed the expression of these genes thereby changing the outcome.  Similar changes in your own lifestyle will invariably change the expression of your DNA to your own benefit and to the benefit of future generations. 

A Modern Misconception

A new client in our office expressed his relief when I shared his recommended treatment plan.  I simply told him I expected a full recovery and that he should expect these results in the next few weeks.  He breathed a sigh of relief and said that he’d been very worried as he’d always heard that chiropractors try to keep you coming back in forever.  Personally, I don’t believe this is a reality any more than it is that dentists are scheming to keep people on the books by recommending they get there teeth checked and cleaned.

The misunderstanding lies in the belief that chiropractic is about relieving pain and symptoms.  The reality is that chiropractic or any other qualified practice of health and wellness is about reducing the stresses on the body that are causing pain and symptoms in the first place.  Done properly, chiropractic always works to reduce stress from the spine and the nervous system that serves to coordinate all body function including how effectively the body heals.  More often than not, reducing this stress will result in relief of pain and symptoms as well as an improved state of health.  The problem is that stresses that cause the body to move away from balance or homeostasis are the result of lifestyle habits and choices – specifically the accumulation of physical, chemical, and emotional stresses.  We cannot escape this.  What we eat, drink, and breathe, and how we exercise, sleep, and think are the determining factors of health over disease.

So why do people get “hooked” or feel the need to continue their visits to the chiropractor?  I can think of only two reasons.  First, just like with the dentist, it makes sense to them to get a check-up to insure proper spinal and nerve function so that they may avoid problems in the future.  And secondly, people return for relief of aches and pains that are the direct result of improper lifestyle choices and habits.  This could be diet, this could be emotional stress, and it could be a general lack of exercise.  Most often, it’s all of the above.  Unless you identify and address the source of the stress on the body causing you to become “out of tune,” symptoms will continue to return and you will never maintain a state of homeostasis or wellness.

Breakthrough Treatment

Medical researchers have identified a treatment that provides unprecedented benefits!  This breakthrough procedure can provide all of the following: prevent 91% of cases of type II diabetes, prevent 50% of strokes and 50% of heart disease, reduce risk of congestive heart failure by 63%, reduce the risk of breast cancer by 60%, pancreatic and colon cancer by 50%, lung cancer and melanomas both by 72%.  In fact, this procedure reduces the risk of all mortality by 67% in the general population and by 50% of those 61-81 years of age.

How does this work?  The researchers believe the treatment is so effective due to its ability to increase the function of the immune and digestive systems and improve bowel function along with increasing antioxidants in the body.  Likewise, this treatment increases serotonin levels (the “feel-good” hormone) and also increases growth hormone while simultaneously decreasing blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides.  Of course like with any powerful treatment, there are some side-effects.  This therapy seems to decrease symptoms and risk of rheumatoid and osteoarthritis and enhance greater strength and balance.  There also is a link to memory.  This treatment seems to prevent Alzheimer’s by 62% and dementia by 52%.

What is this breakthrough treatment identified by the Journal of Applied Physiology?  All these benefits and “side-effects” are the direct result of regular exercise.  That’s right…plain, simple exercise.  If all the benefits listed above came in the form of a pill, we would all be lined up around the block and willing to pay whatever cost necessary to get our hands on the precious capsules.  However, exercise is generally free and is available to all of us all the time.  When we choose not to exercise, we are in effect choosing to increase our risk of all the diseases listed above.  Begin to think of exercise as a vital nutrient that your body requires.  Get outside, join a gym, or take a class.  If you simply don’t know how to get started or want some support, give us a call to learn about our gym, our personal trainers, or our classes.  Whatever you do, just get started.

Why Weight

Most of you have heard how important it is to include weight lifting as a part of your exercise routine.  Obviously any exercise is better than none at all, but if you’re not doing some form of weight or resistance training at least a couple times per week you are likely missing out on some important benefits.

For instance, in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, they found that lifting weights two times a week can decrease back pain by 18% in just 16 weeks and by 42% if you are strength training four times per week.  Other research has shown that 30 minutes of strength training two to three times per week can improve cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and improve bone density, in addition to reducing fat.  You might remember the Harvard study covered in this very column that showed exercise to be the most important factor in increasing bone density and reducing the risk of osteoporosis.  Weight lifting also boosts your metabolism.  All exercise will burn calories, but the muscle building that is going on with just one good strength training session has been shown to burn 100 extra calories per day for up to three days after the workout.  This is why weight lifting helps keep any weight off that you may have lost with diet and exercise.  A big misconception is that you must do exercises such as yoga to increase flexibility.  While yoga is indeed great for this, a study from the University of North Dakota showed that doing strength training properly through a full range of motion was every bit as effective as stretching and yoga for increasing motion and flexibility in all joints.

Through our wellness program, we have definitely found that lifting weights intimidates many people.  But most of this seems to stem from fear of the unknown or fear of getting hurt.  Once people learn to strength train the right way and are placed on a program, they become very comfortable and even enjoy “pumping iron.”  However, there is a right way and a wrong way to strength train.  The wrong way could not only result in injury, but it will also prevent you from enjoying all the benefits listed above.  For this reason, we do recommend that you consult a trainer when getting started to teach you the right way and also to put you on a program to meet your goals.  A couple of the gyms in town offer this service as do we in our office.  Whatever you choose, don’t miss out on this important aspect of exercise and general wellness!

Fighting Free Radicals

In the past, I’ve discussed free radicals.  In the chemistry world these are molecules in the body with unpaired electrons that will attack nearby cells hoping to steal an electron thereby damaging healthy cells.  In your body, the damage of free radicals can be related to numerous diseases from arthritis to cardiovascular disease to cancer or any other form of degeneration.  Antioxidants are molecules that will neutralize free radicals by giving them the extra electron they so desperately desire. 

A new laboratory test known as ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) is one of the most accurate ways to measure the ability of antioxidant to absorb free radicals. The higher the ORAC score, the better the food is for the body.  Researchers have found that consuming a combination of foods that provide a daily ORAC score of 50,000 or greater will provide the antioxidants necessary to prevent disease and reduce aging.  But what foods will deliver the most bang for your buck?  I thought it might be helpful to give you a list of the most powerful antioxidant foods based on this ORAC score.

Oddly enough, 60 grams or unprocessed and unsweetened Cacao (for dark chocolate) yields a score of 16,800.  A cup of blueberries provides 9700.  A half cup of black beans, kidney beans, lentils or pinto beans all yield an average of around 7500.  Broccoli, artichokes, or a Granny Smith apple are around the 7000 mark as well.  A cup of raspberries or strawberries both score around 6000.  And pomegranate juice is near 3000.  Obviously the key is various raw fruits and vegetables and plenty of them to get 50,000 ORAC points each day.  This is one of the many reasons why I’ve always stressed the importance of committing to 5-8 serving of raw fruits and vegetables as a staple of your daily diet.