Chiropractic for neck pain related to arthritis.

A retrospective review of ten patients with arthritis of the top two vertebra yielded favorable outcomes for chiropractic care. Treatment included the combination of upper cervical manipulation and mechanical mobilization. Overall, clinical improvement was described as “good” or “excellent” in 80% of the patients. Study participants also reported an 80% improvement in pain and 90% improvement in range of motion.
Journal of Manipulative Physiological Therapeutics, February 2011

Kids Getting More Caffeine from New Sources.

A government study finds that kids are consuming more caffeine now than ever before thanks to the popularity of coffee and energy drinks. Experts agree that caffeine has no place in the diet of children, and instead of caffeinated drinks, kids should drink water and moderate amounts of juice.
Pediatrics, February 2014

Fruit Juice Not as Healthy as You Think.

Some researchers argue that fruit juice is just as bad for you as sugar-sweetened beverages. Fruit juice has come under fire since medical experts recently started looking more closely at the link between high sugar intake and the risk for heart disease. Dr. Jason Gill writes, “There seems to be a clear misperception that fruit juices and smoothies are low-sugar alternatives to sugar-sweetened beverages.” Research is beginning to show that, unlike solid fruit intake, which high consumption is linked either to reduced or neutral risk for diabetes, high fruit juice intake is linked to an increased risk for diabetes.
The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, February 2014

Preventing Teen Prescription Drug Abuse.

Prescription drug abuse kills more people in the United States each year than cocaine and heroine combined. A six-year study on the efficacy of programs designed to curb teenage prescription drug abuse finds that school-based programs are largely ineffective unless they are coupled with home-based interventions. Still, even the best programs only decrease abuse rates by 10% suggesting that parents, educators, communities, and local governments need to work together to find better interventions to stop teenaged prescription drug abuse.
Preventive Medicine, February 2014

Mental Attitude: Stress Can Lead to Mental Illness.

A new study explains why people suffering from chronic stress are prone to mental health problems later in life. Researchers have found excess white matter in some areas of the brain in chronically stressed people. This excess of myelin disrupts the “delicate balance” of the brain, causing communication between brain cells to slip out of normal timing. It is this timing issue that most likely leads to anxiety and mood disorders.
UC Berkeley, February 2014

Gardening is Good Exercise for Youth.

Researchers have identified gardening as a great exercise for kids. This study involved 17 children who engaged in ten gardening tasks: digging, raking, weeding, mulching, hoeing, sowing seeds, harvesting, watering, mixing growing medium, and planting transplants. The results showed that tasks such as digging and raking were high-intensity activities while the remaining activities were considered moderate-intensity physical activities. The researchers claim the study results could facilitate the development of garden-based exercise interventions for children to promote health and a physically active lifestyle.
HortTechnology, October 2013

Chiropractic: Used by Severe Migraine Sufferers.

A study of 225 severe migraine sufferers found that during the previous two years, nearly the same percentage sought treatment from a Doctor of Chiropractic (27.1%) as sought out pharmacological treatment from their General Practitioner (27.6%).
Headache, February 2014

Health Alert: The Average Obese Person Exercises Less Than Four Hours Per Year!

Using data from a 2005-2006 United States government survey on nearly 2,600 adults, researcher Dr. Edward Archer at the Nutrition Obesity Research Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham calculated that the average obese women gets just one hour of vigorous exercise per year while the average obese man manages only 3.6 hours per year.
Mayo Clinic Proceedings, December 2013

Health Alert: Testosterone Therapy Increases Heart Attack Risk in Men Under Age 65.

A new study points to a two-fold increase in heart attack risk in men under age 65 shortly after beginning testosterone therapy. The study’s senior author, Dr. Sander Greenland, explains, “The extensive and rapidly increasing use of testosterone treatment and the evidence of risk of heart attack underscore the urgency of further large studies of the risks and the benefits of this treatment. Patients and their physicians should discuss the risk of heart attacks when considering testosterone therapy.”
PLOS ONE, January 2014

Chiropractic: Whiplash May Cause or Aggravate Jaw Pain.

A review of 129 studies on temporomandibular disorders (TMD) found that TMD patients are three-times more likely to have experienced whiplash trauma. TMD patients who also suffered head-neck trauma reported more TMD-related jaw pain, headaches, and stress symptoms. According to the authors of the review article, “These results suggest that whiplash trauma might be an initiating and/or aggravating factor as well as a co-morbid condition for TMD.”
Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, January 2014