Anxiety and depression are a growing concern in society these days, as is the large quantities of medication people with these conditions take.  I came across an article today which offers some further insight how these conditions can be managed.

Researchers from the Shanghai Mental Health Center at Shanghai Jiao Tong University have evaluated the evidence of 21 studies — involving 1,503 participants in all — that looked at different interventions set to regulate the intestinal microbiota and whether they had any effect on symptoms of anxiety.  The findings are published in the Journal of General Psychiatry.

Of the 21 studies evaluated, 14 used probiotics — or "good" bacteria — as the main agent in regulating intestinal flora. The remaining opted for interventions such as adjusting a person's diet.

The team discovered that 11 out of the 21 studies (52%) concluded that interventions regulating intestinal flora helped reduce anxiety symptoms.

So if you suffer from disorders such as Anxiety or depression, it might be worth asking your GP for further advice on this topic. With some probiotic and/or dietary adjustments it might be possible to reduce by the symptoms of anxiety and depression, and the medication used to manage it.  Be sure NOT to stop your medication without advice first.

For the full article please follow this link:  https://gpsych.bmj.com/content/32/2/e100056

This article recently came to my attention.  It follows 67 patients with Chronic lower back pain referred for Chiropractic treatment from a spinal surgery clinic.

​Article title - An observational study on trajectories and outcomes of chronic low back pain patients referred from a spine surgery division for chiropractic treatment.

Published : Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2018, 27:6 | Published on: 5 February 2019

The study measured both pain and Bio-psycho-social - behaviour.

​The results of this study show that patients overall improvements from 23 percent after the first week, to 56 percent at the 3 to 6 month mark, and dropped to 44 percent at the 12 month mark.

This study highlights the role of Chiropractic in the management of people with chronic low back pain and also the need for both Spinal Surgeons and Chiropractors to work together, as in the above study, no Spinal surgery was performed.

For the full article go to:
https://chiromt.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12998-018-0225-8

And if you are suffering with chronic low back pain why not give us a call at Point Clare Chiropractic and see if we can help.

There has been a lot of discussion for the last few years regarding the miracle of stem cells and their healing properties. Numerous studies have been done reporting the benefits for people with knee osteoarthritis, but there have not been many trials on hips and other joints.  I came across a recent study done on this very topic and wanted to share it here.

The study titled - 'Short-Term outcomes of treatment of hip osteoarthritis with 4 bone marrow concentrate injections: A case series' - follows four case studies where people have been injected with a bone marrow stem cell concoction.

The results demonstrated that patients experienced an overall 72.4% improvement in resting resting and active pain when compared with baseline and mean. Patients also reported less difficulty in performing daily activities following the procedure.

While this study was a small sample size the results are encouraging and it will interesting to see how a larger sample size compares - and to see a comparison between patients who have stem cell therupy as opposed to hip replacement surgery,

A link to the full article is copied below.

​https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6088468/

It is important to recognise that most cases of hip pain are NOT in fact arthritis and if you are suffering hip or other joint pain, chiropractic can very often clear this up without the need for any other treatment.  Also, chiropractors can easily diagnose hip arthritis that needs more immediate medical referral, so if you are suffering with hip pain why not give us a call at Point Clare Chiropractic to see if we can help.

New research piblished in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, examines the benefits of physical activity, such as brisk walking, on mobility and the ability to perform daily tasks among seniors living with knee osteoarthritis.

The research, conducted over a period of 4 years on 1500 seniors suffering with knee osteoarthritis, showed that a weekly hour of moderate to vigorous exercise (brisk walking) lowered the risk of mobility-related disability by 85 percent and that of daily living disability but nearly 45 percent.

So if you are suffering with knee Osteoarthritis - KEEP WALKING

And if you have trouble walking because of back pain, hip pain or other joint related pains, maybe we can help at Point Clare Chiropractic, so why not give us a call.

I just read an interesting article that I wanted to share. This was published in 'Frontiers in Neuroscience'

The article demonstrates that neurological health is as dependent on signals from your large leg muscles as it is on signals from your brain to your muscles.

Researchers conducted an experiment on mice, restricting the mice from using their hind legs only. They showed that neural stem cells — undifferentiated stem cells that can develop into both neurons and other brain cells — had declined by 70 percent in the animals that had not used their hind legs, compared to unhindered controls.

​This research goes a long way into showing how important weight bearing exercise is for the health and regeneration of our brain and nervous system and is another reason why we should be exercising regularly.

So, if you can't walk because of back pain or sciatica, this is doing more to you than perhaps we realised in the past.

​If you are suffering from back pain and/or sciatica give us a call at Point Clare Chiropractic and let us get you moving again.

I came across a fascinating article today, especially with the unexplained rise in Autoimmune disease in recent years.

Title - Drinking Baking Soda could be an inexpensive, safe way to combat autoimmune disease.
( April 25, 2018 , Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University)

A daily dose of baking soda may help reduce the destructive inflammation of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, scientists say.
This cheap, over-the-counter antacid can encourage our spleen to promote instead an anti-inflammatory environment that could be therapeutic in the face of inflammatory disease, Medical College of Georgia scientists report in the Journal of Immunology.
The study shows that when rats or healthy people drink a solution of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) it becomes a trigger for the stomach to make more acid to digest the next meal and for little-studied mesothelial cells sitting on the spleen to tell the organ that there's no need to mount a protective immune response.

Full report here:
https://m.medicalxpress.com/news/2018-04-soda-inexpensive-safe-combat-autoimmune.html

Poor fitness in middle age is a risk factor for heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction, which is a direct consequence of sedentary aging.
In a recent study titled above and conducted by the American heart and stroke association, it was concluded that in previously sedentary healthy middle-aged adults, 2 years of exercise training improved maximal oxygen uptake and decreased cardiac stiffness. Regular exercise training may provide protection against the future risk of heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction by preventing the increase in cardiac stiffness attributable to sedentary aging.

For the full article go to:
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/early/2018/01/03/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.030617

I saw an interesting article today posted back in August 2017

The article urges uses of NSAIDS (Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs) to exercise caution as they significantly increase the risk of Heart Disease and stroke.

The warnings from the FDA point out:

• Heart attack and stroke risk increase even with short-term use, and the risk may begin within a few weeks of starting to take an NSAID.
• The risk increases with higher doses of NSAIDs taken for longer periods of time.
• The risk is greatest for people who already have heart disease, though even people without heart disease may be at risk.
• Previous studies have suggested that naproxen may be safer than other types of NSDAIDs, but the more recent evidence reviewed by the expert panel isn’t solid enough to determine that for certain.

Their advice:  Using NSAIDs safelyTaking an NSAID for a headache, or for a few days to ease a sore shoulder isn’t likely to cause a heart attack or stroke. It’s more prolonged use that can get risky.
In view of the warnings, it is best for people with heart disease to avoid NSAIDs if at all possible, and for everyone who is considering taking an NSAID to proceed with caution. Here are some strategies:

• It’s important to take the lowest effective dose, and limit the length of time you take the drug.
• Never take more than one type of NSAID at a time. There appears to be risk associated with all types of NSAIDs.
• Try alternatives to NSAIDs such as acetaminophen. It relieves pain but does not appear to increase heart attack or stroke risk. However, acetaminophen can cause liver damage if the daily limit of 4,000 milligrams is exceeded, or if you drink more than three alcoholic drinks every day.
• If nothing else works and you need to take an NSAID for arthritis or other chronic pain, try taking week-long “holidays” from them and taking acetaminophen instead.
• If you experience chest pain, shortness of breath, or sudden weakness or difficulty speaking while taking an NSAID, seek medical help immediately.

The most common over the counter NSAIDS in Australia - Voltaran, Ibruprofen (Nurofen), Celebrex, Advil.

So if you get chronic headaches and/or back pain and joint pain and you use these medications regularly.  Do yourself a favour and try Chiropractic. 

For the full articla:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fda-strengthens-warning-that-nsaids-increase-heart-attack-and-stroke-risk-201507138138

Researchers from the University of Sao Paulo discovered that Chronic migraine sufferers, which is defined as having 15 days or more a month of attacks, are also three times more likely to have severe temporomandibular disorder (TMD) (Jaw dysfunction).

They monitored 84 young women, made up of 21 chronic sufferers, 32 with episodic migraine, and 32 healthy controls. Every single one of the chronic sufferers also had the severest TMD, and 80 per cent of those with episodic migraine had some TMD, as did half of the participants who didn't have migraine.

The researchers say that TMD doesn’t cause migraine but if you get migraines, then having TMD is likely to increase the severity and frequency of migraines.

TMD, which affects the joints that act like a sliding hinge that connects the jawbone to the skull, is stress-related and has to do with muscle overload, muscle imbalance. Its symptoms include joint pain, reduced jaw movement, difficulty chewing, clicking or popping of the jaw, and muscle pain and fatigue that can radiate to the face and neck.

So if you suffer migraine it is worth having your jaw checked to see if it is involved.  It is also very important to check your neck as this is heavily related to migraine frequency and severity.
​
Source: Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 2017; 40: 250

A recent study, published in the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise journal, followed almost 9000 Australian adults and found that for every additional hour spent watching TV each day, risk of severe inflammation increased by 12 per cent (Including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, diabetes and kidney disease).

However, experts in this field suggested that watching TV was just one example of the many common sedentary tasks in everyday life.

Researchers say chronic disease prevention should address reducing sitting time in addition to promoting physical activity.

Sitting has previously been associated with an increased likelihood of developing Type two diabetes, certain types of cancer (breast and colon) and cardiovascular disease.

In addition to watching TV, people sit while driving, riding public transport, eating, reading and while on the computer, totalling about 11 hours each day.

One way to reduce sitting time in the work place is with standing desks. However, if standing desks aren’t possible for whatever reason in your workplace, find the opportunity to stand up more. Example - remove the bin from under desk to force you to get up to walk to the bin, go to the toilet on a different floor, drink more water and take more toilet breaks, stand up when on the phone.

We know from epidemiological studies that some of these sitting activities are strongly associated with poorer physical and mental health, and some are actually associated with better physical and mental health.  Researchers say that TV comes up particularly badly but, reading and social activities perform well.

Also, researchers find that often people tend to snack more while watching TV.

On the positive side, We also know that when people do relatively large amounts of physical activity – say an hour to 90 minutes a day – the effects of even very large amounts of sitting are almost zero.

Conversely - Other research shows that too much standing can also be detrimental for health.
​
So the key seems to be adequate daily physical activity and frequent alterations between sitting and standing.

Article Source:
http://thenewdaily.com.au/life/wellbeing/2017/09/23/sedentary-lifestyle-bingewatching/