Alternative health practices show benefits for treating pain

AUSTIN, Tex., May 19, 20011 -- A variety of complementary and alternative health practices —including meditation and relaxation techniques, manual therapies such as massage and spinal manipulation, meditative exercise forms such as yoga, Tai Chi, and ancient health practices such as acupuncture—show promise for contributing to the management of pain according to research presented today at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society, www.ampainsoc.org.

In her keynote address to pain clinicians attending the APS conference, Josephine Briggs, MD, director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health said that these approaches are widely used by Americans as part of management of painful conditions including headache, back or neck pain, and arthritic or other musculoskeletal pain.

“Much of health care involves helping people find solutions for tough problems like pain. I think all physicians are well aware of how difficult it is to manage chronic pain patients,” said Briggs. “For example, with back pain we see that large numbers of patients are turning to these approaches with the hope of decreasing discomfort, improving function and quality-of-life, and minimizing side effects of pharmacologic treatments.”

Read more: http://www.chiroeco.com/chiropractic/news/11256/851/alternative%20health%20practices%20show%20benefits%20for%20treating%20pain/

Healthy sources of Vitamin D

HOUSTON – The recent increase in recommended vitamin D intake from the Food and Nutrition Board may prompt some to seek more summer sun. But, experts at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center say there’s no safe amount of time people can stay in the sun without increasing skin cancer risks.

People tend to think of sunshine when they think of vitamin D — and for good reason. When UV rays come in contact with the skin, it triggers the creation of vitamin D.

“Some people may absorb enough vitamin D from their routine outdoor exposure,” says Susan Y. Chon, M.D., assistant professor in MD Anderson’s Department of Dermatology. “However, the benefits of UV exposure may be limited because they can lead to increased risks of developing skin cancer.”

On a hot summer day, unprotected skin can be damaged in as little as 15 minutes.

Read more: http://www.chiroeco.com/chiropractic/news/11249/856/healthy%20sources%20of%20vitamin%20d/

Getting injured workers back on the job faster

More than 85 per cent of the working population will experience backrelated injuries or conditions, and Health Canada estimates that musculoskeletal disorders, including back pain, cost Canadian society $16.4 billion annually in treatment, rehabilitation and lost time.

In Alberta, back injuries in the workplace account for more than 25 per cent of all Workers' Compensation Board lost-time claims.

Workplace injuries can strike any industry. While traditionally associated with physical labourers such as construction workers or warehouse employees, back pain, strain or injury also affects office workers, retail and sales employees, professional drivers and health-care providers.

Back pain, strain or injury can happen when you least expect it -bending, lifting, twisting the wrong way, sitting hunched over at the computer, or even stepping out of a vehicle after a day of driving.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Getting+injured+workers+back+faster/4703282/story.html#ixzz1O2No5POU

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Getting+injured+workers+back+faster/4703282/story.html#

Americans still may not be getting enough calcium

Philadelphia, PA – Americans may not be getting enough calcium in their diets, according to a new study published in the May 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. This study is unique among those focusing on calcium intake in the US population because both dietary and supplemental sources were evaluated across adult age groups and compared to accompanying patterns in energy intake.

"Calcium plays a fundamental role in promoting bone health and forestalling osteoporosis. In light of evidence that energy intake declines with aging, calcium dense foods and calcium supplements become vital factors in maintaining adequate calcium intake across the lifespan," commented Jane E. Kerstetter, RD, PhD, Professor, Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut. "Encouraging calcium supplementation is an established approach to addressing this issue in the clinical setting – one that needs additional emphasis in order to promote more frequent and sufficient supplementation in meeting adequate intake levels. Altering the concentration of calcium in the diet relative to energy by increasing consumption of nutrient dense foods is a new and important concept that also deserves additional consideration as a component of osteoporosis prevention efforts."

Read more here

Clinical nutrition gains popularity as doubts are cast on drug treatment

May 2, 2011 — In the past few months, the results of published studies regarding the effectiveness of drugs call into question the validity of drugs as treatment.

As consumers become more aware of this kind of information, along with steady increases in degenerative diseases despite medical treatment, more people are turning to destination clinics for clinical nutrition and other treatment modalities that represent a more integrated and effective approach to health.

Read more Here

Use the power of chiropractic to help athletes reach the highest levels of performance

By DelRae Messer, DC

If you are now (or ever were) an athlete, you’re well aware that athletes are among the toughest patients to work with. They care about the bottom line: enhanced performance, speedy recovery, and injury prevention. As a chiropractor, you know that chiropractic not only benefits injury treatment and prevention, it also facilitates optimal nervous system function.

Whether working with high school, college, or professional athletes, keeping it simple seems to be the best approach.

A research study published in the Journal of Chiropractic Research, Study and Clinical Investigation,1 indicated chiropractic care might improve athletic performance by nearly 17 percent over a two-week period. The report also concluded that subluxation-free athletes react faster, coordinate better, and execute fine movements with improved accuracy and precision, amounting to an overall better performance.

Read more here

Medical Schools Embrace Alternative Medicine

Now that nearly 40 percent of American adults swear by some form of complementary and alternative medicine, or CAM—from nutrition and mental relaxation to acupuncture, magnet therapy, and foreign healing systems like traditional Chinese medicine and Indian ayurveda—a growing number of medical schools, too, are supplementing medication with meditation.
Click here to find out more!

Interest in teaching alternative approaches "has exploded, especially this last year," says Laurie Hofmann, executive director of the Institute for Functional Medicine, which is based in Gig Harbor, Wash. The nonprofit institute educates healthcare professionals to look for underlying systemic imbalances as a cause of illness rather than focus on treating symptoms and, when possible, to correct with lifestyle changes and mind-body techniques.

Read more here