VOLUME 28 -4 Pull Your Weeds, Not Your Back

Health Tips

Pull Your Weeds, Not Your Back,

To Make Your Garden Grow As springtime approaches, weather warms up and leaves turn green, many people will spend more time outside planting bulbs, mowing the lawn and pulling weeds. Gardening can provide a great workout, but with all the bending, twisting, reaching and pulling, your body may not be ready for exercise of the garden variety.

Gardening can be enjoyable, but it is important to stretch your muscles before reaching for your gardening tools. The back, upper legs, shoulders, and wrists are all major muscle groups affected when using your green thumb.

A warm-up and cool-down period is as important in gardening as it is for any other physical activity. Performing simple stretches during these periods will help alleviate injuries, pain and stiffness.

" To make gardening as fun and enjoyable as possible, it is important to prepare your body for this type of physical activity. The following stretches will help to alleviate muscle pain after a day spent in your garden.

Garden Fitness Stretches

• Before stretching for any activity, breathe in and out, slowly and rhythmically; do not bounce or jerk your body, and stretch as far and as comfortably as you can. Do not follow the no pain, no gain rule. Stretching should not be painful. While sitting, prop your heel on a stool or step, keeping the knees straight. Lean forward until you feel a stretch in the back of the thigh, or the hamstring muscle. Hold this position for 15 seconds. Do this once more and repeat with the other leg.
• Stand up, balance yourself, and grab the front of your ankle from behind. Pull your heel towards your buttocks and hold the position for 15 seconds. Do this again and repeat with the other leg.
• While standing, weave your fingers together above your head with the palms up. Lean to one side for 10 seconds, then to the other. Repeat this stretch three times.
• Do the "Hug your best friend." Wrap your arms around yourself and rotate to one side, stretching as far as you can comfortably go. Hold for 10 seconds and reverse. Repeat two or three times.

Finally, be aware of your body technique, body form and correct posture while gardening. Kneel, don't bend, and alternate your stance and movements as often as possible to keep the muscles and body balanced.

When the Bulbs Are Planted...
If you already feel muscle aches and pains and did not complete the warm-up and cool-down stretches, there are ways to alleviate the discomfort. Apply a cold pack on the area of pain for the first 48 hours or apply a heat pack after 48 hours, and consider chiropractic care.

Prevention is Key!
The best way to fight the pain, emotional stress, and missed work that may accompany a spinal problem is to prevent it from happening in the first place.

The following tips will help you identify and eliminate "spinal stressors" and incorporate spinal health into your daily routine.

At the office:

• Make sure your chair fits correctly. There should be 2 inches between the front edge of the seat and the back of your legs. Sit with your feet flat on the floor, with your knees at a 90-degree angle. If you can't sit that way, use an angled or elevated foot rest.
• Take periodic stretch breaks. Clench your hands in a fist and move your hands like this: 10 circles in, then 10 circles out. Put your hands in a praying position and squeeze together for 10 seconds and then "pray" with the backs of your hands together, fingers pointed downward for 10 seconds. Spread your fingers apart and then bring them together one by one.
• Hold the telephone with your hand or use the speaker phone. Don't cradle the phone between your ear and shoulder. This can lock up the spinal joints in the neck and upper back, and eventually cause pain.

Playing Sports:

• Warm up slowly before a game. Do calisthenics, flexibility exercises, or light running to increase your heart rate.
• When sweat beads form, your body is at the proper temperature to stretch the tendons and muscles.

At Home:

• When you wash the dishes, open the cabinet beneath the sink, bend one knee, and put your foot on the shelf under the sink. Lean against the counter so some of your weight is supported in front.
• When resting or watching TV, don't use the sofa arm as a pillow. The angle is much too sharp for the neck.
• Don't bend from the waist when you lift a child. Squat with your back straight. Keep the child close to you and use your legs and arms to lift.

In the Yard:

• If you shovel snow, push the snow straight-ahead. Don't try to throw it and walk it to the snow bank. Avoid twisting and turning motions. Bend your knees to lift when shoveling. Let your legs and arms do the work, not your back. Take frequent rest breaks to take the strain off your muscles. Try to stand as erect as possible.
• When raking leaves, use a scissors stance: right foot forward and left foot back for a few minutes; then reverse, putting your left foot forward and your right foot back. Bend at the knees, not the waist, as you pick up leaves or grass from the grass catcher. Make piles small to decrease the possibility of back strain. For mowing, use your weight to push the mower. Whenever possible, use ergonomically correct tools for the job.

Chiropractic Care Can Help... If the pain persists, consider spinal manipulation. The goal of a chiropractor is to manipulate the spine and help stimulate your body's natural healing process.

Our Patients Get Results
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In The News
Suicide Caution Sought for Antidepressants
By LAURAN NEERGAARD WASHINGTON (AP) -

Patients on some popular antidepressants should be closely monitored for warning signs of suicide, the government warned Monday in asking the makers of 10 drugs to add the caution to their labels.

Although the Food and Drug Administration's investigation into the possible suicide connection initially focused on children given the drugs, its warning is aimed at both adult and pediatric use of the pills to alleviate depression.

It isn't clear yet that the drugs actually do lead to suicide, the FDA stressed. After all, depression itself can lead to suicide. But until that is settled, advisers to the FDA called last month for stronger warnings to doctors and parents that the antidepressants may cause agitation, anxiety and hostility in a subset of patients who may be unusually prone to rare side effects.

On Monday, the FDA followed its advisers' recommendation and issued a public health advisory putting doctors, patients, families and other caregivers on notice to be particularly vigilant for signs of worsening depression or suicidal thoughts at the beginning of anti-depressant therapy or whenever the dose is changed.

The drugs of concern are all newer-generation antidepressants: Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Effexor, Celexa, Remeron, Lexapro, Luvox, Serzone and Wellbutrin. Most are known to affect the brain chemical serotonin.

British health authorities sounded the alarm last year, saying long-suppressed research suggests certain antidepressants might sometimes increase the risk of suicidal behavior in children and teenagers.

Because only one drug, Prozac, has been proven to alleviate pediatric depression, Britain declared others - drugs called SSRIs and their close relatives - unsuitable for depressed youth.

The FDA issued a caution on pediatric use last year, but Monday's action - especially the addition of the warning to drug labels - goes significantly further.

Dozens of anguished parents pleaded with FDA in a meeting last month to add such warnings, citing preteens and teenagers who hanged themselves or slashed their wrists shortly after starting the antidepressants. Parent after parent described children who had become extremely agitated or anxious shortly after starting the antidepressants, and seemingly sudden impulses that turned deadly.

Among 25 studies of the suspect medications involving 4,000 children and teens, there were no completed suicides. But 109 patients experienced one or more possibly suicide-related behaviors or attempts, the FDA says. The studies varied dramatically in what was considered suicidal behavior, making a clear link difficult, FDA scientists have contended. For example, among 19 patients classified as cutting themselves, almost all were superficial, with little bleeding. Worse, the youths most likely to commit suicide weren't allowed into those studies, so existing data likely won't settle the issue, the FDA's scientific advisers have warned.

Depression occurs in up to 10 percent of youth, and 1,883 10- to 19-year-olds killed themselves in 2001. Some 1.8 million teenagers attempted suicide that year, a quarter of them requiring medical attention, according to Columbia University scientists who are helping the FDA's probe. In 2002, almost 11 million prescriptions were dispensed to patients under 18 for SSRIs and other newer antidepressants, to treat depression and a host of other conditions, FDA said.

CURRENT RESEARCH
* Dietary Fiber and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease:
A Pooled Analysis of Cohort Studies Background Few epidemiologic studies of dietary fiber intake and risk of coronary heart disease have compared fiber types (cereal, fruit, and vegetable) or included sex-specific results.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a pooled analysis of dietary fiber and its subtypes and risk of coronary heart disease. Methods We analyzed the original data from 10 prospective cohort studies from the United States and Europe to estimate the association between dietary fiber intake and the risk of coronary heart disease.

Results Over 6 to 10 years of follow-up, 5249 incident total coronary cases and 2011 coronary deaths occurred among 91 058 men and 245 186 women. After adjustment for demographics, body mass index, and lifestyle factors, each 10-g/d increment of energy-adjusted and measurement error-corrected total dietary fiber was associated with a 14% (relative risk [RR], 0.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78-0.96) decrease in risk of all coronary events and a 27% (RR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.61-0.87) decrease in risk of coronary death.

For cereal, fruit, and vegetable fiber intake (not error corrected), RRs corresponding to 10-g/d increments were 0.90 (95% CI, 0.77-1.07), 0.84 (95% CI, 0.70-0.99), and 1.00 (95% CI, 0.88-1.13), respectively, for all coronary events and 0.75 (95% CI, 0.63-0.91), 0.70 (95% CI, 0.55-0.89), and 1.00 (95% CI, 0.82-1.23), respectively, for deaths.

Results were similar for men and women. Conclusion Consumption of dietary fiber from cereals and fruits is inversely associated with risk of coronary heart disease. Pereira MA, et al. Archives of Internal Medicine. February 23, 2004; Vol. 164, No. 4.

New Answers For:

Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Mood Swings, ADHD, and other emotional and neurologic disorders. Contact the doctor and ask about new research on these items.

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The Rear End Collision

These are becoming more frequent now and you need to know what to do if you are hit from behind or slip into someonw else. Follow these simple rules if you are involved in a car accident and are not hospitalized:

• Stay calm and reduce movements of the spine
• Ice packs on the spine and neck for 5 minutes per hour will help for the first few days
• See your chiropractic physician right away - He is the only provider trained to evlauate spinal subluxations

For more information, click here!

THIS MONTH'S SPECIAL OFFERS

Computerized exercise instructions. Ask at the clinic.

Spinal Decompression: Enroll now if you have arm or leg pain, numbness or loss of strength.

Family Vouchers are now avilable on request. Give any family member or close freind a voucher for a compimentary consultation and spinal examination, spinal screening, blood pressure screen, or body composition screen. Click Here and ask for a family voucher to be sent to you.

We have a new exercise program sheets for all parts of the body. These protocols range from simple stretching for increased range of motion to resistive movements for strength and rehabilitation. We can print simple descriptions for you at your next visit. Arth Aid - Detox now at bulk rates. Many people are requesting several pouches at a time for consistent relief. We have a bulk rate. Call to ask how you can save.

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