Lifecare Chiropractic
James Bogash, DC
Amy Strock, DC

1830 S. Alma School Rd
Bldg 7, Ste 135
Mesa, AZ 85210
(480) 839-CARE (2273)

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In this issue of To Your Health:

Good Posture Starts Early

We've all heard, "Sit up straight!" more than once, usually while sitting in a classroom many years ago. Posture was not taught, it was demanded. In an effort to weigh the possible benefits of back education, a group of researchers led a two school-year study of Belgian schoolchildren that concluded positive immediate and long-term results.

The study involved more than 350 9- to 11-year-old children. The program consisted of lessons on good posture, positive reinforcement from their teachers and the addition of exercise balls and sitting wedges in each class. The students, under the supervision of their teachers, were evaluated with a pre- and posttest that included 10 questions on the content of the lessons, a section on general posture knowledge, and an evaluation of back and neck pain in the previous week. In addition, three children in each class were randomly selected for observation of their posture.

Results showed that students who received back education showed increased back posture knowledge, improved posture, and a decrease in how often they sat with their backs bent forward and their necks craned at school.

Are your children aware of the benefits of proper posture and how to achieve it? If you aren't already doing so, now's the time to take them to an expert on appropriate care of the back: your chiropractor. To learn more about the essentials of good posture and musculoskeletal health, visit www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/musculoskeletal.

Geldhof E, Cardon G, Bourdeaudhuij I, et al. Effects of a two-school-year multifactorial back education program in elementary schoolchildren. Spine 2006;31(17):1965-1973.

Diabetic Patients Benefit From Vegan Diet

Although it is a difficult diet to follow faithfully, veganism has many health benefits. Not only are animal products avoided (meat, fish, poultry), but animal byproducts, such as honey and milk, are also not consumed. A recent study provides evidence that a vegan diet can help sufferers of type 2 diabetes. The study sought to investigate whether a low-fat vegan diet improves glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factor.

Ninety-nine individuals with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to either a low-fat vegan diet or a diet following the American Diabetes Association (ADA) guidelines. The ADA suggests eating a wide variety of foods including vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nonfat dairy products, beans, and lean meats, poultry and fish. Forty-three percent of the vegan group and 26 percent of the ADA group reduced diabetes medications. Body weight decreased 14.3 pounds in the vegan group and 6.83 pounds in the ADA group. LDL cholesterol fell 21.2 percent in the vegan group and 10.7 percent in the ADA group for individuals continued taking their lipid-lowering medications.

The researchers concluded that both a low-fat vegan diet and a diet based on ADA guidelines improved glycemic and lipid control in type 2 diabetic patients, but that these improvements were greater with a low-fat vegan diet.

To learn more about the benefits of nutrition, visit www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/nutrition.

Exercise Balls vs. Mats: And the Winner is...

Fitness comes in all forms these days. Every channel you flip to has a commercial with the latest, greatest and easiest-to-use exercise equipment. But what is legitimate and what is smoke and mirrors? Researchers from the Universities of Waterloo and New Brunswick, Canada recently conducted a study on the effectiveness of exercise balls for certain abdominal exercises.

All eight male participants were active and healthy, and none complained of lower back pain for a year preceding their involvement in the study. During the exercises, 14 pairs of electrodes were placed on the skin of each participant over seven different stomach muscles. Measurements were recorded while the participants performed three exercises on the mat and the same three on the exercise ball.

The results showed that the use of an exercise ball did not increase the degree of muscle use or work the abdominal muscles harder. There did not seem to be a training advantage associated with the use of an exercise ball while performing the basic extension exercises versus the use of a mat.

If you're looking to get into the exercise "game" but don't know where to start, talk to your chiropractor, who can outline a daily regimen of safe exercises suitable to your needs. For more information on exercise, visit www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/sports/exercise.

Drake J, Fischer S, Brown S, et al. Do exercise balls provide a training advantage for trunk extensor exercises? A biomechanical evaluation. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2006;29(5):354-362.

Chiropractic: Not Just for Back Pain

Chest pain, known medically as angina, affects over 6 million Americans every year. These frightening attacks can be brought on by physical overexertion or stress. In a study performed in Denmark, positive results were shown in patients with stable angina after a four-week session of chiropractic adjustments.

Fifty of the 275 participants were diagnosed with cervicothoracic angina (CTA - chest pain originating from the spine and thorax) and placed into the treatment group. The remaining 225 patients who were CTA-negative made up the control group. Participants filled out a questionnaire that recorded their level of pain and overall quality of life. Members of the control group also filled out the questionnaire, but were not offered chiropractic care.

The same chiropractor provided eight treatments to each patient over a four-week period, accompanied by trigger-point therapy, manual pressure and deep stroking massage. After the final treatments, the same questionnaire was given to the patients.

Approximately 75 percent of the participants in the treatment group reported an improvement, compared to only approximately 25 percent in the control group. The researchers still feel more studies need to be performed on this subject.

While these findings are preliminary, they definitely support continuing research suggesting chiropractic can benefit more than just low back pain. To find out more about the benefits of chiropractic, talk to a DC in your area. Having trouble finding the right chiropractor for you? Use our ChiroLocator at www.chiroweb.com/locator.

Christensen H, Vach W, Gichangi A, et al. Manual therapy for patients with stable angina pectoris: a nonrandomized open prospective trial. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Theraputics, November 2005;28(9):654-661.

Ginger: Multiple Health Benefits

Already used as a pain reliever for arthritis and migraines, and an effective remedy for nausea, ginger is ready to battle even more health foes. Researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center believe ginger not only kills cancer cells, but also prevents them from becoming resilient to chemotherapy.

Scientists combined a solution of ginger powder and water with ovarian cancer cells; in every one of their tests, the cancer cells died from being in contact with the ginger. The cancer cells either committed "suicide" (apoptosis) or attacked themselves.

With the number of American women to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer close to 20,000 this year, a common root like ginger has found itself back in the scientific spotlight. Researchers are pushing for further studies of its attributes. Other advantages to the use of ginger are that it's already available in a pill and there are hardly any reports of side effects.

Would you like to learn more about the benefits of adding ginger to your daily diet? Head on over to www.chiroweb.com/tyh/ginger.html to find out more about this 4,000-year-old root.

Nordqvist, Christian. "Ginger Kills Ovarian Cancer Cells." MedicalNewsToday.com, April 17, 2006.

A Little Sun a Day Keeps Vitamin D Deficiency Away

Sunshine, aside from being good for your soul, adds a very important element into your life - vitamin D. The sun works with the skin to produce vitamin D in your body. Although other forms of vitamin D are in some of the foods we eat, they still need to be processed to gain the benefits.

A study published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood evaluated a group of adolescent girls in an inner city school in the United Kingdom for vitamin D deficiency. Fifty-one girls between the ages of 14 and 16 were chosen to participate in the study. After measuring weight, height and body mass, the researchers distributed a questionnaire that evaluated the girls' daily intake of vitamin D, calcium and sunlight.

Thirty-seven of the girls (73 percent) were found to be vitamin D deficient, while nine (17 percent) of the students were considered severely deficient. The results indicated that the vitamin D deficiency was due to underexposure to sunlight.

Of course, too much sun can be a bad thing, particularly in terms of skin damage, so be careful. But a little a day can go a long way toward ensuring adequate intake of vitamin D. To finds out more about the importance of vitamin D and other vitamins/minerals in your daily diet, visit www.chiroweb.com/find/tellmeabout/vitamind.html.

Das G, Crocombe S, McGrath M, et al. Hypovitaminosis D among healthy adolescent girls attending an inner city school. Archives of Disease in Childhood, July 2006;91(7):569-572.

James Bogash, DC and Amy Strock, DC
1830 S. Alma School Rd, Bldg 7, Ste 135, Mesa, AZ 85210
(Alma School Road, just south of the Superstition Freeway/Highway 60)
Chiropractic Health Care Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert & Tempe, Arizona
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