Commercial Drive - East Vancouver Chiropractor; Dr. Dominic Chan DC - "Exercise Cuts Stroke Risk in Men But Not Women"

Ok I know this headline got your attention and now you're probably scratching your head. However, it is very important to note that you must be critical of research at times and use your best judgement and common sense.

Here are the details of the study. The group consisted of 3,300 men and women and the average age of the participants was 69. The study was conducted over a nine year period. At the beginning, 20% of the participants reported to have engaged in regular moderate to high intensity exercise. Conversely, 41% said they had no physical activity at all.

During the course of nine years, there were 238 strokes reported. Most importantly though, men who reported engaging in moderate-to-high intensity exercise were nearly 63% less likely to suffer a stroke than those who did not exercise at all. However, a similar effect was not found in the women of this study.

"Taking part in moderate-to-heavy intensity physical activity may be an important factor for preventing stroke," study author Dr. Joshua Z. Willey, of Columbia University Medical Center and New York Presbyterian Hospital at Columbia, concluded in a news release.

Another caveat the researchers of this study pointed out was that many of the participants lived in a big city. They reasoned that living in a big city may decrease your activity level. However, with the results they found, it may be the inhabitants of a city that may stand to benefit the most.

The moral of the story is with cardiovascular disease being a leading cause of death of both men and women, exercise can help to decrease this risk dramatically. As if there weren't enough known benefits of regular exercise, this might be one of the best reasons of all.

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Commercial Drive - East Vancouver Chiropractor; Dr. Dominic Chan DC - "Loving Relationships May Block Pain"

Researchers in the US have found that merely thinking of a loved one can help to reduce physical pain. They claim this underscores the importance of relationships and staying emotionally connected with others.

The study performed at UCLA involved 25 young women who had been involved in a relationship for at least 6 months. The researchers had the participants look at pictures of their boyfriends, a stranger and an object. Then they introduced a mildly uncomfortable trigger in the form of heat, while the women looked at the pictures.

Researcher, Naomi Eisenberger, noted that when the women were looking at pictures of their boyfriends, they reported less pain compared to when they were looking at pictures of objects or strangers.

Interestingly enough, pain reduction was also reported if the women were holding the hands of their boyfriends while the heat was being applied.

"This study demonstrates how much of an impact our social ties can have on our experience and fits with other work emphasizing the importance of social support for physical and mental health," Eisenberger added.

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Commercial Drive - East Vancouver Chiropractor; Dr. Dominic Chan DC - "Depression Can Be as Harmful as Smoking - Study"

A new study suggests that being depressed can take as many years off your life as smoking.

Researchers poured over the death records and surveyed 60, 000 people. Over the four years of the study, the death rate appeared to be higher in those respondents who were considered depressed. The increase was roughly similar to the respondents considered to be smokers.

"Unlike smoking, we don't know how causal the association with depression is, but it does suggest that more attention should be paid to this link because the association persisted after adjusting for many other factors," lead researcher Dr. Robert Stewart, of Kings College London, said in a news release from the college.

But the underlying message to take home here is the connection between mental and physical health. Currently there is growing understanding of the relationship between mind and body but more studies are needed to explore all the nuances involved.

"The physical health of people with current or previous mental disorder needs a lot more attention than it gets at the moment," Stewart said.

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Commercial Drive - East Vancouver Chiropractor; Dr. Dominic Chan DC - "Warning: More MRI Machines May Mean More Back Surgeries"

According to US researchers, having easy access to MRI machines may be a bad thing for patients for new onset of low back pain.

Researchers looked at data collected from 1998-2005 and found that patients complaining of new back pain were more likely to have back surgery if they lived in an area with a higher proportion of MRI machines. The research also found that these patients often got an MRI within the first month of their low back pain starting. However, clinical guidelines suggest waiting 4 weeks after onset of pain for an MRI because after this time, many patients report improvement anyways.

So what's the problem you may ask? Well the problem lies in the outcome of treatment.
Previous research has demonstrated that surgery does not improve the outcome of patients, especially with new-onset low back pain.

"The worry is that many people will not benefit from surgery, so heading in this direction is concerning," senior author Laurence Baker, a professor of health research and policy, said in the release.

The clear message is that if you are suffering from new-onset of low back pain, it is far more prudent to investigate more conservative forms of care such as Chiropractic. It can not only offer relief but in many cases, help avoid a more invasive surgery.

If you have any questions, please visit COMMERCIAL DRIVE - EAST VANCOUVER CHIROPRACTOR; DR. DOMINIC CHAN and ask Dr. Chan.

Commercial Drive - East Vancouver Chiropractor; Dr. Dominic Chan DC - "Do You Know Where Germs Live? H1N1 tips"

Now with the recent worldwide concern over Swine flu, health authorities have continually been recommending frequent hand washing and limiting hand contact with others in order to prevent catching this "bug"

Well an interesting study to be published in the online version of Science, seems to reinforce these recommendations. Now a note, H1N1 is a virus and this study in question focused on bacteria. However, a little common sense would suggest as far as transmission through contact is concerned, this information could be helpful in both cases.

Ok now on with study. This study used sophisticated gene sequencing to determine what kind of bacteria (germs) we have on our bodies, and even where they are likely to be found. "We've always known that there are microbes on us and in us," said study author Noah Fierer, an assistant professor of microbial ecology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. "But we weren't always able to isolate them and differentiate them from each other. With these new techniques, we can."

Well the study found that these germs tend to be more prominent in certain places on our bodies. Those places being; forearms, palms, index fingers, the backs of the knees and soles of the feet, according to the study

Quite interesting and sobering at the same time. When you think about the current concern over H1N1, and the corresponding recommendations, it seems limiting contact is definitely a prudent thing to do. Also frequent hand washing can help you from contracting H1N1 especially if germs tend to hang out around your hands and fingers.

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Commercial Drive - East Vancouver Chiropractor; Dr. Dominic Chan DC - "Texting Can Lead to Neck and Arm Pain"

New research is suggesting that too much texting can lead to hand, shoulder and neck pain. The study found that young people who hunched over and only used one thumb to text suffered from more hand, neck and arm pain compared to those who used other finger to text and sat straight.

This is an extension of a phenomenon becoming more common; "Blackberry Thumb". As mobile devices become a more common means of communicating and sending messages, repetitive strain injuries related to our cell phones is bound to rise.

Ewa Gustafsson, an ergonomist at the Sahlgrenska Academy in Sweden is sounding the alarm on the way people today interact with technology. A significant factor is also the frequency we are messaging on our phones nowadays. A concern echoed by, Dr. David Edelstein. "The difference between the computer age and the typewriter age is that people don't stop," said Dr. David Edelstein, orthopedic and hand surgeon at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. "They are typing all day. During their lunch break they are using a mouse or texting, and they may go home and do more."

So the next time your Blackberry beckons, take a second to make sure you're using good posture. It could save you a lot of suffering down the road.

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