Tag Archives: lifestyle

Lifestyle factors can effect mortality and life expectancy

Who doesn’t want to live longer? I bet almost everyone would take the opportunity to live longer if they could. Did you know adopting a healthy lifestyle could substantially reduce premature mortality and prolong life expectancy in US adults?

The things we do every day can influence how long we live. So do we have to do some bio hacking or a super detox to live longer? Fortunately it much easier then that. Simple things can improve our health and make us live longer. So what are they?

  • Never smoking ( that was easy right?)
  • Regular physical activity! This can include walking or lifting weight.
  • Healthy diet. Mom said eat your vegetables and you’ll be healthy. She was right. Maintain a normal BMI. Obesity will lower how long you can live.
  • Moderate alcohol consumption. Less consumption the greater improvement in health.

Doing these thing can prolong life expectancy at age 50 years by 14.0 and 12.2 years for female and male US adults

See you don’t have to become a vegan or run ultra marathons to improve your health and live longer. The one thing I would add is make sure you are sleeping 7-8 hours a day. Lack of sleep can effect you negatively.

If you need help jump starting a healthier lifestyle call the office. I can help!

Here’s the study. Lots of great graphs and details. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.032047 Conclusion of the study: Adopting a healthy lifestyle could substantially reduce premature mortality and prolong life expectancy in US adults.

What type of running shoe should I get part 1

I’m going to do a multi-part blog on running and running shoes! Running and advice on the proper shoe are topics often brought up in my clinic so why not share for easy reference?

Starting with part one:

Here one question I get often:  I’m going to start to run to get in shape, so what brand (x) of running shoe?

There so many variables that go into the question.  Your biomechanic faults/deficiencies, anatomical variants,  the current level of your strength, the current level of fitness, what is your running form/style. Plus add in what you do for a living.  A construction worker has different stress on the body then a person who sits at a desk all day.

In my opinion, it’s better to start with yourself.  First, improve your body and then work on your running mechanics.   After, try to find the best style of running shoe based on comfort.

I like to take a “ground-up” approach.   The first thing to do is to make your foot and lower extremity better.  Fixing any joint dysfunction and then working on making your body stronger and more flexible is a great start.

Next is to improve your running form. I would video record the person running and make any necessary correction.  RUNNING is a SKILL and will need to be practiced.  

After doing all of the above, the patient will be less likely to get injured.  Plus it will be easy to find the right running shoe.

How much protein do you need per day?

How much protein do you need per day?

As with most things in nutrition, there’s no simple answer. Your individual needs will depend on your health, body composition, the main goal you have, and level of physical activity (type, intensity, and duration). Even when taking all of this into account, you’ll end up with a starting number, which you’ll need to adjust through self-experimentation.

Daily requirements are expressed in grams of protein, either per kilogram of body weight (g/kg) or per pound of body weight (g/lb).

  • If you’re of a healthy weight and sedentary, aim for 1.2–1.8 g/kg (0.54–0.82 g/lb).
  • If you’re of healthy weight, active, and wish to keep your weight, aim for 1.4–2.2 g/kg (0.64–1.00 g/lb). Try for the higher end of this range, as tolerated, especially if you’re an athlete.
  • If you’re of healthy weight, active, and wish to build muscle, aim for 1.4–3.3 g/kg (0.64–1.50 g/lb). Eating more than 2.6 g/kg (1.18 g/lb) is probably not going to lead to greater muscle gains, but it can minimize fat gains when “bulking” — i.e. when eating above maintenance in order to gain (muscle) weight.
  • If you’re of healthy weight, active, and wish to lose fat, aim for 2.3–3.1 g/kg (1.04–1.41 g/lb), skewing toward the higher end of this range as you become leaner or if you increase your caloric deficit (hypocaloric diet).
  • If you’re overweight or obese, aim for 1.2–1.5 g/kg (0.54–0.68 g/lb). You do not need to try to figure out your ideal body weight or your lean mass (aka fat-free mass). Most studies on people with obesity report their findings based on total body weight.
  • If you’re pregnant, aim for 1.66–1.77 g/kg (0.75–0.80 g/lb)
  • If you’re lactating, aim for more than 1.5 g/kg (0.68 g/lb)
  • If you’re vegan or obtain most of your protein from plants, then protein requirements may be higher due to the inferior protein quality (both the EAA profile and bioavailability) of plant-based proteins relative to animal-based proteins.

https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-do-you-need/#summary1

Congratulations, Bob!

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We want to say a huge congratulations to one of our amazing patients! Bob recently completed the “Strolling Jim” UltraMarathon. This race included 4,000 feet of elevation, 4,000 feet of decline and a total of 41.5 miles! What an accomplishment, Bob! We are so proud of you!
We also received the message below from Bob after his race. We are so glad we could be a part of your journey. 🙂
“Thank you to Dr Steve and Nickie for, without whom, I could not have achieved my goal of finishing my latest UltraMarthon of over 40 miles and 4000 ft elevation AND 4000 of decline. Thank you Dr and Nickie!!!!!”

If you’re training for a race Dr. Steve can help! Call the office and get race ready!

Strengthening the Glutes Can Help Back Pain!

Here’s a great exercise to help strengthen the Gluteus medius.

Myofascial pain syndrome (primarily involving the gluteus medius) is present in the majority of patients with LBP (73%) , sciatica (50%), and LBP with sciatica (85%).”

Kameda M, Tanimae H. Effectiveness of active soft tissue release and trigger point block for the diagnosis and treatment of low back and leg pain of predominantly gluteus medius origin: a report of 115 cases. J Phys Ther Sci. 2019;31(2):141-148.

It hurts when I do my rehab exercises!

What to expect when starting rehab or exercise program?

It’s normal for the pain to increase when starting any rehab or exercise program if you have chronic or persistent pain.  This is normal and over time this will improve.  Exercise/rehab will decrease the pain over time.  It will take time.  So stick with it and you’ll get better!

Here’s a nice paper that goes into the mechanism of how exercise works.

Does exercise increase or decrease pain? Central mechanisms underlying these two phenomena

https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1113/JP273355?fbclid=IwAR00pU_w5lH5XFbzyQl97uiP8nlntGXiqQppQPLKlPqZ3bSeo0-1M907vKs&

Did You Know Exercise Could Do This?

Exercise can:

1.     Help control weight (weight loss and weight maintenance)

2.     Reduce risk for cardiovascular disease

3.     Reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes & metabolic syndrome

4.     Reduce the risk of certain types of cancers including but not limited to colon, breast, endometrial and lung

5.     Reduce the risks of contracting osteopenia and osteoporosis

6.     Reduce the risk of hip and pelvic fracture in the elderly

7.     Improve balance and coordination

8.     Decrease fall risk in the elderly

9.     Decrease pain and increase function in patients with osteoarthritis

10.   Maintain lean muscle mass and reduce body fat percentage

11.   Control chronic pain with conditions such as fibromyalgia and other autoimmune diseases

12.   Promote independence, confidence, and self-efficacy

13.   Improve mood

14.   Assist in the treatment of psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, bipolar, mood disorders and other conditions

15.   Help in the treatment or prevention of substance abuse or other addictions

16.   Increase the length and quality of life

17.   Prevent or slow cognitive decline in conditions like dementia or Alzheimer’s

18.   Improve local or global mobility

19.   Improve local or global stability

20.   Improve circulation

21.   Improve respiratory capacity

22.   Improve body mass index (BMI)

23.   Improve measures of strength

24.   Improve power output

25.   Improve sports performance and functional capacity

26.   Improve sleep quality

27.   Increase sexual arousal

28.   Improve energy levels

29.   Reduce fatigue

30.   Improve mental alertness

If you need help getting started with fitness come see Dr. Steve!

https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pa-healthy/index.htm

https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/324583-overview

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1470658/

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/sms.12581

Abdominal Bracing

What is abdominal bracing?

It’s when all of your core muscles work together, a “Super Stiffness” occurs, and all 3 layers of the abdominal wall are activated to protect and stabilize the spine and discs.

Without bending forward, contract the abdominal muscles (like you are about the get punched in your gut –feel them tighten with one hand) and the buttock muscles (as if you are holding in a bowel movement).

You will feel the lower back muscles contract (with the other hand) when you contract your abs and buttocks.

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Here are a couple videos showing abdominal bracing and how it’s done!

Chiropractic Care Tied to Significant Reduction in Opioid Scripts

Chiropractic is the best for delivering drug free pain relief.  Study after study shows this!

From the Study:

DENVER — Chiropractic care for musculoskeletal pain is associated with a significant reduction in opioid prescriptions compared with non-chiropractic care in this patient population, new research suggests.

In a new meta-analysis and systematic review, patients who visited a chiropractor for a musculoskeletal pain condition were 49% less likely to receive an opioid prescription than their counterparts who went to other healthcare providers.

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https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/910617?src=soc_fb_190323_mscpedt_news_mdscp_chiropractor&faf=1

One More Reason Not to Drink Soda

Soda and other sugary drinks have to be one of the worst things anyone can do for their health.  I constantly tell patients not to drink soda.  The average patient who stops drinking soda loses about 5 pounds. That’s great!

Drink water! It’s better for your health.  Do you need more evidence that sugary drinks are bad? Here you go.

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A Harvard-led study in the journal, Circulation, found people who drink two or more sugar-sweetened beverages a day have a 31 percent higher risk of early death from cardiovascular disease. Each additional soda, sports drink, or sugary beverage increased the risk by 10 percent.

Sugary drinks are linked to 31 percent higher risk of early death, study finds.

Don’t buy it, don’t drink it and most importantly don’t let your kids drink it.

Drink WATER.

If you need help with your diet please give the office a call. Dr. Steve can help!