Archive for exercise
Santa Barbara Chiropractor Offers Holiday Exercise Tips
Posted by: | CommentsHere I go again talking about exercise, one of my favorite subjects as your Santa Barbara
chiropractor when it comes to an essential part of good health that no one can do for you but you. In my past blogs I’ve talked about simple ways that you can add exercise to your daily routine without altering your schedule too much, like using your lunch break to jog or take a brisk walk, taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator, and when shopping at a mall or market, find a parking spot on the outskirts of the lot, instead of close to the building.
But, with holiday shopping and other “to-do” activities, even the simple exercise options above might fall by the way side. Your lunch break becomes an opportunity to get pressing holiday necessities accomplished and if you’re in a rush, you may find parking close to a mall or market entrance, and taking an elevator instead of the stairs far less time-consuming.
However, many holiday activities offer ways for you to get the 30 minutes of daily moderate physical activity that your body needs. And, in addition to the usual health benefits, making sure you continue to get exercise will also help your body burn extra holiday calories! And, of course, as I’ve mentioned before, you don’t need to get in your 30 minutes all at once, but instead, exercising in 10- to 15-minute “chunks” can also be beneficial.
So, here are a few tips to healthfully get you through the holiday season:
If you’re holiday shopping and in a hurry, continue to park farther away from the mall entrance, and get your heart pumping by picking up your walking pace. You’ll save time and get a workout. Once you’re inside, remind yourself that taking the stairs may seem to take longer, but waiting for the elevator is often more time consuming. And, when your purchases aren’t too heavy or bulky, try carrying them instead of using a shopping cart to help get your heart pumping and strengthen your muscles.
If you’re hosting guests for the holiday, getting ready for them and cleaning after they leave can be a good way to get in your aerobic exercise. Housework, such as vacuuming, mopping, scrubbing, and even decorating (and “undecorating”) uses large muscle groups like those in your legs and back. The most important thing is to get your heart rate up at a consistent level for at least 10 minutes without stopping.
Don’t let inertia set in during the holidays. It’s hard to start exercising again once you’ve gotten out of the habit. And, if it helps, keep an image of Santa Claus and his big round belly in mind. Remember, he only exercises one night a year!
1809 Cliff Dr. Santa Barbara, CA, 93109 USA
mesachiropractor@gmail.com • 805-963-2069
As a Santa Barbara chiropractor for many years, I have to say that there isn’t much difference between the skeletal structure of men and women, with the exception that the female pelvis is wider to allow for childbirth, and the forehead bones of the male protrude more and the overall frame is frequently larger. And, to be honest, though I’ve never fully understood the philosophy that “women are from Venus, men are from Mars,” at some level this seems plausible to me and I’m far too intelligent to debate the issue with either sex! But, one difference between men and women that my mother asserted with pride was that “men sweat and women glow.” And, though I never debated this issue either, I was pleased to run across new research published in the journal Experimental Physiology that concluded that women have to work harder than men in order to start sweating, and that men are more effective sweaters during exercise. (Ergo, women are more effective “glowers.”)
The researchers at Osaka International University and Kobe University studied the differences between the sweating responses of men and women as they participated in exercises in which the intensities were changed, i.e., four groups of trained and untrained females and males cycled continuously for an hour in a controlled climate with increasing intensity intervals. The results? Men were shown to be more efficient at sweating, and that while exercise training improves sweating in both sexes, the degree of improvement is greater in men. Untrained females had the worst sweating response of all requiring a higher body temperature to begin sweating. The bottom line? According to the study’s coordinator, Yoshimitsu Inoue, “It appears that women are at a disadvantage when they need to sweat a lot during exercise, especially in hot conditions.” This finding may explain why men and women cope differently with extremes in temperatures, with women adapting better to hot environments, but men having greater efficiency of action under the same conditions.
But, sweat or “glow,” exercise for both sexes is essential for good health, including a strong musculoskeletal system.
Source: Experimental Physiology
Santa Barbara Chiropractor Discusses How Exercise Can Improve the Process of Aging
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Well, here I go again, touting the benefits of exercise. But, I have to tell you that, as a Santa Barbara Chiropractor, over the years I’ve adjusted the spines of people who exercise regularly and people who don’t. The differences in the strength, function, and overall health, not only of their musculoskeletal systems, but in the healthy function of all the systems of the body, is dramatic. For this reason, I’m passing along the results of yet another study on the benefits of exercise.
New research at Mid Sweden University and the Karolinska Institue found that the maximum capacity for oxygen uptake is twice as great among active senior men compared with men who do not exercise. (Twice as much oxygen intake!) “The high values for maximum oxygen-uptake capacity that we have measured have never been reported before in a population of men of advanced age,” says Per Tesch, professor of sports science who led the study of seniors who are still active skiers. (Some of Sweden’s skiing icons, some now more than 90 years old, took part!)
The conclusion of this study is that “humans have a great potential to maintain a high level of physical work capacity and, thereby, a better quality of life even at advanced ages.” The study is part of a larger collaborative project whose ultimate purpose is to study how musculature, the circulatory apparatus, and performance are affected by lifelong exercising well into senior years.
So, there you have it… One more good reason to get your body moving and to keep going no matter what your age!
Sources: Expertanswer, AlphaGalileo Foundation.
Move It AND Lose It! Says Your Santa Barbara Chiropractor
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Okay, if you read my blogs, even on an irregular basis, you know by now that I am a Santa Barbara chiropractor who is a bit of an exercise fanatic (nut?). There are so many healthy reasons to exercise that not exercising by some individuals seems unduly resistant to their good health! Well, in a effort to coax those few exercise holdouts, and to say, “here’s an extra bonus,” to those of you who exercise regularly, I offer the results of a new study: According to research led by Brazilian researchers at the University of Campinas, the results of which will be published next week online in the open access journal PLoS Biology, there is yet another good reason to exercise. In addition to keeping the organs of the body functioning properly, helping the musculoskeletal system to stay strong and mobile, and burning calories for weight loss, exercise has also been found to restore the sensitivity of neurons involved in the control of satiety (which is to say, “feeling full”). This, in turn, contributes to reduced food intake and, ergo, more weight loss.
PLoS Biology
Health problems due to bad posture occurs for many reasons and is nothing new to the spines of humankind. For thousands of years, men and women have hunched over their work, whether pounding rocks to make tools or pounding a keyboard on their computer. Fortunately, chiropractic was discovered in 1885 to remedy many of the problems occurring from bad posture! Since that time chiropractors like me, your Santa Barbara Chiropractor, have been helping people to correct the musculoskeletal damage resulting from bad posture, as well as providing exercises, gait training, and lifestyle changes to improve posture and avoid problems in the future. Most of us already know that excessive computer use is unhealthy for the human body, so it may not come as a surprise that researchers are cautioning that the very design of laptop computers encourages bad posture among college students (and other heavy users) and can lead to headaches, muscle strain and debilitating neck, shoulder and hand injuries.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill School of Medicine explained in a university news release that the “unified body construction” of a laptop, with its inseparable keyboard and monitor, makes it difficult for users to configure their equipment in a way that minimizes risk to their bodies. For instance, awkward positioning of the fingers and body can cause nerve injury to the wrist and prompt the onset of carpal tunnel syndrome, while poor neck position and shoulder posture can cause muscle strain and soreness in those areas.
Researcher, Dr. Kevin Carneiro, a physician in the UNC School of Medicine’s department of physical medicine and rehabilitation, and his colleagues point out that laptop users can take specific steps to minimize their risk. So, listen up and heed the tips below:
- If you are working at a computer, your body should form 90-degree angles at the elbows, knees and hips.
- Use a docking station and cables to hook up to an external monitor and/or separate keyboard that are movable to encourage better posture.
- With the help of a docking station, position the computer so you can read the screen without bending your neck.
- Pay attention to the chair you sit in — look for one that is adjustable and comes with back support.
- Tilt the screen so you don’t need to bend your neck, and place the mouse so that your wrists are in a neutral position (one in which they are aligned with your arm and not raised above it).
- Take frequent short breaks every 20 minutes or so — this can help rest muscles and encourage position shifting. Do some shoulder shrugs, gentle forward head rolls, and shoulder scrunches to stretch your muscles.
- Stay hydrated — drinking plenty of water can help keep discs in your back lubricated.
In addition, be sure to watch out for warning signs, such as pain and tingling. These may mean you need to use better posture, take more breaks, or see your chiropractor!
Staying Physically Active, Advises Your Santa Barbara Chiropractor, Is a “Smart” Idea
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If you read my Santa Barbara chiropractic website blogs, then you already know I adhere to the philosophy that motion is life. Our body is designed to move, move, move; to walk, run, play, and dance! My “job” as a Santa Barbara Chiropractor is not only to get you out of pain, but to help you to keep your musculoskeletal system healthy and well-adjusted so that such movement is energizing and freeing rather than painful. Because I believe so strongly that lifelong movement is essential to our overall health as human beings, I’m always happy to offer new incentives to my patients and blog readers to get moving. A new study offers another good reason for everyone, but especially women, to get active and stay active. The study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, found that women who are physically active at any point over the course of their life, whether it is in their teen years, 30s, 40s, or 50+, maintain a lower risk of cognitive impairment later in life as compared to those women who are inactive.
Santa Barbara Chiropractor Offers An “Adults Only” Suggestion
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If you’ve been reading my blogs, you know that as a chiropractor I believe that exercise, at any age, is one of the main keys to good health and longevity. You’ve heard me say that “motion is life,” and it becomes all the more critical as people age. Movement slows down degenerative changes and often prevents many of them from occurring at all. In addition, movement enhances blood flow, respiration, and elimination, and keeps every organ stronger and healthier. So, you can imagine my excitement when I read about a “senior’s playground” that opened in London’s Hyde Park recently. The playground was the result of senior residents campaigning for more facilities to help older people to get fit. Brilliant! Talk about an idea whose time has come! Organizers said that a large group of older people began lining up early in the morning to try the six low-impact fitness machines that included a cross-trainer, a stationary bicycle, and a sit-up bench. The playground is aimed at people over 60, but the gentle exercise would also be beneficial for patients recovering from operations or injury. Similar play areas for the elderly are already availabe in other European countries. So, why not here in the U.S.? Older people need a “free” friendly outside exercise area where they not only won’t feel intimidated by younger people, but will be able to socialize as they improve their health. So, got a pen and paper handy? How about a laptop? Even your cell phone will work! Start a campaign in your area for a “playground for seniors.” If you don’t personally need one today…you will sometime in the future! |
Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP
"Missing the Mark" But Still Winning in the Long Run?
Posted by: | Comments“Nearly” isn’t generally a word we associate with achievement. In fact, very little in life, it seems, counts much at all if you don’t “hit a grand slam.” Luckily for some, this may not be entirely the case when it comes to longevity. As a chiropractor in Santa Barbara, who has many senior patients and who is also a firm believer in the advantages of exercise at every age, I was very happy to read about the results of the following study.
Researchers found that of the “least-fit” versus the “slightly more fit” in a recent study of nearly 4,400 healthy U.S. adults, roughly 20 percent with the lowest physical fitness levels were twice as likely to die over the nine years of the study as the 20 percent with the next-lowest fitness levels. (In other words, those 20 percent who were nearly at the lowest fitness levels.) This is the proverbial “bad news/good news” type of result. It is obviously bad news if you are a resolute couch potato. But, it is definitely good news for those who haven’t entirely embraced a sedentary lifestyle but are not, by any stretch of the imagination, “exertive.” Apparently, those individuals who stay even moderately fit as they grow older may have a longer lifespan than those who are entirely out-of-shape, the study suggests.
Between 1986 and 2006, researchers evaluated the fitness levels of 4,384 middle-aged and senior adults during exercise treatmill tests. The researchers then observed their progress for approximately nine years. Such factors as obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure were considered in the study. This, in and of itself, highlights the value of physical fitness itself. In an email to Reuters health, lead researcher, Dr. Sandra Mandic of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, stated: “Our findings suggest that a sedentary lifestyle, rather than differences in cardiovascular risk factors or age, may explain the two-fold higher mortality rates in the least-fit versus slightly more fit individuals.”
Nearly two-thirds of the participants at the least-fit level failed to get at least 30 minutes of moderate activity, five or more days a week, which was the minimum recommended amount of exercise. “These results emphasize the importance of improving and maintaining high fitness levels by engaging in regular physical activity,” Mandic said, “particularly in poorly-fit individuals.”
Dividing the study group participants by fitness levels, the researchers found that 25 percent of the least-fit men and women had died during the study period, as opposed to 13 percent of those who were slightly more in shape. Among adults in the most-fit group (the ones who “hit a grand slam”, so to speak) only 6 percent died during the follow-up period.
The five fitness-level groups showed little variance, overall, in their reported exercise habits during most of their adult lives, but conspicuously, they varied in activity levels only in recent years. “Since it is recent physical activity that offers protection,” Mandic said, “it is important to maintain regular physical activity throughout life.”
And, naturally, just think of the health advantages we could all derive if we sought to achieve the higher levels of fitness.
SOURCE: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, August 2009.
