Vitamin D is the key to having healthy bones, yet many Americans don’t get as much as they need.

The consequence? Broken bones, even among the young and healthy, according to two new studies presented yesterday at a meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

In one study, researchers from South Korea studied 104 postmenopausal women with wrist fractures and found that 44 percent of the women had insufficient or deficient vitamin D levels. Only 13 percent of 107 women soft tissue injuries were found to have low vitamin D levels.

Vitamin D deficiency can be devastating among younger women and men also, according to another study presented at the AAOS meeting.

Researchers at the University of Missouri studied the medical records of nearly 900 adults, some as young as 18 years old, who were admitted to a trauma center for orthopedic injuries. Researchers found that 77 percent of them had insufficient or deficient levels of vitamin D. Nearly 40 percent were vitamin D deficient.

“We are dealing with a significant problem in our population, especially related to those individuals that sustain fractures,” said Dr. Joseph Lane, chief of metabolic bone disease service at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

“Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium from food, strengthening the bones. The nutrient is found naturally in fatty fish like salmon and tuna, and in small amounts in mushrooms, cheese and egg yolks.The other natural source for vitamin D is sunshine, which causes the body to make vitamin D.

Vitamin D is also added to nearly all milk sold in the U.S.

In 2010, the Institute of Medicine recommended that children and adults up to age 70 get 600 IU of vitamin D each day, and that adults over 70 should get 800 IU per day.

Getting enough of the nutrient naturally is next to impossible, according to some experts. A cup of milk only has 100 IU of vitamin D. Drink 4 a day and you still won’t meet the IOMs daily requirements.

Sunlight is also insufficient for most, said Dr. Loren Wissner Green, an associate professor at New York University School of Medicine.

“Light-skinned people generally use sunscreens that prevent the skin from manufacturing vitamin D and darker skinned people have natural melanin barriers to UV rays that allow the skin to manufacture vitamin D,” Green said.

Experts say taking a vitamin D supplement is a good idea, especially for older women who are at greater risk for bone fractures.

“All postmenopausal women should be taking calcium and a multivitamin containing vitamin D,” said Dr. Scott Broden, director of the Emory University Orthopaedic and Spine Center in Atlanta, Ga.

Additionally, older people, those with previous bone fractures, and others who are at an increased risk of fractures, may want to consider having a doctor check their vitamin D levels.

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/continued-research-supports-vitamin-d-deficiency-linked-to-fracture-risk-/

Abstract
A literature review on the effects of chiropractic and sports care revealed a complex role for doctors who treat athletes at every level. We discuss different research papers presented and the interrelationships of care and the results.

We feel that more research at every level of sports care needs to be pursued for the betterment of chiropractic and the athletes we treat.

Introduction

The determination of chiropractic’s role in sports care revolves around the ability of the doctor to show progress in areas important to the athlete. Chiropractic is not only beneficial to the experienced and professional athlete, but is beneficial to the amateur and weekend athlete as well. The practitioner’s role is to enhance performance, and prevent and manage injury. The treatment of professional athletes has helped the chiropractor to apply his knowledge of biomechanical injuries and their treatment.

Chiropractors have found that they can also be effective in the nutritional aspects of athletic performance. They have been able to help in precompetition preparation, competition endurance, and all aspects of injury prevention and treatment.

Discussion

Chiropractic is becoming more a treatment of choice by professional and amateur athletes. This has been evident in the treatment of collegiate, Olympic, and professional athletes and has enabled us to gain recognition. Chiropractic care is not only limited to the more advanced athlete, but young athletes are able to benefit from chiropractic treatment as well. This is especially true in the areas of critical, acute, and emergency care.

Due to the lack of education in the areas of biomechanical and neuromusculoskeletal dysfunction, medical doctors are not as well prepared to deal with athletic injuries. Because of this, many athletes of varying abilities are learning of the benefits of chiropractic care. An excellent example of a medical professional giving advice to professional players about chiropractic can be found in the San Francisco 49ers. Some of the players personal doctors are quoted as saying, “It’s the worst thing for you,” and “If he (their chiropractor) hasn’t hurt you already, he will hurt you.” Many high-performance athletes and their coaches have found that sports chiropractic plays a major role in three important areas of prime concern to all athletes: maximum musculoskeletal performance, prevention of injury, and management of injury.

Weekend and amateur athletes can learn about the importance of chiropractic adjustments from many professional athletes. No matter which sport you enjoy on your day off, you can find someone you admire in your area of interest that is being treated by a chiropractor. The list of advocates is long. Boxing heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield; Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and Roger Craig of the four time Super Bowl champions San Francisco 49ers in football; Chi Chi Rodriguez in golf; world champion kick-boxer Dennis Alexio; as well as champions in virtually every major sport are becoming regular chiropractic patients. Many of these athletes insist on being adjusted by their chiropractors just prior to competition. They feel they are not able to perform at their optimum ability without the reassurance that they have full range of motion without restriction in their joints.

The changing outlook towards health from an allopathic standpoint to a more holistic approach has brought the study of nutrition to a more respectable position. The athlete is always looking to enhance performance, speed, injury rehabilitation, and increase endurance. In their search they are being drawn to the benefits of nutrition. Inadequate nutrition and unhealthy nutritional behavior is clearly linked to the etiology of practically every major chronic disease. Chiropractors qualified in the field of nutrition are able to give pertinent advice on vitamin supplementation, dietary intakes, environmental toxicities, homeostasis, and biomechanical reactions of bodily systems.

In an effort to reduce injuries entire teams as well as individual athletes are looking toward chiropractic to design tailored conditioning programs. They are finding that chiropractors, as trained professionals in the area of biomechanical function of the neuromusculoskeletal system, are better able to prepare a complete conditioning and injury prevention program.

It is necessary to properly assess and identify the biomechanics of an injury prior to the initiation of a goal-oriented treatment program of the involved area.

The soft tissue involvement of an injury must be evaluated and included in the treatment program. Many problems are found to be initiated at the precompetition level, due to poor conditioning, poor fitness or poor posture. Evaluation procedures use not only traditional orthopedic tests, neurological examinations, and x-ray studies, but have come to include more extensive outside professional diagnostic procedures. These may include CAT scans, MRIs, joint angiograms, diskograms, and joint arthroscopic procedures.

Conclusion

The trend towards chiropractic in sports care has been shown to be valid. It is hoped that more definitive studies in the area of nutrition, biomechanics, and injury rehabilitation will be done to heighten chiropractic in the sports care arena. Because of the increasing world-wide interest in sports and fitness, no matter what your age or level of athletic achievement, the opportunity to finally see the role of chiropractic in sports care is at hand.

References
1.Chapman-Smith, D. “Sports chiropractic.” The Chiropractic Report 1990; 4:1-6.
2.Johnson, P. “Chiropractic and youth.” Today’s Chiropractic 1987; 16:39,112.
3.Tyler, R.H. “Chiropractic fight doctor.” Dynamic Chiropractic 1991; 9:1,27.
4.Press, S.J. “The role of the chiropractic physicians in the sports medical team.” Am Chiropractor 1987; August:31-36.
5.Corwin, J.M. “Coming of age in the 1980s: sports chiropractic’s rapid rise.” Today’s Chiropractic 1987; 16:31-32,112.
6.Freerks, H. “Dr. Nick Athens, unofficial team chiropractor for ’89 Super Bowl champs.” ICA Review 1989; 45:17.
7.sportelli, L. “Chiropractic sports science: a new perspective.” J Chiropractic 1988; 25:19-22.
8.Sawyer, C.E. “Nutrition specialists fill vital role.” J Chiropractic 1989; 26:28-30.
9.Hagerman, G.R.; Atkins, J.W. “The U.S. Alpine ski team’s conditioning and injury-prevention program.” Am Chiropractor November, 1989; 16-25.
10.Green, D.M. “Optimum evaluation, treatment, fitness rehabilitation approach to musculoskeletal joint dysfunction.” Chiropractic Sports Med 1987; 1:26-28.
11.Cianciulli, A. “Sports chiropractic.” Chiropractic Sports Med 1987; 2:46.
12.Whitman, M. “The complete blood count and its clinical nutritional implications.” Dig Chiropractic Econ 1987; 29:20-23.
13.Nansel, D.; Cremata, E. “Effect of unilateral spinal adjustments on goniometrically-assessed cervical lateral-flexion end-range asymmetries in otherwise asymptomatic subjects.” J. Manipulative Physiol Ther 1989; 6:419-427.
14.Johnson, L.M. “Chiropractic and the ’88 Olympics.” ICA Review 1988; 44(2):44,47.
15.Leonardi, L. “Global expansion through sports.” ICA Review 1986; 42(1):50-51.

Robert Thomle and
Robert Ziegler, Students
Cleveland Chiropractic College
Kansas City, Missouri

As I write this today, two of our beautiful practice members are awaiting the arrival of new additions to their families. Adjusting women through pregnancy is one of the most rewarding parts of our work, because a healthier pregnancy means an easier labor and delivery, and a better transition for the baby into this life.

On Monday night at our workshop, a young woman told the story of the traumatic birth of her son, and the subsequent eight years of poor health he has suffered as a result. She was unaware that Chiropractic care through pregnancy would have given him a better start, and angry that she didn’t know this prior to her son’s conception. I promised her I’d get the word out. This article is dedicated to her and her son with the intent that this information will prevent another mother and child years of heartbreak.

Chiropractic care through pregnancy is not only safe, it is essential. We can look at the implications of subluxation from a bio mechanical, hormonal and neurological standpoint. It is easy for all of us to see postural changes through pregnancy-the centre of gravity changes, the weight of the baby places increased pressure on the spine and pelvis, and towards the end of the pregnancy, changes are seen in gait pattern-the “waddle.” What we can’t see, are the millions of different hormonal changes and chemical reactions occurring both in the mother and the developing baby–all of which are controlled and coordinated through the nervous system.

Adjustments result in easier pregnancy, significantly decreased mean labor time, and assists new mothers back to prepartum health. In one study, women receiving Chiropractic care through their first pregnancy had 24% shorter labor times than the group not receiving Chiropractic, and multiparous subjects reported 39% shorter labor times. Thirty-nine percent-that’s a massive difference. In addition, 84% of women report relief of back pain during pregnancy with Chiropractic care. Because the sacroiliac joints of the pelvis function better, there is significant less likelihood of back labor when receiving Chiropractic care through pregnancy.

Body position during delivery is also critical. Any late second stage labor position that denies postural sacral rotation denies the mother and the baby critical pelvic outlet diameter and jams the tip of the sacrum up to 4cm into the pelvic outlet. In other words, the popular semi-recumbent position places the laboring woman on her back onto the apex of the sacrum, which closes off the vital space needed for the baby to get through the pelvic outlet.

This delivery position is the main reason why so many births are traumatic-labor is stalled, the mom becomes fatigued and overwhelmed by pain, so the utilization of epidurals, forceps, episiotomy, vacuum extraction and cesarean increases. Just consider the analogy my husband uses-how hard would it be to have a bowel movement while lying on your back? You’re right, very hard, and it may not happen. This is why squatting is the preferred position-gravity works to help and the pelvic outlet can open to a greater degree. Squatting during delivery results in decreased use of forceps and a shorter second stage of labor than the semi-recumbent position.

Greater complications during delivery result in greater neurological insult to the newborn due to injury to the head and neck. Even after vaginal births, 4.6% of term neonates suffer unexplained brain bleeds and 10% suffer neonatal encephalopathy. Because so many children had been injured with forceps deliveries, (facial nerve palsy, tearing of cervical spine musculature) vacuum extraction was developed. Suction cups are placed on the newborn’s head, and the baby is literally sucked out of the mother.

When utilized, 120 pounds of pressure goes through the baby’s head and neck. Decapitation occurs at 140 pounds of pressure, to give you an idea of the high forces involved. Remember when you were a little girl or boy and there was a new baby you were being introduced to? Our parents always said, “Watch his head-you don’t want to hurt him.” We’re careful because the fontanel’s of the skull are so pliable, and the neck and brain are fragile and unprotected. This is why so many babies sustain injuries to their heads and neck during vacuum extraction-the force is far greater than their little bodies can tolerate.

Adjustments to newborns contain only ounces of force. But that force is directed into the spine to facilitate health and remove subluxations. We adjust babies as soon after birth as possible, to alleviate subluxations caused by in-utero constraint and the journey down through the birth canal. There has been a lot in the media lately about children not needing Chiropractic care, but there is no better way to get a head start in life. As you all know, Chiropractic care is not a cure for anything-it is a system of wellness to help us be who we’re supposed to be. It is not a cure for ear infections, for colic, for allergies, for asthma, for frequent colds, nor for ADD/ADHD.

When we listen to mothers’ stories of their pregnancy, labor and delivery, the children who suffer the most from the above complaints, are the ones who’ve had the greatest trouble with their births. Even relatively easy deliveries can result in subluxations. That’s why every child should be checked, before problems with their health even develop. That’s preventive care in the truest sense-preventing subluxations in mothers to prevent subluxations in their babies during childbirth. This is why every woman needs Chiropractic through pregnancy-so that the arrival of their baby is a “wonderful experience”, as one of my patients told me last week, after her son was born.

- – - – - – - – - – - -
Dr. Martha Collins is a Family Chiropractor practicing in Kingston, Ontario with her husband Dr. Carl Weber. She is committed to spreading the message of Chiropractic around the world so we can all lead healthier, happier lives.

Is there BPA in your canned food?A new study by Harvard researchers may provide another reason to skip the canned pumpkin and cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving. People who ate one serving of canned food daily over the course of five days, the study found, had significantly elevated levels — more than a tenfold increase — of bisphenol-A, or BPA, a substance that lines most food and drink cans.

Most of the research on BPA, a so-called endocrine disruptor that can mimic the body’s hormones, has focused on its use in plastic bottles. It has been linked in some studies to a higher risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity, and health officials in the United States have come under increasing pressure to regulate it. Some researchers, though, counter that its reputation as a health threat to people is exaggerated.

The new study, which was published Tuesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first to measure the amounts that are ingested when people eat food that comes directly out of a can, in this case soup. The spike in BPA levels that the researchers recorded is one of the highest seen in any study.
“We cannot say from our research what the consequences are,” said Karin Michels, an associate professor of epidemiology at Harvard Medical School and an author of the study. “But the very high levels that we found are very surprising. We would have never expected a thousand-percent increase in their levels of BPA.”

As part of the study, Dr. Michels and her colleagues recruited a group of 75 staff members and students at the Harvard School of Public Health, split them into two groups, and then followed them for two weeks. During the first week, one group ate a 12-ounce serving of vegetarian soup from a common brand of canned soup every day for five days; the other group, meanwhile, ate 12 ounces of vegetarian soup made from fresh ingredients each day. Then, after a two-day soup-free “wash out” period, the groups switched roles and were followed for five more days. At the end of each five-day period, the subjects provided urine samples.

Dr. Michels noted that all the participants were fed amounts of soup that were smaller than what people probably would consume on their own. “One serving of soup is a not a lot,” she said. “They were actually telling us that that wasn’t even enough for their lunch.”

In general, most studies have found that urinary BPA levels in typical adults average somewhere around 2 micrograms per liter. That was roughly the levels the Harvard researchers found in the subjects after a week of eating the soup made from fresh ingredients. After eating the canned soup, though, their levels rose above 20 micrograms per liter, a 1,221 percent increase.

Dr. Michels said that her co-authors, including one researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who regularly analyzes BPA levels in studies, were stunned when the results came back. “She called me and said something’s funny with these levels,” she said. “She didn’t know what she was looking at.”

Dr. Michels said that the increases in BPA were most likely temporary and would go down after hours or days. “We don’t know what health effects these transient increases in BPA may have,” she added

But she also pointed out that the findings were probably applicable to other canned goods, including soda and juices. “The sodas are concerning, because some people have a habit of consuming a lot of them throughout the day,” she said. “My guess is that with other canned foods, you would see similar increases in bisphenol-A. But we only tested soups, so we wouldn’t be able to predict the absolute size of the increase.”

Many companies began phasing out BPA in baby bottles and other plastic food containers in recent years to ease public anxieties, but it is still widely used in the linings of metal cans because it helps prevent corrosion and is resistant to high heat during the sterilization process.

“I don’t know how important bisphenol-A is to the lining of these metal cans,” Dr. Michels said. “Can you make the lining to protect the contents of the can without bisphenol-A? If this is the case, then we would suggest taking it out, because then you would eliminate the problem.”

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/bpa-lurks-in-canned-soups-and-drinks/?ref=health

Jerome Allen, who works at Wal-Mart, gave up smoking when he learned he paid $40 more a month for health insurance.

By REED ABELSON

Published: November 16, 2011

More and more employers are demanding that workers who smoke, are overweight or have high cholesterol shoulder a greater share of their health care costs, a shift toward penalizing employees with unhealthy lifestyles rather than rewarding good habits.

Melanie Booth never expected to take her baby to a chiropractor. But when son Mac was 3 months old and having problems — difficulty with nursing, apparent discomfort when lying on his tummy and a tendency to turn his head only one way — his pediatrician recommended she do just that.
Booth, a university professor in Portland, Ore., found that her lactation consultant and several friends also endorsed chiropractic care for kids.

BETTER LIFE: More on parenting and kids’ health

After one visit, she was a believer, too: As chiropractor Elise Hewitt worked on Mac, “he began to quiver and shake, and it kind of scared my husband and me,” Booth says. “But she explained (she) was releasing energy that was stored up incorrectly in his body and particularly his spine. … And almost immediately, we saw a change in his ability to move his neck.” The nursing and tummy time problems cleared up, too, Booth says, as Mac continued treatments over several months.

Stories such as Booth’s help explain why nearly 3% of children in the USA were treated with chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation in 2007, making it the second-most common form of complementary or alternative medicine for children, a government report said recently. (Most common: natural products, such as fish oil and herbs.)

But stories are not studies. Even practitioners such as Hewitt, president of the American Chiropractic Association’s council on pediatrics, concede their work is not backed by the kinds of studies that would be required if chiropractic care were a drug. As the government report noted, “there is insufficient proof that (alternative practices) are safe and effective.” The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which released the report, was created to fill the research gap.

Chiropractors say they welcome the scrutiny. Hewitt says: “I wish there were more high-level studies.” But she also says she is comfortable treating kids based on preliminary research, 100 years of chiropractic history and her own experiences.

Harm is ‘rare, but possible’

One large safety review, published in 2007, did find a few serious injuries in children, including one death from a brain bleed and one case of paralysis. But there was no proof spinal manipulation caused the injuries and no way to estimate how common such injuries might be, says Sunita Vohra of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.

“Serious harms may be rare but are possible,” she says. She is working on further studies.

“I suspect that adverse events are very rare,” says Kathi Kemper, professor of pediatrics at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C. She wouldn’t refer a child to a chiropractor for non-musculoskeletal problems but wouldn’t ask parents to stop visits if they perceive benefits.

Word-of-mouth, not research, brings most parents to Jeanne Ohm, a chiropractor in Media, Pa., and executive coordinator of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association. Parents “are usually referred by someone whose asthma went away or whose ear infections went away,” she says.

Ohm says she does not promise to cure any ailment in a particular child. She emphasizes broader goals: “Taking stress and tension off the nervous system affects their whole physical body and their mental state. We look at the whole person.”

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/painter/2009-01-18-your-health_N.htm

Dave Kiley’s journey as a wheelchair-bound basketball star with a devotion to Chiropractic.

After a 1973 snow-tubing accident at Big Bear Mountain in California, Dave Kiley’s dreams of becoming a college basketball player were shattered. At 19 years old, Kiley was paralyzed from the waist down and completely dependent on his wheelchair.

A star basketball player at Santa Ana’s Mater Dei High, Kiley’s future was promising. That is, until his inner tube spun violently out of control and into a tree. Before then, the teenager’s biggest worry was which basketball scholarship to choose.

“I was a basketball junkie from birth,” Kiley says. “I had plans to be a point guard for a college team but, as fate would have it, I received my spinal cord injury.”
A Change of Heart

While Kiley initially struggled with his fate, he soon realized that the injury was his destiny. With his discovery of wheelchair basketball and a lifelong dedication to physical training, one basketball shot was all it took for Kiley’s gloomy demeanor to begin disappearing.

“After my injury, I was slow to warm up to wheelchair basketball,” he says. “My pride was kind of in the way at 19. Once I made my first shot from sitting down, I was hooked again. I was enlightened, and my eyes were wide open to what I could do.”

This new-found passion propelled Kiley to become one of wheelchair basketball’s most celebrated players. Through shooting practices and weight training, he quickly mastered the art of wheelchair basketball. “Soon after I started, I caught the eye of national team coaches and programs,” he says. “I made my first U.S. team at 20 or 21, only one year after my injury.”

Throughout his career as a wheelchair basketball player, Kiley’s success is unparalleled. A 19-time All-American, Kiley is the only Paralympic athlete to play for four decades on Team USA. He is a six-time National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) Tournament MVP and has won two gold medals, in 1976 and 1988, as a member of the U.S. Paralympic Basketball team. Along with his basketball honors, Kiley also holds gold medals in track and downhill snow skiing.
Off the court, Kiley’s success continued. In 2000, he was selected to be part of the NWBA Hall of Fame for his dedication as a wheelchair basketball athlete and coach, and he is currently the head coach for the world champion USA Women’s Wheelchair Basketball team.

Finding Chiropractic
At 58, Kiley still enjoys getting out on the court. Unfortunately, it can come at a price. For the wheelchair-bound, whether they are athletes or not, stress on the upper body is a common obstacle. However, even with the occasional aches and pains, Kiley still gets to the gym as often as he can. “I put on my headphones, and I like to get to the gym to shoot,” he says. “I’m still good at it too. I make about 80 to 90 percent of my shots.”

Kiley is quick to credit Chiropractic as his reason for still playing basketball. “When I got hurt at 19, you didn’t hear much about Chiropractic,” he says. “It wasn’t until about 10 years later that I tried it.”

Throughout his career, Kiley visited chiropractors occasionally as injuries came along. But as he got older and his arthritic thumbs worsened, he decided it was time to rely more heavily on Chiropractic.

“As wheelchair athletes get older, they tend to do nothing,” he says. “They think by doing nothing their pain will get better, but I found this to be the opposite.”
With the help of continuous chiropractic visits and strict weight training, Kiley says he’s better than ever. “I can’t tell you how much I need it now after carrying around all of my days of going to battle,” he says. “I’ve never been healthier.”

And he has his chiropractor, Stephanie Rodsater, to thank for his nearly pain-free lifestyle. “All of those things that bothered me stopped,” he says. “She helps every ‘ooie’ and ‘owie’ I have. I’m a very big fan and advocate of the process.”

Providing Chiropractic to the Wheelchair-bound
For Rodsater, a wellness chiropractor at Adjusting the World Chiropractic in Huntersville, N.C., working with wheelchair-bound athletes is something she related to as a young girl. “I grew up with a brother who has spina bifida, and he played wheelchair basketball,” she says. “All my life, I realized how important it is to make everything the same for those in chairs, so that’s what I do in my practice.”

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in human nutrition from the University of Illinois and a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic, Rodsater and her husband decided to open their own family chiropractic facility. And while their clinic specializes in mostly family and pediatric care, Rodsater has formed a special bond with Kiley.

During the two years Rodsater has been working with Kiley, she has been able to see firsthand his devotion to the success of Chiropractic. “He has had unbelievably quick recoveries from injuries since he has been in the office,” she says. “He understands the importance of regular adjustments to keep his spine and nervous system operating at an optimal level.”

Kiley, who has developed what Rodsater refers to as “grouch thumbs” from decades in a wheelchair, is not alone when it comes to pains and problems from a wheelchair-bound life. According to Rodsater, spinal degeneration from nearly constantly sitting upright is also common among the wheelchair-bound.
“Cervical spine degeneration is a common problem due to the constant seated posture,” she says. “Due to lack of motion, the lower back may also be in danger of degeneration. It’s important to make sure the entire spine is free of subluxation to help prevent degeneration.”

“Wheelchair athletes utilize their arms much more than our bodies are designed to handle, so I always work to maintain the function of the clavicle, shoulder, elbow, wrist and fingers,” she says. “With a wheelchair athlete, I will check these areas each visit to ensure that they are functioning properly and will last throughout the course of their lives.”

Implementing a chiropractic lifestyle, especially for the wheelchair-bound, is something Rodsater believes will be advantageous for her clients.
“Chiropractic is necessary for anyone with a spine, much like dentistry is necessary for anyone with teeth,” she says. “Our bodies are not designed to work from a seated position. Therefore, it’s vital that wheelchair-bound individuals see a chiropractor to prevent damage to their spine and nervous system. Chiropractic will allow them to function at a higher level.”

Today, Kiley is making sure the wheelchair athletes he trains and plays with are taking advantage of Chiropractic at a young age. “Dave would have greatly benefited from Chiropractic earlier in his life,” Rodsater says. “That is why he is passionate about telling his young athletes about Chiropractic. He understands the power of prevention and the power of Chiropractic.”

As Kiley shares his basketball talents through coaching young wheelchair athletes, he is also able to be a mentor—on and off the court. “Dave is an amazing man,” Rodsater says. “He loves sports, and he loves to help others love their sports. He always says he feels like a million bucks leaving the office and ready to take on the world.”

Source: http://www.todayschiropractic.com/Archive/AugustSeptember2011/TakingontheWorldOneShotataTime.aspx

BY LINDSAY GOLDWERT
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Cutting out the traditional yellow school bus could be a way to curb childhood obesity.

Researchers from around the world are experimenting with the concept of a “walking school bus” to boost activity rates, reduce traffic, and cut obesity risks.

A walking school bus is an organized group of kids either walking or cycling to school along with an adult supervisor and picked up at designated stops along the way.

While the concept launched a few years ago and is growing in popularity in communities around the globe, according to WebMD, new research published August 22 in the journal Pediatrics provides some empirical evidence of its success.

In a study of 149 fourth grade school children in Houston, Texas, researchers found that children who participated in a walking school bus program were twice as likely to continue “active commuting” — meaning opting for people-powered transportation rather than automobiles — and increased their daily activity of moderate-to-vigorous activity by seven minutes per day.

In the control group, kids who did not participate in a walking school bus program showed a decrease in daily moderate physical activity over the five-week period of the study.

Unlike previous studies on walking to school, many of the children were ethnic minorities and came from low-income households, the researchers noted. All of the children lived within a mile of their school.

Live too far for your child to walk? Some programs will pick up children in buses but drop them off a mile or two from school, giving them an opportunity to gain some fresh air and exercise before the first bell rings.

Interested in finding out more about a walking school bus program in your area, or want to start one? October is International Walk to School Month, and the website offers information, ideas, resources, and suggestions on finding safe walking routes to schools.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/health/2011/08/25/2011-08-25_hop_on_a_walking_school_bus_to_cut_obesity_walktoschool_program_could_help_kids_.html#ixzz1W51W2dKx

By Mayo Clinic staff

Stretching may take a back seat to your exercise routine. You may think that stretching your hamstrings and calves is just something to be done if you have a few extra minutes before or after pounding out some miles on the treadmill. The main concern is exercising, not stretching, right?

Not so fast. Although studies about the benefits of stretching are mixed, stretching may help you improve your flexibility, which in turn may improve your athletic performance and decrease your risk of injury. Understand why stretching can help — and how to stretch correctly.

Benefits of stretching

Studies about the benefits of stretching have had mixed results. Some show that stretching helps, while others show that stretching has little if any benefit. The main benefits of stretching are thought to be:

Improving athletic performance
Decreasing the risk of activity-based injuries
Stretching can help improve flexibility. And better flexibility may improve your performance in physical activities or decrease your risk of injuries by helping your joints move through their full range of motion. For instance, say your Achilles tendon is tight and lacks flexibility. If you do a lot of hill walking, your foot may not move through its full range of motion. Over time, this can increase your risk of tendinitis or tendinopathy in your Achilles tendon. Stretching your Achilles tendon, though, may improve the range of motion in your ankle. This, in turn, can decrease the risk of microtrauma to your tendon that can lead to overload and injury.

Stretching also increases blood flow to the muscle. And you may come to enjoy the ritual of stretching before — or better yet, after — hitting the trail, ballet floor or soccer field.

Stretching essentials

Before you plunge into stretching, make sure you do it safely and effectively. While you can stretch anytime, anywhere — in your home, at work, in a hotel room or at the park — you want to be sure to use proper technique. Stretching incorrectly can actually do more harm than good.

Use these tips to keep stretching safe:

Don’t consider stretching a warm-up. You may hurt yourself if you stretch cold muscles. So before stretching, warm up with light walking, jogging or biking at low intensity for five to 10 minutes. Or better yet, stretch after you exercise when your muscles are warmed up. Also, consider holding off on stretching before an intense activity, such as sprinting or track and field activities. Some research suggests that pre-event stretching before these types of events may actually decrease performance.
Focus on major muscle groups. When you’re stretching, focus on your calves, thighs, hips, lower back, neck and shoulders. Also stretch muscles and joints that you routinely use at work or play. And make sure that you stretch both sides. For instance, if you stretch your left hamstring, be sure to stretch your right hamstring, too.
Don’t bounce. Bouncing as you stretch can cause small tears in the muscle. These tears leave scar tissue as the muscle heals, which tightens the muscle even further, making you less flexible and more prone to pain. So, hold each stretch for about 30 seconds. Repeat each stretch three or four times.
Don’t aim for pain. Expect to feel tension while you’re stretching, not pain. If it hurts, you’ve pushed too far. Back off to the point where you don’t feel any pain, then hold the stretch.
Make stretches sport specific. Some evidence suggests that it’s helpful to do stretches tailored for your sport or activity. If you play soccer, for instance, you’re more vulnerable to hamstring strains. So opt for stretches that help your hamstrings.
Keep up with your stretching. Stretching can be time-consuming. But you can achieve the best benefits by stretching regularly, at least two to three times a week. If you don’t stretch regularly, you risk losing any benefits that stretching offered. For instance, if stretching helped you increase your range of motion, and you stop stretching, your range of motion may decrease again.
Bring movement into your stretching. Gentle movement can help you be more flexible in specific movements. The gentle movements of tai chi, for instance, may be a good way to stretch. And if you’re going to perform a specific activity, such as a front kick in martial arts, do the move slowly and at low intensity at first to get your muscles used to it. Then speed up gradually as your muscles become accustomed to the motion.

Know when to exercise caution

In some cases, you may need to approach stretching with caution. If you have a chronic condition or an injury, you may need to adjust your stretching techniques. For example, if you already have a strained muscle, stretching it may cause further harm.

Also, don’t think that because you stretch you can’t get injured. Stretching, for instance, won’t prevent an overuse injury. Talk to your doctor or physical therapist about the best way to stretch if you have any health concerns.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stretching/HQ01447

References
Peterson DM, et al. Overview of the benefits and risks of exercise. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 21, 2011.
Herman SL, et al. Four-week dynamic stretching warm-up intervention elicits longer-term performance benefits. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2008;4:1286.
Rancour J, et al. The effects of intermittent stretching following a 4-week static stretching protocol: A randomized trial. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2009;8:2217.
McHugh MP, et al. To stretch or not to stretch: The role of stretching in injury prevention and performance. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports. 2010;20:169.
2008 physical activity guidelines for Americans. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/pdf/paguide.pdf. Accessed Feb. 3, 2011.
Beadle BB, et al. No difference in pre- and post-exercise stretching on flexibility. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2007;21:780.
Mantic MP, et al. Injury prevention. In: McKean DB, et al. ACSM’s Primary Care Sports Medicine. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2007:133.
Laskowski ER. (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Feb. 4, 2011.

A Swedish study involving 258 pregnant women investigated whether water gymnastics could reduce the intensity of back pain and the number of days taken for sick leave. Women were divided equally into two groups: an exercise group that participated in water gymnastics (one hour of relaxation exercises, performed in a swimming pool and accompanied by music) during the second half of their pregnancy; and a control group that did not participate in water gymnastics.

Although back pain intensity increased during the course of pregnancy for both groups, the exercise group reported less pain compared with the control group. The total number of reported days on sick leave was also lower in the exercise group (982 days taken) compared with controls (1,484 days taken).

Many of the joys and frustrations of parenthood will last much longer than nine months, so prepare yourself. But back pain is one frustration that doesn¹t have to last. If you’re expecting a child and are experiencing back pain, talk to your doctor of chiropractic about making your pregnancy as pain-free as possible.

Reference:

Kihlstrand M, Stenman B, Nilsson S, et al. Water gymnastics reduced the intensity of back/low back pain in pregnant women. Acta Obstetrics Et Gynecologica Scandinavia, March 1999: Vol. 78, No. 3, pp180-85.