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Month: April 2021

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By admin_seuser April 29, 2021 auto accident injury, Back Pain, Chiropractic Care, neck pain , ,

Chiropractor Wilmington NC: Menopause and Bone Density

The natural decrease in estrogen associated with menopause can cause many health conditions in women after about the age of 45 (Most women reach menopause between the ages of 45 and 55, but it may also occur much earlier or later.). Unfortunately, bone loss is one of them. In more serious cases, bone loss can lead to osteoporosis, a condition that is associated with low-density, brittle bones. This is why post-menopausal women are actually at a higher risk for fractures, especially of the wrist, hip, and spine. Our chiropractor Wilmington NC explains more.

Menopause is triggered by the decrease of estrogen and progesterone produced in the body. Post-menopausal women between the ages of 45 and 55 can lose an average of two to three percent of their bone density each year, with some women losing up to 20 percent of their bone mass in the first five to seven years following menopause. This can lead to chronic aches and pains as well as increased risk of bone fractures.

Menopause may also cause a condition called osteopenia, or low bone mass, which is a reduction of bone mass below the normal range, but not low enough to be in the range of osteoporosis. This is defined by the World Health Organization to be about 10 to 25 percent below the normal value found in a 30-year-old woman (Most women’s bone mass peaks at around age 30). At 30 percent below, the diagnosis of osteoporosis kicks in. The World Health Organization recommends patients with osteopenia be further evaluated using various clinical risk factors regarding the need for intervention and therapy such as medication to reduce the risk of fractures.

Since osteopenia and osteoporosis cannot be felt or seen, they are sometimes referred to as “silent diseases”. However, a bone density test can help you and your doctor determine if you need treatment. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, “A bone density test shows the amount of bone a person has in the hip, spine, or other bones. It is routinely recommended for postmenopausal women and men age 50 and older and is how osteoporosis is diagnosed in older people. Bone density tests are usually only done for premenopausal women if they break several bones easily or break bones that are unusual for their age, such as bones in the hip or spine.”

Hormone therapy can be valuable for the inhibition of osteoporosis and incapacitating hip and spine fractures in post-menopausal women. Hormone replacement therapy, or estrogen therapy, decreases hip fractures by 33 to 36 percent. While estrogen therapy is approved for osteoporosis and fracture reduction, it’s important to understand that hormone therapy has its own risks and isn’t appropriate for everyone. This is why hormone therapy is no longer routinely recommended for most women solely for this purpose. Large studies have shown that women using hormone replacement therapy may be at an elevated risk of blood clots, stroke, and breast cancer.

The good news for women-pre-menopausal, menopausal and post-menopausal-is that there are lifestyle choices and healthcare interventions that can help increase bone density and delay or prevent osteopenia or osteoporosis.
Of course, earlier is better when it comes to building bone mass. The more bone mass you have when you reach menopause, the lower your risk. In this regard, diet and exercise are the keys to success:

* Calcium intake of 1,200 to 1,500 milligrams a day and vitamin D intake of 1,000 to 2,000 international units daily (IU/day) can help prevent bone loss and preserve bone density.

* Moderate alcohol use of three or more glasses daily is associated with osteoporosis, so keep that in mind when you are trying to mitigate the effects of menopause on your bone density.

* Avoid smoking. This should go without saying.

* Exercise can help to moderate the physical and emotional effects of menopause. It is well-documented that moderate-impact and weight-bearing exercises build bone mass. In addition, aerobic exercise can reduce the risk of heart disease, another health condition that becomes more prevalent after menopause.

 

If you need a chiropractor Wilmington NC, please contact our office

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By admin_seuser April 6, 2021 Back Pain, neck pain , ,

Back Pain Wilmington NC: How Much Protein Should You Have in Your Diet?

In recent years, we have been introduced to a variety of “pop” diet plans such as the Atkins Diet and the Paleo Diet that promise weight loss and better health as the result of substituting protein for carbohydrates. And although these diets have appealed to millions of Americans who would rather chow down on a cheeseburger or a steak than a plate of vegetables anyway, new research indicates that eating all of this animal protein might have at least one slight drawback—it can shorten your life. In fact, that steak you’re eating might shorten your lifespan as much as smoking a cigarette. Our back pain Wilmington NC chiropractor explains more.

In two related studies published in the journal Cell Metabolism earlier this year, researchers examined the relationship of protein consumption and longevity. In the first study, scientists at the University of Southern California examined data on over 6,800 middle-aged and older adults. They found that 50-year-olds who got more than 20% of their daily calories from animal protein—meat and dairy products—had a fourfold increase in their risk of death from cancer or diabetes. They also had nearly a twofold increase in risk of death from other causes over the next 18 years, compared with those who ate more low-protein diets.

These somewhat surprising results were definitely tied to timing—when in life the subjects consumed high levels of protein. Eating high levels of animal protein in middle age was the most dangerous – even people who ate moderate levels had a threefold increase of death from cancer. Study author Dr. Valter Longo said that the findings provide “convincing evidence that a high-protein diet – particularly if the proteins are derived from animals—is nearly as bad as smoking for your health.”

On the other hand, eating high levels of protein was found to have the opposite effect in people over 65. They had a 60% lower risk of dying from cancer and a 28% lower risk of death from any cause, compared with those of the same age who ate moderate levels of protein. And what about people who ate a high-protein vegetarian diet? The researchers found no increased risk of death in 50-year-olds who ate a high-protein diet but with the protein coming from plant-based sources.

A second study reported in the same issue of Cell Metabolism confirmed these findings in mice, indicating that rodents who ate a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet had much shorter lifespans. They theorized that the link between high protein consumption and early death might be due to protein activating a natural growth hormone and cellular growth factor called IGF-1, which helps the body grow, but has also been linked to greater susceptibility to cancer.

Levels of IGF-1 may help to explain the findings that high-protein diets in people over 65 have the opposite effect, because IGF-1 levels tend to naturally drop off in humans after that age. This can lead to muscle loss and frailty, and the additional protein may help to counteract these effects. In the human study at USC, the IGF-1 levels of a sub-portion of the study group (2,253 subjects) were measured, and the researchers found that for every 10 ng/ml increase in IGF-1, middle-aged subjects on a high-protein diet were more likely to die from cancer than those on a low-protein diet, but similar mortality risk increases were not found in those over 65.

If you’re wondering what all this means for you, it seems to indicate that if you’re middle-aged you should probably consider eating less animal protein, whereas if you’re over 65, you might consider eating more. In a press release, USC study co-author Eileen Crimmins said, “The research shows that a low-protein diet in middle age is useful for preventing cancer and overall mortality. However, we also propose that at older ages, it may be important to avoid a low-protein diet to allow the maintenance of healthy weight and protection from frailty.”

At the same time, co-author Dr. Longo advised caution, “The majority of Americans are eating about twice as much protein as they should, and it seems that the best change would be to lower the daily intake of all proteins but especially animal-derived proteins. But don’t get extreme in cutting out protein; you can go from protected to malnourished very quickly.”

Back Pain Wilmington NC
If you are experiencing back pain, make an appointment with our back pain Wilmington NC chiropractor today.

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By admin_seuser April 6, 2021 neck pain , ,

Neck Pain Wilmington NC: Can You Really Bank Sleep?

Banking sleep to save energy for later? To most people, this idea probably sounds too good to be true. At the very least, it probably seems to defy common sense and or runs counter to the way we think our bodies work. However, it actually turns out that banking sleep is possible—within limits. Our neck pain Wilmington NC chiropractor explains more.

A great deal of research has been conducted on this subject.  In one particular study, American scientists invited a number of volunteers to adjust their sleep patterns so that researchers could observe the effects. For a week, half of the volunteers were permitted to sleep more than usual, and the remaining volunteers were made to sleep according to their usual pattern.

“After this week of either extended or habitual sleep per night, all the volunteers came to the lab and they were given three hours of sleep, per night, for a week,” says Tracy Rupp of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. The volunteers were then assigned tasks of varying difficulty, and those who had banked their sleep were more unaffected throughout the sleep restriction.

Rupp elaborates: “They showed less performance deterioration with regards to reaction time and alertness than the group that had been given the habitual prior sleep.”

The study also revealed that a week after the experiment, the banked sleepers were recuperating faster from deficiency of sleep than the others were. Rupp again: “What we’re basically saying is if you fill up your reserves and pay back your sleep debt ahead of time, you’re better equipped to deal with the sleep loss challenge.”

While these results may sound great, there are limits to what banking sleep can do for you. “It’s a strategy that’s only partially successful,” explains Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., in the November 2013 issue of Psychology Today. “New research indicates that although some of the negative effects of a week of insufficient sleep can be remedied with extra sleep on the weekend, others cannot. Researchers at Penn State University College of Medicine studied the effects of weekend recovery sleep after a week of mild sleep deprivation. They found that make-up sleep on the weekends erased only some of the deficits associated with not sleeping enough the previous week.”

Banking sleep isn’t limited to sleeping longer nights. Naps can be extremely effective as well—within limits, of course. According to Science Focus, “A 1991 study at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio found that after an ordinary night’s sleep, subjects could take an extra nap in the afternoon and then work through the night with greater alertness that a control group who didn’t nap. The study also found that performance is proportional to the length of the nap—but the effect doesn’t last.

After a second consecutive night without sleep, all of the subjects performed equally badly, regardless of how much sleep they had initially. It may be that all of us are normally slightly sleep-deprived and one really good night’s sleep will bring us back up to 100%, but that the ‘tank’ isn’t big enough to buffer us against more than one all-nighter.”

The practical uses of banking sleep go beyond needing to pull an all-nighter before finals or a big presentation at work. Dr. Winter, a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, puts it thusly: “If you knew you were going to give birth on a particular day, for example, you could sleep for 10 hours a day for multiple days before the event, and be fine.”

Lastly, it is important to consider the host of negative effects of sleep deprivation. Memory loss, obesity, and even early death comprise some of these consequences. The moral of the story here is that banking sleep in advance may actually be a reasonable short-term strategy for coping with an isolated event (like giving birth). However, the best long-term strategy for staying healthy and performing well is to get a good night’s sleep as consistently as possible. If you are looking for a neck pain Wilmington NC chiropractor, contact our office today.