Back Pain

Another specific area for injury prevention is back pain. According to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), 4 out of 5 Americans will experience back pain at some time in their lives. Back pain is said to be second only to upper respiratory infections as the most common reason for doctor visits, costing Americans at least $50 billion each year. With statistics like that, the chances are good that all of us will experience back pain at some point, if we haven't already.

Although there are many causes of back pain, including sprains, strains, ruptured disks and inflammation, muscle weakness is a big contributor to most back pain. Therefore, many cases of back pain can be prevented or greatly minimized if time is taken to stretch and strengthen weak back muscles.

If you would like more information on how to accomplish this, come and talk to Arik or I or visit a Core I class!

Electrolytes: Something about Hydration, Right?

We hear the word electrolytes when discussing hydration - especially with the weather being as hot as it has been. In fact, several scientific reports have found that the number of cases of electrolyte imbalance increase significantly during heatwaves. I think we can safely say that we have had a heatwave or two. But what exactly are electrolytes?

Electrolyte is a "medical/scientific" term for salts, specifically ions. They are minerals in your blood and other bodily fluids that carry an electric charge. Electrolytes affect the amount of water in your body, the acidity of your blood (pH), your muscle function and other important processes.

Common electrolytes include:

·       Calcium

·       Chloride

·       Magnesium

·       Phosphorous

·       Potassium

·       Sodium

Electrolyte levels are kept constant by our kidneys and various hormones - even when our bodies trigger changes. When we exercise we sweat and lose electrolytes, mainly sodium and potassium. If levels of vital electrolytes are wrong, your muscles can either become too weak, or their contractions too severe. To maintain constant electrolyte concentrations of our body fluids, these electrolytes must be replaced. You must replace them by drinking fluids. Experts say, however, that it is not ideal to consume just large quantities of water after we exercise heavily because our existing electrolyte levels may drop too quickly.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are good sources of sodium and potassium and replace lost electrolytes. Also, many sports drinks have sodium chloride or potassium chloride added to them. The extra sugar and flavorings are added to make the drink taste better.

Another example where electrolyte drinks are important is when infants/children have chronic vomiting or diarrhea, perhaps due to intestinal flu viruses. When children vomit or have diarrhea, they lose electrolytes. Again, these electrolytes and the fluids must be replaced to prevent dehydration and seizures. Therefore, drinks such as Pedialyte have sodium and potassium in them like the sports drinks do. However, pediatricians do not recommend giving sports drinks to a sick child. Sports drinks have much higher sugar concentrations than Pedialyte and the high sugar is not a proper treatment.

What are the symptoms of electrolyte imbalance?

An electrolyte imbalance can lead to several symptoms. The symptoms will depend on which electrolyte is out of balance, and whether that level is too high or low. An altered level of magnesium, sodium, potassium or calcium may produce one or more of the following symptoms:

·       Weakness

·       Twitching

·       Seizures

·       Numbness

·       Nervous system disorders

·       Muscle spasms

·       Fatigue, lethargy

·       Irregular heartbeat

·       Convulsions

·       Confusion

·       Bone disorders

·       Blood pressure changes

So, if the abnormally hot weather continues and you notice you’re feeling particularly fatigued with calf spasms waking you in the night, you may want to load up on your fruits and veggies and grab a sports drink! Maybe it will make a difference!

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002350.htm

Sightseeing in the Wisconsin Dells – Not what you think …

I recently enjoyed a family vacation to the Wisconsin Dells. And what is a trip to the Dells without a visit to a Waterpark? Amidst the standing in line for rides, vying for a shaded location to “camp” for the day and shelling out oodles of cash for overpriced water, I was astounded by what I saw.  The amount of severely obese individuals – both adults and children - was alarming. I was so dismayed by the scene, I spent some time gathering information from the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention website regarding obesity in America.

Here are a few distressing facts:

• More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese.
• No state has met the nation's Healthy People 2010 goal to lower obesity prevalence to 15%.
• The South has the highest prevalence of obesity (29.4%) followed by the Midwest (28.7%), Northeast (24.9%) and the West (24.1%).
• Approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years are obese.
• Since 1980, obesity prevalence among children and adolescents has almost tripled.

Is that not frightening? In addition, Duke University and CDC researchers predict, “by 2030, 42% of Americans will be obese and 11% of Americans will be severely obese. Severe obesity now afflicts 1 in 20 Americans. By 2030, the study suggests, more than 1 in 10 Americans will be severely obese. “

There does, however, seem to be a thread of hope to this study. These researchers allow for inaccuracy of their prediction based on changes in the environment. Awareness is the first step … pass it on!!

Sources:

• http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20120507/fat-future-42-percent-americans-may-be-obese-by-2030
• http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html