by Dr Alex Jimenez DC, APRN, FNP-BC, CFMP, IFMCP | Chiropractic, Physical Rehabilitation
Chronic low back pain can be a challenge to treat, but new research suggests that massage therapy may provide some relief.
“Current medical guidelines actually recommend massage therapy prior to the use of opioid medications for lower back pain,” explained William Elder, the study’s principle investigator.
“Yet even with those guidelines, physicians and nurse practitioners are not recommending massage therapy,” said Elder. He’s with the University of Kentucky’s departments of family and community medicine and clinical services.
Low back pain is a common problem, and for most people, it’s short-lived. But for about 15 percent of people with low back pain, the problem becomes chronic and lasts more than three months, the study authors said.
There aren’t a lot of effective treatment options for chronic back pain, and physicians often prescribe opioid painkillers such as OxyContin or Percocet to ease the pain. But those drugs come with a risk of addiction.
Other possible treatments include exercise, steroid injections, behavior changes, chiropractic, acupuncture and surgery, according to the U.S. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
The new study sought to simulate real-world back pain and treatment. Researchers asked physicians to recommend massage for people with chronic back pain.
Just over 100 study volunteers were then paired with an approved, experienced massage therapist in their area who assessed the problem and created a treatment plan. The study participants received 10 treatments, which they set up directly with their therapist.
More than half of the participants had less pain after 12 weeks and many continued to report reduced pain after three months.
The research also showed that massage therapy worked better with patients aged 50 years and older, although younger people benefited, too.
“These results are exciting because it shows that most doctors can refer their patients for massage as a treatment. It’s applicable to the real world,” said Elder.
“Some medical providers have taken interest in massage, but most don’t know which type would be helpful. We learned that just referring the patient to a massage therapist and letting them work to select the therapy is effective,” he added.
Dr. Anders Cohen, the neurosurgery division chief at The Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York City, recommends massage therapy to his patients as part of what he calls a comprehensive treatment plan.
“Massage is great way to break up adhesions and is great for soft tissue,” Cohen said. “If the back pain is a soft tissue issue, such as muscles and ligaments, it works great. Plus, there is the bonus of therapeutic touch.”
Patients in the study received the massage therapy free of charge. But, cost could also explain why some physicians recommend opioids instead. Cohen noted that massage prices vary, and may not be covered under some insurance plans.
Study co-author Niki Munk is a licensed massage therapist who’s with the Indiana University School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. She said the researchers saw that massage needs to occur regularly when someone begins treatment to reduce the pain.
Munk added that more research is needed on the ideal pain maintenance schedule. But the study authors think that once a level of comfort has been achieved, people can continue to manage their back pain through regular massage therapy on a schedule that fits their needs, such as once a month or every other month.
Munk also noted that selecting the right therapist is important.
“Look for a masseuse that you can establish a therapeutic relationship with over time,” she recommended.
“Chronic low back pain is a complex issue that can’t be cured from just a one-hour massage. Find a therapeutic massage clinic and ask questions about the therapist, such as their initial training and continuing education. Also, make sure that the therapist sets up a treatment plan that will work for you,” Munk said.
The study was published online recently in the journal Pain Medicine.
by Dr Alex Jimenez DC, APRN, FNP-BC, CFMP, IFMCP | 915 Crossfit WOD Rss, Crossfit (Local)
Feeling this week….
Skill:
Feet to Club
Power:
Superset x-4
Wide-Grip Bench-Press x 8 @ 60%
Wide-Grip pull ups x 5-8
Metcon:
7 Moment AMRAP:
14 time push ups
14 Feet to Club
Relaxation Three Minutes
7 Moment AMRAP:
14 Burpee Over Club
14 Deadlifts (115/75)(135/95)(155/105)
by Dr Alex Jimenez DC, APRN, FNP-BC, CFMP, IFMCP | Turmeric
There is more evidence that the active ingredient in turmeric may have the power to help combat malignant mesothelioma.
A new French study on curcumin finds that the compound not only slowed the growth of one of the rarest types of mesothelioma tumor cells in the laboratory but also reduced total tumor mass in lab rats in just two weeks.
Evaluating Curcumin�s Effect on Mesothelioma Cells
Curcumin, the plant polyphenol that gives turmeric its yellow hue and pungent flavor, has been the subject of numerous malignant mesothelioma studies in recent years, in part because of its powerful anti-inflammatory properties.
In the newest study, the French researchers focused on one of the rarest and deadliest subtypes of the asbestos cancer � sarcomatoid mesothelioma.
First, they used sarcomatoid mesothelioma cells from rats that had been induced to develop mesothelioma by exposing them to asbestos. By testing curcumin on the mesothelioma cells first, the research team was able to determine the optimal curcumin concentration and dose to use on the live rats.
Testing Curcumin in Live Rats with Mesothelioma
With dosing established, the researchers administered curcumin directly into the peritoneal cavities of sick mice. For comparison, a second group of rats was treated with an epigenetic drug called SAHA.
�The treatment of tumor-bearing rats with 1.5 mg/kg curcumin on days 7, 9, 11 and 14 after tumor challenge dramatically reduced the mean total tumor mass at day 16,� writes researcher Daniel L. Pouliquen in the journal Oncotarget.
The study found that both curcumin and SAHA produced necrosis or dead tissue within the mesothelioma tumors by day 28, but the necrosis induced by curcumin was �much more extensive�.
In addition, curcumin appeared to attract cancer-fighting CD8+ T lymphocytes to the area which clustered around small residual mesothelioma tumors in the peritoneal cavity after treatment.
�These data open up interesting new prospects for the therapy of sarcomatoid mesothelioma with curcumin and its derivatives,� concludes Dr. Pouliquen.
More Curcumin Research
Earlier this year, scientists in the Department of Experimental Medicine at the University of Rome conducted a similar experiment and that found that intraperitoneal curcumin extended survival in mice with mesothelioma.
In 2015, mesothelioma researchers with Flinders University in Australia determined that curcumin had the ability to keep mesothelioma tumors from giving rise to their own new blood vessels. That study suggested that curcumin could become a supplemental treatment for certain mesothelioma patients.
Source: Pouliquen, DL, et al, �Evaluation of intracavitary administration of curcumin for the treatment of sarcomatoid mesothelioma�, February 25, 2017, Oncotarget, Epub ahead of print
As always… Check with your doctors before you rely on this information. �I bring it to you because it does give great insight into Curcumin so many people are raving about.
It should be noted that Mesothelioma is a very serious disorder requiring the expertise of top level Oncologist. � Great Regards. Dr. Alex Jimenez
Read More News
by Dr Alex Jimenez DC, APRN, FNP-BC, CFMP, IFMCP | UTEP (Local) RSS
Five days after taking a loss in Reno, El Paso starter Walker Lockett performed well against the Aces in the Chihuahuas’ 7-1 win Saturday night.
Lockett pitched seven innings, allowing only one run on six scattered hits. The Chihuahuas are now 2-2 against the Aces this season.
El Paso hit three home runs Saturday, including one by Jamie Romak, who has six homers in his last six games. Romak’s nine home runs lead the Pacific Coast League. Jabari Blash went 1-for-4 with his first Triple-A home run of the season and Dusty Coleman went 3-for-4 with a solo shot, his second home run of the year and the homestand.
Jose Pirela and Rocky Gale both had two hits and an RBI for the Chihuahuas.
The Chihuahuas strong pitching continued into the bullpen Saturday, with Keith Hessler and Logan Bawcom tossing scoreless innings to close the game.
Christian Walker hit a solo home run for Reno and became the first PCL player to reach 20 RBIs.
Box Score | Team Records: Reno (9-8), El Paso (8-9)
Next Game: Sunday, 1:05 pm at Southwest University Park. Reno LHP Anthony Banda (1-1, 5.79) vs. El Paso RHP Matt Magill (1-0, 1.59). The game will air on 600 ESPN El Paso and www.epchihuahuas.com.
El Paso 7 Reno 1 – Saturday
WP: Lockett (2-1)
LP: Shipley (2-1)
S: None
Time: 2:37
Attn: 9,054
Gallery by Andres Acosta, El Paso Herald-Post Chief Photographer
by Dr Alex Jimenez DC, APRN, FNP-BC, CFMP, IFMCP | UTEP (Local) RSS
In just his second meet of the outdoor season, UTEP freshman Emmanuel Korir clocked a blistering 44.67 in the 400m to break a 37-year old stadium record (Billy Mullins, 45.03, USC, 1980) at Kidd Field Saturday afternoon.
Korir’s time of 44.67 ranks first in the nation and is the second-fastest time in the world. The Kenyan was just .09 seconds away from Bert Cameron’s school record established back in 1981. Teammate Michael Saruni followed by claiming silver with at time of 45.69, which is the 10th fastest time in the nation. Seniors Asa Guevara (46.81) and James Bias (47.24) notched the third and fourth spots, respectively.
Sophomore Tobi Amusan claimed gold in both the 100m hurdles (12.67) and the 200m (22.60). Amusan already has the fastest time in the nation (12.63) in the 100m hurdles and is now tied for third in the country in the 200m.
UTEP claimed the top four spots in the women’s 1,500m run with Lilian Koech (4:29.15), Linda Cheruiyot (4:29.38), Winny Koech (4:34.08) and Gladys Jerotich (4:46.89).
In the field events, senior Fayon Gonzales notched two second-place showings in the hammer throw (52.58m) and the discus throw (42.95m). Adebola Akomolafe claimed fourth (48.07m) in the hammer throw and third (40.89m) in the discus. Samantha Hall notched gold in the shot put after throwing for 14.30m.
In the men’s hammer throw, Karol Koncos threw for a personal-best 63.43m. Koncos ranks third in Conference USA. Brandon Moss claimed gold in the long jump with a mark of 7.20m and Austin Ondijo leaped over 1.89m in the high jump. In the men’s 1500m seniors Cosmas Boit, (3:50.99) and Daniel Cheruiyot (3:54.23) went 1-2 while sophomore Antony Kosgei (3:55.60) snagged the bronze.
Lucia Mokrasova placed second in the high jump with a mark of 1.65m, while Israel Ramsay (5.89m) and Tyler Ragin (5.62m) took fifth in the long jump. In the women’s 400m Ada Benjamin (53:39) edged out Central Arizona’s Shawkia Iddrisu (54:53) to secure the first-place finish.
In the 4x400m relay, UTEP’s Yanique Bennett, Madison Gibson, Brittney Adams and Imani Adams teamed up to cross the line in 3:48.71 to finish in second place.
The UTEP track and field team will return to action April 28-29 at the Brutus Hamilton Open in Berkley, Calif. For live updates and breaking news be sure to follow @UTEPTrack on Twitter.
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 200 meter dash at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 200 meter dash at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 200 meter dash at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 200 meter dash at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 200 meter dash at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 200 meter dash at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 200 meter dash at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 200 meter dash at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 200 meter dash at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 200 meter dash at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
by Dr Alex Jimenez DC, APRN, FNP-BC, CFMP, IFMCP | UTEP (Local) RSS
The UTEP men’s golf team will join 12 other teams at the 2017 C-USA Men’s Golf Championship, teeing off Sunday morning at the Texarkana Country Club in Texarkana, Arkansas.
The teams will play the par 72, 6,969-yard course over three days, April 23-25, beginning with 54 holes of stroke play. Following the results of stroke play, the top four teams will advance to a seeded match play round on Wednesday, April 26, with the team champion earning C-USA’s automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.
The Miners will begin to tee off at 9:20 a.m. CT (8:20 a.m. MT) on hole No. 1, along side top-seeded Middle Tennessee and North Texas. Seeding is based on current Golfstat rankings, Middle Tennessee is ranked No. 53, while UTEP sits at No. 55 and North Texas is No. 62 out of 292 teams. Rice and UTSA will tee off on hole No. 1, while defending champion LA Tech will tee off with Southern Miss and WKU on hole No. 10, all at 8 a.m. CT. At the 8:40 a.m. CT mark, Charlotte and UAB will begin their play on the first tee. Rounding out the teams will be Marshall, FAU and Old Dominion with a 8:50 a.m. CT start from the No. 10 tee.
“National ranking, its really been us and Middle Tennessee bouncing back and forth between the top ranked schools in our conference,” sixth-year head coach Scott Lieberwirth said. “But our conference does have quite a few schools that may not be ranked quite as high, but they’re still strong quality programs. North Texas is very good, Charlotte is good year in and year out, UAB has been a power team in our league for a long time; and then you can mix in others like UTSA, and Rice, who just came off a win.
“There’s a lot of teams that are capable of winning this championship. Especially with us going into match play and having that portion decide who our team champion is, I’d say there’s about eight or nine teams that have a legitimate chance [to win], its just a matter of who plays better.”
The core five vying for the championship for the Miners will be Frederik Dreier, Charles Corner, Aaron Terrazas, Nicklas Pihl, and Andreas Sorensen. In the 11 tournaments played, the at least three of the five have played in every tournament. Terrazas transferred from Oklahoma and began playing in the spring.
“We are going strong into the tournament instead of reeling into the tournament, so we feel like we’ve got a very strong and a very deep core,” Lieberwirth said. “That should help us not just in the stroke play, but if we were to make it in the match play portion of the championship, we should be able to be highly competitive. From a depth perspective, we’re the best that we’ve been all year.”
Dreier, Corner, Pihl, and Sorensen all participated in the 2016 C-USA Championships last year, helping the Miners to a sixth place finish.
“We have a very similar team to last year,” Lieberwirth said. “We have a majority of our starters returning, they’re all one year older and defiantly have all improved. Last year we had a nice team, but this year I think we’ve really broken out and individually. We’ve had guys really have some great performances in the fall and spring. We’ve been very consistent top to bottom in the spring.”
Dreier, the lone senior on the team, is the reigning C-USA Golfer of the Year, only the fourth golfer in program history to earn the honor. The Birkeroed, Denmark, native leads the team this season with total top-10 finishes (six) as well as the squad’s lowest round (64) in the final round of the Price’s Give ‘Em Five Invitational. He will enter his final conference tournament, where he placed sixth last year to earn his first ever berth to the NCAA Regional tournament, where he finished in 57th.
“He’s been fantastic, watching him grow from his freshman and sophomore year when he was just so close to being really good, and then really turning the corner his junior year and continuing that into his senior year,” Lieberwirth said of Dreier. “He’s been a leader on and off the golf course for us. He’s defiantly a guy that all the players and us coaches really look up to and respect.”
Corner earned his first ever C-USA Golfer of the Week honor on April 12 after his stellar play led to an eighth place finish and helped his team to a seventh place finish at the prestigious 71st Western Intercollegiate. The team bested then-No. 17 Texas, No. 25 Arizona State and No. 32 San Diego State after shooting 1,084 (361-356-367) in the 15-team field, which included eight nationally-ranked teams. Of the 96 players, Corner’s score was better than 19 players ranked in the Golfstat Top 100, including six of the top-10 players. The junior from Cayuga, Ontario, Canada has recorded a 72.5 scoring average, third-best on the UTEP squad, and tallied three top-10 finishes this year in 10 tournaments, with his work at the Western Intercollegiate marking the first time he was the top finisher for UTEP this year.
Terrazas joined the Miners this spring after transferring from Oklahoma and has found his name in the top-250 of Golfweek collegiate rankings. The sophomore had his best showing in the Orange and Blue at the Lone Star Invitational, where he tied for sixth with 7-under 209.
Pihl has recorded back-to-back top finishes for the Miners at the National Invitational Tournament and the Border Olympics. The junior boasts a 73.3 stroke average in 29 rounds played while finishing in the top-50 of each event eight times.
Sorensen has two runner-up showings under his belt from the fall season as well as eight top-50 finishes in 11 events. Along side three top finishes for the Miners, the sophomore has a 72.75 stroke average and shot a career-low round of 66 in the opening round of the Price’s Give ‘Em Five Invitational. He was named the C-USA Golfer of the Week for the week of Sept. 14, his first ever, after his runner-up performance at the Gene Miranda Invitational helped the Miners to their first team title of the fall. He was on the C-USA All-Freshman team last year.
“Charles Corner has put together a quiet, very good year,” Lieberwirth said. “Aaron Terrazas, a transfer from Oklahoma who came in spring for us, has already got his name ranked in the top 250 in the country just in the five tournaments that he’s played and started for us, he’s been great too. Nicklas Pihl, this is probably his best semester from a consistency stand point, he’s always been right there between the top-10 and no worse than middle of the pack. We’ve got a bunch of guys that we can count on and that we are going to give us good, consistent performances.
“That’s probably the biggest difference between this year’s team and previous teams. Previous year’s teams were more of a wild card, we knew we had some talent, we just didn’t know which guy would show up on any given day. This team is fairly predictable, we know we’re going to get great effort and we’ve seen very good results.”
The conference tournament will be the beginning of the end of an incredible season for the Miners, which saw three tournament titles in the fall and 10 top-10 finishes in eleven tournaments.
“We had some really outstanding individual performances that allowed us to win,” Lieberwirth said. “This spring, we haven’t had those top-10, top five, individual performances as often, but more tournaments than not, we’ve had all five starters in the top half of the field. From depth perspective, that helps us. We just need one or two of those guys to really catch fire, that’s when we’ll be real dangerous.”
The Miners also have eyes set beyond the conference tournament, at the NCAA Regional tournament, where the goal is to make it as a team.
“These are extremely competitive players, which makes it a real joy to coach,” Lieberwirth said. “When you have players that are as or even more competitive than the coach is, then you know you have a good team on your hands. That’s exactly how these guys are. They want to win for the team but they want to win individually too. I think that’s good, you want to have those individual goals because if you perform well individually, then the team is going to take care of itself.”
by Dr Alex Jimenez DC, APRN, FNP-BC, CFMP, IFMCP | UTEP (Local) RSS
The UTEP track and field team will host its final regular season meet on Saturday at Kidd Field, starting with the running events at 10:00 a.m. MT and running events at 2 :00 p.m.
The UTEP track and field team will honor 15 seniors prior to the running events.
Two seniors Fayon Gonzales and Abedola Akomolafe will compete in the hammer throw set for 10:00 a.m. The pair will join Samantha Hall in the discus throw at 2:15 p.m. Hall earned Conference USA athlete of the week honors last week and ranks first in league.
In the long jump, Israel Ramsay will compete at 2:30 p.m. Ramsay ranks eighth in C-USA with a mark of 5.88m posted at the UTEP Springtime.
In the track events, Truphena Sum will compete in the 1,500m run set for 2:10 p.m. Yanique Bennett will take the track at 2:30 p.m. in the 100m hurdles along with sophomore Tobi Amusan. Amusan opened the season at home notching the fastest time in the nation (12.63).
Ada Benjamin, who currently leads the league in the 400m will race at 2:45 p.m. Brittney Adams will see action in both the 100m and the 400m hurdles, along with Yanique Bennett at 3:45 p.m.
Florence Uwakwe compete in the 200m at 4:05 p.m. Uwakwe will run the anchor leg of the 4x400m relay, which ranks third in the league.
On the men’s side, Kevin Rincon will compete in the hammer throw starting at 11:30 a.m. Brandon Moss will compete in the long jump set for 2:30 p.m.
Seniors, Cosmas Boit and Evans Kiprono will compete in the 1,500m run at 2:20 p.m. Yinka Oyebanjo-Odofin will race in the 400m hurdles starting at 3:55 p.m.
James Bias will run in the 400m at 3:15 p.m. along with Emmanuel Korir and Michael Saruni. This will be the second meet for Korir this outdoor season after running the fastest time in the country in the 800m last week at the Jim Bush Invitational.
Saruni has competed in three different events claiming the number one spot in all three races. His highlight of the season so far was at the Texas Relays where he won the 800m and posted the third-fastest time in the nation.
This will be the last home meet of the regular season before the Miners travel to Berkley, Calif. for the Brutus Hamilton Open on April 28-29 UTEP host the 2017 C-USA Outdoor Championships May 11-14.
For live updates and breaking news follow @UTEPTrack on Twitter.
