Back Clinic Health Team. The level of functional and metabolic efficiency of a living organism. In humans, it is the ability of individuals or communities to adapt and self-manage when facing physical, mental, psychological, and social changes in an environment. Dr.Alex Jimenez D.C., C.C.S.T, a clinical pain doctor who uses cutting-edge therapies and rehabilitation procedures focused on total health, strength training, and complete conditioning. We take a global functional fitness treatment approach to regain complete functional health.
Dr. Jimenez presents articles both from his own experience and from a variety of sources that pertain to a healthy lifestyle or general health issues. I have spent over 30+ years researching and testing methods with thousands of patients and understand what truly works. We strive to create fitness and better the body through researched methods and total health programs.
These programs and methods are natural and use the body’s own ability to achieve improvement goals, rather than introducing harmful chemicals, controversial hormone replacement, surgery, or addictive drugs. As a result, individuals live a fulfilled life with more energy, a positive attitude, better sleep, less pain, proper body weight, and education on maintaining this way of life.
Getting regular exercise and staying slim can lower the risk for an especially hard-to-treat type of heart failure, new research shows.
This specific type of disease is called heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Ejection fraction is the amount of blood that’s pumped out of the heart. In many people with heart failure, the heart is so weak that it doesn’t pump enough blood out of the heart to meet the body’s demands.
In HFpEF, the heart muscle becomes stiff and doesn’t fill up with enough blood. This causes fluid to build up in the lungs and the body, the researchers explained in a news release from the American College of Cardiology.
“We consistently found an association between physical activity, BMI [body mass index] and overall heart failure risk,” said study senior author Dr. Jarett Berry. BMI is a measurement of body fat based on height and weight. “This was not unexpected,” Berry said, “however, the impact of these lifestyle factors on heart failure subtypes was quite different.”
Berry, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, is an associate professor in the department of internal medicine and clinical sciences, and director of cardiac rehabilitation. HFpEF accounts for up to 50 percent of heart failure cases. Treatment for the condition often doesn’t work well, which increases the importance of prevention strategies, the study authors said. For the report, Berry and his colleagues reviewed information from three previous studies that included more than 51,000 people. The researchers excluded anyone who had heart disease when the studies began.
The investigators looked for information on how much exercise the participants got, as well as their weight. In addition, the researchers reviewed participants’ medical records to see if people had been admitted to the hospital for heart failure over the several years of the study.
The study authors found that traditional risk factors for heart failure — such as high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and obesity — were less common among those who were more active. People who exercised more tended to be white, male and have higher levels of education and income, the findings showed.
Meanwhile, people who carried more excess weight were younger, less active and were more likely to have risk factors for heart disease, according to the report. Overall, the researchers identified almost 3,200 cases of heart failure. Almost 40 percent were HFpEF. Nearly 29 percent were heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), which is associated with weak heart muscle that doesn’t pump properly. And just under 32 percent were unclassified.
The study doesn’t prove a cause-and-effect relationship, but low levels of physical activity were associated with a 6 percent lower risk of heart failure than no physical activity. Those who got the recommended amounts of exercise had an 11 percent lower risk of heart failure.
In people who got more than the recommended amounts of exercise, the risk of HFpEF was reduced by 19 percent. In addition, the incidence of HFpEF was significantly higher among those with excess weight, the findings showed.
According to the study’s first author, Dr. Ambarish Pandey, “These data suggest the importance of modifying lifestyle patterns to help prevent HFpEF in the general population.” Pandey is a cardiology fellow at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
The study was published Feb. 27 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
SOURCE: American College of Cardiology, news release, Feb. 27, 2017
For more information, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
Additional Topics: Chiropractic Care for Older Adults
With the progression of age, it�s common for the human body to naturally begin to degenerate. Although degenerative changes in the body are normal, it�s also common for complications associated with aging to develop. Chiropractic care is a safe and effective, alternative treatment option utilized by many individuals to prevent, diagnose and treat injuries and conditions associated with the structures of the spine. Research studies have demonstrated that chiropractic treatment can help older adults find relief from their neck pain and back pain.
The calming poses and meditation of yoga may be just what the doctor ordered when it comes to beating depression, new research suggests.
Researchers found that weekly sessions of yoga and deep breathing exercises helped ease symptoms of the common condition. They believe the practice may be an alternative or complementary therapy for tough-to-treat cases of depression.
The intervention seemed helpful for “people who are not on antidepressants and in those who have been on a stable dose of antidepressants [but] have not achieved a resolution of their symptoms,” study lead author Dr. Chris Streeter said in a news release from Boston Medical Center. He’s a psychiatrist at the hospital and an associate professor of psychiatry and neurology at Boston University.
How Depression Can Improve with Yoga
Major depression is common and often persistent and disabling, Streeters’ team noted. Up to 40 percent of people taking medication for this form of depression won’t see their depression go away, according to the researchers.
However, prior studies have shown that the ancient practice of yoga may be of help.
“The mechanism of action is similar to other exercise techniques that activate the release of ‘feel good’ brain chemicals,” explained Dr. Alan Manevitz, a clinical psychiatrist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, who reviewed the new findings. He added that exercise, especially yoga, may also “reduce immune system chemicals that can worsen depression.” Then there’s yoga’s meditative quality, as well, Manevitz said. “It has been demonstrated that ‘mindful’ movement — conscious awareness — has a much more beneficial impact on the central nervous system,” he said.
But would this bear out in a rigorous study? To find out, Streeter’s team tracked outcomes for 30 people with major depressive disorder. All were randomly assigned to partake in either a “high-dose” or “low-dose” yoga intervention. The high-dose group had three 90-minute yoga classes each week along with home practice, while the low-dose group engaged in two 90-minute yoga sessions each week in addition to home practice.
The participants practiced Ilyengar yoga, a method that focuses on detail, precision and alignment in posture and breath control.
Study Finds Yoga Can Help with Mental Illness
The study found that both groups had significant reductions in their depression symptoms. Those who took three weekly yoga classes had fewer depressive symptoms than those in the “low-dose” group, but Streeter’s team said even two classes a week was still very effective in improving people’s mood.
Streeter noted that this intervention targets a different neurochemical pathway in the body than mood-altering medications, suggesting that yoga may provide a new, side effect-free avenue for treatment.
For his part, Manevitz called the study “practical and well-designed.” He believes the findings support yoga as a treatment “that can help the millions of people suffering from major depressive disorders around the world.”
Dr. Victor Fornari is a psychiatrist at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y. He agreed that the new study “supports the use of yoga for the treatment of depression… Yoga, like regular exercise, is good for most people for health maintenance as well as to treat what ails them.”
The study was published March 3 in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
SOURCE: Alan Manevitz, M.D., clinical psychiatrist, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City; Victor Fornari, M.D., psychiatrist, Zucker Hillside Hospital, Glen Oaks, N.Y.; Boston University Medical Center, news release, March 3, 2017
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
Additional Topics: Whole Body Wellness
Maintaining overall health and wellness through a balanced nutrition, regular physical activity and proper sleep is essential for your whole body’s well-being. While these are some of the most important contributing factors for staying healthy, seeking care and preventing injuries or the development of conditions through natural alternatives can also guarantee overall health and wellness. Chiropractic care is a safe and effective treatment option utilized by many individuals to ensure whole body wellness.
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