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.
In the study, researchers divided 18 men and women into two groups. Half were given a 32-ounce commercially available energy drink with 320 mg of caffeine, as well as other ingredients like taurine and ginseng (both dietary supplements). People in the other group were given a soda-like control drink of the same size that contained the same amount of caffeine with a bit of lime juice, cherry syrup and carbonated water. After six days, the groups switched and drank the other beverage.
The researchers measured everyone�s blood pressure at the start of the study and one, two, four, six and 24 hours after drinking the beverage. They also measured everyone�s heart activity using an electrocardiogram.
People who drank the energy drinks had a QT interval�meaning the time it takes the heart�s ventricles to prepare to beat again�10-milliseconds higher than those who drank the caffeinated control beverages. Irregularity in the QT interval can sometimes lead to abnormal heart beats. Fletcher says that the disparity may be important, since some medications that affect the QT interval by 6 milliseconds carry warning labels.
Both groups had higher blood pressure after their drinks, though never out of normal range. The blood pressure of people who had the control drink returned to baseline levels after six hours. But when people drank the energy beverage, their blood pressure remained elevated for more than six hours. The researchers believe that could mean that the other ingredients in energy drinks may alter blood pressure beyond the effects of caffeine alone.
�What the growing body of evidence is pointing to is that there are effects on the heart that are different than caffeine alone,� says study author Emily Fletcher, a deputy pharmacy flight commander from David Grant U.S.A.F. Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base in California. �Consumers should be aware that drinking an energy drink is not the same as drinking coffee or soda.�
More research is needed. The study was small, and researchers only looked at the effects of the beverages on people who were healthy�and not at the differences over the long term. The American Beverage Association, which represents the non-alcoholic beverage industry, said in a statement that �energy drinks have been extensively studied and confirmed safe for consumption by government safety authorities worldwide including a recent review by the European Food Safety Authority.�
Fletcher says that the findings suggest people should approach energy drinks with some caution, especially those who have risk factors for heart issues. �I would recommend only moderate consumption of energy drinks and particular avoidance in people with underlying cardiac disease or hypertension,� says Fletcher, �or during activities that would also increase your blood pressure and heart rate, such as exercise or sports.�
If you�ve never taken a yoga class before, the numerous poses can be pretty intimidating. Downward facing dog, crow pose, cat and cow, wheel, warrior, the list goes on. And if your first experience is in an overflowing class, the instructor likely won�t have a chance to make sure you�re perfectly positioned in each posture.
Granted, yoga is all about going with what feels right for your body. But doing certain poses incorrectly can lead to muscle imbalances and possibly even injuries down the road. And it�s important to note that newbie yogis aren�t the only ones susceptible to mistakes. Even if you�ve been practicing yoga for years, there�may be room for improvement.
Watch this video and follow along as celebrity instructor and Health contributing editor Kristin McGee guides a 10-minute Pilates workout that�s perfect for beginners and pros alike.
During this sequence, McGee focuses on targeting your abs, especially the transverse abdominals, the deepest layer of muscle in your core. According to McGee, we should lead all of our daily activities from those muscles. They support us, give us good posture, and help us with twisting and movement. Plus, that deep transverse core muscle is what helps make your spine nice and long.
As you do this workout, there are a few crucial things to keep in mind. For starters, tune into your body, and really try to feel the connection both to your pelvic floor muscles and to your transverse abdominals. McGee suggests imagining you�re wearing a wetsuit, and it�s pulling everything in your torso inward.
While your core and pelvic floor should feel tight and engaged, be sure to keep your shoulders soft. It also helps to maintain a slight �C curve� in your spine, which allows your lower abs to be pulled even farther in, helping to activate and tone them.
Finally, use your breath to connect to your pelvic floor muscles and scoop in your abs as you go through each move.
Some of the moves may seem really subtle and simple�but don�t be fooled! This sequence is sure to have your abs aching the next day, in the best kind of way.
Alzheimer’s disease claims nearly twice as many American lives annually as it did just 15 years ago, a new report shows.
“And that’s frankly alarming,” said Keith Fargo, director of scientific programs and outreach at the Alzheimer’s Association, which produced the report. “Now, a lot of people will think it’s because we’re living longer,” he added. “And there is some truth to that. But there’s also an assumption that we should just expect to get Alzheimer’s disease as we get older. And that’s not true.
“Most people do not get Alzheimer’s, even if they live into their 80s or 90s. It’s not normal. It’s not something that we should accept. We’ve definitely got to do something about it,” Fargo said.
The Cost of Alzheimer’s Disease
The report also found that more than 5 million American seniors aged 65 and older now live with the memory-robbing disease. That represents approximately 10 percent of all the nation’s seniors, and that number is projected to jump to nearly 14 million by 2050. In fact, nearly half a million seniors are expected to develop the disease in 2017 alone.
Another 200,000 Americans under the age of 65 also struggle with the disease, the report found. And those statistics come with a hefty price tag: It costs $259 billion a year for Alzheimer’s care. That amount is expected to reach $$1.1 trillion by 2050, the report estimated.
Dr. Anton Porsteinsson is director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Care, Research and Education Program at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in Rochester, N.Y. He said the rising numbers likely reflect a number of different factors in play.
“Partly, it is due to increasing numbers of older individuals, partly due to success in treating other leading causes of death, and partly due to increasing awareness that AD [Alzheimer’s] is a lethal disease,” Porsteinsson said.
Among the report’s additional findings: Alzheimer’s is now the fifth leading cause of death among seniors; the sixth leading cause of fatalities among all Americans; and the only disease among the nation’s top 10 biggest killers for which there is no prevention, no way to slow progression and no cure.
“And the costs are now completely out of control,” added Fargo, with the total annual cost for Alzheimer’s and dementia care in excess of a quarter trillion dollars.
Another highlighted concern: the “especially burdensome” ordeal Alzheimer’s caregivers experience while attending to the needs of loved ones as the patient suffers across-the-board mental and physical decline.
In 2016, more than 15 million Alzheimer’s caregivers provided just over 18 billion hours of unpaid care, valued at $230 billion.
Alzheimer’s Disease: Mental and Physical Decline
And those caregivers suffer their own health consequences: More than a third (35 percent) report their health has worsened since assuming caregiver duties, compared with 19 percent of caregivers for older people without dementia. Depression and anxiety also plague dementia caregivers more often, the report found. Still, the report was not entirely bleak, spotlighting growing efforts to identify telltale signs of developing disease.
The goal is to hone in on neurological signs — including changes in brain size, shifts in spinal fluid content, and/or the growth of nerve plaques in the brain — that could allow rapid detection of pre-symptomatic Alzheimer’s.
“It’s a window into the future,” Fargo said. “If you ask where Alzheimer’s disease research is headed, that’s where it’s headed.” “We believe that in the coming years we’ll have tests that you can do in the doctor’s office that will let you know your risk for Alzheimer’s,” he noted. And that, he suggested, “could open the door for prevention.”
Fargo noted that, even in the absence of effective treatments or a cure, early diagnosis would be a boon for research and would give patients a head start on planning for their future. Yet, Porsteinsson suggested that the future of these telltale signs, known as biomarkers, remains unclear.
“Biomarkers are particularly important when it comes to research and development of future potential treatments,” he said.
On the other hand, he stressed that “the utility of biomarkers in current care is intensely debated.
“The biomarkers are expensive,” Porsteinsson noted. “And it is a question how much a positive or negative finding will change approach to care. “Having said that,” he added, “it often matters greatly to patients and their families to know exactly what they have and what to expect.”
SOURCES: Keith Fargo, Ph.D., director, scientific programs and outreach, Alzheimer’s Association, New York City; Anton Porsteinsson, M.D., professor, psychiatry, and director, Alzheimer’s Disease Care, Research and Education Program, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, N.Y.; March 7, 2017, 2017 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures
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 .
Brain injuries are common complications in our modern world. Approximately 2 million individuals experience a head injury in the United States alone each year. Although most brain or head injuries are not considered life threatening, they could sum up to billions of dollars in annual revenue. Brain injuries are often categorized according to patient response. Only 1 out of 4 reported brain injuries are considered moderate or severe.
Alzheimer’s patients given sedatives such as Valium or Xanax may have an increased risk for pneumonia, a new study warns.
People with Alzheimer’s disease are often given these drugs, called benzodiazepines, over the long term, the researchers said. Examples of benzodiazepines include alprazolam (Xanax), clonazepam (Klonopin), diazepam (Valium), and lorazepam (Ativan).
“An increased risk of pneumonia is an important finding to consider in treatment of patients with Alzheimer disease. Pneumonia often leads to admission to hospital, and patients with dementia are at increased risk of death related to pneumonia,” Dr. Heidi Taipale, of Kuopio Research Center of Geriatric Care at the University of Eastern Finland, and co-authors wrote.
For the study, the researchers reviewed data from nearly 50,000 Alzheimer’s patients in Finland. The patients’ average age was 80 and about two-thirds were women. The study found that people with Alzheimer’s who took benzodiazepines were 30 percent more likely to develop pneumonia than those who weren’t given the sedatives.
Increased Risk of Pneumonia in Patients Taking Drugs
The risk of pneumonia was highest in the first 30 days after starting the drugs, the findings showed. The researchers said their findings are consistent with previous studies. Because benzodiazepines are sedating, it’s possible that people taking them may breathe saliva or food into the lungs, increasing the risk of pneumonia, the study authors suggested.
Taipale’s team said the benefits and risks of these drugs — including pneumonia — need to be carefully considered before giving them to someone with Alzheimer’s disease. The study was published April 10 in the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
The study is “a good reminder to clinicians to ‘first do no harm’ when prescribing these drugs for frail older women and men with dementia,” Dr. Paula Rochon and her co-authors wrote in an accompanying editorial in the journal. Rochon is from Women’s College Hospital and the University of Toronto.
Non-drug “approaches should be the starting point when managing neuropsychiatric symptoms in this patient population, which should help to limit inappropriate use of these drugs,” the editorial authors said.
SOURCE: CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), news release, April 10, 2017
News stories are written and provided by HealthDay and do not reflect federal policy, the views of MedlinePlus, the National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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 .
Brain injuries are common complications in our modern world. Approximately 2 million individuals experience a head injury in the United States alone each year. Although most brain or head injuries are not considered life threatening, they could sum up to billions of dollars in annual revenue. Brain injuries are often categorized according to patient response. Only 1 out of 4 reported brain injuries are considered moderate or severe.
A drug used to treat Alzheimer’s disease should not be prescribed to people with milder mental impairment without first giving them a genetic test, researchers urge during a new study.
The drug is donepezil (brand name: Aricept). Donepezil could speed mental decline in someone with mild cognitive impairment who has a specific genetic variation, according to Sophie Sokolow, an associate professor at the UCLA School of Nursing.
She and her colleagues found that patients with the K-variant of the butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) gene who took donepezil deteriorated faster than those who took a placebo.
Donepezil is approved in the United States to treat Alzheimer’s disease but not mild cognitive impairment — the stage between normal age-related decline and dementia. However, doctors often prescribe it “off-label” for patients with mild cognitive impairment, the study authors said.
For this study, the researchers examined data from a U.S. government-funded study published in 2005 that assessed donepezil as a possible treatment for mild cognitive impairment.
The findings reinforce the importance of physicians discussing the possible benefits and risks of donepezil with their patients, the researchers said in a university news release.
The study was published recently in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. Funding was provide by the U.S. National Institute on Aging.
SOURCE: UCLA School of Nursing, news release, Feb. 24, 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 .
Brain injuries are common complications in our modern world. Approximately 2 million individuals experience a head injury in the United States alone each year. Although most brain or head injuries are not considered life threatening, they could sum up to billions of dollars in annual revenue. Brain injuries are often categorized according to patient response. Only 1 out of 4 reported brain injuries are considered moderate or severe.
Magnesium deficiency, which is particularly frequent in people who do lots of exercise, can cause performances to suffer and make recuperation less effective. Magnesium oil, massaged directly into skin can help relieve muscle fatigue and boost detoxification, and could be more effective than taking the mineral in capsule form.
Magnesium is a stress-busting and anti-inflammatory mineral that is essential to cell regeneration, emotional balance, eliminating toxins and optimal muscle function. It is sold as a dietary supplement but is less well-known for transcutaneous application.
However, the benefits of magnesium for relieving cramps, muscle fatigue and stress could be greatly increased by application directly to skin by means of massage � up to 10 to 12 times according to Cardiff University.
Utilizing Magnesium Oil for Fitness
Magnesium oil, better absorbed than the oral supplement, is a form of magnesium chloride extracted from sea water. It can be bought in organic or health food stores. Look for 100 per cent natural oils of verified origin that are undiluted and unprocessed.
Magnesium oil was tested in a study conducted by Dr Marie Perez Siscar at the Thalacap Catalogne center in Banyuls sur Mer, France, in 2016, on 85 spa clients (55 women and 30 men) aged 37 to 83 years old.
The participants were administered with marine magnesium oil by cutaneous application via general massage or applied under a layer of sea mud in the affected areas. After the treatment, 97.7 per cent of participants noticed a pain-relieving effect, and 29.4 per cent reported an immediate result (in the hour following application). Also, 66.6 per cent noticed that cramps during the night disappeared from the first application.
Medical advice should be sought in the event of reactions such as red patches on skin or itching. Generally, a spot test is recommended, by spraying the product on a small test patch of skin before further use.
Magnesium oil is not recommended for people taking medications for heart conditions. Children from 5-6 years old and pregnant women can use magnesium oil on the lower legs diluted with 50 per cent water.
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: Chiropractic and Athletic Performance
Chiropractic care is a popular, alternative treatment option which focuses on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of injuries and/or conditions associated to the musculoskeletal and nervous system, primarily the spine. Many athletes, and civilians alike, seek chiropractic care to restore their natural health and wellness, however, chiropractic has been demonstrated to benefit athletes by increasing their athletic performance.
IFM's Find A Practitioner tool is the largest referral network in Functional Medicine, created to help patients locate Functional Medicine practitioners anywhere in the world. IFM Certified Practitioners are listed first in the search results, given their extensive education in Functional Medicine
