Clinic Wellness Team. A key factor to spine or back pain conditions is staying healthy. Overall wellness involves a balanced diet, appropriate exercise, physical activity, restful sleep, and a healthy lifestyle. The term has been applied in many ways. But overall, the definition is as follows.
It is a conscious, self-directed, and evolving process of achieving full potential. It is multidimensional, bringing together lifestyles both mental/spiritual and the environment in which one lives. It is positive and affirms that what we do is, in fact, correct.
It is an active process where people become aware and make choices towards a more successful lifestyle. This includes how a person contributes to their environment/community. They aim to build healthier living spaces and social networks. It helps in creating a person’s belief systems, values, and a positive world perspective.
Along with this comes the benefits of regular exercise, a healthy diet, personal self-care, and knowing when to seek medical attention. Dr. Jimenez’s message is to work towards being fit, being healthy, and staying aware of our collection of articles, blogs, and videos.
Ergonomics is a scientific discipline that’s been in existence for many years. Keeping their work environments safe and efficient and traditionally concerned with factory workers, ergonomic professionals have expanded their work to include all types of workers from laborers to seniors to office workers & students.
In addition, it looks for means to adjust our environment to lower the risks of illness and harm, enhance productivity, and improve the caliber of our work life.
The Goals of Ergonomics
The profession of ergonomics has two main concentrations (which frequently overlap):
1. Industrial ergonomics – occasionally called work-related biomechanics – is concerned with the physical aspects of work including force, position, and repetitive movements.
2. Human factors ergonomics looks as the psychological features of work like mental anxiety and decision-making.
The aims of ergonomics contain the following:
Reduce work-related injury and illness
Help include workers’ compensation costs for companies
Enhance the standard of work
Reduce absenteeism
Help companies comply with government regulations regarding work surroundings
Ergonomics professionals include:
Engineers
Security professionals
Industrial hygienists
Physical therapists
Occupational therapists
Nurse practitioners
Chiropractors
Occupational doctors
How Ergonomics Enhances Work & Safety
The association between work injury and illness is old. It is even believed that Ancient Man concerned himself with developing the right tools that allowed for the efficiency and least amount�of distress.
Now, we continue to look for ways to boost the relationship between our “tools” and�our jobs. One means to do that is to look at the risk factors in the workplace. These are able to be divided into 3 areas: physical characteristics, environmental features, and workplace hazards.
1. Physical Characteristics Of Work:
Bearing
Drive
Repetition
Duration
Recovery time
Velocity/acceleration
Heavy exertion that is dynamic
2. Segmental Vibration Environmental Characteristics Of Work:
Proponents of specific food class-centric diets such as paleo, vegan, gluten-free, ketogenic, or the Mediterranean diet often but not always tend to prescribe their plans for everyone. Not so fast, says a group from the University of California, Berkeley. Biologists at UC Berkeley and other institutions around the world have published research that shows genetic differences from natural selection based on dietary changes in Europe, Ars Technica reports.
According to the research, for example, if you live in Europe, and particularly in southern Europe, your body is optimized to digest and process plant-based diets. Natives of Greenland, specifically the Inuit, are better at processing meat fat.
The researchers compared genomes from hundreds of contemporary humans and 101 genome sequences from Bronze Age humans who lived in Europe 5,000 years ago. They found DNA changed significantly in the last 5,000 years.
The science behind the studies is based on examining two genes that regulate how fatty acids in foods are converted into the �long-chain� form used by humans for tissue health, including the brain and muscles. Plants such as wheat and vegetables�provide �short-chain� fatty acids and must be converted to the long-form type in order for the human body to use them.
In its genome studies, the researchers found that southern European genomes mutated to produce more long-chain fatty acids from the shorter variation. This change, they argue, is due to evolutionary �pressure��from a diet that changed to accommodate more plant-based foods.�The Inuit genome, however, had no such influence, which means Inuit genes�aren�t equipped to convert as great a quantity of long-chain fatty acids because they don�t as much need it.
The general take on this research: There is no one best diet or nutritional bias for all people. If your ancestors are all from the 10 countries that make up northern Europe, for example, the study indicates you could be more likely better equipped to thrive on a diet having a higher proportion of meat. People of southern European ancestry, however, might do better with diets that lean toward plant-based foods.
We can deny it until the mad cows come home, but we start deteriorating even before middle age. It�s not going to get better and we�re not going to start remembering where our keys are. The good news is that a healthy diet, akin to the famous Mediterranean one, can significantly protect our memory performance, say Canadian scientists who helpfully published a Brain Health Food Guide to help adults over 50 preserve their thinking and memory skills.
While about it: Dietary patterns similar to the Brain Health Food Guide are associated with a 36 percent decrease in the risk of developing Alzheimer�s disease, the scientists add.
No, there is no such thing as a superfood for superlative memory. The brain diet is less about specifics and more about generally eating healthy, focusing on classes of foods, explains the team from Baycrest�s Rotman Research Institute.
Legumes are key. Green beans don�t count in that category, though they do count as a vegetable, so they�re good. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts are good too.
And: Eat fish, beans, beans, beans and nuts several times a week, and choose healthy fats from olive oil, nuts and fish. Did we say beans? Add the legumes to everything but your vanilla shake.
Eat lots of berries, and yes, strawberries do count in that context, Dr. Carol Greenwood�reassures Haaretz. That is fortunate because Israel doesn�t really have many other berry types. (Mulberries are endemic but never did catch on here culinarily.)
While the recommendations were penned for Canadians, they apply to everybody, Greenwood also reassures.
�Our work was, in part, to address the �holy grail� that the Mediterranean diet has in Canada � it is absolutely a healthy diet, but does not necessarily meet the cultural needs of all individuals,� she wrote in an email interview.��Rather, we position the Mediterranean diet as one example of a brain healthy diet, but argue that there are fundamental principles which can be adopted across all cultures and ethnic groups.�
She also wanted to debunk the reams of misinformation out there about �brain food,��says Greenwood, co-author of the Brain Health Food Guide. �In Canada, there are lots of claims around supplements and individual foods, where there really is no data to support the claims.�
Go Gentle Into That Good Ice Cream
It�s hard to pinpoint �brain foods.� By the same token, removing a single component from the diet � such as sugar or wheat � isn�t going to solve the problem of a deteriorating memory, Greenwood believes. �The answer will never be as easy as pointing to an individual food which is either harmful or helpful � it is the global qualities of the diet which are important.�This cannot be packaged into an individual pill/supplement or individual food.�
That said, she elaborates, there is a general consensus that diets and lifestyles that lead to the development of insulin resistance and other chronic disorders, such as hypertension, will contribute to poor cognitive retention and increased dementia risk.
What causes insulin resistance? Foods in that category include highly processed offerings, especially foods with lots of refined sugars. Steak and other red meat are in this category too, she says.
�I think the important message is that we need to limit our intakes of these foods and not promote abstinence � making something a �forbidden fruit� only makes people crave it more and we don�t have the evidence to argue that small quantities are harmful,� Greenwood says. �You can still enjoy a small scoop of ice cream on special occasions as long as you don�t make it a daily item or eat the entire container at once.�
Do Or Dash
The Baycrest recommendations draw primarily on two randomized control trials, a Spanish one using a diet intervention based on the Mediterranean diet, and a U.S. trial using a diet intervention based on the �DASH� diet, which is a long-term approach to healthy eating designed to help prevent or treat high blood pressure.
The team set out to see where these two dietary approaches overlapped (for instance, legumes) and diverged (the Mediterranean diet places much more emphasis on fish), to form the basis of the dietary intervention.
Fats were a puzzler. �There is no consensus across the epidemiological studies as to the negative contribution of a high-fat diet per se, rather the consensus is across fat quality � hence these recommendations focus more on fat quality rather than quantity,� Greenwood explains.�And finally, data across a number of different international epidemiological studies was also used to inform the recommendation, Greenwood told Haaretz.
Apropos fats, fatty fish are generally considered to be best for the brain diet because of the high content of omega fats. �In Canada, the intake of fish is so low, that getting individuals to consume any type of fish is better than consuming no fish at all.�This may not be the case in Israel,� Greenwood says, and she�s right � Israelis eat a lot of fish.� �For instance, in the Spanish study, it was difficult to show benefits of meeting our recommendation for fish intake simply because most individuals were already naturally consuming relatively high levels of fish in their diet before entering the study.� And so it is in Israel too.
The gym is filled with tons�of complex machines, all designed to tighten and tone various areas of your body. With so many flashy options to choose from,�chances are, you’ve been overlooking one ultra-versatile piece of equipment: the�TRX suspension trainer. But his seemingly simple item is actually a super effective workout tool. It was designed to add extra challenge to many of your usual go-to exercises, like squats and mountain climbers, to�help your body build strength, balance, flexibility, and core stability.
The best part: It’s totally versatile. While you can find TRX trainers at any gym, you can also use them to get toned just about�anywhere�whether that’s in your home, the beach, or the park�by simply attaching your trainer to a sturdy object overhead (like a tree, for example). Not to mention, it’s compact enough to squeeze into your suitcase, making it perfect for�working out while traveling.
If you’re curious to try out TRX and mix up your usual routine, try giving my 6-move workout a go.
Single-leg squat
Face the anchor point and grab the cushioned handles. Take a couple steps back so there’s plenty of�tension on the suspension trainer. Balancing on your left foot, extend your right leg. Begin to lower into a squat, keeping your right leg extended and your left heel on the ground. Once you’ve hit a 90-degree angle�or as low as you can go with proper form�drive your left heel through the ground returning to a standing position. Do three�sets of eight�reps.
Tam�s Tip: Don�t sacrifice form for depth. Be sure to keep your arms straights at all stages in the squat to prevent using your upper body instead of your legs and glutes.
Bring the handles together and place your right foot into the cradle. Walk out a few steps while balancing on your left leg. Begin to lower down into a lunge, hold for one second, and then return to standing. Do four�sets of 10 reps.
Tam�s Tip: Make sure that you aren�t hinging at your hips, and really using your legs and glutes to get into the lunge. Avoid pushing off your front leg when returning to a standing position.
Pull-ups
Adjust the handles so that they are at their highest setting. Grab the handles, making sure that your hands, shoulders and hips are aligned. Keep your feet flat on the ground and pull your body up as high as you can, and then lower down to the starting position. To make it harder, straighten your legs, with your heels on the ground and pull yourself up, keeping your shoulders down and back. If you want more of a challenge, pull your entire body off the ground in one fluid movement (as shown above), and then lower back down to the starting position. Start with three�sets of 10 reps for the beginner/intermediate variations. Advanced: three�sets of four�reps.
Tam�s Tip: Be sure that your hands, shoulders and hips are aligned after every rep.
Bring the handles together and grab them with your right hand. Lean your body backward, with your feet closer�to the anchor point in front of you. Then, while engaging your core and lat, pull your body up in one fluid movement. Straighten your right arm, lowering down to the start position. Do three�sets of 12 reps.
Tam�s Tip: To make this exercise more challenging, walk your feet closer to the anchor point, increasing the amount of body weight you are pulling. You can also try standing�with a narrow stance to make this exercise more unstable.
Mountain climber
Place your feet into the foot cradles with your toes facing down. Walk your hands out to a plank position. Drive your right knee forward, followed by the left. Repeat.
Tam�s Tip: Try to avoid sawing (each strap changing levels) by maintaining even pressure on the foot cradles.
Pikes
Place your feet into the foot cradles, toes facing down. Walk your hands out into a plank position. From here begin to raise your hips up, engaging your core, creating a upside down �v�. Lower your body back down for one rep. Do 3 sets of 15 reps.
Tam�s Tip: Imagine there is a string attached to your tailbone pulling you up and down. Avoid a dip in your lower back by pulling your belly button in and engaging your core.
A good attitude about weight loss will go a long way in helping you to achieve success. Whether your weight problem has resulted from eating the wrong foods, lack of routine physical exercise, using food to resist anxiety, age, or genetics �you can help defeat that by setting reasonable goals and expectations that are realistic.
The initial step to take would be to discuss your set for weight loss and general health by means of your physician. Your physician can assist you to make informed choices about treatments that contain weight loss plans and exercise suitable to your needs.
Therapies include dietary, behavioral, drug, and for some patients, surgical alteration of the digestive system to reduce the quantity of food consumed. A safe and realistic weight reduction plan may result in success.
Evaluating your body weight is more involved than stepping on the scale. This info is assessed to find out your risks due to extra weight (eg, high blood pressure).
Nutrition Means To Feed Your Body
In the event you haven’t detected, the ‘D’ word (Diet) hasn’t been used in this post as it relates to weight reduction. Granted, caloric reduction will be required by a weight loss program. Yet, for many overweight or obese folks, a weight loss program means exercising, handling anxiety, and making lifestyle changes, which might comprise relearning how to eat.
It’s vitally crucial that you feed your body the nutrients it needs to be healthy and live. No one food contains all the essential nutrients �it takes combining a wide variety of foods to help meet your body’s needs. If you have been heavy or obese for a long time, your body may really be starving for necessary nutrients!
Nutrients Their Food Sources & Activities In The Human Body
*Fats are essential in taking the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. There are just three types of fats:
Saturated Fat will raise blood cholesterol levels. These fats are found mostly in meat and diary products.
Polyunsaturated Fat tends to lower blood cholesterol levels. It’s mainly found in plant sources such as safflower, sunflower, soybean, corn, and cottonseed.
Monounsaturated Fat tends to lower the bad cholesterol or LDL (low density cholesterol). Examples include canola oil, olive oil, peanut oil, and avocados.
Although this amount is exceeded by most Americans, dietary ingestion of fat shouldn’t exceed 30% per day.
Remove the skin from poultry, trim visible fat from meat, an easy method to cut back fat consumption is to choose lean cuts of meat, choose water-packed tuna, and pick dairy products made from skim or low-fat milk.
Seizing on the opioid epidemic as a chance to expand their reach, naturopaths and chiropractors�are aggressively lobbying Congress and state governments to elevate the role of�alternative therapies�in treating chronic pain. They�ve scored several victories in recent months, and hope the Trump administration will give them a further boost.
Their Most Powerful Argument: We Don�t Prescribe Addictive Pain Pills
Shunning pharmaceuticals, they treat pain with everything from acupuncture to massage to castor oil ointments. They offer herbal supplements and homeopathic pills.
There�s little rigorous scientific research to back up such treatments. Yet patients often say they feel relief. And providers say their alternative approaches are vitally needed at a time when more than 30,000 people a year die of opioid overdose in the US alone � and half of those deaths involve a prescription painkiller, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
�I am surprised that with the crisis where it is today, more people aren�t picking up on alternative treatments,� said John Falardeau, a senior vice president with the American Chiropractic Association.
Chiropractors scored a big victory recently in Oregon, where the state Medicaid program decided to cover spinal adjustment for lower back pain starting in 2016. Vermont, Virginia, and Nevada are considering similar moves.
Another win came earlier this year, when the American College of Physicians recommended non-surgical interventions such as acupuncture, yoga, and chiropractic care as the go-to treatments for lower back pain.
�The American College of Physicians is our new best friend,� said Robert Hayden, a Georgia chiropractor and spokesperson for the�American Chiropractic Association. Hayden said the the industry considers the decision �a direct result of the fact that we are in an opioid crisis in this country.�
Hoping For Help From The Trump Administration
Hoping to make even more inroads, both naturopaths and chiropractors are lobbying Congress to push the Veterans Affairs health system to hire alternative providers. Chiropractors are also pushing for a role in the National Health Service Corps, which puts providers to work in community health centers, often in rural areas.
And this month, naturopaths will descend on Washington, D.C., for a meeting all about chronic pain. �Naturopathic doctors are poised to be the leaders in combating the opioid epidemic,� the promotional materials claim.
The pain workshops will be followed by a three-day conference to set a lobbying agenda and teach naturopaths organizing techniques.
The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians clearly sees an opening to make gains: The arrival of the Trump administration and a new, Republican-controlled Congress �opens up new opportunities for AANP to push for insurance non-discrimination, to have [naturopaths] included in the VA, and to emphasize that naturopathic care is a much-needed alternative to opioids for the treatment of chronic pain,� the AANP website declares.
Chiropractors, too, are hopeful. President Trump has talked about giving more Americans access to flexible spending accounts�for health care. That, they say, will make it easier for�consumers to pay for treatments that insurance doesn�t cover � like chiropractic care.
�I think they see an opening. Whether it actually works or not is secondary. It�s basically an opening for them to try to claim some legitimacy.�
Dr. David Gorksi, surgical oncologist
Some mainstream doctors � who often range from skeptical to fiercely critical of alternative medicine � are wary. They worry that naturopaths or chiropractors might persuade patients with serious diseases to shun conventional medical care. And they point out that some herbal treatments interact badly with chemotherapy or other pharmaceuticals.
Other skeptics dismiss the push to claim a role in treating pain as a public relations ploy.
�I think they see an opening,� said Dr. David Gorski, a surgical oncologist and an editor of the blog Science-Based Medicine. �Whether it actually works or not is secondary. It�s basically an opening for them to try to claim some legitimacy.�
He finds it particularly galling that alternative providers often mix sound advice on diet and exercise, drawn from mainstream medicine, with fringe therapies that have no evidence behind them, like homeopathy pills. �It becomes hard for the average person to figure out what is and it isn�t quackery,� he said.
But other doctors are cautiously embracing the idea of new ways to treat chronic pain. They say if alternative remedies help � even if only through a placebo effect � patients may be able to avoid addictive pills.
Helping Patients Gain Control Over Their Pain
Emily Telfair, a naturopath in Maryland, said she often sees chronic pain patients who feel frustrated that conventional treatments haven�t worked to treat their pain. Or those patients haven�t been able to tolerate the tough side effects of pain medication. They come to her hoping for relief.
�That�s the place where naturopathic medicine shines. It offers another option for folks who haven�t found help,� Telfair said.
Telfair uses massage therapy, including a specific type of treatment known as craniosacral massage. She also sends patients home with castor oil packs and topical creams to apply to their pain points, all of which she said are noninvasive ways �to invite the body to heal and let go of the chronic symptom.�
�It offers another option for folks who haven�t found help.�
Emily Teflair, naturopath
She said her job isn�t always to cure a patient�s pain � it�s to help patients see that their pain won�t always be unrelenting and oppressive, and to help them gain control.
�Knowing their pain can be different from one day to the next, that is a very powerful tool,� she said. �I know I can�t help everybody with chronic pain. But you [can] change the person�s relationship to their pain.�
That�s been the case for 70-year-old James Fite, who has had both hips replaced and now needs a shoulder replaced. He�s hesitant to have the surgery because of his chronic pain.
�It�s always there. Sometimes it�s just blinding, excruciating,� he said. But he�s found relief with an acupuncturist and naturopathic care from Telfair.
He uses roll-on castor oil, sticks to an anti-inflammatory diet, and also receives massage therapy. Other times, he takes opioids. Fite said he has had 15 providers trying to treat aspects of his pain. He feels his acupuncturist and Telfair are the most �tuned in� to his body�s condition.
�None of these things are cure-alls for a chronic condition like mine,� he said. �But I�ve gotten as much help from them as from anybody.�
With various combinations of treatments, Fite said he�s more able to manage his pain than he has been before. He�s found the energy to teach chess after school twice a week at a nearby library and can spend more time playing with his grandkids.
Other naturopaths said they see their goal as finding and addressing the root cause of a patient�s pain. And they argue they have more time than a medical doctor to do that.
�It�s not as simple as a replacement for an opioid. We treat the cause of the pain. We don�t just mask it with a painkiller,� said Michelle Brannick, a naturopathic provider in Illinois who markets her services specifically to pain patients. Brannick relies on homeopathic arnica and herbal supplements, among other treatments.
A Cautious Approach From Physicians
Taxpayers subsidize roughly $120 million a year in federal grants to research alternative medicine through the National Institutes of Health.
Even after all that research, Dr. Josephine Briggs, the director of the NIH�s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, said she is aware there isn�t much robust evidence to support many alternative pain therapies.
�We can�t call this a slam dunk. This is not a situation where we�ve got an easy answer for a tough clinical problem,� she said.
But she pointed out that many alternative remedies are fairly low-risk. And some physicians are opening their minds up to the idea � with caveats.
�As a physician, I would never just say, �You have pain, so we�re going to just put you on pain medicine,�� said Dr. Andrew Esch, a clinician and consultant with the Center to Advance Palliative Care in New York.
Doctors stress that pain can vary wildly from one patient to the next, and treatments won�t be the same for every patient, either. �Sometimes that�s physical therapy and Motrin, sometimes it�s acupuncture and antidepressants,� said Esch.
Dr. Charles von Gunten, a palliative care specialist at OhioHealth, agreed alternative therapies like acupuncture and massage can be part of a doctor�s toolkit.
�They�re not either-or types of approaches,� he explained.
�As a physician, I would never just say, �You have pain, so we�re going to just put you on pain medicine.��
Dr. Andrew Esch, palliative care expert
But doctors also are leery of sending cancer patients or others with serious illnesses to a naturopathic provider who might convince them to go off of chemotherapy or forgo conventional medical care.
�That�s certainly a concern,� said Briggs. There�s also concern that homeopathic remedies like St. John�s wort will interfere with a patient�s prescribed medication and make those drugs less effective. Encouraging pain patients to experiment with alternative treatments might open the door to those risks.
But Esch said he doesn�t see those concerns as a reason for doctors to dismiss naturopathic approaches that their chronic pain patients are interested in trying. Most patients he sees are using some sort of alternative treatment � and many will continue to do so whether doctors like it or not, he said.
�If someone is going to take shark cartilage because they think it will make their pain better, my approach is not to immediately say no,� he said.
Instead, he scours the evidence, the side effects, and the potential drug interactions that might put a patient at risk. If it seems safe for a patient to try, he gives them the green light and checks back regularly to see if it�s helping.
�It�s part of the responsibility of physicians to know what people are taking and not dismiss it, because it�s our job to know they�re going to do it safely,� he said.
One State Weighs The Costs Of Treating Pain
Many dietary supplements � which don�t have to go through a regulatory review for safety or efficacy before hitting the market � are relatively cheap: Shoppers can snag 60 homeopathic arnica tablets off a drugstore shelf for less than $10.
But other alternative therapies can be costly: Craniosacral massage and acupuncture, for instance, can each run over $100 for an hourlong session, and patients may need multiple visits each month.
The Oregon Health Plan, which is the state version of Medicaid, weighed those expenses when deciding whether to cover chiropractic adjustment for lower back pain.
The chiropractic care costs more than would for a short course of opioids � a single vertebrae adjustment can cost around $65. But health officials are hopeful that they�ll save money in the long run by reducing the number of people addicted to opioids.
�We�re trying to offer up some of these treatment options from the beginning, with the goal of trying to reduce the transition from acute pain to chronic pain,� said Denise Taray, who coordinates the Oregon Pain Management Commission.
That commission spearheaded the research into what treatments should be covered and ultimately recommended that state Medicaid cover chiropractic care. They�re now looking at alternative medicine treatments for other pain conditions, such as fibromyalgia.
�We�re all focused on the opioid epidemic and managing prescribing,� said Taray. �The part that still seems to be falling through the cracks is the patient perspective and the treatment and the care of pain.�
You know the feeling: Your email inbox is overflowing, your to-do list is miles long, and you haven’t managed to hit to the gym in days. Trust us, we’ve been there. The result? A super stressed-out you.
While stress begins in the mind (“I need to finish this work presentation in the next hour,” or, “I only have one week to plan my best friend’s surprise party!”), it eventually manifests itself in the body. Think: clenched jaws, shoulder knots, and stiff necks. (Ugh.) And since stress takes such a toll on both your mind and body, it’s important to move in ways that intercept your emotional and physical strain.
Luckily, you don’t need to set aside hours to find your center. In fact, just 15 minutes of this calming yoga sequence might be enough to help you de-stress. This simple routine can be done anywhere—all you need is some space to put down your mat.
And as an added bonus, you’ll actually be strengthening and lengthening your muscles while doing the flow. This is one reason why yoga is the ideal activity for days when you’re feeling overwhelmed, says clinical therapist and yoga instructor Lauren Taus. The mindful practice gets you moving on the mat and focused on the present, so you pay less attention to what’s still on your to-do list.
In this video, Lauren takes you through a calming yoga flow that will help you find your center and slow down. Because who doesn’t want to feel more relaxed in just 15 minutes?
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