Chiropractor, Dr. Alexander Jimenez gives insights into the most common questions about whiplash.
What Is Whiplash?
Whiplash, although not technically a medical term, can be quite painful and is quite serious. We call it whiplash because, within an accident, your neck actually can whip back and forth�first backward (hyperextension) and then forwards (hyperflexion). Doctors call whiplash a neck sprain or strain. Whiplash is an injury to the soft tissues of your neck and upper back that occurs when ligaments and your muscles get overstretched in the strength of an accident.
What Causes Whiplash?
The most common source of whiplash is car accidents. Nonetheless, you can even get whiplash from a sports injury or a fall. It’s also possible to get whiplash when you are hit or shaken.
What Are Some Non-Surgical Ways To Take Care Of Whiplash?
Time is just one of the greatest non surgical treatment options for whiplash. Most instances of whiplash recover by themselves to some months in several weeks. Your doctor may also indicate: wearing a cervical collar, cervical traction, chiropractic adjustment, physical therapy, and pain drugs as you heal.
Will I Need Surgery?
Patients with whiplash quite, very rarely need surgery. If, nevertheless, you’ve been through wide-ranging non-operative treatments and also you have pain, surgery may be considered by you. There are several kinds of surgery useful for whiplash
Corpectomy:
Sometimes whiplash induces the spinal canal to narrow because of how a soft tissues (muscles, ligaments, and tendons) and bones moved throughout the first injury. By removing area of the vertebra and the intervertebral disc using a corpectomy, the surgeon is wanting to make more room in your spinal canal.
Discectomy:
The surgeon will remove section of the intervertebral disc, which may be pressing on your own spinal cord or alternative nerves and causing pain. Sometimes, the surgeon will have to do a spinal fusion at the same time as the discectomy. The fusion plans to permanently stabilize that region of your spine, although not everyone who has a discectomy will need a fusion.
Foraminotomy:
As with a corpectomy, a surgeon uses a foraminotomy to make more room for your nerves that could have gotten pinched and compressed throughout the harm. In this process, the foramina (the place where the nerve roots leave the spinal canal) is removed to boost the size of the nerve pathway.
Boxing is all the rage right now—everyone from models like Gigi Hadid and Ashley Graham to celebs like J.Lo and Demi Lovato have picked up the powerful workout as their go-to way to stay fit. And they’re definitely on to something. Boxing is great way to up your heart rate and tone your body from head to toe.
It’s no coincidence that so many people who love boxing rock killer physiques. Boxing (as well as the challenging conditioning work that goes along with training) strengthens and sculpts the entire body. That’s because boxing isn’t just about aggressively throwing punches—it’s an amazing total-body workout that tightens and tones everything from your arms to your core.
That said, stepping into a boxing gym or class can be a bit intimidating if you’re a total newbie. So Health teamed up with two-time boxing world champion Chris Algieri to get the lowdown on must-know boxing basics. Watch this video to learn everything from how to get in fighter stance, throw a 1-2 punch (also known as a jab-cross), and master other classic moves, such as upper cuts and hooks. Whether you’re a boxing novice or just looking to perfect your form, here’s what you need to know for a total knockout workout.
The Conference USA champion UTEP men�s golf team learned on Thursday morning that it will be one of eight squads participating in the Sammamish (Wash.) NCAA Regional May 15-17.� The regional will be contested at the Aldarra Golf Club with 54-hole stroke play as the format.
�I think it could be a great place for us to go,� UTEP coach Scott Lieberwirth said.� �We haven�t been out to that golf course, and I don�t think many teams have.� [Regional host] Washington has never hosted an event out there, so it�s going to be a new experience for any team besides Washington.� I think that�s good in that we don�t have any teams with an advantage over another.� I think it bodes well for us going back to cool season grass, something that most of our team has grown up with and is familiar with.� I think that�s a definite positive for us.�
UTEP is seeded eighth in the regional and will be joined by top seed USC, no. 2 seed Kent State, no. 3 seed Texas A&M, no. 4 seed Florida State, no. 5 seed Washington, no. 6 seed Alabama, no. 7 seed San Diego State, no. 9 seed Penn State, no. 10 seed Michigan, no. 11 seed Michigan State, no. 12 seed Seattle, no. 13 seed Marquette and no. 14 seed Bryant.
�That�s maybe the drawback of going to this region in that at least in the top five lines, it�s statistically the toughest region having #1 [USC], #12 [Kent State] and #13 [Texas A&M] in that field,� Lieberwirth said.� �We have seen USC.� They are awesome.� We know Texas A&M has had an extremely strong year.� Washington, the host, is also very dangerous, especially on their home golf course.� Alabama has come back and played really well later on this spring.� We will definitely have our hands full.�
A total of 81 teams earned NCAA Regional bids and are disbursed among six regionals.� The top five teams in each regional will advance to the NCAA Championship at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. May 26-31.
�In the end, it is going to come down to how we execute and if we do a good job of that, I think we are going to position ourselves to get to the championship,� Lieberwirth said.� �There�s nothing different.� It�s still the same game we have played all year.� The stakes are higher so it�s about managing our options, not getting ahead of ourselves and being patient, moreso this tournament than in any other tournament we�ll play.�
UTEP is participating in NCAA Regionals for the 14th time, and the first time since 2004.� The Miners are tying to advance to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 1995.
�I�ll tell our guys to have fun.� We don�t really have anything to lose at this point,� Lieberwirth said. ��There are some higher ranked teams that sometimes play with a lot of pressure because of an expectation of getting to the national championship.� We need to just go play golf and forget about any expectation. �We�ll add the scores up at the end.� And I think we do a pretty good job of that as a team in general, not really looking at leaderboards, not looking at where we�re placed, let�s just play well for us and if we have a good tournament, we�re going to be in that mix.�
Researchers say they’ve found an enzyme in mice associated with obesity and a loss of exercise capacity in midlife, suggesting that the discovery could eventually lead to new weight-loss medications.
The team at the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) gave one group of mice a drug that inhibits the activity of the enzyme called DNA-PK. Another group of mice wasn’t given the drug. Both groups were fed a high-fat diet.
The group that received the inhibitor had 40 percent less weight gain than the other group, according to the study in the journal Cell Metabolism.
The findings challenge current ideas about why people gain weight as they age, the researchers said.
“Our society attributes the weight gain and lack of exercise at midlife [approximately 30-60 years] primarily to poor lifestyle choices and lack of willpower,” said study lead author Dr. Jay Chung, head of the institute’s Laboratory of Obesity and Aging Research.
The researchers said the average weight gain between age 20 and 50 is about 30 pounds, even though the amount of food a person consumes generally decreases during this time.
Chung and his colleagues looked for biochemical changes in animals during midlife and found that DNA-PK increases in activity with age. Also, the researchers said the enzyme helps the conversion of nutrients to fat.
“This study shows that there is a genetic program driven by an overactive enzyme that promotes weight gain and loss of exercise capacity at midlife,” Chung said in a NHLBI news release.
“Our studies indicate that DNA-PK is one of the drivers of the metabolic and fitness decline that occurs during aging, which makes staying lean and physically fit difficult and increases susceptibility to metabolic diseases like diabetes. The identification of this new mechanism is very important for improving public health,” he said.
Obesity is linked with a number of chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
“The study opens the door to the development of a new type of weight-loss medication that could work by inhibiting DNA-PK activity,” Chung said.
However, it’s important to note that research that seems promising in animals doesn’t always translate well to humans.
For now, middle-aged people fighting obesity need to focus on calorie reduction and increased exercise, the researchers recommended.
The idea that diet could have a role to play in preventing the signs of asthma is starting to gain ground, with studies highlighting certain deficiencies in patients or warning against the consumption of certain foods. On World Asthma Day, May 2, Relaxnews spoke to Dr. Bertrand Delaisi, a pediatric pulmonologist at Clinique Marcel Sembat in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, for an overview of what’s currently known on the subject.
The prevalence of asthma has increased considerably in recent decades, in parallel with changes in lifestyles and dietary habits, tending towards diets rich in carbohydrates and fat, and low in fiber.
As well as pollutants, allergens, passive smoking and air pollution, allergy specialists are increasingly interested in how diet can promote or modify the development of asthma on a physiopathological level.
Eating ham, cured sausage or smoked meats at least four times a week could aggravate the symptoms of asthma over time, concludes a study carried out by researchers at Inserm, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, published in January in the medical journal Thorax.
On the contrary, consuming fiber may influence the gut flora and could reduce inflammation in the bronchial tubes. A diet rich in fruit and vegetables and vitamin C — and especially vitamin D (calf’s liver, soy, egg yolks) — could, therefore, help limit the risks of asthma, according to Dr. Bertrand Delaisi, a pediatric pulmonologist at Clinique Marcel Sembat in Boulogne-Billancourt, France.
The same goes for omega-3 fatty acids, present in oily fish and other foods (walnuts, canola oil), which can relieve inflammation, including in the respiratory airways. People whose diets are rich in omega-3 have a lower risk of suffering from asthma than those whose intake is limited. They could also be beneficial to people who already suffer from the condition.
Foods containing quercetin could reduce the frequency of asthma attacks, as this antioxidant flavonoid is an anti-inflammatory. Studies carried out in vitro found that quercetin inhibited the liberation of inflammatory substances by mast cells, which play a role in allergic reactions, mirroring certain anti-asthma medications. This antioxidant is found in onions, mustard oil, tea and apples.
An estimated 300 million people worldwide suffer from asthma.
Help your body recover with these self-care strategies from pros.
Eat well and hydrate: “You should be feeding your body nutrient-dense foods, like lean proteins and veggies,” says Rosante. “And be sure to drink plenty of water.”
Use a foam roller: “Imagine knots on a rubber band�trigger points are like that, and exercising can inflame them,” notes Rosante. “Rolling out breaks them up so you cna move better.”
Walk around: “Long walks help increase blood flow to the muscles,” explains Rosante, “bringing oxygen to fix damaged tissue.”
Don’t binge on junk food: “A rest day is not a cheat day,” notes Holder.
Don’t stay up all night: “Sleep is key for your body to recover, repair�muscles, and reset the brain,” says Holder. “Not getting enough can increase food cravings and push your body into chronic stress mode, making it harder to meet your goals.”
Don’t train�duh!: Sounds simple, but it can be challenging. Proper rest optimizes the body for future workouts. And don’t worry: “No gains will be lost in one or even two days,” adds Jon-Erik Kawamoto, founder of JK Conditioning in Newfoundland, Canada. To put it another way: Namaste…in bed.
When the going gets tough, yoga. That’s our mantra this spring—and this flow is proof that deep breaths and a little movement can work wonders on your energy levels. It’s led by Tiffany Cruikshank, founder of Yoga Medicine and an expert in the restorative power of yoga. The sequence is meant to wake you up, and help you find your center; so you finish your practice calmer than before, but also invigorated. The routine will also help you feel more connected to your body, as you challenge your muscles and build stamina.
While yoga doesn’t raise your heart rate quite like high-intensity interval training, or HIIT, it does come with its own set of stellar health benefits. Regular yoga sessions can help to reduce migraines, improve sleep quality, and even boost your sex life, thanks to poses that strengthen the pelvic floor muscles (and in turn make your orgasms bigger and better).
Of course yoga has the power to change your body for the better too. The ancient practice can lead to longer, leaner muscles, since it stretches your limbs while building strength simultaneously.
Want to get it on the action? Watch the video to follow along as Cruikshank guides you through a yoga flow that will recharge your batteries stat. It’s perfect for vinyasa novices as well as longtime yogis. Whether you do this routine first thing in the morning, or right in the middle of your afternoon slump, it will leave you feeling healthier and happier, guaranteed. And if you just can’t get enough of Tiffany, visit YogaGlo for more of her classes.
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
What Causes Whiplash?
