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Showing posts from May, 2009

Resisting Osteoporosis

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http:// From: Alex Hutchinson. Globe and Mail, May 22, 2009. A lex Hutchinson draws on the latest research to answer your fitness and workout questions in this biweekly column on the science of sport. The question What type of exercise is best for maintaining strong bones? The answer The key word here is "maintain," as 95 per cent of your mature skeleton is already in place by the age of 17 for girls and 19 for boys. Once you reach adulthood, it's basically one long fight against the slow but inexorable loss of bone strength - and the key to that fight, many of us assume, is weight-bearing activities. But the latest research shows that resistance-training exercises like lifting weights can also play a crucial role in bone health - and in some cases are even more effective than weight-bearing activities such as elliptical training. "Over the past decade, people have realized that bone is more dynamic than we thought. It's actually a pretty

Plant and Rake Without the Ache.

Here is a link to the Ontario Chiropractic Association for their brochure, "Plant and Rake Without the Ache." This is a decent bit of information that covers how to manage loads, lifting with care, and some stretching. http://www.chiropractic.on.ca/ecms.ashx/ba3623fb-081b-4585-8d7c-ef6592fa2287/PlantandRakeDocument/GardenTri-fold.pdf

What is back pain?

Here is a reasonable overview of low back pain from Consumer Reports Health.org What is back pain? http://www.consumerreports.org/health/conditions-and-treatments/back-pain/what-is-it.htm

Consumer Reports

Relief for your aching back: What worked for our readers Our survey respondents tried an average of five or six different treatments over the course of just a year. About 80 percent of the adults in the U.S. have been bothered by back pain at some point. The Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center recently surveyed more than 14,000 subscribers who experienced lower-back pain in the past year but never had back surgery. More than half said the pain severely limited their daily routine for a week or longer, and 88 percent said it recurred throughout the year. Lower-back pain disrupts many aspects of life. In our survey, 46 percent said that it interfered with their sleep, 31 percent reported that it thwarted their efforts to maintain a healthy weight, and 24 percent said that it hampered their sex life. Where to go for treatment When back pain goes on and on, many people go to see a primary-care doctor. While this visit may help rule out any serious underlying disease, a surprising number