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September 5, 2006
[Volume 7, Issue 19]
In this issue of To Your Health:
- Watching Your Back at Work
- A Colorful Way to Reduce the
Risk of Alzheimer's
- Minty Alternative to Aspirin
Watching Your Back at Work
 Sitting
in front of a computer screen with your body planted into an
anything-but-comfortable chair can definitely do a number on your
lower back. Add to that the stress which sometimes goes along with
the 9-to-5 workday and your back is in for trouble. A recent study
in Finland has found that a little exercise can go a long way at
the office.
A group of office workers who had
complained that their back pain was restricting their
effectiveness on the job were measured by the researchers before
teaching them some simple exercises that could help with their
daily backaches. Over 15 weeks the workers were taught and
performed various forms of light resistance training.
The study showed a statistically
significant decrease in the intensity of low back pain symptoms
attributable to exericising. After exercising for only five
minutes every day during the work week, subjects' back pain
decreased by 19 percent.
Doctors of chiropractic treat back
pain with a number of different techniques, including adjustments,
stretching and strength exercises, and hot/cold therapy.
Sjogren T, Nissinen K, Jarvenpaa S,
et al. Effects of a workplace physical exercise intervention on
the intensity of low back symptoms in office workers: A cluster
randomized controlled cross-over design. Journal of Back and
Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, 2006;19(1): 13-24.
A Colorful Way to Reduce the
Risk of Alzheimer's
 Alzheimer's
disease, a common form of dementia that currently affects 13
million people across the globe, may start losing the battle
because of a new enemy - fruit and vegetable juice. The results of
a new study published in the September 2006 edition of The
Journal of American Medicine suggest that the antioxidant
polyphenols found naturally in fruits and vegetables can reduce
the risk of the onset of Alzheimer's.
A group of 1,836 dementia-free
Japanese-Americans in the Seattle area were chosen for the study.
Information was collected on their consumption of fruit and
vegetable juice with the use of a questionnaire and was assessed
every two years for up to 10 years. The results showed that
individuals who drank juice three or more times a week were 76
percent less likely to develop the symptoms of Alzheimer's
compared to those who drank less than one serving a week.
The only limitation of the study
was that specific juices were not found to be more effective than
others. This may lead to a more precise study of individual
vegetable and fruit juices.
Dai Q, Borenstein A, Wu Y, et al.
Fruit and vegetable juices and Alzheimer's disease: the Kame
project. The American Journal of Medicine, September
2006;119(9):751-759.
Minty Alternative to Aspirin
Traditional therapies in China once
called upon the use of mint oil for sprains, joint pains and
inflammation. The philosopher Hippocrates also treated these
ailments by "cooling" the skin. A new study by the University of
Edinburgh (England) suggests these ancient remedies still have a
positive effect on these same symptoms.
The study found that mint oil and
other related chemical compounds act through a recently discovered
protein which is capable of binding with these chemicals and is
found in a small percentage of nerve cells in the human skin. This
new/old treatment uses the body's own mechanisms to help ease
pain.
The use of these compounds is
likely to have minimal toxic side effects since they are applied
to the skin and not ingested. They could therefore be ideal for
chronic pain patients who do not benefit from conventional pain
killers. Of course, talk to your doctor before trying any
over-the-counter remedies, be they medications or natural
products, to avoid potential interactions or side effects.
Proudfoot C, Garry E, Cottrell D,
et al. Analgesia mediated by the TRPM8 cold receptor in chronic
neuropathic pain. Current Biology, August 22,
2006;16(16):1591-1605.
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