January 31, 2001 [Volume 2, Issue 3]

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In this issue of To Your Health:

• Exercise Key to Keeping Back Pain Away
• Less "Whaa" with Whey
• The Long and Short of It
• Third-Generation Oral Contraceptives Increase Clot Risk

If there's one health problem most people will suffer from at some point in their lives, it's back pain. Back pain accounts for more than half of all musculoskeletal disorders, and chronic low back pain (LBP) accounts for the majority of the health care costs associated with repeated treatment, long-term work absenteeism and early retirement.

What can be done about back pain? Exercise may be one answer, according to a recent study involving 125 LBP patients. All patients had previously participated in a 12-week low-back rehabilitation program. Results showed that patients who exercised consistently following treatment suffered from less pain and missed less work, compared with patients who remained inactive following treatment.

You may not be able to avoid back pain, but when it hits, there's definitely something you can do about it. Your doctor can provide you with more information on the causes and treatment for back pain. Information can also be accessed on line at https://www.chiroweb.com/tyh/backpain.html.

Reference: Taimela S, Diederich C, Hubsch M, et al. The role of physical exercise and inactivity in pain recurrence and absenteeism from work after active outpatient rehabilitation for recurrent or chronic low back pain: a follow-up study. Spine 2000: Vol. 25, No. 14, pp1809-16.

Less "Whaa" with Whey

If you're a first-time parent unaccustomed to dealing with a crying baby, just imagine caring for a baby suffering from colic - inconsolable bouts of crying lasting for three hours or more, three or more days a week for three weeks or more. Other symptoms associated with infantile colic include facial flushing, abdominal distention, and gastrointestinal difficulties.

Cow's milk has been suspected as a culprit in infantile colic. In a study designed to investigate whether alternative formulas may help ease colic, 43 colicky infants received standard formula milk or whey formula (made from a byproduct of cheese manufacturing) for one week, with improvements documented at 10-minute intervals around the clock. Results showed that infants receiving whey formula cried an average of 63 minutes less per day than infants receiving standard formula, leading the authors to conclude: "Substitution of cow's milk formula by an extensively hydrolyzed whey formula is effective in the treatment of infantile colic."

If you have a healthy newborn showing any of the symptoms of colic, talk to your doctor about possible solutions, including substituting cow's milk with whey formula. For additional online information on colic and other childhood conditions, go to https://www.chiroweb.com/tyh/childhood.html.

Reference: Lucassen PLBJ, Assendelft WJJ, Gubbels JW, et al. Infantile colic: crying time reduction with a whey hydrolysate: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Pediatrics, Dec. 2000: Vol. 106, No. 6, pp1349-54.

The Long and Short of It

An estimated 60% of U.S. adults fail to participate in regular physical activity, and nearly one in four aren't active at all -- despite the established associations between exercise and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), cancer, and numerous other life-threatening conditions.

If time and/or energy constraints keep you from exercising, take note of the results of the Harvard Alumni Health Study. More than 7,000 healthy men reported the number of city blocks and flights of stairs they walked each day, and their weekly participation in recreational activities (frequency and duration). Follow-up questionnaires were used to determine how many men had developed CHD or related heart conditions.

Exercise duration had little or no effect on CHD risk, after adjusting for total energy and other variables. Specifically, longer sessions of exercise were no more effective than shorter sessions in reducing risk, when total energy expenditure remained constant. So get off that couch and start exercising! If multiple short exercise sessions are as efficient as a single long session, you've got no excuse for staying inactive. Ask your doctor to help outline a fitness regimen suitable to your needs.

Reference: Lee I-M, Sesso HD, Paffenbarger Jr. RS. Physical activity and coronary heart disease risk in men: does the duration of exercise episodes predict risk? Circulation 2000: Vol. 102, pp981-96.

Third-Generation Oral Contraceptives Increase Clot Risk

What's a "third-generation" oral contraceptive? Basically, it's the latest form of the birth control pill, containing a combination of the hormones desogestrel or gestodene and small doses of estrogen. Earlier forms of the pill, specifically "second-generation" oral contraceptives, contain different hormones (levonorgestrel and low-dose estrogen) in different amounts.

The distinction between second and third-generation oral contraceptives is important because previous research (three studies in 1995) links the latter form of the pill to increased risk for blood clots. A more recent study in the British Medical Journal, involving more than 361,000 women monitored from 1993-1999, supports this notion. The study noted approximately double the risk in women taking third-generation contraceptives vs. women taking second-generation contraceptives. These results were maintained after considering other potential causes of blood clots.

Talk to your doctor about the pros and cons of oral contraception and other forms of birth control. For more information on women's health issues, visit https://www.chiroweb.com/tyh/women.html.

Reference: Jick H, Kaye JA, Vasilakis-Scaramozza C, et al. Risk of venous thromboembolism among users of third-generation oral contraceptives compared with users of oral contraceptives with levonorgestrel before and after 1995: cohort and case-control analysis. British Medical Journal, Nov. 11, 2000: Vol. 321, pp1190-95.

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