April 23, 2002 [Volume 3, Issue 9]
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In this issue of To Your Health:
Catching on to Chiropractic
Chiropractic is the principal and most-regulated form of complementary and alternative health care. There are about 60,000 chiropractors - a number expected to nearly double by 2010. The percentage of Americans who use chiropractic increased from approximately 3.6% in 1980 to 11% in 1997. The profession may be so successful because it exhibits characteristics of both alternative and mainstream health care.
A
recent review of chiropractic in the Annals of Internal Medicine
highlighted the necessity of research in furthering the profession, and
noted that dozens of well-designed studies on spinal manipulation have
shown favorable results of chiropractic care. One of the main reasons
chiropractic has done so well is because of studies showing its success.
The review presented some very positive figures, which are presented below:
- Forty-three clinical studies on the effectiveness of spinal manipulation at treating low back pain have been published; 30 of these showed manipulation to be favorable to other treatments, 13 found no major effects, and none showed manipulation to be less effective than the comparison treatment.
- Eleven of the back pain studies included a group receiving placebo (or sham) treatment; of these, eight indicated an advantage of chiropractic manipulation over placebo.
- Seven of nine studies on the effectiveness of manipulation for treating headache showed positive results.
- Serious complications from chiropractic adjustments are rare: only about one per 100 million lumbar adjustments, and one per 400,000-10 million neck manipulations.
As a chiropractic patient, you have probably known for a long time how effective this form of treatment is at resolving multiple health problems. With more research reaffirming chiropractic's effectiveness, perhaps others will start to catch on as well.
Reference: Meeker WC, Haldeman S. Chiropractic: A profession at the crossroads of mainstream and alternative medicine. Annals of Internal Medicine 2002:136(3), pp. 216-227.
To learn more about chiropractic, visit https://www.chiroweb.com/find/whatis.html.
In the (O)Zone
Asthma, the most common chronic childhood disease, is on the rise due to factors such as a poor diet, infections, allergens, and air pollution. Competitive athletes sometimes have a higher prevalence of asthma than others, possibly because of breathing in more pollutants. Are children involved in outdoor team sports in highly polluted areas at an increased risk for asthma?
Nine- to 16-year-old children in 12 communities in southern California with varying levels of pollution (six with high ozone levels, six with low ozone levels) were selected for a study in a recent issue of The Lancet. The authors assessed asthma risk in approximately 3,500 children who played zero, one, two, or three or more team sports. The children were followed for up to five years to determine the development of asthma.
Children playing three or more team sports in high-ozone communities were over three times more likely to develop asthma than children playing no sports. Playing three or more sports in low-ozone communities had no significant effect on asthma prevalence, however. More time spent outside (unrelated to playing sports) in high-ozone communities also was linked to a higher incidence of asthma.
This study does not imply that your children should avoid outdoor activities or athletics. If you live in an area with higher-than-normal pollution levels, however, be sure to limit your children's outdoor activities and sports participation on high-pollution days. Most cities with high pollution levels provide daily reports of ozone and air quality, often in the local newspaper.
Reference: McConnell R, Berhane K, Gilliland F, et al. Asthma in exercising children exposed to ozone: A cohort study. The Lancet 2002:359, pp. 386-391.
For more pediatric health information, go to https://www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/pediatrics.
Skate at Your Own Risk
Over 500,000 men and 70,000 women in Canada regularly play recreational ice hockey, as do many of their American counterparts. Playing hockey on roller skates is another popular recreational sport. These activities subject participants to intense aerobic activity, though, which in older adults has been linked to a higher risk for heart attacks.
The authors of a recent study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal decided to investigate a link between playing recreational hockey and suffering from heart attacks in middle-aged men, after they had treated multiple patients who had suffered a heart attack following play. The authors monitored the heart rates of 113 recreational ice hockey players over 35 years old, using electrocardiographic monitoring devices before, during, and after hockey games. Data were used to determine heart rates and presence of arrhythmias (irregular heart beats).
For every player, maximum heart rate during play was higher than target exercise heart rate; in three-quarters of players, heart rates were in excess of predicted heart rate. In 70% of cases, heart recovery rate was "poor" following play, and arrhythmias were found in two players.
The elevated exercise level during recreational hockey and other vigorous sports may cause a dangerously high cardiac response in middle-aged or older adults. Excessive aerobic activity in the players in this study led to heart rates higher than target and maximum rates, and poor recovery rates. If you are over 35 years old and not in excellent physical condition, hold off on participating in highly demanding sports like ice hockey until you're in better shape.
Reference: Atwal S, Porter J, MacDonald P. Cardiovascular effects of strenuous exercise in adult recreational hockey: The Hockey Heart Study. Canadian Medical Association Journal 2002:166(3), pp. 303-307.
To read more about sports and fitness, check out https://www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/sports.
Can Hormone Therapy Cause Cancer?
For many women going through menopause, the problematic hormonal changes involved can lead them to seek hormone replacement therapy (HRT). HRT involves taking hormones like estrogen and progestin to replenish hormone loss due to aging, for results like improved sleep, hot-flash and night-sweat prevention, and subdued mood swings. A possible association between long-term use of HRT and breast cancer has been shown in numerous studies, however.
The authors of a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association determined the link between HRT use over a five-year period and incidence of breast cancer. Over 700 postmenopausal women 50-74 years old with breast cancer, and nearly as many healthy women, were evaluated for hormone usage.
Overall, breast cancer was 60-85% more likely in women who had used HRT both recently and long-term. HRT use over multiple years and combination therapy of both estrogen and progestin increased risk of one type of breast cancer even more substantially. Continuous long-term and combined-hormone therapy increased lobular breast cancer (a specific type of breast cancer) risk six times.
HRT use also increased risk for nonlobular breast cancer (a more common form). If that isn't enough information to scare you away from hormone therapy, you might be interested to know that other possible side effects include acne; weight gain; increased facial hair; high blood pressure; depression; and heart attacks.
Reference: Chen CL, Weiss NS, Newcomb P, et al. Hormone replacement therapy in relation to breast cancer. Journal of the American Medical Association 2002:287(6), pp. 734-741.
For more women's health studies, go to https://www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/women.
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