December 3, 2002 [Volume 3, Issue 24]

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In this issue of To Your Health:

• Head Toward Alternative Medicine
• An Aspirin a Day to Keep Cancer at Bay
• Exercise Best for Fibromyalgia Symptoms
• Longer Hours, Shorter Life

Head Toward Alternative Medicine

Many people suffer from chronic headache pain, despite a wide variety of treatment options. Those who find relief through drugs often must deal with negative side effects. Complementary and alternative medicines, or CAM therapies, are increasingly being considered by those who cannot find symptom relief elsewhere.

Seventy-three severe headache patients at an outpatient head/neck pain clinic in New York were recently interviewed about their knowledge, use, and opinions about CAM. Researchers found that 85% of the patients used some form of alternative therapy for their headaches, and 60% claimed the therapies benefited their pain. Nearly 90% of the sufferers thought some form of CAM treatment would be effective for headache pain. The following represent some of the most-used CAM therapies for headache, based on patient response:

• massage (42%);
• exercise (30%);
• acupuncture (19%);
• chiropractic (15%); and
• herbs (15%).

If you suffer from headaches or other conditions that don't respond adequately to standard medical care, consider some form of CAM therapy. Be careful, however, as not all forms of alternative therapy are proven safe or effective. Research any form of treatment before you consider using it, and ask your doctor of chiropractic about its validity.

Reference: Von Peter S, Ting W, Scrivani S, et al. Survey on the use of complementary and alternative medicine among patients with headache syndromes. Cephalagia 2002:22, pp. 395-400.

To learn more about head and neck pain, go to https://www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/musculoskeletal.

An Aspirin a Day to Keep Cancer at Bay

The pancreas is an organ that performs two important functions: It produces juices for food digestion, and hormones for regulating energy storage and use in the body. Cancer of the pancreas is highly fatal, yet little is known about ways to avoid it. Aspirin is in a family of painkillers called NSAIDs, which include ibuprofen (e.g., Advil); studies have shown that taking these drugs may help prevent colon or other cancers.

In a study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute spanning eight years, over 28,000 postmenopausal women were classified into five categories based on use of aspirin: never; less than once weekly; once a week; two-to-five times weekly; or six or more times weekly. Products containing aspirin were also considered, such as Bufferin, Anacin, or Excedrin.

Women taking aspirin or aspirin products at any frequency were 43% less likely to develop pancreatic cancer than women who never took them. The more aspirin taken, the less likely women were to suffer from this form of cancer (women taking aspirin six or more times per week were 60% less likely to develop the cancer). Other NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen, were not shown to have protective effects against pancreatic cancer, however.

It's important to note that diabetes tripled pancreatic cancer risk in this study, and smoking cigarettes quadrupled risk. Before popping aspirin on a regular basis, talk to your doctor about the necessity of taking it. Even drugs considered "safe" can have negative side effects if taken for prolonged periods.

Reference: Anderson KE, Johnson TW, Lazovich D, et al. Association between nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use and the incidence of pancreatic cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2002:94(15), pp. 1168-1171.

Go to https://www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/general/wellness/index.html for similar studies.

Exercise Best for Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Fibromyalgia is a severe form of long-term musculoskeletal pain, characterized by fatigue and tenderness at multiple locations. It has only been recognized as a medical condition for a few decades. The cause of fibromyalgia is still unknown, and medical treatment using painkilling drugs or antidepressants has been unsuccessful.

In a 12-week study published in the British Medical Journal, over 130 fibromyalgia patients performed either progressive aerobic exercises (on stationary bicycles and treadmills) or relaxation exercises (stretches and relaxation techniques) twice per week in one-hour sessions. Self-rated pain and "tender-point counts" at 18 sites were determined initially, at the end of treatment, and three and nine months after treatment. Tender points, or "trigger points," are locations on patients that produce a sharp pain if pushed on during an examination.

Exercise-group patients were twice as likely to rate themselves "much better" or "very much better" than relaxation group members, both at the end of the 12-week sessions and nine months after cessation of therapy. Patients in the exercise group also showed larger reductions in terms of the number of tender points.

Aerobic exercise is an inexpensive, effective treatment for fibromyalgia. Women, the elderly, and those with rheumatoid arthritis or lupus are at the highest risk for this condition. If you have symptoms similar to those listed above that have lasted at least three months, you may suffer from fibromyalgia.

Reference:Richards SCM, Scott DL. Prescribed exercise in people with fibromyalgia: Parallel group randomized controlled trial. British Medical Journal 2002:325, pp. 185-188.

To read more on the benefits of fitness, go to https://www.chiroweb.com/tyh/sports.html.

Longer Hours, Shorter Life

If you consistently work overtime, you're probably aware of the strain it can put on your health and family or social life. During Japan's economic boom in the 1980s, an increase in deaths related to long hours and less sleep was reported. Now a study in Occupational and Environmental Medicine may provide proof that overtime work and long hours lead to heart attacks.

To determine the relationship between hours worked, hours slept, and heart-attack risk in Japanese men, 40- to 79-year-olds who had suffered a heart attack were compared to men of the same age who had not. From 1996-1998, the men were interviewed to gather data on work and lifestyle factors.

Longer hours at work, less sleep at night, and fewer days off were all linked to a higher risk of heart attacks, with combinations of these factors and recent occurrences further increasing risk. Men who slept five hours or less per night at least two days each week had two-to-three times the risk for a heart attack compared to men sleeping more; men who worked over 60 hours per week doubled their risk for a heart attack, compared to those working 40 hours or less weekly.

If you regularly work long hours and lose sleep as a result, ask yourself: Is my career really worth it? Not only will overworking cause you to neglect your family or those close to you, it might shorten your life.

Reference:Liu Y, Tanaka H. Overtime work, insufficient sleep, and risk of non-fatal acute myocardial infarction in Japanese men. Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2002:59, pp. 447-451.

To find more studies on general health, go to https://www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/general.

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