“Atkins Wins Four Way Food Fight”
The following article was written by ILaura Dolson, (you can find it at http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/science/a/jamamarch2007.htm) Year-Long Study, Atkins Edges Out Competition
In a 12-month, U.S. government-funded study conducted through Stanford University, the Atkins Diet beat out three other popular plans for weight loss, blood pressure reduction, and improvements in blood lipids (cholesterol, triglycerides). The other three diets were the Zone, Ornish, and something similar to the Food Pyramid. The participants in the study were 311 nondiabetic overweight or obese women, 20-50 years old. The good news about this is that it is one more confirmation that low carb diets can be effective for weight loss, and that they are safe. In the media reports, this seems to have tipped the balance for some of the doctors in the news stories I’ve been reading about the study. Several of the doctors are quoted as saying that they will start suggesting to patients that reducing carbohydrates might be a helpful way to manage their weight. The researchers attributed the success of Atkins to its being low in carbohydrates, but also that it is simple to follow - they characterized it as: basically stop eating sugary and starchy foods, and drink a lot of water. (Of course, other low carb diets such as Protein Power also have this message.) Still, Atkins only won “by a nose”. The participants in the study were checked at two, six, and twelve months. At the two and six month-marks, the Atkins group had lost significantly more weight than any of the other groups. However, all groups started to regain weight after an initial loss. At one year, the Atkins group had lost an average of 10½ lbs, which was about twice as much as the Ornish and traditional groups (which did not reach statistical significance) and three times more than the Zone group. Criticisms of the Study Barry Sears (of the Zone Diet) and Dean Ornish have both criticized the study because the participants didn’t follow their programs very carefully. The researchers countered that the point of the study is that people followed the diets as they would in the “real world”. Participants in the Atkins group did not follow that diet exactly either. A more interesting question to me is “Why didn’t people follow the diets?” All the participants were required to go to a one-hour class each week for eight weeks to make sure they had learned how to do the diets correctly and receive some measure of support in the early phases of the diets.
Poor old Dr. Atkins sure was getting mugged by the low-fat advocates (especially after he died), but it certainly is starting to look like he may have the last laugh after all.
March 30th, 2007
Sciatic pain: It’s because there is pressure on the sciatic nerve happening somewhere in the back, often from a bulging disc, isn’t it? Well…. maybe not.
If you surffer from sciatic pain, then the good news is that the problem may actually just be the result of a tight piriformis muscle, and can be corrected.
The following article from Massage Today magazine puts things this way:
“Radiating neurological pain that goes down the back of the leg is often diagnosed as originating from disc hernias in the lumbar spine; however, there are numerous sites where nerve irritation may produce similar symptoms. One of the most common is in the gluteal region, where the sciatic nerve may get compressed by the piriformis muscle, creating a condition known as piriformis syndrome.
Neurological pain may also be produced in this region by entrapment of other nerves, such as the superior and inferior gluteal nerves. This entrapment is sometimes referred to as piriformis syndrome, as well.
The massage practitioner will need to be thorough when performing an evaluation to identify the tissues at fault. Soft-tissue techniques will be far more effective with a comprehensive assessment. A solid understanding of piriformis syndrome starts by investigating the anatomical relationships in this area.”
Here’s what happens when you have piriformis syndrome: The piriformsi muscle’s action is that it rotates your leg externally. In other words, when you turn your foot outward, your piriformis is the muscle doing the work. If this muscle is shortened, tight, or inflamed, then it will put pressure on the sciatic nerve, since they exit your pelvis using the same space called the Greater Sciatic Notch. Since it doesn’t take much pressure on a nerve to create neurological problems such as pain, numbness or tingling.
Where things can get a bit tricky is when x-rays show a potentially damaged disc compressing a nerve, the person performing the diagnosis may conclude that it is obviously the cause of all the trouble. It may indeed be causing pain, but perhaps only PART of the pain. When it comes to sciatic pain, it never hurts to consider the piriformis for treatment. (pun unintentional) If it is involved in the pain, then treating the piriformis may make a dramatic difference for the patient.
March 12th, 2007
Doesn’t it seem like society is a bit too consumed with what we consume? Like Ponce de Leon, we’re desperately on a collective search for the fountain of youth. Don’t get me wrong - I do believe that a healthy diet, a fitness program and the other things that make for a healthy body, soul and spirit are important. My personal goal is to live out my years in good health so that my brief time on this planet is spent wisely and productively. However, as a follower of Christ, I believe that this life is just a short precursor to a never ending one, and I am more concerned for the state of my soul than about obsessing about it’s current container. I’m not worried about trying to live to be 140 years old, like the strange people featured in arecent cover article in MacLean’s magazine. These people eat just enough to stay alive in an attempt to double their life expectancy. A truly strange mindset, if you ask me- keeping yourself barely alive so that you can draw your life out for as long as humanly possible. Why stick around that long if it’s only a survival contest?
When you dig down to find the motive behind society’s health and fitness obsession, don’t we really find that much of what is done is ultimately for that very same reason? We are a society of Ponce de Leons, spending a great deal of time and money in pursuit of the elusive fountain of youth.
We’ve all known guys that spend incredible amounts of time and money cleaning, polishing and maintaining their four wheeled pride and joys, (You know: hes’ got a vintage Mustang or Firebird or some other classic). I’ve always wondered just how much attention such car buffs give to their marriages, family or friends by comparison.
Contrast this type of car owner with the person who carefully researches and compares vehicles before purchasing one. Once they have the right car,they conscientiously service their vehicle to make sure serves them well for many years. Unlike the guy who slavishly worships his vehicle, these folks want to keep their cars running well for as long as possible so that their car will reliably and safely get them where they need to go.
I hope you see the point of my analogy. I think of my own mortal frame in similar fashion: I try to look after it so that it will serve me well and operate reliably for years to come. But only because I want it to serve my goals of loving my Creator and caring for the people in my life.
So by all means look after your health. But do so for the right reasons: so that your body can reliably get you where you need to go in this life. It’s a means to an end, not an end in itself.
Something to think about.
Art
March 10th, 2007
This excellent research article is from MASSAGE magazine
Massage significantly improved self-rated health, mental energy and muscle pain in people with chronic musculoskeletal pain, according to a recent study.
“A Randomized Clinical Trial of the Treatment Effects of Massage Compared to Relaxation Tape Recordings on Diffuse Long-Term Pain” was conducted by staff at the Uppsala University Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, in Uppsala, Sweden.
One-hundred-seventeen subjects with long-term, diffuse (spread out) musculoskeletal pain participated in the study. Each subject had pain that had lasted for at least three months and was not caused by a specific disease or condition.
Participants were randomized to either a massage or relaxation group. Subjects in the massage group received anywhere from six to 10 massages, each lasting 30 minutes. Subjects received the massages one to three times per week. Participants received an average of seven massages. One person administered all massages, and each session was adjusted to meet subjects’ individual pain thresholds.
Subjects in the relaxation group listened to a relaxation tape twice a week for five weeks. The tape instructed them to tense and relax the muscle groups and breathe slowly and regularly.Questionnaires regarding the subjects’ age, gender, smoking habits, country of birth, marital status and profession were filled out before, immediately after and three months following the study. A self-rated health questionnaire and rating scales for mental energy and muscle pain were also administered at these times.
Results of the study showed that, during treatment, there was a significant improvement in self-rated health, mental energy and muscle pain for subjects in the massage group as compared to those in the relaxation group.
“For all three outcome measures, massage was significantly more effective during treatment, even after controlling for other possible factors,” state the study’s authors.
However, at the three-month follow-up evaluation these improved scores had reverted back to their initial levels.
“This lack of long-term benefits could be due to the short treatment period or treatments such as these do not address the underlying causes of pain,” state the study’s authors. “Future studies of long-term pain should include longer treatment periods and post-treatment follow-up.”
- Source: Uppsala University Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, in Uppsala, Sweden. Authors: Dan Hasson, Bengt Arentz, Lena Jelveus and Bo Edelstam. Originally published in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 2004, Vol. 73, pp. 17-24.
March 3rd, 2007
This is just a brief introductory discussion on the subject of trigger points.
So what on earth is a trigger point, you ask?
Good question. Maybe you are more familiar with someone saying that they’re all knotted up, or that they’ve got some nasty knots between their shoulder blades. These knots that people are referring to are called trigger points by the medical folks, and they can be real trouble.
A trigger point is officially described as a tight band of ropy muscle fiber, typically being hyper irritable, and exhibiting a number of characteristic symptoms. When compressed, these TPs can make the muscle twitch, cause “goosebumps”, and will tend to create a characteristic pattern of pain.
TPs restrict a muscle’s ability to extend to its full proper length. They also weaken the muscle and cause it to fatigue far quicker than it normally would.
These devious trouble makers can even lead to the misdiagnosis of their host’s true medical problem. That’s because many TPs will cause symptoms that don’t seem to be in any way related to the muscle that’s the real source of the problem. So a patient goes to see their GP with a complaint of dizziness, digestive problems, a toothache, or even symptoms suggesting a possible heart attack. The doctor has no reason to suspect that this problem stems from a malfunctioning muscle and so naturally interprets the symptoms for the malady that seems indicated, not realizing that the real root of the problem is one of these sly little mimics. The good news for those that may have had this happen is that the TP is readily treatable, and usually much less serious than what the misleading symptoms were indicating.
Any one of the body’s 600+ muscles can potentiallyhave a trigger point and the characteristics of each of these is unique. I’ll talk about the TPs fo specific muscles in future posts.
I certtainly welcome comments, questions, or even your own stories with trigger points.
March 3rd, 2007
If you’ve checked out Evergreen’s website, I hope that you’ve found it at least modestly informative and interesting. The launch of this website fairly much conincides with the opening of tthe clinic itself.
I hope that you’ll leave a comment for me, since this is a good way to get feedback about the site or the service that I provide. I look forward to hearing from you and fielding any questions that you have.
Cheers,
Art
February 20th, 2007