It’s the kind of article you want to post on your bulletin board and/or hand out to everyone walking in the door for the next two weeks as they begin to fall off the New Year’s Resolution Bandwagon. It’s by Amanda Carlson, the nutrition columnist for coreperformance.com
An at-home, unsupervised exercise program can improve fitness and well being, Japanese researchers report. Adults instructed to walk aerobically for at least 20 minutes at least twice a week and to increase the total number of steps they walked daily showed significant gains in stamina, vitality and mental health after 32 weeks, Dr. Nozomi Okamoto of Nara Medical University School of Medicine in Kashihara and colleagues report. Read more of this story that ran on the Reuters wire.
The concept of having a “chief experience officer” is starting to catch on in healthcare organizations (HCOs), witness the organizations such as the Cleveland Clinic that have adopted the idea. These “CEOs” do not usually sit at the same table or work in the same “C-Suite” as the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, etc. but the notion of having a person at a high level in the organization responsible for customer experiences has at least some champions.
This new fitness and weight management program will be monitored by a specialized team of health care professionals; including exercise physiologists, dietitians, physicians, and counselors. Physician referral is required. It will focus on exercise and exercise education, nutrition and diet education, physical assessments, behavior modification and fun.
Another niche market threat. But this one is interesting. If more such programs pop up, and document the outcomes, then the insurance companies are going to have to start paying attention to the industry. — Ed.
Read about it here.
The home has always been a competitor, especially in the video age. Now there is yoga instruction downloadable, in real time, right on your computer screen. Which means that people can do it at the office, in their hotel rooms, at the airport — anywhere but with you. Scroll to the bottom of this page to see the most-viewed Lifestyle video on revver.
“Making the Rounds With Robo Doc” in the Washington Post says that “A study in last month’s Archives of Surgery found that robo docs ‘matched the performance’ of the flesh-and-blood variety with 270 urology patients. Compared to traditional bedside checkups, robot rounds didn’t increase complications after surgery, lengthen hospital stays or prompt more patient complaints.”
Hmmm. Let’s see. If surgery patients are OK with robots caring for their recently operated-on privates, maybe exercisers would be OK with them as trainers? Quick, email your fitness-equipment rep and tell them to start working on it pronto. — Ed.
Expect large institutions to make significant IT investments; RHIOs will still struggle with architecture and governance models; EMRs creep closer to reality, and health plans will continue to implement consumer-directed vendor partnerships.
So says Forrester health care analyst Eric Brown as he examines the industry landscape for the coming year. Digital HealthCare & Productivity spent some time talking with Brown, who launched Forrester’s health care practice in 1999 and now serves as research vice president.
Meanwhile, IT Healthbeat says spending will be up for the next five years: “Annual health IT spending is expected to increase from $6.9 billion in 2007 to $10.8 billion in 2012, according to a study released Monday by market research firm Input, Government Health IT reports. Overall, the health IT market will expand at a rate of 8.6% annually.”
David Harold, who runs Ocean Health and Fitness, in Dominion Road, said: “We’re getting into a really busy couple of months now with people joining as new year’s resolutions or to get a bargain.
“The challenge is to get them to actually come to the gym once they’ve joined.”
People are encouraged to keep going with gifts, given after every 12 visits.
“It’s not so intimidating that way,” said David. “Even an absolute couch potato can take the first step.”
Good posture is generally considered to be the natural and comfortable bearing of a health person. In the standing position this means the body is natural - but not rigid and straight. In the sitting it means the back is comfortably straight. How you stand, sit and move have a profound influence on how well your body functions. Good sitting and standing positions help to promote normal functioning of the body’s organs and increases the efficiency of muscles. One of the problems with being able to do this is that as we start to grow older and tense ourselves in reaction to life’s worries and concerns, our posture deteriorates, often quite seriously.
In the following section I provide a brief outline of the approach to structural alignment from the perspectives of chiropractic, osteopathy, Alexander technique, yoga and cranio-sacral therapy.
Chiropractic considers that spinal subluxations impinge on structures, such as nerves, blood vessels and lymphatics, passing through spinal column resulting is disease. ‘Adjustment’ of a subluxated vertebra removes the problem - thus allowing normal ‘flow’ to the diseased parts.
Osteopathy is concerned with the affect structural and mechanical faults will have on physiological processes. They are interested in the impaired mobility in intervertebral joints and work to restore proper mobility - this can be done by working on soft tissue and connective tissue structures rather than actual spinal manipulation used by chiropractors.
The Alexander technique is another way of looking at the body posture. It is a method that works to change movement patterns or habits in our everyday activities. It works to improving the ease and freedom of movement, balance, support and coordination. It is not a series of treatments or exercises, but rather a re-education of the mind and body and a releasing of unnecessary body tension. It can be applied to sitting, lying down, standing, walking, lifting, and other daily activities.
There are many forms of yoga but they all aim to use postures to improve body functioning. Yoga has an overall tonic effect for the entire body as it strengthens the spine, upper back, arms, shoulders, wrists, buttocks, thighs and abdomen. It also stretches the chest and the lungs and spine. It stimulates the cardiovascular system, thyroid and pituitary glands. These measures mean that yoga facilitates the development of a good posture with flexibility and strength.
Cranio-sacral therapy considers postural alignment to be dependent on a free and open connective tissue system throughout the body. Connective tissue surrounds and supports all of the structures of our body and when it is restricted it can cause tension on these structures which can result in postural malalignment. The connective tissue restrictions can be caused by trauma - physical and emotional, or by habitual body patterns due to stress. Cranio-sacral therapy helps in releasing these connective tissue restrictions, freeing the trauma or holding patterns and therefore allowing for free movement.
Each of these approach and others that are similar, work on establishing a harmonious alignment in the structure and therefore also the function of the body. They all have different approaches and techniques - with the common theme of working to improve posture and wellbeing.
The word ‘herbal’ is being used more and more today when it comes to healing. What exactly is herbal medicine? It is basically the use of plants or the extracts of plants in order to heal any ailment. So you can get an herbal cure for anything from a simple cold to maybe even depression. After all, most of the medicines that we use today are made from plants. We get aspirin from the bark of the willow, morphine comes from poppies and foxgloves have digoxin extracted from them.
Almost every part of the world has an herbal medicine tradition. In Britain for example, herbs have been used to cure for centuries and many still use them even in the age of modern medicine. So it is with China and India. Each one may have a different approach and different ways of using them but the common thing is the fact that they look to natural sources for cures.
Herbal medicine practitioners believe that herbs are more holistic in their curing capability. Conventional medicine is about isolating and extracting the active ingredients. Herbs usually help the body heal itself. Unlike conventional medication, herbs usually do not have side effects. Herbalists also believe that very often it is not just the active ingredient that is required to heal but a combination of many properties in the herbs. This is why very often the whole plant is used in herbal medicine. Sometimes of course, only a particular part is used, depending on the ailment.
If you go to an herbal practitioner, he will probably tell you that herbs can cure just about anything under the sun. Is there any evidence that this is true? Unfortunately not too much documented evidence exists. There are however, many herbal treatments that have been put through a time period of observation and there are a number that are said to produce results. Once they have gone through a process of clinical testing, it is easier to talk about their efficacy. Today, St. John’s Wort, for example, is recognised as being helpful in the treatment of depression – maybe just mild to moderate, but it does help. Other herbs like Ginkgo Biloba is used for conditions like Alzheimer’s while Black Cohosh is used to mitigate menopausal problems. Colds have people using Echinacea more and more and garlic is very often the first thing that is recommended for high cholesterol levels. Nausea and vomiting call for ginger while an enlarged prostrate is often treated with Saw Palmetto. Of course there is a multitude of herbs which are also used to cure many ailments but as they haven’t been tested yet, they cannot be documented as being effective.
While generally herbal remedies are touted as safe when compared to conventional medication, there are instances when herbs can cross the line and become dangerous. There are a number of herbs that should not be used during pregnancy or when you are breastfeeding for example. The problem also lies in the fact that as most herbs have not been tested, their strengths and formulations may differ from product to product. There is no regulation on the manufacturing processes and no way to check the prescribed amounts and concentrations. If there are more regulations in this field as well as governmental control, herbal remedies have the potential of much more growth. The whole issue of herbs being outside the scope of regulation is what perhaps keeps it from growing in mainstream medicine.
Do remember that if you have a serious ailment, do not take herbs unless you check with your physician or go to a registered, trained and well-known herbal practitioner. In the case of ailments that are classified as life-threatening, this line of treatment should not be resorted to in case of complications.
Should you? Or shouldn’t you? This is something that most people do wonder about. On the one side, herbs have been administered for years and there have been many cures through the ages. On the other, there have been instances when herbs have proved harmful. The rule of thumb to safely follow would probably be to take them when the ailments are minor. Do remember however not to take more than what is prescribed in case you develop complications. It would also be advisable to go to a physician to diagnose whether or not what you believe to be symptoms of minor illnesses are really so. It would be a shame if you treated yourself only to discover that the ailment was worse than you thought, which could mean that a lot of time was wasted before diagnosis.
How are herbs available today? Well, you can get them in many forms – in capsules and pills, powders, as creams or ointments too. You find them just about everywhere today – pharmacies, health stores or even in supermarkets. Do go see a trained herbal practitioner if possible. Though it is not a regulated profession, they do go through 3, maybe 5 years of study before they become members of the NIMH or National Institute of Medical Herbalists so they do know how safe and suitable the herbs they prescribe are. In case you have any doubts, talk to your physician as well. Today, more and more physicians are open to look at alternative treatments alongside their own line of treatment as well.
There’s more to alternative treatment than just herbs. Though many traditional medicine like Ayurveda and Chinese medicines use herbs, they also use other forms of healing. Ayurveda for example, focuses a lot on yoga and breathing together with massage and diet to let the energy or ‘prana’ back into the body.
Chinese medicine needles to do this. Only, ‘energy’ is called ‘Qi’.
Acupuncture really is growing more and more popular all over the world.
Very often, this is accompanied by an herb cocktail. However, in the U.K. at least, there have been public announcements that the government cannot guarantee the safety of any of these herbs as they have not undergone testing.