TUESDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Acupuncture alters the way that the brain perceives and processes pain, a finding that suggests the traditional Chinese treatment can effectively relieve pain, according to a new study.
German researchers used functional MRI scans to measure brain activity in 18 people who received painful electrical currents from a device fitted to their left ankle. The researchers then placed acupuncture needles on the participants' right side -- including between the toes, below the knee and near the thumb -- and again inflicted pain in the left ankle.
Without acupuncture, there was major activation of pain-processing areas of the brain. Activation in these areas was significantly reduced when the volunteers received acupuncture.
The researchers also found that acupuncture reduced activation in areas of the brain that control expectations of pain.
The study was to be presented Tuesday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, in Chicago.
"Acupuncture is supposed to act through at least two mechanisms, nonspecific expectancy-based effects and specific modulation of the incoming pain signal," lead author Dr. Nina Theysohn of University Hospital in Essen, Germany, said in a news release from the society. "Our findings support that both these nonspecific and specific mechanisms exist, suggesting that acupuncture can help relieve pain."
Source: http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/646589.html
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Chiropractic For Stress
Everybody knows that stress is bad for you, and everybody knows chiropractic helps with spinal pain, but not everybody knows that chiropractic also helps the body recover from and deal with stress.
A study done by the University of Conneticut showed that those individuals who had chiropractic care had improved immune respone, likely due to a reduction in the stress response.
As the body is put under stress, the immune system is depressed. This goes for mental or physical stress; the origin doesn't matter.
Chiropractic care relieves the physical stresses that can cause a decrease in the effectiveness of the immune system and restores the body to proper functioning.
A study done by the University of Conneticut showed that those individuals who had chiropractic care had improved immune respone, likely due to a reduction in the stress response.
As the body is put under stress, the immune system is depressed. This goes for mental or physical stress; the origin doesn't matter.
Chiropractic care relieves the physical stresses that can cause a decrease in the effectiveness of the immune system and restores the body to proper functioning.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
The Skinny on Holiday Weight Gain
Reports of your holiday weight gain have been greatly exaggerated. Media stories often suggest that the average person gains 7 to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And in surveys, people say they gain, on average, about five pounds this time of year.
But several studies now show that the average weight gain during the winter holidays is just one pound.
The news isn’t all good. Most people don’t ever lose the pound of weight they put on during the holidays, according to a report in The New England Journal of Medicine. Since the average weight gain during adulthood is about one to two pounds a year, that means much of midlife weight gain can be explained by holiday eating.
For people who are already overweight, the holiday weight news is worse. Although the average gain is only one pound, people who are already overweight tend to gain a lot more. One study found that overweight people gained five pounds or more during the holidays.
And we start packing on that extra pound of holiday weight early in life. Researchers at the University of Oklahoma studied holiday weight gain among college students during the Thanksgiving break. The students were weighed the day before Thanksgiving, then weighed again about two weeks later. The average weight gain for the 94 students was about one pound. Students who were of normal weight gained about a half a pound during the period. Students who were overweight, meaning their body mass index was 25 or more, gained about two pounds.
Holly Hull, the lead researcher on the Oklahoma study, says Thanksgiving marks the beginning of a “high risk” time for the overweight. “I think the number of people who only overeat at the Thanksgiving meal is slim to none,” said Dr. Hull. “The holiday season doesn’t represent one day of overeating. You have this period that extends through the new year where there’s more alcohol, more snacks, more finger foods and appetizers that are energy dense.”
Source: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/22/the-skinny-on-holiday-weight-gain/
But several studies now show that the average weight gain during the winter holidays is just one pound.
The news isn’t all good. Most people don’t ever lose the pound of weight they put on during the holidays, according to a report in The New England Journal of Medicine. Since the average weight gain during adulthood is about one to two pounds a year, that means much of midlife weight gain can be explained by holiday eating.
For people who are already overweight, the holiday weight news is worse. Although the average gain is only one pound, people who are already overweight tend to gain a lot more. One study found that overweight people gained five pounds or more during the holidays.
And we start packing on that extra pound of holiday weight early in life. Researchers at the University of Oklahoma studied holiday weight gain among college students during the Thanksgiving break. The students were weighed the day before Thanksgiving, then weighed again about two weeks later. The average weight gain for the 94 students was about one pound. Students who were of normal weight gained about a half a pound during the period. Students who were overweight, meaning their body mass index was 25 or more, gained about two pounds.
Holly Hull, the lead researcher on the Oklahoma study, says Thanksgiving marks the beginning of a “high risk” time for the overweight. “I think the number of people who only overeat at the Thanksgiving meal is slim to none,” said Dr. Hull. “The holiday season doesn’t represent one day of overeating. You have this period that extends through the new year where there’s more alcohol, more snacks, more finger foods and appetizers that are energy dense.”
Source: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/22/the-skinny-on-holiday-weight-gain/
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