Manual Therapies for Post-Operative Elbow Stiffness
For patients with post-operative elbow stiffness, a recent study found that both instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization and muscle energy technique are effective interventions for improving pain intensity, range of motion, and function. Doctors of chiropractic utilize these and other manual therapies when managing musculoskeletal disorders of the elbow and other areas of the body. Journal of Manual Manipulative Therapy, September 2022
Fatty Liver Patients at Elevated Risk for Heart Failure
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a condition that occurs when fat accumulates in the liver from causes other than excessive alcohol consumption, and it is associated with a number of poor health outcomes. An analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey has found that NAFLD patients had a 3.5 times increased risk for heart failure and twice the risk of early death during a 13-year time frame. Current Problems in Cardiology, December 2022
Gardening May Be Healthier for Seniors Than Exercise
According to an analysis of data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, older adults who maintain a garden eat a healthier diet and have a lower risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and early death than their peers who regularly exercise. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, October 2022
Find a More Active Friend
A recent experiment found that when sedentary individuals have social interactions with more active people, they become more active in the long term. The findings suggest that people looking to increase their physical activity levels should spend more time interacting with people who already lead active lives. PLOS ONE, October 2022
Oxygen Therapy May Help Treat Alzheimer's
The current research suggests that hypoxia—a condition characterized by low levels of oxygen in body tissues—can affect several pathological processes that are associated with Alzheimer's such as amyloid-beta metabolism, tau phosphorylation, autophagy, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and mitochondrial and synaptic dysfunction. An article recently published in the journal Neural Regenerative Research speculates that oxygen therapy could improve oxygen levels in the body, potentially slowing or even reversing Alzheimer's progression. Neural Regenerative Research, January 2023
Lack of Sleep Elevates Risk for Illness and Early Death
Following an analysis of the sleep routines of nearly 8,000 middle-aged and older adults, researchers found that compared with sleeping seven hours a night, averaging five hours or less each night increases the risk for multiple illnesses by up to 40% and can raise the risk for early death by 25%. PLOS Medicine, October 2022
