In this 10‑minute YouTube monologue, Dr. David Koivuranta of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic delivers a daily health update covering six evidence‑based wellness topics. He begins with a disclaimer that he is not diagnosing or treating disease, then moves through: (1) the cancer risk associated with chronic gastro‑esophageal reflux (GERD) and lifestyle steps to manage it; (2) the impact of sleep timing, especially for self‑identified night‑owls, and a simple rule‑of‑thumb that each hour after midnight costs roughly two hours of sleep; (3) dietary patterns rich in berries, leafy greens, and low in saturated fat that support heart function and neurocognitive health; (4) risk factors for poor sleep quality—including poor diet, stress, chronic back pain, respiratory disease, and depression—and brief suggestions for mitigation; (5) the metabolic benefits of regular moderate‑to‑vigorous activity combined with reduced sedentary time for glucose regulation and type‑2 diabetes prevention; and (6) corrective mid‑back posture exercises that improve thoracic curvature, reduce neck strain, and outperform generic resistance training. Dr. Koivuranta ties each point to recent research (citing journals such as Occupational & Environmental Medicine, British Journal of Nutrition, Preventive Medicine, Translational Sports Medicine, and Scientific Reports) and encourages viewers to seek allied‑health support, contact the clinic for resources, and follow the daily update series.
Chapters
Hello everyone, it's Dr. Dave. Hopefully you're all doing well, you enjoyed your weekend, you're looking forward to a wonderful week. Coming at you today on behalf of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic with your daily health update. It's Monday, April 12th, 2021. Gonna look at 6 areas of health and wellness. Somewhere around this video you can read through all 6 areas. If you'd like a copy, you can DM us on social, give us a call here at the clinic, or send us an email. We'll We'll be sure to get that to you. I'm not gonna treat, diagnose, prevent, or cure any illness or disease with our time together today. However, I do guarantee you that when you listen into, read some, and/or just stay exposed to some good health and wellness information, it will support that health and wellness journey you're on to create those great experiences you're looking at having every day, each and every day, regardless of whether you're working, spending time with friends or family, or otherwise. All right, so let's get at it. Chronic heartburn can be a problem as those stomach contents come back into the tube that you swallow food through called the esophagus. They know that you have nearly a 2 times increased risk for cancer of that esophagus as well as a little bit higher up in the larynx, which is close to your voice box. So if you have GERD, gastroesophageal reflux disease or disorder, then it's a good idea to keep that under control. You can get some medical intervention if needed, but of course there are some lifestyle changes that may help as well. So you'd want to find an allied healthcare provider that could help you with that perhaps too. Now, some of my friends I think are, or were, but maybe still can be, night owls. Some people genuinely function better depending on what they do and how they do it at night. However, for those who have to work during the day and are— act as if, or see themselves as night owls, and maybe they are, the Research from Occupational Environmental Medicine, February 2021, says that, uh, 1 in 10 individuals habitually stay up too late, and they tend to underperform at work in comparison with their peers who get sufficient sleep every night. So depending on what the goal is or the strategy is, sleep is obviously very valuable, and sometimes when you get that sleep can also be an effect. I've heard it said, but I don't have concrete proof. However, I think this is a good motivating factor even if it's not completely accurate, is that every hour that you go to bed after midnight is like losing 2 hours of sleep, and every hour that you go to bed before midnight is like 2 hours of sleep gained. There are certain things that happen in your body overnight. The physiology and the focus of what it does and how it does it can be affected by when you sleep based on that pattern or that rhythm that your body tries to do those things it does to keep itself healthy. So for work or for your health, just make sure you're getting enough sleep. Try and make a good quality sleep. And then if you can focus on when you're getting that sleep, and you may notice some positive effects not only on your health, but it may be even on your life, right? A well-rested person just probably has more fun, perhaps, maybe depends on what you're doing in the evenings. The British Journal of Nutrition talks about dietary patterns that benefit the heart and the mind. The current research suggests that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables particularly berries and leafy greens, with a limited intake of saturated fat and animal products, is associated with a reduced risk of neurocognitive decline and healthy function of the left ventricle of the heart. So eating well, good for your brain, good for your ticker, uh, good for everything. And you throw that dietary approach together and it could help with the acid reflux, avoiding some of the potential cancers that we talked about, and it may actually help support your sleep quality as well, night owl or not. However, if you're wondering why you may not be sleeping well, the Preventive Medicine reports came out in December 2020, and they said that risk factors for poor sleep quality based on questionnaires filled out by 1,300 middle-aged adults who found that 1 in 10 of them experienced poor quality sleep said that poor diet could be an associated factor. Excessive stress, chronic back pain, chronic respiratory disease, and depression can also be mitigating factor to the poor quality sleep. And of course, there are some ways, some people to see, some things you can do to improve each of those to try and help support not only your sleep, but again, your overall health and wellness. Getting physical and active and sitting less will decrease your diabetes risk. According to the Translational Sports Medicine report, February 2021, they looked at accelerometer data and blood samples collected from 660 seniors, and it revealed that the combination of regular moderate to vigorous physical activity and less sedentary time is associated with improved glucose metabolism, which may lower the risk for type 2 diabetes. So if you're looking for some motivation to get out there today for a stroll or some other activity, just know that you will be doing your body some good. You'll maybe preventing some future consequences with your health and wellness, including the onset of type 2 diabetes. Scientific Reports, February 2021, had an interesting, uh, look at exercise and helping to improve the curve in the middle back in order to help support the neck better. So in the middle back, sometimes we develop an increased rounding, that hunch or hump that some people call it. Um, it's that increased or exaggerated curve in the upper back. But because that mid-back obviously helps support and hold up the head, it can affect the function in that area as well, especially the muscles that are going to now have to work harder to help hold that head up. Without that curve and the head being over spine. It just rests there nicely on the skeleton. But if it's not, some things have to help out, and that can lead to neck pain and some disability. They looked at 24 of these people with that increased curve, rounding forward, and, uh, they compared corrective exercises for improving that curve in their posture, as well as the neck, uh, muscle strength and endurance. And they found that it did better than traditional resistance training and physical therapy. So very focused approach on that posture brought more relief to the neck than neck rehab or spine rehab approaches alone. All right? So of course, chiropractors and some osteopaths, some physical therapists, physiotherapists, athletic trainers, personal trainers, there are some people out there, massage therapists as well, who work at and look at improving that posture so that if you have neck, upper back discomfort, carpal tunnel syndrome, headaches, all of those can be improved, not just temporarily, but with some long-term relief and increased function when you address the appropriate components. So if you're one of those people, there is hope. It's just a matter of following the right steps, but they do exist. So get out there, plug into those steps, and get yourself better. All right, some great information to start your week today on a Monday. Hope you enjoyed it. Of course, we'll be here Tuesday through Thursday this week with the video update, and Friday we'll drop a written format as always, heading you into the weekend. So tomorrow being Tuesday, we'll look forward to chatting with you then. Have a great start to the week. Take care, be Ciao!
