In this 10‑minute daily health update, Dr. David Koivuranta (Dr. Dave) of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic delivers a concise, non‑diagnostic overview of six current health‑and‑wellness topics. He begins with a disclaimer about the informational nature of the video and invites viewers to request a written copy. The six topics are: (1) mammography screening – recent JAMA‑International Medicine findings suggest U.S. clinics may start screening too early and over‑screen; alternatives such as thermography and diagnostic ultrasound are mentioned; (2) cardio‑oncology lifestyle factors – a March 2021 Journal of American Cardiology report reiterates classic risk‑reduction habits (no smoking, healthy weight, regular exercise, heart‑healthy diet, optimal blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar); (3) dementia risk factors – an Akta Medika Indonesia report lists smoking, hypertension, depression, untreated hearing loss, and type‑2 diabetes as modifiable risks; (4) fruit intake and dyspepsia – an April 2021 Neurogastroenterology & Motility study of 3,300 adults links high fruit consumption to lower incidence of indigestion/heartburn; (5) hill training for runners and walkers – a March 2021 Runner’s World report shows hill work improves leg strength, stride length, and overall performance; (6) postpartum lumbopelvic pain – sedentary recovery after childbirth can lead to persistent pelvic pain, and early, appropriate activity is recommended. Dr. Dave emphasizes that small, daily lifestyle choices compound over a lifetime and encourages viewers to stay informed and proactive.
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Hello everyone, it's Dr. Dave. Hopefully you're all doing well. You had a wonderful start to your week. You're looking forward to a terrific Tuesday today. Coming at you on behalf of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic with your daily health update. It's Tuesday, April 20th, 2021. Gonna look at 6 areas of health and wellness. Somewhere around this video you can read through all 6 of those areas. If you would like a copy, you can DM us on social, send us an email here at the clinic, give us a call. We'll be sure to get that to you. Not going to treat, diagnose, prevent, or cure any illness or disease with our time them together. However, I assure you that by staying abreast of some of the latest and greatest in the research and literature, you can perhaps be surprised, but pleasantly so, by what your body is able to accomplish when it comes to health and wellness when you give it a good environment. And getting some information in that respect on a daily basis will just point you in the right direction. And sometimes we veer off course, but every time we check in, we keep ourselves on course. So the benefit of the daily health update is just that. So thanks for tuning in today. So a couple of quick topics. One is mammography. There's some debate and always has been about what age it should start in terms of screening, how frequent, and the benefit. And a recent study by the Journal of the American Medical Association International Medicine found that clinics in the United States are perhaps starting the screenings too early because screenings in younger women apparently may do more harm than good, and that they're recommending it at a frequency that's greater than what it should be potentially. So the answer may be that, of course, based on your family history, your current health status, and what you and your doctor decide might be the appropriate frequency. And to remember that there are a couple of alternatives. Thermography is one, a little more questionable, but may provide some information nonetheless. And ultrasound is becoming more and more prevalent, especially in the United States. A couple of clinics, I believe, in Canada, one here in Toronto, where you can get a diagnostic ultrasound done instead of, or with, your mammogram. So just some options, um, for people out there to make sure that they're screening properly and correctly. Always good to stay on top of that information and then engage accordingly. Taking some action will be beneficial, right? Early intervention is always helpful, but of course our goal is to prevent if we can. So some of our other suggestions today come from the Journal of American Cardiology, the Cardio Oncology report, March 2021. They talk about our health lifestyle factors to cut risk for the leading killers in North America. So they say, of course, not to smoke, and then to maintain a healthy weight as much as possible. Try to exercise regularly, keep fit, or try to keep moving at least. Eat a heart-healthy diet and maintain your normal blood pressure for as long as possible. Keep the cholesterol levels and the blood sugar levels good as as well. So, um, nothing new potentially there for most of us, but just a good reminder that it's always effort well spent to try and maintain those lifestyle factors. Some other risk factors involve our cognitive health, and there are some risk factors that may relate to dementia. According to the Akta Medika Indonesia report, January 2021, the following types of risk factors are big for dementia: smoking, again, hypertension, which we try to avoid, depression, untreated hearing loss, interestingly, and type 2 diabetes. So, again, there might be some familial pattern involved, there might be some genetics with some of these conditions. However, the environmental factors, our lifestyle factors, play a huge role and they can help curb any kind of impetus there might be for your body to develop one of these problems. And again, always worth the effort. Alright, sometimes no immediate gratification other than a pat on your back, but the future investment in taking the appropriate steps and making those good decisions, definitely good for you. If you have indigestion, there are some other good options for you. You might want to try eating more fruit. According to the Neurogastroenterology and Motility report, April 2021, they looked at over 3,300 adults that had a high intake of fruit, and they found it was linked to a reduced risk for dyspepsia. Fancy word for indigestion or heartburn, but that's the one that occurs in the upper abdomen soon after eating, and it's not caused by any other underlying disease. And if you've noticed that with eating, then you may wanna try to add some fruit to your diet. And if you're a runner, if you like to jog, even if you like to walk, you may want to add in some hill training. If you're a runner and you wanna run faster, it'll help. If you're a walker and you wanna get more out of your time, you might wanna try an incline, whether it's on a hill, maybe even on a treadmill. Runner's World reports in March 2021 that hill training can improve a runner's leg muscle strength while also lengthening the stride. So you can cover more ground per step. And if you're gonna have some exercise or fitness in your life, you may wanna enjoy it recreationally, but sometimes we like to have a goal or challenge attached to it to keep us motivated, and you may wanna try adding in some hills. Alright. And finally, postpartum lumbopelvic pain affects apparently a significant number of new mothers, and it may be that they have too much sedentary time after bringing this wonderful creation into the world. Of course, it was challenging, not easy to do, and it may change their habits or patterns afterwards, including less activity or movement for some period of time. However, that may lead to an increased likelihood of persistent postpartum lumbopelvic pain. Pelvic pain. So they're recommending that as soon as it makes sense, depending on your circumstances, you do want to get back to some kind of activity to get your body moving again and to recover from the experience of bringing that child into the world. Okay, so there you have it, daily health update for Tuesday. Some good information, a reminder on those lifestyle factors, making those good decisions every day. I know you can do it. Take care of yourself so you can be your best self, whatever that might be for you. And, um, It's a little bit of effort every day can go a long way over a lifetime. All right, so good luck with that today on your Tuesday. We'll catch up with you tomorrow again, Wednesday, with your next daily health update. We'll look forward to chatting with you then. Take care.
