In this April 5, 2021 daily health update, Dr. David Koivuranta of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic shares six research‑based health insights. He highlights a Journal of Adolescent Health study linking vaping, especially marijuana vaping, to increased teen lung risk; a Journal of Youth and Adolescence paper showing that high social‑media use is associated with elevated suicide risk among teen girls. He discusses mammography screening, noting concerns about false results in dense breasts and the emerging use of breast‑ultrasound as a less invasive alternative. He cites a March 2021 analysis from Kyoto University indicating that eating fish twice a week lowers frailty risk in older adults. He reports an American Academy of Neurology study where Parkinson’s patients who golfed twice weekly achieved balance and mobility gains comparable to tai‑chi, with higher adherence. Finally, he references a Journal of Athletic Training trial where restoring cervical lordosis in athletes with chronic neck pain improved pain, disability, autonomic function, and sensorimotor control. Throughout, Dr. Koivuranta encourages viewers to stay informed, adopt evidence‑based lifestyle habits, and seek professional guidance when needed.
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Hello everyone, it's Dr. Dave. Hopefully you're all doing well. You had a nice weekend, first weekend of April 2021, and you're looking forward to a nice week. You may or may not be at work today, Easter Monday or otherwise, depending on the pandemic status of your area, but I hope you have a great Monday nonetheless. Of course, coming at you on behalf of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic with your daily health update. It is Monday, April 5th, 2021. Gonna look at 6 areas of health and wellness today. Somewhere around this video you can read through all 6 of those areas. If you'd like a copy, DM us on social, send us an email, give us a call at the clinic. We'll be sure to get that to you. Not going to treat, diagnose, prevent, or cure any illness or disease with our time together today. However, you may hear something that relates or pertains to something that you're looking at improving or sustaining and maintaining for your own health or the health of those around you. But even if not, plugging in daily to some good health and wellness information based on the latest research and literature can help support that good experience, great experience you're trying to have every day in your life. So good for you for being here. A few things you can read through on your own today in the written format. The Journal of Adolescent Health, April 2021, looked at the connection between vaping and vaping marijuana specifically and how it may pose a more significant risk to teen lungs. So that's something you can look at. Social media time, which we're probably all getting more than enough of, maybe some of us more than others, has actually been found according to the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, February 2021, to increase, be tied to suicide risk among teen girls. So something very important, our mental health and wellness in North America. So you can read through that. Also, the journal Radiology, March 2021, talked about not skipping a mammogram. Uh, of course, always good to be proactive and look into these, uh, early intervention, early treatment. Uh, and so these preventative tests we can do, a mammogram of which is one, somewhat debatable maybe in the research and literature itself. There are some concerns with the accuracy, a lot of false positives or negatives, especially with dense breast tissue. So some advocates say there are some ultrasound centers, especially in the United States. There's many of them in Canada, the larger cities. You're starting to see them where you can also go for an ultrasound breast screening, less invasive, no radiology, a lot more comfortable perhaps, but something you may want to look into and or talk to your doctor about. According to scientific reports, March 2021, fish may cut frailty risk. Frailty is a condition characterized characterized by weakness, slowness, physical inactivity, self-reported exhaustion, and unintentional weight loss. An analysis of data from the Kyoto University Rheumatoid Arthritis Management Alliance cohort suggests that eating twice— fish twice a week is associated with a reduced risk for frailty in older adults. So of course, fish, a good protein source, uh, depending on the kind of fish, could have some healthy oils and and some other good nutrients in it and can apparently help with frailty. And none of us would like to be frail, I'm sure. So get that fish into your diet twice a week. And while you're eating your fish, you may want to get out and do some golfing. According to the American Academy of Neurology, April 2021, it may benefit those with Parkinson's. Past research has shown that exercise can improve balance and mobility in patients with moderate Parkinson's disease. A new study found that Parkinson's patients who golfed for 1 hour twice a week experienced similar benefits as patients in a tai chi group. However, those in the golfing group were nearly 3 times more likely to continue exercise in that manner at the conclusion of the study. Because who doesn't enjoy the frustrations that come with a good round of golf? I'm sure this summer, maybe like last summer, with these outdoor activities, a lot of people getting outdoors more— I know the campgrounds are already full in many areas, people enjoying camping— I'm sure golfing will be something that people will be plugging into to try and pass the this summer as we continue to improve our pandemic situation. Give us something to do. Finally, in the Journal of Athletic Training, February 2021, they looked at improving or restoring the nice curve in your neck and how that reduces neck pain and can have some other benefits as well. Treatment to restore that, what's called the lordosis, or that natural curve in the neck with your posture, and improve the posture, bring the head back over the body, over the center of gravity. They looked at the ability to do that in 110 athletes with chronic non-specific neck pain, and it resulted in improvements when they corrected or tried to make that better— improvements in pain, disability, autonomic nervous system function, and cervical sensory motor control. So good to work on not only maintaining and preserving, but if you've noticed there's changes, in your posture, but also you're noticing any neck discomfort. Uh, it's not all about the aesthetics or how it looks. Um, although that is maybe a part of it for some, but the idea is when that neck isn't sitting and moving properly and the structure of the spine changes, it does have health implications as is proven in the research and literature. So getting it fixed, trying to get it to be the way that it was originally designed and get it functioning properly again can have some great health benefits. So be sure you look into that. All right. So happy Monday to you all. I hope you have a wonderful week. First full week here in April. Some good things to come in all our lives, I'm sure, as we head into the tail, I guess the middle part of our spring season. Looking forward to some nice weather, but also in staying healthy, staying safe, working through our COVID-19 situation. Be smart out there. Lend each other a hand. Share some smiles. But overall, do stay healthy, take care of yourself, have a super week, and I'll catch up with you tomorrow on Tuesday for your next daily health update. Enjoy your day.
