In this 10‑minute video, Dr. David "Dave" Koivuranta of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic delivers a daily health update covering six recent research findings relevant to everyday wellness. He begins with a brief greeting and clinic notice about a warm HVAC system, then presents each study: 1. An Irish Journal of Medical Science article (June 2021) reports that regular alcohol consumption roughly doubles the risk of obstructive sleep apnea, suggesting abstinence for at‑risk individuals. 2. A Scientific Reports animal study (June 2021) shows that olive leaf extract added to a high‑fat diet prevents weight gain and preserves working memory and cognition. 3. An Annals of Internal Medicine paper (May 2021) finds that tai chi is as effective as combined aerobic and strength training for reducing waist circumference in people with central obesity. 4. A BMC Psychiatry study (June 2021) demonstrates that increasing vitamin D via daily sunlight exposure lessens symptom severity in patients undergoing treatment for schizophrenia. 5. A Psychological Medicine report (June 2021) links childhood loneliness to higher rates of anxiety and depression in young adulthood, emphasizing the importance of social connection for children. 6. A Clinical Rehabilitation trial (April 2021) shows that six sessions of Sustained Natural Apophyseal Glides (SNAGs) improve dizziness, neck disability, pain, posture, and cervical range of motion in patients with neck‑related dizziness. Dr. Dave concludes by encouraging viewers to stay active, eat well, get sunlight, and seek professional help for specific concerns, promising the next update after the long weekend.
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Hello everyone, it's Dr. Dave. Hopefully you're all doing well, enjoying your day, looking forward to a good long weekend or celebration weekend in both Canada and the United States this weekend. Coming at you on behalf of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic with your daily health update for Wednesday, June 30th, 2021. Last day of June. Gonna look at 6 areas of health and wellness. Somewhere around this video you can read through all 6 areas. If you would like a copy or you have any questions, you can DM us on social, give us a call here at the clinic, or send us an email. We'd be happy to help you out. Not going to treat, diagnose, prevent, or cure any illness or disease with our time together today. However, I do promise to share with you some interesting information based on the latest research and literature that may stimulate your own thought process when it comes to taking care of yourself and those around you, which is always time and effort well spent. Irish Journal of Medical Science, June 2021, says that alcohol doubles sleep apnea risk. According to a new study, regular alcohol consumption is associated with an up to 2 times increased risk for obstructive sleep apnea. The findings suggest that obstructive sleep apnea patients and those with other risk factors for the condition should abstain from alcohol. So if you've noticed that you or your partner or someone that you spend time with stops breathing while they're sleeping, and, uh, we wanna try and decrease that, there are some strategies, many of them that may help. And, uh, and certainly seeking medical attention and seeing whether or not a CPAP machine is appropriate. However, decreasing alcohol consumption may also help as it doubles the risk. Scientific Reports, June 2021, looks at olive leaf extract and how it can offer several different benefits. They did a study on animals and they had them be inactive, and they actually had a high-fat diet that included this olive leaf extract, and they did not put any weight on, and they didn't experience any decline in cognitive function or working memory. So this is an interesting nutrient that they're looking into, just as a nice tidbit of information for you. The Annals of Internal Medicine, May 2021, talks about tai chi and how it can trim your belly. So if you're looking for something that's a little more lower impact, a little more focused, and allows you to breathe and move your body in a healthy kind of way, tai chi might be your thing. New research suggests that tai chi is as effective as the combination of aerobic exercise and strength training for reducing waist circumference in individuals with central obesity. So good to know. BMC Psychiatry, June 2021, looks at sunshine and how it can help some schizophrenic patients. Among a group of 52 patients under treatment for schizophrenia, researchers found that improving vitamin D levels by spending time in the sun each day helped to lower the severity of several symptoms associated with mental health conditions. Uh, with the mental health condition of schizophrenia. But vitamin D and sunshine is probably good for all of us. Childhood loneliness can have long-term effects, according to the Psychological Medicine report, June 2021. Using data from the Great Smoky Mountains Study, researchers identified loneliness during childhood as a risk factor for anxiety and depression in young adulthood. So it's good to spend time with our children and get them spending time with others as well, because when we're together and we have a sense of community, it helps with our mental health and wellness. And finally, uh, the clinical rehabilitation report from April 2021 talks about SNAGs, and those are a type of joint glide that can provide benefit for people who may be getting dizziness due to dysfunction in their neck. Sustained Natural Apophyseal Glides is what SNAG stands for. It's a form of manual therapy provided by many different manual practitioners, including chiropractors, and it combines a sustained effect on the smaller joints in the spine called the facet joints with active motion followed by overpressure. A recent study found that patients with dizziness related to dysfunction in the neck experienced fewer episodes of dizziness, better posture, a decrease in neck disability and pain, and a significant improvement in cervical range of motion following 6 SNAG treatments over a 4-week period. So if you or someone you know might be experiencing some dizziness, and it may or may not involve the neck, good to get that checked out and see if that treatment can be of benefit. Alright, a quick one for you today. Our HVAC system, as an interesting piece of information, is not working in our clinic building today, so it's a little bit warm. I'm a little bit drippy trying to get through this, and we're gonna get set up for our afternoon of treating patients. So I'm gonna leave you with that today. Hopefully you found it interesting. We'll be back next Monday following the long weekend with your next daily health update. We'll look forward to chatting with you then. In the meantime, stay well, get outside, stay active, eat well, get your rest, and keep your health and wellness front of mind. All the best. We'll talk to you soon.
