In this solo video, Dr. David Koivuranta (Dr. Dave) delivers a concise daily health update covering five evidence‑based topics and a closing philosophy on habit formation. He first warns that exposure to secondhand smoke for an hour or more daily can raise depression risk by up to 59% (BMC Public Health). He then cites CDC data showing only 7.1% of adult smokers quit in 2018, emphasizing that smoke‑free home rules and primary‑care support are the most effective aids for cessation. Next, he highlights a PLOS Medicine study indicating that a Mediterranean diet—rich in fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, whole grains, nuts, fish, and lean meats—improves arterial flexibility and reduces the risk of a second myocardial infarction. He proceeds to discuss a review in Aging and Mental Health of 18 studies that found resistance (weight) training enhances overall cognitive function in older adults, suggesting mental benefits for the broader population. Finally, he references a Bone & Joint Open survey of 179 orthopedic surgeons, revealing that two‑thirds experience work‑related musculoskeletal pain, with risk factors including age, years in practice, BMI, smoking, and intra‑operative bending/twisting; ergonomic and lifestyle changes can mitigate these risks and extend career longevity. Dr. Dave concludes by urging viewers to adopt small, evidence‑based habits, stay informed, and reach out to the clinic for a copy of the update.
Chapters
Hello everyone, it's Dr. Dave. Hopefully you're all doing well, enjoying the start of your first full week of January for 2021. Coming at you on behalf of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic with your daily health update for Tuesday, January 5th, 2020. Hope you make it a great one. Gonna share some areas from our daily health update, usually 6 areas on that update. We'll touch on a few today. Of course, I always say that and we end up covering some more, but we'll see what happens. And the reason we do that is because we feel that you get bombarded by a lot of other kinds of information information, misinformation, and a lot of negative information or stress during the day. And it's good to have some kind of positive self-related care to focus on regarding your health so that you can keep yourself headed in a good direction. So if that made sense, you're in the right place. If it didn't, I'll try better next time to make some sense of it. But nonetheless, if you stay plugged into some good health information on a daily basis, Based on the latest research in literature, could help change your own thoughts, decisions, and actions for the day, and repeated daily over the space or course of time, you should be able to make some improvements and/or support your already good and healthy body. All right, not gonna treat, diagnose, prevent, or cure any illness or disease with our time together today. However, congratulations for being here. Putting some effort into your health is always time and effort well spent. Secondhand smoke, apparently, according to the BMC Public Health journal, can raise depression risk by up to 59% if they're exposed to that secondhand smoke for an hour or longer each day. So smoking is not good. And in fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, December 2020, said that about 7.1% of adult smokers successfully quit in 2018. That is— seems to me like a very small number. It shows you how difficult it can be. But some of the things that help those smokers quit the most were having smoke-free home rules and having some advice, guidance, and support from their primary healthcare provider. So if you can, try and curb the habit with that one. Heart attacks are never good. The PLOS Medicine journal for December, November 2020 said that the Mediterranean diet could help reduce the risk of those heart attacks, especially having a second or another heart attack. Patients with a history of an acute heart attack called myocardial infarction or MI when they followed a Mediterranean diet after the event with focuses on fresh fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, whole grains, nuts, fish, and lean meats, they experienced improvements in their arterial flexibility and the lining's ability to regenerate in those arteries and blood vessels, and that could reduce the risk for another heart attack. So overall, Mediterranean diet, one of the most researched in the world and one we talk about most often here on the Daily Health Update. Is good for you. You should check it out and follow it as closely as you would like. Lifting weights, of course, good for those muscles. You can tell that I lift a lot of them, hence the big muscles. But they're also good for this muscle, your brain, apparently. According to Aging and Mental Health, December 2020, they did a review of 18 published studies and they found that resistance training can improve overall cognitive function in older adults. That adds to a growing body of research that suggests resistance training can provide a number of physical and mental health benefits benefits to aging adults, but probably to all of us across the board. Finally, sometimes when we experience some wear and tear to our parts, we might get a consult and some treatment from an orthopedic surgeon. According to the Bone and Joint open article, April 2020, those same orthopedic surgeons are also prone to work-related injuries. 179 of those surgeons did— completed some surveys or questionnaires, and 67, or two-thirds of them, experienced work-related musculoskeletal pain, with back and neck pain listed as their most common complaints. Risk factors among that group include advancing age, years in practice, high body mass index, smoking, and bending and twisting during surgery. The findings suggest that a combination of lifestyle and ergonomic modifications can reduce the risk for conditions like back and neck pain among orthopedic surgeons, and perhaps could also prolong their career. And we could probably extrapolate that to many other professions depending on what we do and how we do it every day, if we try to do it at our best, and we balance out or mitigate any of the negative effects from what we have to do, then we might find ourselves doing it longer, doing it better, and actually enjoying it a little bit more, making a difference in our lives and the lives of those that whatever we do might impact. So watch yourself today, create some good habits around what you're doing, how you're doing it. Remember to make some good choices and decisions, maybe, maybe even some different choices and decisions today based on your health and wellness, and, you know, help make this year the great year that you would like to be full of some positive experiences and preserve that health and wellness of yours. All right, daily health update for Tuesday done. We'll catch up with you tomorrow on Wednesday, next daily health update. If you'd like a copy in your inbox or a copy of today's at the very least, you can reach out to the clinic. We'd be happy to get that to you. You can DM us on social, send us an email, give us a call, visit the website. You can send us a message there as well. All right, have a wonderful day. I'll catch up with you tomorrow. Take care.
