Eat well and stay active

Your friendly neighbourhood chiropractors are back once again with tips for healther living!

Dr. Trevor Clark and Dr. Jane Peterson from Connect Chiropractic have some great recommendations for getting the most out of life while feeling your best.

Weekend workouts

Weekend warriors can rest easy during the week knowing that their weekend workouts are doing more for them than they thought.

Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine recently reported that those who are too busy to exercise during the week but are able to fit it into their weekend schedule are actually exercising a viable option.

After surveying 63,000 people, it was found that those who exercise at a moderate rate for 150 minutes or 75 minutes at a vigorous rate had a 30 per cent lower risk of early death than those who didn't exercise at all.

"So keep moving, even if it's only on the weekends!"

Trade pain

Many construction workers experience pain as a result of their work.

A survey published in April of this year by 2,021 construction workers of various trades revealed that 11 per cent experience muscular-skeletal pain within the past 24 hours. The most common areas this was experienced included the lower back, shoulders, and knees.

"As chiropractors, we are trained to diagnose and treat these work-related injuries, allowing workers to work with less or no pain and disability.

Fender benders leave necks tender

A lot of car accidents happen every single day, but many people may not realize how much pain a simple fender bender is causing them, says Peterson.

An April 2019 study said that up to half of individuals who develop neck pain after a car accident, who had no prior neck pain, will continue to experience such pain for up to a year after the accident.

In a review of seven different research studies, it was found that those with no prior history of neck pain but began to experience it following an accident had up to 2.3 times increased risk of long-term neck pain.

Genetics don't guarantee fate

Clark says that hope definitely exists for individuals who have a history of disease in their family.

The International Journal of Cancer (May 2019) said that while a family history of cancer can be associated with an increased risk of cancer, new research shows that living a healthy lifestyle does reduce that risk.

After examining data from over 40,000 adults showed that individuals who are a healthy weight, don't smoke, avoid excessive consumption of alcohol, exercise, and have a healthy diet can reduce their risk for cancer up to 22 per cent and their risk for cancer-related mortality by up to 40 per cent.

Epigenetics

A healthy lifestyle can reduce your risk of cancer even if you have a family history of the disease. 

"The expression of genes can actually be turned on and off based on your lifestyle," said Clark.

Cancer Prevention Research published a study in May 2019 pertaining to that, stating that quitting smoking can help prevent women from getting bladder cancer.

"This is, of course, a lifestyle problem," explained Clark.

Data from over 140,000 participants in a long-term study of post-menopausal women found that those women who quit smoking reduced their chance of getting bladder cancer by 25 per cent over the following decade than those women who continued smoking.