In my work with athletes, ranging from park runners up to World and Olympic champions, one of the key differences I’ve seen that separates the elite is that they know when to push themselves, and they know when to back off. They know that missing half a session because you’re concerned about an injury is better than pushing on, getting hurt, and then missing an entire week, if not more. The number one priority, no matter what event you are training for, is to get to the starting line in …

As you saw in my previous article , breathing can help improve the tone of the Vagus Nerve. This has been linked to reduced stress and anxiety levels, reduced heart rate, reduced blood pressure, and even reduced risk of dying from cancer.
A 2016 article talked more about the link between stress and cancer, saying that stress acts as a ‘fertiliser’ by increasing the number of lymphatic vessels draining from the tumour, but increase flow in existing vessels. “So not only do you get new freeways out of the tumour but …

Here is a great article I just read which outlines in basic terms the key differences between back pain that is straightforward and musculo-skeletal in nature, and back pain that is coming from a more serious underlying condition. A lot of times when the pain is severe it can be extremely concerning, and this article helps explain a lot of what is going on.
Some key points:
People understandably assume that the worst back pain is the scariest. In fact, pain intensity is a poor indicator of back pain ominousness.
Herniated discs aren’t …

A new study, which followed 382 75 year-olds for 8 years, has concluded that low levels of vitamin D “may accelerate cognitive decline in older adults”. The subjects were examined to test their episodic memory, semantic memory, visual perception, and executive function.
They found that participants with signs of dementia had lower levels of vitamin D than those with either no cognitive impairment or only mild cognitive impairment.Also, “insufficient vitamin D was linked to much faster declines in episodic memory (recollection of people, places, and events), and executive function (your ability …

A new study has found that working more than 55 hours a week “significantly increases your risk of having a stroke”. abc.net.au broke the story this week, citing a study conducted on over 600,000 people over the past 8 and a half years.
Key findings of the study included:

People working 55 hours a week had a 33 per cent greater risk of having a stroke than people who worked a standard 35 – 40 hour week.
The more hours people worked beyond standard hours, the higher their chance of having a stroke …

An article in The New York Times this week has shed light on the changes that take place in the brain in response to exercise. The story focused on a series of brain scans performed on a lady who started exercising at the age of 77 and went on to set numerous world records in masters track and field competition.
In short, when compared to other 90 somethings who were studied, her brain showed:
Fewer abnormalities in the white matter (the cells that help to transmit messages from one part of the …

As an Osteopath I see a lot of people with disc injuries. People are understandably concerned about doing damage to their discs, as they play an important role in the structural integrity of the spine, and live very close to nerves and the spinal cord, so they can cause a lot of pain and other problems.
There have been a number of studies where researchers take members of the general population and perform scans on them. they are trying to find out how many people actually have a particular injury. For …

What I’m going to look at in this posting relates to how quickly one should start addressing a complaint of low back pain. Historically, people suffering from low back pain have been told to rest, sometimes for very long periods. It’s time to right this wrong.
I have treated plenty of people who 20 years ago were given a neck collar for a minor car crash and wore it for 3 months despite no evidence of any tissue damage, because “that was what they did back then”. Researchers have compared the …

I pity the fool that volunteered for this study. 153 healthy, that’s right, HEALTHY, men and women VOLUNTEERED, if you can believe it, to be given the virus that develops into the common cold. Imagine doing that to yourself. I think they had a cotton bud with the flu virus inserted into their nostril or something. Good times!
Anyway, I am loving their work, for we all get to benefit from the results. Prior to being given the virus, their sleep habits were measured for 14 nights, both in terms of …

New research suggests it could be very simple to add up to 8 years to your life. 8 more times you get to celebrate Christmas with your family, 8 more years of travelling to enjoy, 8 more years watching your grandchildren grow up. Or if you’re my Nanna Joyce (pictured), 8 more years of Singapore Slings!
The research, which followed 17,000 people for 30 years, identified the components that make up the unhealthiest lifestyle. These were physical inactivity, smoking, poor diet and alcohol use.
For a 65 year old who doesn’t …