I’m often asked whether losing weight would help a particular problem. For example, “If I lost a few kilos, would it help my back pain?”.
I think that if someone is overweight, then losing a few kilos is a good idea anyway, as there are so many general health benefits to maintaining a healthy weight.
But I wasn’t really sure if it would help a particular injury. What I mean by that is I think if you have back pain, you should try to fix your back. If you just lose weight, …

Yes they can. And according to the latest research, they do it as effectively as medications.
This is great news for people like me who love a sneaky disco nap. And it’s great news for any of you taking blood pressure medication. After all, who wouldn’t love to be taking less medications!
In a 2019 article on the website MedicalNewsToday, 212 people were studied. These were not the healthiest people – average age of 62, plenty of smokers and people with type 2 diabetes. Yet even with these complicating factors, the study found …

Mine are certainly getting worse! And it turns out I’m not alone. A recent story on abc.net.au broke it all down, and the timing could not be better with silly season is about to kick off.
Apparently there are a number of reasons our hangovers feel more severe as we age, and why it takes longer to get over a big night.
A couple of key takeaways form the article:

Older people tend to have more inflammation throughout their body than younger people, Professor Scholey said. Add the inflammatory effects of alcohol and its by-products …

I love Salt n Pepa so much.
Anyway, in this post I wanted to talk about sleep. I had a cold a couple of weeks ago and even though it was pretty mild, I couldn’t shake it because I kept having interrupted sleep. I have also seen a few people recently who have been having problems with sleep, and jaw clenching, and migraines, so it’s been on my mind.
As you know we work next door to a great clinic with a few Naturopaths and Nutritionists. I went and had a chat …

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has released new guidelines on the treatment of osteoarthritis. The guidelines “rubbished popular and “fad” treatments for osteoarthritis (OA), including opioids, acupuncture, glucosamine, stem cell therapy, insoles and surgery “.
That’s right, the medical association is now “strongly warning against surgeries such as knee arthroscopy, meniscectomy and cartilage repair” when it comes to hip and knee arthritis.
Instead, they suggest things like exercise and weight loss. I recently posted an article on how weight loss reduces pressure in the knee, after studies showed that “for every …

I was recently sent an article which I thought I would share with you. The article outlines 30 different exercises for the different parts of your back, and includes video demonstrations by a 2 time Olympian. The videos are clear and concise and the exercises are exactly the same as I give out myself.
I love that there are exercises for mobility, strength, core, and some yoga moves and a bit of foam rolling in there as well. We all need a combination of mobility, strength and stability, so this outline …

I get asked this question a lot. And until recently, I thought it made a bit of difference, but if you had good strength and sufficient joint mobility carrying a few extra kilos probably wouldn’t be that big a deal. For your joints at least. Being overweight is associated with all kinds of other health problems, so maintaining a healthy weight is in your best interested regardless.
But now we know exactly how much pressure your joints take on when you take on extra weight. According to a study of overweight …

Did you catch the latest article on Neurosciencenews.com? If not, you’re in luck, because I did! In the article, a summary of research was outlined which showed the benefits of microbreaks for students and adults alike.
According to the study, it was shown that taking a break and doing a series of brief exercises led to:

An improved ability to focus attention
An improved ability to retain information, and
Improvements in overall learning ability.

To read more, see below.
New research from a team of scientists at McMaster University suggests that brief exercise breaks during lectures …

A recent article on The Guardian website claims that “Vast numbers of people with lower back pain across the world are being harmed, not helped, by the surgery, injections and dangerous opioid drugs they are given, according to a major new report”.
The report they refer to is a series of articles published on the medical website The Lancet, which concludes that:

“Investigating using MRI scans is counterproductive, the experts say.”
“MRIs will pick up physical abnormalities that may not be the source of the pain.”
“Scans often result in surgery or other interventions, but the …

According to a recent article on the Sydney Morning Herald website, “the peak body for rheumatologists has publicly urged doctors to try to avoid arthroscopic knee surgery, for patients with osteoarthritis, especially if they’re over 50”.
Instead, they are urging doctors to recommend seeking alternative therapies and to try to strengthen their knee joints.
It’s taken a long time – studies on this have been appearing for more than 15 years, and the downside to surgery can be huge (the cost, the recovery time, the risk of infection or death).
The official statement …