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 …

A new study has found that men who had higher cardiorespiratory fitness (endurance) had significantly lower rates of certain types of cancer compared to less fit men. The differences were pretty huge for both Lung Cancer and ColoRectal Cancer, and seriously, none of us want that.
The benefits get larger the fitter you become. Compared to the least fit, the fittest people had a 55% less risk of developing Lung Cancer, and a 44% less risk of ColoRectal Cancer.
Each level of fitness provides a little more benefit – even moving up …

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 …

A recent article in the online journal Medical News Today has reported findings of a study into yoga poses and scoliosis. The study found that “erforming a single yoga pose for 90 seconds for at least 3 days a week could reduce spine curvature in patients with scoliosis in as little as 3 months.”
The pose is the side plank (pictured), which involves lying on one side of the body with straight knees, and propping up the upper body with the elbow and forearm.
On average, participants did the side plank pose for …

Apparently not! Even I thought it was but the results of a new study (to read it click here) have found that “not only does running not cause osteoarthritis in the knee, it may even help to keep the problem at bay”.
The study followed 2863 people and found that “runners, regardless of the age they were when they ran, had less knee pain and osteoarthritis.”
This supported another previous study of 74,00 people from 2013 which “found that running significantly reduced the risk of both osteoarthritis and knee replacement.”
Some other choice quotes …

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of people with injuries related to the sudden desire to quickly get in shape. Their exercise regime drifted a little over the winter months but with Summer approaching they need to get their bikini body back. Bravo I say! But, we need to temper that enthusiasm/desperation with a little common sense. If you’re trying to fit 6 months worth of training into the next 6 weeks read on.
I think the most common times people get injured is when they start a new activity, or …

Last week 60 Minutes ran a story on the perils of prolonged sitting. For a long time I’ve been a firm believer that the length of time you spend sitting is a lot more important then the position you sit in. This is true for musculoskeletal conditions like back pain, neck pain and headaches, but now we’re seeing that this is true for general health conditions like cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes. This only takes 12 minutes and is well worth your time. Get up and move Australia!
To watch the story click here.

I guess a lot of you saw the recent articles (such as this one in The Australian) questioning the effectiveness of Paracetamol for back pain. This is newsworthy because it is probably the first thing a doctor would recommend for back pain, so we want to know if it actually works. It has very few side effects, if any, so it’s almost certainly not going to be dangerous to take, but according to this new research, there may not be much point.
The study in question looked at 1,600 people with …

Pictured is the Astronaut Position, which is a great way to relieve back pain. In this post I’m going to discuss the results of a study which has found that when you suffer a back injury you are better off staying active than resting.
Now, it may not seem terribly important, I mean, how bad could a couple of days on the couch be? Well, here are the stats: “more than three quarters of individuals will have a recurrence of their symptoms within a year from the initial onset, and up …

Don’t mean to brag (I actually love bragging), but having been consulted by a lot of World and Olympic champion athletes I can tell you that one of the biggest issues they face is how to prevent recurrence of injuries. When it comes to hamstring tears, there is very strong evidence that we can reduce the risk of suffering one by performing a simple (but incredibly challenging) exercise.
The New York Times recently posted an article outlining how this exercise works. Here’s a great excerpt and a link to the full article. I …