Friday, November 20, 2009

Breast Cancer and Alcohol Consumption

More Important Than Back Pain Breast Cancer

In my Chiropractic Office we primarily deal with non-life threatening disorders.  Not to minimize the discomfort that can be experienced from neck pain, back pain and the like, but every day we subject ourselves to substances that can prove deadly.  One such thing is alcohol consumption.
  Those of you who know me well are aware that my mother died an early death from alcohol consumption.  Because of this family history, I am very aware of the many dangers that alcohol carries.  There has been news media attention lately to the risks of breast cancer related to alcohol consumption.  I found this article on line and thought that it was eye opening.  I hope that you find it interesting and informative.  Yours in good health,
Doc

BARCELONA, Spain -- All types of alcohol - wine, beer or liquor - add equally to the risk of developing breast cancer in women, American researchers said Thursday.

"This is a hugely underestimated risk factor," said Dr. Patrick Maisonneuve, head of epidemiology at the European Institute of Oncology in Italy, who was not connected to the study.

"Women drinking wine because they think it is healthier than beer are wrong," he said. "It's about the amount of alcohol consumed, not the type."

Previous studies have shown a link between alcohol consumption and breast cancer, but there have been conflicting messages about whether different kinds of alcohol were more dangerous than others.

The researchers, led by Dr. Arthur Klatsky of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Oakland, Calif., revealed their findings at a meeting of the European Cancer Organization in Barcelona.

Researchers analyzed the drinking habits of 70,033 women of various races and asked them questions during health exams between 1978 and 1985. By 2004, 2,829 of these women had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Klatsky and his colleagues looked at which types of alcohol the women drank, as well as their total alcohol intake. They compared that to women who had less than one drink a day.

Researchers found no difference in the risk of developing breast cancer among women who drank wine, beer, or liquor. Compared with light drinkers - those who had less than one drink a day - women who had one or two drinks a day increased their risk of developing breast cancer by 10 percent. Women who had more than three drinks a day raised their risk by 30 percent.

"A 30 percent increased risk is not trivial," Klatsky said. "It provides more evidence for why heavy drinkers should quit or cut down."

Some experts said that people might be confused by suggestions that drinking red wine is healthy, since some studies have suggested that it protects against heart disease.

"None of these mechanisms have anything to do with breast cancer," Klatsky said. Though it is not entirely clear how alcohol contributes to breast cancer, some experts think it raises hormone levels in the blood to levels that could potentially cause cancer.

Still, doctors said that other factors, such as genetics, obesity, and age, were more important in raising the breast cancer risk than was alcohol consumption.

More public education may be needed. "Alcohol has had a lot of good publicity. People may not realize the risk they're taking when they have a few drinks," said Tim Key, of the Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit at Oxford. Key was not involved in the study.

According to data published in the British Journal of Cancer in 2002, 4 percent of all breast cancers - about 44,000 cases a year - in the United Kingdom are due to alcohol consumption.

Only a small proportion of women are thought to be heavy drinkers. But experts now say there is enough evidence to blame alcohol for breast cancer - and to start educating the public.

"Any alcohol consumption will raise your breast cancer risk," Key said. "Women don't have to abstain from alcohol entirely, but they need to be aware of the risks they're taking when they have a few too many drinks."




Writers Bio

Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.

Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.

Call Steve Jones at

(619) 280 0554

San Diego Chiropractic


Ergonomic Office Equipment Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav, the Ergonomic Mouse Pad
or Visit Ergonomic Blog, "Ergonomically Yours" And read the latest News in the Ergonomic World.

Better Health Steve Jones

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

How Does Chiropractic Work

How Does Chiropractic Work

I was asked this question by a new patient the other day.  The funny thing about this question was that he was a new patient for me but he had been going to different chiropractors for nearly 40 years.  Neck pain, back pain and headaches that occurred after various falls, work injuries and car accidents were what created his need for a life time of chiropractic treatment. 

Certain types of injuries can cause chronic symptoms.  Various physical issues that never fully return to their pre-accident state cause chronic symptoms. 

For instance, whiplash type injuries leave about 25% of the patients with chronic ongoing neck pain.  In these cases, the muscles that move and support the neck have been stretched and sometimes torn.  When muscles tear they heal with scar tissue.  Scar tissue does not move, stretch or contract like healthy muscle tissue. 

Because of the different properties of scar tissue that has formed within the healthy muscle, the joint that is moved by that muscle becomes dysfunctional.  As the joints movement alters, it has the potential to become irritated and inflamed.  These irritated and inflamed joints then become painful, restricted in their movements and the muscles that move that joint tighten and spasm as a protective mechanism.

Chiropractic care is the perfect solution for painful joints and spasmed muscles.  Through manipulation or adjustments of the affected joints, the muscle spasms are calmed and the pain is relieved.  For some patients, ongoing chiropractic care helps prevent the onset of pain and stiffness that is associated with chronic injuries. 

This example above is just one of the reasons that some chiropractic patients come in for treatment on a regular basis.

As for the patient above, he said he has been coming in for chiropractic for neck pain and back pain for years.  He receives treatment for both health maintenance reasons as well as for control of specific symptoms that come up from time to time.


Writers Bio

Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.

Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.

Call Steve Jones at

(619) 280 0554

San Diego Chiropractic


Ergonomic Office Equipment Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav, the Ergonomic Mouse Pad
or Visit Ergonomic Blog, "Ergonomically Yours" And read the latest News in the Ergonomic World.

Better Health Steve Jones

Monday, November 2, 2009

Is it OK to Crack it Myself?

Is it OK to Crack it Myself?

In my San Diego chiropractic clinic, I treat many patients for neck pain, back pain and other joint pains.  A few of these patients ask me if it is OK if they crack their necks and backs by themselves.  A few of them will tell me that they have their kids or the wife walk on their back.  And a few of them are in my office because either they cracked their back or neck by themselves or they had someone else do it for them which resulted in an injury.

The funny thing about some of these people who were injured by a non-chiropractic adjustment is that they are nervous about me adjusting them for their neck pain or back pain.

The truth about cracking your own neck or back is that it is not very safe.  Usually people develop pain or stiffness in the spine because of an injury or some ongoing condition.  Chiropractors are trained to specifically diagnose and provide treatment for these conditions or injuries.

Through the course of my fifteen year career, I have seen patients who have broken vertebra by adjusting their own backs, I have seen broken ribs as a result of having someone walk on their backs, I have seen two patients who suffered mild strokes from cracking their own necks and I had one patient whose brother suffered paralysis from the chest down because his partner walked on his back resulting in a crushed vertebra and a seriously damaged spinal cord.

Some people crack their own joints daily for years without suffering obvious serious consequences.  Even these people are doing themselves a disservice.  In no normal situation should you feel as though you have to crack a specific joint every day.  Those who do crack the same joints everyday for years will develop arthritis in those joints resulting in pain, dysfunction and possibly disability.

In most cases cracking or as we chiropractors call it “adjusting” a joint is fairly easy once the skills are acquired.  However, the one of the most important things regarding the delivery of any type of health care is when not to deliver it.  In every case that I have seen when a patient was injured by a non-chiropractic adjustment, the injured patient “thought” that they knew what was wrong.

Don’t make the same mistakes.  If you need to get adjusted, go to the chiropractor!  


Writers Bio

Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.

Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.

Call Steve Jones at

(619) 280 0554

San Diego Chiropractic


Ergonomic Office Equipment Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav, the Ergonomic Mouse Pad
or Visit Ergonomic Blog, "Ergonomically Yours" And read the latest News in the Ergonomic World.

Better Health Steve Jones