Yoga Lowers Heart Disease Risk as much as Conventional Exercise

by Nina

Walk Along the Banks of the Seine Near Asnieres by Van Gogh

“A recent review of yoga and cardiovascular disease published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology indicates that yoga may help lower heart disease risk as much as conventional exercise, such as brisk walking.” — Julie Corliss, Harvard Health Blog

Well, that sentence from More than a stretch: Yoga’s benefits may extend to the heart certainly merits a closer look, don’t you think? Because even though we’ve written extensively about the benefits of yoga for cardiovascular health (see About Yoga for Heart Health), I’ve never actually seen scientific proof that yoga really is as good for heart health as—as this quote says—a brisk walk.

The report on the Harvard Health blog was referring to the study The effectiveness of yoga in modifying risk factors for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. This turns out to be one of those review studies that assesses other existing studies, in this case, 37 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in the systematic review and 32 in the meta-analysis, which can provide a very good picture of what the current research is turning up. The review study itself says:

“Whereas previous reviews have looked at a single or a few risk factors, our review updates the existing literature and encompasses numerous CVD and metabolic risk factors that can be used to calculate overall CVD risk.”

The studies that were reviewed looked at different types of yoga, including both gentler and more energetic styles, and the participants ranged from young, healthy individuals to older people with health conditions. Interestingly, there were no restrictions on the frequency of yoga practice or its duration. (Although I guess we can assume no studies were done with people practicing yoga just once a month!) In the review, the control groups used in the studies were divided into aerobic exercise (physical training, aerobic exercise, cycling, running, brisk walking) and non-aerobic exercise groups. This allowed the researchers to estimate the effectiveness of yoga practice compared to both active controls and versus non-active controls.

Overall, the people who did yoga improved in several factors that affect heart disease risk: losing an average of five pounds, lowering blood pressure by five points , and lowering their levels of harmful LDL cholesterol by twelve points. And no significant difference was found between yoga and exercise!

For those of you who are interested in more detail, the study itself concluded that compared to non-exercise controls, yoga showed significant improvement for:

• Body mass index (−0.77 kg/m2 (95% confidence interval −1.09 to −0.44))
• Systolic blood pressure (−5.21 mmHg (−8.01 to −2.42))
• Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (−12.14 mg/dl (−21.80 to −2.48)) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (3.20 mg/dl (1.86 to 4.54))
• Body weight (−2.32 kg (−4.33 to −0.37))
• Diastolic blood pressure (−4.98 mmHg (−7.17 to −2.80)), 
• Total cholesterol (−18.48 mg/dl (−29.16 to −7.80)), 
• Triglycerides (−25.89 mg/dl (−36.19 to −15.60)
• Heart rate (−5.27 beats/min (−9.55 to −1.00))

The original review study concluded: 

“Our review finds emerging evidence to support a role for yoga in improving common modifiable risk factors of CVD and metabolic syndrome.

“We believe that these findings have important implications for the acceptance of yoga as an effective therapeutic intervention. This review demonstrates the potential of yoga to have an impact on concrete, physiological outcomes that represent some of the greatest health burdens today.”

The Harvard Health blog interviewed Dr. Gloria Yeh, a co-author of the review and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She said, “Yoga is unique because it incorporates physical activity, breathing, and meditation.” And she explained that each of these elements positively affects cardiovascular risk factors, so combining them was bound to show a benefit. 

See About Yoga for Heart Health for an overview of and links to all the posts—including practices designed especially for heart health—that we have on our blog.

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Headache Sufferers In Kent Find Much Needed Relief With Chiropractic Clinic

By Cody Gardella

Headaches are something of an epidemic in our stressful, fast-moving, get-it-done-yesterday culture. Although many are mild and short-lived, some can be severe and seriously impact the sufferer's quality of life. Fortunately, they don't usually have a serious underlying cause and can be alleviated successfully with the aid of a Kent chiropractic office.

Exactly how a headache manifests can vary a lot between patients. For some, it can be a pain in part of their head, for others it can be a whole-head affair. Headaches can also vary tremendously in their severity, characteristics and duration.

Some can be mild, while others can be extremely painful and debilitating. They can last only an hour or so, or they can go on for days. The pain can also vary a lot in how it manifests, for some sufferers it can be a sharp pain, while for others it can be more of a dull ache.

Although the range of symptoms is quite wide, most headaches can be grouped under the categories of tension, migraine or cluster (a form of migraine). Tension headaches are by far the most common, accounting for some 75% of cases. They often result from stress and/or poor postural habits.

This can create muscular tension, which in turn can create irregularities in the positioning of the spine/neck and affect range of movement. The nerves, muscles and tendons are affected and this is what can lead to a headache. Office workers and others with sedentary lifestyles are at particular risk.

Due to the range of variables in headache cases, chiropractors need to examination each patient carefully before recommending a care plan. However, it will usually involve upper spine/neck manipulation since this usually produces good outcomes for headache sufferers. He or she may also use other techniques (such as massage) and suggest lifestyle changes to help prevent the headache from recurring.

About the Author:

Check out http://www.palmerchiropractic.com for a summary of the benefits of visiting a chiropractic clinic, now. You can also get more information about an experienced Kent chiropractic doctor at http://www.palmerchiropractic.com today.

Enjoy Much Needed Herniated Disc Pain Relief With A Laguna Hills Chiropractor

By Amie Murrieta

Back pain is easily one of the top reasons why people visit a chiropractor. Herniated discs are in turn one of the most common maladies behind back pain (especially in people over 40). A Laguna Hills chiropractic center can offer back pain sufferers significant pain relief and provide a safe alternative to pain killers.

Since there can be some confusion over terminology, it's worth pointing out the difference between a herniated (or bulging) disc and a ruptured disc. A disc is considered herniated when the soft gel-like nucleus of the disc protrudes through the outer casing (called the annulus). This is the less serious of these conditions and the easiest to tackle.

A disc is deemed ruptured when the nucleus makes a more complete break through its outer casing. This puts pressure on the spinal cord and presents a more severe medical problem. Either way, it's the pressure placed on the spinal cord and/or nerve roots or sciatic nerve that are the cause of the pain.

When it comes to caring for patients with this malady, chiropractors have plenty of options at their disposal. First however, a full examination of the patient needs to be made. This will consist of checking (among other things) the patient's reflexes, posture, sensations (ability to feel in various parts of the body) and muscle strength.

He or she may also order X-rays or an MRI scan if they are deemed necessary. Based on the information gathered, the chiropractor will then design a care plan tailored to the patient's particular needs. This will likely include spinal manipulation to correct any abnormalities in its shape and ease any pressure on the discs and nerves.

The chiropractor may also make adjustments to the neck and pelvis, and may stretch and massage specific muscles. An additional intervention is spinal decompression. This is the practice of gently elongating the spine on a traction table (or a motorized device) to ease pressure on the discs and thus reduce pain.

About the Author:

You can get fast neck, spine and hip pain relief through chiropractic care. Get more information about a well-respected Laguna Hills chiropractic doctor at http://www.claytonthomasnoel.com now.