Osteoporosis: Before and After a Broken Bone

If you have osteoporosis, or are at risk for it, you want to do all you can to keep your bones as strong as possible. Besides following your doctor's advice on diet and exercise, you should know that some medications are bone-friendly -- and others may have side effects that affect the bones.

Some medications prescribed for common health problems, such as heartburn or depression, could affect your bone health.

"That doesn't necessarily mean you should stop them," says Harold Rosen, MD, director of the Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

Rather, "it's crucial to weigh the pros and cons: the benefits of the medicine against the effect on the bones," he says.

The benefits of a drug may outweigh the risks. Or your doctor may prescribe a ''bone-maintenance" drug to offset the risk, Rosen says.

Corticosteroid Drugs and Bone Health

This type of steroid drug helps curb inflammation. Doctors prescribe them for conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and ulcerative colitis.

Some examples include:

•     cortisone (Cortone)
•     prednisone (Deltasone, Meticorten, Orasone, Prednicot)

These steroids hamper bone formation and increase bone resorption, which can make a fracture more likely, notes  endocrinologist Ann Kearns, MD, a consultant at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

However, she says, some people need these drugs. And the ''short-term risk is not a big deal for most people," Rosen says.

How you take the drugs may also matter. Pills or shots are the most powerful, but those you inhale or put on your skin are "less concerning," Kearns says.

Anti-Cancer Drugs and Bone Health

If you've had breast cancer and are taking certain drugs that affect your bones, your doctor should monitor your bone density and may prescribe a bone-maintenance drug.

Some breast cancer patients take a type of drug called an aromatase inhibitor. These drugs include:

•    anastrozole (Arimidex)
•    exemestane (Aromasin)
•    letrozole (Femara)

These drugs target a substance your body makes called aromatase. That leads to lower estrogen levels, which can dim estrogen-fueled cancers.

That's good news for your cancer, but lowering your estrogen levels can be bad for your bones, since estrogen stops bone resorption. That's why doctors often prescribe improved lifestyle changes such as exercise, a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, and bone-maintenance drugs to women who are taking the aromatase inhibitors.

Men who have been treated for prostate cancer are sometimes prescribed anti-androgen therapy. Examples of these drugs include bicalutamide (Casodex), flutamide (Eulexin), and nilutamide (Nilandron).

These drugs block the action of the hormone testosterone, usually slowing prostate cancer growth. However, these medications can decrease bones' density and increase fracture risk, so doctors may prescribe changes in lifestyle such as exercise, smoking cessation, reduced caffeine intake, and a bone-maintenance drug.

Why Is Physical Activity So Good for Your Brain?

Neuroscientists around the globe agree that physical activity is the best medicine to maintain brain health throughout your lifespan. Why is physical activity so good for your brain?

There are many reasons that exercise is good for your brain. These include: increased blood flow, which improves cerebrovascular health; the release of neurotrophic factors like BDNF, which stimulates the growth of new neurons; and the benefits of glucose and lipid metabolism which bring nourishment to the brain.

Recently, researchers at the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that physical activity is also associated with improved white matter integrity. In two separate studies—released within the past month—researchers found that physical activity improved the white matter integrity of physically fit children aged 9 to 10 and also in “low fit” participants aged 60 to 78.  

The researchers found that physical activity improves the microstructures of white matter in the brain. White matter integrity is linked to faster neural conduction between brain regions and superior cognitive performance.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) directly affects the integrity of white matter. In MS lesions the myelin sheath around the axons gradually deteriorates. Changes in white matter, known as amyloid plaques, are associated with Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.

What is the White Matter of Your Brain?

White matter consists mostly of glial cells and myelinated axons that act as communication lines between various regions of gray matter in the cerebrum. White matter also allows communication between the cerebrum and lower brain centers including the cerebellum.

When white matter tissue is freshly cut in a living brain, it actually appears pinkish because myelin is composed largely of lipid tissue that is veined with capillaries for vascularization. According to Arthur Kramer, the director of the Beckman Institute, one reason that exercise might improve white matter integrity is that physical activity gets the blood pumping through the brain and improves vascularization of these capillaries. There is also the possiblilty that physical activity improves myelination.

White matter carries nerve signals between the gray matter in one brain region to another brain region. The more streamlined and compact your white matter is, the faster and more efficiently your brain functions.

These new studies show that physical activity appears to make the axons in white matter more tightly bundled and compact. Exercise appears to improve white matter integrity which is correlated with more efficient communication between brain regions from childhood into our golden years.

Aerobic Fitness in Children Linked to White Matter Integrity

The first new study from the Beckman Institute, “Aerobic Fitness is Associated with Greater White Matter Integrity in Children,” was published August 2014 in in the open-access journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. In this study U. of I. kinesiology and community heatlh professor Charles Hillman, postdoctoral researcher Laura Chaddock-Heyman and their colleagues found that physically fit children had more fibrous and compact white matter tracts in the brain than their less fit peers.

In a press release, University of Illinois researcher Laura Chaddock-Heyman said, "Previous studies suggest that children with higher levels of aerobic fitness show greater brain volumes in gray matter brain regions important for memory and learning. Now for the first time we explored how aerobic fitness relates to white matter in children's brains."

Chaddock and her colleagues used a technique called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to look at five white matter tracts that play a role in attention and memory. The findings revealed significant fitness-related improvements in the integrity of several white matter tracts. 

For this study, the researchers didn't specifically test for cognitive differences in the children. A wide range of studies over the past decades have found a link between aerobic fitness levels, improved cognitive function, and higher academic test scores. "Previous studies in our lab have reported a relationship between fitness and white matter integrity in older adults," Kramer said. "Therefore, it appears that fitness may have beneficial effects on white matter throughout the lifespan."

Avoiding a Sedentary Lifestyle Benefits White Matter Integrity As You Age

The second new study from the Beckman Institute, “Physical Activity and Cardiorespiratory Fitness Are Beneficial for White Matter in Low-Fit Older Adults” was published September 2014 in the journal PLOS ONE. Postdoctoral researcher Agnieszka Burzynska conducted the research with Art Kramer and kinesiology and community health professor Edward McAuley.

In this study, the researchers found a strong link between the structural integrity of white matter tracts and an older person's level of daily activity. Interestingly, it wasn't the extent to which the person engaged in moderate or vigorous exercise, but simply if someone spent most of the day being sedentary. Avoiding a sedentary lifestyle can have dramatic effects on your brain health by maintaining the integrity of your white matter throughout a lifespan.

Hippocrates was right when he said, “Walking is man’s best medicine.” Art Kramer has spent decades researching the brain benefits of physical activity. In a recent conversation, Kramer said that the best news about the latest findings is that you don’t have to be running marathons or winning triathlons to reap the brain benefits of physical activity. I agree. 

In our conversation, Art Kramer and I spoke about the difficulty of motivating people to break a sweat. He emphasized that the most exciting aspect of this new study is that it shows that the real enemy is sedentarism. This study indicates that just a little bit of movement every day helps preserve the integrity of your brain’s white matter.

Conclusion: Physical Activity Improves Brain Health and Cognitive Function at Any Age

These results come at a critical time. In a digital age, our society has become increasingly unfit and sedentary. As the father of a 6-year-old, I am passionate about public health and education policies that affect children's brain health and overall development.

As adults we can make daily lifestyle choices that include physical activity. Unfortunately, most children are subject to policies that tend to reduce or eliminate opportunities for physical activity during the school day.

Reducing the time and availability for children to be physically active during the school day could have negative impacts on the integrity of white matter tracts, which might reduce brain efficiency and could lead to lower test scores.

One of the most interesting findings from recent research is that white matter microstructure in the corona radiata is linked to mathematics performance (van Eimeren et al., 2008). Ironically, in an attempt to prepare children for the Common Core Standards and No Child Left Behind testing by forcing them to sit still in a chair we may actually be sabotaging a child's brain from optimizing white matter integrity.

Laura Chaddock-Heyman and co-authors sum up the importance of physical activity in the conclusion of their study when they say, “In fact, our study raises the possibility that greater white matter integrity, perhaps via greater myelination, is one pathway by which higher fit children excel in cognitive and academic performance compared to their less fit peers. Hopefully these findings will reinforce the importance of aerobic fitness during development and lead to additional physical activity opportunities in and out of the school environment.”

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201409/why-is-physical-activity-so-good-your-brain?tr=MostViewed

easy ways how to relieve Back Pain Through Reflexology

Again discomfort can be a common grievance that may be absolved as a result of reflexology remedy. Almost all rear discomfort can be non-specific as well as can’t always be tracked to a unique celebration, such as a personal injury. This type of rear discomfort often takes place occasionally. But whether or not your current rear discomfort can be irregular or maybe serious, you'll find reflexology approaches you may use to give oneself each short-term as well as long-term alleviation.

Foot Reflex Points for Relieving Back Pain

Treat lower back pain by applying pressure to the reflexes on the soles of your feet, the entire area around your heel and around your ankle, as well as the inner edge of each foot—the reflex points for your spine are located along the inside edges of your feet. Upper back pain is treated by applying reflexology to the reflex points for your shoulders and upper back, which are represented on the soles and tops of your feet just beneath the base of your toes.

Direct your attention first to your cervical spine. 

The spine reflex points follow the line of the inside edge of your foot; these reflex points are not on the sole of your foot.

• Support your right foot with your left hand and use your right thumb to work all of the spine reflexes that are located along the inside edge of your foot, from the tip of your big toe, all the way to your ankle.
• Starting at your toe, press your thumb firmly into the skin and inch or creep along the length of your foot so you are sure to press every reflex spot.

Work your sciatic nerve. 

The reflexes for the sciatic nerve are found just behind your ankle bone and continue up in a straight line for about 4" or 10 cm. Sciatica causes searing pain down the leg because the nerves are compressed, which can be triggered by a number of factors. Working the sciatic nerve reflex points will improve the blood supply to this area. Working the sciatic nerve reflexes every day for a few minutes is a great way to prevent a painful case of sciatica.

Take care of upper back pain by apply reflexology to the points that correspond to your upper back and shoulders.

•  Apply pressure with your thumb to the area just beneath the base of your toes, first on the sole of your foot and then on the top of your foot.
•  When you work the sole of your foot, you can also press your knuckles deeply into those reflexes.
•  The same reflex points for your shoulders and upper back that are located on the tops of your feet need a lighter touch because that area is more bony and sensitive.

Hand Reflex Points for Relieving Back Pain

Use hand reflexology whenever it is more convenient than applying foot reflexology or if your feet are injured or infected in any way.

Contact the reflex points for your spine by applying pressure with your thumb along the outside edge of your palm. Work on your right hand first and then switch to your left hand.

Work the reflexes that correspond with your shoulders by applying pressure to the area just beneath your pinky fingers on both the top and the palm of your hand.

   Always work the reflex points on both hands; your left shoulder reflexes are at the base of your left pinky and your right shoulder reflexes are at the base of your right pinky.

Tips

• Remember that not all reflexes for your back are located on the soles of your feet. Major reflexes can also be found on the top part of your feet and even on the bottom part of each leg.
• Make sure your lower back is supported when you are seated in a chair. If necessary, use a pillow or a rolled up towel to support your lower back.
• You can also work the reflex areas for your brain (toes and fingers) to encourage the release of endorphins, the natural “feel good” chemicals that help block pain.
• If you prefer, you can also apply reflexology to your ears to relieve back pain.
• Even if you are not suffering from chronic back pain, try applying reflexology to yourself for just a few minutes each day. The more often you do reflexology, the more beneficial it is. Think of it as a form of preventative maintenance.
• Support your head with a pillow so that your head is aligned with your spine.
• Consider visiting a professional reflexologist if you experience a lot of back pain. You can still do self-reflexology in between regular appointments. If you have a professional treatment, pay attention not only to the areas the reflexologist is working, but how much pressure is being applied. This will assist you in applying reflexology to yourself.
• Sleep on a firm mattress, preferably one that is less than 10 years old.
• Poor posture and lack of exercise can defeat all your efforts to relieve your back pain. Weak abdominal muscles fail to give enough support to your back, so consider strengthening those muscles. Take a short walk every day and use the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Consult your primary care physician if you have sustained a serious back injury.
• Everyone is different, so the time it takes for you to feel noticeable improvement depends on variable factors, such as your overall health, age, nutritional habits and even your stress levels. Just one reflexology session may relieve all of your back pain, or it may take as many as 10 sessions.

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