Downtown Chiropractic Newsletter

Exercise: The Ultimate Anti-Aging Pill

Anti-aging health care is a new field, which due to the increase in aging population, will influence human life for generations to come. Chiropractors are often the first health care professional a patient will visit with early signs of aging, such as stiff arthritic joints or aching backs. The evolution in anti-aging is perfect for the chiropractic patient, as they are already provided with adjustments, nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle changes.

One of the first recommendations is exercise. Many people assume that getting fatter, weaker and stiffer is inevitable with age. A growing body of research, however, suggests that much of the decline attributed to aging actually comes from being sedentary, and that regular exercise can help people remain healthy and independent as they get older.

An intriguing study documenting the "anti-aging" effect of physical activity comes from the adult exercise research program at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, where exercise physiologists collected data on nearly 1,000 adults who have undertaken regular exercise programs. The results show a dramatic decrease in the age drop that occurs in the normal population that does not exercise.

As many gerontologists and researchers have found, exercise is the closest thing to an anti-aging pill that exists. People who are physically fit, eat a healthy, balanced diet and take nutritional supplements can measure out to be 10 to 20 years younger biologically than their chronological age. This is what wellness is all about. A well person can be free from mental and physical disease and degeneration for years longer than an unhealthy individual. Exercise is an extremely important part of achieving this "wellness".

The health-related benefits of exercise are:

• Improves immune system functioning.
• Weight loss
• Helps in the management of stress.
• Improves quality of sleep.
• Improves body posture.
• Reduces anxiety.
• Helps improve short-term memory.
• Helps alleviate depression.
• Helps alleviate low back pain.
• Improves mental alertness and reaction time.
• Improves physical appearance.
• Improves self-esteem.
• Decreases resting heart rate.
• Helps in relaxation.
• Sharpens dynamic vision and controls glaucoma.
• Reduces risk of developing Type II (non insulin dependent) diabetes.
• Assists in quitting smoking.
• Slows the rate of joint degeneration (osteoarthritis).
• Reduces risk of heart disease.
• Improves the body's ability to use fat for energy during physical activity.
• Helps relieve the pain of tension headaches.
• Increases maximal oxygen uptake.
• Increases muscle strength.
• Helps preserve lean body tissue.
• Reduces risk of developing high blood pressure.
• Increases density and breaking strength of ligaments and tendons.
• Increases levels of HDL cholesterol and reduces LDL cholesterol.
• Reduces risk of developing colon cancer.
• Reduces risk of developing prostate cancer.
• Reduces risk of developing breast cancer.
• Reduces risk of developing stroke.
• Helps relieve constipation.
• Protects against "creeping obesity" -- slow weight gain that occurs with age.
• Improves blood circulation, resulting in better functioning organs, including the brain.
• Increases productivity at work.
• Improves balance and coordination.
• Helps to retard bone loss as you age, thereby reducing your risk of developing osteoporosis.
• Improves general mood state.
• Helps in maintaining an independent lifestyle.
• Increases overall health awareness.
• Improves overall quality of life.

This article can be found in the ChiroWeb Archives

Newsletter and article archive:

• Early Predictors of Lumbar Spine Surgery after Occupational Back Injury
  
• Spinal manipulation compared with back school and with individually delivered physiotherapy for the treatment of chronic low back pain
  
• Pilot Study Suggests Chiropractic Reduces Health Care Costs, Need for Surgery
  
• Relief for Aching Backs: Consumer Reports May 2009
  
• Chiropractic and Children: Shown to be Safe
  
• Long-Term NSAIDs May Not Be Useful for Osteoarthritis
  
• Study Compares Medication, Acupuncture, and Spinal Manipulation for Chronic Spinal Pain
  
• Chiropractors rejoice: Study hints at benefit of chiropractic for back pain
  
• Study Compares Medication, Acupuncture, and Spinal Manipulation for Chronic Spinal Pain
  
• Vitamin E -- The REAL Truth
  
• Efficacy of preventive spinal manipulation for chronic low-back pain
  
• Cracking the Problem of Back Pain
  
• Getting an accurate back pain diagnosis
  
• Exercise: The Ultimate Anti-Aging Pill
  
• A Randomized Trial of Combined Manipulation, Stabilizing Exercises, and Physician Consultation Compared to Physician Consultation Alone for Chronic Low Back Pain
• Objective Physiologic Changes and Associated Health Benefits of Chiropractic Adjustments in Asymptomatic Subjects