Another snow storm and 6 inches of snow to remove Snow shovelers need to prepare themseves to prevent injury while performing this mundate task. Avoid repetitive bending and twisting while lifting the snow. A snow shovel full of wet snow can weigh more than 10 pounds. Push the snow straight ahead and don't throw it. Bend your knees and let your leg muscles do the work. Take frequent breaks to avoid fatique and injury. Wear layers of chothing to stay warm and wear boots with a good tread to avoid falling. Stop if you feel chest pain or shortness of breath.

Using some common sense and shoveling snow the right way can save your back.

A new study published in the December 2010 issue of JMPT reviewed the cost of care for common back pain conditions initiated with chiropractic and medical doctors as the first treating physician. Tennessee Blue Cross Blue Shield claims were reviewed retrospectively and it was determined that paid costs of low back care were 40% lower when care was initiated with a doctor of chiropractic compared with a medical treatment. Even when risk-adusting each patient costs to account for severity, paid costs for chiropractic patients were 20% lower than medical patients. This study demonstrates the value of chiropractic care at a critical time, when the Congress is attempting to reform our health care system and contain runaway costs in the United States.

Vigorous excercise before breakfast, produces the best results in preventing and treating diabetes, says a recent study from Leuven, Belgium, One of three Americans will become diabetic because of a high-calorie, high fat diet that leads to the cells of our bodies to stop responding to insulin. This is furthur compounded by lack of regular cardiovascular exercise. Over a period of time high blood sugar levels damages cell membranes leading to heart attacks, strokes, blindness and kidney damage. Fat is also deposited in your body and you gain weight. When you exercise after fasting, this prevents fat from being deposited in the muscles and helps muscles to make more glycogen or stored sugar for fuel. It has not been established whether athletes should train on a low carbohydrate diet because reduced stores of sugar in the muscles and energy for training may be counteracted by the gains of fasting.

On this first day of winter, it is time to think about the inevitable task of snow shoveling. Bad body mechanics can strain the lower back resulting in painful injuries to the muscles and joints. Use a shovel with a curved or adustable handle and a plastic blade. Pace yourself and when removing deep snow remove a few inches at a time. Take a break every 15 minutes. Bend at the hips not the back. Lift with your leg muscles keeping the back straight. Avoid repetitive reaching and twisting.

Patients often ask why we might want them to do rehab exercises as part of their treatment plan. Sometimes there is a bit of confusion because the exercises look relatively simple, and often do not use very much weight, if weights are used at all. So let me share with you the difference between "rehabiliation exercises", what we use in the office, versus "strength training" exercises, which are more common in a gym setting

First and foremost, according to Stedman's Medical Dictionairy, rehabilitation is "restoration of the ability to function in a normal or near normal manner, following illness or injury". So here are some of the differences between functional training and strength training according to Dr. Michael Schneider, PhD.

Functional Training:

• Trains movements, NOT individual muscles (like a bicep curl)
• Goal is to create stability, NOT make muscles bigger (like a body builder)
• Improve muscle coordination, NOT increase the amount of force from a muscle
• Uses posture to improve balance/control, NOT use heavy weights for strength gains

So many of our exercises might seem like they don't do much and that they are too simple to help, but they are actually very effective at restoring normal muscle and joint function, coordination, control and stability. This leads to better recovery and significantly decreases the chance that the problem that brought you to the office will happen again.