For most pregnant women, exercise is the last thing on their minds. After all, keeping slim while you’re expecting isn’t exactly the top priority — rather, it’s making sure your baby gets enough nutrients to grow. But in a small new study, researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand report that a mother’s regular aerobic exercise may be good for a growing fetus’ health — and may even help a baby get a healthier start in life.

The finding is a bit surprising, because exercise is known to lower the risk of insulin resistance — the precursor condition to diabetes. Although insulin resistance is a detriment in healthy adults, it turns out to be helpful for proper fetal development. Insulin-resistant individuals gradually lose their ability to respond to changing glucose levels in the blood; in pregnant women, the condition, which occurs when hormones produced by the placenta interfere with the proper function of insulin in the body, means nutrients get shunted to the growing baby. (If the condition gets severe, however, it can result in a temporary condition called gestational diabetes in the mother, which is associated with heavier babies and a higher risk of obesity in childhood.)

It’s an even more important message for overweight and obese mothers-to-be, who tend to deliver heavier babies (anything over about 8 lb. 12 oz., or 4 kg, is considered a high birth weight), who are then at higher risk of diabetes and obesity later in life. Those heavier children are then more likely to become overweight adults and in turn give birth to bigger babies. The goal, says Hofman, is to break the cycle of ever bigger generations of babies. According to his latest findings, exercise during pregnancy may be a safe and reliable first step; the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends 30 minutes a day for pregnant women, for as long as they are physically able.

Chiropractic for the Treatment and Prevention of Sports Injuries

Chiropractors have a longstanding history of treating musculoskeletal sports injuries.

Hoskins and Pollard used two groups of male semi elite Australian Rules football athletes, matched them in several ways and randomly placed them in one of two arms of the study. All received the usual and customary management and medical care. Half also received chiropractic care which consisted of both soft tissue and Chiropractic adjustments.

When chiropractic care was added to conventional management, there was a significant reduction in lower limb strain injuries, time missed as a result of knee injuries, lower low back pain, and there was improvement in health status.

Here’s the full study.

How does stress affect your spine? And how can Chiropractic help? Dr. Karlos answers these questions on NBC:

In a lengthy article published today in Public Library of Science Medicine (PLoSMed), researchers detail the results of four supplementary studies that were launched after an April 2009 school outbreak provided the first signal of an association between seasonal flu shots and pandemic flu illness. The studies, which took in about 2,700 people, found overall that the likelihood of needing medical attention for pandemic flu was 1.4 to 2.5 times greater among people who were vaccinated the previous fall.

…All four studies, the authors say, show that the seasonal flu vaccine was effective in that season, reducing cases of flu needing medical attention. But all four also show an increased risk of illness from pandemic flu among the vaccinated. The risks shown in the studies ranged from 1.19 to 3.20 times greater for those who received the seasonal vaccine than for those who did not.

Full Report

A Utah study of 31,000 patients found those with the lowest level of the sunshine vitamin also had an 80-per-cent greater risk of death.

Read the entire report here.

A recent study by the World Chiropractic Council on Women’s Health finds that in some cases, Chiropractic care is responsible for helping previously infertile women to become pregnant without fertility treatments or invasive procedures. Published by Dr. Madeline Behrendt, chairwomen of the council, the study could make landmark improvements in the way fertility treatments are administered to women all over the world.

Read the entire report here…

STUDY LOOKS AT CHIROPRACTIC FOR SHOULDER INJURIES

A new analysis shows that chiropractic care speeds healing of shoulder injuries.

According to the report, “this was a randomized controlled trial in a primary care setting in the Netherlands. A total of 150 participants were recruited from December 2000 until December 2002. All patients received usual care by the general practitioner.”

“In addition to usual care, the intervention group received manipulative therapy, up to 6 treatment sessions in a 12-week period. Twenty-four physical examination tests were done at baseline and after 6, 12, and 26 weeks.”

No significant difference was seen between the groups at 6 weeks. However, at 12 and 26 weeks it was evident that the patients receiving chiropractic care had reduced levels of shoulder and neck pain — and increased levels shoulder and neck mobility.

JMPT – February 2010;33:96-101.

New numbers released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that a very small but slightly growing number of women are making the same choice that Jacobs did. While less than 1 percent of all births in the United States take place outside the hospital, the number of those births taking place at home has increased by 3.5 percent between 2003-04 and 2005-06, according to the new report. The stats say there were 46,371 home births in 2003-04, and 49,438 home births in 2005-06.

Read the full report…