Human beings were designed to move…walk, run, climb, lift, hunt, and gather. Contemporary man has suffered greatly from a technologically driven inactive and sedentary lifestyle. Inactivity is associated with many health problems; obesity, adult-onset diabetes, high blood pressure to name a few. The problems associated with lack of movement are many:
The more you move your body, the more you colon moves! A regular and consistent exercise and activity regime, results in a more consistent bowel schedule, especially with age. Healthy muscle tone in your abdominal muscles and diaphragm is also the key to moving waste through your digestive tract.
Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and many inflammatory or auto-immune diseases can cause achy and stiff joints. However, even healthy joints can also stiffen when you don’t use them enough. Put them to work so they don't get tight and cause pain.
All muscles get weak from lack of use, including the muscles that help your lungs expand and contract as you breathe if you don’t work them out regularly. The less exercise or activity you do, the more you experience shortness of breath, even during easy daily tasks.
Physical problems are not the only complication of inactivity. A lack of movement can also increase feelings of anxiety and depression. Aerobic exercises like walking, biking, swimming, or running, have been proven to stimulate endorphins to boost and steady your mood, and even improve your self-esteem.
Many studies have found that regular movement improves energy. Exercise helps deliver oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. When you sit or are inactive, tissues are not getting the same amount of fuel they need to keep you going.
Movement stimulates your metabolism. Hyperactive people burn more calories…just by fidgeting! Even if you are not hyperactive, the more active you are, the more calories you burn each time you move.
One of the first recommendations sleep doctors make to their patients suffering from insomnia is exercise. When you keep a regular exercise routine, you fall asleep faster, and you sleep deeper once you drift off.
Regular exercise tells your body to make more chemicals called growth factors. They boost blood vessel production in your brain. The more blood that gets to your brain, the better you can think, remember, and make decisions.
Spending most of your time sitting raises your risk of heart disease, in great part due to the fact that partly you’re more likely to have high blood pressure. This is a big risk factor for heart issues like coronary artery disease and heart attack.
When physical activity is a regular part of your life, your body has an easier time keeping your blood glucose under control. Exercise can stabilize blood sugar levels and keep you out of the type 2 diabetes danger zone.
When your core muscles are weak from lack of use, they can’t support your back the way they should. This makes it much easier to tweak your back muscles during everyday movements like standing or reaching. Pilates, yoga, and other exercises that use stretching are good for building a stronger back. Schedule an appointment with a good orthopedic and sports PT.
Logically, one might think that you’d be hungry more often if you exercised more, but the opposite is usually true. Aerobic exercise like biking, swimming, walking, and running can actually decrease your appetite because it changes the levels of certain “hunger hormones” in your body.
Studies show the more moderate activity you get, the lower your chance of catching a cold or other germs. When you make exercise a habit, your immune system gets stronger.
If your skin looks duller than usual, a lack of movement may be to blame. Some studies show that moderate exercise boosts your circulation and your immune system, which helps your skin keep that youthful glow.
SOURCE: WebMD
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This article is not intended as a substitute for medical treatment. If you have questions related to your medical condition, please contact your family physician. For further inquires related to this topic email: drpmackarey@msn.com
Paul J. Mackarey PT, DHSc, OCS is a Doctor in Health Sciences specializing in orthopaedic and sports physical therapy in Scranton and Clarks Summit. Dr. Mackarey is in private practice and is an associate professor of clinical medicine at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. For all of Dr. Mackarey's articles, visit our exercise forum!
World COPD Day 2022 is Wednesday November 16th! The purpose of this two part series on lung disease is to raise the level of awareness for the prevention and treatment of this disease.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has become the fourth leading cause of death and is one of the only major chronic diseases which has seen an increase in mortality rates. COPD includes emphysema, chronic bronchitis and asthma.
Patients with COPD suffer from progressive shortness of breath, cough, wheeze, and sputum production. Most patients with emphysema have been cigarette smokers.
Patients with emphysema develop obstruction to airflow as a result of narrowing of bronchial tubes due to excess mucous, smooth muscle constriction, and destruction of lung tissue. Eventually, the lungs become over distended, which leads to overexpansion of the chest itself. This process leads to the so-called ''barrel chest'' appearance of patients with advanced COPD.
The most common symptom of COPD is shortness of breath. Initially the patient complains of shortness of breath only with exertion, but symptoms progress over time to include difficulty breathing, even at rest. Eventually the disease worsens to the point that oxygen is required and the patient may become severely disabled.
Treatment of COPD starts with smoking cessation, and, when symptomatic, patients are started on inhaled bronchodilator medications. Some of these medications include albuterol, ipratropium, titotropium, and inhaled steroids. Long-acting bronchodilators such as formoterol or salmeterol and theophylline medications may be added. Oxygen is added when the patient's own oxygen level falls to a certain point. In fact, oxygen is the only therapy that has been shown to prolong the life of patients with COPD.
Over time, patients with COPD decrease their level of activity due to the sensation of shortness of breath. This downhill slide eventually leads to a very sedentary existence. Recent studies have shown that COPD not only affects the lungs, but is a condition which affects the diaphragm and the peripheral muscles. Patients with COPD have been shown to have abnormal limb muscles as a result of deconditioning and systemic inflammation.
Pulmonary rehabilitation has been shown in numerous studies to decrease the shortness of breath associated with COPD. Exercises to strengthen the arms are helpful to assist patients in performing activities of daily living such as combing hair, cooking, and reaching objects above their heads. Walking and riding a stationary bike are helpful to exercise the leg muscles, especially the large thigh muscles. Despite the fact that exercise programs may not improve lung function, the patients overall level of function are almost always improved.
Patients who participate in rehab programs have less shortness of breath, are less likely to be hospitalized, and have improved functional capacity. These patients have lower rates of healthcare utilization, and improved overall health status and quality of life scores. The ideal pulmonary rehabilitation program includes smoking cessation training, breathing and relaxation exercises, nutritional information, and training in proper use of medications. The most important feature of a pulmonary rehab program, however, is aerobic exercise involving the arms and legs.
Pulmonary rehabilitation is an integral part of the treatment of a patient with
COPD, and should be considered in any patient who can tolerate exercise. A cardiac stress test should be done to ensure that there are no occult coronary artery blockages or cardiac rhythm abnormalities.
In summary, COPD is a growing cause of disability, morbidity, and mortality. Medications, oxygen, and pulmonary rehabilitation can help to improve symptoms and quality of life. The combination of bronchodilator medications with pulmonary rehabilitation is the most effective approach when treating patients with COPD. Next week, in Lung Disease - Part II, learn more about pulmonary rehab for patients with COPD to improve their functional status.
Guest Columnist: Dr. Gregory Cali, DO – is a pulmonologist (lung doctor) in Dunmore, PA.
Visit your doctor regularly and listen to your body.
Keep moving, eat healthy foods, and exercise regularly
NEXT MONDAY – Read Dr. Paul J. Mackarey “Health & Exercise Forum!” COPD Part II – Exercise with COPD.
This article is not intended as a substitute for medical treatment. If you have questions related to your medical condition, please contact your family physician. For further inquires related to this topic email: drpmackarey@msn.com
Paul J. Mackarey PT, DHSc, OCS is a Doctor in Health Sciences specializing in orthopaedic and sports physical therapy. Dr. Mackarey is in private practice in downtown Scranton, PA and is an associate professor of clinical medicine at GCSOM.
See all of Dr. Mackarey's articles at www.mackareyphysicaltherapy.com/forum
Lung Cancer is a deadly disease. Until recently, a chest X-ray, often used only after patients developed symptoms, discovered the disease when it was in its late stages. Over the past few years, however, an effective and safe screening test has been developed and those who are at high risk for lung cancer can now be screened annually using low-dose spiral CT scans.
FACT 1: Each year over 250,000 people in the United States are newly diagnosed with lung cancer.
FACT 2: 90% of individuals who have lung cancer will eventually die of the disease, making lung cancer the most deadly cancer in the United States for both men and women.
FACTS 3: 85% of all lung cancers are caused by smoking.
FACT 4: According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, 22% of people aged 18 years and older residing in Northeastern, PA smoke.
FACT 5: The best prevention measures are; not smoking or using tobacco products, and avoid second-hand smoke or high air pollution environments.
One of the reasons for the high mortality rate in lung cancer is that the disease is often not discovered until it is advanced and treatment options are limited. Some of the most common signs and symptoms of lung cancer are easily mistaken either for a mild illness or for things such as “smoker’s cough”. By the time many patients are diagnosed, their disease is advanced and may involve lymph nodes or other organs.
For some cancers, there are established screening tests that help to identify these cancers at an earlier stage. For example, routine screenings through colonoscopies, mammograms, and pap smears are well established and have saved thousands of lives. Historically, lung cancer has not had such a screening test. This however, is about to change. This past summer, the United States Preventative Task Force (USPTF), an independent committee charged by congress to evaluate the most current data and make recommendations for disease screening, released a draft of a new proposal for a lung cancer screening test.
The USPTF now recommends that all persons who are at high risk for lung cancer should be screened annually using low-dose spiral CT scans. High risk persons are identified as those who are between the ages of 55 and 79, who have a history of 30 pack years or more of smoking, and who are either still smoking or who have quit within the last 15 years. A “pack year” is defined as smoking 1 pack of cigarettes a day for a year. For example, a person could have 30 pack years of smoking if they smoke 1 pack of cigarettes a day for 30 years. Similarly, they could have a 30 pack year history by smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a day for 15 years.
CT, or computed tomography, scans are a form of three-dimensional imaging used by clinicians to visualize the organs and other anatomy of patients. The scan can detect abnormalities on a patient’s lung with much earlier and with greater sensitivity than an x-ray. Much like a mammogram, low-dose CT scans do not diagnose cancer but are a way to identify patients with abnormalities that need to be investigated further for the possibility of cancer. This new screening test will allow physicians to see possibly cancerous abnormalities of the lung before the disease can spread and become impossible to cure. The scan is non-invasive and generally considered very safe. Low-dose CT scans carry about 5 times less radiation than traditional high-dose CT scans and are equivalent to about 15 x-rays.
It is projected that this new screening practice will save the lives of between 15 and 20% of those diagnosed with lung cancer by detecting cancers before they can progress to the point that they are resistant to medical treatment. The draft of the new proposal for lung cancer screening that the USPTF released this summer was based off of a landmark article in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2011. Once the final document is published, clinicians will be encouraged to adopt these screening practices and insurance companies will use these recommendations to adopt their policies regarding coverage for testing.
While this screening is a major step in the detection and treatment of lung cancer, it is not a substitute for quitting smoking. The best proven methods to prevent lung cancer and its deadly consequences is to not smoke, use other tobacco products, and avoid exposure to second-hand smoke.
If you or a loved one need help quitting tobacco products, you may contact your physician or call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit www.lung.org. For more information on the new lung cancer screening guidelines visit: www.cdc.gov
NOTE: These signs and symptoms can be attributed to many different causes and are not exclusive to lung cancer. Always discuss your symptoms with your physician.
Patients who fit all of the below criteria:
*A pack year is defined as 1 pack of cigarettes per day for a year
Medical Contributor: Sarah Bashaw, MD is a graduate of TCMC (presently GCSOM).
Medical Reviewer: Greg Cali, DO, Pulmonologist, Dunmore, PA
Read “Health & Exercise Forum” – Every Monday. This article is not intended as a substitute for medical treatment. If you have questions related to your medical condition, please contact your family physician. For further inquires related to this topic email: drpmackarey@msn.com
Paul J. Mackarey PT, DHSc, OCS is a Doctor in Health Sciences specializing in orthopaedic and sports physical therapy. Dr. Mackarey is in private practice and is an associate professor of clinical medicine at GCSOM.
For all of Dr. Mackarey's articles visit: mackareyphysicaltherapy.com/forum/
