Spine health related to proper posture

A new study by the Ghent University in Belgium finds that proper posture is all important for spine health. Poor posture, more than specific problems in the spine itself, causes low back, neck, and thoracic spine pain. Participants in the study included 639 boys and 557 girls, in which global alignment and local spinopelvic characteristics were assessed as part of the postural examination. Results were published in the Spine Journal. The study authors write: "The orientation of gross body segments with respect to the gravity line appear superior to local spinopelvic features in terms of clinical importance, at least in the current pre-PHV cohort."

What it all means in simple English is that local issues in the spine: like pelvic tilt, lumbar lordosis, pelvic incidence, sacral slope, and thoracic kyphosis, are less important in causing back pain. These are bone diseases that you are born with, or develop because of genetic factors. These don't cause as much back pain as simple things like not keeping a proper posture, improper lifting, prolonged sitting, poor diet, lack of sleep and exercise.....YOU are ultimately responsible for your own health!

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Eating vegetables lowers stroke risk

Include more vegetables in your shopping bag, specially if you have a history of cardiovascular disease! A study by Susanne Rautiainen, at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, followed more than 31,000 women without cardiovascular disease and another 5,700 women with that history over a period of eleven years. The results were published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. For those who ate the most antioxidant-rich foods and had no history of cardiovascular disease, the risk of stroke was 0.83 times that of those who ate the least, the researchers said.

"Eating antioxidant-rich foods may reduce your risk of stroke by inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammation," said Susanne Rautiainen about the results. In the female subjects, 50% of the antioxidant capacity came from vegetables and fruit, 18% from whole grains, 16% from tea, and 5% from chocolate.

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Yoga pants too form-fitting for Catholic school

Yoga outfits are light and figure hugging, which makes them revealing. That's fine in yoga class, but what happens if you like wearing comfy yoga pants to school? The Ottawa Catholic School Board in Canada has banned girls from wearing form-fitting yoga pants:

Yoga pants like those by Lululemon are popular among girls at St. Joseph's High School, but administrators are demanding they wear a long top with them. Some of the girls are not happy about the requirement that carries the threat of suspension. Emily Devenz walked into school in her favourite Lycra pants — without the required long shirt. "They already banned ripped jeans, skinny jeans and jeggings, so I was pretty upset because that kills my whole wardrobe."

Mothers who dropped off their teens at the school Wednesday joined the debate. "I've seen it really form-fitting — that I can see the outline of everything on their body," Nicole Kocagda said. "It just adds too much temptation for the boys in the school."

But another mother Judy Masson wasn't so sure: "It's people's own judgment. My girls are tiny and kind of sporty, so I think they look cute in them."

Personally, I wouldn't wear them to school, workout clothing is for workouts but I still want the freedom of personal choice. And I do wear them at home. Hopefully the Catholic school won't ban the exercise of yoga as devilish!

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