Declines in death rates from most major causes — including heart disease and cancer — have pushed Americans’ life expectancy to a record 77.6 years. Women are still living longer than men, but the gap is narrowing.

Women now have a life expectancy of 80.1 years, 5.3 more than men. That’s down from 5.4 years in 2002 and continues a steady decline from a peak difference of 7.8 years in 1979, the National Center for Health Statistics said Monday in its annual mortality report.

Research indicates there also is an increase in active life expectancy, said Mary A. Salmon, a sociology professor at the University of North Carolina.

“It’s not that we’re having a lot of very old, sick people,” she said in a telephone interview.

She added, “There has been lots of speculation on how this will affect Social Security, of course.”

Indeed, a major debate topic in Washington and elsewhere is President Bush’s plan to change Social Security, which he says is facing a financial crisis caused by increasing life expectancy, lower birth rates and aging baby boomers.

The total number of deaths in the United States in 2003 was 2,443,908, an increase of 521 reflecting a growing overall population.

Most age groups saw a decline in mortality rates. Infant mortality, which increased to 7 per 100,000 in 2002 — the first such rise in decades — was 6.9 in 2003, a change the agency said was not statistically significant.

Americans still trail other countries. While the overall life expectancy increase to 77.6 was good news, Americans still trail many other countries, according to statistics from the World Health Organization.

In 2002 figures, Japan had the longest life expectancy at 81.9 years, followed by Monaco, 81.2, San Marino and Switzerland, 80.6, Australia, 80.4, Andorra, 80.3, and Iceland, 80.1.

Other countries topping the United States include Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain and the United Kingdom.

In 2003, both of the two largest killers of Americans saw declines.

The death rate from heart disease decreased from 240.8 per 100,000 in 2002 to 232.1 in 2003. The cancer death rate declined from 193.5 to 189.3 per 100,000.

Among other major killers, the death rate for stroke dropped 4.6 percent, the death rate from chronic respiratory diseases 0.7 percent, flu and pneumonia 3.1 percent, accidents 2.2 percent and suicides 3.7 percent.

On the other hand, the death rate for Alzheimer’s disease was up 5.9 percent, for hypertension 5.7 percent, Parkinson’s 3.4 percent and kidney disease 2.1 percent.

The increase in Parkinson’s deaths moved it into the top 15 causes of death in the United States, one of the few surprises in the report, according to Robert N. Anderson, chief of the mortality statistics branch at the center. Parkinson’s replaced murder among the top causes of death.

Among whites the death rates per 100,000 people declined 2.1 percent for men and 1.2 percent for women; among blacks the rates were down 2.5 percent for men and 2.4 percent for women; Hispanic males had a 4.2 percent drop compared with 1.8 percent for Hispanic women.

Breakfast

• I take 2 Omega 3  softgel capsules with a large glass of water.

• 3-4 egg whites scrambled with 1-1.5 cups of chopped vegetables. 
• Two tablespoons of salsa. 
• One half an orange or one tangerine or one half grapefruit.

 Or

• 1 cup sugar free oatmeal
• One half-cup nonfat milk.

• One half an orange or one tangerine or one half grapefruit.

 Or

• 1-cup low-fat cottage cheese or 1 cup nonfat yogurt (watch for sugar).
• One half an orange or one tangerine or one half grapefruit.

Snack

Snacks must be a protein and carbohydrate combination.  Typically I have a piece of string cheese with an Apple or pear.  You can have 1 ounce of sliced turkey or chicken (healthy choice) you can also have one half cup of cottage cheese.  Sometimes I’ll eat sliced green peppers, celery or cucumbers (I find these filling). 

Lunch

For lunch I try to eat my biggest meal and I always try to have a salad (when possible).

• 3-4 ounces of tuna, chicken, fish or turkey.
• Large green salad with vegetables.
• One serving of fruit.

 Second snack of the day (very important)Snacks must be a protein carbohydrate combination.  Typically I have a piece of string cheese with an Apple or pear.  You can have 1 ounce of sliced turkey or chicken (healthy choice) you can also have one half cup of cottage cheese.  Sometimes I’ll eat sliced green peppers, celery or cucumbers (I find these filling).  

Dinner

• 3-4 ounces of tuna, chicken, fish or turkey.
• 1-1 .5 cups of vegetables (usually broccoli or spinach).
• Salad
• One quarter of a cup of salsa or spaghetti sauce
• A piece of fruit for dessert

Desert

 If I am really craving dessert I will take one scoop of protein powder and a half a glass or 1 glass of nonfat milk with four or five frozen strawberries and 4-5 ice cubes then mix it in a blender and drink.  I use sugar-free chocolate flavored protein powder.  I love chocolate. I take my calcium ( 600 mg calcium with 200 iu’s Vit D)  tablet before bed with a large glass of water I weigh myself every day, I know most people say once a week or twice a week but for me personally I find it motivating.  If I have had a good drop in weight it makes me want to exercise more.  If my weight loss has been slower or not as good as I expect it makes me eat better or less.  So I am able to use the scale to my advantage for motivation. I also take my multiple vitamins every day (Wellness Pack).  

My diet started the week before Thanksgiving.  I weighed myself and was amazed to find out I had reached 232 pounds.  So on Thanksgiving Day I started my new program.

Most of my readers, patients, friends and family know that I run The Beverly Hills Comprehensive Medical Group.  I am a chiropractor and work with three medical doctors, and a physical therapist.  I have a very successful Beverly Hills practice that includes the usual celebrities, agents and managers.

I feel I should give you some background on my eating and exercise program.  I spared no expense designing this program.  I own a gym with personal trainers, I hired a dietitian I had my  assistants doing research.  I read various books and talked to some of the best celebrity personal trainers in Los Angeles.

My exercise experience comes from many avenues.  One of my close friends is Valerie Waters she has trained every major celebrity Cindy Crawford to Jennifer Gardner.  I had the fantastic experience of working with Jackie Warner the TV show work out and Julian Michaels from the biggest loser.  They both trained their private clients in my office for approximately 1 year before they opened Sky Sport in Beverly Hills.

My personal nutritionist/dietitian is Hermien Lee, R.D.M.S. I also read Michael Thurmond’s body makeover, Dr. Sears zone and anti-inflammatory books, protein power, Atkins, Dean Ornish’s book, the South Beach diet, Body For Life, the glycemic index diet, the cover model diet and Abs Diet. I subscribe to the burn the fat newsletter (Tom Ventno) and the ultra metabolism newsletter (I’ve also read both their books).

Part of my eating habits have been modified with the help of patients who were bodybuilders, fitness models and competitive fitness coaches.

Most of my vitamin supplementation information comes from Dr. Sears, Dr Mark Hymen, Dr Perricone and Bill Phillips’s book on supplementation.

 My Goal weight for Feb 25, 2008 was 195lbs my actual weight was 193lbs I have since added 4 lbs of muscle and lost 2lbs more of body fat so todays weight with shoes, clothes glasses and my watch is 196lbs.

 My Body fat was 29.4% on November 25, 2007.  Today it’s at 16.4%.  I know everybody says you need single digit body fat or below 12% to see your abs but I can see them now.

232 -195= 37lbs 

I will try to post on Wednesday but until now try writing down everything that you eat.  Everything that passes through your lips gets written down, you will be amazed at how much and what you eat each day.

Yours in health, Daniel Jacobsen, DC

clinic administrator of the Beverly Hills comprehensive Medical Group

The term sciatica describes the symptoms of pain and possibly tingling, numbness or weakness that travels from the low back through the buttock and down the large sciatic nerve in the back of the leg. The sciatica Nerve is the largest longest nerve in the body. Sciatic pain is caused when a nerve root in the lower spine is pinched or irritated, and is commonly caused by a lumbar herniated disc, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease or spondylolisthesis. The clinical diagnosis of sciatica is referred to as a “radiculopathy”, meaning that a disc has protruded from its normal position in the vertebral column and is putting pressure on the nerve root in the lower back, which forms part of the sciatic nerve.Sciatica occurs most frequently in people between 30 and 50 years of age. Often a particular event or injury does not cause sciatica, but rather it may develop as a result of general wear and tear on the structures of the lower spine. The vast majority of people who experience sciatica get better with time (usually a few weeks or months) and find pain relief with non-surgical treatments.

Description of sciatica

For some people, the pain from sciatica can be severe and debilitating. For others, the pain might be infrequent and irritating, but has the potential to get worse. Usually, sciatica only affects one side of the lower body, and the pain often radiates from the lower back all the way through the back of the thigh and down through the leg. Depending on where the sciatic nerve is affected, the pain may also radiate to the foot or toes.One or more of the following sensations may occur as a result of sciatica:·         Pain in the rear or leg that is worse when sitting·         Burning or tingling down the leg·         Weakness, numbness or difficulty moving the leg or foot·         A constant pain on one side of the rear·         A shooting pain that makes it difficult to stand up·         Low back pain may be present along with the leg pain, but usually the low back pain is less severe than the leg pain.

If you have Sciatica over the next week I will post your options.

Thanks for reading,

Dr Dan

According to Clayton Skaggs, DC, the study’s chief author, 85 percent of women surveyed reported that they had not received treatment for their musculoskeletal pain, and of the small percentage who perceived that their back complaints were addressed, less than 10 percent were satisfied with the symptom relief they obtained. 

“Based on the findings of this study, doctors of chiropractic and other health care professionals need to expand the musculoskeletal care available during pregnancy, especially in underserved populations,” Dr. Skaggs said.  “As a proactive step, health professionals should consider including back pain screening as part of early obstetrical care to help identify musculoskeletal risk factors and allow for early education and/or treatment.” 

Researchers surveyed more than 600 women. Surveys were offered to all obstetrical patients and were designed to collect information about pregnancy-related pain and quality of life issues.  Of those women who responded to the survey, two-thirds reported back pain and nearly half of all women reported pain at two or more locations, including pelvic pain and mid-back pain. 

The study findings suggest that pregnant women with back pain are predisposed to sleep disturbances.  In the survey, close to 80 percent of women reporting sleep disturbances had back pain, whereas only 8 percent of women without pain reported problems sleeping.  More alarming was the significant relationship between reports of musculoskeletal pain and the use of pain medication.  Three-fourths of the women who reported pain also described use of pain medication. 

“We saw a direct association between sleep deficiency and back pain,” the authors said.  “These results raise the question of whether or not the high incidence of pain medication use reflects a lack of education about potential risks of medications or more an inability for the pregnant women to cope with the pain.”

The study’s authors also found a relationship between pain in a previous pregnancy and pain in the current pregnancy.  Similar to the results of other studies, researchers found that 85 percent of women who experienced pain in a previous pregnancy reported pain during their current pregnancy. 

The study was the result of on-going collaboration between Logan College of Chiropractic and the Department of Obstetrics at Washington University School of Medicine. 

Spinal fractures due to osteoporosis often occur while doing something that causes relatively minor trauma to the spine, such as opening a window, an insignificant fall, or twisting while lifting. Advanced cases of osteoporosis can even lead to a vertebral fracture with routine activities that would normally not cause any trauma, such as sneezing, coughing or turning over in bed.

Vertebral fractures are usually followed by acute back pain, and may lead to chronic pain, deformity (thoracic kyphosis, commonly referred to as a dowager’s hump), loss of height, crowding of internal organs, and loss of muscle and aerobic conditioning due to lack of activities and exercise. A combination of the above problems from vertebral fractures can also lead to changes in the individual’s self-image, which in turn can adversely affect self esteem and ability to carry on the activities of daily living.

It’s important to note that fractures from osteoporosis don’t just occur in the elderly, they can also occur in people as young as 40 or 50 years old. Because osteoporosis is a “silent” disease, meaning that there are typically no symptoms until a fracture occurs, it is not uncommon for someone with back pain to be unaware of the fact that she has actually fractured a vertebra (or multiple vertebrae) in her spine.

This article provides an overview of vertebral compression fractures caused by osteoporosis, including symptoms and diagnosis.

Osteoporosis is the main cause of vertebral fractures
Osteoporosis is fairly common disease, and is especially common in postmenopausal women. In fact, it is estimated that approximately 25 percent of all postmenopausal women in the United States have had a vertebral compression fracture.¹ Osteoporosis also occurs in men, but is far more prevalent in women—approximately four times as many women have low bone mass, or osteoporosis, as men.

Osteoporosis causes bones to thin and become more brittle and weak. When the bones in the spine weaken they can break or cave in under normal pressure. The thinning bones can collapse during normal activity, leading to a spinal fracture. These compression fractures can cause a great deal of pain and can permanently alter the shape and strength of the spine.

The type of break in the spine that is typically caused by osteoporosis is called a compression fracture, usually defined as a vertebral bone in the spine that has decreased at least 15 to 20% in height due to fracture (as seen on an x-ray). These compression fractures can occur in vertebrae anywhere in the spine, but they tend to occur most commonly in the upper back (thoracic spine), particularly in the lower vertebrae of that section of the spine (e.g. T10, T11, T12). They rarely occur above the T7 level of the spine.

With a compression fracture caused by osteoporosis, the fracture usually occurs in the front of the vertebra, collapsing the bone in the front of the spine and leaving the back of the same bone unchanged. This results in a wedge shaped vertebra. Because the majority of damage is limited to the front of the vertebral column, the fracture is usually stable and rarely associated with any nerve or spinal cord damage.

Unlike many other conditions that can be treated before a serious complication develops, usually a fracture is the first sign that someone has osteoporosis. By the time a fracture occurs, the osteoporosis is usually advanced and the individual is then susceptible to more vertebral fractures.

The medial collateral ligament (MCL), a ligament that supports the knee joint. Each year in the United States there are more than 20 million reported ligament injuries, and MCL injuries are the most common. They also are the most common injuries seen in competitive and recreational sports.

It’s not clear exactly how many MCL injuries occur annually because many go unreported.  “A lot of MCL injuries never make it to an emergency room because patients will have a sore knee but don’t seek treatment,” says Rick W. Wright, M.D., associate professor of orthopaedic surgery and a senior investigator on the MCL study.  

The researchers say athletes who smoke should keep these findings in mind before driving for a lay-up, sliding into second base or lacing up a pair of ice skates.  The soft tissue healing that occurs following ligament injuries occurs in stages.

There is an immediate pooling of blood near the injury, the sort of hemorrhaging that will cause swelling right away. This initial response is followed by several days of inflammation, in which cells called macrophages flock to the injury site and secrete substances called cytokines and chemokines. Those, in turn, recruit more cells to assist in healing. That process of cellular proliferation and synthesis lasts for several days to several weeks. The final stage of healing involves remodeling of the tissue and can continue for months and even years.  

Between 20 and 25 percent of the U.S. population smokes. Wright and Sandell say that although the prevalence of smoking among athletes is slightly lower, a significant percentage of recreational and even professional athletes continue to smoke.