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HEALTHBEAT SHOW NOTES .... Episode #94 - Recorded April 27, 2007

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of HealthBeat, Chiropractic OnLine Today’s Health, News and informational Podcast.

In this week’s news:  We’ll Look At –  

• Walking to Stop Smoking

• COCSA Teams Up With CERV

• CMS clarifies guidelines for NPI deadline

• Aerobic Exercise Reduces Inflammation

• And Finally Paul Krugman stirs up the Medicare Debate

For HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

Welcome to HealthBeat Podcast #94, recorded April 27, 2007.  HealthBeat is Chiropractic OnLine Today’s radio program, providing current news and commentary about Chiropractic and Health.

This week’s Episode is sponsored by DaVinci Laboratories.  Please surf to our web site at www.ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the DaVinci link for your Health and Nutritional needs.

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And Now for some news ….

Walking to Stop Smoking

A short walk may help smokers curb tobacco cravings and other withdrawal symptoms, according to a meta-analysis.

A single session of even low intensity exercise significantly improved craving scores and doubled or tripled the time between cigarettes for smokers.

According to the study, the immediate effects of exercise compare well to sugar or nicotine-replacement therapy.

The results of the review found:

• All 12 studies comparing exercise with a control found a positive effect on at least one key outcome measure of cravings, withdrawal symptoms and smoking behavior.
• Nine of 10 studies comparing exercise with a control found a significant reduction on cravings with an effect size ranging from 0.29 for five minutes of seated isometric exercise to 4.6 for a brisk one-mile walk (mean overall effect size 1.1 at 10 minutes after exercise).
• Eight of the nine studies looking at withdrawal symptoms found a fairly consistent, significant reduction in at least two measures such as stress, anxiety, tension, poor concentration, irritability, and restlessness.
• Three of four studies looking at mood found improvements with exercise.
• Four studies reported a significant increase in net time to next cigarette by 24 (effect size 1.0), 8, 57 (effect size 1.2) and 35 minutes (effect size 0.85), respectively.
• The one study to include actual quitters during an 11-week cessation intervention found that exercise reduced negative mood, nicotine withdrawal and cigarette cravings in all weeks after the quit date.

While temporary abstinence among smokers is commonly used for these experiments, the severity of symptoms among these individuals may not be the same as those experienced by quitters.

The study concluded that exercise may also be important in managing withdrawal symptoms as well. Distraction was unlikely a primary mechanism since the effects lasted for up to 50 minutes, they said. Stress reduction and psychobiological mechanisms may be more likely explanations.

Further research into the mechanisms involved and in the setting of actual quit attempts will be needed since "this line of research is in its infancy," according to the researchers.

The review was partly supported by a research grant from the Advancing the Science to Reduce Tobacco Abuse and Nicotine Addiction program of the Canadian Tobacco Control Research Initiative.

As always, COTs HealthBeat recommends discussing all Exercise recommendations with a qualified healthcare professional.

Surf to our Show Notes for expanded coverage of this topic - http://www.addictionjournal.org/viewpressrelease.asp?pr=60

COCSA Teams Up With CERV

The Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA) is collaborating with the Chiropractic Emergency Response Volunteer (CERV) team to work with state associations to educate, certify, and prepare chiropractors to respond to local, state, or national emergencies.

COCSA is a national nonprofit federation comprised of 58 state chiropractic associations from across the country, while the CERV Team is a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing teams of chiropractic responders to be deployed during times of state and national disasters.

The development of the CERV team is the direct result of the chiropractic profession’s involvement with the Dallas Convention Center Medical Unit following Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

CERV will offer a basic disaster orientation and training program that is CEU-certified by Texas Chiropractic College. CERV offers reduced membership, training, and certification fees for members of state and national chiropractic associations.

Surf to our Show Notes for more information - http://www.chiroeco.com/news/2007/April/CERV.php

www.cocsa.org

CMS clarifies guidelines for NPI deadline

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will implement a contingency plan for covered entities (other than small health plans) who will not meet the May 23, 2007, deadline for compliance with the National Provider Identifier (NPI) regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996.

The final rule establishing the NPI as the standard health provider identifier for healthcare providers was published in 2004, and requires all covered entities to be in compliance with its provisions by May 23, except for small health plans, which must be in compliance by May 23, 2008.

The NPI eliminates the current need for multiple identifiers for the same provider. The NPI replaces all “legacy” identifiers currently being used, such as Medicaid provider IDs, individual plan provider IDs, UPINs, etc., and will be required for use on healthcare claims and other HIPAA transactions.

CMS made the decision to provide guidance on its enforcement approach after it became apparent that many covered entities would not be able to fully comply with the NPI standard by the deadline. This guidance will protect covered entities from enforcement action if they continue to act in good faith to come into compliance, as well as develop and implement contingency plans to enable them and their trading partners to continue to move toward compliance.

To apply for an NPI, visit the National Plan/Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) Web site at https://nppes.cms.hhs.gov/

Surf to our Show Notes for more information - http://www.chiroeco.com/news/2007/April/CMS.php

Aerobic Exercise Reduces Inflammation

A recent study led by Richard P. Sloan, Ph.D., professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, has shown why aerobic exercise promotes a healthy heart.

The study shows how exercise decreases inflammation, reducing the risk of atherosclerosis, a primary cause of heart disease. The research was conducted over a 12 week period using 46 healthy young adults.

Blood samples were taken and were analyzed for levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) which is the first step in the inflammation cascade. Lower levels of TNF were found in both groups who participated in moderate and high intensity aerobic exercise.

Dr. Sloan stated, these findings suggest strongly that exercise reduces the systemic inflammation that can lead to heart disease, also adding that this study is especially significant because the value of exercise has never been shown in TNF, and never in healthy adults who were not at high-risk for having heart disease.

Health Corner – In this edition of HealthBeat’s Health Corner, we present a discussion from the NY Times’ Paul Krugman, who talks about problems with the current debate over Medicare.

As always, please surf to our Podcast Show Notes at ChiropractiRadio.com for a full listing of web references mentioned in today’s show.

And remember - COT’s Healthbeat always recommends discussing any nutritional or exercise lifestyle modifications with a qualified healthcare professional.

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Finally, I leave you with the following quote:

"Life is like an onion: You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep."
– Carl Sandburg

For Chiropractic OnLine Today’s HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

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