Should Exercise be prescribed? Plus Covid-19 update

The most used tool in the medical doctors office is the prescription pad.  In 2021, 4.9 billion prescriptions were filled in the United States for drugs and medications.  Add in prescriptions for diagnostic testing, lab work and physical therapy and the number of prescriptions increases substantially.  With all of the drug and testing prescriptions doctors made in 2021 you can see that the prescription pad is extremely important to medical practice.  There is one prescription that doctors should take the time to write on their prescription pad and give to you, but more than likely are not.  And that prescription is for daily exercise.

Muscle and fat cells are an extremely important part of how the body functions.  These two types of cells produce chemicals, help to control DNA and RNA, lower inflammation and improve metabolism.  There is a reason why people who sit for most of their day have a shorter life span than people who are active.  Moving increases circulation, prevents blood vessels from getting clogged which can help prevent heart attacks, stoke and even mental illness like dementia, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Daily physical activity has also been shown to help lower the risk of certain types of cancer including breast, prostate and colon cancer.  One of the best parts of exercise for health is the immediate effect exercise has on immune system function.  As you exercise, you body releases immune cells called killer cells which head out into the blood stream and search for viral and damaged cells.  According to research, after 2 minutes of exercise thousands of molecules become active, within in 10 minutes your body chemistry response begins.  Studies show that these changes last up to an hour after exercise affecting genes, immune cells, inflammation, blood sugar, fat, metabolism, tissue healing, inflammation, and more.  Primary care doctor Robert Sallis, MD, chair, American College of Sports Medicine's Exercise is Medicine Initiative, has stated that exercise is safer, more powerful, and more cost-effective than almost anything else that doctors prescribe.  The British medical journal, Lancet reported that 1 in 10 early deaths worldwide caused by diseases that aren't contagious can be traced back to physical inactivity.  One source says that walking briskly for 40 minutes a day could eliminate up to 70% of doctor visits.

Please don’t wait for your doctor to write exercise on his prescription pad, start exercising today.  It is as simple as walking.

Chiropractic and exercise:  A study published in the medical journal Spine found that chiropractic spinal adjustments plus exercise produced long term benefits for pain relief and functional improvements in body performance.  Studies have shown that chiropractic adjustments work best and are most effective when done in conjunction with a regular exercise program. Core exercises strengthen areas that support spinal health and can help prevent back and neck pain as well as improve how fast you recover with chiropractic care from muscle and skeletal conditions.

Covid-19 Update:  The CDC has acknowledged in a recent report that “surviving” covid-19 provides natural immunity not only to repeat infection but will also protect you from hospitalization and death.  The Covid-19 vaccine exposes the body to the Sars Covid spike protein. While actually contracting the virus, the body is not only exposed to the spike protein, but all parts of the virus which creates “a more robust immunity” than from the vaccine.

Covid-19 Treatment:  In April 2020, China added three Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formulas to its standard of care for COVID-19 including Sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua) which is a traditional plant-based medicine with antiparasitic, antiviral and anticancer properties. Studies show it is an effective remedy in the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 and cut hospitalizations down 85% when used in China.  FYI. Sweet Wormwood is available as an herbal tincture online.

Covid-19 Lockdowns:  12 European countries have rolled back covid restrictions and Israel is getting rid of its vaccine passport citing that the passport has not deceased indoor infections and should only be used for high risk places like nursing homes and hospitals.  Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke on Feb. 1 wrote a letter to the parliament’s epidemiology committee stating COVID was no longer a “socially critical disease.”  An endemic disease as opposed to a pandemic disease, circulates freely but is recognized as posing less of a threat to societies.   A recent analysis published by researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD found COVID lockdown measures implemented in the U.S. and Europe had almost no effect on public health.  “We find little-to-no evidence that mandated lockdowns in Europe and the United States had a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality rates,” the researcher wrote.  The researchers also examined shelter-in-place orders, finding they reduced COVID mortality only by 2.9%.

Atlantic County, NJ and Covid-19:  Covid cases have decreased from 5,437 new cases in a 14 day span to 3,046 new cases in the last two weeks. Our 7 day average cases reported is 217 cases per day.  Atlantic County has had 42 deaths in the last two weeks.    On 2/04/2022, there were a total of 2,256 people admitted in all of New Jersey’s hospitals for care of Covid-19 infections, down from last week’s number of 3,723.   Atlantic County has had 66,841 total cases of Covid-19.

Vaccine Informed Consent Information:   Informed consent means that the person to be vaccinated has to be informed about all the risks, the risk benefit ratios, the potential dangers and what is known about side effects. For example, informed consent takes place in all drug advertising.  Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System data released 1/28/21 by the CDC showed a total of 1,088,560 adverse vaccine reactions reported from all age groups following COVID vaccines, including 23,149 deaths. Serious injuries reported in this time period totaled 183,311. New Data for 5 to 11 years olds:  7,391 reported adverse reactions, 159 reported as serious, 3 deaths.  This week’s data for 12- to 17-year-olds show 28,449 total adverse events, including 1,609 rated as serious and 37 reported deaths among 12- to 17-year-olds.  Severe reactions in all age groups of anaphylaxis include 2,300 people, 3,878 reports of myocarditis and 12,864 reports of blood clotting disorders and 1560 heart attacks.  This week’s data for pregnancy /prenatal vaccination shows pregnant women had over 4,992 adverse events reported including 1,597 reports of miscarriage or premature birth.  VAERS is the primary government-funded system for reporting adverse vaccine reactions in the U.S. Reports submitted to VAERS require further investigation before a causal relationship can be confirmed. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database contains information on unverified reports of adverse events following immunization. Reports are accepted from anyone and can be submitted electronically.

Author

Dr J. Zimmerman, Chiropractor Dr. Zimmerman is a practicing chiropractor from Galloway, NJ with 30 years of chiropractic practice.