DR. KEITH’S BLOG

We realize that there are other areas of health to cover, and here at the WPRC, we will begin to post articles on many subjects, as well as plans on treatment of maladies, home remedies and protocols of how to take care of injuries, and home rehabilitative techniques that are utilized by our clinicians and can be useful tools and reminders for everyone.

ScienceDaily (July 19, 2010) — Vitamin D surfaces as a news topic every few months. How much daily vitamin D should a person get? Is it possible to have too much of it? Is exposure to the sun, which is the body’s natural way of producing vitamin D, the best option? Or do supplements suffice?

In the July 2010 issue of Endocrine Today, a monthly newspaper published by SLACK, Inc., to disseminate information about diabetes and endocrine disorders, Anthony Norman, a distinguished professor emeritus of biochemistry and biomedical sciences and an international expert on vitamin D, notes that half the people in North America and Western Europe get insufficient amounts of vitamin D.

“Elsewhere, it is worse,” he says, “given that two-thirds of the people are vitamin D-insufficient or deficient. It is clear that merely eating vitamin D-rich foods is not adequate to solve the problem for most adults.”

Currently, the recommended daily intake of vitamin D is 200 international units (IU) for people up to 50 years old; 400 IU for people 51 to 70 years old; and 600 IU for people over 70 years old.

“There is a wide consensus among scientists that the relative daily intake of vitamin D should be increased to 2,000 to 4,000 IU for most adults,” Norman says. “A 2000 IU daily intake can be achieved by a combination of sunshine, food, supplements, and possibly even limited tanning exposure.”

While there is now abundant data on vitamin D and its benefits, Norman believes there is room for more study.

“The benefits of more research on the topic justifies why this field of research deserves additional governmental funding,” he says. “Already, several studies have reported substantial reductions in incidence of breast cancer, colon cancer and type 1 diabetes in association with adequate intake of vitamin D, the positive effect generally occurring within five years of initiation of adequate vitamin D intake.”

Because vitamin D is found in very few foods naturally (e.g. fish, eggs and cod liver oil) other foods such as milk, orange juice, some yogurts and some breakfast foods are fortified with it. The fortification levels aim at about 400 IU per day.

Norman, who holds the title of Presidential Chair in Biochemistry-Emeritus, has been researching vitamin D for nearly 50 years. In 1967, his laboratory discovered that the vitamin is converted into a steroid hormone by the body. Two years later, his laboratory discovered the vitamin D receptor (or VDR), an essential receptor for the steroid hormone form of vitamin D that is present in more than 37 target organs of the body that respond biologically to the vitamin.

“There is now irrevocable evidence that receptors in the immune, pancreas, heart-cardiovascular, muscle and brain systems in the body generate biological responses to the steroid hormone form of vitamin D,” he says.

MUSCLE PAIN FOLLOWING WHIPLSH INJURIES
One of the most common symptoms experienced after a motor vehicle accident, is head and neck pain especially when the occupant is struck from behind. Neck injuries associated with auto accidents have been studied for many years, recently a new study published in the prestigious medical journal Spine, was released that helped to explain the cause of this pain.
The impact experienced by an occupant in an auto accident produces a large amount of force over a very short period of time, lasting only milliseconds. A new research study explains that it is may be the short time frame that may play a larger role in neck injuries than once thought. When an occupant is struck from behind, the force travels from the back of the car through the occupant finally exiting through the front. In order to protect the body, the body muscles of the neck contract to prevent injury. The muscles have been shown to fire at 100 milliseconds post impact which is 25 milliseconds after the majority of damage has occurred to the ligaments in the neck. (1)
The conclusion of the study: The muscles of the neck fire too late in a rear end collision to prevent injury to the spine and ligaments.
Ligaments heal very slowly because they lack the blood supply that muscles have. Ligaments in the neck also do not get the rest needed due to the demands on the neck at we go about our daily activities. The muscles of the neck are required to support a greater portion of the weight of the head and therefore become tired and sore while supporting this weight.
When structures of the neck are injured, the once healthy tissue is replaced with scar tissue. This new tissue is not nearly as strong or flexible as its predecessor. Encouraging proper healing of these tissues requires maintaining the mobility through spinal manipulation and stretching. Once the injured areas become less painful, it is imperative to strengthen the supporting muscles that have been injured. These muscles will be responsible for supporting the neck and preventing exacerbations or flare ups.
Injuries in the neck can also produce symptoms of pain in areas other than the location of the injury, this is called referred pain. For example and injury that occurs in the neck from a motor vehicle collision can present at pain in the shoulder blade. Referral pain patterns have been mapped out in the neck by injecting a stimulus to a specific area in the spine with a stimulating agent and the patient is asked to identify any symptoms they are experiencing outside of the location of the injection.
Posted by Dr. Aaron Keith — Research Injuries on May 15, 2009

1. Vasavada AN, Brault JR, Siegmund GP. Musculotendon and fascicle strains in anterior and posterior neck muscles during whiplash injury. Spine 2007;32(7):756-765.