Important Facts About Health & Fitness You Should Know

Written by: Nick Jack

Category: 2014

on 24 February 2022

In one of my recent articles where I looked in detail the damaging effect diseases like Dementia and Alzheimer's are having on our society I shared several important statistics and facts about how serious and prevalent this disease is. I had many people tell me they were shocked at how common this problem is and how it is on a steady rise, yet it is barely given a mention in the media. This made me think about how many times I come across facts and statistics that are very similar to this in other areas relating to health and fitness. Often when I am writing these long and detailed articles for this newsletter about complex or controversial topics I spend lots of time researching books, medical journals, and relevant website sites to find facts that paint a picture of what is going on. Many times I am actually trying to find information that goes against my opinion to challenge my bias and see if there is a better way. During this process I come across some very interesting things that I never knew. Some are great trivia conversations but some are very important facts that if they were common knowledge they would make many people think more seriously about the damaging lifestyle habits they choose to do. This article I share with you some of the most interesting facts I uncovered over the years. I call this the "DID YOU KNOW" series! These facts are similar to the top 10 myths debunked article I wrote last year, except these are facts as opposed to beliefs or opinions. Enjoy.

As I mentioned in the intro most of the interesting facts and statistics I uncover relating to health come from trying to find ways to discredit what I am trying to write. I can barely think of any health problem where exercise and healthy eating is detrimental. Perhaps a broken bone is about the only time rest is essential and trying to exercise on it is a poor choice. But once that bone has healed, exercise becomes critical in restoring joint mobility and muscle loss that comes from immobilizing the affected joint or limb.

Even for people suffering with deadly diseases like Cancer, exercise and healthy eating is a critical component of their treatment plan which I documented in great detail in this article - Cancer prevention is more important than ever

The one time I managed to find information from so called health experts to avoid exercise was with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), from articles as recent as 2002. People with MS were commonly advised to avoid tiring physical exercise in case it made their symptoms of MS worse! When really what was happening is people were getting worse from doing nothing. Luckily some sanity prevailed and this is no longer the case and exercise makes up a big part of the treatment program. You can see more about the article I published on this here - Why strength training is vital for MS

So if exercise and healthy eating has such a positive effect on almost every health problem why is it not given more focus and attention from the media, governments, or medical institutions who still try to solve everything with a magic pill or surgery?

Unfortunately, I do not have an answer to that. Is it more to do with the ignorance of the community at large, or the poor information we are being constantly fed by the media and medical science that they can find a "cure" for everything. If people had to choose between exercising consistently, eating healthy foods and adopting healthy lifestyle habits versus taking a magic pill, I know which choice many people would make.

A great discussion about this is in the book “Surgery the Ultimate Placebo” by Orthopedic Surgeon Dr Ian Harris and he explains how the media overly exaggerates modern science with medicine.
Dr Harris says this best in his book on page 56,

“The over representation of good news from medicine is a problem in the scientific literature, but that bias is magnified manifold in the media. I have seen media reports of supposed cures for things as cancer, dementia, and paraplegia. And the more advanced the science seems to be, the more the media love it.”

A great book and I highly suggest reading this as it will open your mind to the problems we see today and why our science is making us worse not better. I have covered the value of surgery many times before in several articles on back pain and also hip and knee pain if you want to see more information on that.

Anyway, let's get stuck into some of the interesting facts I have uncovered. Even though these facts seem unrelated or random, you will find each one flows onto the next and this is an important thing to remember when it comes to improving health. This is another reason why the modern medicine approach fails so many people for it loves to isolate and specialize in certain areas and fails to recognize the constant interaction between several systems of the body.

The more specialized we try to be the more ignorant to the entire body we become.

Let’s get started with the brain, or should I say, the three brains!

Deep down we all kind of know this is true and you do not need a science text book to tell you. Think of the times you have a "gut feel" about something or if you feel "sick in the stomach" if something bad happens. And with the heart, how do you feel when you are sad or heartbroken?

Each one of these brains can significantly influence the health of the entire body and the one thing that can throw all of them off the rails at the same time really quickly is STRESS! This is why stress is associated with so many chronic diseases. It may not be holding the gun when someone dies but make no mistake about it, it was the boss behind the trouble in more times than not.

What do you think is one of best ways to combat stress? You guessed it - EXERCISE! Sure meditation, Tai Chi, and other modalities are great too, but exercise has been proven to be one of the best ways to combat the damage of stress.

"Regular aerobic activity calms the body, so much that it can handle more stress before the serious response involving heart rate and stress hormones kick in. It raises the trigger point of the physical reaction. In the brain, the mild stress of exercise fortifies the infrastructure of our nerve cells by activating genes to produce certain proteins that protect the cells against damage and disease. It also raises our neurons stress threshold." - John Ratey MD

You can read more about this in the article - What you need to know about mental health and exercise

Always remember that stress disrupts your digestive system and when this happens it can lead to all sorts of health problems and significantly weaken your immune system which brings me to the next important fact you need to know.

Whenever we talk about stress the link to chronic pain is a serious problem and one of the most common problems is jaw pain from clenching.

This was a topic I was heavily researching this time last year to overcome a jaw problem I had been struggling with myself for several months. If you have ever suffered with jaw pain which is more commonly known as TMJD (temporomandibular joint disorder) you will know exactly how painful and disruptive to your daily life it can be. You will also know how frustratingly difficult it is to treat.

It is one of the most confusing joints to understand and is often misdiagnosed and mistreated as the symptoms can mimic other problems. Even the cause of the pain can differ greatly from one person to the next. Like all injuries, finding the “true” cause of the problem is critical for getting on top of this. The underlying cause is what drives the constant pain and dysfunction and until this is identified and changed you will not find any long term relief.

The TMJs are the two joints in front of each ear. The joints connect the lower jaw bone (the mandible) to the temporal bones of the skull on each side of the head. The muscles controlling the joints are attached to the mandible and allow the jaw to move in three directions: up and down, side to side, and forward and back. When intact, they are the only joints in the human body that work together as a unit.

When you open your mouth, the rounded upper ends of the mandible on each side of the jaw (the condyles) glide along the joint socket at the base of the skull. They slide back to their original position when you close your mouth. To keep this motion working smoothly, a soft tissue disc lies between the condyle and the socket. The disc absorbs the shock to the joint from chewing and other movements.

"This combination of complex synchronized and three-dimensional movements of the TMJ, makes it arguably the most complicated joint in the body."

There is no denying this, is one of the most used, most necessary, and perhaps most misunderstood set of joints in the body. The health of this joint is critical to the vital work of human life, including eating, talking, kissing, yawning, and even breathing. One thing I did not realize during my research was just how common this problem is.

In the book “The TMJ Healing Plan” by Cynthia Paterson she quotes a study by the New England Journal of Medicine that 40-75% of adults in the US report at least one sign of TMJ disorder!

You can read more about this in the article - What causes TMJ Disorder & Best Exercises To Treat Jaw Pain

The other thing stress does to our body is disrupt our digestive system and this drastically weakens our immune system which brings us to our next important fact.

I came across this important fact when researching ways to boost the immune system naturally. Many people think I looked this up for the Covid-19 hysteria but in fact this was something I researched way back in 2014 during a time I was very sick from a fasting diet I tried to help improve my gut health and rid my body of psoriasis.

What I found out was the health of our digestive system plays a MASSIVE role in how well you’re able to fight off these nasty germs. And what you eat or don't eat can have a direct impact on how quickly you recover from an infection and whether you catch the bug in the first place. The immune system needs a wide range of foods to absorb all the nutrients it requires and this explains how a poor diet can lead to constant illness.

Far too many people eat the same foods all the time and leave their body exposed to infections and bugs as their body remains starved of essential vitamins and minerals. Knowing what foods are good for gut health is essential as is eating slowly.

When food isn’t properly broken down into chyme, it can cause indigestion and other GI problems. Large food particles make it difficult for the small intestine to absorb food molecules and nutrients we need. This type of eating depletes our body of valuable vitamins and minerals which now exposes you to bugs and infections as the body's defence system is significantly compromised.

You will find some great articles to read about this topic in the articles below.

There is no doubting back pain is a big problem in the modern world. Our sedentary lifestyle, combined with our allopathic approach of merely treating symptoms, has led this injury to reach a point where 9 out of 10 adults now experience back pain at some point in their life. Only colds and flu beat low back problems for Doctor visits.

To paint a picture of how bad back pain really is here are some stats:
Statistics

In 2009 1 in 7 Australians (13.6%) reported having serious back problems—that’s 3 million people!

Over 2 in 5 people with back problems (44%) have difficulty in tasks and activities associated with mobility, communication or self-care

1st according to the Global Burden of Disease estimates, low back pain is ranked 1st in Australasia (including Australia and New Zealand), compared to 6th in the world

How do back problems affect quality of life? Compared to those without the condition, people with back problems are:

4 times as likely to report poor health
6 times as likely to report very high levels of psychological distress
5 times as likely to report severe and very severe pain
4 times as likely to report a core activity limitation (for example, self-care or mobility).

Back pain is not limited to people who don’t exercise, and it can cut down even the fittest people. The good news is I believe many people recognise that exercise is invaluable for treating back pain and also preventing it.

Unfortunately the understanding of what type of exercise is best is where it all goes wrong. For many years now we have been convinced to believe that strong abs means a strong core, and will prevent back pain. Even therapists and Doctors have been known to prescribe planks and abdominal exercises to treat back pain with this same type of thinking.

We must realise that strength of the abdominal muscles WILL NOT change the faulty movement that leads to injury and pain. Your body will instantly sacrifice any strength if it only knows how to move with the same dysfunctional movement it has always used. You must identify and change the faulty movement patterns linked to the injury to have any chance.

As this problem is so common I have written numerous articles and filmed over 100 different videos about many different types of back pain. The article about bulging discs shown below is the 3rd most popular article on my website as it is constantly searched through Google every day of the year.

Whenever we talk about back pain, hip mobility and pelvic stability is closely linked.

Over the years I have discussed the importance of maintaining hip mobility in a number of articles, for hip stiffness is attributed to many of the common injuries seen in the lower limbs, and also the back. Just stretching the hips may assist in improving mobility but will do very little to correcting stability problems, or weakness within the hip region.

Clicking or clunking sounds in the hip, osteoarthritis, and weakness are a sure sign your hip is unstable and needs a corrective strategy using exercises, not stretching. I doubt many people realize how much compression is placed on their hips when they stand on one leg which you need to do when you walk and when you run.

I am sure if they knew this simple fact they would spend more time making sure their hip joint was strong and stable.

The simple movement of standing on one leg increases the weight on the hip by two and a half times the body weight and walking up-stairs increases by three times! And running and jumping even higher again.

If you have a problem at your hip you are set up for a stack of future problems.
As with the shoulder, there is multiple muscles that attach to the hip that provide many different functions, sometimes for providing better balance and strength, and at other times required to provide freedom of movement and range of motion. Many people can train for strength or flexibility but understanding how to maintain stability is a key ingredient often missed. And it is in this area of exercise, that many of the answers to common injuries are found.

You will find more detail about this in the article below

When you think of someone with unstable hips one of the first people to think about is older adults. If there is one thing that really changes the quality of life with older adults it is the loss of balance and fear of falling.

The picture above is quite an alarming statistic and even more scary when you consider that hip fractures are the most common injury from a fall and the number one cause of nursing home admission.

Approximately 50% of those who suffer a hip fracture never fully regain their mobility and independence, and 50% of those die within the first year!

Falling for an older adult is a very serious matter, and a life-threatening situation. There are many reasons why older adults are more exposed to falling, but we must not fall into the trap of believing it is part of the process of getting older.

We know we cannot stop the aging process. But we can change HOW we age, by using exercise to prevent the loss of muscle and our ability to move with daily activities. A slowing of neural firing speed, (the brains message to the nerves within muscles for movement) is the main thing for older adults to focus on. Because the consequence from lack of exercise is potentially a slower response time for the initiation of movement. This slower response time may put someone at risk of injury when put in a situation of danger.

The good news is it can be easily prevented by adopting exercise strategies that utilize the skills of reflex stability, balance, agility, and even speed. Unfortunately this information is not common knowledge and far too many older adults are treated with pills and told to exercise sitting in chairs to "keep them safe". This is not keeping them safe, this is leaving them exposed to the dangers of falling in life situations. I think if these stats that I have shared with you were more readily known and that there are exercise programs that can prevent it, there would be a much bigger increase in older adults using strength training.

I suggest to read this article to see more on this topic - Prevent falls with older adults using reflex stability training

This brings me to the next important fact - sacropenia.

As the population continues to increase with age there is a dramatic increase in the % of people with disabilities, injury & other related health problems that could be prevented by adopting strength training in combination with healthy nutrition and lifestyle habits.

If there is one thing that we need to live a productive and satisfying life well into old age it is functional capacity. This means are you able to complete daily life activities with great efficiency and no fear of falling or loss of movement.

The loss of muscle mass with advancing age, which is called sarcopenia, is an important factor to address because it can have a dramatic impact on functional capacity. I have regularly used this picture in many articles about the importance of adding muscle as we age for it clearly shows the difference from inactivity or neglect.

The first one is the leg of a healthy, active person with a high level of functional capacity. They have worked to maintain their bodies through regular physical activity and exercise. Because of the strength and power they have they are easily capable of getting out of a chair, climbing stairs, hiking, playing tennis, gardening and many other necessary and enjoyable activities.

The leg in the middle is a person we regularly see. They have not been as active as they could or should have been and maybe only participated in random exercise throughout their life. Because of this they have lost an average amount of muscle mass and strength. They still can perform most activities of daily living without too much difficulty yet more vigorous and strenuous tasks are no longer possible. They have therefore modified their lifestyle so that they do not have to do these activities anymore. For example they stopped playing tennis because they just couldn’t keep up with their doubles partner or they changed houses to not have to walk up the stairs anymore.
This person has a little difficulty even getting off a chair or getting up off the floor and need to find a way to use chairs or something around them to give them a little extra boost. They have lost a good deal of functional movement skills just to live an ordinary life. These people are potential candidates for needing assisted living and are at risk of further decline into disability.

The third leg shows someone who has lost a considerable amount of muscle mass. So much so that they are no longer capable of performing all of their activities of daily living. Now just simple movements such as bathing, toileting, shopping, working, dressing and other tasks have become hard and they need help with some or all of these. This is the rehab client we would get who needs a lot of support to just do simple movements. We see this leg in people aged in their 40’s!

Once again I think if people knew how fast you can lose muscle from inactivity and the long term damage it creates more people would feel compelled to take part in strength training exercises.

You can read more about this in the articles below

This was something I recently discussed late last year as this is a massive problem that is constantly being ignored for decades.

Obesity is responsible for the threefold greater risk of pulmonary embolism (blood clots in the lungs). Obesity-related dysregulation of lipid synthesis can also aggravate lung inflammation, thereby contributing to increased disease severity in viral respiratory infections specifically. In addition to that, excess body weight and fat deposition around the internal organs put pressure on your diaphragm, which makes it more difficult to breathe when you have a respiratory infection.

And when it comes to Covid-19 obesity has been shown to heighten your risk of serious illness or even death. In a study by PNAS in 2020 they summarised their findings,

“In conclusion, we observed a higher likelihood of COVID-19 hospitalization with increasing overall and central adiposity, even in participants with modest weight gain. Since over two-thirds of Westernized society are overweight or obese, this potentially presents a major risk factor for severe COVID-19 infection and may have implications for policy.’

This tells me that our approach to this condition is flawed and we need a new way of dealing with this problem. Blaming it on genetics is taking the easy way out and removing any responsibility people have for their own health.

In my opinion, I believe this is a real problem with the current health system where they think they can cure everything with a pill or surgery. We must remember that the health care system is more concerned with “fixing you” AFTER it you get sick. Not with preventing it before it has happened.

There needs to be a stronger focus on PREVENTING weight gain, obesity, and all the illnesses and diseases that are related to them. I don’t know how we are ever going to change this mindset while governments and media get so excited about cures. While modern technology provides incredible diagnostic tools and treatments for trauma related injuries. Once again I believe science fails miserably when it comes to treatments for lifestyle created problems like obesity and chronic pain.

You can read more about this in these articles

This is the first thing people think when I tell them to take their shoes and socks off so I can assess their toes and feet. If you have never read or heard me talk about the joint by joint theory developed by Gray Cook and Mike Boyle you will quickly see why this is so important.

Every second joint in our body needs a completely different role to the joint above or below. Any time a joint loses either stability or mobility, the joint above or below is greatly affected and forced into compensation.

The entire joint by joint list is below.

Big Toe: Needs Mobility
Mid-Foot: Needs Stability
Ankle: Needs Mobility
Knee: Needs Stability
Hip: Needs Mobility
Lumbar Spine: Needs Stability
Thoracic Spine: Needs Mobility
Cervical Spine (lower): Needs Stability
Cervical Spine (upper): Needs Mobility
Shoulder: Needs Mobility
Elbow: Needs Stability
Wrist: Needs Mobility

Now the one joint that has a significant bigger role than all of the others is the big toe.

Do you remember how I said that if there is a problem at a particular joint like the hips it will compensate to the joints above at the lumbar spine and below at the knee. In the case of the big toe it has not joint below to refer to, so it is forced to compensate only above.

The big problem here is that when we walk or do anything standing this joint is the first thing to move and as it has to compensate due to rigidity and lack of movement it begins to set off a chain reaction to ALL of your other joints. It is now just a matter of time until you are in trouble.

When the big toe joint motion is disrupted enough to prevent stabilization of the foot you are now set up for problems up the entire chain.

A common postural problem seen with big toe dysfunction the gradual shift into a forward weight bearing position. This forward leaning position creates the recipe for a permanent change in how we move or simply hold ourselves up in an upright position. For the brain will begin to learn from repetition that this is the new way to move.

You can read more about this in the article - How the big toe influences joint stability and movement
One of the worst things to evolve from poor foot stability, and loss of big toe mobility, is knee pain. Which brings us to our last important fact.

Out of all the questions I receive by email or You Tube comments, anything to do with strengthening the knee or the VMO would be by far the most common. We know that this muscle plays a critical role in providing stability of the knee and prevents the onset of patella tracking problems that are so common among people of all ages.

According to latest research, frequent knee pain affects 25% of adults, and osteoarthritis is the most common cause of knee pain in adults 50 years and older. Rates of knee replacements have tripled in women in the United Kingdom and have increased 8 times in the United States among those 65 years and older.

In the early stages of treatment people are often told they have a weak vastus medialis muscle (VMO) that needs to be strengthened and it will make their pain go away. Unfortunately, it is not as simple as that as there are many factors you need to consider with correcting knee pain. While it is true that the VMO plays a massive role in stabilizing the knee, the methods you use to strengthen this muscle is the secret to finding the solution to your knee pain.

There is so much conflicting research and information about the best way to strengthen this muscle that many people are confused as to where to start. The problem with most of the research is that it looks at strengthening the muscle in isolation, ignoring the role of other anatomical factors contributing to the VMO weakness. Factors such as tibial torsion, valgus knee collapse due to poor hip muscle control, poor foot stability creating over-pronation, and ankle stiffness inhibiting quadriceps strength need to be addressed if you truly want to strengthen the VMO and stabilize the knee.

The thing you must understand about the VMO is it is dependent on stability being driven by the feet and the hip. Nothing you do at the knee itself will make any difference if you do not address any dysfunction, instability, or stiffness at these joints first. I wish this information was more common knowledge as it would save so many people a lot of pain and trouble if they adopted a more effective exercise program early on.
You will find these articles provide great information as to how to address this correctly.

Do You Need More Help?

To help you put together everything we have discussed in this article there are some great programs you can instantly download below that will help you put all of this information together. These online programs provide you with detailed instructions and programs to restore your health if you have lost it, or prevent the onset of pain and disease if you are currently okay. Always remember it is so much easier to prevent problems than try to repair or fix them after they have happened.

Summary

There are so many more of these interesting facts and statistics I could include, and I think you would agree much of this information is vitally important. The fact that almost all of this is not common knowledge is a big problem and significantly affects people of all ages. By spending the time to be more educated about what really changes your health you take a giant step towards living a healthier lifestyle free of disease and pain. It is not easy trying to get in good shape and it is even harder when you are not working on the right things. Hopefully some of this information gives you some better insights into things you may need to work on to improve your overall health.

For more ideas and information on specific topics I may not have covered in detail be sure to check out our INDEX PAGE on the website that has over 200 of our best articles. These are all sorted into categories for quick reference so you can find what you are after more easily. And if you want to stay up to date with all our latest tips and methods you can subscribe to our FREE fortnightly newsletter by CLICKING HERE.

If you live in Melbourne and feel you need specific help with setting up an exercise and nutrition program please feel free to reach out to me for help by clicking the image below and we can set you up a free consultation to discuss how to get you started.

About The Author

Nick Jack is owner of No Regrets Personal Training and has over 15 years’ experience as a qualified Personal Trainer, Level 2 Rehabilitation trainer, CHEK practitioner, and Level 2 Sports conditioning Coach. Based in Melbourne Australia he specializes in providing solutions to injury and health problems for people of all ages using the latest methods of assessing movement and corrective exercise.

Additional References:

Obesity Paradox - By Carl J. Lavie M.D.
Movement - By Gray Cook
Corrective Exercise Solutions for the Hip & Shoulder - by Evan Osar
Back Pain Mechanic - by Dr Stuart McGill
Diagnosis & Treatment Of Movement Impairment Syndromes - By Shirley Sahrman
Low Back Disorders - by Dr Stuart McGill
Ultimate Back Fitness & Performance - by Dr Stuart McGill
Knee Injuries For Athletes - By Sports Injury Bulltetin
Bending the Aging Curve - Joseph Signorile
Athletic Body in Balance - by Gray Cook
Anatomy Trains - by Thomas Meyers
Motor Learning and Performance - By Richard A Schmidt and Timothy D Lee
Assessment & Treatment Of Muscle Imbalance - By Vladimir Janda
How To Eat, Move & Be Healthy by Paul Chek
Scientific Core Conditioning Correspondence Course - By Paul Chek
Advanced Program Design - By Paul Chek
Twist Conditioning Sports Strength - By Peter Twist
Twist Conditioning Sports Movement - By Peter Twist
Heart foundation
CSIRO
Precision Nutrition
Nutrition & Physical Degeneration - By Weston A Price
Big Fat Lies - By David Gillespie