Photo: Wikipedia
As I get older and have endured the effects of numerous sports injuries in my youth, I enjoy swimming at my local recreation center during the cold, dark winter months.
Swimming is considered a low-impact sport, primarily due to the effect of the buoyancy of water on the human body. High-impact sports such as running, soccer, and tennis create potential trauma to weight-bearing joints such as ankles, knees, and hips due to repetitive high-pressure motion.
Of course, this can lead to degeneration, damage and the development of osteoarthritis. However, I must confess that I can’t jump into a cold pool like I used to and can’t start the distance without warming up in the hot tub before the start. And here comes the irritation.
Humans are generally social creatures. People enjoy conversation and communication. Individuals like to exchange information, offer opinions, and share ideas. Most people are polite and respectful. Talk is generally light and flirtatious, but can also be entertaining and informative. Sometimes when we exchange information, we learn something. Many of the discussions are about sports, travel, weather, and work, but some are about newsworthy events. We also observed that discussing politics or religion or mentioning politicians like (former US President) Donald Trump is a social faux pas that creates controversy and embarrassment.
As Canadian YouTube psychologist Jordan Peterson says, “In order to be able to think, you have to risk being aggressive.”
No matter what the topic is, you have the choice to speak your mind or remain silent.
Thinking involves using logic to find truth. Logic is a systematic step-by-step path to evaluating something using the information provided and reaching a conclusion based on the available facts. Our brains think and use logic to evaluate data and arrive at “true” conclusions. Truth is an accurate depiction of fact or reality. We can conclude that our thinking is biased because individually we are only a small part of a larger whole. Bias is an inherent prejudice against something or someone. No one knows everything, but everyone knows something, and some people know more than others.
One early morning, at the perfect hour of 7:30 a.m., several middle-aged men entered the hot tub and continued to talk passionately about health-related issues. One person explained that he had a problem, followed his doctor’s advice, took the prescribed medication, and became ill. The other man countered that he doesn’t take drugs for virtually anything, uses essential oils, and takes multi-level marketing products that supposedly cure his problems.
I couldn’t help but listen and concluded that they were both pandering to misinformation about their symptoms and their respective treatments. As a partially informed medical professional, I could have intervened, offered my opinions and recommendations, and guided them to what I saw as the truth. But I’ve concluded that it’s not my place to do that. Plus, I had to swim many laps.
In medicine, there is something called “medical care based on scientific evidence.” In evidence-based medicine, medical professionals around the world use the best available data to make accurate and rational decisions about an individual’s medical care. Evidence is based on both actual clinical experience and scientific research regarding treatments and treatments for specific conditions.
Surprisingly, many drugs and therapies used in modern medicine have not been conclusively proven to help the specific symptoms for which they are currently used. Bleeding and bloodletting to cure infections, frontal lobotomy for clinical depression, mercury for bacterial infections, morphine for mild pain, and doctors not washing their hands between deliveries are all based on scientific evidence. Not a common example of bad medical practice.
Of course, there are many examples of a lack of evidence-based medicine in the practice of natural medicine, such as the use of herbal medicine, homeopathy, and spiritual therapy. Best evidence-based practices may also be prescribed in naturopathic medicine. It is of paramount importance that doctors be unbiased and treat patients based on the best evidence. It doesn’t really matter if it’s natural or not, it’s in the patient’s best interest.
A middle-aged man with a genetic history of high cholesterol in his family came to our office. When he went to his local health food store, he found more than a dozen products that lowered cholesterol, treated the liver, and cleaned out arteries. He took the product as recommended, which caused his cholesterol to rise.
He threw them all away, retreated from a healthy diet and started eating more fast food. His cholesterol has gone down.
We re-evaluated his supplement plan, used an evidence-based approach, and greatly simplified his nutritional program. We recommended some supplements, which worked and his cholesterol went down.
Additionally, the health benefits of a hot tub include muscle relaxation, joint pain relief, improved blood circulation, and improved sleep quality.
The information provided in this article does not constitute, and is not intended to constitute, medical advice. All information and content is for general information purposes only.
This article was written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
