Hcalth$-$ricfsOuick f ixes, new research, home remedies

Add a Chiropractorou've practised your breath-

ing and you've packed yourbags, But there's another item to

add to your labour preparations -chiropractic adjustments,

Weight gain during pregnancy cancause pelvic misalignment, says KatrinaKulhay, chiropractor and founder of KulhayWellness & Education Centre in Toronto.Kulhay advocates chiropractic adjustmentsand simple at-home exercises to build upthe pelvic floor muscles and restore the jointto its proper position. Adjusting the sacroili-ac joints and increasing pelvic strength andflexibility give women more control over

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tllg,e&x$r'?A SELF CHECK

About 1.5 million Canadianshave thyroid disorders andmany don't know it.

Thyroid disease -which includes the usuallybenign hypothyroidism,hyper-thyroidism andthyroid nodules - is besttreated when caught early.The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland just abovethe collarbone thatregulates metabolism andcell grovvth, Here's a do-it-yourself test to determinethyroid abnormalities.er Look into a mirror andfocus on the area of theneck imrnediately abovethe collarbone and tip yourhead back.e Drink water and swallow.* As you swallow, look atyour neck.* lf you see a protrusion orbulge (ignoring the Adam'sapple), call your doctor.

- Laura Bicftle

114 CANADIAN LIYING

to Your Birth Teamthese muscles, she says, making childbirthquicker and less painful.

lsabelle Berg of Toronto was skepticalwhen she approached Kulhay with a sciaticnerve problern in her ninth month. But by thethird session her pelvic joints were movingmore freely and the pain generating from hersciatic nerue had gone away,

Atthough there are no studies supportingKulhay's claim that chiropractic care reduceslabour time, a study of 400 patients in Ontar-ro's Niagara Peninsula indicat-ed that it lessens labour pain.

While sessions can beginanytime during pregnancy, pa-tients usually attend monthlysessions during the first twotrimesters, twice monthly for months sevenand eight and once weekly tor the finalmonth. - Debora lt Euerest -Hi ll

OhlropracticadJustm,erntsmay slroftenlabour time

is conducting memory tests involving

positron emission tomography (PET), a neu-

roimaging device that records the brain in ac-

tion. Results indicate ttrat older people may

be using different parts of their brains than

younger subjects. This is particularly evident

in people with sharp memories, which sug-

gests that engaging these other areas is relat-

ed to the ability to rernernber.*The idea is that maybe these other areas

are being recruited by older subjects to help

them remember," says Cheryl Grady, who is

heading the three-year study funded by The

Medical Research Council of Canada and the

Ontario Mental Health Foundation.

This information could prove invaluable

to individuals with severe rnernory loss due to

dernentias such as Alzheimer's disease or

brain injury. *If lve knew how to activate

these areas, if we knew what the older sub-

jects \ryere doing to use these areas, we might

be able to help those with memory impair-

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Hope for the Mernory-lmpaired*Using your brain" is taking on a whole newmeaning for researchers investigating age-re-lated memo{y loss.

The Rotman Research Institute at theBaycrest Centre for Geriatric Care in Toronto

: OCToBER I998

mend'says Grady. - lennifer McPhee