Healing Moves: How to Cure, Relieve, and Prevent Common Ailments with Exercise - Hardcover

Krucoff, Carol; Krucoff, Mitchell

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0609602225 ISBN 13: 9780609602225

Publisher: Harmony, 2000

Synopsis

In this groundbreaking book, two experts, a renowned cardiologist and an award-winning health columnist, show readers specific new strategies for taking advantage of a low-risk, low-cost, extremely effective, and readily available form of healing -- physical activity. The National Institute on Aging reports that "if exercise could be packed in a pill, it would be the single most widely prescribed, and beneficial, medicine in the nation." We know that physical activity is effective prevention, but pioneering research shows that it can also treat -- and even reverse -- America's top killers, often more effectively than drugs or surgery.

Drawing from Eastern as well as Western traditions, the authors explain how specific exercises can be powerful therapy for such life-threatening ailments as heart disease, cancer, stroke, pulmonary disease, and osteoporosis, as well as conditions that affect quality of life, including arthritis, back pain, asthma, depression, diabetes, stress, PMS, sexual dysfunction, high cholesterol, and carpal tunnel syndrome. The book's informative text is complemented by more than one hundred detailed illustrations that include yoga, qi gong, and various stretching and strength-building techniques. Whatever your age or fitness level, Healing Moves can help create a sense of well-being that can spill over into every aspect of daily life.

About this title

About the Author

Carol Krucoff is a science writer and health columnist for the Washington Post.

Mitchell Krucoff, M.D., is a senior staff cardiologist and the director of the Ischemia Monitoring Laboratory at Duke University Medical Center. The Krucoffs live in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

From the Back Cover

"Healing Moves is an indispensable guide for every person concerned with health and healing. Let these noted experts in medicine, movement, and the body-mind connection help you take charge of your life. The simple, time-tested exercises they prescribe are rewarding and easy to adopt as daily routines."
-- Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., author of Minding the Body, Mending the Mind and A Woman's Book of Life

"Healing Moves shows how an active lifestyle is possible for people of all walks of life . . . and this activity is the best 'pill' money can buy to improve health -- both mental and physical. If you want to improve your health, read this book."
--Susan Kalish, executive director of the American Medical Athletic Association

"An authoritative, inspiring, and practical guide to using physical activity to prevent and treat a wide range of illnesses. A fabulous book that is wonderful to read!"
--Miriam E. Nelson, Ph.D., author of Strong Women Stay Young and scientist at the School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University

"Healing Moves is a must-read for anyone who wants to take control of their health. Now you can become a valuable partner with your doctor in preventing and curing the most common health problems. This book will help you save time, money, and frustration by taking advantage of simple techniques to enhance your well-being. The most valuable thing most people can do for their health is to get active, and this book shows you how."
--Kathy Smith, international fitness authority and creator of more than twenty-five best-selling videos

"An excellent review of the effects of exercise on health and function. Lack of exercise is increasingly recognized as one of the major health problems facing our nation, and it is vital that we make greater efforts to help sedentary Americans become more physically active. This book provides scientifically sound advice, and can be a useful reference for anyone who wants to lead a healthier life."
--Steven N. Blair, P.E.D., senior scientific editor of U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health

From the Inside Flap

ndbreaking book, two experts, a renowned cardiologist and an award-winning health columnist, show readers specific new strategies for taking advantage of a low-risk, low-cost, extremely effective, and readily available form of healing -- physical activity. The National Institute on Aging reports that "if exercise could be packed in a pill, it would be the single most widely prescribed, and beneficial, medicine in the nation." We know that physical activity is effective prevention, but pioneering research shows that it can also treat -- and even reverse -- America's top killers, often more effectively than drugs or surgery.

Drawing from Eastern as well as Western traditions, the authors explain how specific exercises can be powerful therapy for such life-threatening ailments as heart disease, cancer, stroke, pulmonary disease, and osteoporosis, as well as conditions that affect quality of life, including arthritis, back pain, asthma, depression, diabetes, stress, PMS, sexual dys

Reviews

The premise of this call for a more physically fit America by a husband-and-wife team (Carol is a science writer and health columnist; Mitchell is a cardiologist) is that exercise is medicine, capable of alleviating ailments ranging from diabetes and osteoporosis to depression and PMS. The Krucoffs connect the rising number of people suffering from cancer, heart disease and various stress-related disorders with the decline of physical activity over the past century. While membership at a health club is now considered a sign of affluence, the Krucoffs report that less than 25 percent of all adults (and an alarmingly low percentage of children) exercise regularly, and only 30 percent of physicians prescribe physical activity for preventative and therapeutic purposes. The result of the authors' research is a volume packed with exercises to get people moving; their aim is to debunk the myth that exercise is hard work and time-consuming. For each ailment, the authors explain how physical activity can alleviate or cure symptoms and prescribe a three-part program that includes specific exercisesAsuch as swimming for arthritis, walking for high blood pressure and yoga for asthma. There are also suggestions on how to incorporate stretching, aerobic activity and strengthening into a program geared toward keeping anyone of any age healthy. Best suited to those whose lives center around desk jobs, car-to-door transport and sedentary pastimes, this book will provide a relatively simple and pleasurable introduction to healing through movement. 150 line drawings. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Strong arguments for making vigorous exercise part of a healthy lifestyle; coupled with careful, well-illustrated exercise regimens designed to prevent or relieve specific medical conditions. Washington Post health writer Carol Krucoff and cardiologist Mitchell Krucoff (Duke University Medical Center) remind us once again that exercise relieves stress, boosts mood, enhances self-esteem, helps maintain a healthy weight, improves sleep, prompts a desire for healthy food, enhances self-efficacy, and promotes hardiness (making us less vulnerable to the ravages of daily problems). They first discuss in detail exercises and programs for general health and fitness. Then, arranged by body system, they set out the facts of various medical disorders, explain how exercise can help, and provide an exercise prescription. Covered herein are metabolic disorders (e.g., diabetes), mental health conditions, orthopedic disorders, cardiovascular disorders, immunological conditions (from colds to AIDS and cancer), mens health, womens health, and respiratory disorders. For instance, we learn that since exercise speeds the passage of food through the intestinal tract, it lessens the length of contact between carcinogens in food and the colon wallwhich may explain why physically active men have half the risk of colon cancer as their sedentary peers. Meticulous, well-supported information with practical application. A valuable reference. -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Since ancient times, healers have recognized the curative power of physical activity. Yet only recently has scientific evidence confirmed the widespread belief that movement heals.

Today, virtually every form of medicine recognizes these basic truths:

1.        Simple exercise can have profound healing effects.
2.        Specific "healing moves" can help fight illness and enhance health.

These concepts are embraced by traditional healers and modern scientists, Eastern practitioners and Western physicians, alternative and conventional medicine advocates alike. At a time when patients and health-care providers are searching for safe, effective, and inexpensive therapies, healing moves provide an ideal self-care strategy to help prevent, relieve, and sometimes even cure disease.

Solid scientific research documents exercise's therapeutic power. Over the last few decades, study after study has shown that moving regularly enhances health, while inactivity impairs it. Physical activity can help some diabetics come off insulin and some hypertensives quit their high-blood-pressure medication. It can lower cholesterol, ease arthritis pain, lift depression, relieve anxiety, and help asthmatics breathe more easily. It can slow the aging process and boost both the length and the quality of life.

Movement enhances the heart's ability to pump blood, the lungs' capacity to fill with oxygen, the metabolism's ability to burn fat, and the immune system's defensive power. In fact, virtually every bodily system becomes stronger and more efficient with regular exercise. A growing amount of research indicates that getting regular physical activity may be the single most important thing you can do to prevent disease and promote good health.

This may surprise some people in our prescription-oriented society, where we're constantly searching for wonder drugs and taking the "high-tech" road to health. In contrast, our healing moves are low tech, low risk, low (or no) cost, and readily available. All it takes to harness the curative power of movement is time. Despite widespread misconceptions, healing movement doesn't take a lot of time, and it's not even necessary to sweat. Accumulate 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week--that is the simple prescription for good health touted by the U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health.

The delightful surprise (as those who exercise regularly will confirm) is that the time you spend moving is generally repaid in full by the energy, relaxation, and pleasure that physical activity brings. Unfortunately, too many people have come to think of exercise as a distasteful chore, often because of bad experiences, misconceptions about exercise, a poor body image, or frustrating athletic endeavors. The challenge, then, is to cast off past negative notions about movement--like the hazardous myth of "no pain, no gain" or the false idea that "you have to be thin to be fit." Instead, it's time to go out and play--to recapture the joy of motion we had as children, when "recess" (i.e., movement) was our favorite subject.

In fact, the most healing moves of all are those involved in just about any physical activity you enjoy. You can pick from a wide array of options: dancing, walking, swimming, skating, martial arts, cycling, tennis, yoga, to name a few. As the yogis say, "Follow your bliss." Because exercise does more than just boost your physical health--it can enhance your mental and spiritual health as well. The best way to achieve the full spectrum of "body and soul healing" accessible through movement is to approach this powerful therapy with the excitement and pleasure we knew in childhood, running outside on a beautiful day to play with friends. Instead of a dreaded "workout," exercise then becomes a much anticipated "play break" that can be a highlight of your day.

It's important, too, to recognize that moving regularly is not just about looking better. That's a merely a side benefit. Moving is about feeling better. We are physical animals, and daily exercise is essential to our health. In previous generations people's days were filled with physical activity, but today we must find ways to fit movement into our lives. Our parents and grandparents needed to walk regularly and perform many other physical tasks to get through their days. But now we sit on our bottoms most of the time, and our main exercise is pushing buttons. In many buildings, we can't even use our muscles to open the doors or climb the stairs if we want to: doors fly open as if by magic and elevators are the only route upstairs. In a world where we can do everything--from shopping to mowing the lawn--sitting down, we must make time to move.

If we don't, the consequences are grimly clear. Inactivity is a central contributor to America's top killers: heart disease, some cancers, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, and osteoporosis. And it plays a major role in a host of other common health problems, from back pain to depression. Regular exercise can reduce the risk of all these ailments, and for some of these conditions, exercise not only inhibits or delays disease progression but can actually reverse the illness--often more safely and more effectively than drugs or surgery. "If exercise could be packed into a pill," sums up a report from the National Institute on Aging, "it would be the single most widely prescribed, and beneficial, medicine in the nation."

Edition details

• Publisher: Harmony
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0609602225
• ISBN 13: 9780609602225
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336