‘Addressing the modifiable risks is vital in managing low back pain. This discovery that increasing the length and intensity of walking will lower the risk of chronic back pain is very significant.’
BACK pains affect almost 620 million people around the world, 650 million (75-80 percent of) Americans, and about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines. Globally, this is expected to reach 843 million by 2050.
These low back pains are chronic and range in severity from aches to debilitating agony, negatively impacting people’s lives. It is the leading cause of disability worldwide and the highest healthcare spending in the United States. One famous individual with severe low back pain was US President John F. Kennedy.
A new study discovered that “increasing the length of time and intensity of one’s walks may help lower the risk of experiencing chronic low back pain.”
Some of the risk factors are not modifiable, like age, genetics, and underlying illnesses: arthritis, osteoporosis, spinal stenosis, fibromyalgia, and spinal infection. The risks within our control include smoking, stress, sedentary lifestyle, and improving lifting techniques (bending our knees, instead of our back).
Addressing the modifiable risks is vital in managing low back pain. This discovery that increasing the length and intensity of walking will lower the risk of chronic back pain is very significant.
The study involved 11,000 adults (average age 55) in Norway and found that “walking for more than 100 minutes per day was associated with a 23% lower risk of chronic low back pain, compared to those who walked less than 78 minutes per day.” The volume of walking was more significant than the intensity.
Consult your physician for the walking strategy best for you.
Dementia preventable
There are more than 57 million people around the globe suffering from dementia of various degrees, more than 6 million in the USA, and more than 727,000 in the Philippines. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of mental decline.
Recent research with a 33-year follow-up of the 7731 participants found that “maintaining optimal vascular health throughout late life can significantly lower the risk of developing dementia before age 80 years…The results suggested that 22%-44% of dementia cases by age 80 years could be attributed to poor vascular health through age 74 years.” Vascular health reflects brain health.
Hypertension, diabetes, and smoking are widely recognized modifiable vascular risk factors for dementia. Prevention of these factors with a healthier lifestyle can improve vascular health. – JAMA Neurology.
Golf courses and Parkinson’s
There are more than 16,000 golf courses in the United States and about 38,864 in 206 of the 251 countries around the world.
The “proximity to a golf course is associated with 126 percent increased risk for Parkinson’s Disease, possibly due to increased exposure to pesticides,” a population-based case-control study revealed. It also showed drinking water from groundwater service areas with golf courses was associated with almost two times the risk.
“Parkinson’s Disease is likely caused by a complex interaction between genetic predisposition and environmental factors, including pesticide exposure. Previous research showed pesticides such as paraquat and rotenone induce Parkinson-like neurodegeneration in the substantia nigra, primarily through mechanisms involving oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and dopaminergic neuron apoptosis.”- Novel Research.
This study, published in JAMA Network Open on May 8, 2025, points out that this is observational and cannot establish causality, “so it is too early to recommend individuals move away from golf courses.”
This new information, hopefully, will alert people and lead them to prevent or minimize exposure to these risks while on or living near golf courses.
Microplastics in glass bottles
A couple of weeks ago, in this column, I alerted the public about microplastic contamination (in bottled water and other foods in plastic containers) found in all human (and animal) brains and other vital organs.
Yes, predominantly in our brain, about 7 grams (the weight of an average plastic spoon). We ingest about 5 grams of microplastic (about the weight of a credit card) each day. Over our lifetime, we could accumulate up to 50,100grams of microplastic in our bodies. It is scary. However, we still do not know its impact on our health as far as cardiometabolic diseases, the immune system, dementia, cancer, etc., are concerned.
Many have opted against drinking bottled water and the use of plastic microwave covers and plastic containers for food. It is easy to imagine how microplastics leach from these bottles and containers.
But recently, it has been determined that microplastics could also come from drinks (beer, sodas, lemonade, etc.) stored in glass bottles, and in some cases, even at a higher level than in plastic bottles. The microplastics leach from the paint on the metal bottle caps, not from the glass itself.
It is a relief to know that any glass material (without any coating and metallic paint on the cover or caps) itself, like drinking glasses, does not shed any microplastic. Ceramic wares and wine or water bottles with cork caps do not leach microplastics either.
In our household, we no longer drink bottled water. We have a countertop 7-stage, reverse osmosis water filtration system, with a UVC lamp to kill bacteria and viruses, for our drinking water. There are under-the-sink versions available, also with ultrafiltration, which filters out microplastics.
We use a Zero water filter for our water for coffee, tea, and cooking only, because this unit yields “distilled water,” which is not healthy for drinking. Most faucet water has a TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) level of 350 parts per million. Although the EPA accepts a TDS level below 500 ppm as safe, it is best to reduce the TDS level to about 35-50 ppm. Today’s technology allows that.
Harmful contaminants, heavy metals, like lead, mercury, bacteria, viruses, and various chemicals like PFAS, nitrates and pesticides, are effectively filtered by a 6-stage and, better, 7-stage, RO filter unit with a UVC lamp.
Water with zero TDS from the Zero-filter system is not healthy for drinking since it is like distilled water, with no vital minerals left in it.
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Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a cardiac surgeon emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, health advocate, medical missionary, newspaper columnist, and chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. He is a decorated recipient of the Indiana Sagamore of the Wabash Award in 1995, presented by then Indiana Governor, US senator, and later presidential candidate Evan Bayh. Other Sagamore past awardees include President Harry S. Truman, President George HW Bush, Astronaut Gus Grissom, pugilist Muhammad Ali, David Letterman, distinguished educators, scientists, etc. (Wikipedia). Websites: FUN8888.com, Today.SPSAtoday.com, and philipSchua.com Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com
