6 Key Reasons to Get that Annual Physical

Common Health Concerns and Key Screening Tests

The start of the year is a great time to assess your health – what behaviors are contributing positively toward your health and what can you be doing better? A good way to gauge where you are is by getting an annual physical. We know it’s not the most fun thing to do, but trust us, it is certainly worth it.

Six Reasons to Get a Health Physical:

1)       As primary prevention – stop it before it starts

2)       To identify risk factors for common chronic diseases

3)       To detect disease that has no apparent symptoms (secondary prevention)

4)       As a way for the doctor to counsel and promote healthy behaviors

5)       To update clinical data since your last checkup

6)       To enhance the relationship between you and your doctor

It is best to get in front of and manage your health, whether you have a history of family conditions or whether you want to prevent them from ever happening.

Common Health Concerns:

Chronic Disease.  Is it possible to have one and not even know it? According to the Center of Disease Control, 133 million Americans are currently living with an undiagnosed chronic disease. Bothersome symptoms that just don’t seem to go away could be something to discuss with your physician. And of course, we are all too familiar with chronic low back pain, especially associated with Piriformis Syndrome and Sciatica – low back pain is the second most common reason for visits to a primary care physician in the United States. And given 70-80 percent of low back pain is muscle-related; there are things you can do to help prevent and alleviate it.

Heart Attack. Heart disease is no joke. Just by getting an EKG if you’re over 35 and by adding a stress echo if you’re over 40, you can decrease your chance of having a heart attack by 47 percent. Talk to your doctor about early warning signs and how to prevent these symptoms from escalating to a heart attack.

Cervical Cancer. For women, getting a Pap test according to your physician’s recommendations can help you avoid, or at least detect, cervical cancer early on.  For the guys, getting their PSA checked can provide more effective ways of treating cancer early on.

Diabetes. Diabetes has been linked to heart disease, obesity, stroke, Alzheimer’s, and many other diseases.  By detecting early warning signs, managing your diet, exercise, stress levels and lifestyle habits, Diabetes Type 2 can be completely avoided in most cases, and in some, even reversed.  That’s great news!

There are certain screening tests recommended by the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force to be considered.  Screening tests and timeframes are below:

Blood Pressure: Every 2 years for adults with an ideal blood pressure below 120/80 points. Annually if your blood pressure is above 120/80.

Breast Cancer: Mammogram every 2 years for women ages 50 to 74.  Women at higher risk should talk to their doctor about getting screened before age 50.

Cervical Cancer: Screening and pap smear every 3 years for women ages 21 to 65. Human papillomavirus (HPV) testing every 5 years after age 30.

Cholesterol: Every 5 years recommended for most individuals, starting at age 35 for men and age 45 for women. Men and women at risk for heart disease should start getting screened at age 20.  

Colon Cancer: Screening for all adults between ages 50 and 75, usually every 10 years.

At Miracle Stretch® it is our goal to help you live happy, healthy and pain free – so please get that physical, you will feel better for it.