Before you start, be smart: It would be a good idea for you to have your back checked by a health care professional, like a chiropractor, before you start any job — big or small– and even before you look around for an equipment or tool rentals Flint company. It isn’t wise for you to start any sort of physical demand without having your chiropractor check to see if your spine is in good alignment. You may be provided with a back support or other supportive means if you have any age-related degenerative spine and joint changes.

Along with making sure that you are in proper alignment and overall musculoskeletal good health prior to starting a new project, seeing your chiropractor regularly during your project work can save you from pain and injury. Even healthy joints can be effected by heavy machinery and tool vibration. Furthermore, unfamiliar positioning and unusual twisting when using hand tools can stress back, shoulder, and arm muscles.

Remember these tips during your project: Check in with your chiropractor on a regular basis during the project to make sure heavy equipment and tool usage hasn’t caused misalignments to occur. Putting ice packs on the inflammed areas may be one of the suggestions made by your chiropractor. In addition, stressed or strained muscles may require kineseo taping while your working on your project. Unfortunately, a stressed or strained muscle may require rest before returning to work.

When your project is done: Don’t forget to get a comprehensive chiropractic recheck once again as soon as your project is complete.

You don’t have to give up the work you love. Just remember, from start to finish, you will enjoy the fruits of your labor so much more if you take precautions from beginning to end!

Technorati Tags: back pain, chiropractor, tool rental

Highland Chiropractor

Air and water are the Big Two for human survival. We humans cannot live long without either. Now, most adults likely haven’t tried to hold their breath to see how long they could go without breathing (or in order to see if mom or dad would give in and give them what they wanted) since they were children. But, how often do we, adults, forgo the other necessity of life…drinking water? And, not just drinking water, but drinking enough water. In order for the human body to function optimally, it needs water (and plenty of it!) Every cell, tissue, organ and system in your body relies on the water you drink. Would it surprise you to know that your saliva, and the fluids around your joints, are fundamentally water? It’s true, and in addition to creating dry mouth, dehydration can actually make your joints ache. Moreover, your temperature and metabolism, as well as your blood circulation, are moderated by water. And, there are many more wonderful reasons to drink sufficient water, such as the improvement of nutrient absorption and toxin removal, as well as the reduction of heartburn, hypertension, exhaustion, headaches. Even back pain has been attributed to staying well-hydrated. As a Highland Chiropractor I always ask my patients with back pain and joint pain if they are drinking sufficient water each day, and I advise all of my patients to drink plenty of water on a daily basis.

When it comes to staying well-hydrated, “water on the brain” is a very good thing! Drinking enough water is essential for good health in all the ways described above one day researchers may find even more. Now, most humans would not be silly enough to try to go through the day without breathing, yet too frequently a large majority of people go through their day either not drinking water at all or not drinking a sufficient amount. Every human body must have good hydration no matter what physical activity an individual may engage in throughout the day. When it comes to functional challenges caused by dehydration, athletes (who should know better!) are particularly at risk. Researcher, Susan Yeargin, assistant professor of athletic training in Indiana State’s College of Nursing, Health, and Human Services, said of athletes,”Physiologically, their core body temperature could be higher than it should have been if they were hydrated. Their heart rate will be higher, and they’re going to perceive that they’re working harder than they actually are.”

People often ask how much water is sufficient. Chiropractors like me, your chiropractor in Highland, agree with most health care professionals in advising at least eight, 8-ounce glasses of water daily for the majority of our patients. However, for our patients who are athletes, or for patients who carry around excess weight or exercise or work where it’s hot, we advise even more! So, what is the key in determining if you’re drinking “enough” water? It’s surprisingly easy! The answer is in the color of your urine. If you’re well-hydrated, your urine will be a light, pale yellow!

Technorati Tags: back pain, chiropractic, dehydration, headaches

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I believe that exercise, often in the form of sports activities, keeps the body healthy and strong. But, as a chiropractor I see a lot of sports related injuries, not just the weekend warriors, but young student-athletes. Sports activities seem to inevitably lead to sports injuries, and some are far more serious than others. That’s why I am happy to see that there is currently a focus on concussions, especially repeated concussions, among young athletes who participate in school sports. The question people are asking is: Are schools doing enough to protect their student-athletes? Do you, as a parent, feel that your child is safe when participating in sports at school?  Many parents worry that their young athletes are at risk for serious sports injuries, especially concussions. In fact, the latest C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health found that nearly two-thirds of parents of young athletes between the ages 12 – 17 worry that their children will get a concussion while playing school sports.

To make matters worse, researchers have found that youth athletes are more likely to sustain concussions and to take longer to recover from concussions than adults. Furthermore, if a second concussion occurs before a child’s brain recovers from the first, there is a possibility of long-term neurologic conditions.

When surveyed, most parents indicated that they would strongly support school requirements, such as:

    * If a student-athlete sustained a concussion, he or she would need to be evaluated and cleared by a doctor before returning to sports – 84 percent

    * Coaches should to receive education about the risks of concussions

    * After a concussion there should be a mandatory period of non-participation in sports

    * A certified trainer should be on-site for practices and games

High school athletic organizations, injury prevention groups and professional sports leagues have become increasingly active in promoting policies to minimize the risks of repeat concussions among young athletes. But, let’s face it, parents are in a unique position to recognize concussion signs and symptoms that occur outside of school, and to work with coaches, trainers, and other health care personnel to ensure that their child is appropriately monitored throughout his or her recovery and return to play.

Source: University of Michigan Health System

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It isn’t news to anyone that elderly people are more prone to bone fractures, especially of the hip. Fortunately, there are a number of preventative measures that older adults can take to help avoid bone fractures, especially from falls. As a chiropractor, I recommend a number of preventative measures to my older patients, not the least of which is for them to have regular chiropractic treatment to help to improve and maintain balance and to keep their body in good alignment. As far as I’m concerned, in addition to balance challenges and poor muscle strength, an aging body that is out of alignment is a hip condition waiting to fracture.

According to a new study by Dr. Marian Hannan, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical school and co-director of the Musculoskeletal Research Program at the Institute for Aging Research, elderly people who eat more protein are less likely to suffer hip fractures. Why? Because consuming proteins such as meat, eggs, fish or cheese helps to build stronger muscles in the legs, which, in turn can reduce an older individual’s chances of falling.  In addition to helping to build stronger muscles, other studies have shown that protein intake can increase bone density.

For more on protein study go to: dailymail.co.uk

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As a chiropractor who works with athletes, both young and old, and one who preaches a healthy diet in addition to regular chiropractic care, I am often asked by my more active patients about “fuel foods,” especially before a big high school football game or prior to a weekend warrior event. The most frequently asked question is: Are carbohydrates the best source to “fuel my sport”? And, my answer is “yes and no.” If you play sports, it’s important for you to know that even though carbohydrates burn off quickly, and are generally the best source of energy (and I recommend them highly), other factors come into play when the body is under the “stress” of the game. And, while pasta, energy bars, fruits, breads, yogurt, potatoes, cereals, and milk may all be great energy foods to eat before your sport, you should also include high sources of protein, including meat and peanut butter. Why? Because even though carbohydrates give you energy, proteins rebuild your cells and help you to maintain your muscle mass. 

Another important thing to remember is that not all carbohydrates are equal. And while healthy fats can be an excellent source of energy during your sport, it isn’t wise before the game to eat fats that digest too slowly, like the fats contained in potato chips, fried foods, doughnuts, candy bars, and other sugary foods. Not only can hard-to-digest fats cause stomach cramping, but these types of fats are hard on the body systems for many reasons.

Maintaining an active lifestyle is important to overall health. But, doing it right and not overdoing it will make a big difference in how well you perform.

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Santa Barbara Chiropractor

Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, When you consider the alternative, getting old isn’t so bad.” But, if the aging process is creating pain in your body, you are painfully aware that aging is no joke! As a chiropractor in Santa Barbara, when it comes to musculoskeletal challenges, I see too many age-related breakdowns that likely wouldn’t have taken place if the primary cause had been treated earlier. Pain in the back, neck, hips, knees, and even the feet are commonly the result of undue stresses due to poor posture, improper gait, and repetitive overuse. If we only knew then how our aging body would feel today, eh? But, as they say, “hindsight is 20-20.”

As you can see from the list areas of pain above, there are plenty of musculoskeletal challenges that can, and often do, develop as we get older, however painful back problems are one of the most prevalent. Back pain that is age-related is most often caused by spine osteoarthritis, or Spondylosis, a degenerative disorder.

Spinal osteoarthritis is caused by increased wear and weight-bearing pressure on the spine that eventually damages discs, joints, and surrounding ligaments. The area of the body and degree of the degenerative process of spondylosis varies from person to person. The regions that are generally affected are the cervical (neck), thoriacic (mid-back), or lumbar (low back). Spondylosisi symptoms very from person to person and depend on the severity of the degeneration, and can range from negligible pain and numbness to extensive sensory loss and muscular atrophy.

Calcium is deposited in the tissues around the vertebrae due to repetitive stresses that negatively affect the cartilage surrounding the joints These calcific deposits, known as bone spurs, can constrict adjacent nerves, blood vessels and soft tissue. This type of compression is at the root of Spondylosis.

Whether or not you are suffering from spondylosis, regular chiropractic adjustments and overall chiropractic management can considerably slow the aging process of your spine. It may be true that “you can’t un-ring a bell” or “turn back the hands of time,” but it’s never too late to give your spine the attention it deserves. When it comes to treating the spine, chiropractors are experts! See your chiropractor in Santa Barbara today, for the health of your spine.

Technorati Tags: age-related back pain, age-related neck pain, chiropractic, chiropractor, spine osteoarthritis, Spondylosis

Chiropractic Marketing

Social Media is the “hottest” topic on the Internet today. If you’ve been giving some thought to getting on board, but don’t know where the platform is, let’s take a minute to talk about the “Who, What, When, Where, and How” of social media and you, that’s “Who.” Then you can make up your mind whether or not to add Social Media to your chiropractic marketing strategy.

Social media marketing may seem familiar in some ways to other chiropractic marketing strategies you’ve engaged in in the past, and yet unfamiliar at the same time. In the “familiar” category, you’d never consider trying any type of marketing plan without taking the time to understand what it’s about and what you want to get from it. What are your goals? Once you’re clear about what you want, you’ll be more capable of using social media to your best advantage.

When you are ready to begin your social media venture, but before you start, it will be necessary for you to make certain that you “own your name” on all the social media outlets, that is to say, make sure that your name or the name of your clinic is attainable so that you can use precisely same name on every one of the social channels you desire to use. When you’re ready, there’s a service, which is absolutely free, that will assist you with your search. Knowem.com is the who to go to. This service will research where your name is and/or if it’s attainable or not on a sufficient number of social media sites.

When you have “locked up” all of your social media accounts, the next step is to decide where you would like to be active. Starting with only a small number of social media sites is preferable because, let’s face it, you have a clinic to run and patients to see. You won’t want to get active in too many social media sites. So, how do you choose the best sites for you? The big ones (where most of the action is) are facebook, twitter, linkedin, and Youtube.

What your social media activity mission should be is to build a real presence in your community. What you don’t want to do is “sell” on your social media sites, that means don’t sell your clinic, don’t sell services or products, don’t sell anything! The benefit of social media is for you to go out and network with the community. Of course, let them know what you do, but do it by becoming a participant. Social media works the same way as social networking offline. People on social media sites don’t want to be sold to, plain and simply. Social media sites are a lot like a neighborhood backyard barbecue. People are standing around chatting about who they are and what they do, and then someone asks you what you do. Or, maybe you start the conversation by (just) stating, “Hello, I’m Dr. ____. With social media marketing, the same dynamics apply. “Work” your social media sites in the same way you’d work your offline networking communities, which is to say, answer the questions and concerns that get potential patients interested in the who that’s you!

Technorati Tags: chiropractic marketing, facebook, linkedin, social media, social media marketing, twitter, Youtube

So ladies, take a walk! Do it for your health's sake! For more information on this interesting story, click the link provided above.

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As a chiropractor who treats many senior patients suffering from painful back problems, I was very concerned when I read about a new study published this month in The Journal of the American Medical Association that found that the percentage of older adults undergoing a complicated fusion procedure for the painful lower-back condition called spinal stenosis has increased sharply– rising fifteenfold from 2002 to 2007.

This type of fusion procedure is not only complicated, but costly. And worse, it carries three times the rate of life-threatening complications than alternative procedures such as decompression (removal of part of the bone pressing on the nerve) or simple fusion (in which two or three vertebrae are fused and only the front or back of the vertebrae, rather than front and back).  And, the bottom line is that earlier studies haven’t found that the complex surgery leads to better results or greater pain relief.

Gentle, non-invasive chiropractic treatment can often relieve the severe back pain caused by spinal stenosis. I fully recommend a short conservative trial of chiropractic care prior to considering most surgeries involving the musculoskeletal system. Any type of surgery carries risks and such risks increase exponentially as we age. But, when a study reveals that a costly, life-threatening surgery does little to relieve pain or improve an individual’s quality of life, in my opinion such a surgery should not even be considered.

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