Archive for the ‘chiropractic’ Category
If you’re over forty years old you know that as we age our body doesn’t feel or respond the same way as it used to when we were younger. It just doesn’t seem right that our body seems to become less “cooperative,” while our mind appears to improve and become more “inventive.” We’re stiff when we get out of bed; many of the activities we do during the day make us sore in the evening; and, if we’re not mindful, even a motion as simple as turning too quickly or reaching down to pick up a dropped piece of paper, can cause our back or some other muscle group to go into spasm. Fortunately, there is help available that can not only slow down the aging process of the body, but help us to avoid some of those problems altogether.
For an example, arthritis. In point of fact, with the exception of pharmaceuticals, conventional medicine does little to attend to this age-related affliction. What is the basis for such a limited approach? The answer is that most medical doctors are only concerned with the symptoms of arthritis. Chiropractic care, on the other hand, not only helps to relieve the pain of arthritis, naturally, without drugs, but it finds the origin of the affliction and eliminates it. For more than a hundred years, chiropractors, like your San Jose Chiropractor, have been caring for individuals suffering from back pain and other challenges created by arthritic changes in the musculoskeletal system.
Arthritic changes happen as your body ages because, over time, wear of various joints takes place as the result of repetitive stresses, and years of incorrect gait, improper posture, and lack of beneficial movement. Chiropractic treatment brings back motion into your joints and relieves pain, and it corrects any vertebral misalignment that may be causing irritation and restriction. In addition to causing arthritic changes in the spine and increasing pain, did you know that misaligned vertebra can also lower your resistance and immunity? It’s an irrefutable fact, and this could be one of the reasons why it may seem to you that as you age you develop more health issues and that it often takes longer for you to feel better again. Studies have shown that older individuals who are under chiropractic care stay healthier. To put it another way, as you get older, chiropractic treatment is good for what ails you!
Chiropractors are experts when it comes to the health of the musculoskeletal system, from the small, growing frame of an infant to the full-grown body of a mature adult. Your chiropractor is experienced in working with the aging process of the body and has exceptional observational and diagnostic skills that help in locating spinal misalignments and joint degeneration. In fact, a chiropractic examination can frequently reveal certain age-related conditions before they’ve begun to create noticeable pain. In addition, your San Jose Chiropractor can assess your posture and observe your gait to identify inappropriate patterns that could generate more arthritic changes in the future.
So, if you have been feeling your age lately, but you’d like to feel a whole lot better, call your San Jose Chiropractor today!
Dr. David Hoewisch is a San Jose Chiropractor with over 25 years of experience helping thousands of patients get out of pain and get their lives back. His office is located at 1221 Lafayette St., Santa Clara, CA, 95050. Dr. Hoewisch has traveled around the world and is an avid outdoor enthusiast. He is a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) and learned sign language at an early age. He treats many deaf patients in his clinic. For more information go to his website at http://www.mysanjosechiropractor.com
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It’s not surprising that Seattle Chiropractic has treated many foot pain sufferers, and knows all too well how commonplace painful foot problems are nowadays. Here’s why: We’ve all heard that movement is healthy for the whole body, right? In fact, our overall good health is highly influenced by our getting regular physical exercise. If that’s true, why do so many people suffer from aches and pains in their feet? After all, our feet are made for walking, aren’t they? The answer, of course, is “yes,” but they aren’t designed for exploitation.
The average, healthy individual takes 3,000-5,000 steps each day, not counting activities like running and aerobic exercise. But, all too often those steps are made by individuals walking incorrectly, with poor gait patterns and inappropriate posture.
Moreover, a large number of individuals wear badly-designed, poorly-fitting shoes. Moving the body through space incorrectly on feet that are inhibited from performing as they were meant to cannot help but to cause aches and pains not only in various places in the feet, but in other parts of the body, too. For instance, if an individual over-pronates (walks like a duck) in shoes that are poorly-made or unevenly-worn, or in any pair of high heels, that individual is not only likely to develop foot and ankle problems, but will feasibly experience problems of the back, knees and legs.
One of the most well-known foot problems is Plantar Fascitis (heel pain), which is usually caused by inflammation of the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia is a superbly-made, multi-tasking band of connective tissue that encompasses the muscles on the bottom of the foot, fixes the heel bone to the ball of the foot, supports the arch, protects the foot, and absorbs shock. It goes without saying, then, that the healthy function of the plantar fascia is crucial for pain-free walking and exercise.
There are many determinants that contribute to the development of Plantar Fascitis. One factor is short and tight calf muscles. Undue stress on the smaller and weaker plantar muscles and fascia occurs when calf muscles get short and tight, exerting a strong pull on the back of the heel bone. How do calf muscles get short and tight? Besides aerobics, volleyball, running, basketball, tennis, and similar activities that involve running and jumping, the wearing of high heels can cause the problem.
Sudden strenuous activity after a period of prolonged inactivity can contribute to Plantar Fascitis, as can such elements as aberrant gait patterns (e.g., over-pronation), inappropriate footwear, walking on hard or uneven surfaces (particularly with bare feet), and obesity.
Once developed, Plantar Fascitis is often not easy to manage and can become exceedingly painful and persistent. Without appropriate attention, Plantar Fascitis will only get worse.
If you are suffering from the pain of Plantar Fascitis, your chiropractor will be able to establish the cause of your problem and what chiropractic management would be most beneficial. Treatment might include ultrasound therapy, laser, joint manipulation, Graston technique, muscle stretching and strengthening exercises, kinesio taping and, in some cases, orthotics.
Just the other day I read an article on sciencedaily.com regarding a study performed on aged mice bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and the boost that caffeine gave to reversing memory loss. The article began with the angle that “Coffee drinkers may have another reason to pour that extra cup.” It went on to discuss back-to-back studies published online July 6 in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that proved that caffeine notably decreased abnormal levels of the protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease, both in the brains and in the blood of mice that had developed symptoms of the disease.
However, before you decide to add another cuppa to your daily intake, let me, Dr. Jamie Phillips elaborate by including that also on the website, under “Related Stories,” were at least two articles about studies that demonstrated the negative effects of caffeine, “Morning Jolt of Caffeine May Mask Serious Sleep Problems,” and “Coffee Consumption Linked To Increased Risk Of Heart Attack For Persons With Certain Gene Variation.”
Almost every viewpoint, I’ve noticed, particularly when it has to do with age-related health issues, can be affirmed, or at least bolstered, by a number of specific studies. The “yin-yang” of caffeine benefits-deficits certainly aren’t, of course, the only ones. Even so, it did get me to pondering about the reasonableness that there will not ever be any “one thing” that will with absolute certainty help we, humans, to live longer, healthier lives. We are dynamic, biological creatures. We are free to engage in life. We’re not confined to a cage! And, moreover, though Alzheimer’s disease apparently is on the rise, obviously we, cage-free humans, have not been “bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease,” so caffeine isn’t going to be the “one thing” that will prevent or reverse it.
Our body is a splendid, intricate system that is designed to function homeostasis or balance. It is likely, then, that good health is cultivated by a healthy, balanced attitude towards living, instead of our being blindly convinced by the latest health study and “doing” or “overdoing” one specific thing fooling ourselves into believing that it will reverse all of the other immoderate and unwholesome things we do to our bodies.
I believe, as a doctor of chiropractic in Santa Barbara, that every moment of the day we have an opportunity to make healthy choices for our body, to decide what will assist us to live longer, healthier lives. We know what actually “feels” beneficial and what doesn’t when it comes to what is good for us. So, the next time you reach for that extra cup of coffee or that second glass of red wine, I hope that you’ll think about this. Neither one of those things is the “one thing” that will do “everything” for your age-related health issues.
Dr. Jamie Phillips
601 E. Arrellaga St. #201
Santa Barbara, CA, 93103
http://www.santabarbarachiropractic.org