Stress is the rate of wear and tear on the body as a result of anxiety, worry or exhaustion from a difficult or challenging situation. If the source of the stress isn't found and corrected, it may irritate or damage a person's nervous system, which leads to a wide variety of health problems.
How many people actually understand the origins of stress? And, how many actually understand its influence on their daily lives? Very few people actually understand the destruction that is taking place, not only in their lives, but also to their body.
Dr. Mason in his book The Guide to Stress Reduction states, “Stress is directly or indirectly related to 80-90% of all diseases.” High blood pressure affects at least 15% of the adult population in the U.S. and results in 6,000 deaths per year. It is rarely caused by any single condition, but can be related to emotional and physical factors, such as stress. Hans Selye, leading researcher of the effects of stress upon the body, documented the three stages a person goes through in response to stress:
1. Alarm -- where the body's fight or flight mechanisms are activated;
2. Resistance -- where the body adapts to stress or successfully fights it, returning the body to normal;
3. Exhaustion -- due to prolonged stress, low resistance or malfunction.
These cause the body to secrete adrenal hormones, causing the body to lose its ability to digest. Circulation to the heart is decreased, the body's immune defenses are reduced, and the amount of oxygen carried to cells is limited. The body begins showing signs of dysfunction and is more susceptible to infections and disease, which causes wear and tear on the body. Many people aren't aware of stress until they are confronted with the pains of the symptoms: headaches, fatigue, pain and tension in the neck, shoulders and low back, irritability, allergies, sinus, digestive and sleeping problems.
According to the National Sleep Foundation's 2000 Omnibus "Sleep in America" poll, 67% of adults get fewer than the recommended eight hours of sleep a night; 43% report the lack of sleep interferes with daily activities.
On-the-job stress accounts for some of this worker exhaustion. According to a survey conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, 46% report their jobs are stressful at least some of the time. Two out of five say that they are always or often stressed by work.
Stress is a part of your life, which cannot be avoided despite the common misconception that it can. All we can do is minimize its implications by knowing how to manage the effects our jobs, money, relationships, children -- and even foods and drugs -- have on our lives. Exercise, meditation and eating properly will also help you manage and deal with stress more efficiently.
Chiropractic adjustments correct the subluxations caused by an overload of stress, which alter posture and the shape of the spine and disrupt the normal function of the body. Correcting subluxations, or misalignments, reduces tension and eliminates the source of stress not only in the spine but also throughout the body and nervous system.
Stress is a good thing and we all need it to survive, but you’re body’s inability to deal with it is what makes it bad. Regular chiropractic adjustments will allow your body to deal with every day stress more efficiently.
For additional information, please call Northgate Chiropractic at
(206) 367-2224.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Thoughts to Digest...
....terrible pun.
BUT, remember how you're always hearing about chiropractic philosophy stemming from belief in the body's inherent capabilities of self-healing? Here's more proof that you body actually carries these powers!
New research suggests that our most famous long-time labeled "vestigial organ," the appendix, may in fact serve a very vital function. This function? It has been recently suggested that "the appendix still served as a vital safehouse where good bacteria could lie in wait until they were needed to repopulate the gut after a nasty case of diarrhea. Past studies had also found the appendix can help make, direct and train white blood cells." If this is the case, the appendix, long deemed functionless by past and modern medicine, actually carries a hefty healing and repair responsibility. Who would have thought!
Read up!
The Appendix: Useful and in Fact Promising
LiveScience.com
Charles Q. Choi
Special to LiveScience
livescience.com – Mon Aug 24, 10:30 am ET
The body's appendix has long been thought of as nothing more than a worthless evolutionary artifact, good for nothing save a potentially lethal case of inflammation.
Now researchers suggest the appendix is a lot more than a useless remnant. Not only was it recently proposed to actually possess a critical function, but scientists now find it appears in nature a lot more often than before thought. And it's possible some of this organ's ancient uses could be recruited by physicians to help the human body fight disease more effectively.
In a way, the idea that the appendix is an organ whose time has passed has itself become a concept whose time is over.
"Maybe it's time to correct the textbooks," said researcher William Parker, an immunologist at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. "Many biology texts today still refer to the appendix as a 'vestigial organ.'"
Slimy sac
The vermiform appendix is a slimy dead-end sac that hangs between the small and large intestines. No less than Charles Darwin first suggested that the appendix was a vestigial organ from an ancestor that ate leaves, theorizing that it was the evolutionary remains of a larger structure, called a cecum, which once was used by now-extinct predecessors for digesting food.
"Everybody likely knows at least one person who had to get their appendix taken out - slightly more than 1 in 20 people do - and they see there are no ill effects, and this suggests that you don't need it," Parker said.
However, Parker and his colleagues recently suggested that the appendix still served as a vital safehouse where good bacteria could lie in wait until they were needed to repopulate the gut after a nasty case of diarrhea. Past studies had also found the appendix can help make, direct and train white blood cells.
Now, in the first investigation of the appendix over the ages, Parker explained they discovered that it has been around much longer than anyone had suspected, hinting that it plays a critical function.
"The appendix has been around for at least 80 million years, much longer than we would estimate if Darwin's ideas about the appendix were correct," Parker said.
Moreover, the appendix appears in nature much more often than previously acknowledged. It has evolved at least twice, once among Australian marsupials such as the wombat and another time among rats, lemmings, meadow voles, Cape dune mole-rats and other rodents, as well as humans and certain primates.
"When species are divided into groups called 'families,' we find that more than 70 percent of all primate and rodent groups contain species with an appendix," Parker said.
Several living species, including several lemurs, certain rodents and the scaly-tailed flying squirrel, still have an appendix attached to a large cecum, which is used in digestion. Darwin had thought appendices appeared in only a small handful of animals.
"We're not saying that Darwin's idea of evolution is wrong - that would be absurd, as we're using his ideas on evolution to do this work," Parker told LiveScience. "It's just that Darwin simply didn't have the information we have now."
He added, "If Darwin had been aware of the species that have an appendix attached to a large cecum, and if he had known about the widespread nature of the appendix, he probably would not have thought of the appendix as a vestige of evolution."
What causes appendicitis?
Darwin was also not aware that appendicitis, or a potentially deadly inflammation of the appendix, is not due to a faulty appendix, but rather to cultural changes associated with industrialized society and improved sanitation, Parker said.
"Those changes left our immune systems with too little work and too much time their hands - a recipe for trouble," he said. "Darwin had no way of knowing that the function of the appendix could be rendered obsolete by cultural changes that included widespread use of sewer systems and clean drinking water."
Now that scientists are uncovering the normal function of the appendix, Parker notes a critical question to ask is whether anything can be done to prevent appendicitis. He suggests it might be possible to devise ways to incite our immune systems today in much the same manner that they were challenged back in the Stone Age.
"If modern medicine could figure out a way to do that, we would see far fewer cases of allergies, autoimmune disease, and appendicitis," Parker said.
The scientists detailed their findings online August 12 in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
BUT, remember how you're always hearing about chiropractic philosophy stemming from belief in the body's inherent capabilities of self-healing? Here's more proof that you body actually carries these powers!
New research suggests that our most famous long-time labeled "vestigial organ," the appendix, may in fact serve a very vital function. This function? It has been recently suggested that "the appendix still served as a vital safehouse where good bacteria could lie in wait until they were needed to repopulate the gut after a nasty case of diarrhea. Past studies had also found the appendix can help make, direct and train white blood cells." If this is the case, the appendix, long deemed functionless by past and modern medicine, actually carries a hefty healing and repair responsibility. Who would have thought!
Read up!
The Appendix: Useful and in Fact Promising
LiveScience.com
Charles Q. Choi
Special to LiveScience
livescience.com – Mon Aug 24, 10:30 am ET
The body's appendix has long been thought of as nothing more than a worthless evolutionary artifact, good for nothing save a potentially lethal case of inflammation.
Now researchers suggest the appendix is a lot more than a useless remnant. Not only was it recently proposed to actually possess a critical function, but scientists now find it appears in nature a lot more often than before thought. And it's possible some of this organ's ancient uses could be recruited by physicians to help the human body fight disease more effectively.
In a way, the idea that the appendix is an organ whose time has passed has itself become a concept whose time is over.
"Maybe it's time to correct the textbooks," said researcher William Parker, an immunologist at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. "Many biology texts today still refer to the appendix as a 'vestigial organ.'"
Slimy sac
The vermiform appendix is a slimy dead-end sac that hangs between the small and large intestines. No less than Charles Darwin first suggested that the appendix was a vestigial organ from an ancestor that ate leaves, theorizing that it was the evolutionary remains of a larger structure, called a cecum, which once was used by now-extinct predecessors for digesting food.
"Everybody likely knows at least one person who had to get their appendix taken out - slightly more than 1 in 20 people do - and they see there are no ill effects, and this suggests that you don't need it," Parker said.
However, Parker and his colleagues recently suggested that the appendix still served as a vital safehouse where good bacteria could lie in wait until they were needed to repopulate the gut after a nasty case of diarrhea. Past studies had also found the appendix can help make, direct and train white blood cells.
Now, in the first investigation of the appendix over the ages, Parker explained they discovered that it has been around much longer than anyone had suspected, hinting that it plays a critical function.
"The appendix has been around for at least 80 million years, much longer than we would estimate if Darwin's ideas about the appendix were correct," Parker said.
Moreover, the appendix appears in nature much more often than previously acknowledged. It has evolved at least twice, once among Australian marsupials such as the wombat and another time among rats, lemmings, meadow voles, Cape dune mole-rats and other rodents, as well as humans and certain primates.
"When species are divided into groups called 'families,' we find that more than 70 percent of all primate and rodent groups contain species with an appendix," Parker said.
Several living species, including several lemurs, certain rodents and the scaly-tailed flying squirrel, still have an appendix attached to a large cecum, which is used in digestion. Darwin had thought appendices appeared in only a small handful of animals.
"We're not saying that Darwin's idea of evolution is wrong - that would be absurd, as we're using his ideas on evolution to do this work," Parker told LiveScience. "It's just that Darwin simply didn't have the information we have now."
He added, "If Darwin had been aware of the species that have an appendix attached to a large cecum, and if he had known about the widespread nature of the appendix, he probably would not have thought of the appendix as a vestige of evolution."
What causes appendicitis?
Darwin was also not aware that appendicitis, or a potentially deadly inflammation of the appendix, is not due to a faulty appendix, but rather to cultural changes associated with industrialized society and improved sanitation, Parker said.
"Those changes left our immune systems with too little work and too much time their hands - a recipe for trouble," he said. "Darwin had no way of knowing that the function of the appendix could be rendered obsolete by cultural changes that included widespread use of sewer systems and clean drinking water."
Now that scientists are uncovering the normal function of the appendix, Parker notes a critical question to ask is whether anything can be done to prevent appendicitis. He suggests it might be possible to devise ways to incite our immune systems today in much the same manner that they were challenged back in the Stone Age.
"If modern medicine could figure out a way to do that, we would see far fewer cases of allergies, autoimmune disease, and appendicitis," Parker said.
The scientists detailed their findings online August 12 in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Food for Thought
An interesting article pulled off the New York Times Website today... think what you will about the reliability and validity of the test, or the comparison of rat results to humans and so forth... but its still an interesting (and maybe not shocking) concept.
The New York Times--Health
August 13, 2009, 1:00 pm
Fatty Foods Affect Memory and Exercise
By Tara Parker-Pope
Eating fatty food appears to take an almost immediate toll on both short-term memory and exercise performance, according to new research on rats and people.
Other studies have suggested that long-term consumption of a high-fat diet is associated with weight gain, heart disease and declines in cognitive function. But the new research shows how indulging in fatty foods over the course of a few days can affect the brain and body long before the extra pounds show up.
To determine the effect of a fatty diet on memory and muscle performance, researchers studied 32 rats that were fed low-fat rat chow and trained for two months to complete a challenging maze. The maze included eight different paths that ended with a treat of sweetened condensed milk. The goal was for the rat to find each treat without doubling back into a corridor where it had already been. The maze was wiped down with alcohol, so the rat had to rely on memory rather than sense of smell.
All of the rats studied had mastered the maze, finding at least six or seven of the eight treats before making a mistake. Some rats even found all eight on the first try.
Then half the rats were switched to high-fat rat chow (comprised of 55 percent fat), while the remaining rats stayed on their regular chow (which had 7.5 percent fat). After four days, the rats eating the fatty chow began to falter on the maze test — all of them did worse than when they were on their regular chow. On average, the rats on the fatty diet found only five treats before making a mistake. The rats who stayed with their regular food continued the same high level of performance on the maze, finding six or more treats before making a mistake.
Half of the rats had also been trained to run on a treadmill. After only a few days on the high-fat diet, the rats performed 30 percent worse on the treadmill. After five days of testing, the treadmill performance of the rats eating fatty foods had declined by half. The study results appear in The Faseb Journal, which is the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
“We expected to see changes, but maybe not so dramatic and not in such a short space of time,’’ said Andrew Murray, the study’s lead author and a lecturer in physiology at Cambridge University in Britain. “It was really striking how quickly these effects happened.’’
Although the human data aren’t yet published, the researchers have also performed similar studies of high-fat diets in healthy young men who then performed exercise and cognitive tests. Dr. Murray said he is still reviewing the data, but the short-term effect of a fatty diet on humans appears to be similar to that found in the rat studies.
It’s not clear why fatty foods would cause a short-term decline in cognitive function. One theory is that a high-fat diet can trigger insulin resistance, which means the body becomes less efficient at using the glucose, or blood sugar, so important to brain function.
Fatty foods appear to have a short-term effect on exercise performance because the body reacts to high fat content in the blood by releasing certain proteins that essentially make the metabolism less efficient. “It’s thought to be a protective mechanism to get rid of excess fat,’’ Dr. Murray said. “But it was making muscles less efficient at using oxygen and fuel to make the energy needed to run.’’
The findings are particularly relevant to people who may not worry about binging on fatty foods because they exercise regularly.
“Exercise is a good way of burning it off, because you’re burning the calories off,’’ Dr. Murray said. “But in terms of actually trying to put in a good time if you’re running, it will limit your performance.’’
The New York Times--Health
August 13, 2009, 1:00 pm
Fatty Foods Affect Memory and Exercise
By Tara Parker-Pope
Eating fatty food appears to take an almost immediate toll on both short-term memory and exercise performance, according to new research on rats and people.
Other studies have suggested that long-term consumption of a high-fat diet is associated with weight gain, heart disease and declines in cognitive function. But the new research shows how indulging in fatty foods over the course of a few days can affect the brain and body long before the extra pounds show up.
To determine the effect of a fatty diet on memory and muscle performance, researchers studied 32 rats that were fed low-fat rat chow and trained for two months to complete a challenging maze. The maze included eight different paths that ended with a treat of sweetened condensed milk. The goal was for the rat to find each treat without doubling back into a corridor where it had already been. The maze was wiped down with alcohol, so the rat had to rely on memory rather than sense of smell.
All of the rats studied had mastered the maze, finding at least six or seven of the eight treats before making a mistake. Some rats even found all eight on the first try.
Then half the rats were switched to high-fat rat chow (comprised of 55 percent fat), while the remaining rats stayed on their regular chow (which had 7.5 percent fat). After four days, the rats eating the fatty chow began to falter on the maze test — all of them did worse than when they were on their regular chow. On average, the rats on the fatty diet found only five treats before making a mistake. The rats who stayed with their regular food continued the same high level of performance on the maze, finding six or more treats before making a mistake.
Half of the rats had also been trained to run on a treadmill. After only a few days on the high-fat diet, the rats performed 30 percent worse on the treadmill. After five days of testing, the treadmill performance of the rats eating fatty foods had declined by half. The study results appear in The Faseb Journal, which is the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
“We expected to see changes, but maybe not so dramatic and not in such a short space of time,’’ said Andrew Murray, the study’s lead author and a lecturer in physiology at Cambridge University in Britain. “It was really striking how quickly these effects happened.’’
Although the human data aren’t yet published, the researchers have also performed similar studies of high-fat diets in healthy young men who then performed exercise and cognitive tests. Dr. Murray said he is still reviewing the data, but the short-term effect of a fatty diet on humans appears to be similar to that found in the rat studies.
It’s not clear why fatty foods would cause a short-term decline in cognitive function. One theory is that a high-fat diet can trigger insulin resistance, which means the body becomes less efficient at using the glucose, or blood sugar, so important to brain function.
Fatty foods appear to have a short-term effect on exercise performance because the body reacts to high fat content in the blood by releasing certain proteins that essentially make the metabolism less efficient. “It’s thought to be a protective mechanism to get rid of excess fat,’’ Dr. Murray said. “But it was making muscles less efficient at using oxygen and fuel to make the energy needed to run.’’
The findings are particularly relevant to people who may not worry about binging on fatty foods because they exercise regularly.
“Exercise is a good way of burning it off, because you’re burning the calories off,’’ Dr. Murray said. “But in terms of actually trying to put in a good time if you’re running, it will limit your performance.’’
Monday, August 17, 2009
Relieve Sinus Pressure with Chiropractic Care
For all of my life I have lived in Central Canada. Mold, Pollen and Ragweed are abundant everywhere. I have found that Winnipeg is the greatest place that you can live if you want sinusitis. In the Winnipeg region, one out of every two people has sinus problems on a regular basis. So why is it that the other person doesn’t have sinuses. Well, in my opinion, it comes down to several very important areas. The first is the bodies ability to process and eliminate pollutants and irritants in our environment, second is the foods you eat and most importantly the health of the nervous and immune system. Current research states that the immune system is controlled and regulated by the nervous system. The nervous system is the master controller of the body and all functions are controlled by the nervous system. Your sinuses are controlled by the nerves that supply them. If the nerve that supplies the sinuses (there are 8 of them) is pinched or irritated, then the sinuses will not eliminate mucus and irritants properly. This will cause mucus buildup and constant inflammation and blockage.
I have also found that diet has a huge impact on the health of your sinuses. The average American diet is very high in dairy products with minimal amounts of water. But are dairy products good for my bones? Minimal amounts of dairy are okay, but soy products have a greater nutritive value than dairy with no added chemicals. Today’s dairy products have high amounts of antibiotics, steroids and growth hormones that farmers use to continually keep the cows producing large amounts of milk and reduce infection. When they give the cow these chemicals, it is passed on in the milk. That is why we are told not to take drugs when we are pregnant or breast-feeding.
So what does chiropractic care have to do with my sinuses? Chiropractic care restores the body’s natural ability to eliminate and expel these irritants without drugs or medication. This is done by a chiropractic adjustment. In a research study, significant relief of symptoms was achieved after the adjustment was performed.
Here is what several patients had to say about their health.
“I was also diagnosed with chronic sinusitis, and you can imagine what that was doing to my ears. After two weeks, my nose was almost completely clear, and no more caked, green nose. Mom is happy and I’m a better boy. We have also avoided allergy testing completely! Allergy testing would have been very painful to mom and me with a more than $400 bill just to see what I’m allergic to.”
Another patient of the office stated “I have taken sinus medication for years with minimal relief, but after consistent adjustments, my sinuses are 95% better with no medications or side effects. The side effects from the medications were a mile long. I would recommend chiropractic to everyone in the Seattle.”
For additional information, please call Northgate Chiropractic at
(206) 367-2224.
I have also found that diet has a huge impact on the health of your sinuses. The average American diet is very high in dairy products with minimal amounts of water. But are dairy products good for my bones? Minimal amounts of dairy are okay, but soy products have a greater nutritive value than dairy with no added chemicals. Today’s dairy products have high amounts of antibiotics, steroids and growth hormones that farmers use to continually keep the cows producing large amounts of milk and reduce infection. When they give the cow these chemicals, it is passed on in the milk. That is why we are told not to take drugs when we are pregnant or breast-feeding.
So what does chiropractic care have to do with my sinuses? Chiropractic care restores the body’s natural ability to eliminate and expel these irritants without drugs or medication. This is done by a chiropractic adjustment. In a research study, significant relief of symptoms was achieved after the adjustment was performed.
Here is what several patients had to say about their health.
“I was also diagnosed with chronic sinusitis, and you can imagine what that was doing to my ears. After two weeks, my nose was almost completely clear, and no more caked, green nose. Mom is happy and I’m a better boy. We have also avoided allergy testing completely! Allergy testing would have been very painful to mom and me with a more than $400 bill just to see what I’m allergic to.”
Another patient of the office stated “I have taken sinus medication for years with minimal relief, but after consistent adjustments, my sinuses are 95% better with no medications or side effects. The side effects from the medications were a mile long. I would recommend chiropractic to everyone in the Seattle.”
For additional information, please call Northgate Chiropractic at
(206) 367-2224.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Your Chiropractic Future
The Following except is taken from Gerard Clum, D.C., President of Life Chiropractic College West and is published at http://www.lifewest.edu/myfuture.html. Take a moment to read his comments on the need for your voice in the push for chiropractic care to be a focal point in the current healthcare reform.
My Future-Your Future-The Nation’s Future
Colleagues,
Over the past few months we have all heard and read a great deal about national health reform. We have all felt a bit frustrated in trying to enter the debate or to respond to proposals because so little detail has been available. At this point in the game, that is changing by the hour and it is time to enter the fray!
It appears that there are two windows of opportunity between now and the end of the year for health care reform legislation to be brought forward in Congress. The first is as a part of the budget process at the end of the summer and the second is as a part of Medicare-related tidying up at the end of the year. Either way, the time to get involved is now.
President Obama got elected in large part due to the Internet and social networking opportunities. In the discussion of health care reform it is easy to throw up your hands, assume the big players of pharma, medicine and hospitals will have their way, and the opportunity for input by the average citizen-consumer or citizen-provider will be lost in the shuffle.
Mr. Obama tells us it isn’t going to be that way and that each and every one of us has the opportunity for input, the opportunity to be heard. We can choose to defer to those who will speak up, or we can speak up. I am asking you, pleading with you and begging you to speak up.
Let’s use the tools that got the president elected to speak to him and our elected officials and their staff members who will be penning the language that will shape the future of health care in America. Lest you think that nothing is happening, consider that on June 18, Senator Hatch offered an amendment to Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee of the Senate to include chiropractors in community health centers. At the same time in the House Armed Services Committee language was put forward that expands chiropractic services for the military. Both measures were accepted and are moving forward as part of larger legislative packages.
Getting Involved--The ABC’s
First and foremost, YOU need to write a letter to Mr. Obama, your representative and your senators.
What to say: Make it short and sweet. More than one page is wasted. Let them know that inclusion of chiropractic services as an essential service on a direct access basis in health reform will increase efficiency, lower cost and increase safety in health care—especially for neuromusculoskeletal problems. This will be accomplished because chiropractic care is high-touch, low-tech, offers an option to medication and the related side effects and offers higher levels of patient satisfaction than other forms of care.
How to send it: The best mode of transmission is by fax to their Washington offices, next is by U.S. post to their local offices, next is by e-mail.
Note: Legislators are not 20-somethings; they appreciate e-mail but they understand a stack of mail better. Mail sent by U.S. Post to Washington, D.C. is redirected to a security clearance center and is delayed by weeks. Don’t send mail to their Washington, D.C. addresses
Where to send it: For the local address of your member of the House of Representatives visit www.house.gov; for your Senators visit www.senate.gov; for the President, address your letter as follows:
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
Before you send it: Use your spellchecker, make sure it is less than one page, leave your life’s story out of it, politely tell them what you want and say thank you!
Second step
We all need to think strategically. We all need to leverage our relationships to impact this situation. Stop for a moment and think about the spheres of influence in your life—your family, your church, your neighborhood, your civic organizations, your classmates, your friends, your Facebook and Twitter contacts. One of the goals for you will be to bring the urgency of this message to all of them.
After you have identified all the sub-worlds within your world, think about how you can best contact them and enlist them in this effort. Some will be people you need to speak to and then follow up with an e-mail or a tweet, others will be Internet-oriented contacts you can address electronically. Consider customizing your contact in a way that will maximize their response.
Send them a copy of the letters you sent to your Representative, Senators and the President. Encourage them to do the same. Send them the URL for this page www.lifewest.edu/myfuture.html and encourage them to get involved. Their involvement can be for all sorts of reasons, to protect their own access to chiropractic care, to protect your access to chiropractic care, to protect your career, to ensure fairness and freedom of choice in health care, to make you happy, or to get you to stop e-mailing them about whether they have followed through as you requested. Then keep following through with them and ask them to confirm that they have written their elected officials as well.
Third step
Lend your support to centralized efforts in the profession to bring our message to our elected officials. Visit the ICA’s website at www.chiropractic.org or go directly to www.adjustthevote.org/cdd/subscribe Visit the ACA’s website at www.acatoday.org or go directly to www.chirovoice.org and sign up to be a part of their efforts.
Background and Briefing Materials:
The American Chiropractic Association (ACA), the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC), the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA) and the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) have all agreed upon a “white paper” to address government on a unified basis with respect to health care reform. A copy of this 28 page report can be accessed at: www.lifewest.edu/myfuture/summitreport.html
President Obama recently addressed the annual meeting of the American Medical Association on health care reform. A copy of his remarks can be found at www.lifewest.edu/myfuture/ObamaAMA.html
A Recent Time/CNN article on health care reform identified 5 key roadblocks to the achievement of health care reform. A copy of the Time article can be accessed at:
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1902708,00.html
The New Yorker Magazine recently ran an article that Mr. Obama cited as detailing “the problem” and “what we need to fix in health care”. A copy of that article can be found at:
www.lifewest.edu/myfuture/newyorker.html
“On the Plains of Hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions who, at the Door of victory, sat down to wait, and waiting—died.”
Gerard Clum, D.C.
President
Life Chiropractic College West
25001 Industrial Blvd
Hayward, CA 94545
gclum@lifewest.edu
(510) 780-4500 ext. 4550
Dr. Stephen Lachuta is a graduate of Life Chiropractic College West. For additional information, please call Northgate Chiropractic at
(206) 367-2224.
My Future-Your Future-The Nation’s Future
Colleagues,
Over the past few months we have all heard and read a great deal about national health reform. We have all felt a bit frustrated in trying to enter the debate or to respond to proposals because so little detail has been available. At this point in the game, that is changing by the hour and it is time to enter the fray!
It appears that there are two windows of opportunity between now and the end of the year for health care reform legislation to be brought forward in Congress. The first is as a part of the budget process at the end of the summer and the second is as a part of Medicare-related tidying up at the end of the year. Either way, the time to get involved is now.
President Obama got elected in large part due to the Internet and social networking opportunities. In the discussion of health care reform it is easy to throw up your hands, assume the big players of pharma, medicine and hospitals will have their way, and the opportunity for input by the average citizen-consumer or citizen-provider will be lost in the shuffle.
Mr. Obama tells us it isn’t going to be that way and that each and every one of us has the opportunity for input, the opportunity to be heard. We can choose to defer to those who will speak up, or we can speak up. I am asking you, pleading with you and begging you to speak up.
Let’s use the tools that got the president elected to speak to him and our elected officials and their staff members who will be penning the language that will shape the future of health care in America. Lest you think that nothing is happening, consider that on June 18, Senator Hatch offered an amendment to Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee of the Senate to include chiropractors in community health centers. At the same time in the House Armed Services Committee language was put forward that expands chiropractic services for the military. Both measures were accepted and are moving forward as part of larger legislative packages.
Getting Involved--The ABC’s
First and foremost, YOU need to write a letter to Mr. Obama, your representative and your senators.
What to say: Make it short and sweet. More than one page is wasted. Let them know that inclusion of chiropractic services as an essential service on a direct access basis in health reform will increase efficiency, lower cost and increase safety in health care—especially for neuromusculoskeletal problems. This will be accomplished because chiropractic care is high-touch, low-tech, offers an option to medication and the related side effects and offers higher levels of patient satisfaction than other forms of care.
How to send it: The best mode of transmission is by fax to their Washington offices, next is by U.S. post to their local offices, next is by e-mail.
Note: Legislators are not 20-somethings; they appreciate e-mail but they understand a stack of mail better. Mail sent by U.S. Post to Washington, D.C. is redirected to a security clearance center and is delayed by weeks. Don’t send mail to their Washington, D.C. addresses
Where to send it: For the local address of your member of the House of Representatives visit www.house.gov; for your Senators visit www.senate.gov; for the President, address your letter as follows:
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
Before you send it: Use your spellchecker, make sure it is less than one page, leave your life’s story out of it, politely tell them what you want and say thank you!
Second step
We all need to think strategically. We all need to leverage our relationships to impact this situation. Stop for a moment and think about the spheres of influence in your life—your family, your church, your neighborhood, your civic organizations, your classmates, your friends, your Facebook and Twitter contacts. One of the goals for you will be to bring the urgency of this message to all of them.
After you have identified all the sub-worlds within your world, think about how you can best contact them and enlist them in this effort. Some will be people you need to speak to and then follow up with an e-mail or a tweet, others will be Internet-oriented contacts you can address electronically. Consider customizing your contact in a way that will maximize their response.
Send them a copy of the letters you sent to your Representative, Senators and the President. Encourage them to do the same. Send them the URL for this page www.lifewest.edu/myfuture.html and encourage them to get involved. Their involvement can be for all sorts of reasons, to protect their own access to chiropractic care, to protect your access to chiropractic care, to protect your career, to ensure fairness and freedom of choice in health care, to make you happy, or to get you to stop e-mailing them about whether they have followed through as you requested. Then keep following through with them and ask them to confirm that they have written their elected officials as well.
Third step
Lend your support to centralized efforts in the profession to bring our message to our elected officials. Visit the ICA’s website at www.chiropractic.org or go directly to www.adjustthevote.org/cdd/subscribe Visit the ACA’s website at www.acatoday.org or go directly to www.chirovoice.org and sign up to be a part of their efforts.
Background and Briefing Materials:
The American Chiropractic Association (ACA), the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC), the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA) and the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) have all agreed upon a “white paper” to address government on a unified basis with respect to health care reform. A copy of this 28 page report can be accessed at: www.lifewest.edu/myfuture/summitreport.html
President Obama recently addressed the annual meeting of the American Medical Association on health care reform. A copy of his remarks can be found at www.lifewest.edu/myfuture/ObamaAMA.html
A Recent Time/CNN article on health care reform identified 5 key roadblocks to the achievement of health care reform. A copy of the Time article can be accessed at:
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1902708,00.html
The New Yorker Magazine recently ran an article that Mr. Obama cited as detailing “the problem” and “what we need to fix in health care”. A copy of that article can be found at:
www.lifewest.edu/myfuture/newyorker.html
“On the Plains of Hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions who, at the Door of victory, sat down to wait, and waiting—died.”
Gerard Clum, D.C.
President
Life Chiropractic College West
25001 Industrial Blvd
Hayward, CA 94545
gclum@lifewest.edu
(510) 780-4500 ext. 4550
Dr. Stephen Lachuta is a graduate of Life Chiropractic College West. For additional information, please call Northgate Chiropractic at
(206) 367-2224.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Feeling the Effects of your Summer Sports Activity??
The MOST IMPORTANT piece of golf equipment is YOUR SPINE!
Professional golf instructors estimate that 80-100% of golfers' swing problems begin from faulty posture. Therefore, having a Chiropractor evaluate your posture should be the first and most important step toward building an optimal golf swing. Most postural faults are caused by muscle and connective tissue imbalances that pull a golfers body out of alignment, or a misalignment in spinal bones. The result of an unbalanced or asymmetrical standing posture will always be unbalanced and decreased performance. If the golf instructors are correct, a poor posture, when addressing the ball, will result in a poor and/or inconsistent golf swing. Moreover, sooner or later, golfing with a poor posture and swing motion will cause injuries. Research states that 80% of the population has lower back pain.
An onlooker may assume that the never-ending quest to put the little white ball into the cup calls upon little of the athleticism required by other warm-weather sports such as tennis or cycling. Not true. Many avid golfers contort their bodies into oddly twisted postures, generating a great deal of torque-the twisting force that opens a bottle cap-on the back. Couple this motion with a bent-over stance, repeat 90 to 120 times over three or four hours, add the fatigue that comes with several miles of walking, and you've got a good workout-and a recipe for potential lower back trouble.
As America's love affair with the game continues to grow and are playing in a big tournament, chiropractors advocate taking a proactive approach that will prepare your body for many years of pain-free play. "Most golfers go until they are in pain, then look for immediate relief. Northgate Chiropractic advocates a different approach-by helping patients look at what they can do right now to reduce the likelihood of future injury.” We want people to be able to play without pain and have the greatest potential for a lifetime.
If you take this approach, you're in good company. As a chiropractor I have found the direct connection between the spine and performance. Nerves control every muscle in your spine. A pinched nerve will decrease performance. Stan Sheppard states, “The difference between winning and losing could be just one stroke.” Many professional golfers such as Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson rely on chiropractors to increase their performance. To find out if chiropractic could increase your performance in golf please call our office to schedule an appointment at (206) 367-2224.
Professional golf instructors estimate that 80-100% of golfers' swing problems begin from faulty posture. Therefore, having a Chiropractor evaluate your posture should be the first and most important step toward building an optimal golf swing. Most postural faults are caused by muscle and connective tissue imbalances that pull a golfers body out of alignment, or a misalignment in spinal bones. The result of an unbalanced or asymmetrical standing posture will always be unbalanced and decreased performance. If the golf instructors are correct, a poor posture, when addressing the ball, will result in a poor and/or inconsistent golf swing. Moreover, sooner or later, golfing with a poor posture and swing motion will cause injuries. Research states that 80% of the population has lower back pain.
An onlooker may assume that the never-ending quest to put the little white ball into the cup calls upon little of the athleticism required by other warm-weather sports such as tennis or cycling. Not true. Many avid golfers contort their bodies into oddly twisted postures, generating a great deal of torque-the twisting force that opens a bottle cap-on the back. Couple this motion with a bent-over stance, repeat 90 to 120 times over three or four hours, add the fatigue that comes with several miles of walking, and you've got a good workout-and a recipe for potential lower back trouble.
As America's love affair with the game continues to grow and are playing in a big tournament, chiropractors advocate taking a proactive approach that will prepare your body for many years of pain-free play. "Most golfers go until they are in pain, then look for immediate relief. Northgate Chiropractic advocates a different approach-by helping patients look at what they can do right now to reduce the likelihood of future injury.” We want people to be able to play without pain and have the greatest potential for a lifetime.
If you take this approach, you're in good company. As a chiropractor I have found the direct connection between the spine and performance. Nerves control every muscle in your spine. A pinched nerve will decrease performance. Stan Sheppard states, “The difference between winning and losing could be just one stroke.” Many professional golfers such as Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson rely on chiropractors to increase their performance. To find out if chiropractic could increase your performance in golf please call our office to schedule an appointment at (206) 367-2224.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Here Comes Allergy Season!!
Has the quick shift in weather got your allergies acting up early?
A healthy immune system means high resistance to disease and infection, an enhanced ability to deal with environmental stresses, and greater health and well-being. The immune system is one of the most complicated, sensitive, and mysterious systems in the body. It is influenced by our neurological and hormonal systems, by our diet, and even by emotional and mental stress. Science's understanding of it is in its infancy, yet many believe it holds the ultimate key to life and health.
Thus we can see that if the immune system were to malfunction we could be in very serious trouble. The most common disorder of the immune system is one that is a lot less frightening: the allergy.
Substances that cause an allergic reaction are called allergens. An allergic reaction (sensitivity) occurs when the immune system overreacts to an allergen and produces too many neutralizing chemicals (especially histamines) to counteract it. Some examples of allergens are dust; pollen; medicines; dog or cat dander; dairy; soaps; detergents and other kitchen chemicals; and even foods like strawberries or chocolate (heaven forbid!).
A common example of an allergy is hayfever. Although most people who breathe ragweed pollen aren't bothered by the microscopic bits of plants that constitute pollen, some have an immune system that overreacts to it. The runny eyes, irritated mucus membranes, redness, pounding in the head, fullness in the sinuses - are produced by the neutralizing chemicals.
The cause of allergies and immune system disease has not been conclusively determined. However, there are those who attribute the proliferation of allergies and other immune system diseases to the mass vaccination campaigns of the past few decades.
Medicine has no cure for allergies, only treatment. According to Robert Mendelsohn, M.D “You can depend on most doctors to largely ignore the cause and instead rush madly to treatment.” Unfortunately, the treatment is often worse than the disease, especially since the relatively safe folk-measures of yesteryear have been replaced by the sophisticated, dangerous drugs of modern medicine.
Overreaction to allergens causes the body to release the chemical histamine (as well as other chemicals) that cause inflammation
and other symptoms. Antihistamines are often prescribed to counter these effects. In most cases the antihistamines dry up the nasal passages and decrease the discomfort from itching, but do not correct the immune system overreaction.
Antihistamines, steroid hormones, and long-term desensitization all carry significant negative side effects.
Regarding allergy shots (desensitization), Dr. Mendelsohn states, "Although millions of patients have received the shots over the past 60 years, there are no, good, long-term studies to determine possible neurologic or other consequences of this treatment." Also mentioned was "a striking incidence of positive 'rheumatoid factors' in allergic children receiving shots.” Clinical studies have shown that breast fed babies have fewer allergy problems than formula-fed babies. Although chiropractic is not a treatment for diseases, allergies included, it does, by permitting the nervous system to function with less stress, permit the immune system to function more effectively - and this is something all allergy sufferers need.
Many studies have revealed the effect of a healthy nervous system on immune system health. Ronald Pero, Ph.D., chief of cancer prevention research at New York's Preventive Medicine Institute and professor of medicine at New York University, measured the immune systems of people under chiropractic care as compared to those in the general population and those with cancer and other serious diseases.
His study found that chiropractic patients have a 200% greater immune competence than people who had not received chiropractic care. Allergies can make people's lives miserable. The standard medical approach may give short-term relief but is controversial and dangerous, and its long-term effects are untested. Common sense tells us to explore the safest, most natural means of dealing with problems before resorting to more extreme measures. A two-fold approach to allergies is often recommended: first, the avoidance of those substances that cause severe reactions and, second, correction of the basic cause - a malfunctioning immune system.
As one authority states, “A healthy body is capable of neutralizing these toxic substances and a body which has malfunctioning defense mechanisms cannot. The emphasis on allergies must be on building a healthy body, not on trying to use evasive tactics by eliminating all the allergens."
For additional information, please call Northgate Chiropractic at
(206) 367-2224.
A healthy immune system means high resistance to disease and infection, an enhanced ability to deal with environmental stresses, and greater health and well-being. The immune system is one of the most complicated, sensitive, and mysterious systems in the body. It is influenced by our neurological and hormonal systems, by our diet, and even by emotional and mental stress. Science's understanding of it is in its infancy, yet many believe it holds the ultimate key to life and health.
Thus we can see that if the immune system were to malfunction we could be in very serious trouble. The most common disorder of the immune system is one that is a lot less frightening: the allergy.
Substances that cause an allergic reaction are called allergens. An allergic reaction (sensitivity) occurs when the immune system overreacts to an allergen and produces too many neutralizing chemicals (especially histamines) to counteract it. Some examples of allergens are dust; pollen; medicines; dog or cat dander; dairy; soaps; detergents and other kitchen chemicals; and even foods like strawberries or chocolate (heaven forbid!).
A common example of an allergy is hayfever. Although most people who breathe ragweed pollen aren't bothered by the microscopic bits of plants that constitute pollen, some have an immune system that overreacts to it. The runny eyes, irritated mucus membranes, redness, pounding in the head, fullness in the sinuses - are produced by the neutralizing chemicals.
The cause of allergies and immune system disease has not been conclusively determined. However, there are those who attribute the proliferation of allergies and other immune system diseases to the mass vaccination campaigns of the past few decades.
Medicine has no cure for allergies, only treatment. According to Robert Mendelsohn, M.D “You can depend on most doctors to largely ignore the cause and instead rush madly to treatment.” Unfortunately, the treatment is often worse than the disease, especially since the relatively safe folk-measures of yesteryear have been replaced by the sophisticated, dangerous drugs of modern medicine.
Overreaction to allergens causes the body to release the chemical histamine (as well as other chemicals) that cause inflammation
and other symptoms. Antihistamines are often prescribed to counter these effects. In most cases the antihistamines dry up the nasal passages and decrease the discomfort from itching, but do not correct the immune system overreaction.
Antihistamines, steroid hormones, and long-term desensitization all carry significant negative side effects.
Regarding allergy shots (desensitization), Dr. Mendelsohn states, "Although millions of patients have received the shots over the past 60 years, there are no, good, long-term studies to determine possible neurologic or other consequences of this treatment." Also mentioned was "a striking incidence of positive 'rheumatoid factors' in allergic children receiving shots.” Clinical studies have shown that breast fed babies have fewer allergy problems than formula-fed babies. Although chiropractic is not a treatment for diseases, allergies included, it does, by permitting the nervous system to function with less stress, permit the immune system to function more effectively - and this is something all allergy sufferers need.
Many studies have revealed the effect of a healthy nervous system on immune system health. Ronald Pero, Ph.D., chief of cancer prevention research at New York's Preventive Medicine Institute and professor of medicine at New York University, measured the immune systems of people under chiropractic care as compared to those in the general population and those with cancer and other serious diseases.
His study found that chiropractic patients have a 200% greater immune competence than people who had not received chiropractic care. Allergies can make people's lives miserable. The standard medical approach may give short-term relief but is controversial and dangerous, and its long-term effects are untested. Common sense tells us to explore the safest, most natural means of dealing with problems before resorting to more extreme measures. A two-fold approach to allergies is often recommended: first, the avoidance of those substances that cause severe reactions and, second, correction of the basic cause - a malfunctioning immune system.
As one authority states, “A healthy body is capable of neutralizing these toxic substances and a body which has malfunctioning defense mechanisms cannot. The emphasis on allergies must be on building a healthy body, not on trying to use evasive tactics by eliminating all the allergens."
For additional information, please call Northgate Chiropractic at
(206) 367-2224.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Eat.Taste.Heal-An Ayurvedic Cookbook for Modern Living
Check out our new favorite read:
Eat Taste Heal-An Ayurvedic Cookbook for Modern Living
The website describes the book as follows:
Eat • Taste • Heal: An Ayurvedic [Guidebook and]Cookbook for Modern Living provides modern applications of Ayurveda, humankind’s most ancient system of healthy living. A complete guidebook and cookbook in one, Eat • Taste • Heal offers every reader an individualized blueprint for achieving vibrant health. Fulfilling the adage, “Let Food Be Thy Medicine,” Eat • Taste • Heal offers recipes that are inviting to both the kitchen novice and master chef.
..The authors are a unique trio: physician, patient, and chef. Dr. Thomas Yarema M.D., director of Kerala Ayurveda, [created an integrative dietary program] rooted in common sense.] Daniel Rhoda, [an Ayurvedic practitioner] who found healing through Ayurveda, demystifies the ancient science that helped restore his health. Chef Johnny Brannigan, an internationally trained Ayurvedic chef, has created more than 150 recipes to empower individual healing through the exploration of taste.
Eat • Taste • Heal is the recipient of 7 National Awards.
A personal favorite of Dr. Stephen Lachuta, Eat, Taste, Heal has been one book he's found on ayurvedic health and diet that actually makes sense for both those familiar and unfamiliar with Ayurvedic Medicine. And the recipes are good too!
Visit the Eat, Taste, Heal website at:
http://www.eattasteheal.com/index.html
to learn more not only about the cookbook (guidebook), but to explore and learn about Ayurveda, digestion and toxin accumulation, determine your Dosha, discover which foods will balance your dosha, and some good detox tips.
This book comes with a great recommendation from Northgate Chiropractic!
Eat Taste Heal-An Ayurvedic Cookbook for Modern Living
The website describes the book as follows:
Eat • Taste • Heal: An Ayurvedic [Guidebook and]Cookbook for Modern Living provides modern applications of Ayurveda, humankind’s most ancient system of healthy living. A complete guidebook and cookbook in one, Eat • Taste • Heal offers every reader an individualized blueprint for achieving vibrant health. Fulfilling the adage, “Let Food Be Thy Medicine,” Eat • Taste • Heal offers recipes that are inviting to both the kitchen novice and master chef.
..The authors are a unique trio: physician, patient, and chef. Dr. Thomas Yarema M.D., director of Kerala Ayurveda, [created an integrative dietary program] rooted in common sense.] Daniel Rhoda, [an Ayurvedic practitioner] who found healing through Ayurveda, demystifies the ancient science that helped restore his health. Chef Johnny Brannigan, an internationally trained Ayurvedic chef, has created more than 150 recipes to empower individual healing through the exploration of taste.
Eat • Taste • Heal is the recipient of 7 National Awards.
A personal favorite of Dr. Stephen Lachuta, Eat, Taste, Heal has been one book he's found on ayurvedic health and diet that actually makes sense for both those familiar and unfamiliar with Ayurvedic Medicine. And the recipes are good too!
Visit the Eat, Taste, Heal website at:
http://www.eattasteheal.com/index.html
to learn more not only about the cookbook (guidebook), but to explore and learn about Ayurveda, digestion and toxin accumulation, determine your Dosha, discover which foods will balance your dosha, and some good detox tips.
This book comes with a great recommendation from Northgate Chiropractic!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
8 Simple Steps to a Better Nights Sleep!
8 Simple Steps to a Better Nights Sleep!
Ten to fifteen percent of Americans suffer from chronic insomnia. Do You? Most of us experience an occasional sleepless night, but prolonged bouts of insomnia can lead to decreased mental function, frazzled nerves, and lowered immunity. The good news is that you don’t have to pop a pill of count sheep: Just follow these simple, natural steps to get more Z’s.
- Exercise Regularly, but don’t exercise within six hours of your bedtime. Physical activity speeds up your heart rate and metabolism, making it difficult to wind down at night. Try to schedule your workouts in the morning, so you can benefit from that extra energy during the day.
- Avoid caffeine after noon. Caffeine is a stimulant found in coffee, tea, cola, and chocolate. Some people clear caffeine from their bodies slowly (you know who you are). These people should avoid caffeine completely.
- Avoid alcohol. Many people find that alcohol helps them relax at night. Although it may help induce sleep initially, alcohol disrupts your normal sleep patterns, leaving you groggy and tired in the morning.
- Keep regular sleeping hours. Your body likes routine and will respond better to a consistent bedtime.
- Don’t work on the computer or watch television for at least one hour before going to bed. These activities stimulate your mind at a time when you should be preparing for rest.
- Avoid eating large, late evening meals. Do eat a light snack a couple hours before retiring to avoid low blood sugar levels in the middle of the night, which can wake you up.
- Decrease light in your bedroom. A dark environment is necessary for the production of melatonin, a hormone that encourages a healthy sleep cycle.
- Try yoga or meditation to clear your mind and help prepare your body for sleep. Like regular sleeping hours, a steady practice will yield the greatest benefits.
In addition, if your insomnia is caused or made worse by aches and pains at night, it may be time for a new mattress and/or pillow—and a visit to your doctor of chiropractic. Your sleeping surface should support the entire body—including the spine, neck, head, and limbs—evenly, with no gaps. For recommendations tailored to your specific needs, talk to your doctor of chiropractic. Chiropractic can also help promote better sleep by correcting imbalances and tension in the body, so that you can relax completely.
*Fun Fact*
The bullfrog is the only animal that never sleeps!
Ten to fifteen percent of Americans suffer from chronic insomnia. Do You? Most of us experience an occasional sleepless night, but prolonged bouts of insomnia can lead to decreased mental function, frazzled nerves, and lowered immunity. The good news is that you don’t have to pop a pill of count sheep: Just follow these simple, natural steps to get more Z’s.
- Exercise Regularly, but don’t exercise within six hours of your bedtime. Physical activity speeds up your heart rate and metabolism, making it difficult to wind down at night. Try to schedule your workouts in the morning, so you can benefit from that extra energy during the day.
- Avoid caffeine after noon. Caffeine is a stimulant found in coffee, tea, cola, and chocolate. Some people clear caffeine from their bodies slowly (you know who you are). These people should avoid caffeine completely.
- Avoid alcohol. Many people find that alcohol helps them relax at night. Although it may help induce sleep initially, alcohol disrupts your normal sleep patterns, leaving you groggy and tired in the morning.
- Keep regular sleeping hours. Your body likes routine and will respond better to a consistent bedtime.
- Don’t work on the computer or watch television for at least one hour before going to bed. These activities stimulate your mind at a time when you should be preparing for rest.
- Avoid eating large, late evening meals. Do eat a light snack a couple hours before retiring to avoid low blood sugar levels in the middle of the night, which can wake you up.
- Decrease light in your bedroom. A dark environment is necessary for the production of melatonin, a hormone that encourages a healthy sleep cycle.
- Try yoga or meditation to clear your mind and help prepare your body for sleep. Like regular sleeping hours, a steady practice will yield the greatest benefits.
In addition, if your insomnia is caused or made worse by aches and pains at night, it may be time for a new mattress and/or pillow—and a visit to your doctor of chiropractic. Your sleeping surface should support the entire body—including the spine, neck, head, and limbs—evenly, with no gaps. For recommendations tailored to your specific needs, talk to your doctor of chiropractic. Chiropractic can also help promote better sleep by correcting imbalances and tension in the body, so that you can relax completely.
*Fun Fact*
The bullfrog is the only animal that never sleeps!
Monday, August 3, 2009
Posture!
Mirror, mirror on the wall…who has the best posture of them all? Every day when we look at ourselves in the mirror, we look at our posture. Our posture, whether good or bad, is the window to our health. As part of my daily life, I enjoy looking at people’s posture. Depending on his/her posture, I am enlightened to the health of the patient.
Historically, poor posture has been associated with a variety of health-related conditions. Research shows the relation to posture and general health (1).
Another researched study also suggested that poor posture was associated with many pathological processes and that good posture could prevent disease processes (2).
As part of the current technology, our office uses a posture analysis (called Toes 2 Nose), which uses a digital camera to take a “snapshot” of your posture. Major spinal deviations in your posture are then identified, and the proper corrective exercise program is given to the patient to correct his/her imbalances. Better posture means better health, less fatigue, and builds resistance to infection (3).
The research shows that proper posture decreases the susceptible athlete to injury (4-8), while improving performance. The ability to maintain proper muscle tone requires a nervous system free of interference. Restoration of tone is dependent upon correction of vertebral subluxations. The beauty of this machine is that it incorporates modern technology with two basic principles:
1. The body is self healing and self-regulating;
2. The nervous system is the master controller of the body.
Incomplete as this summary may be, it strongly suggests that aberrant posture may adversely affect health-related quality of life (9).
Better posture is for everyone. It will allow you to live your life to the fullest, and open the window to your health.
References
1. Jenness ME: “The role of thermography and postural movement in structural diagnosis.” In: Goldstein M (ed): “The Research Status of Spinal Manipulative Therapy.” DHEW Publication No. (NIH) 76-998. 1975.
2. Kuhns JG: “Diseases of posture.” Clin Orthop 1962;25:64.
3. Garner JR: “Posture and fatigue.” International Journal of Medicine and Surgery 1932 (Jan);45:27.
4. Watson AWS: “Sports injuries related to flexibility, posture, acceleration, clinical defects, and previous injury, in high-level players of body contact sports.” Int J Sports Med 2001;22:222.
5. Shambaugh JP, Lein A, Herbert JH: “Structural measures as predictors of sports injury in basketball players.” Med Sci Sports Exercise 1991;23:522.
6. Powers CM, Maffucci R, Hampton S: “Rearfoot posture in subjects with patello-femoral pain.” J Orth Phys Ther 1995;22:155.
7. Watson AWS: “Sports injuries in footballers related to defects in posture and body mechanics.” J Sports Phys Med Fitness 1995;35:289.
8. Cowan DN, Jones BH, Frykman PN: “Lower limb morphology and risk overuse of injury among male infantry trainees.” Am J Sports Med 1996;24:945.
9. Chiropractic Journal. June 2001.
10. Gray’s Anatomy. P.54.
For additional information, please call Northgate Chiropractic at
(206) 367-2224.
Historically, poor posture has been associated with a variety of health-related conditions. Research shows the relation to posture and general health (1).
Another researched study also suggested that poor posture was associated with many pathological processes and that good posture could prevent disease processes (2).
As part of the current technology, our office uses a posture analysis (called Toes 2 Nose), which uses a digital camera to take a “snapshot” of your posture. Major spinal deviations in your posture are then identified, and the proper corrective exercise program is given to the patient to correct his/her imbalances. Better posture means better health, less fatigue, and builds resistance to infection (3).
The research shows that proper posture decreases the susceptible athlete to injury (4-8), while improving performance. The ability to maintain proper muscle tone requires a nervous system free of interference. Restoration of tone is dependent upon correction of vertebral subluxations. The beauty of this machine is that it incorporates modern technology with two basic principles:
1. The body is self healing and self-regulating;
2. The nervous system is the master controller of the body.
Incomplete as this summary may be, it strongly suggests that aberrant posture may adversely affect health-related quality of life (9).
Better posture is for everyone. It will allow you to live your life to the fullest, and open the window to your health.
References
1. Jenness ME: “The role of thermography and postural movement in structural diagnosis.” In: Goldstein M (ed): “The Research Status of Spinal Manipulative Therapy.” DHEW Publication No. (NIH) 76-998. 1975.
2. Kuhns JG: “Diseases of posture.” Clin Orthop 1962;25:64.
3. Garner JR: “Posture and fatigue.” International Journal of Medicine and Surgery 1932 (Jan);45:27.
4. Watson AWS: “Sports injuries related to flexibility, posture, acceleration, clinical defects, and previous injury, in high-level players of body contact sports.” Int J Sports Med 2001;22:222.
5. Shambaugh JP, Lein A, Herbert JH: “Structural measures as predictors of sports injury in basketball players.” Med Sci Sports Exercise 1991;23:522.
6. Powers CM, Maffucci R, Hampton S: “Rearfoot posture in subjects with patello-femoral pain.” J Orth Phys Ther 1995;22:155.
7. Watson AWS: “Sports injuries in footballers related to defects in posture and body mechanics.” J Sports Phys Med Fitness 1995;35:289.
8. Cowan DN, Jones BH, Frykman PN: “Lower limb morphology and risk overuse of injury among male infantry trainees.” Am J Sports Med 1996;24:945.
9. Chiropractic Journal. June 2001.
10. Gray’s Anatomy. P.54.
For additional information, please call Northgate Chiropractic at
(206) 367-2224.
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