Posts by Karen
Chiropractic is Therapy for the 21st Century
Integrated wellness in Park Slope
Alongside spinal manipulation (also known as adjustment) we provide our patients with the following healing modalities:
- Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Postural analysis and education
- Ergonomic counseling
- Nutritional education
- Manual therapies
- Massage therapy
The stated goal of all these modalities is to help you mitigate the pain of chronic conditions, optimize your body’s ability to heal itself and prevent the onset of illness and injury. This preventive approach to healthcare strengthens your body against the dangers inherent in 21st century lifestyles including:
- Sedentary lifestyles
- White collar office work
- Overuse of devices
- Longer commutes
21st century pain relief in Park Slope
If you are interested in taking a new approach to healthcare this new year, give our office in Park Slope a call to schedule an appointment today. We are standing by to provide you with all of our natural health modalities and knowledge, and are more than willing to work with your primary care doctor to design a plan that helps you tackle all of your health challenges.
The Importance of Spinal Mobility
Give me some reasons why I want to improve my thoracic mobility
The paradox of thoracic mobility is that it relies on movement in the first place; in order to maintain thoracic mobility, we have to be mobile. The thoracic spine influences movement and function up above and below its particular segment, which means that maintaining its mobility is central to maintaining your spinal health. Here are some of the benefits to be gained from more thoracic mobility:
- Less pain
- A more stable lumbar spine
- Better range of motion throughout the upper body
- A less-rounded upper back
- Reverses kyphosis and improves lung capacity
So how do I improve thoracic mobility?
Improving thoracic mobility starts with identifying the particular points that are limited. We then use targeted, natural modalities, including spinal adjustment and mobilization, to restore mobility and reduce pain. By lengthening the spine, and then gently restoring mobility to the thoracic spinal joints, we effect great improvements in your overall spinal health. From here, we enact a plan of stretching and strengthening that focuses on maintaining the mobility of your thoracic spine. If you are looking to make profound improvements in your spinal health this year, give our office in Park Slope a call to schedule an appointment today.
Making Exercise an Easier Habit
The first part of making exercise easier is establishing motivation
Everyone knows that exercise is good for them, but that is often not a strong enough call to action in of itself. We want to help you get as specific as possible with your exercise motivation. This will help turn the perceived benefit of exercise into a tangible value.
Take, as an example, a white-collar working scenario:
- 30-60 minute commute each day
- Working in an office
- In front of a computer for 6-8 hours a day
- High stress comes from constant deadlines and performance indicators
- Spends free time at the end of the day relaxing with family
Perversely, we perceive that there is little room for the exercise that will prevent the onset of factors including weight gain, spinal degeneration, illness and injury. Instead, we need to think of exercise as our first line of defense. So what really matters to you? Exercise can help you get there.
How to start exercising: a plan to make it easier
- Seek activities you actually enjoy: and choose variety. No one is saying you have to start running. If you prefer to swim, play soccer or basketball, then go for it. Anything that gets you moving counts.
- Seek to make it a social event: just one friend makes a difference; they hold you accountable and make the perceived physical output less intense.
- Do it first thing in the morning or first thing after work: being disciplined about the schedule, and establishing a regular time that you do it each day will help you stay on track.
- Keep track of your progress and the real value you are deriving: pay attention to positive signs of progress including increased energy reserves, better sleep, less pain or a happier outlook. This is the fuel for your fire!
Exercise is easier than ever in 2018
From on-the-go apps to at-home youtube series, you can find quality exercise in large or small doses no matter where you are. The only thing that is stopping you is YOU! At Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture of Park Slope, we are dedicated to helping people move more to improve their quality of life. Our natural modalities reduce pain and improve range of motion so that you can focus on the things that really matter in life, like prioritizing your health! Give our office in Park Slope a call to schedule an appointment today.
Using Chiropractic to Promote Weight Loss
The relationship between back pain and weight gain
There is a reason why the two seem to coincide. Back pain contributes to weight gain because you are less likely to move when you are in pain. It also causes mental anguish which leads you to seek comfort foods in times of distress. Weight’s role in causing back pain is more obvious. Each extra pound you hold over your target weight is an additional burden to your spine, causing untold damage from muscle strain to subluxation and spinal degeneration.
An equation for success: managing back pain and weight at the same time
By reducing back pain, we can help you maintain a healthy weight. By reducing weight, we can help you manage your back pain. As we have demonstrated above, the two go hand in hand. Using chiropractic adjustment, we reduce nerve interference and reduce back pain which allows you to move more freely and burn calories. Simply creating the possibility for exercise is chiropractic’s greatest role in the weight loss game. If you are interested in using our natural modalities to effect great improvements in your health this New Year, give our office in Park Slope a call to schedule an appointment today.
Planning 2018 With Less Headaches
Natural modalities for preventing headaches
When it comes to preventing headaches, many in the health community agree that circulation is a good place to start. Chiropractic techniques and acupuncture both boost circulation by opening up blood vessels in the head and neck. We can also show you simple stretches that reduce tension and get your blood flowing in moments of stagnation. By promoting better blood flow and reducing inflammation, we make the first step in preventing tension headaches and migraines.
But circulation is just the start!
Circulation is just step one. Factors including diet, hydration and posture are also primary considerations. At Community Chiropractic and Acupuncture of Park Slope, we want to help you design a holistic solution for your headaches. This includes identifying triggers, whether they be particular settings, foods or activities. We can effect a wholesale change in the way you see, treat and prevent your headaches. Let’s make 2018 the year where you start to fight back against the grip of headaches in your life- give our office in Park Slope a call to schedule an appointment today.
Maximizing Wellness in the Shadow of Chronic Pain
The cost of chronic pain
We should hold no punches- chronic pain is a public health crisis. It costs society billions of dollars in lost productivity and taxpayer burden. It costs individuals in terms of medical costs, mental anguish, depression and addiction to pharmaceutical “treatments,” that do nothing more than treat the surface symptoms. Western medicine is simply unprepared to treat the intangible nature of chronic pain. And while we continue to search for cures, many in the medical community fear that we may never find one. Of course, we will keep trying; in the meantime, choosing to face your chronic pain head on is the only realistic chance you have of living a happy life despite your symptoms.
Maximizing wellness despite chronic pain symptoms
At Community Chiropractic and Acupuncture of Park Slope, we focus on helping people design solutions for managing their chronic pain. We recognize that our modalities can not possibly promise to reverse chronic pain completely; instead, we focus on using our natural modalities to ease symptoms and improve functionality of the body and brain. In this way, we hope we can help you find a happy life despite the presence of chronic pain. At our office in Brooklyn, we use natural techniques including chiropractic and acupuncture to effect significant improvements in well being. If you are interested in finding out more, give our office a call to schedule an appointment today.
The Stress of Holiday Shopping
Keeping stress down while shopping
At Community Chiropractic and Acupuncture of Park Slope, we are concerned with the toll that holiday shopping can take on our state of mind. Here are some things to keep in mind when you are caught up in the rush of shopping:
- Listen to your body: a headache is a certain sign that you are overdoing it. So…
- Take frequent breaks: do you really need to be going so fast? The more you rush, the higher the stress. Take a seat, a deep breath and inhale the aroma of…
- A hot tea: herbal tea is relaxing whereas caffeine can actually increase stress levels. Over your tea, contemplate…
- Could this shopping be done online? Simple gifts can be found online, in the relaxing hours at the end of the day, when you can also work on…
- Relaxation techniques to get you in a state of mind conducive to sleep.
Sleep concludes our list of the most important ways to keep stress down during the holiday season. Too many of us suffer from poor sleep patterns during the Christmas season thanks to interruptions in our normal routine.
Keeping stress down with natural modalities
At our office in Park Slope, we are standing by to provide you with natural methods for reducing stress. Both chiropractic and acupuncture are effective modalities for combating stress and keeping your body and mind balanced this holiday season.
Keeping Inflammation out of your Christmas Plans
Remaining vigilant to inflammation during the holiday season
Take a look at the foods we eat during christmas: delicious, but often full of inflammatory ingredients. From sugar to unhealthy fats, it is always prudent to take a look at what we are putting into our holiday dishes. But cooking delicious food doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your health. If avoiding inflammatory ingredients is a health priority for you, a quick search on the internet can help you come up with alternatives and substitutes for your favorite recipes that include non-inflammatory ingredients in place of inflammatory ones!
Awareness is the key to a holiday full of health
At Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture of Park Slope, we are in the business of helping people design holistic health solutions for their particular health condition. If you struggle with chronic inflammation, we can help you navigate a holiday season which is rife with inflammatory pitfalls. From keeping stress down, to managing pain and focusing on healthy alternatives to inflammatory foods, we are standing by to help you this holiday season.
Managing Holiday Stress with Acupuncture
Acupuncture for lowering stress this holiday season
Keeping stress down and mental function high during the holidays is a balancing act. Acupuncture helps to regulate your body’s energy flow, reduce pain, and improve mental coordination. This is an invaluable aid when you are navigating the myriad holiday engagements that define your schedule.
Other ways you can keep stress down include
- Focusing on getting your exercise despite the time constraints: even a brisk 10 minute walk can boost circulation and alleviate muscle tension.
- Keeping booze consumption reasonable: alcohol is inflammatory, not to mention laden with calories that you don’t need. Let loose to a reasonable extreme this holiday season!
- Avoiding inflammatory foods: apply the law of diminishing returns to sugar and saturated fat- yes there is a measurable effect on happiness related to pie, but it sharply declines after the first piece!
- Making you time: just finding time to curl up in a chair and read is invaluable during a busy christmas schedule.
We’re not asking you to forego all the pleasures of Christmas time in the city; we are simply asking that you keep sight of what really matters- your health and sanity.
Adding acupuncture into your holiday health routine
If you are interested in taking the time to experience the benefits of acupuncture this holiday season, give our office in Park Slope a call to schedule an appointment. If you are open to it, a single session can have an amazing restorative effect on brain and body. It helps us keep things in perspective; the only things that matter during the holidays are the things that always matter- family, friends and good health. Happy Holidays to all of our neighbors in New York City.
Don’t Forget to Treat your Muscles this Holiday Season
Natural modalities for overcoming muscle pain
If you need some inspiration this holiday season, stop by our office in Park Slope to find out how we speed the recovery process for sore muscles. We do it using a dynamic approach that combines several proven modalities:
- Deep tissue therapy: massage sparks circulation, bringing healing nutrients to a region in need of rebuilding.
- Stretching: reinforce the pliability of your muscles and send oxygen where it is needed most.
- Heat therapy: penetrate deep into sore muscles and improve tissue elasticity.
- Acupuncture: as discussed in our Acupuncture for the Modern Athlete series.
- Chiropractic: adjustments regulate the nervous system, improve range of motion and relives nerve impingement.
We believe in the power of renewal that the holiday season brings
When it’s all said and done, draw yourself a bath and let the hot water soothe those last aches and pains right out of you. The holidays are a time of treating yourself right! We want to show you how easy it can be to make improvements in your spinal health and overall wellness without resorting to medication or surgery. Give our office in Park Slope a call to schedule an appointment today.