Posts by Karen
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.
Improving Athletic Performance by Maximizing Mobility
How mechanical back pain affects athletes in Park Slope
Mechanical back pain makes us less mobile. All of your joints are designed for movement- it is essential to their maintenance and their mobility is all the more important for athletes. The most common mechanical back pain that affects athletes is caused by joint dysfunction; spinal joitns that move out of alignment and becmoe restricted in their range of motion. This could make moving the region sore, and contribute to other impairments:
- Lost range of motion
- Reduced strength, endurance and speed
- Back pain, whether local or radiating
And the problems can compound to leave you with more serious spinal conditions including herniated discs, degenerative disc disease and sciatica. Don’t let range of motion Hold you back from achieving maximum performance- read on to find out our plan for helping athletes overcome mechanical back pain in Park Slope.
Helping athletes overcome mechanical back pain in our community
Overcoming mechanical back pain starts with a proper diagnosis. At our office in Park Slope, we provide every athlete with a full physical examination that pinpoints the source of the pain and dysfunction. From here, we create a dynamic plan that seeks to reduce pain and maximize mobility. A properly-aligned spine imparts the following benefits on athletes:
- Body balance: even development of the musculature in the spine.
- Muscular coordination
- Improved endurance and strength
- Better circulation
- Less back pain
Using natural modalities such as chiropractic adjustment, we restore alignment to the spine and restore mobility to joints which are restricted. Deep tissue therapy, acupuncture and heat are all used to facilitate healing and improve ciruclation in the restricted region. Our goal is to get you back to full health and maximum mobility as fast as possible. If you are interested in starting this process, give our office in Brooklyn a call to schedule an appointment today.
Chiropractic and Acupuncture for Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is down to the brain
When you have been experiencing pain for more than 6 months without cessation, you know that your condition is deeper than the acute effects of an injury. Most doctors agree that chronic pain has a neuropathic element; much of the pain is perceived through a misfiring nervous system. When nerves in the spine are impeded or otherwise not functioning correctly, they begin to act abnormally. This neuropathic element is at the heart of chronic pain, contributing to conditions such as:
- Muscle spasms
- Headaches
- Repetitive use injuries
- Neck pain
Chronic pain is a distress signal: chiropractic and acupuncture respond
Chronic pain is your body telling you that something is wrong and it’s time to act. And while medication and surgery have their places in the treatment spectrum, they often fall short because they fail to address the root cause of your chronic pain. Acupuncture and chiropractic take a different approach: both modalities release endorphins, your body’s natural painkillers, during treatment.
- Chiropractic focuses on reducing tension within the body. By restoring your spine’s alignment, we restore balance to overworked and underworked muscles, thereby reducing muscle tension and contraction. Chiropractic adjustment further alleviates impingement from spinal nerves, decreasing the sensitivity of your nerves
- Acupuncture is another great modality for releasing tension and restoring balance to the body. Indeed, many acupoints align with key motor points in the body, meaning that a well-inserted needle can have an immediate stimulatory and pain-relieving effect.
A holistic plan for treating chronic pain in Park Slope
At Community Chiropractic and Acupuncture of Park Slope, our job is to stimulate your body’s natural ability to heal. Let us provide you with the modalities that matter to kick start your body’s healing process. If you are interested in finding out more about how we treat chronic pain, give our office in Brooklyn a call to schedule an appointment today.
Returning You to your Best: Rehabilitating Sports Injuries in Park Slope
Chiropractic and acupuncture for sports injuries in Park Slope
These two therapies offer a holistic approach to healing that seeks to facilitate the body’s natural healing capacities. Given the appropriate mix of rest and rehabilitation, we can return sports injuries to a state of stability, allowing you to focus on reintroducing execise into your life. Our modalities have been proven to treat the following sports injuries:
- Back pain
- Joint dysfunction
- Sciatica
- Neck pain
- Tennis elbow
- Groin and thigh sprains
Moving forward from sports injuries in Park Slope
From here, we work alongside you to ensure your spine is properly aligned as we reestablish a full range of motion to the site of injury. By maintaining spinal alignment going forward, we improve performance and function both in the body and brain. This is a crucial factor in preventing reinjury. If you are interested in implementing a more dynamic approach to rehabilitating your sports injury, give our office in Park Slope a call to schedule an appointment today.
Acupuncture for the Modern Athlete: How Blood Flow Affects Performance
Improving blood flow to improve your athletic performance
During workout
Better blood flow, in which sufficient oxygen reaches your muscles, allows you to effect a longer and more beneficial workout. As you move, your heart rate rises and your heart pumps blood to all the parts of your body which are necessary to keep you moving at this higher level. Your metabolic rate then increases, meaning that your body needs more energy to keep going without feeling fatigued; it acquires this energy by producing ATP, an energy molecule whose two main inputs are glucose and oxygen. A healthy circulatory system ensures that oxygen is getting where it needs to be in your body during workout.
Post workout
In the period immediately following your workout, you should be intaking protein and nutrients that will help your muscles rebuild from the micro-traumas that they incur during exercise. Better blood flow means that these nutrients will reach your muscles in the right quantities to facilitate effective regrowth.
Athletes should make good blood flow a priority
At Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture in Park Slope, we use acupuncture to help improve blood flow in athletes, helping them get the most out of their activities. Acupuncture stimulates circulation by dilating blood vessels and decreasing muscular stress. If you are interested in using acupuncture to effect improvements in your athletic performance, give our office in Brooklyn a call to schedule an appointment today.