Posts by Karen
Overtraining
At Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture, we want to encourage athletes of all disciplines to train smarter if they are going to train harder. The science and study of strength training has evolved immensely as more and more money is pumped into professional sports, creating a windfall of information for those of us who are happy to play at our own level. We can help you identify exercises and habits that may be actually working against your attempts to build muscle and endurance.
At our office in Park Slope, we want athletes to be aware of the pitfall of overtraining: when muscles are not given enough time or nutrition to rebuild after vigorous exercise.
Overtraining is a great way to injure yourself and it is entirely avoidable. With the proper attention to hydration, nutrition and rest, you will enter the gym refreshed and inspired rather than tired and ragged. This will in turn, allow you to get the most out of your exercise. For many people, a simple conversation is all it takes to catalyze an entire program of health and efficient muscle building.
Rather than fearing injury, we want you to be confident that your biomechanics are in solid order when you perform your first deadlift, which is incidentally, when performed properly, quite a good exercise for lower back strengthening. We monitor, identify and correct muscular imbalances that could be setting you up for a muscle tear if you push yourself too hard.
Call our office in Brooklyn at (718) 398-3100 to schedule an appointment today.
Dr. Karen A. Thomas, D.C. L.Ac.
Muscle Building
Make the most out of every muscle building movement by ensuring the health of your spine and nervous system.
Muscle building begins when motor neurons send a signal to a muscle telling it to contract. The easier your brain can activate the muscle contraction, the quicker you will build muscle. This means that ensuring the nerve pathways are clear of interference is a key to muscle building. Therefore, subluxations are extremely counterproductive for a person attempting to gain muscle. Chiropractic adjustment corrects these misalignments, ensuring that your brain can activate the muscles without interference.
Overtraining is also counterproductive: weight lifting for too many reps, or at too high a weight can cause joint sprain, muscle spasm and tissue damage. If you have pushed the envelope too far, we offer rehabilitation modalities that will speed blood flow to the injured area, helping it to heal quicker with oxygen and other nutrients.
Chiropractic care provides the assistance athletes need to excel. At Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture, we want you to get the most out of every lift while contributing to an overall body of health.
Call our office in Park Slope at (718) 398-3100 today. Together, we can institute a combination of strengthening, stretching, eating and chiropractic to ensure your overall health.
Dr. Karen Thomas, D.C. L.Ac.
Improving Athletic Performance
Athletes regularly demand their bodies perform above and beyond the standard call of duty. The difference between a split second on either side of your personal best can often be determined by the tiniest intangible: in this world of fine margins, chiropractic gives you the edge every time.
Simply regulating the nervous system is the most tangible benefit we have to offer: if spinal nerves are pressurized due to subluxation, the brain and body suffer communication breakdown, a condition which can affect all of your anatomical systems, including the ones most often used in athletic endeavor: the respiratory, cardiovascular and muscular systems. Here are some ways that we boost athletic performance from our office at Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture:
- Increase lung capacity and breathe more efficiently. We offer advice on proper breathing techniques to make sure you are getting the most out of every breath. If subluxation is impinging on nerves that power the breathing muscles, we correct this situation to be sure you can breathe effectively.
- Enhance muscle tone by improving blood flow with trigger point therapy and massage.
- Build muscle more efficiently: when the body is misaligned, muscles contract and release over a shorter or longer meridian, meaning you may not be getting the most out of every lift or muscle building movement.
Another huge benefit of chiropractic is keeping the body flexible and resistant to injury. When you kick a ball, swing a club, or slam-dunk a basketball, muscles are strained; the level that they can be strained without incurring damage is an important factor in determining your success and enjoyment of sport.
Call our office in Brooklyn at(718) 398-3100.
Dr. Karen Thomas, D.C
Exercise for Well-Being
At Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture, we want to get you moving. Movement benefits all aspects of your life, from physical and mental performance to happiness and peace of mind.
For the insatiable athlete, we seek to optimize your mechanical advantage. As you attempt to specialize your body and discipline your muscles, we provide you with chiropractic care that keeps you flexible and free of injury. Our treatment is effective at quickening recovery times and strengthening the body to prevent recurrent injury.
For the incurable couch potato, we begin gently with advice on posture and simple stretches that maintain the balance of your muscles and prevent them from stagnating. Stretches and breathing techniques can be practiced from the comfort of the couch, although we would love to see you trade the TV for a hike on the trail.
For those of us who are incidentally in the middle, we want to ensure your body’s prime state of health so that daily tasks are not burdensome. Exercise strengthens your body and influences your state of mind. Here are the core benefits of exercise:
- Enhance balance and coordination
- Improve breathing
- Increase flexibility
- Increase strength and endurance
- Make you more resilient to injury during all phases of physical activity.
Through communication, chiropractic care and consistent application of healthy principles, we can effect positive changes in your life. Do not underestimate the power of a simple stretch or an evening walk: keep your body limber by calling our office in Brooklyn at (718) 398-3100 today.
Dr. Karen Thomas, D.C., L.Ac
Eating to Alleviate Allergies
Brooklyn is alight with airborne allergens. If your airways are inflamed, nose running and raw, you may be looking for any little trick to manage your allergies. Consider the simplest trick of all: nutrition. Augment acupuncture and chiropractic treatment of your allergies by eating the right ingredients to stay above the weather during this beautiful season. High quality, high-power ingredients provide your body with two key ways of fighting allergies: preventing and lowering inflammation, and regulating the immune system.
Here are some great ways to get started:
Vitamin C comes in at the top of the list, for its role in helping antibody production and antihistamine action. Be sure to eat plenty of citrus fruits, bell peppers and leafy greens. Maximize Vitamin C’s effect by consuming the minerals Sulfur and Selenium, by eating nuts, fish and seeds.
Eat fish. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in high concentrations, particularly in salmon and halibut, as well as nut oils, are strong, natural anti-inflammatories.
Consume Calcium and Magnesium, complementary alkaline minerals. Calcium reduces histamine production. When magnesium levels are low, allergies are high.
Cut down on sugar: even little doses can suppress your immune system, an effect that can last for up to 5 hours, leaving you at the mercy of high allergy season.
At Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture, we want to be your first line of defense against allergies. Call our office at (718) 398-3100 to find out how our services and expertise can help you reduce symptoms and your dependence on allergy medication.
Dr. Karen Thomas, D.C., L.Ac.
Acupuncture for Allergies
Spring has sprung a heap of symptoms upon you: sneezing, runny noses, itchy eyes and skin, and headaches abound: the changing colors, warming weather and pretty sounds will not fool the poor allergy sufferer. Spending money on antihistamines brings temporary relief, but the symptoms are always waiting around the next corner. Allergies are a cruel trick: a hypersensitive immune system’s good intentions (to keep your body clear of harmful substances) backfire, taking emergency action to flush out the allergens. This inflammatory response is what leaves you sniffling. Allergies are also fickle: what affects one person does not affect the other, and some people’s bodies are more susceptible to the high allergy season. What treatments you choose and how you allocate your money are the main ways you can impact your allergy suffering.
For allergy season defense in Brooklyn, look to our practice at Community Chiropractic and Acupuncture. We do not interfere with your standard treatments: if you are finding success with antihistamines, more power to you. We offer parallel services that rely on natural methods to compliment these treatments. With acupuncture, there is often a sharp response to treatment: many patients experience relief immediately, and often times people can reduce their dependence on allergy medications, whose long-lasting effects are yet to be determined.
Acupuncture addresses allergies by needling along meridians that, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, can help ease the severity allergy symptoms. These meridians correspond with the functioning of the spleen, kidney and large intestine. TCM also diagnoses a deficiency in lung functioning when chronic allergies are present. We combine needling with nutritional advice: limiting your intake of dairy and sugar is particularly important. We use chiropractic adjustment to ensure that all systems of the body are working harmoniously.
I have years of expertise and success providing allergy relief through acupuncture. If your symptoms evade standard medications and allergy shots, do not despair! Call our office in Park Slope at (718) 398-3100 to schedule an appointment and find out how we can temper your allergy symptoms, allowing you to enjoy the sweet smells of spring.
Dr. Karen Thomas, D.C. L.Ac.
Chiropractic for Sinusitis
Traditional Chinese Medicine offers one approach to mitigating the severity of sinusitis and the accompanying symptoms. However, a problem of this nature calls for a multi-dimensional response; at Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture, we evaluate your condition through the lens of Western medicine as well. Chiropractic treatment is a powerful tool in the management of sinusitis. Both treatments are natural and seek to address the root cause rather than the surface symptoms.
That being said, our treatment works in stages: first, we reduce the severity of symptoms to give you immediate relief. Common symptoms associated with sinusitis include headache in the sinuses, stuffiness in the ears and fatigue. These symptoms are usually most pronounced in the morning, because the prone position allows for almost no drainage and mucus accumulates over night. Chiropractic adjustments seeks to remove interference between vertebral nerves and the sinus system. There are also dietary considerations: staying fully hydrated and consuming a diet high in fiber are conducive to healthy sinuses; likewise, exercise and movement are great at promoting air circulation and encouraging drainage.
With the onset of allergy season, sinus infections are on the rise. Before heading to the drug store or grabbing that next Kleenex, consider getting rid of your sinus problems for good by calling our office in Brooklyn at (718) 398-3100. There are so many ways to treat sinusitis naturally. With the expertise we offer, you can institute a plan that draws from all these areas to support your body’s natural mechanisms to fight the infection.
Dr. Karen Thomas, D.C., L.Ac
Fight back against tension headaches
For sufferers of chronic tension headaches, who have searched far and wide for relief, acupuncture offers an alternative, natural and safe treatment that is showing good results. Tension-type headaches generally involve bilateral pain (on both sides of the head), which can be moderate to severe, and often feels like a vice tightening around the head. Most people will experience a passing headache every once and a while, but for those who feel them more reguarly, it is worth considering acupuncture as a non-pharmacological alternative. At Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture in Park Slope, we synergize the powers of Western and Eastern medicine to provide a robust treatment plan for people experiencing chronic tension headaches.
Within the framework of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the location of symptoms is very important. By listening to your descriptions of the pain, its triggers and factors both external and internal, we can pinpoint the root of the headache according to TCM. By doing this, we go beyond Western Medicine’s more rigid classification system and delve into the specifics of your headaching. We seek to treat the root- what is causing the pain, and the branch- the pain itself. There are acupuncture points for headaches located along meridians all over the body and, through needling or acupressure, we facilitate the flow of energy through these pathways and stimulate release of the body’s natural pain-killers. The calming influence of acupuncture helps people deal with stress, another leading cause of headaches.
Structurally, tension headaches are often caused by slight misalignments in the cervical region of the spine, meaning that chiropractic adjustment can also help relieve your pain. Getting the best treatment means getting diagnosed by a professional practitioner of TCM; I can help you effect improvements in the severity and frequency of your pain. If you are ready for a change from chonic head pain, call our office in Brooklyn at (718) 398-3100. We want you to listen to what your body and your pain is telling you.
Dr. Karen A. Thomas, D.C., L.Ac.
An alternative approach to managing migraines
Migraines are a bully: the pain they cause is destructive and there is no shortage of studies linking the chronic migraine sufferer with depression and lower quality of life. Though the physiological cause is unknown, there is a standard process: at the beginning, oxygen-rich blood flowing to the brain is restricted creating tertiary symptoms such as tingling or sensory sensitivity. When oxygen is inhibited, neurotransmitters are released, causing rebound dilation: blood vessels expand and blood flow is increased. This over dilation causes the intense, throbbing pain that is associated with migraines.
Acupuncture needling generally involves insertion and manipulation of thin needles in specific points to promote blood flow through the tissues in a process known as axon reflex. Because migraine pain is linked to the dilation of blood vessels in the head, creating this effect through needling could exacerbate symptoms. Therefore, we take a different approach when treating someone in the throes of migraine pain.
Acupoints in the head, neck, and to a certain extent, the upper body, are to be avoided. In order to avoid promoting increased blood circulation in the head, we focus on points in the lower body, including the arms and legs. Furthermore, as needling is usually done in a prone position, we treat the migraine sufferer in a recumbent position, to allow their body to exert greater control over blood vessel dilation. If deemed appropriate, an electrical current can be attached to the needles to help with constricting vasodilation.
Traditional Chinese Medicine has been used in the treatment of headaches for thousands of years. At Community Chiropractic and Acupuncture in Brooklyn, our treatment is gentle and non-invasive and there are very few side effects in comparison to pharmaceutical and over the counter drugs. Acupuncture is not a cure-all in the quest to conquer migraine pain; it is, however, another tool that can be used to lessen the hold of migraines on your daily life and improve your overall well-being. Call our office in Park Slope today at (718) 398-3100 if you are interested in learning how acupuncture can be used to manage your migraine pain.
Dr. Karen Thomas, D.C. L.Ac.
Mastitis
Mastitis occurs when bacteria enters the breast of a newly lactating mother through tiny abrasions in the breast or nipple, creating an infection that can multiply in the milk ducts. Symptoms include high fever, inflammation and swelling of the breasts, redness and nipple discharge; considering these symptoms, it is easy to appreciate how mastitis can make nursing very difficult.
Indeed, mastitis can prevail when a mother experiences difficulty with breastfeeding. Learning proper latching-on and feeding techniques is essential to preventing mastitis: when the breast is not fully drained during a session, the milk duct is at an elevated risk for infection. But mastitis can occur through no fault of the mother: the strenuous process of birth can leave her immune system weak and vulnerable to any infection. Additionally, if the baby is in poor health, they are more likely to harbor bacteria in the mouth and throat, which can find its way into the mother’s breast.
While Western medicine is effective at treating mastitis through the use of antibiotics and painkillers, some new mothers worry that the medication can be passed on through breastfeeding, adversely affecting the developing child. Traditional Chinese Medicine offers a drug-free, natural treatment option for preventing and treating mastitis. Our treatment at Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture in Park Slope treats mastitis by boosting your immune function to fight infection.
For new mother’s suffering from mastitis, acupuncture needling can provide instant relief from the pain of infection by releasing endorphins. Needling is also effective at reducing inflammation in the breast and clearing out blocked ducts. We recommend the use of herbs specific to nursing mothers, and consult on lifestyle adjustments that may be worsening your condition. Traditional Chinese Medicine is an effective approach to preventing infection or encouraging your recovery from mastitis. For new mothers in Brooklyn, our office is a resource for the natural treatment of postpartum issues. Call us today at (718) 398-3100.
Dr. Karen Thomas, D.C. L.Ac