Blog

When it comes to healing herniated discs, knowledge is a golden ingredient. Turning yourself onto the right activities and avoiding ones that can aggravate the injury, while eating properly and checking in regularly with the chiropractor can help your body rehabilitate a herniated disc efficiently without surgical intervention.  Avoiding bed rest is key. If the pain is severe, a few days of rest may be advisable, but it is important to keep yourself moving to prevent the injury from worsening. Avoiding activity is the best way to weaken your body,…

Feeling stiff is not feeling well  Even if we don’t have a tool to measure it with, everyone knows what it feels like to be stiff. It’s uncomfortable, it might even be a little bit painful, and when it occurs regularly, we generally look to the muscles for answers.  Knots, trigger points, tight balls of pain Whatever your name for them, they indicate a malfunction in the musculature. Remaining motionless for long periods of time (especially sitting) keeps some muscles constantly contracted and others completely disused. This constant contraction is what often…

Mood swings are reflective of age and lifestyle. Changes in temperament are normal for everyone on earth; mood swings are the more abrupt and seemingly extreme changes that seem to come on without reason. If we take the time to probe a little deeper, however, there is always a reason. Perhaps stress has been insidiously stacking for weeks; perhaps you haven’t been eating quite right and your cells aren’t getting the nutrition they need; maybe your activity level has been down and your body is responding with signals of pain that…

It’s time to make your weight work for you! No matter your body weight, or your level of activity, body weight training allows you to utilize the most basic resource of all, the body weight you’ve accumulated, to condition your body and build muscle. Best of all, no gym membership is required and you won’t even need to spend a dollar on a dumbbell.  Here are some advantages to body-weight training:  Boosts circulation and improves range of motion in the joints Increases core stability, easing the burden on the lower…

Why is it so difficult to join the wide world of working out?  The start of a fitness plan is where many of us will fail. The reason is that with no momentum and no visible results, we lose motivation. We must therefore begin by redefining attitude: rather than obsessing over lost pounds, focus on the importance of fitness for your body and how it makes your brain feel. You should be getting at least a mild endorphin boost post-workout, so use what you have as motivation in the early…

Television time can be doubled up as workout time. While there is great value in using your time in front of the television to unwind- down time if you will- we often forego exercise for the easiness of kicking back on the couch. The two don’t have to be mutually exclusive; you can still get a great workout while watching your favorite show.  To demonstrate my point try this exercise while you are sitting reading this blog:  Sitting with good posture, squeeze your abs, hold 5 seconds, and release. Repeat…

Meals are most important but snacking has its place too!  And it’s right in between! Snacking helps regulate blood sugar, which is important for people who need to stay steady throughout the day. When blood sugar drops low, we feel light-headed, hungry and stressed out- this is the classic formula known as “hangriness.” This drives us to crave something quick and satiating- say a chocolate bar. Which then does the opposite, spikes blood sugar levels, causing the body to produce more insulin, uptaking the glucose faster and leaving you low…

Repetitive Stress Injuries are a reality for many modern workers If you are someone who works hours in front of a computer per day, take a second to appreciate all the hours you have spent doing what you do! When you add it up, you see that every day you perform the same task and this is the basis of repetitive injury: starting from the fingers and hands, we can trace a clear path back through the forearms to the shoulders, neck and head and then down the spinal column…

Deep breathing is one of the most powerful ways you can influence relaxation. When the stresses of the moment lead you to feel spun out, it is important to take a little time to breathe. In this way, you can harness the power of oxygen to refresh your body and mind and reset your perspective. Diaphragmatic breathing, better known as deep breathing, is the kind when you breathe in through the nose, contracting the diaphragm, and fill your lungs with air. You will know you have taken a deep breath…

Our bodies on technology The technology age is advancing rapidly, “optimizing our lives,” and our health in the process. However, as the guinea pig generations for many new technologies, it is important to remain wary about the possibilities for harm that they could cause. As chiropractors, we are seeing more people than ever with the so-called, “reader’s neck,” which has now become widespread under the moniker “Forward Head Posture.” Due to our heavy reliance on cell phones, tablets, and computers, our posture is worse than ever and many people are…