Active Family Chiropractic

Empowering Your Health

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Spring cleaning and yard work safety

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With spring here it’s important to keep some very important rules in mind when you embark on your spring cleaning and yard work. These are things that can save you from a lot of pain later on.

Warm up!

One of the most important things is to warm the body up before you do any kind of yard work or spring cleaning. This includes arm swings, leg swings, some air squats, just whatever you can do to get your body moving. Even taking a fast walk around your yard to get your blood pumping through your body. It’s very important to avoid straining your body.

Drink Water & Take Breaks

It’s very important that while you’re cleaning make sure to drink plenty of water and make sure that you’re taking breaks. Also, if you are doing a one-sided activity, such as raking, you want to switch sides so that both sides get the same amount of work on the body.

Cool Down!

Finally, when you’re done with the activity a lot of people make the wrong choice. They sit down with a beverage or they reward themselves with some kind of treat such as ice cream. However, it’s most important that after you do a physical activity to reward your body in a positive way. Some of the ways you can reward yourself positively is by stretching and some kind of rebuilding for the muscle tissue such as eating a steak or getting some kind of protein into your system. Also, make sure that you drink plenty of water to replace what you lost.

Follow the steps

Following the steps will allow you to do more and to recover quickly so that you can spend your spare time doing things you love without pain or soreness. As always the way to keep you in optimal health is to get regular adjustments by your CBP doctor. So make an appointment today!

For more information ask Dr. B at [email protected]

 

Allergies. How a CBP Chiropractor can help.

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Allergies are a very common problem for a lot of people and they are often misunderstood. Allergies are your body’s natural reaction to overstimulation of a substance in the body. It’s your body’s way of trying to manage the overstimulation to whatever that allergen may be.

It’s misunderstood because many people think they can’t do anything about their allergies, that they are stuck with them. That is not true. The best thing to do for allergy management is to identify what’s causing the allergen and then once you know what the allergen is you can apply the right solution.

Most of the time it’s just diet modification or even now the newest studies in allergens are showing small doses of exposure to the allergen can allow your body to accommodate to it and overcome your allergy. A lot of allergies start because of lower immune system function in the body which can come from a number of things.

If they are adult on-set allergies it is usually because the immune system is compromised in some way. Your body is just more susceptible to overreacting to your immune system not being able to handle what it normally would.  Childhood allergies are often linked with cervical spine trauma, which is the neck at the time of birth. For example, babies that are c-sectioned are more likely to have allergies or asthma because of the pressure on the spinal cord.

One of the best things you can do to combat allergies is to get a CBP spinal check-up. When your spine is not working right your body is malfunctioning and might be one of the reasons you have allergies. So get a spinal check-up and set up and appointment to rid yourself of allergies.

For more information ask Dr. B at [email protected]

Do I have to keep going to the Chiropractor once I start?

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Most people don’t know that they have to take care of their spine. Nobody tells them to do that but you should be taking care of your spine from when you are born. Just like you would take care of any other body part you have. Unfortunately, a lot of people do not do that and you’re not told to do that.

If more people were told to take care of their spines at a younger age then more people would do it. The thing about your spine, just like your teeth, it has to be taken care of. We do things to our bodies on a regular basis which is hard on our bodies. These things that we do on a normal day like the way we sit or stand, can take a toll on your spine and contort it. It can create shifts and misalignments. These things need to be addressed because they compress your nerves and when your nerves are compressed things don’t work the way they should.

Because a lot of people have not been told at an early age to take care of their spines they go through life compounding stress and compression on their nervous system and eventually it leads to pain and discomfort. These are body signals that happen when something is really wrong and your body cannot take the pain any longer. When people start going to the Chiropractor they are realizing that they are now having to undo 20-30 years of damage.

It’s not always about if you have pain. You might experience a fall and have no pain as a result, however, you should get an adjustment because although you might not have pain right away, the fall might have compressed a nerve and you may experience pain later if left untreated.

People ask all the time, do I have to continue care. The answer is you don’t have to but you should want to. You should want to take care of the one spine you were given. The fact is that it’s the one thing in your body that cannot be replaced.

If you’re someone who wants to be able to live longer and have better function in their body you should get your spine checked on a regular basis. If it’s important for you to be able to walk and sit then get adjusted regularly.

For more information ask Dr. B at [email protected]

 

Is an inversion table good for your spine?

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The idea behind it is to temporarily remove pressure from your disks. This is also what decompression does. It temporarily provides people with pain relief. At some point, it turned into a cure-all for any back pain you might have, however, that is not true.

The reason people have issues with the disks traditionally comes from poor spinal structure. Unless they have had a major accident or something that has changed the shape of their spine. While an inversion table will help for temporary relief of symptoms, it certainly doesn’t fix anything structurally.

An inversion table isn’t necessarily bad for you but it doesn’t solve the problem or the root cause of your pain. An inversion table can become bad if you overuse it.

What happens with inversion or any other type of decompression, is that it stretches your spine and takes the natural cure out of your spine. Muscle change happens at 10 minutes and that’s when we see spine structure change. So when you take a natural curve out of your back and flatten it, that isn’t good. For people who already have a lack of curve in their back, the results are even worse.

If you do decide to use an inversion table only use it for no more than 7-10 minutes a day. Anything more than that may result in a change to your spine. If you do decide to purchase an inversion table make sure it is one that has lumbar support. Look for something that will help maintain the curve in your back.

One of the best times to use an inversion table is after a workout. It can help relieve compression in your spine after a heavy lifting day. However, only use it for a few minutes and no more than 10 minutes. You shouldn’t use an inversion table to manage your pain, that’s an indicator that something more serious is going on.

Also, one thing to note is that an inversion table does not help to align your spine. Only CBP adjustments can do that. It’s the only real way to keep your spine healthy.

So, instead of using an inversion table get your spine checked by a CBP Chiropractor. It is important to get a check-up and find out the reason why your body is bothering you in the first place.

For more information contact Dr. B at [email protected]

Can a CBP Chiropractor help with arthritis/spinal stenosis?

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A CBP Chiropractor can help people with arthritis and/or spinal stenosis. It does depend on how severe the arthritis or spinal stenosis is. If there is natural fusion there isn’t a lot a CBP Chiropractor can do with those segments. Traditionally a person’s whole spine isn’t fused, so most people can be helped.

Arthritis, traditional osteoarthritis, the wear and tear type of arthritis, comes from bad structure over many years or it can come from a trauma you’ve had, such as a car accident or a slip and fall. Those things can start to change the structure of the spine. Then when that happens your body produces new bone to help stabilize the bad structure and that’s what arthritic change is. Unfortunately, the bones that grow are sharp and pointy and they start to become compressed.

Spinal Stenosis is when there is pressure from that arthritis around the spinal cord itself. So you’re starting to have major malfunction in the body because of direct pressure on the spinal cord. Whereas a lot of times arthritis will just affect the spinal nerve. One of the branches coming off of the spinal cord will become compressed. However, with something like stenosis it actually compresses the spinal cord. So whatever neural pathways which are being controlled by that are being affected.

For example, if someone has spinal stenosis in the lumbar spine a lot of times they lose bowel and bladder function, they have trouble with reproductive organs, or they start losing function in their legs because of the pressure on the spinal cord. All of these are global problems in the body versus specific problems which can stem from arthritis. Stenosis is certainly more severe than traditional arthritis and CBP chiropractic can help.

CBP Chiropractors can help by fixing the structure through adjustments. You must get a check-up first to determine how much can be done. With the right plan in place, you can start to fix your structure and get pain relief through CBP chiropractic care. So, make an appointment today.

For more information contact Dr. B at [email protected]

 

Why is Chiropractic care considered natural?

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Chiropractic care is considered healthy primarily because there are no unnatural things being forced into the body to get the body to change, such as medicine. It is considered natural because chiropractic does not use drugs or surgery to try to change the body.

The body is changed through adjustments to help the body function at a better rate so that you don’t have to rely on medication. That’s why it’s considered natural. Chiropractors don’t encourage medicine or surgery, unless absolutely necessary.

There are a lot of ways that you can heal your body by just getting your spine aligned. Your body has the power to heal itself and with correct spinal alignment, your nervous system can operate at a higher capacity.

So, get a spinal check-up today with a CBP chiropractor and get yourself on the path to a medicine and surgery free life. For more information contact Dr. B at [email protected]

Can Yoga re-align the spine?

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The short answer is no.

We hear it often when we take yoga classes and instructional videos. However, your spine cannot be re-aligned by yoga.

If you look at how your body functions. The structure of your spine dictates the function of your muscles. Therefore, if you have a spinal situation such as scoliosis, which is a three-part movement of your spine, a rotation, a shift, and a bending of your spine to the side, there is absolutely nothing you can do in yoga that will take and shift those movements in the other direction.

CBP, Chiropractic Biophysics, adjustments are specifically designed to reduce scoliosis and are the only types of adjustments which can help in the re-alignment of your spine. Anyone with bad spinal structure will not be able to get that segment to go back to the normal alignment by doing yoga.

Yoga is for the muscles and ligaments, it’s not for the spine. Yoga is good for you because it helps you to stay limber and stretch your muscles but it does not re-align your spine. It is not a substitution for spinal adjustments.

So you should still get your spine checked by a CBP chiropractor so that you can have a healthy spine and do yoga as a supplement.

For more information contact Dr. B at [email protected]

Kids need Chiropractors too!

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It’s simple, children need to be adjusted because they have spines as we all do. Children need to see a chiropractor maybe more so than adults because of their activity levels.

As a child grows they are learning how to walk, how to ride bikes, how to play sports and with all that comes falling, tripping, and stumbling. All of these things create trauma in the body, which creates misalignments and shifts creating a strain on the nervous system.

A child receives their first subluxation at birth. When the child is born either naturally or via c-section, the first subluxation occurs in the neck when the child is extracted from the mother. We know that upper cervical subluxation can be a cause for sudden infant death syndrome, so it is very important that every child has a spine check-up and adjustments.

As a child grows they are subject to the harsh realities of life. They may fall down a couple stairs or fall off the changing table. They may be tackled by a friend or tumble out of their crib when they’re starting to walk. Any time a trauma happens there’s spinal misalignments. Those have to be minimized in order for the child to be healthy.

Chiropractic care isn’t about how you feel. It’s about how you function. If you fall or have any kind of trauma your function is going to be affected, no matter how old you are. So get your child a spinal check-up today. Their immune system with get a boost and they’ll grow up big and strong.

For more information ask Dr. B at [email protected]

How does CBP help with high blood pressure?

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What is high blood pressure and how can a CBP chiropractor help?

High blood pressure is a result of your body malfunctioning. People are not born with high blood pressure but it is something that develops over time and we have to figure out why that is.

There can be primary and/or secondary causes that lead to high blood pressure. Sometimes there are primary causes, which means something within the body is malfunctioning, maybe the heart is malfunctioning or the blood vessels are incorrectly shaped. Sometimes it’s a secondary cause which is lifestyle induced. It’s the foods that you eat, it’s your stress levels, or that you don’t exercise.

This is why in February the American Heart Association focuses on heart health and trying to make sure that people take care of their heart because that determines blood pressure. It’s very hard to control the things that people are exposed to. For example,  if people grow up with people smoking around them they are pre-disposed to high blood pressure because of that.

CBP can help.

Chiropractic care is it helps to increase the blood and nerve flow to nerves that control the heart functions. The more that your heart can function at normal rates and can tell your body how to work the better off your heart and blood vessels will be.

Chiropractic care does help people because the blood control center is right at the top of the spine where the brain ends and the spinal cord begins. This is where blood pressure is controlled. A lot of times when you see someone with substantial forward head carriage and present with high blood pressure, it is due to that pressure on the blood control center. So if we can find a way to identify that with a spinal check-up and then reduce the forward head position we can often help people naturally lower their blood pressure. It will also help them come off their medications naturally.

Each person will have their own challenges and a spinal check-up will help a chiropractor determine why a person has high blood pressure. High blood pressure doesn’t happen because you’ve reached a certain age. It’s due to your choices in diet and lack of exercise, your stress levels and some of it is due to what you were exposed to as a child.  So head to your chiropractor today and get your spine checked so that you can live a healthier life.

For more information ask Dr. B at [email protected]

February Heart Health: How can CBP help the functionality of your heart?

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Chiropractic Biophysics adjustments can help with all of the functions of your body, even your heart. But can it help the functionality of your heart?

As we know the spinal cord controls the entire body. The nerves that control the heart are in the middle part of the body, a little bit higher than your heart, in the upper back region. If you happen to have a misalignment in your spine, which you can get from slips or falls or posture habits, that can start to affect the nerve function to the heart.

You might not necessarily notice it when it’s a small amount of nerve functionality missing. However, you will certainly notice it when there is a large amount of nerve function loss. That is when it will result in a body signal, such as palpitations, or heart problems, like an abnormal heart rate.

It can also cause problems when you are exercising. Many people who are experiencing a subluxation, nerve compression, around their heart may suffer from exercise-induced asthma.

For this reason and many more, it’s important that every person gets a spinal check-up. It will allow you to identify these issues early so that you can address them and get the care you need.

For more information ask Dr. B at [email protected].

About Us: Learn about Chiropractic Biophysics (CBP) through the stories of a CrossFit athlete, a passionate artist, and parents of twin babies

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