Active Family Chiropractic

Empowering Your Health

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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].

Can CBP help with snoring, insomnia, and sleep apnea?

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People often wonder if CBP (Chiropractic Biophysics) care can help with snoring, insomnia, and sleep apnea. The important thing to remember about any physical malady is to figure out where the problem is coming from. It is important to understand what is going on. Why is it happening?

Ask some questions.

Is it physically related? Is someone suffering from insomnia because they have an imbalance in their brain chemistry which is creating an adrenaline dump so that they’re amped up all the time? Or are food choices causing insomnia? Are you drinking coffee or caffeine too close to bedtime?

It could be that you are subluxated. If your body isn’t working correctly then your body cannot function correctly because the nerves that are controlling those body parts are compressed by the spinal subluxation.

The first thing you have to do is ask questions. Why is this happening? Once you can figure out what the cause is then you can apply an appropriate solution.

Can CBP adjustments help?

We have found at Active Family Chiropractic some people who have previously been suffering from snoring, sleep apnea, and insomnia have found relief through CBP adjustments. There have also been people who have needed additional help.

Those are individuals with deviated septums, for example, or a physical deformity which causes the snoring or the sleep apnea. In those cases, they will not be able to stop snoring or stop having sleep apnea without some sort of intervention such as surgery or a machine.

CBP care helps a lot of different people with a lot of different ailments if it’s related to subluxations in the spine. If it’s a deformity of some sort of structural component such as a deviated septum, then most likely it’s not nervous system pressure which is causing the problem it’s the actual structure that is causing the problem. Structure always dictates function.

Go to your CBP chiropractor.

It is important to start by asking why is this happening. What are some factors that are contributing to my snoring, insomnia, and/or sleep apnea? The place to do that is with your CBP chiropractor. The doctor can ask those important questions so you can better understand how your body functions and if your snoring, insomnia, and/or sleep apnea are caused by your structure or by a subluxation. So make an appointment with your CBP chiropractor today and maybe you could get a good night sleep tonight.

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

Why it’s important to stay hydrated in the winter.

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Believe it or not, you can become dehydrated during the winter so it’s important to stay hydrated. Your body is almost 80% water. This means that every body function that you have requires hydration.

Whether it be digestion, excretion, circulation, any of the body systems that you can think of like your immune system and vascular systems all require water in perfect balance with electrolytes for your body to function, even your brain. Your spinal column has fluid in it as well, so everywhere in your body, there is fluid.

If you are sitting around in the winter and not exercising, you may think that you don’t need to drink water but you are wrong, because every body process requires water to function. Even when you breathe you are respirating. When you breathe out you are breathing out water droplets, it’s one of the by-products of respiration.

It’s important to drink water in the winter. Many forget to drink water in the winter because you may not sweat or you are less active. Instead, you may find yourself drinking more hot beverages like coffee, hot chocolate, or tea. These all contain caffeine which dehydrates so not only are people not drinking enough water because they are not sweating but they are increasing their dehydration by consuming more caffeine.

Many people will feel very lethargic and worn out in the winter. This may cause you to think it’s because of the lack of sun but it’s really because you’re dehydrated. You also may not realize it but heat is dehydrating so the fact that you’re spending more time indoors in a warm environment will dehydrate you in the winter as well. If your skin is dry on the outside your body is dry on the inside. Dry skin is a good indicator of dehydration.

During the winter it’s important to still have to consume at least half your body weight in ounces per day in order to keep your body functioning and not become dehydrated. If you find yourself drinking more hot beverages containing caffeine you need to drink the same amount of water to replace the water lost. Also, if you find yourself tired in the middle of the day, take it as a sign that you’re dehydrated and drink some water.

So this winter make it a point to drink water, even if you think you don’t need it, more than likely you do!

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

Tips for a healthier New Year.

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Happy New Year everyone! Let’s start the new year off right by establishing good habits. Here are some tips for a healthier new year.

Meet the four fundamental needs of your body.

#1. Your nervous system.

Without your brain telling your body what to do through your spinal cord, your body doesn’t function. If you’re not taking care of your spine through regular CBP (Chiropractic Biophysics) adjustments. Your spine cannot work at 100% or at it’s highest potential. As a result that can give you lower health, give you more physical problems, more pain, more limitations, and, less energy.

Many people think that to be healthy you need to just eat well and exercise but it’s more than that. However, it’s so much more than that and the first step is to get regular adjustments by a CBP chiropractor.

#2. Oxygen in your cells.

The best way to keep your cells oxygenated is through exercise and movement. That doesn’t mean you have to run marathons or do aggressive workouts. You are able to do this by walking, swimming, stretching, or just moving. That is how old cells in your body get replaced with new cells. That is also how you stay young and disease free. It is through the oxygenation of the body. The best way to oxygenate your body is through movement, aka exercise.

#3. Water intake.

To be healthier this year one of the best things you can do is to increase your water intake, slowly. If you increase your water intake too fast you will, more than likely urinate it out and it won’t be absorbed. The best thing to do is to sip it throughout the day. The goal for each person should be to intake half your body weight in ounces. That is your minimum hydration levels, needed to maintain good function in your body. Anything above that would be great! Anything below that means you are dehydrated.

Dehydration will help to slow down all of your body functions, which ultimately will affect your health. So, in order to be healthier, you have to get more water into your body. Make sure that if you are consuming beverages with caffeine you want to consume the same amount of water in addition to your daily minimum.

#4. Nutrition and eating the right foods.

This is different for everyone. Some people need to eat raw foods only and some people cannot eat raw foods because of their digestion. Some people can eat gluten and some people can’t, etc. Nutrition is not a single answer. Every person has to figure out what is going to work best for their bodies.

Your body will tell you whether or not it likes what you are putting into it. If you feel energized after you eat, if you feel healthier, if you feel good then you know you’re eating the right foods. If you are feeling gassy, or have heartburn, or any of those other signs of incomplete digestion then you’ll know that you are not eating foods that are good for your body. It’s a good idea to consult a registered dietitian in order to get a specific diet plan together.

Use these as a guideline

That’s the best way to be healthier in the new year. Working on these four fundamental needs listed above will help to give you a good foundation for building a healthier you for the new year. So make a plan to see a CBP chiropractor, drink more water, eat better for your body and move more!

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

 

 

 

 

How do I tell others about CBP chiropractic when they come from a medical background?

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That is a little bit difficult because most people that either have a doctor in the family or are in the healthcare field, they have very strong opinions on healthcare and on what’s right and what’s not right. Just like anyone with strong opinions it might be very difficult for them to see your opinion or to consider something different.

If you have someone in your family who you would like to have some chiropractic care done and they don’t have any support at home, is to call Active Family Chiropractic. When they call the office they can ask questions and Dr. B will go over what happens at the office and the benefits of chiropractic care and put any fears they might have at bay.

Chiropractic care is safe and effective and it helps thousands of people every day. It is non-surgical and non-medication. So for people who have strong religious beliefs or want more of a holistic approach, it’s worth looking into seeing a chiropractic practitioner.

If you have strong opposition at home to chiropractic care, call the office. or do the research and be your own health advocate. It’s important to not just follow what someone says blindly. Ask questions and make the best decision for yourself and those you care for.

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

How to manage stress during the holidays.

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The best way to manage your stress during the holidays is to make sure you’re meeting all of the fundamental needs of your body. First, you need to make sure that you get a CBP adjustment before you travel and when you get back. That way the adjustment will help to take away a lot of the stressors which come from sitting in airplanes, cars, and trains and just sitting in general.

The second step is to make sure that you are drinking ample amounts of water. A lot of people don’t drink enough water during the holidays. They tend to drink other things like alcohol, hot chocolate, and things that are dehydrating, so you want to make sure that your water levels are high.

Then you want to make sure that you’re managing your stress with some form of exercise. Whether it be yoga, running, or meditation, anything that is mental or physical exercise will be great for managing stress. Stretching when you get to your location and if you’re sitting a lot around the dinner table get up periodically. Move around, don’t get caught sitting on a couch for 5 hours.

You also want to make sure that you are eating as well as you can be. Even though the holidays tend to be very focused on sugar which is very bad for your body. You just want to be really careful about your sugar intake and making poor food choices and minimize those choices.

You can also take some extra vitamin C to support your body and some extra vitamin B complex is very good for anti-stress. B Complex is an anti-stress vitamin. B complex is really good for people who are under stress on a regular basis. Nowadays a lot of companies make something called adrenal support. This contains a lot of Bs, vitamin C and a lot of herbs that are helpful to support the adrenal glands because it is the adrenal glands that get overworked. Most Americans have overworked adrenal glands because of the stress levels we are under on a regular basis. Taking a supplement like that would be helpful to your body through times of stress.

Another thing you can do is to try to get quality sleep, whenever you can because that is when your body heals when you are sleeping. Lack of sleep can lower your body’s ability to handle stress.

There are other things that you can use to help with stress management, topical things. Lavender oil is very helpful for relaxing the body. Some people like melatonin to help with sleeping in a different place. There are a lot of teas out there that are helpful to relax the body, like chamomile.

Lastly, if you can detach from your electronics at least a half an hour before bed and do something that isn’t stimulating your brain as much like reading, praying, or meditating, doing something that would relax your body will make it easier to fall asleep.

So don’t stress out this holiday season and use this guide to help battle holiday stress. Make sure that you’re keeping up with your CBP adjustments and try to sneak an additional one in.

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

Can CBP adjustments help us conceive?

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What we do know about the body is that all of the body functions need to work optimally. Your body is really good at keeping itself functioning in a state of what we call homeostasis. This is when your body is working in sync with your body parts.

Sometimes when subluxations occur it does disrupt the homeostasis by preventing the messages or the energy from the brain down the spinal cord to the body part. The subluxation can block the nerve flow, the energy flow to certain levels in the nervous system. If those nerves happen to go to the reproductive organs it could lend to problems with infertility.

At Active Family Chiropractic we have seen people who were unable to conceive naturally before they begun to get their spines corrected with Chiropractic Biophysics. Once they began to get adjusted regularly they were able to conceive naturally.

It’s not 100% possible for all people conceive naturally because there are some structural malformations that people have which prevent fertilization from happening. In those cases, Chiropractic adjustments would not be able to help because of the structural problem. However, if it’s a nerve flow problem that can be corrected with adjustments and AFC has seen it a lot.

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

 

Is it flu season or sugar season.

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A lot of people are hearing on the radio and on television that this is flu season. The flu is around all year long, it isn’t just here during one season. The thing is that the other months of the year people make better health choices. That means that they are making wiser choices on what they eat and they tend to exercise more. They also get a lot more natural sunlight which gives them natural Vitamin D and they tend to drink more water because they are hot.

When the weather starts to get colder, people start to change their habits. They don’t exercise as much, their water consumption goes down, they aren’t seeing as much sunshine and they start to fall off of good habits like eating healthy. People start to eat more comfort foods which are laden with refined sugars, such as Pumpkin Spice lattes, hot chocolate, cakes, and cookies.

When you look at the holidays, the major holidays start in October, during Halloween. Every holiday after that encourages some sort of sugar eating. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter are all major sugar holidays. During these holidays there is a lot of encouragement to eat a lot of pies, cakes, and sugar.

The problem with sugar is that it destroys your immune system functions. It actually suppresses your immune system for 6 hours after eating it. When your immune system is suppressed, it is not working at optimum levels, your immune system is distracted from other things, other jobs it normally has like identifying the flu virus and getting rid of it before it becomes a problem for you physically.

This is what happens in the summer. When you are eating less sugar and are making better health choices your immune system has the opportunity to fight off the flu virus and remove it from your body.

The flu is around all year long, so why the press for the flu vaccine now, during this time of the year? It is because people are making bad health choices. The medical community knows that people are going to be over-consuming sugar in all forms and they are trying to stop an epidemic of the flu.

Should I get the flu shot?

It is a totally personal preference. If you are taking care of your body, making sure you’re eating right, taking vitamin D, drinking enough water and getting adjusted regularly, you should have no need for the flu shot. If you choose to not take care of your body, don’t get regular adjustments, and over-indulge then you might want to consider it.

The biggest take away is that you need to make your health a priority in order to stay healthy. During this holiday season if you know that you’re going to be eating sweets, pies, and cakes, moderate your intake a taste of each dessert will do. You don’t have to consume the whole pie!

Make sure that if you’re going to eat sweets you are drinking more water, getting more sleep and try to get some exercise in. Also, try to schedule an adjustment with your CBP doctor and get your spine right for the holidays.

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

Why aren’t there more CBP Chiropractors in Albany?

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CBP stands for Chiropractic Biophysics and it is a specific technique within chiropractic care. Being a CBP practitioner is more labor intensive for the doctor because you have to do thorough examinations. You have to do x-rays. You have to analyze the x-rays and then you have to present that information to the patient in a way that is different from the way most people go to chiropractors for, which is pain management.

CBP Chiropractors have to present a whole different foreign concept of total body wellness through correction of the spine instead of just focusing on pain management. So what winds up happening for a lot of patients is, they contact a chiropractor because they want pain relief but chiropractic care is so much more than that. However, most chiropractors don’t bother to tell patients that. They just focus on what the patient is interested in which is the pain management part of it. Once the pain management has happened then the person disappears and they don’t continue.

Chiropractic care was not designed to do that. It was designed to take care of your spine, even if it doesn’t hurt because that is what keeps your body healthy. That concept is foreign for a lot of people. Especially the Western philosophy of medicine which, promotes reactionary care which, is to wait until something is hurting or wait until your injured to go get medicine or go get fixed. Versus the Eastern philosophy of medicine which, is to take care of the body that you have before it’s hurt before it gets sick. It’s a lot easier to stay well than to try to get well. Because of this, there are a lot of people who don’t know or they don’t think about being preventative.

That is what CBP Chiropractic care is. It is preventative care of the body. So that is a challenge in and of itself and might be a reason that many chiropractors don’t bother. It is also labor intensive for the doctor because they have to perform x-rays. If you are getting adjusted and you don’t have x-rays done you are taking the chance on permanent problems being done to your body. A doctor has to know what is going on structurally inside before they adjust and that can only be seen through x-rays.

If you go to other states that have different philosophies on health you’ll find there are more CBP chiropractors there. If a state has a philosophy of wellness you may find more CBP practitioners in that state.

The other reason is that CBP is a diplomate, which means that you will have to do additional schooling after chiropractic college. There may be a lot of chiropractors who don’t want to do extra training or extra education and that’s another reason there may not be more CBP chiropractors. It is not a branch of chiropractic care that is taught in the basic school systems so it is extra training that you will have to go for which can be expensive and time-consuming.

Doctors should always be learning and CBP Chiropractors have to always learn in order to keep their certifications up. Would you rather get care from someone who has a First aid certification or an EMT? I don’t know about you but I would rather receive care from an EMT, so why would you see a Chiropractor when you can see a CBP Chiropractor?

Do your body a favor and put it on the track to wellness. Make an appointment with a CBP doctor today and get on the road to health.

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

 

Ergonomics of Raking

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Now that we’re in the full swing of fall it’s time we talked about how to rake those leaves properly. Granted leaves don’t weigh much but if you employ poor raking techniques you could easily throw your back out.

This is a time when a lot of people are trying to get their yards prepped for the winter and what winds up happening is they strain their bodies and they hurt themselves. In order to prevent this, one of the first things you should do is hydrate well.

Hydrate!

If you’re going to be out in the yard working you want to make sure that you are properly hydrated not only during the work but before you leave the house to do the lawn care. The next thing you want to make sure you do is to get your body warm.

Get the blood moving!

You want to make sure that you warm up. Take a walk up and down your driveway to make sure that you get the blood flowing. Do some arm and leg swings to get the blood circulating through your body.

How you position your body raking matters!

You never want to bend at the waist if possible. If your rake does not support that, look into getting a more ergonomic rake or get a rake that’s taller so you don’t have to bend over to rake. Also, make sure that you’re alternating sides when you rate. If you start on the right, do 10 strokes and then switch to your left and do 10 strokes.

Try to rake out in front of you an toward you with your hips pointing forward. Try not to twist to move the leaves behind you. Once you have completed all of your raking there are a couple things left to do.

Stretch!

You want to make sure you drink lots of water and stretch for at least 15 minutes when you’re done. Pop on the tv and stretch while you’re watching.

Get some protein.

Drink a shake or eat some eggs, find a way to get some protein in your body to help speed the repair of muscles that you just used. Eating protein after will help reduce soreness and inflammation.

Repair and replenish

Remember to drink plenty of water to help flush the toxins from your system. You can also take an Epsom salt bath to help soothe aching, tired muscles.

See your CBP Chiropractor

Another thing you can do to help with muscle soreness is to get a CBP Chiropractic adjustment. Doing all that manual labor can throw your body out of alignment and cause subluxations. Seeing your chiropractor will remove those subluxations and reduce the amount of pressure on your spine. So make an appointment with your Chiropractor after you do any strenuous activity.

(repost from September 2018)

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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