Active Family Chiropractic

Empowering Your Health

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Back to School: Backpack Safety

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It’s that time of year again when kids, teen, and adults are going back to school and that means book bags! So what is the right way to carry your books?

Safety First

Backpack safety is very important, especially as children are growing. They are carrying heavy textbooks to and from class and they should only be carrying 15% of the child’s total weight on their back. So if they have more than that you really have to look at re-evaluating that weight by taking things out or considering an alternative way to cart their books around, such as a rolling backpack.

The Correct way to wear a backpack

How you hold your backpack is important as well. You must make sure to carry the backpack with both straps on and close to the body, not hanging down. The backpack also shouldn’t be bigger than the child or adult wearing it. In addition, if you can find a backpack that has a hip belt attached to it, this can help redistribute the weight from your back and shoulders to your hips. This can make the pack feel lighter.

If you have a backpack and typically wear it by only one strap this can cause structural problems over time. Because you are adding additional weight to one side of your body the other side of your body will try to counter the weight creating an imbalance.

What about Messenger bags or Totes?

You want to make sure that for these types of bags you are equally wearing the weight. If you have been carrying your messenger bag over your right shoulder for the past hour switch to the left for the next hour. Create balance so that your body can function at optimum levels.

How do I know if I’m wearing my back the right way?

If you have questions about the proper way to wear your bag come into Active Family Chiropractic. For the month of September AFC will be conducting complementary ergonomic evaluations. This isn’t only for how to wear your backpack but they can be applied to how your workstation is set up or how you sit and type. Really anything that could use an ergonomic overhaul. AFC will give you an ergonomic evaluation and give you easy suggestions to help support your body.

So call and make an appointment at 518-452-2800 or send us an email at [email protected]

 

Can you correct scoliosis?

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Have you ever noticed that one of your legs might be longer than the other? Or maybe you cannot sleep on your stomach because one of your hips jams uncomfortably into the bed? You may have some degree of scoliosis and it may be correctable.

What is scoliosis?

Scoliosis is a three-part movement of the spine, rotation, flexion, and translation of the components of the spine. In order to fix it, you need to counter all three movements, which is why traditional Chiropractic care cannot help you. There are two reasons why they cannot help you, 1) they typically do not take x-rays so they cannot see what is happening with your spine, and 2) if they do they do not have the knowledge or the training to apply the forces of the technique as well as an in-office traction.

How can scoliosis be corrected?

Only with structural corrective adjustments and in-office traction, which is the Chiropractic Biophysics (CBP) technique. Any other attempt to correct it through the traditional Chiropractic care will not because you need to address the ligamentous and muscular components as well as the structural components of the spine. That is why CBP is so effective at reducing scoliosis because it addresses both of those things.

Some scoliosis is too far beyond correction, for example, the angle could be too severe, that it will actually compromise people’s body parts, their organs, at that point a Chiropractor will have to refer out in order to stop that progression. However, if you can catch it early enough you can certainly identify what is happening, apply the appropriate solution, and reduce the shifting.

How do I know if my scoliosis is beyond correction?

Your spine will be contorted to a degree where it is interfering with your organs. If this is the case seeing a Chiropractor for a check-up should be your first step. Once the problem is identified then a course of action will be recommended. If the scoliosis is extreme enough surgery might be recommended or wearing a scoli brace.

What is a scoli brace?

A scoli brace is mostly designed for youth, people who are still growing because as they grow, they can grow straighter with the help of the brace. The other is post-menopausal women because scoliosis tends to progress at a rapid rate in this group. However, if the scoliosis is too bad then a surgical consult will be recommended.

How do I find out if my scoliosis is correctable?

You would have to get a check-up with a CBP Chiropractor. The check-up will entail an exam, x-rays and a consultation. CBP Chiropractors use x-rays to be able to see what angle the scoliosis is and how severe it is. At that point, they would then be able to determine whether it was extreme enough to refer out or something that could be handled in office. The x-rays and exam also give the Chiropractor the information on how to correct the spine.

To see if your spine is in good working order make an appointment with a CBP Chiropractor and get on the road to healthy.

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

 

Should Kids in Gymnastics Be Adjusted?

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Gymnastics create a lot of trauma for the spine when the children are learning how to do the jumps and tumbles. They wind up putting a lot of extra strain on their bodies along with the falls that happen. This can really cause a lot of misalignments in the spine.

Gymnastics can be very hard on the body. Many times a child will fall while learning how to tumble or jump and those falls can lead to misalignments and subluxations. In addition, over-training or over-development of areas can affect the development of muscles and can cause a muscular imbalance which can lead to injury down the road.

If a child has been involved in gymnastics at any stage they should see a Chiropractor to be assessed for subluxations. The assessment at a CBP Chiropractor will involve a spinal check-up, exams, and x-rays. So make an appointment for your tumbler with a CBP Chiropractor and ensure that your child has good spinal alignment.

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

Why do you say “Power Is On!” after every adjustment?

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Your power is on!

Saying that “your power is on” is regarding the body’s ability to process energy from the brain down the spinal cord. The energy that comes from the brain, down the spinal cord, to all parts of the body is what keeps you alive and healthy. If you have subluxations that can slow down the flow of energy.

Think of your spinal cord as a river. It brings energy from your brain, down your spinal cord to all parts of your body, every organ and tissue is totally dependent on that energy to keep you alive and healthy. If you have a subluxation or a misalignment as a result of a trauma or day-to-day life, it can compress your nervous system which will slow down the energy flow.

After adjustments saying that “your power is on” is indicating that you are at 100% nervous system function.

Get your power on!

Wonder if you’re operating at 100% nervous system function? The only way to do that is to make an appointment for a check-up with a CBP Chiropractor. They will be able to assess if you have any subluxations or misalignments which are impeding the flow of energy in your body, so call and set up an appointment today.

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

Can CBP Chiropractic adjustments help with indigestion?

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Can CBP Chiropractic adjustments help with indigestion?

It can if your indigestion is coming from a structural problem. There are nerves that control your digestive function and digestion, believe it or not, begins in the mouth with your saliva, which is why you should chew your food. Incorporating a lot of saliva into your chewing will begin to break down the food.

If you have a subluxation, which is a misalignment of the spine, anywhere from the very top of your neck all the way to the beginning of your low back, there is potential for you to have incomplete digestion. The nerves control your mouth, your esophagus, the stomach, the small intestine, the large intestine, and all other digestive organs. If you have a subluxation anywhere in those nerves, it can compress those nerves, therefore giving you incomplete digestion. This can lead to acid reflux or heartburn.

What are some indications of improper digestion?

Acid reflux and heartburn can also come from incomplete digestion because of a person’s inability to digest certain foods. People who are lactose intolerant or have celiac disease don’t have the proper enzymes in their body to digest those foods properly and can cause things like acid reflux and heartburn.

However, if you have a subluxation in your body it can cause indigestion and by getting the spine re-aligned you can reduce the likelihood of getting heartburn, incomplete food digestion or even allergies. Food allergies come from a food build up in the body and if your body is not digesting them correctly it can lead to food allergies.

Get a check-up from a CBP Chiropractor

You can prevent all these things by getting regular adjustments from a CBP Chiropractor. CBP or Chiropractic Biophysics is a branch of Chiropractic care that focuses on realigning your spine so that your nerve pathways are free of blocks. These blocks show up as pain, allergies, and indigestion. Getting a check-up by a CBP Chiropractor can put you on the right track to living a healthy life free of allergies and indigestion. So call for a check-up today and get your spine in optimum health.

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

How Do Rotator Cuff Injuries Happen?

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Have you ever had a shoulder pain that just wouldn’t go away? Maybe you couldn’t determine when it started or how but it bothers you. You could have a rotator cuff injury from overuse. Seeing a CBP Chiropractor can help get you back pain-free.

How do rotator cuff injuries happen?

The most common cause is a trauma, like a car accident, work injury, fitness injury, or just wear and tear. Wear and tear comes from overuse. For example, baseball players tend to sustain rotator cuff injuries due to wear and tear over time and could lead to a tear.

Can improper structure lead to rotator cuff injuries?

If you don’t have the proper structure in the shoulder joint, if it is subluxated, it can lead to improper forces on the muscles and tendons which can result in tendon/muscle damage. A lot of injuries that people have seemingly out of nowhere if it is not an obvious trauma, is usually an overuse, wear and tear type of thing. That over the years they were slowly creating wear and tear on those muscles and joints, which they were not addressing, by getting regular adjustments and stretching. What ends up happening is the wear and tear on the ligaments starts to create damage and then eventually, the smallest of stimulus could cause a complete tear of the ligament.

One of the other things that can cause rotator cuff injuries is the way the joints are shaped. Sometimes people have genetic deformities, where the shape of the ball and socket joint is not ideal, and that is not something that anyone can do anything about. If this is the case, strengthening the area is the only thing that can be done.

The rotator cuff is the most complicated series of joints in the body. Anyone of those joints, at any time, could become subluxated, overworked, and ultimately injured. Those injuries are very difficult to come back from.

How can a CBP Chiropractor help?

A CBP Chiropractor can identify what is going on structurally, and if there is something structurally wrong, it can be addressed by adjusting the joints and help the muscles to work more evenly. Seeing a CBP Chiropractor can help to prevent injury.

If someone has had a rotator cuff injury already, they may have had surgery, in that case, what a CBP Chiropractor can do is help by giving exercises to help strengthen the joints that haven’t had surgery on. In addition, they can help by strengthening the muscles around those joints as well.

For the most part, you can prevent those types of injuries if there is not a direct trauma. Getting a check-up with a CBP Doctor will give you the tools you need to strengthen the rotator cuff area and get on the road to living pain-free.

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

 

Can CBP Chiropractic care help my balance?

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Losing one’s balance can happen to anyone. It could be any number of reasons why you or a loved one is losing their balance and getting a checkup with a CBP Chiropractor could help fix the issue.

Cause: Improper Alignment

CBP has helped a lot of people and their balance, especially older people who feel like they are off-balance. Balance problems sometimes come from the way that the spine is shaped. If your spine is very shifted to the right, gravity is going to pull you to the right and you will feel like you are going to fall over, especially as you get older and you start to lose some of the muscle strength that would normally right yourself.

Older people are always falling because they lose their balance, a lot of the time because their spine is shifted. So they are either falling forward because their head is forward and their body is pulled forward or they’re falling to the side because their spine is shifted.

Cause: Inner ear issues

Sometimes balance problems can come from the inner ear. Sometimes as people get older they have more ear wax buildup or they have nerve damage to their ear which can throw off their balance in a major way.

It really depends on what the problem is. If a person has been diagnosed with some type of inner ear problem, like damage to the nerve in the ear, then probably the adjustments won’t help with the balance issues. However, if it is something like impacted ear wax or pressure on the nerve from the neck area, where the nerves control the ear function, then absolutely the corrective adjustments can help.

Seeing a CBP Chiropractor can help you determine a course of action.

It’s just about finding out what’s wrong first. Finding out where the loss of balance is coming from. Is it coming from the inner ear, or a neck subluxation, or the way that your body is shaped? That is the first thing to figure out because then a CBP Chiropractor can figure out whether or not they can help. So start by making an appointment with your CBP Chiropractor and get a check-up. You don’t have to live with poor balance.

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

What causes a muscle knot?

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What causes a muscle knot?

Muscle knots can come from a lot of different things. In terms of CBP, when you have poor spinal structure, subluxations, which are misalignments in your joints, can cause severe problems with your muscles. If your head is shifted all the way to your right then all the muscles on your right side will be shortened because the attachment sites are closer to one another. So everything on that side is going to get very short and tight. Then everything on the opposite side gets very stretched, elongated and weakened.

A poor spinal structure could be the root of the issue.

Depending on what structural problems you have, you could be overworking some muscles and underworking others. This is where a lot of muscle knots come from and it’s also where a lot of injuries come from. It is a muscular imbalance due to a bad spinal structure. It is also one of the most overlooked things by Physical Therapists, Osteopaths, Fitness Trainers, Massage Therapists, just about anyone in that world, they overlook the fact that spinal structure dictates muscular function. So that’s where muscle knots come from and that’s why you seem to get the same ones over and over again. Because your muscles are pulling unevenly due to what your structure is doing.

The issue could be a lack of stretching!

You can also get muscle knots if you don’t do proper mobilization after exercise. So say you go out to weed the garden, you’re pulling, tugging, bending, and twisting, your muscles are getting a workout but instead of stretching you go inside and flop on the couch. This will cause muscles knots. After any type of activity, you need to stretch. If you don’t all of the muscle byproducts, metabolic waste, that you just caused by using your muscles will settle into your muscles and cause muscle knots, instead of being flushed out of your system by drinking water and stretching.

Dehydration also plays a role.

The last thing that can cause muscle knots is dehydration. If you don’t have enough hydration in your muscles then the metabolic waste will stay in the muscles and that will give you even more aches and pains. It’s important to stay hydrated. You can become dehydrated even if you don’t think that you’ve done a lot of activity. Something like weeding a garden, even if you are not sweating, will dehydrate you.

How do I get rid of muscle knots? Where do I start?

In order to decrease and eliminate the frequency of muscle knots, it is important to stretch, hydrate, and above all else make sure your spine is in good alignment by getting regular check-ups with your CBP Chiropractor.

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

Heat Management & Hydration

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It’s summer, time for BBQs and playing outside. It’s also the hottest time of the year. It’s important to think of your heat management and hydration.

Can CBP Help with Heat Management?

In Corrective Chiropractic care (CBP), the goal is to get your spine as close to structurally normal as possible, which keeps the least amount of pressure on your nervous system. Your nervous system controls your whole body. It controls your circulatory system, your vascular system (your veins and arteries), it controls all of the messages in your body, so just about every cell in your body is controlled by your nervous system, which is encased in your spine.

In terms of heat management, your thyroid gland has a lot to do with heat control. People who have thyroid problems they are either too hot all the time or too cold, there’s no in-between for them. A lot of times people who have nerve compression to the nerves that control the thyroid gland or to the kidneys, which have a lot to do with water and hydration, if they have any pressure on those nerves and those nerves are not working at 100%, there is potential for problems.

What about hydration?

This time of the year, when it’s super hot out people are reaching for cold beverages, that aren’t necessarily water. They may be going for an iced coffee, iced tea, or a frozen drink, which is essentially ice, sugar, and potentially dairy. During hotter times, people could be reaching for ice and alcoholic beverages such as beer, because they think it cools them down. In fact, drinking something cold when you’re hot is counter-intuitive, because it can actually cause your body to shut down. If you’re hot you should be drinking luke-warm water or a luke-warm beverage. Beverages like coffee, tea, beer, and other alcoholic beverages take water out of your cells, which makes you more dehydrated. In order to stay hydrated, you want to steer away from these on hot days.

In order to stay hydrated, you need to consume about half your body weight in ounces. If you decide to have coffee or iced tea or even a beer make sure that you drink an additional 8-12 ounces of water per drink to counteract the dehydration effects of caffeine and/or alcohol. Also, make sure to add more water also if you are sweating.

How can dehydration effect me?

If you become dehydrated you will have the potential for your body’s systems to stop or to slow down. This can cause mental confusion, headaches, generalized aches and pains, and lethargy. It can also lead to kidney failure or diabetes if you don’t have enough water.

Along with water, it is important to have an electrolyte balance in your water. If you use a water source like a Britta, which filters out everything from your water, you can go to your health food store and by mineral drops, which you can add to your water. Make sure to stay away from drinks like Gatorade which is basically sugared colored water with salt, it does not have enough active electrolytes to be effective.

You can also find electrolytes in the foods you eat, such as bananas, oranges, and spinach. You want to look for foods that contain potassium, magnesium, and sodium. Eating these foods can help to replace lost electrolytes as well.

Taking care of your spine can help you manage the heat better.

If your nervous system, at the get-go, isn’t working well, because you are not getting your spine adjusted by a CBP chiropractor and you’re not having enough hydration on top of that, you’re going to have a really hard time managing heat. However, if you have regular CBP adjustments and drink a good source of water with electro-lights, you’ll find that you’ll be able to tolerate the heat much better than you had before.

Why do older people see their health decline after a fall?

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We hear it all the time, “Grandma was doing great until she took that spill and within two weeks her health wasn’t the same.” Why is that? Do you become more fragile the older you become? In a way, yes, but you can do some things to help strengthen your bones so you’re not as brittle as you get older.

Why do we see a number of older people decline in health after a fall?

This isn’t true for all. There are some older people who fall all the time and are just a little bruised. It’s been found that when an individual takes care of themselves, in particular, their spine, on a regular basis, they will have a better quality of life.

A healthy 70-year-old vs. an unhealthy 70-year-old.

Usually, when you hear about people who are “wiping out and dying” from bone infections, for example, they are not healthy, to begin with. If you look at two, 70-year-old seniors. One has exercised their whole life, eats as well as they possibly can, has plenty of social interaction, and gets adjustments on a regular basis (at least once a week). That person is going to have a faster recovery and be less prone to infection because their immune system is stronger by the nature of their choices. Also, because their spine is used to being adjusted and is stronger they will be more resilient to injuries if they fall.

So that 70-year-old will heal faster and have less chance of infection than a 70-year-old who doesn’t exercise, doesn’t eat right, sits around, doesn’t have any social interactions, doesn’t get adjusted, and doesn’t take care of themselves. That is when you see people who are unhealthy, to begin with, they have a major trauma and they just get a bone infection because their immune system is lower, to begin with. A lot of times its just food choices. Many seniors make poor food choices, for example, they may just eat toast and tea and that’s it. They don’t eat vegetables or fruits, they don’t eat any good repair sources of protein. Their immune system is trying to fight off all kinds of things and they aren’t giving their bodies the resources to help the immune system function correctly. So then when that 70-year-old falls it really complicates things and sends the immune system into overdrive and it cannot cope.

The power of CBP

Dr. B has a patient in her office who is 82 years old. This winter she was outside by her mailboxes and she had a fall on the ice. She fell on her left hip. Naturally, everyone thought she broke her hip. She went to the doctor to get checked out but nothing was broken, she only had a few scrapes, no strains or sprains. Everyone was so surprised that she was not more badly hurt because she is older. But if you look at her as an individual, she raised 7 children so she was always active throughout her life, she has a very active social life, she eats healthy, and she gets a CBP adjustment once a week. She is an example of someone who could have easily fractured her hip because it was a bad fall, but she takes care of herself and eats well and came out relatively unscathed.

Can a fall wreak havoc on your body at any age?

Yes, you see it with children too.  There are some children who have an odd fall and then develop a problem. For example, a child could be playing in gym class, lose their balance and fall which results in a fractured arm. That might just be a fracture but there have been incidents when an auto-immune disease developed from that fall. Sometimes traumas do create disease processes because of how impactful it is to your body.

However, the healthier you are and the more resilient your spine it the less impact a fall will have on your immune system. So it’s important to set up a check-up with your CBP chiropractor so that your immune system is functioning at it’s highest levels. If you don’t have a CBP chiropractor stop into Active Family Chiropractic and make an appointment to see Dr. B and start the road to optimal health at any age.

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

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