Active Family Chiropractic

Empowering Your Health

Contact us at (518) 452-2800

What is the difference between Correction and Pain Management in regards to Chiropractic Care?

by Leave a Comment

No two Chiropractors are made the same. Much like there are specializations in other branches of the medical field so too are there in Chiropractic medicine. Chiropractic Biophysics focuses care on correction while the vast majority of Chiropractors focus on patch care or pain management.

So what is the difference between correcting and pain management?

Correction is fixing the problem that’s there. Pain management or pain relief is only addressing the problem until the pain goes away but still leaving the problem there to wreak havoc another day. Another way you can think about this is short-term, (Patch care chiropractic) versus long-term (CBP Chiropractic).

Short-term would be relief care, where you would leave with no pain, so you think you’re ok and you stop doing good things for yourself like Chiropractic care. Versus continuing to do good things for yourself like continued Chiropractic care and addressing the real issue which will give you a better quality of life in the long run.

For example, you wouldn’t exercise to lose 5 lbs, and once you’ve lost the 5 lbs you’re done exercising. You probably wouldn’t because you know it’s good for your body. The same thing with Chiropractic care, most people only use it when they have a b0dy signal that tells them something is wrong. However, they should use it even when you don’t have your body signaling you to do so. You don’t always feel problems until your body has had enough.

How do I prevent issues in my body from happening?

Make an appointment with your CBP Chiropractor. They will help you to determine what you need to heal your body from the inside out.

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

 

Back to School: Backpack Safety

by Leave a Comment

 

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]

 

Should Kids in Gymnastics Be Adjusted?

by Leave a Comment

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 Won’t My Child Sit Up Straight?

by Leave a Comment

All of us has been told as a kid to sit up straight. Did you find it impossible to do? It always seemed more comfortable to slouch, doesn’t it? However, you always see parents telling their children to sit up straight.

Why won’t my Child Sit up Straight?

A child won’t sit up straight for a number of reasons. Usually, it’s because the child has something wrong with the structure of their spine. Because of that, it is impossible for them to sit up straight, no matter how much you try to encourage them to do so. A lot of the habits they do every day, such as using handheld devices, playing video games, sitting slumped at school, all those things can lead to bad posture habits. However, usually, they stem from the structure itself, because we know structural abnormalities start in-utero. They can also happen at birth.

That is why we encourage parents to have their babies and children spinally assessed because they are acquiring subluxations at birth which can influence their posture, which can then influence how they present themselves later on in life as young children, teenagers, and adults.

Are there any exercises that my child can do to help them sit up straighter?

You want to encourage your children to have good posture as they are growing. However, most adults don’t know what good posture is. You see it every day. Parents let their children sit slumped while playing games or using their handheld device for hours on end and don’t realize that this is bad for them. The first step is to understand what normal is and the only way to know what normal is is to see a CBP chiropractor and get a check-up. Regardless of whether or not they have pain every person should have a spinal check-up because that is how you learn what “normal” is. That is how you learn how to identify good posture versus bad posture, not only in yourself but in others.

Is there potential for a child’s growth to be stunted from poor posture habits?

Yes, you can see that the child may grow unevenly. One leg could be longer than the other or their bones will grow in the direction of which they are slumping. Now we’re seeing because of the influx of handheld devices, forward head position on a lot of young children that never existed before. Because these kids have never spent so much time looking at these devices before, it’s actually pulling their head forward and creating structural changes. This is something that previously had only been seen in adults.

How can we correct this?

The first thing to do would be to bring your children to see a CBP Chiropractor for a check-up. Having an understanding of how your child’s spine is structured is very important to identify any structural abnormalities. Knowing to restrict time on handheld devices and encouraging your children to have good posture should be in addition to your CBP care, so make an appointment today.

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

What is whiplash?

by Leave a Comment

Have you ever been in a car accident and your neck tightens up and starts to ache? You could have whiplash. How do you know if you have whiplash or just a neck ache?

What is Whiplash?

Whiplash is a medical term that has been given to somebody who has been, in most instances, in a motor vehicle accident where they are rear-ended. Their head is whipped forward first and then into a quick backwards movement. It’s very easy to get whiplash it only takes a trauma of 5 miles an hour!

Can you get whiplash in other ways besides in a car accident?

People can also whiplash themselves with bicycles accidents or sports injuries, such as lifting weights really fast which can whiplash the neck. There are lots of ways you can get whiplash, however, the idea is that the actual neck structure gets whipped forward and into a backward motion quickly. Unfortunately, that results in a lot of neck muscle injury and the neck muscles get very traumatized and sore. In these instances, the patient just has to rest and let the muscles heal.

A big misconception is that the muscular issues that arise from whiplash cause spinal tension or spinal subluxation. You can get a subluxation from tight musculature after an accident but it is not something that is typically the cause of subluxation. Usually, your spine will dictate what your muscles are doing so if your spine gets a subluxation then your muscles will become irritated. Whereas whiplash is one of those things where the muscle is actually pulling violently on the structure which can absolutely cause a subluxation.

Should I see a CBP Chiropractor after an accident?

It’s very important for people who have been in a car accident to be evaluated by a CBP Chiropractor. Even if it was years ago, it can actually change the shape of your spine which can be very dangerous. If you change the structure of your spine in a whiplash you can put pressure on your nerves and your body function can deteriorate. It can prevent your range of motion permanently depending on how severe the accident was.

There are patients that see Dr. B who have had whiplash accidents from years ago who still have troubles from them specifically with symptoms such as allergies and asthma. Each person reacts differently.

Make an appointment.

No matter if you have been in a car accident or maybe you just got hit in the head with a pillow by a friend, many of us have experienced some form of whiplash in our lifetime. It is important to get a checkup by a CBP Chiropractor. Seeing a CBP doctor will help correct imbalances in your structure so that you can live a healthier life and that pain the neck will go away.

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

 

Why do people sometimes pee when they laugh?

by Leave a Comment

Have you ever laughed so hard you peed your pants…just a little? Why is it that the older you get the more frequently that happens? So why do people pee?

It’s more common than you think.

It is a common problem as people get older, especially for women. In particular, women who have had children, they tend to have trouble with bladder control. Sometimes, it’s structural, meaning that there was some damage done to the body parts from pregnancy, labor, and delivery. But often times it’s not that at all.

The nerves that control the bladder comes from the lower back area. They control not only the bladder itself but the muscles around the bladder to help it function properly. If you don’t have the right structure in your low back it can put pressure on your lumbar nerves that control your bladder and functionality.

If this is happening to me, where can I start to correct it?

If you are having issues like that, one of the first places to start is by seeing your CBP (Chiropractic Biophysics) Chiropractor and getting a check up on your lower back.  The doctor will check your low back structure to make sure that is normal because if the nerve pressure is great enough it will absolutely create problems with the function of the bladder, thereby leading to a small amount of urine coming out when you laugh or sneeze or jump.

Nobody really talks about it but it does happen to people a lot. It’s a very common problem that can be easily solved.

Are there exercises I can do along with seeing my CBP Chiropractor?

Kegel exercises are very helpful because they help to strengthen the pelvic floor for men and women. Also, women should consider buying Ben Wa balls. They are recommended by Gynecologists. The way they work is when inserted they give your pelvic muscles something to contract against, therefore making the Kegel exercises more effective. Please consult your OBGYN before use.

The best exercises are those prescribed by your CBP chiropractor. Starting with a checkup to make sure that your lower back is in alignment and that your lumbar nerves are not compressed and following up with exercises to help strengthen your pelvic floor will ward off incontinence.

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

Can the weather cause migraines?

by Leave a Comment

Have you ever been going about your day and gradually feel an intense pressure headache come on? Have you noticed that the wind has picked up or the air might feel heavier? Changes in atmospheric pressure have been thought to be a trigger for inducing migraines. According to the Mayo clinic, weather may cause imbalances in brain chemicals, including serotonin, which can lead to migraines. However, there is still no scientific proof that the weather can trigger a migraine.

As a CBP practitioner, Dr. B. has seen it a lot. If there is a storm coming in or some kind of pressure system, such as a tornado or high winds, people tend to have more trouble with headaches and migraines. She believes that there is a correlation but nothing has been proven, scientifically, yet.

If the weather can contribute to migraine occurrence, then what is a migraine?

A migraine headache is a complicated type of a headache. It usually involves hormonal reactions in the body. Sometimes it can be triggered by stress and it’s a different complex of headaches, a different complex of symptoms that attribute to a traditional stress headache.

Can anything be done to curb or prevent migraines? 

One of the best ways to combat headaches and migraines is to receive regular adjustments from a Chiropractic Biophysics practitioner. Having proper spinal alignment leads to better nervous system function and that can help your body to function better. It can help to combat any of these weird weather-related occurrences that might interrupt your body’s natural flow.

What type of subluxation would trigger a migraine?

The top vertebra C1, the atlas, which rests at the base of the skull, is usually responsible for a migraine if it is a physical stressor because it has a direct attachment to the small muscles at the base of the head called the suboccipitals. When those get irritated they can compress what is called the Vagus nerve, that comes out of your brain, travels through the suboccipitals and into the stomach. This can lead to nausea, seeing auras, light sensitivity, and noise sensitivity, those pre-migraine situations.

Can migraines be caused by something other than subluxations and the weather?

Migraines are not always caused by subluxations in the neck, but subluxations are absolutely contributory. Stress is another factor. Both physical and emotional stress can play a role. Stress affects your hormones. It changes your hormones. When you are stressed your body pumps out a lot of adrenaline, which releases more cortisol, which is really bad for your body. Cortisol is the stuff that holds on to fat cells and it lays fat depositions in your arteries. Stress is a very dangerous thing that needs to be managed and it can certainly contribute to migraines.

Weather for some people is a stressor. Especially if they do not like rain or snow or sun. If there is something happening in their environment that they do not like, it can create stress which can lead to migraines.

Do you experience migraines?

Changes in the weather can be a stressor for many and for some unlucky few, it can lead to migraines. If you’re one of these people, you should get regular CBP adjustments. Not only will they allow your nervous system to work more efficiently but they will minimize the severity and frequency of your migraines. If you’re not already seeing a CBP chiropractor, get a checkup and see how a CBP chiropractor can help you.

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

How does CBP Chiropractic care help Allergies?

by Leave a Comment

Spring is right around the corner, fingers crossed, and with it comes blooming flowers and trees…and allergies. Did you know that seeing a CBP chiropractor can help alleviate your allergies, naturally? It’s true!

So how can a CBP chiropractor help my allergies?

CBP chiropractic care helps to increase nervous system stimulation from the brain to the body. There are many people who suffer from allergies because of compression of their spinal cord at the very top, at the brain stem.

When someone comes into a CBP office with allergies, the doctor will see a subluxation at C1, which is the first vertebra, the top bone in the neck. The C2 controls sinus function. So, people who suffer from sinus infections, allergies, or hay fever type could have a subluxation in that area. The lower neck area of the spinal cord controls the lungs. When people struggle with scratchy lungs and coughs it can usually be pointed to a subluxation in that area.

What is an allergy?

Ultimately, an allergy is an overreaction of your immune system to a stimulus. For some reason, your immune system is finding a stimulus incredibly aggravating to your body. And what usually starts off those things is exposure at a young age, before your immune system is developed. We get exposed to a lot of things, as babies, that we shouldn’t be exposed to, and because of that, we develop an intolerance later on in life to those items.

If you look at the very common peanut allergy, one of the reasons for that is because they started putting peanut oil into vaccines as a filler because it became cheap. Therefore, babies were exposed to peanuts before their immune systems were ready to handle it and they ended up developing an overstimulation reaction to it. That’s where that allergy stems from.

However, an allergy, in general, is your immune system overreacting to something for some reason. It usually is because your nerves are malfunctioning, sometimes it’s not, sometimes it could be because you were exposed to something at a young age that you were not ready for, that your body was not ready for and now it marks it as a toxin.

Can allergies happen at any time or do they only develop while you’re a baby?

Sometimes people develop allergies later on in life, because of over-exposure. For example, if someone eats too much gluten throughout their lives they can later become intolerant to it because they’ve had too much of it their bodies throughout their whole lives. However, keep in mind if you have bad nervous system flow, then you’re going to be allergic to things that other people might not be, who were exposed to the same stimulus.

It is important that people realize that they can help prevent some allergies. If you have babies, who you are making decisions for, you have to realize the implications of giving them thousands of doses of vaccines before their immune systems are developed. That means they are being exposed to things that their bodies are not ready to handle.

Is there something that can be done for allergy relief?

Getting regular adjustments by your CBP doctor will help increase your nerve system flow and minimize your reactions. Regular CBP adjustments can keep your nervous system subluxation free to flow uninterrupted and deal with overstimulation more quickly.

Have you been suffering from allergies and want a holistic way to “deal” with them? Find a CBP chiropractor like Dr. B who can help alleviate those subluxations that are causing your allergies.

For more information send an email to Dr. B @ [email protected]

 

How Do Adjustments Help My Organs Function Better?

by Leave a Comment

Believe it or not, every organ in the body, the heart, the spleen, the pancreas, the lungs, every organ you can think of, even your skin is connected to the spinal column through nerve endings. Adjustments help the organs to function better because they reduce the pressure on the nerves that control the organs.

So, even if you don’t think you have a problem, with say, your pancreas, it doesn’t mean that your pancreas cannot work more optimally. You may not be getting 100% messages to the pancreas and it may not show up as a problem now, but it might down the road. Chiropractors will see that often with people, they might start to have kidney failure or bladder control issues and it’s something that could’ve been prevented had they just taken care of their spines with regular adjustments.

How is CBP different from other Chiropractors?

by Leave a Comment

To say all Chiropractors are the same is to say that there is only one doctor for all medical needs from childbirth to surgery. Although that may have been true in the 1600’s, modern medical personnel are as varied in their specialty as there are fish in the sea. The same is true for Chiropractors and CBP chiropractors are the specialists in their field.

What is CBP?

CBP or Chiropractic BioPhysics is the most researched type of Chiropractic care. Education for these Chiropractors does not end with the 3-5 years of Chiropractic schooling. It will include yearly seminars on advancements in their technique as well as the research, clinical trials and writing of studies in order to gain advanced certifications.

CBP uses measurable and repeatable results to show progress. By using x-rays and orthopedic tests, they can track a person’s progress which is seen in the photo below.

So just how different is CBP from other types of Chiropractic care?

It is different in every aspect except for the use of some similar style techniques learned in Chiropractic school. To start, the analysis of the spine is different. CBP Chiropractors do a thorough exam of the spine including orthopedic tests and x-rays to determine structural issues. Other Chiropractors typically will not take x-rays and will begin to adjust just through a cursory exam using palpations of the spine or thermo-scans which are not definitive for diagnosing subluxations, as  they need to be seen on x-ray.

Why are x-rays important?

X-rays are important because they will show definitively what is wrong with the spine. X-rays will show subluxations, but it will also show things that could potentially be dangerous to adjust, like a broken bone. If it’s a hairline fracture, that isn’t something that can be felt through palpations. To adjust without being able to see what exactly is going on in the spine can be dangerous.

Once x-rays are done, what’s next?

Once we know what the issues are with the spine, the technique used is vastly different from other chiropractic care. CBP chiropractors do mirror-image adjustments versus what is learned in chiropractic school, which is a non-specific type of adjustment. CBP targets specific issues you have with your spine.

For example, if your lower back aches, the issue might be that you are carrying your head too far forward and it is putting extra pounds of pressure on your lower spine. This issue would be identified by a CBP chiropractor through their exams and x-rays.

What are mirror-image adjustments?

Mirror-image adjustments are used by CBP chiropractors to counteract re-occurring subluxations. For example, if you come into the office and you have a rotated spine, a CBP chiropractor will adjust in the opposite direction to counteract that imbalance. Over time this type of adjustment helps to change the structure of the spine to neutral.

 

What is traction?

Traction helps retrain ligaments and muscles, to stretch tight muscles and to strengthen weak muscles. This is an important component to sustaining spinal correction.

Neck traction tables.

How else is CBP different?

CBP chiropractors typically do not use other modalities such as electro-stimulus machines. Those tend to be used by general chiropractors and physical therapists for symptoms and do nothing to correct spinal structure.

CBP Chiropractors look at healing your spine long term. They aren’t in it for the quick fix. You wouldn’t go to the gym and expect to go from fat to fit in one session, why would you expect the same from your spine? Your spine is the most important part of your body. CBP chiropractors want to help people by realigning their spines through focused adjustments and retraining your spine with traction. Continued CBP care will help to improve your quality of life.

 

For more questions about CBP chiropractics and their processes please email Dr. B. @ [email protected]

Newsletters

Prior News Postings

Contact Us Today

    Your Name: (required)

    Your Email: (required)

    Subject:

    Please enter your question or comments: