Archive for April, 2010
Your San Diego Chiropractor Wants You to Know That Just a Few Additional Pounds Can Make a Big Difference As You Age
As a San Diego Chiropractor, I counsel many individuals who come to my clinic who want to lose weight. I know how hard it can be, and I also know how important it is to lose those extra pounds. Before you let the seams out in those slacks or skirt, there’s something you may want to know about those few extra pounds you may have gained. Over time, those pounds can add up to a substantial number of health problems from heart and pulmonary diseases and diabetes to back problems and joint degeneration. Surplus poundage puts undue stress on organs, like the heart, as well as on joints in the low back, hips, and knees. A whopping 62% of American adults are overweight or obese, according to recent studies. That is a very significant percentage and a truly gigantic problem (no pun intended).
It is likely no surprise to you to learn that the human body has not evolved to transport surplus poundage in the form of body fat. Just 20 or 30 extra pounds can veritably overload and even overwhelm the joints and muscles of the body. Excess weight in the belly, for example, makes it necessary for the body to compensate (counterbalance the weight) by tilting the pelvis forward. This shift puts pressure on the joints of the low back. Painful inflammation results as this joint compression hinders nerve activity. Nearly all men and women who have a “spare tire”experience low back pain generated by a compressed sciatic nerve or misalignments of the spinal column that restrict nerves due to weight-bearing stresses. If left untreated, misaligned vertebra not only continue to irritate the degenerative changes that have already taken place, but can develop into new arthritic changes in the spine in the future.
Here are the ways in which chiropractic treatment can help. First of all, to be clear, a moderate body weight is necessary in order for the musculoskeletal system to perform in the way it is meant to. Chiropractic treatment can not only ease the pain generated by excess weight compensation, but it can aid in weight reduction. Here’s how. Chiropractic adjustments relieve nerve compression in the spine and help to get motion back into the joints of the musculoskeletal system, especially in the low back, hips, and knees. And, naturally exercise and physical activity will be a lot easier, and more beneficial for the body, when the the joints have good movement and the spine is aligned. The added benefit of exercise the, in addition to helping with weight reduction, it can actually delay degenerative changes as the body ages.
Healthcare professionals, like your chiropractor, can talk to you about your diet and exercise alternatives. In addition to assisting people suffering from back pain and joint inflammation, chiropractors can provide trained suggestions on the particular lifestyle changes that can help a person to stay healthier, more energetic, and more active through the years. It isn’t a foregone conclusion that arthritis and immobility are just a part of the aging process. The structure of the human body is intended to carry a person through an entire lifetime of pain-free movement.
So, if you’ve been thinking that a few extra pounds won’t hurt, think again! As your chiropractor in San Diego, and someone who cares deeply about your overall health, I’d like to help you to make healthier choices. Make an appointment today!
If You’re a Woman, Take a Walk!
So ladies, take a walk! Do it for your health's sake! For more information on this interesting story, click the link provided above.
Wichita Chiropractor Wants You to Know That Chiropractic Treatment Can Eliminate Your Sciatic Pain
As a Wichita Chiropractor for over twenty years, I have helped hundreds of individuals suffering from the pain of sciatica, I’m truly aware from experience just how disabling the pain from sciatica can be. Those who suffer from sciatica are unfortunately all too familiar with the deep radiating pain that persists during the day and inhibits almost all of their daily activities.
There is a way to figure out if your low back pain is caused by sciatica. If your pain radiates from your low back, through one or both sides of your buttocks, down the large sciatic nerve in the back of your leg(s), and possibly penetrates into your knee(s), you probably have sciatica. Moreover, sitting, as well as activity, can be painful. Often lying down will lessen, or perhaps even temporarily eliminate the pain. Even so, you should be warned that sciatica cannot be corrected without appropriate treatment.
Radiculopathy
A radiculopathy is a medical term used to describe a condition where a disc has protruded from its normal position in the vertebral column and is creating pressure on the radicular nerve, or nerve root, that forms part of the sciatic nerve in the lower back. This kind of pressure is extremely painful.
Prolonged sitting, especially in an improper position, can create imbalances in the muscles encircling the spine and increased pressure on the intervertebral discs. A specific event or injury isn’t generally the cause of sciatica, instead sciatica has a tendency to develop over time as a result of ordinary wear and tear on the vertebrae of the lower spine. Over the course of time the lower spine can lose its ability to function normally during common stresses.
Ultimately, the intervertebral disc undergoes small fissures or cracks, which then permit the soft nucleus to protrude the disc outward. Pain is created as the disc pushes on sensitive tissues. This condition is often called a ruptured, or slipped, disc. Sciatica is the result of the disc pressing on the spinal nerve. Fortunately, most disc problems, including sciatica, can be significantly decreased with chiropractic treatment and therapy that frequently includes postural exercises.
Periformis Syndrome
Another cause of sciatic pain is periformis syndrome. Periformis syndrome develops when the periformis muscle, which is superficial to the sciatic nerve, goes into spasm and irritates the nerve. Along with chiropractic manipulation, this type of sciatica can be significantly relieved by sciatica stretches that your chiropractor can recommend.
It is crucial for you to see your chiropractor for treatment if you are experiencing sciatic pain. If you are in the Wichita area, as your Wichita Chiropractor, I invite you to come in to see if I can get you out of pain and help you to get your life back!
Conservative Chiropractic Treatment Can Relieve Severe Bakc Pain Caused by Spinal Stenosis
As a chiropractor who treats many senior patients suffering from painful back problems, I was very concerned when I read about a new study published this month in The Journal of the American Medical Association that found that the percentage of older adults undergoing a complicated fusion procedure for the painful lower-back condition called spinal stenosis has increased sharply– rising fifteenfold from 2002 to 2007.
This type of fusion procedure is not only complicated, but costly. And worse, it carries three times the rate of life-threatening complications than alternative procedures such as decompression (removal of part of the bone pressing on the nerve) or simple fusion (in which two or three vertebrae are fused and only the front or back of the vertebrae, rather than front and back). And, the bottom line is that earlier studies haven’t found that the complex surgery leads to better results or greater pain relief. Gentle, non-invasive chiropractic treatment can often relieve the severe back pain caused by spinal stenosis. I fully recommend a short conservative trial of chiropractic care prior to considering most surgeries involving the musculoskeletal system. Any type of surgery carries risks and such risks increase exponentially as we age. But, when a study reveals that a costly, life-threatening surgery does little to relieve pain or improve an individual’s quality of life, in my opinion such a surgery should not even be considered.
How Important is Social Media Marketing to Your Clinic?
Social Media is the “hottest” topic on the Internet today. If you’ve been considering getting on board, but you’re not sure where the platform is, let’s take a minute to talk about the “Who, What, When, Where, and How” of social media and you, that’s “Who.” Then you can make a better decision about whether to add Social Media to your chiropractic marketing strategy.
Social media marketing is probably very much like, and completely unlike, any marketing strategy you’ve thought about. In the “very much like” category, you’d never think of trying any kind of marketing plan without making an effort to understand what you’re doing and what you want to get from it. What are your goals? Once you’re clear about what you want, you’ll be more capable of using social media to your biggest advantage.
When you are ready to begin your social media venture, but before you start, you will need to make sure that you “own your name” on all the social media outlets, i.e., be certain that your name or the name of your clinic is attainable so that you can use precisely same name on each and every one of the social channels you decide to use. There is a service that is free and will help you with your search when you’re ready. That who is knowem.com. This service will find out where your name is and/or if it’s attainable or not on a substantial number of social media sites.
The next step, once you have all your social media accounts secured, is to decide where you would like to be active. Initially only a small number of social media sites is the most beneficial because, let’s face it, you have a clinic to run and patients to see. You won’t want to get involved in too many social media sites. How do decide which sites are best for you? Choose the social media site where the most action is, which are facebook, twitter, linkedin, and Youtube
What successful social media activity will do for you is build a genuine presence in your community. What you don’t want to do is “sell” on your social media sites, which is to say don’t sell your chiropractic services, don’t sell products, don’t sell anything! The objective of social media is for you to have an addition channel through which to network with the community. Sure, let them know what you do, but do it by becoming a participant. There is really no difference between the way social networking works and the way you normally network offline. There is no getting around it, people on social media do not want to be sold to! Social media sites are very much like a neighborhood backyard barbecue. People are standing around chatting about who they are and what they do, and then a person asks you what you do. Or, perhaps you begin the conversation by (just) saying, “Hi, I’m Dr. ____. With social media marketing, the same kind of interaction applies. Social media sites should be handled the same way you’d “work” offline networking opportunities to promote yourself, i.e., answer the questions and concerns that get potential patients interested in the who that’s you!