Eat to Beat Inflammation

What we put into our body doesn’t just reflect how we look on the outside, but how we feel on the inside. And for many patients who come to us seeking relief care initially, they don’t fully understand how poor nutrition can lead to body aches and inflammation.

So, what exactly does it mean to suffer from internal inflammation? When a substance that your body doesn’t want is introduced, your immune system begins to attack it, causing inflammation that can manifest itself in a number of ways including swollen and painful joints, decreased range of motion, stress and anxiety and fatigue among others. If we’re constantly putting food into our bodies that it doesn’t want, inflammation can become a gateway to chronic disease.

But before we get to foods that can help your body stay healthy and away from inflammation, let’s take a look at foods that are known to promote it. Typically, these are foods we wouldn’t consider “healthy” like:

• Soda
• Red meat
• Shortening, lard or margarine
• Fried foods
• Refined carbs (pastries and bread)

Inflammation-Fighting Foods

Instead of heading to your local pharmacy to pick up medicine designed to reduce inflammation, consider swinging by your grocery store instead to incorporate the following into your diet:

• Almonds
• Salmon and other fatty fish
• Fruits including cherries, oranges and blueberries
• Olive oil
• Leafy veggies like kale and spinach
• Tomatoes

Have questions about inflammatory foods and how to reduce their burden on your body? Ask us at your next visit.

Did you know that we live our life through our nervous system? When we have a better nervous system, we have a better life. It’s that simple. From our ability to digest our food, enjoy a sunset, or be delighted by a baby’s giggle, our nervous system allows us to experience life more abundantly. If, however, your nervous system is compromised, you’re not able to live life to the fullest.

What Does Health Mean to You?

If you were to ask someone on the street, “How do you know if you’re healthy?” you might be met with answers that mention high energy and alertness, or maybe simply, “I just feel good.” But many rarely equate health to function — when all of the body parts are working as designed. And yet, that’s exactly what true health is.

So instead of thinking of the word health, think about having a sense of ease. If you have ease, which is the opposite of dis-ease, then consider yourself to have health. If there’s a lack of ease, you’re experiencing dis-ease, and chances are, your nervous system is not functioning as it was meant to.

Benefits of Chiropractic Care

Ensuring that your nervous system is free of interference through chiropractic can help you feel great. Many patients of ours also report improvements like:

• Reduced back and neck pain
• Enhanced immune system
• Improved range of motion
• Increased function
• Heightened energy and mood

If you’d like to experience life to the fullest with a properly functioning nervous system, we invite you to contact our practice to get your spine checked.

We love helping pregnant mothers prepare for the birth of their upcoming bundle of joy with gentle and custom chiropractic care designed to meet the needs of their changing body.

Here’s why:

1. Optimal Function, Optimal Birth

Keeping your spine healthy allows us to ensure your entire nervous system is functioning as it should. When you’re able to keep your spine aligned and nervous system balanced during pregnancy, you’re setting your body up to work as effective as possible. When you’re pregnant, a body working in peak performance is what you’re after!

2. Pain Relief

The joy of having a new baby is well worth the aches and pains you go through to get there. During pregnancy, it’s entirely common for mothers to experience not just back pain, but joint and muscle discomfort. This is largely due to the weight of the growing baby as it puts new stress on shifting internal organs. The good news? Chiropractic adjustments are gentle and effective during all stages of pregnancy.

3. Proper Alignment

As a chiropractic patient, you know that our focus is typically spinal alignment. But for pregnant mothers, we’re also focused on ensuring proper pelvic position for a couple of reasons. First, if the pelvis is misaligned, it can limit the amount of space the developing baby has to grow and move. Second, it helps you keep proper posture throughout your pregnancy, which can prevent slouching that leads to unnecessary body aches.

4. Delivery Benefits

A smooth, healthy and speedy delivery is every new mother’s dream when it comes to the birthing process. But what you may not know is that a misaligned pelvis can lead to difficult delivery issues as the baby isn’t always able to get into the most ideal delivery position. For mothers who hope to have a natural and non-invasive birth, this can lead to problems.

Many of our patients have reported that with regular prenatal care, their deliveries seemed faster and required less artificial intervention.

Discover the Difference with Chiropractic

Whether you’re already pregnant or considering starting a family in the future, we’d love to meet you. Give our practice a call today to schedule your first appointment.

Keeping themselves in tip-top shape is all but required for athletes who take the time to nurture their body with exercise, rest and healthy foods. But these aren’t the only ways athletes stay in peak performance mode. Each year, a growing number are turning to chiropractic care.

Find out why below!

It’s a feeling some of us know all too well, and it usually goes something like this. You’ve developed a slight tickle in your throat so you go to bed early hoping a good nights rest will help your body beat whatever bug you’ve picked up. But by the time you wake up the next morning, you’re feeling sick as a dog. Illness often comes on suddenly and without warning, disrupting our daily lives, routine and body.

After you get sick, you wonder how it happened. Did you catch your co-workers cold or get too close to that adorable but sniffling baby? Maybe you forgot to wash your hands after greeting a new colleague or traveling on public transport.

But have you ever stopped to think that maybe it wasn’t JUST germs that played a part in getting you sick? At our practice, we believe that it’s easier to stay well than to get well, and doing so can help you avoid a crisis of illness.

The Connection Between Our Immune and Nervous Systems

Having a healthy immune system isn’t the only requirement when it comes to fending off germs before they manifest in our bodies as an illness. Think of it this way—if your body was a symphony, your nervous system would be the conductor, orchestrating the entire show and calling all the shots. In the same way, your nervous system influences your immune system. When your nervous system isn’t balanced, neither it nor your immune system will be functioning as it should, leaving you more susceptible to illness.

So, what are the best strategies for obtaining a highly functioning immune and nervous system to stay healthy? One option is to avoid germs at all cost—if no germs enter your body, you won’t have to worry about catching a cold or the flu. But in today’s world, it’s next to impossible to stay away from each and every germ out there.

Instead, switch your focus to maintaining a nervous system free of disturbances through chiropractic care, which will work with your immune system to fight off germs before they have you feeling under the weather. When you’re able to restore function to your body, it’s able to heal itself just as it was meant to. With proper rest, food, exercise and adjustments, you can do just that.

Wondering what you can do to ensure you’ve got a properly functioning nervous system? Give our practice a call to get your spine checked.

You try to purchase organic products. You make sure to steer clear of highly processed, GMO foods. You even do the bulk of your grocery shopping around the perimeter of the supermarket, buying products packed full of nutrients with a short shelf life. In theory, you’re nailing the whole idea of healthy eating.

But what if we told you that consuming all of these healthy foods without an optimally functioning nervous system was like storing them in a refrigerator that had been unplugged?

Disrupted Nervous System, Disrupted Diet

Your nervous system influences every single part of your body, and when it comes to your food, digestion is no exception. When the nervous system is not balanced and experiencing disruptions, chances are that no matter how nutritious your meal is, the nutrients that your body needs won’t be properly stored, broken down or even entirely used.

Why?

The nervous system is responsible for telling your body what it needs to do with its fuel. If a disturbance is present, the messages sent between your brain and body will go unread. While you may be eating three square meals a day, your body isn’t reaping the benefits that it should, leaving you to wonder why you don’t feel as good as you thought you would.

Can Chiropractic Make a Difference?

Through chiropractic care, our job is to help get your spine (and the portion of the nervous system it protects), to work optimally. Precise chiropractic adjustments are used to improve the motion and position of individual spinal bones. As they do, some patients report enhancements in other aspects of their health as well.

Wondering what you can do to improve your nutrition? On your next visit, ask us about ways to supplement your diet if you believe your lifestyle doesn’t present you with the opportunity to consume properly balanced, nutritious meals.

Your spine is one of the most important parts of your body, which is why taking good care of it is crucial for your overall health and wellness.

Below, discover eight little known facts about your spine and consider how chiropractic can help you maintain your health!

While we’re racking up miles commuting to our jobs, whether we’re a driver or a rider, we’re also wreaking havoc on our spine. But that’s not all. When we get to work, we’re likely doing more sitting in front of our computers, which can cause even more problems.

Pad Your Bank Account Without Punishing Your Back

While working pads our bank account, sitting at our office desk can punish our backs. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to keep your back strong while commuting and computing.

1. Get in proper driving position. Ensure your seat is at the correct height and your ears are aligned with your shoulders. Also, use supportive arm rests to diminish stress put on the body. Use your headrest so your head doesn’t have to lurch forward to keep your focus on the road.

2. Stretch before and after your commute. Just as it’s a good idea to stretch before we exercise, it’s beneficial to stretch for a few minutes before or after a drive to work or a ride on public transportation. Stretching can reduce muscle tension and alleviate the anxiety that may be associated with stressful commutes.

3. Tame the tension. Driving in rush hour traffic can be a tension-inducing experience. As tension is most often felt in the neck and back, consider shrugging your shoulders when stopped at a red light. Get a lumbar support for your back if your seat isn’t comfortable or roll up a sweatshirt or towel and place it between the small of your back and the seat.

4. Be kind to your back. Our backs can take a beating from all that drubbing on the keyboard while in a sitting position. Ensure that your chair provides sufficient lumbar support. Keep your feet firmly planted on the floor and see that your keyboard and monitor are at an ideal height. It’s also a good idea to stand up and move every 20 minutes.

Keep Your Spine Healthy

Regular chiropractic adjustments are important when it comes to keeping your spine healthy so it can withstand the demands of daily commuting and computing. To schedule an appointment, give us a call.

From swinging golf clubs to weeding the garden, popular sports and weekend activities can take a toll on our backs. Even daily chores like lifting heavy groceries or carrying a hefty load of laundry can cause back pain.

Millions of people suffer from back pain every year. Though most back pain is acute or short term and doesn’t last more than a few days or weeks, other types of back pain can be chronic, lasting for three months or more.

Causes

Back pain has a variety of causes, many of which are mechanical:

• Sprains and strains: A strain of the muscle or ligament in the back is a common cause of acute lower back pain. Lifting heavy objects, twisting, or moving abruptly can all contribute.
• Disc degeneration: As we age, back pain can become more commonplace. Intervertebral discs can lose fluid and flexibility. As a result, there’s a decrease in the discs’ ability to cushion the spine and prevent unobstructed nerve communication.
• Sciatica: When the sciatic nerve is compressed, back pain, along with pain down the leg, can be common.
• Traumatic injury: Falls, automobile accidents and sports injuries can result in severe back pain.

Prevention

Shedding extra pounds and maintaining a healthy weight is important when it comes to preventing back pain as excess weight can cause back strain. Maintaining good posture while walking and sitting is important as well. Planning to move furniture or another heavy object? Assume a squatting position and let your legs do the work, not your back. Also, enlist the help of one or two others as sharing the load means less wear and tear on your body.

Regular chiropractic checks can help you keep your back strong and healthy and less likely to experience pain.

Though thousands of different triggers can cause headaches, one thing is certain—they happen for a reason. A headache is the body’s way of telling you something isn’t right. But what you may not know is that what’s causing the headache doesn’t always originate in or near the area where you feel pain.

When it comes to your body, everything is connected. For example, a wrist problem can actually be a spinal complication, whereas elbow trouble can actually result from a shoulder issue.

Of course, headaches can also be directly related to the spine, being caused by a number of ailments including:

• Compensation for low back problems
• Misalignment
• Poor posture
• Muscle spasms

Chiropractic and Headaches

Chiropractic care is a natural treatment that promotes the body’s own healing ability. At our practice, we’ve seen many patients who come in seeking relief for headaches. To their surprise, chiropractic isn’t just about bringing relief—adjustments actually help to correct the underlying issue at hand to decrease its appearance in the future. Other health issues that patients experience that are not brought up to us often resolve as well.

You’ll feel your best when your body is prepped for optimal function through chiropractic care!

Discover How Chiropractic Can Help You

Tired of taking aspirin for the pain in your head or neck? Whether you’ve exhausted medical methods or are just starting to look for a natural way to eliminate your headaches, contact our practice today to find out how we can help.