Month: April 2017

You know how it goes. If you follow news in the medical community for long enough, it seems like everything comes full circle. First, eggs were good for you. Then, they were bad. Then, they were good again. Milk went through the same cycle, as has just about everything else. So, what about coffee? Is it considered good or bad these days?

Actually, the answer is a little of both.

It turns out that coffee has a variety of good effects. Some of them, you already know, like the short-term boost to productivity and alertness. Others, you may not know, like the fact that men who consume moderate amounts of coffee have a 30 percent lower chance of getting prostate cancer, or the fact that coffee can help lower your risk of stroke, a whole range of cancers and Alzheimer’s disease.

In women, regular, moderate coffee consumption can reduce the risk of depression, and coffee is loaded with antioxidants that provide a whole raft of health benefits.

Based on that, coffee’s a regular wonder drink, but hold on. The key is moderation, and the magic number is between 500-600 mg. That’s the maximum amount of caffeine you want to ingest each day, which puts a hard upper limit on how much coffee is good for you.

Contrary to the popular saying that there’s no such thing as too much of a good thing, in coffee’s case, there is. The more you exceed that 500-600 mg threshold, the more negative effects you will begin to see.

The good news is that based on those numbers, you can safely enjoy 6-8 cups of coffee a day without experiencing any adverse effects. That’s more than half a pot, which is a decent amount by any reckoning, although power coffee drinkers will probably need to make a few adjustments.

The main point, though, is that if you stick with that limit, then you can enjoy your coffee guilt-free!

If you have an office job, you might think the worst injury you could get would be a paper cut, or maybe some unfortunate incident with the stapler. Unfortunately, given how many hours most office workers spend sitting down, your worst enemy may well be the chair you’re sitting in.

The wrong chair can lead to no end of trouble, and ultimately lead to severe back pain which could send you to the chiropractor unless you take steps immediately to correct the issue.

That begs the question, ‘what is a “good” office chair?’ With so many on the market, how can you be sure the one you’re considering is the right one for you?

The chair you ultimately select for yourself should meet three key criteria:

1) When you sit in it, your feet should be flat on the floor, with your thighs making a right angle with your torso. You should be able to achieve this with just about any chair that has a height adjusting mechanism built onto it.
2) When your arms are resting on your desk, they too should make a right angle with your torso.
3) The chair should offer some kind of lumbar support.

Sadly, while many simple task chairs are designed with the first two points in mind, they often neglect the third. Without lower back support, by the end of an eight hour work day, your back is going to be protesting. Over time, that’s going to lead to problems of increasing severity.

The good news is that there are a variety of manufacturers making great office chairs that offer these features, and more. Yes, the more bells and whistles you get on whatever chair you select will mean added cost, but given the amount of time most of us spend in them, it’s worth every penny to find a chair that will not only offer you good support, but make you as comfortable as you can be as you perform your work. You’re worth it!

Has your child been complaining of frequent headaches, back and shoulder pain or upper arm pain?

If so, one of the most common causes of all those things is improper sleeping positions, but there may be another culprit: your child’s backpack.

These days, almost every kid at school has one, and they are undeniably handy. Not only can your child pack the day’s lunch inside, but all the books and other supplies he or she will need to get through the school day.

Unfortunately, the weight of all those books and other items can add up quickly, and the load might be more than your little one’s back, neck and shoulders can bear. There are two big things to watch for that can help you determine if the backpack is the culprit, or if it’s something else.

The first and most obvious sign that the backpack could be the culprit is how your child is carrying it.

While all the cool kids might be slinging their packs over one shoulder, this can easily be the root cause of the problem, because carrying the load in that position is unbalanced. If your child does this, they will automatically adjust their posture to accommodate. After a whole day of walking around like that, the backpack can easily lead to the kinds of pain described above.

The second isn’t as noticeable, but you should look for the signs. If the weight of the pack is leaving red marks in your child’s skin where the straps hit the shoulders, that’s a clear indication that the weight is sufficient to cause strain.

In the former case, correcting the problem is as simple as insisting that your child wear his or her pack properly, with the straps over both shoulders. It might not be as cool, but it will certainly solve the pain problem.

In the latter case, it’s as simple as lightening the load. Find out which items aren’t absolutely essential, and if any of the pack’s contents can be off-loaded into your child’s school locker for part of the day to keep the weight manageable.

Do that, and you’ll minimize the risk of your child suffering from back, neck, shoulder and arm pain.

Each year, more than two million Americans visit the ER to have injuries sustained via slips and falls treated. Millions more go untreated, which is unfortunate, because although the vast majority of falls don’t present any outward signs of trauma, that doesn’t mean that no damage has occurred.

As with any injury, the best practice is to treat any slip or fall seriously and at least have a medical or chiropractic evaluation. A trained professional can take X-rays and evaluate the full extent of the injury, recommending a treatment plan that will get you on your feet and have you back to 100% much more quickly than simply taking matters into your own hands.

The sad reality is that in most cases, when someone suffers from a fall, they simply guess at what treatment might be best. Just as often, people simply try to “walk it off” and hope for the best. That can work in some cases, but it’s worth the time and effort to get your injury checked out by a professional.

In terms of chiropractic treatments, the two most common are therapeutic massage and chiropractic adjustment. Once your chiropractor has had a chance to perform a thorough evaluation, they can recommend the right treatment for you and greatly speed your healing process.

While this is always a good idea, it’s’ especially important where older people are concerned. The elderly often can’t bounce back from injury as quickly as they once did, and a fall you may have shrugged off in your 30’s or 40’s can really set you back in your 60’s, 70’s, or 80’s. It’s simply not worth the risk!

All that to say, any time you suffer from any kind of slip or fall, it pays to have it checked out right away. While it’s possible that no serious damage was done, it’s also possible that your inaction can lead to much more serious problems later.