Author: kelly

By any definition, we have an obesity epidemic in the United States. More than a third of adults and slightly more than that number of children are obese, and millions more are varying shades of overweight.

It’s well known that obesity causes or contributes to a wide range of serious health problems including diabetes and heart disease. What is less well known and understood, though, is the more immediate impact it has on your back. Long before you start showing symptoms of either of the diseases mentioned above, your back will feel the strain.

If you’re at normal body weight, your posture is such that your chest is out, your chin is up, and your stomach is tucked in. This is proper posture, and it minimizes your chances of back pain or back strain.

When you start putting on extra pounds, though, it strains your muscles and ligaments. As your body gets heavier, your spine has an increasingly difficult time straightening out properly. In the short term, this won’t have any serious or lasting impact, but over the longer term, the added weight will absolutely impact your posture.

One of the more common and noticeable changes is that the necks of overweight people will bend increasingly forward, so that their heads lean over their chests, instead of over their shoulders.

This isn’t something you’re going to notice right away, though. It happens gradually, over time. In fact, until your chiropractor points it out to you, you may not notice it at all.

Another common problem is that if your added weight is mostly centered in your stomach, it will cause your pelvis to slant forward as your body attempts to compensate and maintain balance. This is ultimately the reason that so many chronically overweight people suffer from lower back pain.

If you suffer from chronic back and/or neck pain, the first, best thing you can do is lose the extra weight you may have, which will make it easier for your spine to rest in proper alignment. While that won’t fix every back problem you’ve got, it will give you a solid start, and your chiropractor can get you the rest of the way there!

“Mind over matter” isn’t a phrase that leaps immediately to mind when people think about joint or muscle pain. When joint pain strikes, most people tend to think in terms of overexertion or old age, but the truth is that sometimes our very thoughts can betray our bodies and cause or contribute to joint and muscle pain.

That might seem silly on its face, but the science behind it is solid, and once you understand it, it’ll go a long way toward explaining aches and pains that have no other apparent cause. Here’s the low-down:

When you’re anxious and stressed, your body responds by tensing up. This is part of the “fight or flight” response and is driven by cortisol levels in your body. The more stressed you are, the higher your cortisol levels will be, and the more stiffness and tension you’ll feel in your muscles.

That causes your joints to have to work harder, which leads directly to the second big problem: inflammation. When muscles become inflamed, you feel it in the form of an aching, burning sensation, and voila! Your stressful thoughts have lead to joint stiffness and pain.

Obviously, this is an oversimplification. Sometimes your joints are screaming in protest because you really did overdo it, or because you’re getting older and that just comes with the territory. This isn’t always the case, though, so when you start to feel aches and pains in your body, it’s important to take a few minutes to do a quick self-assessment.

Maybe the problem is that you tried to do too much. Maybe it’s that you’re stressed to the max and your body is sending you a clear and unmistakable message.

Sure, in the short run, you can ease the pain by taking over-the-counter or prescription medications or bump up the frequency of your chiropractor visits, but in at least some of the cases, the thing that will do the most to fix the problem is to relax, unwind and de-stress.

This is definitely something to think about.

If you work in an office environment, you’ve got two big strikes against you where staying healthy is concerned. First and most obvious is the fact that you probably spend most of your day sitting, which means you’re getting almost no exercise. Sitting like this also has long term-impacts on your posture, which can lead to chronic back pain down the road.

The other big factor that can negatively impact your health, though, is the company vending machine. Most every company has one, and as you might expect, they’re usually chock full of unhealthy snack options laden with sugar, salt and other things your body doesn’t need.

What’s a busy professional to do, though?

Fortunately, there are some simple, healthy options you can bring from home that will tide you over during those long afternoon hours. Here are some of the best:

• Nuts – Most nuts are very good for you, although you do have to be at least somewhat discerning. Roasted and/or salted nuts, for instance, are the least healthy option, although even these are much better for you than most of the snacks you’ll find in the vending machine.
To make this a maximally healthy choice, pre-package unsalted nuts in small serving sizes in Ziploc bags and keep them in your desk!

• Packaged Soups – This is another great option, but in order to make the most of it, you’ll want to read nutrition labels carefully. Many packaged soups are filled with sodium and other unhealthy ingredients, so be sure to pick one that isn’t!

• If your office has a fridge in the break room, it really expands the number of snack options you have available, but one of the best is Greek yogurt. This is a healthy, thick, creamy and delicious snack filled with probiotic goodness and lots of nutrients your body needs.

The bottom line here is that you don’t have to exist at the mercy of the company vending machine. There are a raft of healthy alternatives you can bring with you from home to get the midday pick-me-up you need.

Unless you are part of a distinct minority of people who actually look forward to going to the gym and sweating for several hours a week, getting excited about exercising may be a daunting task. Absent motivation, odds are good that you won’t do it at all, and let’s face it, if the desire to get healthy and lose weight was enough, then motivation wouldn’t be an issue.

Fortunately, there are a few good ways to get fired up about the concept of exercising. Here are the best of the best:

• Gamify It! – Game Theory is useful in a lot more situations than you might first realize. All games operate on a system of action and reward, so one great way to get excited about working out is to make a deal with yourself, promising a reward for getting it done. It doesn’t have to be anything big or fancy; it just has to be something you like and/or look forward to.

• Make It Part Of Your “Do-List” – If lists work for you, and you find yourself making a list of the most important things you have to accomplish on any given day, then try simply adding your daily workout routine to your action list. That way, it’s just another task you’ve got to attend to before you can call the day done.

• And Finally, Flip The Script! – For most people, exercise isn’t fun because it’s divorced from activities you enjoy doing, but what if that wasn’t the case? The simplest solution, then, is to find some activity you enjoy doing that has a physical component (fencing, white water rafting, hiking, etc.), and do that in the place of your regular workout routine. Because it’s something you enjoy doing, you’re not going to balk when it comes time to do it. Instead, it’ll be something you genuinely look forward to!

Exercise doesn’t have to be a chore or a grind, and if you can find ways to make it something you look forward to, you’ll be healthier and happier, and that is an all-around win!

Almost everyone is familiar with exercises designed to strengthen one’s core, but there’s a problem. Knowing about them, and even knowing how important they are, don’t automatically mean we spend much time doing them.

Sadly, beyond a few token sit ups and pushups, most people don’t spend much time focused on exercises that are designed to strengthen the muscles in their trunk and pelvis.

If you fall into that category, then no matter how much time you spend at the gym, your core muscles are going to be weaker and less developed than the rest. If you want to maximize your overall level of health, that’s something you should consider changing, starting today!

Fortunately, core exercises don’t require any fancy, specialized equipment. You can do them at the gym, or, even better, from the comfort of your home.

From a practical standpoint, the two biggest benefits you’ll see from a stronger core are improved balance and stability. This will translate into performance gains if you participate in any kind of sports-related activity, and make you much less likely to suffer back strains or sprains.

In terms of exercises you can do to strengthen core muscles, you’ve got a lot of options. Basically any exercise that engages your abdominal muscles in a systematic way would work, but the best and simplest to perform are these:

• Pushups
• Sit ups (especially if you cross your arms over your chest and keep your feet firmly planted on the floor so that you are relying exclusively on your abs to lift your torso)
• Bridges

If you’re not familiar with a bridge, simply start by lying on the floor with your knees bent and your back in a neutral position. Without tilting your hips, tighten your abs and raise your hips off the floor until your hips are aligned with your knees and shoulders. Hold this position for as long as you’re able, then release and return to your starting position. Repeat as many times as you’re able.

Making these simple exercises a part of your daily routine will do wonders for your overall level of health, and your back will thank you for it!

Modern life isn’t very good for us for a variety of reasons. One of the biggest, though, is that modern life, by design, is engineered to keep most of us indoors most of the day.

That’s bad for a variety of reasons, but the two biggest are lack of sunlight, and lack of access to one of the most powerful stress relievers in existence.

While it’s true that we don’t rely on the sun in the same way that plants do, it’s also true that sunlight provides a raft of benefits to our bodies. It helps our bodies naturally produce vitamin-D and helps regulate our circadian rhythm, which facilitates better and more restful sleep, making us more alert and aware during our waking hours.

Given how stressful modern life is, we’re really hitting ourselves with a one-two punch by not unplugging for a few minutes a day and going outdoors, because studies have shown that a simple twenty-minute walk in the woods every day can reduce cortisol levels by as much as 50 percent. Since cortisol is the “stress hormone,” by not taking advantage of this simple option, we’re absolutely making an already bad situation worse.

What, then, is the secret?

What’s the best way to feel better if you’re trapped indoors all day, every day?

It’s simple. Just say no.

Find a way to carve out at least twenty minutes a day and get outside. Go sit in the sun. Go walk down a wooded trail, maybe right after lunch, or maybe on a break.

Doing so will relax and refresh you. It will help you de-stress, and when you return from your short “unplugged” break, you’ll be ready to tackle whatever else you’ve got facing you for the rest of the day. Try it and see for yourself. You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes!

What do your tailbone and your funny bone have in common? When injure them, the only one not laughing is you.

Tailbone injuries hurt. If you’ve ever suffered a fall and landed squarely on your butt, you’ve probably suffered one yourself, and while falling is the #1 way such injuries occur, it’s by no means the only way. Sitting for extended periods in an uncomfortable chair can also lead to tailbone injury.

Unfortunately, when you injure that part of your body, even simple things you take for granted like standing and sitting can become lessons in agony, and nobody around you seems to fully understand how bad it hurts.

The good news is that the injury is quite treatable, and your chiropractor can quickly and easily assess the damage and recommend a treatment plan that will put you back on the path to a pain-free life in short order.
Where tailbone injuries are concerned, there are basically three possibilities:

• You’ve knocked it out of alignment, in which case, realignment will give you almost instant relief.
• You’ve bruised the soft tissue around it, in which case, alternating between cold and hot compresses will help bring the swelling down and ease the pain
• Or, during the fall, you’ve managed to twist just the wrong way and stress the muscles and tendons in that area. If this is the case, then there are some good, effective low-impact exercises that will help. Coupled with massage therapy, you’ll be feeling better in no time.

Of course, falls can be chaotic things, and odds are that it will take a combination of all three to get you feeling your best once more. But again, after suffering an injury like that, you don’t want to leave anything to chance, so your best bet is to get checked out and get a professional recommendation for a course of treatment.

It’s something that almost everyone has done at one point or another.

Picture the scene: You’ve been sitting at your computer for hours, long enough that your eyes feel like they might start bleeding at any moment. You’re stiff and you’re tired, so to try and shake a little more life into your body for the final sprint to the finish line, you lean back, stretch, and twist your neck around until you feel a series of satisfying pops and cracks.

There. That’s better, and you get back to work.

Sound familiar?

The question, though, is whether it’s a good idea, and the answer to that question is, sadly, no.

What you’re hearing when that pop occurs are gasses being released from in between joints. Those gasses build up over time, and when you crack your neck or back, it’s a bit like opening a can of soda.

Unfortunately, unless you’ve undertaken extensive training, you don’t have the necessary background to safely adjust yourself. Most times, all you’re doing is putting further stress on ligaments and tendons that are already stretched too thin from extended periods of poor posture or other stresses.

These are a lot like rubber bands, and like a rubber band, if you keep stretching and stressing it long enough, it begins to lose its elasticity and will no longer snap back into its proper shape and form.

In short, then, while cracking your own neck and back may provide you with a sense of short term relief, you’re not doing your body any favors. The fact that you keep having to do so is your body’s way of telling you that there’s a deeper and more pervasive problem.

The only way to keep from feeling like you need to pop your own neck or back is to address the root cause of that problem. That’s best done by a chiropractor who can properly assess your condition and recommend a course of treatment that will make that stiffness a thing of the past!

We live in a 24/7, “always on” world, and we weren’t meant to. Our bodies just can’t keep up, and most of us need a lot more down time than we’re getting, which understandably stresses us out. It’s no wonder that heart attacks are one of the leading causes of death; most of us are stressed to the max!

Fortunately, there are some quick, easy things you can do that will bring your stress levels down from the stratosphere and help you relax and unwind. If you take the time to do these things every day, you’ll feel a lot better.

The best part? You can start putting these ideas to use just moments after you finish reading this.

1) Take a walk. Science has proven that a 15-minute walk can reduce your cortisol levels by as much as 25 percent. If you take that same fifteen-minute walk in the woods, the impact is doubled and you can cut your cortisol levels in half! Who knew Mother Nature could be such a powerful ally where stress reduction was concerned?

2) Meditate or visualize. A lot of people roll their eyes when they think about meditation, but there’s actually something to it, and you don’t have to spend a lot of time at it, either. If you give yourself 15 minutes a day with no distractions, it will do wonders. Just close your eyes and think about the major problems in your life being solved and how good your life will be when that happens. In addition, visualize your life as you wish it to be, with all your goals achieved and wishes fulfilled. It doesn’t matter that the visualization may not be realistic; the goal here is to put you in a better frame of mind, and either of those techniques will do exactly that.

3) Maintain a regular sleep schedule. This is a biggie, because too few people get enough sleep, and they pay a heavy price for it. Your body needs 8-9 hours of quality sleep a night, and your boss isn’t going to enforce a bedtime. He’ll be thrilled if you stay up till two in the morning doing work on his behalf. Resist that temptation. Pick a reasonable bedtime and stick with it. Your body and mind will thank you for it!

Minimizing the impact of stress on your life doesn’t have to be this massive undertaking. You can reap amazing benefits by spending as little as 15 minutes a day, and you owe yourself at least that much down time, don’t you?

Most people who are involved in an auto accident tend to use the condition of their vehicle as a marker for the severity of the accident.
After all, if the car doesn’t look totaled, then how bad could it have been, right? And if the ER nurse sent you home and said you were fine, then that’s the end of it, isn’t it?

Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Even if your car looks fine, and even if the attending ER physician said you’ve got no broken bones, you’re likely quite some distance from being fine. The reality is that if you were in an auto accident of any severity level, it probably saw your body moving at some speed, then stopping abruptly. That kind of sudden change can put stress and strain on your musculoskeletal system that can have lasting repercussions, and if left untended, it can cause you a lot of pain.

Think about it. The above would be like saying if you didn’t break a bone it doesn’t hurt, but if you’ve ever sprained your ankle, or any other part of your body, then you know that’s a categorically false statement.

The bottom line is that there’s no such thing as a “minor auto accident,” and you owe it to yourself to get thoroughly checked out after you’ve been involved in one.

It’s great if the ER doc says you’re fine. He’s a triage doctor and trained to treat critical, life-threatening injuries, and it sounds like you managed to avoid one of those. After breathing a sigh of relief on that front, now it’s time to get the rest of you checked out. Your chiropractor can properly assess the damage to your musculoskeletal system and create a treatment plan that will make those post-accident aches and pains you’re feeling a thing of the past in short order.