Your Immune System

The immune system has many types of cells that act like a little army to attack invaders such as germs and viruses. But, these cells operate in a delicate balance within our body.

For example, too much body fat causes the production of pro-inflammatory immune cells. Too many of these cells circulating in the body can be harmful. According to Dr. Alex Viardot, "These inflammatory cells are involved in promoting coronary artery disease and other illnesses associated with obesity."

In the study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism, the authors concluded that even modest weight reduction of just 13 lbs. could produce an 80% reduction of pro-inflammatory T-helper cells and also a reduction of other circulating immune cells.

Dr. Viardot added, "This is the first time it has been shown that modest weight reduction reverses some of the very adverse inflammatory changes we see in obese people with diabetes... The situation has reached crisis point, and people must be made aware that excess fat will affect their immune systems and therefore their survival."

For More Health And Wellness, Dump Once A Week...

What would happen if your garbage didn’t get picked up for the entire Summer? Eventually it would pile up and your house would get pretty stinky. The same goes for Subluxations...

Like garbage, the stress from Subluxations can pile up in your nerves if not ‘dumped’ regularly. As you go through your normal day, the physical, chemical, and emotional stresses you experience have a tendency to accumulate. The result? You experience symptoms of a clogged and congested nerve system like…

Poor Sleep
Lack of Energy
Fatigue
Weak Immunity
Chronic pains
Headaches
Anxiety
Poor Digestion
And Many more…

Your body was built to function at 100%, but it can’t if Subluxations are weighing you down. The solution…make sure you dump them often with regular Chiropractic adjustments! Patients who get the most benefits from chiropractic don’t use it as a temporary patch for aches and pains. They’ve discovered the true lasting benefits that come from living with a clean nerve system like more energy, better recovery from injuries, and abundant health.

This Summer plan to take your and your family’s health to the next level. Keep regular with your Chiropractic care and you’ll feel the difference!

Hey Doc, I Can Still Feel The Pain Right Here

Question: If you dropped a cinder block on your foot, what’s the first thing you must do to start the healing process?

Answer: Get the cinder block off your foot!

Sounds simple, but it’s true. Your foot WON’T heal until the offending pressure is removed first. And once the cinder block is removed don’t expect your foot to look or feel normal right away! It’s going to take time to repair all that carnage. The same principle applies to your Chiropractic care.

A misaligned vertebrae (Subluxation) acts like a cinder block on a nerve, causing damage, pain, and inflammation. Healing can occur only when the offending pressure is removed and kept off the nerve with regular Chiropractic adjustments. But that won’t necessarily bring instant relief. Removing the pressure is simply the first step in a timely process.

So if you don’t feel great immediately after your adjustment, don’t be discouraged. With time, damaged tissues will heal and you’ll feel like new again. For now, be confident the healing process has at least started because the cinder block (subluxation) has been removed.

Chiropractic Forecast: 'Clear' Days Ahead

How many times have you gotten up from the table after an adjustment and felt more awake, or 'clear' like a fog just lifted? Happens a lot in offices across the country. That instant alert feeling you experience is a very powerful physiologic effect commonly felt after a chiropractic adjustment. It’s like a fog’s been lifted from your nerve system, clearing the way for better function and healing.

The next time you 'come out of a fog' after your adjustment ask yourself, how many police officers, teachers and nurses are walking around in a fog because they've never been adjusted before? Do you ever wonder if the school bus driver that just took your kids to school might be driving in a fog because they've never been told the benefits of a 'clearing' chiropractic adjustment?

It’s important for EVERYONE to be checked and cleared of Subluxations so they can live their best lives. (First ones on the list should be your spouse and your kids!) Clearing the fog from a sick population is the real mission of ChiropracTIC. The ‘TIC’ stands for Teach Innate Chiropractic. You can help our mission by telling everyone how better their lives could be if they were ‘clear’ too. Imagine what a safer and healthier community it would be. Until next time!

The Importance Of Spinal Health

Most patients come to see me because of some ache or pain they are having. While our care is very effective at relieving symptoms, there are other benefits beyond just feeling better. The most important job your spine has is to protect your nervous system. Your nervous system is the master control center of your body and is responsible for controlling every cell, tissue, and organ in your body. It controls the pumping of your heart, the breathing of your lungs, digestion, immune function, and even helps you fall asleep at night and wake up in morning. Many of my patients state that not only are they feeling better under chiropractic care, but they are breathing better, sleeping better, have more energy, and their digestion is better. So regular chiropractic care helps to keep your body functioning optimally which promotes better health and well-being.

Chiropractic Adjustments Are Like WD-40 For Your Spine

In a landmark 1921 study done to show the effectiveness of chiropractic, Henry Windsor, MD concluded “disease appears to precede old age and to cause it. The spine becomes stiff first and old age follows. Therefore, we may say a man is as old as his spine, the arteries becoming hardened later from constant vasomotor spasm, following sympathetic irritation.”

So not only is Chiropractic great for keeping your spine limber and flexible. But the extra benefits extend to improved nerve flow, organ function and overall health performance!

Want to move, feel and function like you did when you were younger? Make chiropractic a regular part of your age defying routine. With adjustments, 40 could really be the new 25!

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Relief

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is defined as a pinching of the Median Nerve as it travels from the neck into the arm, through muscles in the forearm and into the hand through the carpal tunnel. Pressure on the nerve at any of these locations can create the symptoms of CTS including:

•Numbness or tingling in the thumb and next two or three fingers of one or both hands
•Numbness or tingling of the palm of the hand
•Pain extending to the elbow
•Pain in wrist or hand in one or both hands
•Problems with fine finger movements (coordination) in one or both hands
•Wasting away of the muscle under the thumb (in advanced or long-term cases)
•Weak grip or difficulty carrying bags (a common complaint)
•Weakness in one or both hands

CTS is a very common disorder affecting millions each year. Its also one of the biggest problems for certain types of industries such as meat packaging plants, textile manufacturers, and virtually any job that requires fast, repetitive movements commonly used on assembly lines in many lines of work.

Women are more prone to CTS by a ratio of 3 or 4:1. This is partially because women's bone structure is smaller and therefore their Carpal Tunnel is smaller too. Women also experience fluid retention or build up during menstruation leading to symptoms like swollen fingers and swollen and painful breasts. Swelling in the already tight, confined space of the carpal tunnel will increase their susceptibility for developing CTS.

Another hormone related cause or contributing factor is the use of birth control pills (BCPs). Since there are many different types of BCPs and each woman is unique and different, finding the BCP with the "right balance" of hormones where the swelling side effect is minimized is very important and should be discussed with the doctor who prescribed the BCPs.

Age (>50 years) is also a risk factor and with our aging work force, this is becoming a big issue. Other conditions like hypothyroid, diabetes, certain types of arthritis, and hypertension / congestive heart failure where an increase in fluid retention occurs can also increase the chance of developing CTS. Obviously, occupation type plays an important role as previously mentioned. Many jobs today require the use of computers and we're finding the position of the monitor, the keyboard and mouse, are very important.

Chiropractic management of CTS includes wrist, forearm/elbow, shoulder and neck adjustments, corrective exercises, and an anti-inflammatory diet. Also, correcting the "ergonomic factors" or, job-related causes is of utmost importance. This is why a chiropractor who treats all of these areas and has the specialized knowledge about CTS is the perfect choice of health care providers. If you, a friend or family member require care for CTS, we would be honored to render our services.

Sciatica Cure

Sciatica is one of the most common complaints that I see in my chiropractic office. Patients often report pain in their lower back and legs. Sciatica is caused by compression or irritation of one of the five nerves in the lower back which go on to make up the Sciatic Nerve. The word sciatica itself describes a group of symptoms which includes shooting pain, a dull ache, tingling/pins and needles, muscle weakness or cramps, in one or both legs. The most common presentation of sciatica also includes pain in the lower back.

The most common place for one of these nerves to become irritated or compressed is as it exits the spine, via a small hole. In the majority of cases the nerve is ‘trapped’ or irritated by a bulging or swollen disc. Our innovative approach to chiropractic care has helped many of our patients successfully eliminate this painful condition by restoring normal alignment and motion to the spine, thus reducing compression and irritation to the sciatic nerve.

Computer Vision Syndrome

I have many patients who suffer from eye strain, neck and shoulder pain and even headaches when sitting at the computer for long periods of time. Many of these symptoms can be caused by the type of glasses that they wear. Most individuals that wear no-line progressive lenses in their glasses, trifocals, and even bifocals suffer from some degree of pain due to the way that the head must be adjusted in order to appropriately see the information that is on the computer screen.

Many individuals now spend more time on a computer than ever before. Many implement the use of computers for their work, while others perform certain tasks on the computer for personal reasons such as paying bills and entertainment purposes. Spending any length of time sitting in front of a computer can be detrimental to our bodies. In many instances, our back and neck area may start to tense up due to our method of sitting, as well as the adjustments that we have to make in order to see the screen, and the contents thereof. Luckily, there have been extensive studies that conclude that if one has the right computer glasses, they can not only see better, but they can feel better overall! The problem occurs if the individual sitting in front of the computer does not have the appropriate occupational computer bifocals. This is when the issue of Computer Vision Syndrome may occur.

Computer Vision Syndrome is a complication that occurs as a natural result of the strain that occurs in the eyes when viewing the screen of your system. It is most common to those who fail to wear appropriate glasses for computer use. It occurs due to the fact that the eyes have complications setting their focus to the words and symbols on a screen due to the method of creation. Pixels create the words that we see on our computers and lack the same contrast as words that are written on paper.

The solution for Computer Vision Syndrome is actually quite simple. All it takes is an effective pair of computer glasses! Now, you can visit a doctor and actually receive a prescription for this type of glasses or you can convert your everyday prescription glasses into computer glasses. If you are looking to eliminate the symptoms of computer neck pain, eye strain, and sore eyes, a slip-behind computer lens may be the most effective solution for your issue. There will no longer be a need to tilt your head forward, or back to see through the lenses that you now use on your prescription eye glasses. All you have to do is simply consider computer glasses that can help eliminate that pain in the neck, and all the other symptoms associated with Computer Vision Syndrome!

Exercise Alone Isn't Enough

Exercise is vital for fat loss; by adding muscle, you lose fat but don't always affect the scale. A pound of fat is fluffy and big; a pound of muscle is dense and small. The scale should be your mirror; how your clothes fit and the compliments you receive from others is the proof.

You don't have to exercise daily for an hour to attain sustained fat loss. A high-intensity workout versus schlepping your way along in your old non-challenging routine will give you fast fat loss and health benefits.

However, exercise is not all you need. 80% of fat loss comes from what you eat. The key is to burn more calories than you are taking in. The equation never changes. The easiest way to do this is through regular vigorous exercise and eating healthy nutrient-dense foods.

You can exercise all you want but if you are taking in more calories than you are burning because of the foods you are eating then you will never lose the excess fat and get to a healthy weight. This isn't always easy to do because of our busy lifestyles but you will only get out of it what you put in. There is no magic forumla to getting and staying healthy. It takes hard work and consistency.

Hello, welcome to my blogspot

This is my very first blogpost. I hope to add useful information about chiropractic, nutrition, exercise and other health topics. I hope you find it both entertaining and educational. Enjoy!