Summer is Here! Watch Your BacK!!!

Now that summer is here, and it's the season for gardening and mowing the lawn. Unfortunately, it can also be the season for injuries caused by yard work.

Whenever we start some activity that we haven't been doing for a while, we run the risk of creating strain on our backs. In fact, a survey of 500 chiropractors found that gardening and yard work is the most common cause of back pain during the summer.

Here are the keys to keeping your back safe:

• Stretch! Tight muscles put you at risk of injuring yourself.
• Make sure to warm up first. Don?t overexert yourself. Take your time.
• If there's some heavy lifting, make sure to lift with your legs and not your back. Get someone to help you.
• Use the right tools. Make sure that the yard tools you are using are the right size and have good ergonomics.
• Stay hydrated and take breaks.
• See your chiropractor!

We're here to help keep your body working efficiently, so give us a call at (386) 492-4881For more information about how chiropractic can help you improve your health, visit our website today www.AtlanticChiroFL.com.

The Facts About Varicose Veins

Hide Your Legs No More!

They are unsightly and painful and one out of every two adults over 50 suffers from them. Varicose veins are enlarged veins, often dark blue and purple in color, that appear to be swollen and twisted, very close to the surface of the skin. Although they usually appear on the calves and the inside of the legs, they may affect any area of the body.

 

To determine whether you might be at a greater risk to develop varicose veins, consider the following:

• A family history of varicose veins (genetic predisposition)
• Obesity
• Pregnancy (due to increased pressure on the legs)
• A job that requires long periods of standing
• Frequent heavy lifting
• Sitting for long periods of time with crossed legs
• Eating a low-fiber diet that causes constipation

There are certain things you can do to try to prevent varicose veins, including:

• Exercise on a regular basis; walking in particular increases the strength of the veins in your legs
• Avoid sitting with your legs crossed
• Elevate your legs while sitting or resting
• Get up and walk around every 30-45 minutes if you work in a job that requires you to sit for long periods of time
• Try not to stand for long periods of time. If you must, shift your weight frequently from foot to foot and wear support stockings or socks
• Maintain a healthy weight for your height
• Eat a high fiber diet, including bran, and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables to ensure regular bowel movements

Most of the time, no treatment is necessary for varicose veins. Chiropractic care, which is known to improve the flow of blood through the body, may help relieve and/or control varicose veins. Please call our practice to discuss your concerns; we will be happy to meet with you.

Sports Injuries

Sports and exercise are important steps to maintaining health. Unfortunately, however, injuries during participation in sports are all too common. Often, these injuries occur in beginners or those who don’t use proper safety equipment or become overzealous about an exercise regimen.

Strains and Sprains

• An acute twisting or over-extension of a joint can lead to tears of muscles and tendons, called “strains,” and tears of ligaments result in “sprains.”
• In mild injuries, just a few fibers are torn or stretched. Severe injuries, where there is a tear through the full thickness of the structure, frequently require surgical intervention.
• The intervertebral disc, a ligament between the vertebrae of the spine that works as a shock absorber, can also be torn, resulting in a disc bulge and/or herniation.

Tendinosis

• In those who are training too much, overuse of a particular joint or joints in the body can result in pain and dysfunction. There injuries are called “overuse syndromes.”
• A common overuse injury is tendinosis, a condition in which the tendon becomes inflamed from repetitive use.

Stress Fractures

• Some athletes may experience a stress fracture, which occurs when an abnormal amount of stress is placed on a normal bone, such as in a runner who rapidly increases the amount of mileage, rather than gradually progressing to longer distances.
• Shin splints are caused by microfractures on the front surface of the tibia (shin bone). This is most often seen in runners, although other athletes can be affected.

Diagnosis and Treatment
Sports injuries are most often diagnosed from the history of the activity which brought on the pain, along with a physical examination. In some cases, X-rays are necessary to rule out a fracture. Fractures require the application of some stabilizing device, such as a cast, after the bone is put back into position. Rarely, surgical intervention is required. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound may also be used.

There is a relatively standard treatment protocol for most types of sports injuries, which involves:

• Rest. Generally no more than 48 hours of rest and/or immobilization is needed, depending on the severity of the injury.
• Ice or heat can help with pain reduction and tissue healing.
• Compression of the area may reduce the amount of swelling from the injury.
• Elevation of the injured arm or leg above the level of the heart is thought to be helpful in reducing swelling.
• Joint manipulation. Recent research has shown that, in some cases, joint manipulation can help with pain reduction and more rapid recovery.

Prevention
In many cases, sports injuries can be prevented. Proper conditioning, warm-up and cool-down procedures, understanding proper techniques and using appropriate safety equipment can substantially reduce injuries.

Resolution of Breech Presentation with Chiropractic Care

In the April 11, 2011, issue of the scientific periodical, the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health, is a documented case study showing chiropractic helping a pregnant woman with a breech presentation pregnancy.  A breech presentation is when the fetus is not in the proper head-down position as the delivery date is approaching.
According to the study, a  breech presentation is created by "intrauterine constraint" which the authors describe as, "as any force external to the developing fetus that obstructs the normal movement of the fetus."
The study reports that, in the United
States, 86 percent of infants with breech presentation are delivered by cesarean which increases risks to the mother and the baby.

In this case, a 25-year-old woman went to a chiropractic office 31 weeks into her pregnancy. She was referred to the chiropractor by her obstetrician who had recently performed an ultrasound which confirmed the breech position. She was hoping to avoid a c-section birth.

A chiropractic examination was performed using the procedures of the "Webster Technique". The Webster Technique is a specialized analysis and procedure developed by the late Dr. Larry Webster who was affectionately known as the "grandfather of chiropractic pediatrics". A determination was made that this woman fit the protocol, and so the chiropractor applied the Webster Technique.

Within four hours of the first Webster Technique adjustment, the woman reported feeling "a lot of movement". The woman commented that she felt the fetus had shifted from a breech position to the transverse position. After her second chiropractic visit, the woman had a prenatal visit at which the obstetrician confirmed that the fetus had turned to the proper vertex position. The study noted that the woman continued to receive chiropractic adjustments for resolution of low back pain until delivery. She eventually had an uncomplicated vaginal delivery.

MY HERO!!!

One of the distinctions we try to make is the difference between health care and sick care. Our culture has so abused the term “health” that it’s lost its meaning.

The mainstay of many television dramas is the heroic lifesaving that takes place in hospitals, with the underlying message that medicine saves lives. And it does. But it isn’t health care.

True, the fragility of life creates the theater necessary to hold the attention of viewers. But what’s missing from these fantasies is the fact that our so-called health care system is burdened by expensive, heroic measures delivered in the last six months or so of life. These procedures are often used to treat disease states caused by neglect or poor lifestyle choices.

I mention this because true health care isn’t heroic. Unless you consider getting adjusted on a regular basis heroic! Or eating a salad instead of a burger. Or climbing the stairs rather than pressing a button. Or drinking pure water instead of a sugary drink. But if you do, you’re a hero to me!

Some Important Thoughts on Children and Chiropractic

Common Questions From Parents

 

•       How early should children be adjusted?
•       Is it safe?
•       Aren’t their bones still soft?
•       Why do they need adjustments?
•       What if they cry?
•       How can we afford it?

 

All of these questions and more go through the minds of parents who are considering chiropractic care for their kids.  Some parents are hesitant about getting their children adjusted even though they are under care themselves.

 

Our kids are so special to us that sometimes, in an effort to protect them, we become overprotective and deprive them of necessary and valuable experiences.

 

If chiropractic care is necessary to your good health and for reaching your full potential in life as an adult, then it logically follows that it is even more necessary for a child!

 

After all, they have nerve systems that control and coordinate all of their body functions just as you do.  And, just like you, they can get subluxations that will interfere with the full outward expression of their Life force.

 

The only difference is that they still have an entire lifetime ahead of them in which to manifest the results of what they do today.

 

It’s Never Too Soon

Subluxations can occur at any time.  The first one may very well have occurred at your baby’s birth.  That is why parents who understand the importance of being subluxation-free have their newborns examined by their chiropractor as soon after birth as possible.

 

By correcting subluxations at an early age, the damage that inevitably comes from functioning at less than optimal levels can be prevented.  The longer a subluxation is present, the greater the damage.  In addition, the longer a subluxation is present, the longer your child’s body will continue to “reproduce itself” (i.e., grow) in the wrong way!

“As the twig is bent, so grows the tree!”

Many people who come into a chiropractor’s office for the first time as adults would have had far greater potential for regaining their health if they had received regular chiropractic care as children.

 

 

Kids Make Great Patients!

Adjusting a child is not a difficult procedure.  In fact, in most cases, a child’s spine is much easier to adjust than an adult’s.  They have not had the long-standing subluxations, their muscles are usually not as tense and they are usually more relaxed in general than adults.

 

Not only are kids easier to adjust, but also in most cases, they hold their adjustments for longer periods of time and their corrective adjustment plans are almost always significantly shorter than the average adult. However, with the falls, accidents and the generally active lives most kids experience, regular check-ups are vital.

 

 

It’s Worth The Effort

Chiropractic adjustments are generally painless.  Children may, on the first visit or two, be somewhat reluctant.  However, they rarely hesitate to get on the table to be adjusted, especially when they see that visiting the chiropractor is a family affair.  When they see Mom, Dad and their brothers and sisters getting adjusted, they are usually more than willing to be checked for subluxations too.

 

We will work with you so that your children will become accustomed to their adjustments.  In fact, in a very short period of time, most kids really look forward to their regular chiropractic visits.

 

Those children that are reluctant at first should be lovingly told that they must be adjusted and why it is so important (to keep their Power on!).  As parents, we realize that our children are not going to like or enjoy everything that is good for them.  Spinach is not enjoyable for most kids, and naps aren’t much fun either.

 

Chiropractic adjustments are vital to their good health, and the few tears that may occur on the first visit (usually because of fear of the unknown), are well worth the benefits to our precious little ones.

 

Obviously, children who are adjusted regularly from infancy think of their visits to the chiropractor as a regular part of their lives and are not the least bit hesitant to climb onto the adjusting table.

 

 

Chiropractic Care is Vital to Your Child’s Health and Life!

Lastly, it is of great importance that parents not think of adjustments for their children as “something they might as well do since their kids have come along to the office with them anyway.”  Chiropractic care for your children is vital to their health and is an absolute necessity to their development and for actualization of their full potential in every area of life.

 

We have a Family Plan that makes it affordable for most families to receive the care they need.  The money saved on treatments for illness is often enough to convince most parents of the benefits of family care.  But, the peace of mind that comes from knowing that you have provided your children with the best possible chance to perform at their best is the greatest benefit of all!