Chiropractic Masters Blog Talk Radio
March 16th, 2010 | 
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Chiropractic Explained in Exemplary Fashion
I just read one of the most well-articulated explanations of Chiropractic that I’ve read in a long, long time. Nowadays, with so much online writing being “outsourced” and “unedited,” it is often difficult to find an intelligible comment on a blog, much less a clear, concise, and meaningful article written on a blog itself! The article on fitness goop is written by Dr. Avtar Jassal, who graduated with honors from Life Chiropractic College West in Hayward, California. Dr. Jassal currently holds the position of Representative Assemblyman for British Columbia for the International Chiropractic Association and is an assistant teacher of the Torque Release Technique in Canada.
The article beautifully explains the “self healing” and “self-regulating” nature of the human body, and how Chiropractic treatment works with this natural process by freeing the nervous system of interference so that it can function effectively. I invite you to click on the link above and discover the amazing benefits of Chiropractic Care.
Shoulder Dislocations Affect Young and Old Alike
The shoulder joint has the greatest range of motion of any joint in the musculoskeletal system. It is surrounded by ligaments and a group of muscles (and their tendon attachments) referred to as the rotator cuff. These muscles and tendons join your upper arm bone with your shoulder blade and, in addition, help to lock the ball of your upper arm solidly in its shoulder socket. It is this elegant arrangement that permits the significant range of motion of your shoulder joint. And, unfortunately, it is one of the most commonly dislocated joints in the body. Shoulder dislocations can happen to young and old alike. In fact, an article published in the March 2010 issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) suggests that the majority of choulder dislocations occur during sports activities and young males are at a higher risk. No surprise there. But, what is surprising, however, is that the study also reveals a high rate of shoulder dislocation in elderly women.
The shoulder joint can dislocate forward, backward or downward. The most common shoulder dislocation happens when the shoulder slips forward (anterior instability). The arm bone is moved forward and down and out of its joint. Symptoms can include pain, swelling, numbness, weakness, and bruising. A dislocation can tear ligaments or tendons in the shoulder or even damage nearby nerves. To treat the dislocation, a doctor will manipulate the arm bone (the humerus) and replace it in the shoulder socket. This stops the severe pain and allows for the injured tissues to heal. Remember, whether you are young or an aging baby boomer, it’s important to keep your musculoskeletal system moving smoothly. Always do limbering exercises before playing a sport or working in the garden. And, never play or work into pain. If you experience shoulder pain, see a healthcare professional. For more on this study, go to medicalnewstoday.comChiropractic Works!
Did you know that chiropractic treatment has been increasing in popularity for a number of years now and that it continues to increase annually as the preferred healthcare option for many people? Why? To put it plain and simple, Chiropractic works! People are deciding on chiropractic care because of its many health benefits for every “body” any time, but especially as our body ages. No other health-related treatment is less invasive to your body and yet, at the same time, more effect and is able to promote the body’s inherent power to heal itself. That right, chiropractic treatment works with your body. Your chiropractor will never suggest care that you mask your symptoms with pharmaceuticals. Chiropractic works because it recognizes that pain is your body’s way of letting you know that there’s a problem that needs correcting. And, then chiropractic treatment focuses on the source of your pain and eliminates it at its origin. Your chiropractor knows that you will never get healthier or stronger simply by silencing your body’s messenger with medication.
Almost everyone, at one time or another, could benefit from chiropractic treatment. Because let’s face it, where there’s a musculoskeletal system, like the one in the human body for instance, there’s the likelihood of musculoskeletal injuries that lead to back and neck pain, pain in the shoulder, elbow, hip and knee joints, and ankle and foot pain. In other words, no one who has a musculoskeletal structure is immune from misalignment of the spine and joint inflammation. Quite often, alignment and joint problems are the consequence of sports injuries, accidents, and the aging process. No matter what the cause, however, movement on a traumatized part of the body creates acute pain and suffering, and even temporary disability. And, worse still, if the problem is left untreated, the condition may go from bad to worse until there is permanent incapacitation. The good news is that chiropractic treatment can help to correct a problem before it gets worse.
In addition to getting relief from acute symptoms and chronic complaints, a patient experiences highly beneficial side effects. What does this mean? It means that when a patient comes in to see their chiropractor for a certain problem, like lower back pain for example, the patient not only experiences pain relief, but chiropractic adjustments improve the body’s circulation, get rid of lactic acid, stimulate the travel of oxygen and nutrients within the body, aid flexibility, decrease everyday pain and soreness, make recuperation time quicker, reduce body stress, and help to prevent future injuries! Is it any surprise, then, why chiropractic care has become the treatment of personal preference for so many people?
In addition to skilled chiropractic treatment, chiropractors also offer education and direction for improving your overall health. Chiropractors know that in order for you to get healthy and stay that way, it is vital for you to live a healthy lifestyle, which includes drinking plenty of water to keep the body hydrated, following a nutritious diet plan, and setting up a daily stretching and exercise routine.
Chiropractic works, but of course it doesn’t exactly work “miracles, ” even though it may appear to in health-related areas that might surprise you. For instance, chiropractic treatment helps pregnant women deliver their babies more easily. It can improve the developmental capabilities of infants and toddler ( including improving motor skills), and it can commonly avert scoliosis early, before its had time to create irreparable changes. Chiropractic adjustments for kids often help to reduce asthma symptoms, ear infections, and bed-wetting. Regular chiropractic care for adults helps to keep them well-adjusted and more energized in work and play activities, and assists in reducing repetitive stress and “weekend warrior” injuries. And, finally, for aging baby boomers and the senior population, not only can chiropractic therapy aide in reducing age-related degeneration and keep older individuals functional in later years, but it can eliminate the balance problems that all too frequently lead to critical injury from falls.
If you are already seeing a chiropractor, good for you! You’ve probably already experienced most of the added benefits mentioned above. If so, why not enlighten a friend about chiropractic? Why? Because Chiropractic Works!
Tags: “Chill Out” By Exercising?
As a chiropractor I see the benefits of exercise in my patients everyday, not only physically, but also in the enhancement of their mental and emotional health. Exercise is good for every human body — mentally, emotionally, and physically — whether an individual is feeling “tip top” or not. In fact, a new study shows that exercise can reduce stress levels in people who are experiencing a variety of health challenges.
The study, which appeared in the Feb. 22 edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine, involved the analysis of the results of 40 randomized clinical trials involving nearly 3,000 patients with a variety of medical conditions. They found that, on average, patients who exercised regularly reported a 20 percent reduction in anxiety symptoms compared to those who did not exercise. “Our findings add to the growing body of evidence that physical activities such as walking or weight lifting may turn out to be the best medicine that physicians can prescribe to help their patients feel less anxious,” said lead author Matthew Herring, a doctoral student in the department of kinesiology, part of the UGA College of Education. Herring pointed out that while the role of exercise in alleviating symptoms of depression has been well studied, the impact of regular exercise on anxiety symptoms has received less attention. The number of people living with chronic medical conditions is likely to increase as the population ages, he added, underscoring the need for a low-cost, effective treatment. One way to read more on this study is to go to medicalnewstoday.comAthletic Tape Isn’t Just For Sports Injuries!
As a chiropractor I treat many people who suffer from arthritis, and I also help individuals who have sustained sports injuries. With the former, I use chiropractic adjustments and with the latter, in conjunction with the adjustments, I often use kinesio taping. Now, it appears that athletic tape can also be beneficial in treating patients with arthritis. Read on…
Athletic Tape
Researchers in Australia have found that athletic tape can be used to improve pain from patellofemoral osteoarthritis, a form of osteoarthritis found around or behind the kneecap.
This was a small study, to be sure, involving only 28 people, 14 with and 14 without patellofemoral arthritis. Yet the findings may provide another therapy option for people with this knee pain. This finding may also benefit people with chronic patellofemoral pain, which is relatively common in runners and can oftentimes be related to a misalignment in the knee joint.
The researchers from the University of Melbourne enlisted the 28 participants, all adults with an average age of 57. The researchers took MRI scans of the participants knees and discovered that the arthritis sufferers had a higher incidence of misalignment of the knee joint, including an inclination for the kneecap to be positioned toward the outside of the leg.
Using athletic tape to wrap the patient’s knees, the researchers were able to improve that misalignment. This contributed to improvement in reported pain during a squatting exercise.
According to lead researcher, Dr. Kay M. Crossley;
“Our results confirm that patellar taping is an excellent technique which can be recommended for people with (patellofemoral arthritis).”
The tape must be applied correctly to achieve the benefit, and not to worsen the condition. The researchers indicated that a physical therapist would be the most appropriate to wrap the knee, but that with instruction and practice, the patient would be able to successfully tape their own knee.
Using tape may not be the best solution for everyone with patellofemoral pain. Many people may require other forms of therapy or a combination with taping. Dr. Crossley stated that she and her colleagues are currently conducting a clinical trial which is studying the outcomes of knee taping with other treatments.
The results of the taping study were published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.
The Best Things in Life Are Not Only Free, But Healthy!
Obesity, Health Concerns Rise As Parks And Recreation Programs Decline
One way to help address the epidemic of obesity in the United States is improved access to pleasant hiking trails and an ambitious parks and recreation program, a recent study suggests, but programs such as this are increasingly being reduced in many states due to budget shortfalls.
The analysis, done by researchers in Oregon, found that some of the health issues that plague overweight and obese people can be aided by a stronger commitment to recreational opportunities. Cutting such programs to save money may be counterproductive to community health, scientists said. "Research is now showing there's a close correlation between public health and recreational opportunities, both close to home and in state parks," said Randy Rosenberger, an associate professor in the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society at Oregon State University. "And it's not just about losing weight. It's been found that active obese individuals have lower morbidity and mortality than normal weight individuals who are sedentary."(Read more…)The Dangers of Ignoring Headaches
Headaches can be thought of as internal alarm bells, ringing only when something is going on inside of the body. Most of us live a life so full of external distractions that our own physical problems get easily over looked.
Headaches that are Warning: “There is Something up Ahead” -
Nearly 70% of women between 20-35 years of age start to develop a “menstrual migraine”. At first this migraine is easily categorized with normal migraines, but then begins to stand out because of its consistency.
The menstrual migraine will usually show up every month, 2 days before menstruation. As with other premenstrual symptoms, having advanced knowledge of what to expect can make the occurrence less painful by being prepared.
Your Body’s Natural Volcanic System -
A common phrase that children hear from their mothers is, “You must be sleepy.” It’s amusing to watch as the child tries to first deny the accusation and then question what brought on such a declaration.
Unfortunately, when a person reaches adulthood there’s no one around to tell you when you should sleep and when you should relax. Suddenly, the responsibility of knowing what’s best is all yours.
When a body is pushed hard daily and given little to no opportunity of relaxation, something begins to happen. One of those things that happens is a head pain that feels painfully tight around the circumference of the head. The very sight of light can become discomforting, as well as noises both soft and loud.
This is a signal your body has sent with almost volcanic violence. To avoid repeated episodes that can develop to more severe levels, seek a chiropractic doctor.
Talking to a chiropractor about your tension headache is not the same as just going to visit a masseuse, because these doctors will do a thorough examination to find all the root causes of your headache.
The treatment you may receive will definitely be therapeutic, but it will have the added benefit of being preventive as well. The number one goal of these facilities is to not just get rid of pain, but help you continue living a pain free life.
The Weight of Headache Pain -
A scary thing about weight gain is that there doesn’t seem to be any real internal trigger that extra pounds are being added on. Usually it’s not until after all the external evidence is before one that they notice their weight gain.
Studies are starting to reveal that overweight people begin having headaches more often and more severely than those that are of a healthy weight. It’s still unclear as to how the body is triggering this effect, but it is evident in recent researches.
Even when headaches seem to be a part of your life’s package, it’s good to make sure that they’re not coming on for other serious reasons.
Waiting until you reach your breaking point before you get the rest you need is as dangerous as drunk driving. So taking a moment out of your day to visit a local doctor’s office, or chiropractic health practice shouldn’t be delayed, especially since most of us don’t just want the pain to go away, we want it to stay away.
Source: HealthSource
No Evidence that Chiropractic Causes Stroke According to Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation
Amidst a great deal of emotion and rhetoric coming out of Connecticut this week regarding the stroke issue The Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation has just released a very clear position statement on the issue of chiropractic and strokes.
Atlanta, GA, January 07, 2010 –(PR.com)– According to the Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation there is no human experimental evidence that chiropractic adjustments or neck manipulations are causally related to strokes. “While plaintiff’s attorneys and expert witness make claims and statements contending that such a causative link exists, the fact remains that these are based largely on anecdotes, case reports, and case controlled studies and cannot be used to prove causation” stated Foundation President Christopher Kent DC, JD a chiropractic researcher and attorney. According to researchers and the scientific method itself there are all sorts of biases and distortions that effect conclusions drawn from such studies and other criteria must be used to determine whether such a link exists. “What this boils down to is a simple lack of understanding of biostatistics and epidemiology” stated Foundation Vice President Matthew McCoy DC, MPH, a chiropractic researcher and public health expert. “Words like ‘association’ and ‘causation’ and ‘risk’ have very specific meanings when it comes to their use in epidemiology and it’s clear that laypersons involved in this debate are using these terms inappropriately.” While the experience of a stroke can be devastating and no one would suggest ignoring the concerns of those who have suffered one, the reality is that when it comes to the contention that chiropractic causes strokes – the evidence just isn’t there. And while the strokes these people have experienced are indeed real, McCoy suggests there are often other issues involved and offered an example. “Millions of people visit a dentist every year and a certain number of those same people get into car accidents on their way home. If we were to run the stats on it we might find that there is a statistical association between visiting a dentist and getting into a car accident on the way home. But no one would even consider suggesting that the dentists are causing the car accidents.” Self described chiropractic stroke victims say there is a risk and that people should be advised about it prior to undergoing chiropractic care. The majority of chiropractors would agree that patients should be informed of the risks, benefits and alternatives of any health care intervention, but according to Dr. Kent “Such informed consent must be based on appropriate information and since there is no scientific evidence that chiropractic adjustments or neck manipulations actually cause strokes, it is inappropriate to require a doctor to suggest that such a risk exists.” Dr. McCoy added another often overlooked issue “Chiropractors utilize a number of techniques to address joint dysfunction and vertebral subluxation and in fact there are over 300 named chiropractic techniques and many do not employ the type of manipulation that has been alleged to be a factor in vertebrobasilar accidents. This adds to the inappropriate nature of such a disclosure.” In the end, chiropractic has an impressive safety record compared to traditional medical care with estimates are that anywhere from 100,000 (Institute of medicine) to 750,000 (Null et al) people die every year from medical care. In comparison, other than some minor soreness following chiropractic treatment, research has shown chiropractic to be very safe.Do You Have the Sugar Blues?
from Integrative Nutrition Blog
Do you have cravings for sweets that you see as treats? Do you think indulging in a pint of ice cream is your reward for making it through the day? Are you looking for something sweet to overcome that 3pm slump? For some, sugar is just as addicting as caffeine, tobacco or alcohol and it keeps us from losing the pounds we long to shed.
The United States is the largest consumer of sweeteners and one of the largest global sugar importers. We started in 1689 when the first sugar refinery was built in New York City. Colonists soon began to sweeten their breakfast porridge with refined sugar, and within 10 years, individual consumption had reached 4 pounds a year. The average American now consumes more than 100 pounds of sugar and sweeteners per year. The USDA recommends we get no more than 10 teaspoons per day, yet most Americans eat about 30 teaspoons per day—that’s three times the liberal recommended daily value.
Humans love sweet things. Even before we started refining sugar, we sought out foods with sweet tastes. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate that occurs naturally in foods such as grains, beans, vegetables and fruit. When unprocessed, sugar contains a variety of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and proteins. When brown rice or other whole grains are cooked, chewed and digested, the natural carbohydrates break down uniformly into separate glucose molecules. These molecules enter the bloodstream, where they are burned smoothly and evenly, allowing your body to absorb all the good stuff. Read more…