Archive for October 2023

Optimal Spine Health During the Holiday Season

The holiday season, a time of merriment and indulgence, often involves a plethora of delectable but inflammation-triggering foods. While it might not be the most festive topic to discuss around the holiday table, it’s crucial to be aware of how these culinary choices can affect your well-being, especially if you suffer from back pain. With a dash of awareness, you can savor the festivities while taking care of your spine’s health. After all, a little vigilance regarding inflammatory foods can reap countless benefits for your back.

Banishing Inflammation from Your Holiday Plans

When it comes to crafting a list of foods that ignite inflammation, two prominent culprits stand out: sugar and saturated fat, which happen to be common staples in many holiday recipes. But these aren’t the only troublemakers; various ingredients that often grace holiday tables can contribute to inflammation, including:

• Refined flour
• Artificial sweeteners
• Alcohol

While it might be disheartening to think of the holiday season as a time rife with inflammation, the evidence points in that direction. However, there’s a silver lining; you have the power to make informed choices. Many traditional recipes can be transformed into anti-inflammatory versions, ensuring that your holiday feast is both delicious and spine-friendly. Plus, you always have the choice to decline another alcoholic beverage or that tempting cupcake.

Prioritizing Spinal Health Amidst Festive Feasts

Holiday delicacies may be tantalizing to the taste buds, but the inflammation they provoke can leave your back in agony. It’s essential to view every bite as a cost-benefit analysis – if it’s likely to harm your back, it’s best to abstain. For those already grappling with inflammation, consider ice your trusty ally. Maintaining range of motion and staying active are also vital strategies to combat inflammation. Unfortunately, the holiday season often sees a decrease in physical activity. Try to incorporate reasonable levels of movement into your festivities. If persistent back pain threatens to disrupt your celebrations, don’t hesitate to contact our office to schedule an appointment. We’re here to assist you with all your spine-related concerns this holiday season.

Remember, your spine’s health is a gift that keeps on giving, so prioritize it even during the most indulgent time of the year. Wishing you a happy and pain-free holiday season!

In the pursuit of rehabilitating your herniated disc, we emphasize a straightforward and practical approach. Our primary objective is to assist you in managing your condition, with a primary focus on alleviating pain. While an initial period of rest may be advisable, it’s crucial to recognize that your muscles require consistent conditioning to facilitate a proper recovery. Exercise plays a pivotal role in complementing chiropractic care as we work together to restore your full health.

In our care, you can expect chiropractic adjustments aimed at restoring joint mobility and hands-on treatments that enhance blood circulation to the affected area, promoting the healing process. However, what can you do in the interim to contribute to your own recovery?

• Start small with simple stretches that lengthen restrictive muscles, improving muscle tone and range of motion.
• Improve core muscles: trunk muscles, abdominals, and pelvic stabilizing muscles are all important for sharing the burden of your body’s weight with the lumbar vertebrae.
• Leave the couch behind. In the early stages of your recovery, focus on light aerobic exercise: walking or swimming are good places to start. Only go for as long as you feel comfortable, and then gradually increase your time each day.

The key takeaway from this message is that a diligent commitment to exercise is integral to your complete recovery and the long-term health of your back. To develop a dynamic and tailored strategy for rehabilitating your herniated disc, we encourage you to contact our office and schedule an appointment today. We’re here to guide you every step of the way towards a healthier, pain-free future.

If you have been swept off your feet and into the running revolution, we hope you will pay attention to your form as you go. Proper posture while running is one of the easiest ways to prevent injury to your spinal joints. 

Our number one tip is to vary your running surfaces: running on concrete is incredibly hard on the shock-absorbing structures of the body, and it will cause them to degrade very quickly as opposed to running on softer surfaces. 

Focus on posture: fight the urge to let your head drop when tired.

• Keep your head centered above your spine and face forward; the rest of your body will follow this example. 
• Pay attention to your shoulders and make sure they stay relaxed. If you feel them tightening, take a break and shake out the tension. 
• Your hips are your center of gravity. Staying upright prevents your pelvis from tilting forward, which is a sure way to cause lower back pain. 

Much of running is unconscious- as you fall into a rhythm, it is easy to forget to stay upright. If the aftermath of a run sees you nursing a tender back or tight muscles, give our office a call. We will assess the state of your spine and see if repetitive trauma is causing damage to the structures and muscles of your back. 

Vitamin D: one of the most important nutrients in the human diet. From the chiropractor’s perspective, vitamin D is essential because of its contribution to bone density and nervous system regulation. In the summer, it is abundant and free of charge: the sun is our most significant source of vitamin D. We simply need to sit outside and our body will naturally produce it when exposed to direct sunlight. 

Some quick benefits of vitamin D

• Regulates absorption of calcium and phosphorous 
• Helps bones and teeth develop properly. 
• Helps the immune system function
• Helps people lose weight
• Fights depression and disease

Recommended intake: 10 minutes of pre-sunscreen exposure to the sun per day. 

Intake by food: 

• Sardines 
• Egg yolk
• Mushrooms 
• Fortified milk or orange juice
• Fortified yogurt

Vitamin D is a super nutrient, but it is also one of those that is sometimes hard to come by. As a result, a high percentage of Americans are chronically deficient in vitamin D. We would like to see everyone take advantage of the summer season to improve their body of health. We want to help you in this endeavor by helping you turn nutrition, exercise and chiropractic care into tools you can use to prevent the injuries that come with aging. 

Give our office a call to schedule an appointment today.