Headaches, Neck Pain, and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Written on April 24, 2019. Posted in Chiropractic, Health & Beauty, Teaching. Leave a Comment

The Root Cause

Many doctors are quick to prescribe medication to mask the pain in our body. The feeling is an indication for a deeper issue or misalignment. The FDA released in 2018 that your risk for a heart attack increases 20% within the month you take over the counter medication like ibuprofen, advil, and aspirin. When you mask the issues in your body, medications can prolong the original issue as well as creating more long term health effects.

The Importance of Chiropractic Care

A National Institute of Health study found that 57% of patients receiving chiropractic care were able to reduce their neck pain by 75% in only 12 weeks. Your spine protects the nervous system which is the control system to the movement in your body and the health of your organs. Chiropractic care removes interference in your body to heal itself.

3 Common Issues Involving the Spine

Headaches/Migraines

Cause: 90% of migraines are related to the upper part of your neck. There is an artery in your neck that feeds the blood supply to your brain. When this is misaligned, it causes spasms and creates headaches/migraines. Uneven weight also adds pressure to the disks in your neck.

Solution: Getting adjustments to the neck relieves stress on the nervous system. When the neck is properly aligned, it relieves pressure on the nervous system. This will decrease the amount of headaches you encounter over time and allow you to eliminate medications.
Neck Pain

Cause: The main causes are car accidents, sports injuries, and sitting at a desk. Not having proper posture throughout the day and night will also effect the spine, causing neck pain.

Solution: If you’re encountering neck pain, our care takes you through a 5 step process. You will first answer questions to find the cause of the issue. We will check the current posture of your spine. We will also want to evaluate the range of motion in your neck. Then, we will feel your spine to see if there is tenderness, tension, or response. Finally, we will take x-rays to identify the issue and see specifically where it needs to be realigned.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Cause: Carpal Tunnel causes numbness in the wrist and fingers. Typical symptoms start with irritation in your shoulders which spread down to your hand over time. When we sit at a desk or work on a computer all day long, the neck posture compromises the nervous system. The nerves in your neck connect to the nerves in your hands.

Solution: Chiropractic adjustments help you avoid surgery and harmful medications. Not only do neck adjustments help the nerve blockage to your hand, but also improves the function of your body to

Helping ADHD & ADD Naturally

Written on April 15, 2019. Posted in Chiropractic, Health & Beauty, Kids Health, Nutrition, Teaching.

The Diagnosis

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have behavioral conditions which can cause high levels of energy, lack of focus, and impulsive behavior. Over 6 million children have been diagnosed with ADHD surveyed by the CDC. The numbers continue to rise year after year. These disorders are different symptoms of the same underlying cause.

Exchanging Medication with Nutrition

The standard response in most medical situations is to prescribe a pill. Unfortunately, these pills are not a long term answer to the neurological function for children, and also adults. In fact, many disorders and diseases are prescribed medication to mask the symptom instead of dealing with the main issue. Prescription medications have never been tested or approved for kids, yet we prescribe them anyways. Luckily, there are multiple ways to improve ADHD/ADD solely through nutrition.

Chiropractic Plays a Role

There are many misconceptions of chiropractic care helping back and neck pain only. This is far from true. Chiropractic care helps with countless issues that stem from the nervous system. 90% of the stimulation to your brain is connected to your spine. When chiropractors adjust the spine, the spine comes back into alignment to function properly. Chiropractic works well with ADHD/ADD specifically from helping their body balance itself to a homeostasis state rather than a high stressed state. Chiropractic care helps clear blockage to the nervous system so the body can perform to its highest ability; your part is to eliminating nutritional interference for yourself or your children who have ADHD/ADD.

5 Nutritional Shifts to Help Underlying Issues

1. Essential Fatty Acids

Your body needs fat to function in a healthy way. Stay away from hydrogenated oil, vegetable oil, and canola oil. Any oil with trans fat is hard for your body to break down. Healthy fats include coconut oil, avocados, flaxseed oil, grass fed meat, free range organic eggs, and hemp oil. The way these help ADHD/ADD is by fueling your brain and lowering inflammation.

2. Sugar/Grains

Grains turn into sugar as soon as they are consumed into your body. Grain is one of the top genetically modified foods and contains preservatives, round up, and other toxins. Grains and sugar both effect the neurology in your brain. Reducing, but better yet eliminating, all sugars and grains (pizza, pasta, french fries) will allow the brain to neurologically function properly and even allow you or your child to get off medication.

3. Chemicals

Removing toxic chemicals in your food and home will decrease stress levels and allow the brain to focus more. This includes food dyes, preservatives, cleaning products, laundry detergent, etc. The rule of thumb is if you can’t read it, you shouldn’t be eating it. You have to become the expert of the food you buy and start reading the ingredients.

4. Supplements

There are many supplements that will help ADHD/ADD such as magnesium, vitamin D3, probiotics, and CBD oil. The key is finding the right provider or physician you trust to suggest what natural supplements to get and where to get them. A natural way for fatty acids are chia seeds and a natural way for vitamin D is going into the sun without sunscreen.

5. Water

Remove juice and sodas and drink more water, it’s as simple as that. After 72 hours, in a freshly squeezed juice, it loses all the nutrients and becomes more oxidized. Also, most juices have immense amounts of sugar. Water is vital to clean out toxins and carry nutrients to your brain.

Raising a Healthy Family

Written on April 11, 2019. Posted in Health & Beauty, Kids Health, Mindset, Nutrition, Pregnancy. Leave a Comment

No Need For Fear

If we are being honest, the world around us has a lot of unhealthy families. We are the leading country of infant mortality, almost 40% of our children are obese, and over 40 kids are diagnosed with cancer a day. Whether it’s emotionally or physically, there are several ways to make positive change. There are some obvious tips such as not feeding kids sugar, resting enough, or chemicals in the environment. We will dive into the important changes people often miss.

Although every parent worries for their children, there are lots of practical steps to take in order to avoid many of these statistics. These three steps will empower you to take charge of the responsibility we have as parents.

3 Practical Ways to Raise a Healthy Family

Honor Your Symptoms

There is no food, supplement, or pill to take when your immune system is showing you symptoms. If your child has a fever, their body is fighting bacteria, disease, or going through change. Pediatric journals state your body has to get to 102°F to kill a bacteria and 104°F to kill a virus. If you cough, your body is trying to eliminate what is in your body. If your sinuses drain, your body is creating a mucus build up to get rid of what is in your body. The worse thing you can do is give your child a pill to mask the symptom. Honor a fever, cough, or runny nose. Allow their body to do what it was created to do (Psalm 139:14).
Introduce Chiropractic Care

This is extremely valuable to the whole family, especially children. 90% of stimulation to the brain comes from the movement of your spine. The US has the highest infant mortality rate. With chiropractic care, adjustments align the spine to function properly and in return allow your body to respond properly. Your spine can get subluxated, or misaligned, even from birth. When your body is in a stress state, or fight or flight mode, you experience symptoms such as high blood pressure, heart rate, weakened immune system, and weakened digestive system. Chiropractic helps your body adapt to your environment, not because it treats your symptoms, but because it helps your body be able to heal itself.
Understand Vaccines

This is not an article on whether you should or should not give your child vaccines. This is vital as a parent to become aware and active in researching what your children are being given. For vaccinations, research the physiological effects of giving multiple vaccines together. Don’t just research the prevention benefits, also research the ingredients and mechanisms of vaccines in the body. If you don’t study the anatomy and physiology of your children, you will never know what your doctor is prescribing. At the end of the day, you are ultimately responsible for any outcome based on giving or not giving your child a vaccine. Research beyond one article and one video; researching for yourself has a more powerful foundation for what you believe in and stand for.

Bonus Tip: Screen Time

This tip is not just for kids. It is also for parents and teens. The amount of screen time for kids is damaging and stressful to their neurology. As their brain is trying to develop it stays in a high stress response. These are then labeled with diagnosis like ADD and ADHD. Not only is it neurologically damaging but it is also extremely addictive. Regulating the use or eliminating certain devices will increase focus, development, and quality family time.

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Sciatica & Low Back Pain – 4 solutions to help treat sciatica and low back pain without surgery

Written on August 12, 2018. Posted in Fitness, Health & Beauty, Nutrition.

What is sciatica?

Sciatica is characterized by sharp, intense pain that runs the entire length of the backside of the leg. This can occur when certain nerves become pinched in the lower part of the spine running along the sciatica nerve, which is the longest single nerve in the human body.

Symptoms:

Strong, shooting pains in the limbs and lower back -Numbness and tingling in the lower extremities -Difficulty moving and exercising
Feeling stiff and unable to properly move feet -Pain when sleeping
Throbbing around the thighs, glutes, and low back when sitting or standing for long periods of times

Non-Surgery Solutions:

Since chiropractic care is the direct interaction with the nervous system, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that chiropractic adjustments can greatly improve sciatica! In fact, a 2010 study in the Journal of Manipulative Physiological Therapies found that 60% of patients benefited from chiropractic adjustments AFTER having received failed medical interventions.
Exercises to strengthen the low back AND the core are very important as well to treating sciatica. Try exercises such as forward fold, cat-cow, and plank. A standard yoga class will incorporate these moves – along with much more – so it is well worth giving yoga a try!
Don’t sit for long periods of time. Movement equals life when it comes to your health! Unfortunately, most of us have sedentary jobs that require us to sit for extended periods of time. Try getting a standing desk or utilize a wobble cushion to keep your spine moving throughout the day. After all, 90% of the stimulation that goes to your brain is controlled by the spine directly.
Lastly, eat a healing and non-inflammatory diet. This may not seem as obvious at first, but chronic and systemic inflammation lead to many underlying pains and diseases. A healing diet consists of things like healthy fats (think coconut oil, olive oil, and ghee!), high quality meats such as grass-fed beef and organic, free range poultry, and finally, reduce grains and sugars as much as possible from the diet. Turmeric is another fun spice to add into the mix due to its anti-inflammatory properties!

Acid Reflux – 4 tips for treating acid reflux naturally

Written on August 7, 2018. Posted in Health & Beauty, Nutrition.

What is acid reflux?

Do you know that it is estimated that 25 to 40 percent of Americans suffer from acid reflux? By definition, acid reflux is dysfunction of the lower esophageal sphincter. If this sphincter doesn’t close all the way after food has passed through, acid from the stomach will creep up the digestive tract and cause a skew of symptoms. Symptoms include: heartburn, bitter taste in mouth, bad breath, dry mouth, gum irritations, black stools, bloody vomiting, regurgitation of acidic food, pain in the abdomen, and belching, flatulence, and nausea.

Conventional Solutions – The Risks:

Over the counter medications such as antacids (TUMS) and H2 Blockers (Pepcid), might treat a symptom in the short-term, but are very detrimental to your health. For starters, these medications are designed to block the body’s natural production of HCl. Therefore, the body is no longer able to produce pepsin, which is the body’s digestive enzyme responsible for breaking down proteins. This can cause further abdominal pain and increases your risk of infections from bacteria that would normally be killed by a healthy pH in the stomach.

Natural Solutions:

1) Apple cider vinegar

This home remedy is so simple it is definitely worth a try if you suffer from acid reflux. Apple cider vinegar works by balancing your stomach’s pH and therefore normalizing stomach acid. Try 2 tablespoons with 8 ounces of water before meals.

2) Eat green, leafy vegetables

The benefits of leafy greens are endless! Cruciferous vegetables are amazing at balancing the pH in your stomach and alkalizing your whole body. The precursor to your body’s strongest antioxidant, glutathione, comes directly from these greens. Load up with vegetables like broccoli, kale and spinach – or try others to find your new favorite!

3) Fermented foods/drinks

Probiotic foods can help nourish the healthy bacteria in our digestive tract. Research has shown that these fer- mented foods can protect the stomach lining and even prevent regurgitation. Try out foods like kombucha, kefir, and sauerkraut. Better, yet – experiment making your own fermented foods!

4) Get adjusted

Stress from sitting all day, car accidents, sports injuries, or other traumas can lead to compression of the spine, specifically in the mid back region where nerves lead directly to the stomach. Moreover, an issue in the upper part of your neck can put pressure on your vagus nerve. This nerve controls the parasympathetic system and tells your body to relax and digest food. What ends up happening is your body is put into a chronic stress response (sympathetic overload), and in turn your body is not able to function and heal like it is designed to. It is is clear to see why a healthy, functioning spine is essential for not only acid reflux, but also overall health!

Oh my Migraines

Written on August 1, 2018. Posted in Chiropractic, Nutrition, Teaching.

MY OH MY! MIGRAINES!

What is your migraine trying to tell you? If you suffer from migraines, it is crucial to ask yourself: “What is causing my migraines?” Instead of: “How can I treat my migraines?” Functional medicine is medicine by CAUSE, not medicine by symptom. So what are some common underlying causes of migraines?

Causes:
1) Food sensitivities

2) Hormone imbalances

3) Magensium
deficiency

4) Posture and
subluxation

The good news is there are simple steps you can take to treat underlying causes
of migraines!

Solutions:

1) Elimination diet

By removing common food allergens, you can test which foods might be causing your migraines. These foods include eggs, dairy, gluten, and peanuts.
Be sure to reintroduce each food slowly.

2) Balance your hormones

Some migraines can be caused by too much estrogen and not enough progesterone. That is why some women get premenstrual migraines! Some things you can do to restore this balance naturally are eliminating caffeine and alcohol, reducing sugar and intake of flour/starches, eating a diet rich with plant based foods, getting quality of sleep, and reducing stress. Also, reduce or eliminate pharmaceutical medications with high levels of estrogen if possible.

Furthermore, hormone imbalances can be caused by a B vitamin
deficiency. Try adding 400 mg of vitamin B2 or riboflavin daily.
Finally, sleep cycles can cause hormone imbalances so a melatonin supplement has been shown to be effective at reducing migraines.

3) Restore magnesium deficiency

Magnesium is known as the relaxation mineral and so deficiency
can cause elevated levels of stress and in return, migraines. Try
adding 300-600 mg of magnesium 2x per day into your routine.

4) Make chiropractic care a part of your wellness routine

Unfortunately, many people have sedentary jobs requiring them
to sit for the majority of their day. This can lead to poor posture
and tense muscles, specifically around the neck region. In a
randomized control trial by the Journal of Manipulative and
Physiological Therapeutics, a 90% reduction in migraines was
found after only 16 treatments.

Article written by Lauren Oljar with Queen City Health Center