Topic of the Week: What to Expect From Chiropractic Care

Introduction
Your chiropractor will do everything within his or her power to resolve your specific health problem as quickly as possible and with as few treatments as necessary. It is important to remember that every patient enters the chiropractic clinic with a different set of experiences, health concerns and expectations about how quickly they will recover and the necessary actions or steps required to achieve recovery. Your treatment and recovery expectations can affect how quickly you heal and how you feel about the treatment you are receiving. Your chiropractor will counsel you on appropriate treatment expectations for your unique health problem so that you get the most out of your chiropractic experience.

Setting Expectations for Recovery
Setting reasonable and realistic expectations for your recovery is an important consideration before you begin chiropractic care. Though many people report to the chiropractor only after pain or functional limitations surface, the underlying factors causing their problem may stem from actions or inactions - poor posture, repetitive injurious movements, and old, unresolved health issues - that cause unfavorable structural changes over time. Because these changes happen slowly, over time, it is only reasonable to think that your recovery may take some time, too.
Maintaining an optimistic outlook about your recovery, however, is equally important as setting realistic expectations. According to a 2008 study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, patients with acute low back pain who had a more positive expectation for recovery experienced greater functional improvement following care.

A Reasonable Timeframe for Improvement
Many patients who receive chiropractic care experience some degree of relief immediately after the adjustment or therapy. In most cases, improvement happens over time with chiropractic care, with health gains coming quickly or gradually based on the frequency of your care, your specific health problem and your willingness to participate in home care activities prescribed by your chiropractor. Many chiropractors find that treating injuries early and often leads to a quicker resolution of the problem, fewer overall visits and a reduced likelihood of the problem happening again. The Spine Health website notes that a common chiropractic treatment plan consists of 3 visits per week for 2 to 4 weeks, followed by a re-evaluation of your condition. Where you and your chiropractor choose to go from here depends on the degree of improvement noted.

Post-Adjustment Sensations or Experiences
If you have never experienced chiropractic care, it is important to understand what to expect during and after your treatment. When your chiropractor performs a spinal or extremity adjustment, it is common to hear an audible “pop.” This sound, known as a joint cavitation, is not the cracking of bones but results instead from a change in gas pressure within your joint (much like the pressure change that occurs when you open a carbonated drink).
The chiropractic adjustment itself is not painful, though the adjustment may move joint structures that have not moved in some time and after the adjustment, it is common to feel a mild soreness in the area that has been treated. This feeling is similar to that of engaging in strenuous activity after a prolonged period of little or no physical activity. The Mayo Clinic states that chiropractic adjustments are safe when performed by licensed chiropractors but that some people may experience headache and fatigue for a few days after receiving chiropractic care.

Possible Recovery Obstacles or Barriers
Some patients may experience obstacles or barriers to recovery that require further investigation by the treating chiropractor. If your symptoms do not improve within a reasonable timeframe (usually about 4 weeks) your chiropractor may order additional tests - blood work, imaging studies – to check for a complicating problem or condition. In some cases, repeated ergonomic stress that you experience at work or at home may cause continued pain or discomfort until it is addressed.

According to a 2010 study published in the journal Chiropractic & Osteopathy, some barriers to early improvement during chiropractic care (especially for enduring low back pain) include patient depression and anxiety – common problems in people who have experience chronic low back pain. Other patients may experience delayed recovery due to the concern about the possibility of re-injury by performing certain activities of daily living. Your chiropractor can talk with you about your concerns and offer you helpful advice about how to overcome any anxiety you may feel about your condition and recovery.

Disclaimer: Information contained in the Wellness ExpressTM newsletter is for educational and general purposes only and is designed to assist you in making informed decisions about your health. Any information contained herein is not intended to substitute advice from your physician or other healthcare professional. Copyright© - Wellness ExpressTM

Exercise of the Week: Back Hyperextension on Exercise Ball, Arms Fully Extended

Difficulty: High

Lie on ball face down with feet on floor, legs straight. Feet together or apart (feet apart is easier). Back is in a straight position. Hands positioned to side, palms forward and thumbs up. The exercise: use low back muscles to bring body into a hyperextension position, shoulders back. Reach fingertips as far back toward feet as possible, keeping arms straight, palms out and thumbs up. Hold for 1-2 counts. Repeat 5-10 repetitions.

Quote of the Week:

“Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times.”~ Mark Twain

Exercise of the Week: Back Hyperextension on Exercise Ball, Arms Fully Extended

Difficulty: High

Lie on ball face down with feet on floor, legs straight. Feet together or apart (feet apart is easier). Back is in a straight position. Hands positioned to side, palms forward and thumbs up. The exercise: use low back muscles to bring body into a hyperextension position, shoulders back. Reach fingertips as far back toward feet as possible, keeping arms straight, palms out and thumbs up. Hold for 1-2 counts. Repeat 5-10 repetitions.

Topic of the Week: Reasons & Tips for Quitting Smoking

Smoking, especially cigarette smoking, is the leading preventable cause of death worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, over 5 million people die from prolonged tobacco use every year and this number is expected to jump to 8 million by 2030. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adds that smokers, on average, live 13 to 14 fewer years than nonsmokers. Smoking cessation, or quitting smoking, is one of the most important health behavior changes you can make and it has long-term health and quality of life implications for you and the people around you. Your chiropractor can counsel you on the smoking cessation strategies that are most appropriate for you.

Why Quitting is Important
Quitting smoking is important both for longevity and for ensuring that your later years are healthy, quality ones. Besides the obvious risk for cancer - lung, bladder, kidney, pancreas, among others - and lung diseases, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis, smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to develop other health problems as well. The American Cancer Society states that smokers are twice as likely as nonsmokers to experience fatal heart attacks and that smoking is a major risk factor for blood vessel diseases. Other health problems associated with smoking include erectile dysfunction in men, an increased likelihood of miscarriage in pregnant women and macular degeneration - a leading cause of blindness in older individuals.

Long-Term & Immediate Benefits
A 2007 study published in the journal Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports states that smoking cessation significantly decreases the risk for cardiovascular disease and death in a wide range of populations, and that smoking cessation considerably boosts both life expectancy and quality of life. Some benefits of smoking cessation are immediate, however, including better smelling breath, clothes and hair; disappearance of stains on your teeth, fingers and fingernails; improved sense of taste and smell and improved ability to perform your activities of daily living, including housework and stair climbing. Within minutes after your final cigarette, your blood pressure and heart rate go down and within hours, the amount of carbon monoxide and oxygen in your bloodstream returns to normal levels.

Tip #1: Engage in Regular Exercise
Engaging in regular exercise may be useful in helping you quit smoking. According to a 2000 study published in the journal Addiction, several research trials yielded a positive effect for exercise on smoking abstinence. Exercise, including both endurance and strength training, produces numerous beneficial health results including weight loss, improved stamina, enhanced sense of well-being, heightened sense of self-esteem and accomplishment and improved mood. Changing your routine by adding regular bouts of exercise can help shift your attention away from your nicotine cravings and toward more healthy habits.

Tip #2: Manage Your Stress
Nicotine dependence is the primary reason that most smokers continue smoking, though most people who smoke, notes a 2007 study published in the British Medical Journal, cite stress relief as a main factor for smoking. Finding alternative ways to manage your stress can be helpful for smoking cessation. Healthy, natural ways to manage your stress include getting regular massages, practicing movement arts such as yoga or tai chi, listening to relaxing music, spending time in nature, practicing breathing exercises and visualization, getting adequate sleep and maintaining your regularly scheduled visits with your chiropractor.

Tip #3: Balance Your Blood Sugar Levels
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that chemicals found in tobacco smoke complicate blood sugar regulation. Nicotine boosts the amount of glucose in your blood by increasing the flow of epinephrine, a stimulating hormone. Alterations in your blood sugar levels may affect your mood and anxiety levels and your ability to successfully combat your nicotine cravings and quit smoking. Successful smoking cessation may require balancing your blood sugar levels. Ask your chiropractor about healthy dietary strategies, including dietary and herbal supplements that can help stabilize your blood sugar levels before, during and after you quit smoking.

Disclaimer: Information contained in the Wellness ExpressTM newsletter is for educational and general purposes only and is designed to assist you in making informed decisions about your health. Any information contained herein is not intended to substitute advice from your physician or other healthcare professional. Copyright© - Wellness ExpressTM

Quote of the Week:

“The mind must be cured as well as the body, as the mind - so is the body.”~ Dr. Daniel D Palmer

Exercise of the Week: Back Extensions on Exercise Ball, Arms to Side

Difficulty: Medium
Lie on ball face down with feet on floor, legs straight. Feet together or apart (feet apart is easier). Back in a resting, curled position. Hands positioned to side, arms straight and fingers touching floor.


The Exercise:
Use your low back muscles to bring body into a straight-spine position, shoulders back. Keep arms out to side, palms facing forwards, thumbs up. Do not hyperextend low back. Stop when body is straight. Look at floor while keeping neck in a neutral position. Hold for 1 - 2 counts. Repeat 5 - 10 repetitions.

Topic of the Week: Chiropractic: A Total Person Approach to Health

Introduction
Chiropractic care is guided by a philosophical approach that is in line with natural healing principles. Though chiropractic shares important similarities with other health professions, its holistic or total person approach to health and healing distinguishes it from the modern medical model. Two key concepts help define the chiropractic approach to health: 1) That your body can heal itself once impediments or barriers to health are removed or corrected and 2) That the mind body relationship is crucial in supporting the healing process. Chiropractors believe that structural health can best be achieved when proper joint and soft tissue alignment is restored throughout your body. Your relationship with the natural world - how you move, how your environment causes you to move (or not move) - is a primary concern for your chiropractor. In this edition of the Wellness Express we will examine the ideas and practices that help define chiropractic’s total person approach to health and wellbeing.

Early Intervention & Prevention
Chiropractors are known for their desire to intervene in the disease process as early as possible to ensure beneficial health outcomes. Chiropractors are also known for their proactive disease prevention strategies, which help ensure that common musculoskeletal health problems never develop. A 2004 study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics notes that a significant proportion of chiropractors and chiropractic students in the United States possess a positive attitude about preventive health services, especially physical activity and diet. Another study published in the same journal states that chiropractors, as a group, have a keen interest in providing their patients with health information that extends beyond spinal health.

Treating the Cause, Not Just the Symptoms
Your chiropractor is interested in understanding the true cause of your illness or problem in order to permanently resolve it. Chiropractors perform therapeutic measures – spinal manipulation, soft tissue work, functional exercise prescription - that have the dual effect of eliminating your pain, discomfort or other symptoms and correcting the processes and circumstances that caused or contributed to your injury or condition. In this way, chiropractic care sets itself apart from contemporary medical practices, which often rely on drugs to temporarily mask symptoms.

Rehabilitation vs. SurgeryMany patients have turned to chiropractic care for a more natural approach to health problems and to avoid surgery when possible. Chiropractic care emphasizes rehabilitation and recuperation instead of surgical interventions and many chiropractic patients have experienced treatment outcomes that equal or exceed the treatment outcomes expected from surgery for their specific problem. This is not to say that your chiropractor will not recommend surgery in some cases. According to a 2007 study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, most chiropractors agree that conventional medical approaches – pharmaceuticals and surgery – are helpful when used appropriately and that many chiropractors successfully collaborate with medical doctors as part of a health care team.

Appreciation of Factors Affecting Health
Your chiropractor has a fundamental appreciation for the various factors that can affect your health and how these factors can interact with each other to complicate your health and ability to heal. The two key factors that your chiropractor considers when creating your treatment plan are environment and lifestyle. Your chiropractor will ask you relevant questions about each of these factors to determine your unique treatment needs and he or she will counsel you on the ways that you can best achieve long-term health success.

Use of Relevant Outcome Markers
Your chiropractor may use specific outcome markers, including surveys, range of motion assessments and functional tests, to objectively track or document your recovery progress. These outcome markers help your chiropractor understand what treatments are working and what treatments could be altered to help speed your return to health. The use of relevant outcome markers is part of an evidence-based approach to health care. According to a 2001 article published in the journal Spine, evidence-based care, over the long term, improves treatment outcomes in patients with acute low back pain and reduces the time these patients experience pain or discomfort.

Patient-Centered, Hands-On Care
Chiropractic care is a patient centered, hands-on healing approach that improves your musculoskeletal health and function by manipulating - gently and purposefully – affected structures or areas in your body. The very nature of chiropractic care creates an intimate healing environment that fosters healthy dialogue between patient and practitioner. Your chiropractor will use this environment and the time he or she has with you to learn more about your specific health situation and concerns.

Disclaimer: Information contained in the Wellness ExpressTM newsletter is for educational and general purposes only and is designed to assist you in making informed decisions about your health. Any information contained herein is not intended to substitute advice from your physician or other healthcare professional. Copyright© - Wellness ExpressTM

Walking as a Lifestyle Choice

This newsletter issue for December 2012 is brought to you by Life Wellness Center

Everyone knows he or she should be doing regular exercise, but most people have not exercised in so many years that they don't know where to begin. As a result, people start and stop various training programs and routines. They join gyms and spend hard-earned income, but ultimately fail to follow-through because they don't have a clear idea of how to exercise effectively. The challenge lies in selecting the form of exercise that's best for you, and then having the specific knowledge to begin training in a way that will be beneficial and not harmful....
(click this link to read the entire article: http://lifewellnesscenter.net/index.php?newsletters=14822)

Exercise of the week

Quote of the Week

“Life’s field will yield as we make it; a harvest of thorns or of flowers “- Johann von Goethe

Topic of the Week: Benefits of Eating Organic

Introduction
Choosing to eat organic foods – foods grown without the use of pesticides and other chemicals and using natural methods - is a personal choice driven by several key factors or considerations. According to a 2003 study published in the journal Appetite, the purchase and consumption of organic foods is most strongly associated with a person’s perceived benefit for their own health, though the desire to perform environmentally friendly actions and consideration for animal welfare are other factors that significantly influence people’s decision to go organic. The benefits of eating organic foods are now better understood, though more research will shed valuable light on the far-reaching impact of this healthful practice.

Nutritional Value
Increased nutritional value is a common perceived benefit of consuming organic foods. Research studies investigating the nutritional content of organic foods versus conventionally grown foods have produced conflicting results. Some studies, such as one published in 2010 in the journal Agronomy for Sustainable Development, report that non-organic and industrialized food production methods lead to reduced nutrient and flavor contents and that organic plant products contain more minerals and antioxidant micronutrients, including phenols. Other studies, including one published in 2002 in the journal Critical Review in Food Science and Nutrition, state that, with the possible exception of nitrate content, there is insufficient evidence that the concentration of various nutrients differs between conventional and organic foods.

Reduced Pesticide Consumption
Concern over pesticide ingestion or exposure is a common reason people choose organic foods over conventional foods. Conventional growers use pesticides to reduce the likelihood of molds, insects, and diseases destroying their crops. Pesticide residue may linger on produce after it is harvested. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, the potential health effects of pesticides include nervous and endocrine system problems and skin and eye irritation. Some pesticides, notes the EPA, may be carcinogens, or cancer-causing agents. A 2006 study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives states that an organic diet provides a significant protective effect against organophosphorus pesticides – pesticides commonly used in conventional agriculture production.

Food Additive Avoidance
Organic regulations either ban or severely limit the use of common food additives, including colorings and flavorings, artificial sweeteners, preservatives and monosodium glutamate, or MSG. According to the World Health Organization, food additives and contaminants caused by food manufacturing and processing can have a significant negative effect on your health. A 2006 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute notes that boosting your consumption of processed meat - a foodstuff well-known for its inclusion of various additives - may increase your risk for stomach cancer.

Decreased
Environmental Impact Organic farming methods and practices reduce the environmental impact associated with food production. Organic farming practices require less water, produce less air pollution and conserve soil quality and organic farming techniques may have a beneficial effect on biodiversity too. According to a 2005 review article published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, organic farming often has positive effects on both species richness and abundance.
The maintenance of natural areas within and around organic fields helps create wildlife habitat and encourages a re-colonizing of the organic area by plants and animals, notes the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Summary
Eating organic foods has long-lasting health and environmental implications, and this practice can be considered an important part of ensuring a positive health legacy for future generations. Your chiropractor understands that healthy dietary practices involve seeking out and consuming the most nutrient-dense and safest foods possible and he or she can further counsel you on the full health benefits of this health strategy. When you choose organic foods you are choosing to invest in your long-term well-being as well as the sustainable farming practic

Disclaimer: Information contained in The Wellness ExpressTM newsletter is for educational and general purposes only and is designed to assist you in making informed decisions about your health. Any information contained herein is not intended to substitute advice from your physician or other healthcare professional. Copyright © - The Wellness ExpressTM