Topic of the Week: Children and Chronic Pain

Your chiropractor will confirm that chronic pain is a widespread but often under-reported health problem. Its impact on society is enormous. In the US alone, the costs are approaching $600 billion annually (healthcare and lost productivity). What has come as a surprise to many medical researchers is the amount of children who suffer from chronic pain conditions. The American Pain Foundation reports up to 30 percent of children and adolescents endure chronic pain, which generally peaks in kids around 14 -15 years of age.

Various medical associations and institutes have different definitions as to what constitutes chronic pain but generally it is described as pain that continues well beyond the normal healing stage of acute pain. Chronic pain can be continuous or it can be episodic. While diseases, such as arthritis, can contribute to the emergence of chronic pain, sometimes the cause can be a complete mystery. The most prevalent pain condition in kids is headache - other pain problems noted are abdominal pain and musculoskeletal pain.

A 2011 Canadian medical study reviewed research published in the last 20 years on children and chronic pain, and it revealed the problem is affecting more kids than ever before. The review also indicates girls experience chronic pain more often than boys; however, the reasons for this remain unclear. The research reviewers noted that social and psychological factors may influence the development of chronic pain, including “anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and low socioeconomic status.”

“We found that persistent and recurrent chronic pain is overwhelmingly prevalent in children and adolescents, with girls generally experiencing more pain than boys and prevalence rates increasing with age," said lead investigator Sara King, PhD, "Findings such as these argue that researchers and clinicians should be aware of the problem and the long-term consequences of chronic pain in children."

Chronic Pain Treatment Can Be a Challenge
Just like adults, children may suffer additional disadvantages as a result of chronic pain. They are more likely to miss school, avoid or withdraw from extracurricular activities and develop mental health problems.

Despite the increasing rate of chronic pain among children, there are a number of obstacles that make treating kids for this health condition a challenge. Young children may not have the verbal skills to express their pain. Even when they can, kids may want to avoid seeing a doctor and so don’t share their pain with parents. Without verbal cues from their children, parents may not notice chronic pain issues as many kids can carry on normally. However, consistent untreated pain in childhood boosts the risk of numerous health problems emerging in adulthood.

As well, physicians may not be knowledgeable in the management of long-term pain in children. Chronic pain treatment is more often associated with adults – as increases in age make this type of health problem more likely to develop.

Clues for Parents
What can a parent do to detect pain problems in his or her child? Keep an eye open for some of these behaviors…
• Changes to appetite
• Changes to sleep patterns
• Weight loss
• Irritability
• Avoiding social activities
• Less physically active
• Fever
• Sweating
• Flushed skin
• Shallow or fast breathing

If your child shows these symptoms, ask him if he is in pain and where the pain occurs in his body, and then consult your chiropractor or pediatrician

* * *

Your chiropractor knows pain is often intimately linked to your body’s central nervous system. For example, when you experience nerve interference in the spine (subluxations), extra irritation to the nervous system could cause a signal that is interpreted as pain, when normally the same signal would not in the absence of subluxations. By correcting the subluxation, your chiropractor normalizes nervous system tone. This is why it is important to have regular adjustments to help keep your nervous system in optimal condition and prevent pain before it starts!

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

Your Personal Energy Conservation System

The world's supply of fossil fuels has been dwindling for a long time. It's been easy to pretend this wasn't happening because there seemed to be an endless quantity of oil and gas reserves. How could we ever run out? All we had to do was drill another well or lay down another pipeline. But now it seems that ineffective public policies and naive consumer practices have amplified the effects of two critical factors: an exploding global population and surging demands of thriving new economies in formerly developing nations.


Energy conservation has become an important topic around the globe, in communities, nations, and confederations such as the European Union. Energy conservation is not only critically important for global stability. It also serves as an important metaphor for the health and well-being of individuals.

Physiologically, humans have their own energy conservation systems. For example, your heart rate is tightly regulated. If your heart beats too fast for too long, owing to ongoing stress or anxiety, it may ultimately break down. Other problems may develop. A racing heart requires a lot of oxygen to supply the energy for heart muscle cells. This precious fuel is always needed elsewhere, and symptoms may develop in the gastrointestinal or hormonal systems.

Human internal energy conservation also involves the use of glucose, your body's primary energy currency. Glucose is used by every cell in the body as an energy resource to power normal physiological processes. For example, your brain is the number one consumer of glucose. In a fasting adult model, up to 80% of the glucose manufactured from stored complex carbohydrates is used for brain metabolism.1,2 If your glucose storage and supply mechanisms are not optimized, many systems, including your mental functioning, will suffer significant drop-offs.

Importantly, regular vigorous physical exercise, particularly strength-training, ensures your body's optimal use of energy resources. Strength=training causes your body to build lean muscle mass, which burns energy even when you're resting. One long-term result is that both your blood glucose levels and your blood insulin levels tend to flatten out.3 The result is a body that knows how to optimally burn glucose for energy, rather than a body that is out of synch and storing glucose as fat. The glucose you consume as complex carbohydrates gets used efficiently, and your body works much more effectively.

You don't need to lift heavy weights to get these long-term health-promoting benefits. Lifting weights that are heavy enough to provide a modest challenge is all that's needed. The simple rule of thumb is this - if you can easily do three sets of eight repetitions with the weight you're using, it's too light. Increase the weight slightly so that attempting to do three sets of eight repetitions is a little challenging. That will be the right weight for you for that particular exercise.

Energy conservation is not only needed in the world today. The practice of energy conservation is also key for our internal health and well-being. Regular vigorous exercise helps us conserve the energy we need to live.



Chiropractic Care and Energy Resources

Chiropractic care plays a role in almost all aspects of health and well-being. In terms of your body's internal energy conservation system, chiropractic care is important to help ensure that all the various mechanisms are functioning smoothly. Your body is made up of systems, organs, tissues, and cells, and the proper functioning of every aspect of these structures depends on receiving timely information from the master system, i.e., the nerve system.

At the deepest level, cells need appropriate instructions as to when to perform certain tasks, how much to do, or how much to produce. The nerve system transfers messages from the brain to orchestrate all of these activities. By making sure a person's spine is aligned, chiropractic care helps smooth out the pathways on which these nerve signals travel. Chiropractic care helps all of your body's systems to do the job they were designed to do.

1Tintinalli JE, et al: Emergency Medicine. A Comprehensive Study Guide, 6th ed. New York, McGraw-Hill, 2010, p 826

2McCormack SE, et al: Skeletal muscle mitochondrial function is associated with longitudinal growth velocity in children and adolescents. J Clin Endocrinol Metab Epub August 10, 2011
3Ryan AS: Exercise in aging: its important role in mortality, obesity and insulin resistance. Aging Health 6(5):551-563, 2010

Quote to Inspire:

“No one should do a job he could do in his sleep” ~ Cory Doctorow

Exercise of the Week: Seated Low Back/QL Stretch

Difficulty: Easy

Start: Seated on chair, with legs apart at knees.

Exercise: bend forward, reaching toward floor between feet. Rest for 30-60 seconds, relaxing muscles of the lower back. Then reach both hands toward one foot, and rest for 30-60 seconds. Switch sides and rest for another 30-60 seconds. Return to starting position.

Topic of the Week: The Future of Health Care: A New Pill…Or A New Paradigm?

What if you knew that jumbo jets, each one carrying 300 passengers, were going to start falling out of the sky? What if you were told that this was going to happen twice a day, for the next 365 days, each time killing all 300 passengers on board? Would that alarm you? Would you maybe hesitate a bit before deciding to get on the next airplane?
What if you discovered that it is already happening, but it is not airline pilots flying those planes—they are medical doctors!
A commentary written by Dr. B. Starfield, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (July, 2000), provided a shocking yet conservative estimate: in this year alone, more than 220,000 North Americans are going to die—not from natural causes, but from medical causes. Iatrogenic illnesses, or problems directly resulting from medical intervention, are the third leading cause of preventable deaths in North America. Only heart disease and cancer lead to more deaths annually.
In another recent study, researchers reported that almost 20% of all patients admitted to the ICU of one hospital were there because of iatrogenic causes, and most of these were related to over-medication. Does that scare you enough to question your doctor the next time he or she hands you a prescription?
If you are in an accident, be thankful that you live in North America. Our emergency medical care is second to none. However, as far as our general health and wellness is concerned, allopathic medicine is failing us. Americans are considered over-fed and under-nourished, we get too much medication and not enough exercise, and our youths are being taught about health with a philosophy that is out-dated and incorrect.

When did the medical model start to go wrong?
In the 17th century, philosopher Rene Descartes compared the human body to a machine, with a mind and body that were considered completely separate structures. As such, he suggested that diseases of the body should be treated only by doctors of the body, and diseases of the mind were only to be treated by doctors of the mind.
Western medicine adopted this philosophy—to our detriment. Where Descartes went wrong, and what many doctors seem to be neglecting, is the fact that the mind and body are intimately connected—and that by treating one, you greatly influence the other.
Combine this problem with the fact that we have become a society of “need it now”: we have fast-food, fast cars and want faster and better technology all the time and this is spilling over into the healthcare industry. Most people nowadays are seeking that “quick fix”—that one-treatment wonder or one pill that will make them instantly better.
The United States is now the largest consumer market for pharmaceuticals in the world, with 48% of the entire population using at least one prescription medication in the last month. This is not a state to be proud of, as it is only making us sicker, not healthier.

What can we do about it?
We need to start taking care of ourselves. We need to shift to a more health-based paradigm and get back to the basics. The solution will not be found in the treatment of our problems, but in the prevention of them. A headache is not the indicator that the body needs more Tylenol! We need to reduce the amount of stress we are exposed to in our environments. We need to take control of our own health, and stop handing it over to a system that is inherently flawed.

Who can you turn to for guidance and help? Your chiropractor, of course!
Chiropractors have been working diligently for over a hundred years under the basic premise that “the power that made the body heals the body”. They adjust spines to remove vertebral subluxations—helping take stress away from the spine. Alleviating pressure from the sensitive joints and nerves of the spine works to facilitate a better mind-body connection, thus helping to improve the general health and wellness of the whole patient, no matter what condition they are suffering from. Since nothing is added or taken away from the body, it is the most natural, safe and effective thing you can do to enhance your health. Regular chiropractic adjustments help prevent sickness by making the body work better.

If it is health and wellness you are seeking, it is time to reach for a paradigm called chiropractic, not another pill or prescription.

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

Quote of the Week

“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.”~ Albert Einstein

Exercise of the Week: Pelvic Rotations – Leg Straight

Difficulty: Moderate

Start: Lie down on back with legs straight, resting on floor. Place arms out to side, palms up.

Exercise: Extend one leg straight up, feet pointing toward ceiling. Then, let leg roll all the way across body so that foot touches floor. Place hand on knee to keep it in that position. Hold for 30-60 seconds, and then return to starting position. Switch sides, and repeat 2X per side.

Topic of the Week: What You Should Know About Concussions

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year, and the majority of these cases are classified as concussions (also know as mild traumatic brain injury).


This health problem has risen in the public eye in the last year - the result of several professional athletes being affected by concussions. Recent research suggests we may be underestimating the impact of mild brain trauma on long-term neurological health.

A study published in the medical journal Brain indicates athletes who sustained concussions in early adulthood showed evidence of mental and physical deterioration 30 years after the event.

Impact to the head can cause the brain to move inside the skull, which can lead to bruising, blood vessel damage, swelling and bleeding – sometimes severe enough to require immediate medical intervention to prevent serious brain damage or death.

Sport concussions grab most of the media attention, but this type of brain injury can result from car accidents, workplace incidents, falls and fights.

To get familiar with concussions, here are the most common symptoms:
• Headache
• Slurred speech
• Confusion
• Blurred vision
• Dizziness
• Light and noise sensitivity
• Nausea and vomiting
• Memory and concentration problems

If an injured person has symptoms that last beyond 15 minutes or loses consciousness, he or she should be evaluated by a physician.

Concussions: Get Serious!
Health researchers are pointing to evidence that reveals the public may not be taking concussions as seriously as it should.

About half a million children visit hospital emergency departments annually for treatment of traumatic brain injury. The medical journal Pediatrics published a study that showed hospitalized children who were labeled as having a concussion spent fewer days in the hospital compared to children who were labeled as having mild traumatic brain injury – even though the labels mean the same thing.

Another troubling statistic revealed high school football players were more likely to suffer concussions and severe head injuries compared to college players. The American Journal of Sports Medicine published this evidence, noting there were 0.67 injuries per 100,000 players at the high school level but only 0.21 per 100,000 players at the college level. One of the study authors suggested a possible reason could be that high schools do not usually have team physicians, unlike at the college level. This may result in improper diagnosis and players returning to the field before they have adequately recovered from their injury.

Football is not the only sport where concussions occur. An analysis of minor league hockey in Canada indicated there was a significant increase in head injuries, including concussions, among nine and ten year old players when hockey organizations allowed bodychecking for this age group.

In December of last year, the Radio - logical Society of North America presented interesting research on soccer players and brain trauma. The study looked at 38 amateur players who frequently hit the soccer ball (several times daily) with their head. They scored 20% lower in verbal memory and processing speed compared to players who rarely hit the ball with their head. Brain imaging scans of the 38 players revealed microscopic white matter, consistent with traumatic brain injury.

Currently, many athletes participate in baseline concussion tests that measure cognitive performance involving memory, concentration and reaction time. If an athlete suffers a suspected concussion, he retakes the test to see if any changes have occurred since the injury. However, health researchers at Loyola University uncovered the possibility of high false negative tests, which could mean an athlete returns to play prematurely.

Concussions and Chiropractic
One of the highest profile sport concussions cases is that of NHL superstar Sidney Crosby. After suffering concussions, Crosby had to endure an extensive break from playing hockey to rest and recuperate. While he was sidelined, Crosby received treatment from a team of chiropractic neurologists. The therapy consisted of non-invasive, drug free rehabilitation that included adjustments and receptor-based stimulation of the senses, exercise and dietary changes to boost the function of the brain and nervous system. The treatment has helped many concussion sufferers to heal and recover more quickly from injury.

Your chiropractor wants you to take precautions to avoid concussions. While engaged in sports, use proper equipment. Always wear a seatbelt when in a vehicle and familiarize yourself with the symptoms of a concussion. If you have any questions, talk to your chiropractor.

Disclaimer: Information contained in the 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

Riding the Brakes

Every driver knows that you can’t get to your destination with one foot on the accelerator and the other on the brake. For safe, efficient travel you switch smoothly between these two pedals and you reach your goal effectively. But simple machines such as automobiles are fairly easy to operate. There aren't that many options. The human machine, on the other hand, has an almost infinite number of possible operating modes. And the human machine doesn't come with an instruction manual.

As an example, it's obvious that your car won't move forward if you're riding the brake. But it's not that obvious when you're holding down the corresponding metaphorical pedal of your physical organism. At some point, most of us slow ourselves down in this way without knowing it. And the price we pay may be far more serious than that involved in the necessity of re-lining the brakes of our car.

What does "riding the brakes" look like for humans? What slows us down? What actions interfere with our ability to thrive, our ability to enjoy vibrant good health? Not eating a wide variety of nutritious food is a prime culprit. Our bodies are not designed to live on fast food, lots of simple carbohydrates, and a dearth of fresh fruits and vegetables. Another "brake" on good health is lack of vigorous physical activity. Our bodies were designed long ago for vigorous physical work, i.e., exercise.

It's really true that we're not born with an instruction manual. Parents know this all too well, first when their kids are infants and toddlers and much later when the formerly cute preschoolers grow up to become too-worldly-too-soon teenagers. But such an instruction manual would be invaluable for all adults and all young people. Finally, we'd be able to have access to first-hand information on how to take care of ourselves.

As the most basic example, when we buy a new car the schedule of maintenance is clear. Check-ups and an oil and filter change every 5000 miles. Bigger systems overhauls every 15,000 miles, with specific diagnostics and possible replacements at 30,000 miles, 60,000 miles, and so on. Most cars have a built-in reminder that flashes when it's time to go to the dealership. Everything's laid out for us.

But with our bodies - very possibly our most precious possessions - such formal guidance is just not available. All we have to go on is folklore and guesswork. And so people ride their brakes, blithely cruising along and never giving a thought to how they're really doing. But at some point a price must be paid and things begin to go wrong. At that point, it's often very hard to recover.

Put simply, if we're missing out on high-quality nutrition and plenty of exercise, we're "riding the brakes" and may find ourselves "coming to a stop". Hopefully we'll notice in time that we're "slowing down'. We can regain our normal "cruising speed" if we're willing to take healthy actions on our own behalf. Fortunately, there are many things we can do to restore our good health. Regular exercise, eating a variety of healthy foods, and getting regular chiropractic care are three important actions that, done consistently, will keep our physical "machine" in peak condition.

Chiropractic Care - A Key Chapter in Your Body's Instruction Manual

Hidden physical "gotchas" can slow us down even when we're eating high-quality, nutritious food and doing regular vigorous physical exercise. You drop your keys, bend over to pick them up, and all of a sudden you've hurt your lower back. Or you're inspecting the heirloom tomatoes at the local organic market and someone calls your name. You turn your head in surprise, and suddenly you've twisted your neck. Hidden spinal misalignments may be the cause of these unwelcome problems.

Your chiropractor locates the source of these difficulties and chiropractic care restores more normal spinal function. Spinal muscles, ligaments, and tendons now work more effectively and you're able to enjoy increased health and well-being. Good nutrition, exercise, and chiropractic care work together to help you thrive.

Quote of the Week

“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest “ ~ Mark Twain

Exercise of the Week: Pelvic Rotations – Cross-Over

Difficulty: Moderate
Start: Lie down on back with legs bent to 90 degrees and feet on floor. Place arms out to side, palms up.
Exercise: Cross one leg over other – knee over knee. Then, let legs roll all the way to the side so that outside knee rests on floor. Place hand on knee to keep it in that position. Hold for 30-60 seconds, and then return to starting position. Switchsides, and repeat 2x per side.

Topic of the Week: Sleep- Can It Hurt My Back?

At the end of a long day, when we retire into the warm embrace of our blankets, pillows and comforters, why is it we sometimes wake up more tired or sore than when we first lay down? How dangerous can a set of springs or space-age foam really be?
In this issue, we will discuss the perils of poor mattresses, and the best positions you should take to help prevent back pain and ensure a good night’s sleep.
Can a mattress really hurt your back? Recent scientific research says YES!

In one published review of sleep, low back pain and mattress choice, researchers found that up to 50% of people with back pain also suffer from sleep disturbances and they go on to show that poor sleep is one of the criteria that can be used to predict delayed healing after an injury. Even the orthopedic surgeons agree: in a recent survey, 95% of those surveyed believed that mattress choice has a role in the treatment of back pain. The vast majority of these musculoskeletal specialists suggest a medium-firm mattress as the best support to help an aching back.

In the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, researchers documented significant improvements in their subjects’ pain levels, sleep quality and stress-related symptoms when their old mattresses were replaced with new bedding systems. Although it is common knowledge that stress can affect our quality of sleep - and therefore our pain levels - this study shows the reverse is also true. If you don’t get a proper night’s rest, you are more likely to feel the stress in your body the next day. These researchers used new, medium-firm mattresses to achieve their results.
What people find ‘comfortable’ will vary from person to person, but as a general rule choose a mattress that is more firm than soft if you have a tendency for back pain. If you find your body develops sensitive pressure points after sleeping on a firm mattress, consider buying a thin foam-based top-cover to place over the mattress.
Now that you have the new mattress, what about your sleeping position? Did you know that how you decide to curl up at night (or not) also plays a major role in how you feel when you wake up in the morning?
A recent article in the Huffington Post covered this topic nicely.4 Recommendations were taken from various healthcare specialists, including chiropractors, medical doctors and others. The pros and cons of the most popular sleeping positions are provided below:

Best: On Your Back
Pros: According to chiropractic and medical experts, sleeping on your back on a medium firm mattress helps to best support the natural curves of your spine.
Pillow advice: Try using a very thin or down-filled pillow. If you use a thicker pillow, this can push your head too far forward, leading to neck strain and headaches. A small neck roll would work to maintain the natural curve of the neck too.
Cons: This position may contribute to snoring.

Next-Best: On Your Side
Pros: Can also give adequate support for your spine curves, but requires proper pillow selection to ease strain on neck and pelvis.
Pillow advice: Be sure to select a head pillow that stays firm, to support the distance between your head and your shoulder. Also, place a pillow between your knees to maintain proper pelvic alignment and ease the strain on tight hip muscles.
Cons: Dermatologists say this position can contribute to facial wrinkles, and some MDs suggest it may also promote breast-sagging.

Worst: On Your Stomach
Pros: None.
Pillow advice: If you can only find rest in this position, use no pillow at all.
Cons: Turning your head to one side while you sleep is bad for your neck. Also, if you have a soft mattress, your low back is almost guaranteed to be sore in the morning when you wake up from this position. If you can avoid it, DO NOT sleep in this position.

At your next visit, review your sleeping habits with your chiropractor. A poor mattress, pillow, or improper sleeping position may be the one thing preventing you from enjoying a healthy, pain-free spine!

Disclaimer: Information contained in the 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

Quote of the Week

"If you see yourself as prosperous, you will be. If you see yourself as continually hard up, that is exactly what you will be."~ Robert Collier

Exercise of the Week: Pelvic Rotations – Knees Together

Difficulty: Easy

Start: Lie down on back with legs bent to 90 degrees and feet on floor. Place arms out to side, palms up.

Exercise: Bring knees together. Then, let legs roll all the way to side so that knee rests on floor. Hold for 30-60 seconds, and then return to starting position. Switch sides, and repeat 2X per side.

Topic of the Week: Kids, Exercise and Academic Performance

If you want your child to do better in school, you should make sure your son or daughter gets plenty of exercise. Research indicates physical activity can impact a child’s brain as much as the body.

In a review of exercise studies published last month in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, researchers uncovered compelling evidence in 12 studies that children who participated in regular physical exercise achieved better academic performance.

Exercise and the Brain
Why does exercise have a positive effect on the brain? Researchers offer a number of reasons. Physical activity increases the amount of oxygen and blood to the brain, which in turn boosts cognitive function. As well, exercise develops brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) - a protein that exerts significant influence over the creation of neurons. BDNF is primarily found in brain areas important for learning, memory and higher thinking. Laboratory experiments showed mice that were exercised increased their production of BDNF considerably compared to sedentary mice. Exercise also increases production of mood-lifting endorphins and this may give kids the confidence to tackle academic challenges.

Most experts agree additional human studies are needed on exercise and its impact on academic performance, but so far the research shows promise.

A study on middle school kids revealed those students engaged in vigorous exercise (20 minutes at least three days a week) achieved higher academic grades over two semesters than students who did not participate in intense exercise.

Research published in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology showed that elementary school children who had good aerobic fitness were more likely to excel in reading and mathematics. However, strength training was not associated with improved academic performance. In their conclusion, the study researchers remarked: “These findings suggest that fitness was positively associated with neuroelectric indices of attention and working memory, and response speed in children.”

An analysis conducted on overweight children showed interesting results as it relates to executive function, which influences a child’s ability to organize, plan, problem solve and concentrate. Researchers split the children into two groups – one group did more weekly physical activity than the other. Children who engaged in 40 minutes of activity each school day over 15 weeks scored better on executive function than kids who only did 20 minutes of exercise over the same period. When they reviewed brain scans for the most physically active group, the researchers found these kids had more neural activity in the brain’s frontal lobe – a key area involved in executive function.

Many schools are already convinced of the influence of exercise on their students’ academic results. In an article that appeared in Education Week, a school district in Illinois developed a physical activity class for students struggling with reading and writing. The students participated in early morning exercises followed immediately by a literacy support class. After just one semester, the students’ literacy development jumped 1.34 years in progress compared to 0.7 for students who only received literacy support. The school district expanded the program to include mathematics, and the participating students saw their algebra scores improve 20.4%.

Less Active Students – A Troubling Trend
Unfortunately, the focus for many schools is to reduce time spent on physical activities and concentrate more on academics. This seems counter-intuitive, especially when there has been such a rise in obesity among children and adolescents.

Research indicates having additional physical activity in schools does not necessarily lower student academic performance. A review of scientific studies on this topic was published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity and the researchers remarked: “Given competent providers, PA (physical activity) can be added to the school curriculum by taking time from other subjects without risk of hindering student academic achievement. On the other hand, adding time to ‘academic’ or ‘curricular’ subjects by taking time from physical education programmes does not enhance grades in these subjects and may be detrimental to health.”

Is your child getting enough exercise? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children and teens should get a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity daily, and most of it should be aerobic. Need advice on appropriate exercise for your child? Ask your chiropractor!

Disclaimer: Information contained in the 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

Quote of the Week

“To swear off making mistakes is very easy. All you have to do is swear off having ideas” ~ Leo Burnett

Exercise of the Week: Pelvic Rotations – Figure 4

Difficulty: Easy

Start: Lie down on back with legs bent to 90 degrees and feet on floor. Place arms out to side, palms up.

Exercise: Take one leg, and cross ankle over opposite knee. Then, let legs roll all the way to side so that foot rests on floor. Hold for 30-60 seconds, and then return to starting position. Switch sides, and repeat 2X per side.

Topic of the Week: Mind, Body and Chiropractic

Have you ever felt intense back pain that you thought was caused by “sleeping funny?”

Have you ever bent over to tie your shoes, but were not able to straighten up afterward?

Have you ever experienced a ‘kink’ in your neck, simply by looking over your shoulder?

Have you ever wondered what causes these kinds back pain?

When intense back or neck pain happens seemingly out of the blue, one of the things you may be experiencing is psychosomatic pain. According to the Heritage Medical Dictionary, this kind of pain is defined as:

• Of, or relating to, a disorder having physical symptoms, but originating from mental or emotional causes

• Relating to, or concerned with, the influence of the mind on the body, especially with respect to disease

In fact, there is a whole field of study in the effects of psychosomatic symptoms known as psychoneuroimmunology.
Books have been written on this subject, based on the premise that the mind and body are intimately connected via the “molecules of emotion”; what happens in the mind is reflected in what appears in the body. If pain is felt in the body – seemingly unrelated to physical stress or trauma - it is likely a reflection of the painful state in one’s mind or emotions. It may sound far-fetched, but it is true.
One of the simplest examples of this phenomenon is to reflect on what happens to your body when you are experiencing a negative emotion, like anger. Imagine yourself getting very upset with someone who has stolen one of your prized possessions. How do you feel? Relaxed, or tense?
More tense than relaxed, every time
With your body more tense, do you think you are more likely, or less likely, to injure yourself? With more tightness in the musculoskeletal system, you are MORE likely to experience sprains and strains, as your normal range of motion is decreased. Everyday activities, like bending over to tie your shoes or turning your head to look over your shoulder, things you do thousands of times without any difficulty, all of a sudden become strenuous physical exercises. Any pre-existing imbalance in your alignment can also become a bigger imbalance with this tension, leaving you even more Chiropractic treatments can help decrease the potential for injury in these cases by maximizing your muscle and joint alignment, thereby reducing the chance that these mood swings will lead to physical bouts of pain.
Another example of mind-body interaction impacts your health is the effects your mood has on the central nervous system. Your central nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord, is hard-wired to respond to the environment to ensure your survival. When danger (stress) is detected, the sensitivity (tone) of the central nervous system increases, allowing you to respond more quickly to this potential threat. Nervous system tension leads to musculoskeletal system tension (so you can run away from, or fight off the danger), and just like in the previous scenario, increased muscle tension leaves you more prone to experiencing sprains or strains.
Chiropractic is ideally suited to help deal with these psychosomatic effects, because vertebral subluxations also increase nervous system ‘tone’. Chiropractic adjustments, by removing subluxations from the spine, help to normalize the tone of the central nervous system, thereby reducing the effects of stress on the body.
The third way that the mind can affect the body is via energy disturbances in the body. Caroline Myss, one of the most highly recognized and respected medical intuitives posits that every disease is related to an energetic disturbance in the body, caused by emotionally or mentally traumatic events. In this way, our “biography becomes our biology.” In addition, she sees the spine as the conduit for life-energy, making it one of the most important structures in the body related to the mind-body model of health and wellness.
Chiropractic is the only healing profession dedicated to the healthy alignment of the spine. A spine free of subluxations allows for your life energy to flow unimpeded. If you would like to experience more vitality, a greater sense of ease and relaxation and be less likely to experience the strains and sprains caused by mindbody stress, be sure to maintain a regular schedule of chiropractic adjustments!

Disclaimer: Information contained in the 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

Half-Empty or Half-Full?

(This newsletter issue for February 2012 is brought to you by Life Wellness Center)

What's your worldview? Are you an optimist or a pessimist by nature? Do you always expect good things to happen or are you waiting for the other shoe to drop? Our mental attitude affects how we interact with others and how we respond to events and the comings and goings in our daily lives. Remarkably, our mental attitude also affects our health and well-being. How we feel, not only mentally but also physically, is significantly impacted by what has been termed our "internal guidance mechanism".



Back in the 1960s a plastic surgeon named Maxwell Maltz wrote Psycho-Cybernetics, a groundbreaking book that has been continuously in print for almost 50 years. Psycho-Cybernetics, one of the original self-help books, popularized the idea that the subconscious part of our mind is a goal-seeking mechanism. Maltz famously compared the subconscious to a guided missile, stating that the subconscious would do exactly what it is programmed to do. If you want to achieve a goal, Maltz proposed, visualize its successful completion. Visualize yourself driving that red sports car. Visualize the fun you and your family are having on your trip to Hawaii or Italy. Visualize living in your beautiful home. Provided that the instructions are clear, your subconscious will go to work to cause your goal to manifest in your life.


This wasn't mumbo-jumbo. Maltz was a scientist and made a very strong case for his theory, backed up by decades of interaction with his patients. Since then, of course, hundreds if not thousands of self-help gurus have sprung up, publishing books, giving seminars, and being interviewed in broadcast media. Maltz, Napoleon Hill, Norman Vincent Peale, Emmet Fox, and Ernest Holmes were the originals, the pioneers who promulgated the concepts and precepts of taking charge of your own life.


In terms of health, for example, attitude is critically important.1,2,3 How do you respond, internally, if a nearby co-worker coughs or sneezes throughout the day? Have you noticed that if you think that you, too, are going to get sick, that in fact you do? But others, exposed to the same environment, do not. Is it possible that these others paid no attention to the ill co-worker, that they did not internalize the notion that they were being exposed to contagion? Such a scenario is not necessarily true, but it is possible. The conclusion could be that our thoughts matter. As Earl Nightingale, one of the pioneers of the personal development field, famously stated, "You become what you think about".


So what should we do? Think happy thoughts all day long? Not really. But it is important to remember that attitude counts. If we are more frequently seeing the glass as half-full rather than half-empty, it is possible that we are going to have a more productive, more successful, more fulfilled day. And, unbeknownst to us, our subconscious mind will build on those successes and help to bring us more success, personal growth, happiness, and well-being.

Chiropractic Care Helps Support a Positive Mental Attitude



It's tough to focus on the positive when you have pain. Headaches, neck pain, and back pain can often take the joy out of what had started out as a beautiful day. Even when we have good tools, when we know, for example, how to return to the breath and find our center, physical pain can be insistent and continue to take over our attention.


Chiropractic care can help intervene in a cycle of pain and help restore normal function. By helping spinal joints work more effectively, chiropractic care removes many sources of physical pain. A more normally functioning spinal column leads to more effective function in the nerve system. All body systems improve and overall health and well-being increases. As a result, chiropractic care helps us focus and regain our positive mental attitude.

Quote of the Week:

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”~ Anne Bradstreet

Topic of the Week: You May Not Have a Cold. You May Have Sinusitis!

Sinus infections – or sinusitis – affect about 35 million people in North America every year, and it accounts for more antibiotic prescriptions than any other health problem. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) reports that annual expenditures on sinusitis top nearly $6 billion!

It is a costly health problem, but it is also one that can be tricky to diagnose. How can you tell if you have a common cold or sinusitis? In this issue, we look at what defines sinusitis, its causes and treatments.

Sinusitis has symptoms that are similar to those of a common cold or allergies. In fact, you are more likely to develop sinusitis after contracting a cold. If it does not improve after seven days or actually worsens, then your cold may actually be a sinus infection.

Sinusitis is classified as either acute or chronic. An infection in the acute stage lasts up to eight weeks, while chronic is classified as any time beyond eight weeks. Regardless of classification, an infection in the sinuses causes inflammation, pressure and pain in the affected areas and can make daily life miserable.

Symptoms include mucous discharge and blockage, headache, fever, facial and teeth pain, bad taste in the mouth, and coughing to expel mucous. Sinusitis may be the result of a virus, bacteria or fungus, and each may require a different medical treatment.

Although not a frequent occurrence, nasal growths (polyps) or a deviated septum may also increase the risk of sinusitis.

Home Treatment Options
You may help alleviate symptoms by implementing the following:
• Drink plenty of fluids. This will thin the mucous and reduce nasal blockage.
• Breathe steam – to keep nasal passages moist. Take a shower, bath or fill a bowl with hot water and inhale to get sufficient amounts of steam into your sinus cavities.
• Decongestant tablets and sprays can reduce nasal blockage and ease pressure. However, extended use of sprays for more than three days may actually cause rebound congestion. As an alternative, you can try saltwater nose drops to keep your nose clear.
• Over-the-counter pain medications can reduce aches and fever. You can also use a hot, wet towel or warm gel compress and apply to your face over the sinus areas for pain relief and pressure reduction. Leave the compress on the skin for ten minutes, and then repeat several times throughout the day.

Another natural solution to preventing and treating sinusitis is nasal cleansing, also known as nasal irrigation. The practice of cleaning the nasal passages to promote good health has long been a part of India’s ancient ayurvedic medicine system. Cleansing this area of excess mucous not only keeps your nasal airway clear of proinflammatory substances, but it reduces the need for medication. A study on nasal irrigation using saline confirms it helps reduce symptoms and improves quality of life for sinusitis sufferers.

A common way of irrigating the nose is to use a neti pot, which has a long spout that you insert into the nose and let saline solution flow through the area. Neti pots and similar devices are available at many pharmacies and natural health stores.

Concerns About Antibiotics
If home treatments are not effective, you may need antibiotics. However, the use of antibiotics is not without controversy. Many medical experts claim antibiotics are prescribed too often for this condition – possibly because it is difficult to discern if sinusitis is caused by a virus, bacteria or fungus. Viral sinusitis can create conditions that allow bacterial infections to develop. However, antibiotics are effective only against bacteria – not viruses or fungi. The overuse of these drugs can lead to antibiotic resistance and the creation of superbugs.

Some research also questions the value of antibiotics. In a sinusitis study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers noted that antibiotics and a topical steroid were no more effective at treating symptoms than a placebo. They remarked, "Our main conclusions are that among patients with the typical features of acute bacterial sinusitis, neither an antibiotic nor a topical steroid alone or in combination are effective in altering the symptom severity, the duration, or the natural history of the condition.”

Disclaimer: Information contained in this Wellness Express™ 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 Express™

Exercise of the Week: Alternating Oblique Crunches

Difficulty: Moderate

Start: Lie on back with knees and hips bent to 90 degrees and feet elevated. Both hands should be behind head/neck with elbows out to sides.

Exercise: Keeping hands behind neck, curl forward so shoulders are just off floor. Then, bring right elbow across body to touch left knee. As left knee is brought up toward chest, straighten right leg. Pause, then bring left elbow across body to touch right knee, straightening left leg. Alternate sides for 10-15 repetitions per side.

How To Make 2012 Your Best Year Ever!

Join Life Wellness Center's very own Dr. Ridge Pidde along with Puravida Fitness owner Erik Peacock and other health and wellness leaders in our community for a life-changing event. Follow the link for details: http://www.lakevillefitwomen.com/

Breakfast of Champions

(This newsletter issue for January 2012 is brought to you by Life Wellness Center)

We all know we should eat a "good breakfast". Most us can still hear the voice of our third grade teacher ringing in our ears - "Did everyone eat a good breakfast today?" - the kindly, inquiring tone usually accompanied by a penetrating stare. But as unlikely as it was then that most kids ate a good breakfast, it is even more unlikely now. For those of us who are adults, breakfast is frequently a mere cup of coffee. Or possibly a glass of orange juice and a bagel or a muffin. Maybe a "breakfast sandwich" at a fast-food chain. Regardless, not many of our choices can be construed as nutrition that will support us in being the champions that we want to be.


Everyone knows why a good breakfast is important. First, your gas tank is near empty. If you don't refuel, you'll be running on fumes. Every cell in your body requires high-quality nutrition. Most especially, your brain cells and your muscle cells require plenty of glucose. If you don't have enough energy in your fuel tank, your body feels sluggish and your brain feels as if it's trying to swim upstream against a strong current. Worse, you don't have enough cellular energy to sweep away the metabolic end-products that build up from normal functioning. You can't do maintenance and toxins accumulate. Now you need even more energy to deal with the toxic build-up and a vicious circle develops. You feel run-down, you develop muscle tension and a headache, and your whole day starts to deteriorate. This scenario is typical for many people and it continues day after day. Projecting into the future, the long-term results include diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and overweight/obesity. What can be done?

For those of us who recognize a problem and are willing to take action on our own behalf, the first step is to be willing to actually eat a nutritious breakfast. We want food that will help us be healthy, rather than "food" that instead adds to our health-related problems. If we choose to take such action, we can follow several easy guidelines. An energy-filled breakfast could consist of whole-grain cereals, fruit, cheese, eggs, nuts, and even meat. Not all of this, certainly, but enough to make a breakfast consisting of 300 or 400 calories. The prospect seems daunting, particularly when breakfast has been an afterthought for many years. But the process actually becomes easy once you get used to having this meal.

For example, two slices of whole-grain toast plus a tablespoon of peanut butter and a tablespoon of organic jam makes a great breakfast. You've got approximately 300 calories and you're combining protein with complex carbohydrates. Or two scrambled eggs and a side of 1/2 cup of steel-cut oatmeal (that you've prepared overnight) with a tablespoon of honey mixed in. This meal, too, provides approximately 300 calories and an energy-producing combination of protein and complex carbohydrates. You get the idea - a creative, attractive small meal that is composed of complex carbohydrates and protein. You've now consumed an energy source that will be "slow-burning" and provide high-quality fuel for the next three to four hours. You're ready to have a great morning of productive activity.

Being healthy takes work. It doesn't happen by chance. Having a good breakfast, a "breakfast of champions", is a key component of this overall, life-affirming process.

Good Health, Nutrition, and Chiropractic Care

For a lucky few, good health just happens. A fortunate combination of genetics and circumstances allows a small number of persons to enjoy high levels of health without having to expend any effort. But for most of us, good health depends on the things we do to maintain this precious resource.

Getting enough rest, doing regular vigorous exercise, and eating high-quality, nutritious food are the cornerstones of good health. Regular chiropractic care is an important part of the mix. Regular chiropractic care helps keep the body's nerve system healthy. This master system helps keep all the other systems functioning at peak levels, and the result is overall health and well-being. In this way, regular chiropractic care helps support all the other action steps we're taking to ensure top levels of health.

Quote of the Week:

“Look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else”~ Tom Stoppard

Exercise of the Week: Lumbar stabilization (stage 3)

Plank Position

Difficulty: Moderate

Start: Lie on stomach. Then begin by propping upper body up onto elbows/forearms, with hands together in praying position. Engage inner abdominal muscles by brining belly button inward. Keeping spine steady, lift hips and knees so you are resting on toes, creating a straight line from ankles to shoulders.

Exercise: Keeping spine steady, lift one leg 6-8 inches. Hold this position for 10-20 seconds. (Option 1) If this is relatively easy, try bringing that leg horizontally out as far as you can, keeping torso steady. Hold this position for 10-20 seconds. (Option 2) Switch legs and repeat. Perform 3-5 sets of this exercise per side. Be careful not to strain lower back.

Topic of the Week: VACCINATIONS OR CHIROPRACTIC? WHICH ONE WILL YOU CHOOSE?

According to the germ theory of disease, humans get sick when they are exposed to pathogens like bacteria and viruses - especially if they are allowed to multiply uncontrollably inside them. Fortunately, we have an inborn selfdefense system to take care of this problem which we call the immune system. This system detects and destroys any foreign substances that make their way inside the body, under the direction of the brain and the nervous system.


Whenever a person is weak or vulnerable such as the diseased or the very young or old, they are more susceptible to harboring infections, as their immune system also becomes weak. If these people get infected with bacteria or viruses, the results can be fatal.


HOW CAN WE HELP BOOST OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM?
Medical scientists have observed, once the human body has been exposed to a certain pathogen, it will be ‘primed’ to respond better to that same substance if it encounters it a second time. This is the principle that led to the development of vaccinations: when a person receives a vaccination shot, what they are actually getting is a small dose of the actual pathogen, or parts of its structure that our immune system will react to.


Researchers theorize that if you get a small enough dose, you won’t get sick, but afterwards your immune system will be more ‘ready’ to protect you if exposed to the same bug again later in life. Unfortunately, what researchers did not predict was the negative side-effects of this well intentioned preventative treatment.


First, people who are injected with vaccines can actually get sick from them! There is an entire website dedicated to the adverse effects related to vaccines - which receives approximately 30,000 submissions annually. Some of the more serious reports they receive include: allergic reactions, fevers, seizures, or even death.


Second, there appears to be an increase in a number of other childhood diseases since the inception of national vaccination programs. Reports have linked the use of mercury-laden vaccines with a significant increase in the number of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism.


Other diseases, like ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, typically uncommon in people less than ten years of age, appear to be substantially higher in children vaccinated for measles than in un-vaccinated children. Even Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), a devastating and mysterious condition resulting in millions of deaths in North America, has been associated with the DPT vaccination: in one alarming study, two-thirds of those infants who died from SIDS had received their pertussis vaccine, with 26% dying within 3 days after their shots -and 13% within the first 24 hours!


Third, is it really effective? When we look at the death rates from many of the diseases that vaccinations have been developed for, we see that there was already a steady and significant decline before the vaccination was introduced on a massive scale. Also, when we compare numbers in the U.K. between certain diseases (measles) to others that have never been vaccinated for (scurvy), the steady decline is very similar, suggesting that vaccination is not the only reason for the eradication of these diseases, and if an outbreak of measles occurs in highly vaccinated populations, those fully vaccinated children can still contract the disease! In one recent report of an outbreak in the US, there were 9 laboratory confirmed cases of measles, out of which 7 were vaccinated previously for the disease.


HOW CAN CHIROPRATIC HELP INSTEAD?
The immunity-boosting powers of chiropractic have often been demonstrated, with the most impressive of these documented by Walter Rhodes in his account of the influenza epidemic of 1918 in North America.


According to the medical statistics from the era, many people who were treated by chiropractors fared much better than those treated by MDs with respect to the flu. In one impressive account, “In Davenport, Iowa, 50 medical doctors treated 4,953 cases, with 274 deaths. In the same city, 150 chiropractors including students and faculty of the Palmer School of Chiropractic treated 1,635 cases with only one death.”


Chiropractic is an all-natural health care solution that bases its entire philosophy on helping to improve the body’s innate ability to heal itself. Chiropractors accomplish this feat by removing irritation and interference in the nervous system caused by vertebral subluxations - thus allowing for proper regulation and control of all systems in the body, including the immune system.


Vaccinations - the benefits versus the risks - is a difficult subject faced by every parent. We recommend you do your own research, including a more thorough discussion about this topic with your Chiropractor, so that you get all the help you need to decide what is best for your child.

Disclaimer: Information contained in this Wellness Express™ 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 Express™

Quote of the Week:

“Look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else”~ Tom Stoppard

Exercise of the Week: Lumbar stabilization (stage 3)

Plank Position

Difficulty: Moderate

Start: Lie on stomach. Then begin by propping upper body up onto elbows/forearms, with hands together in praying position. Engage inner abdominal muscles by brining belly button inward. Keeping spine steady, lift hips and knees so you are resting on toes, creating a straight line from ankles to shoulders.

Exercise: Keeping spine steady, lift one leg 6-8 inches. Hold this position for 10-20 seconds. (Option 1) If this is relatively easy, try bringing that leg horizontally out as far as you can, keeping torso steady. Hold this position for 10-20 seconds. (Option 2) Switch legs and repeat. Perform 3-5 sets of this exercise per side. Be careful not to strain lower back.

Topic of the Week: VACCINATIONS OR CHIROPRACTIC? WHICH ONE WILL YOU CHOOSE?

According to the germ theory of disease, humans get sick when they are exposed to pathogens like bacteria and viruses - especially if they are allowed to multiply uncontrollably inside them. Fortunately, we have an inborn selfdefense system to take care of this problem which we call the immune system. This system detects and destroys any foreign substances that make their way inside the body, under the direction of the brain and the nervous system.

Whenever a person is weak or vulnerable such as the diseased or the very young or old, they are more susceptible to harboring infections, as their immune system also becomes weak. If these people get infected with bacteria or viruses, the results can be fatal.

HOW CAN WE HELP BOOST OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM?
Medical scientists have observed, once the human body has been exposed to a certain pathogen, it will be ‘primed’ to respond better to that same substance if it encounters it a second time. This is the principle that led to the development of vaccinations: when a person receives a vaccination shot, what they are actually getting is a small dose of the actual pathogen, or parts of its structure that our immune system will react to.


Researchers theorize that if you get a small enough dose, you won’t get sick, but afterwards your immune system will be more ‘ready’ to protect you if exposed to the same bug again later in life. Unfortunately, what researchers did not predict was the negative side-effects of this well intentioned preventative treatment.


First, people who are injected with vaccines can actually get sick from them! There is an entire website dedicated to the adverse effects related to vaccines - which receives approximately 30,000 submissions annually. Some of the more serious reports they receive include: allergic reactions, fevers, seizures, or even death.


Second, there appears to be an increase in a number of other childhood diseases since the inception of national vaccination programs. Reports have linked the use of mercury-laden vaccines with a significant increase in the number of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism.


Other diseases, like ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, typically uncommon in people less than ten years of age, appear to be substantially higher in children vaccinated for measles than in un-vaccinated children. Even Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), a devastating and mysterious condition resulting in millions of deaths in North America, has been associated with the DPT vaccination: in one alarming study, two-thirds of those infants who died from SIDS had received their pertussis vaccine, with 26% dying within 3 days after their shots -and 13% within the first 24 hours!


Third, is it really effective? When we look at the death rates from many of the diseases that vaccinations have been developed for, we see that there was already a steady and significant decline before the vaccination was introduced on a massive scale. Also, when we compare numbers in the U.K. between certain diseases (measles) to others that have never been vaccinated for (scurvy), the steady decline is very similar, suggesting that vaccination is not the only reason for the eradication of these diseases, and if an outbreak of measles occurs in highly vaccinated populations, those fully vaccinated children can still contract the disease! In one recent report of an outbreak in the US, there were 9 laboratory confirmed cases of measles, out of which 7 were vaccinated previously for the disease.

HOW CAN CHIROPRATIC HELP INSTEAD?
The immunity-boosting powers of chiropractic have often been demonstrated, with the most impressive of these documented by Walter Rhodes in his account of the influenza epidemic of 1918 in North America.


According to the medical statistics from the era, many people who were treated by chiropractors fared much better than those treated by MDs with respect to the flu. In one impressive account, “In Davenport, Iowa, 50 medical doctors treated 4,953 cases, with 274 deaths. In the same city, 150 chiropractors including students and faculty of the Palmer School of Chiropractic treated 1,635 cases with only one death.”


Chiropractic is an all-natural health care solution that bases its entire philosophy on helping to improve the body’s innate ability to heal itself. Chiropractors accomplish this feat by removing irritation and interference in the nervous system caused by vertebral subluxations - thus allowing for proper regulation and control of all systems in the body, including the immune system.


Vaccinations - the benefits versus the risks - is a difficult subject faced by every parent. We recommend you do your own research, including a more thorough discussion about this topic with your Chiropractor, so that you get all the help you need to decide what is best for your child.


Disclaimer: Information contained in this Wellness Express™ 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 Express™

Pushing Back the Clock

Many people experience lapses in memory as they get older. Every so often, it may become frustratingly difficult or even temporarily impossible to recall a particular word or a specific person's name. A person might commit a phone number to memory and then immediately forget it. Of course, everyone is familiar with the sinking feeling associated with the critical question "where did I put my keys?" For most people these glitches are minor, nothing more. However, for a certain percentage of older persons (approximately 10-20%), these lapses represent mild cognitive impairment.1 And for a proportion of these people, mild cognitive impairment will progress to Alzheimer's disease.



Normal aging can include instances of subtle forgetfulness such as having difficulty recalling words, not remembering where you put an important document, or leaving a full milk carton on the kitchen counter overnight. But the memory loss associated with mild cognitive impairment represents an actual condition, i.e., an actual disease entity. Such memory loss is more prominent. People forget important information such as meaningful telephone conversations, recent events that would normally be of interest, and dates and times of appointments.


In the early stages it may be challenging to differentiate mild cognitive impairment from the effects of normal aging. Some suspected cases of impaired mental activity may in fact represent treatable conditions such as depression and an underactive thyroid. People experiencing the significant memory problems associated with mild cognitive impairment may be expected to decline by about 10% each year. Risk factors associated with more rapid decline include a low metabolic rate in regions of the brain associated with memory and processing of information. More rapid decline is also associated with reduced size of the hippocampus, a seahorse-shaped structure located in the center of the brain which is important in memory, spatial memory, and navigation.


The good news is that people can take action on their own behalf to preserve and improve cognitive function. Numerous recent studies have shown that regular exercise provides a significant benefit in people with memory problems.2,3 For example, long-term improvements in cognitive function were obtained by walking for 50 minutes a day, three times per week. People exercising for 150 minutes each week had better delayed recall and they performed better on cognitive tests. Additionally, people doing moderate exercise had lower Clinical Dementia Rating Scores. In one study, a 6-month program of physical activity resulted in improvements which persisted over an 18-month period.


The message is clear. We want to have the opportunity to get older and we also want to live well. There are natural effects of normal aging, but we don't want other potential effects of aging to grind us down. Exercising is an important action step that has a wide range of benefits, including improved cardiovascular and respiratory function. We now know that exercise can also preserve and improve cognitive abilities. It's smart to do regular exercise to help us stay smart.

Cognitive Function and Chiropractic

One of the proposed mechanisms for the benefit of regular exercise on mental functioning involves alterations in the amount of blood reaching the brain. A complementary proposed mechanism involves alterations in the structure and function of the brain's own blood vessels.
The ability of regular exercise to stimulate growth of new blood vessels and strengthen and improve existing blood vessels depends, in part, on a properly functioning nerve system. Your nerve system supports the activity of all other body systems. It needs to be operating at peak levels in order for all other systems to operate at their peak levels.
Regular chiropractic care helps ensure the integrity and proper functioning of your nerve system, including your brain, spinal cord, and spinal nerves. By doing this, chiropractic care helps you get the most out of your exercise.

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

Mitten Tree Update -

A BIG 'Thank You' to everyone who helped us raise 85 pair of mittens, gloves and hats for children in need in our community.

Quote of the Week:

“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.” ~Steve Jobs

Exercise of the Week: Pelvic Tilt

Difficulty: Easy

Start: Lie down on back with legs bent 90 degrees and feet on floor. Place fingertips on abdomen, just inside pointy tips of pelvic bones.

Exercise: Drawing belly button toward spine, try to flatten lower back without letting abdomen bulge outward. Hold for 1-2 counts, then release. Perform 10-15 repetitions.

Topic of the Week: Chiropractic – A Light at the End of the Carpal Tunnel.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common nerve entrapment syndrome. It is a painful condition caused by irritation or compression of the median nerve. In one survey of the general population, approximately 14.4% reported having symptoms resembling CTS—including numbness, tingling, weakness and pain. Patient complaints are usually limited to the thumb and index finger, but in some cases may also involve the rest of the hand, the wrist and even the forearm.

This syndrome derives its name from the location where the nerve irritation/compression most often occurs—in the carpal tunnel of the wrist.

Anatomically, the bones of the wrist are positioned in an arch-shaped arrangement that leaves enough space for nerves, tendons and blood vessels to pass to the hand and fingers—this area is called the Carpal Tunnel. If the passageway of this tunnel becomes crowded, the resulting pressure on the median nerve can result in any of the symptoms mentioned above.

One of the most commonly reported causes of CTS symptoms is inflammation of the tendons passing through the carpal tunnel. However, irritation of the median nerve can also be caused by displacement of one of the carpal bones, or irritation of the nerve at other locations—such as the neck, shoulder or near the elbow. Activities known to contribute to this type of syndrome are those associated with repetitive contraction of the small muscles of the hand: like typing, knitting or sewing. However, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, CTS is most common amongst assembly-line workers.

Because chiropractors are accustomed to dealing with problems of the joints, muscles and nerves, many patients with CTS will consult with their chiropractor. This is a good thing, because although medical options can help reduce the intensity of CTS symptoms in the vast majority of cases, surgery can be rather expensive, plus the success rate for complete resolution from carpal tunnel syndrome has been estimated as low as 60%. Not to mention, there are also reported side effects involved with surgery, including other nerve damage and delayed wound healing.

How does chiropractic help?

Whereas traditional medicine tends to focus in the area of the pain, chiropractors will consider the entire kinetic chain. According to experts, dysfunctional neurological patterns in the neck can cause abnormal firing patterns in different muscles, including the ones that lead into the wrist and hand.

Therefore, it is important to consider the mechanics of your neck and upper back. Vertebral subluxations in these areas could be one of the main contributing factors to CTS!

In addition, chiropractors also know how the alignment of the bones in your wrist and elbow could be the cause of your symptoms. When joints are not aligned properly, the resulting inflammation and pain can cause spasm of the muscles in the area of the subluxation, plus irritation of the surrounding soft tissues. This alone could be the cause of the swelling and irritation of the tendons in the carpal tunnel. Sometimes, just a quick and gentle adjustment applied to one of the bones in these areas can help relieve the pressure.

When it comes to carpal tunnel syndrome, like any other maladies in the body, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! You should always...

• Consider the ergonomics of your workstation. Repetitive movements are not the problem—it is repetitive movement when your muscles and joints are at a disadvantage, leading to repetitive strain and pain.

• Take regular breaks when your job requires repetitive tasks. During your break periods, a little bit of stretching (of the tight muscles) can go a long way.

• Seek help when the CTS symptoms are just beginning to show up. The earlier you attend to these aches and pains, the better the chances of coming to a quick resolution of this painful condition.

If you start to feel the symptoms of CTS, let your chiropractor give you a hand. Studies have shown chiropractic care to be an effective tool to reduce the symptoms of CTS. Your chiropractor will conduct special tests to help determine the cause of the problem, and adjustments delivered right away can help prevent it from becoming a very painful, chronic problem.

Disclaimer: Information contained in this Wellness Express™ 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 Express™