Back Pain - Are You At Risk?

This is a repost from the Millar Chiropractic Clinic website.

Back Pain - Are You At Risk?

Your Family History

Back injuries are most often caused by various mechanical issues, and the tendency to get such injuries is not inherited. On the other hand, people do have family-related behavioral tendencies, and while these particular behaviors are not literally "inherited", they are often passed down through the generations. These are the various habits of daily living we learned from our families, that can become ingrained and may eventually contribute to back injuries. A lack of interest in sports or exercise, poor posture, and a tendency to be overweight can be some of the behavioral patterns we learned from our family. As adults it's important to become conscious of and evaluate these unhealthful patterns, and to take an active role in developing a new more positive set of behaviors that can increase our health and overall well-being. In addition to these habits we picked up from our family, we may also have various health challenges that include a genetic component which can make us more susceptible to back problems. Your chiropractic physician can help you identify such additional risk factors.

 

Have you ever wondered what the risk factors are for back pain? Why some people suffer from it and some people don't?  What you can do to avoid being one of the millions of Americans who suffer from chronic back pain? Your Millar Chiropractic physician can help answer these very important questions.

One major risk factor is related to exercise.  We have all been admonished by health authorities to either "use it or lose it".  If you fail to get regular exercise, your back muscles can become deconditioned rather quickly.  When that happens, you are more vulnerable to the strains and sprains that can cause or contribute to back pain.

 

When your muscles are required to do work, they become stronger.  Another related benefit is that exercise helps to "train" the tendons and ligaments surrounding your joints.  These are crucial joint-supporting tissues, and regular exercise increases their ability to withstand mechanical stresses and loads without becoming injured. Basically, when you engage in regular vigorous exercise, your body gets "smarter", stronger and more resilient, and you're less likely to suffer from those annoying back problems.¹

Another major risk factor for back pain is weak abdominal muscles. When you were a young kid in gym class, did one of your teachers tell you to "suck in your stomach"?  As it turns out, that's not bad advice. Your abdominal muscles support the muscles of your lower back.  If you commonly let it "all hang out" letting your abdominal muscles droop rather than keeping them activated and engaged, your abdominal muscles can become weak and deconditioned from this continual lack of use.

 

When this happens, your lower back muscles end up having to hold up the weight of your torso, without the normal assistance of your abdominal muscles. Your lower back muscles are not designed to for that.  Their normal job is to help move your spine through its normal ranges of motion.  They're not designed to rigidly support your body weight without the assistance of your abdominal muscles. And if they're left as the sole support for your body weight, they will eventually give way under the continual excessive strain. The result is usually a very painful lower back injury.

Abdominal exercises are easy to do and don't take a lot of time. The key is to make sure that you actually do them several times a week, in addition to your other regular vigorous exercise. It is also very important to make sure to use your abdominal muscles as you go about your daily routine. Imagine these muscles are being pulled in and lifted up.  Think of "activating" your abdominal muscles rather than tightening them. Your body will know what to do, once you've started adding consistent abdominal training to your exercise routine.  You should also notice your posture improving as you get in the habit of keeping your abdominal muscles activated.  Your body will breathe a sigh of relief at finally being properly supported.

There are other back pain risk factors that may also be found in your personal and family medical history.² During your initial chiropractic visit, your doctor will ask you about surgeries and accidents you've experienced, and talk with you about any significant elements in your family history. For example, a surgery to remove your appendix or galllbladder or to repair a hernia may have weakened your abdominal muscles. Accidents involving a motor vehicle or a serious fall may have caused injuries that either healed incompletely or with soft tissue scarring, which can contribute to back pain.

Knowing about potential risk factors and taking appropriate action will help you have a healthier, stronger and more flexible lower back.

 

 

¹Jones MA, et al. Recurrent non-specific low-back pain in adolescents: the role of exercise. Ergonomics 50(10):1680-1688, 2007
²Plouvier S, et al. Biomechanical strains and low back disorders. Occup Environ Med 2007 (in press)

 

 

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Do I Need to Take Vitamins and Minerals?

This is a repost from the Millar Chiropractic Clinic website.

Do I Need to Take Vitamins and Minerals?

Should I Eat According to the Food Pyramid?

The short answer is, probably not.  Not unless you'd like to become fat or obese, that is. The U.S. government's "food pyramid" recommends that the largest percentage of one's daily calories should come from whole grains.  This is despite the fact that there is a tremendous amount of evidence that grains break down into sugar in the body - increasing insulin resistance, encouraging an increase in fat storage, and increasing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and other diseases. According to the highly respected natural health expert, Dr. Joseph Mercola, the reason grains and other unhealthful foods are promoted so heavily is because these are the foods that are subsidized by the U.S. government. Dr. Mercola has developed his own "food pyramid", as an alternative, which is based on nutritional science.  You can see it in the article linked above, or view it here.

People often wonder whether they should be taking any vitamin and mineral supplements. Are they worthwhile? Which supplements would be best for me?  The answer to these questions are yes, and ask your knowledgeable chiropractor for supplement recommendations.

Why should we even bother with vitamin and mineral supplementation? The objective is to make sure you have all your bases covered -- to make sure your body has everything it needs to be healthy. How can you be sure you diet is providing you with all the vitamins, minerals and cofactors your body needs to function properly? Not to mention all the important antioxidants needed to fight free radical formation and the various phyt­onutrients that seem to help slow down the aging process and lower your risk of cancer and other diseases.

Mineral deficiencies are rampant in the United States, largely due to the majority of our food supply being grown in mineral depleted soil.  It is difficult to obtain necessary minerals such as magnesium, iodine, chromium, calcium and selenium from diet alone.

Many people are also deficient in the B vitamins such as folate, B12 (cyanocobalamin), B2 (riboflavin),  B6 (pyridoxine), B1 (thiamin), and B3 (niacin). Taking a good multivitamin or a B vitamin supplement is an easy way to make sure that these requirements are met.

So which supplement brand is the best? There's really no single right answer to that question.  It depends on the individual's needs, and there are often various practical considerations. You can usually tell that a particular brand is the right choice for you if you notice some improvement after taking it regularly for several weeks. Your chiropractic physician can help you by providing expert advice and recommendations.  The important thing to remember is that vitamin and mineral supplementation is often necessary in order to optimize metabolic functioning and promote physical well-being.

What about taking specific supplements for specific health challenges, such as regularly taking a calcium supplement after a bone-density study has revealed a reduction in bone mass (osteoporosis)? Is this an effective therapy? Well, in the postmenopausal setting¹, it is critical to also perform regular weight-bearing exercise in order for your body to be stimulated to actually use the calcium to increase bone density.  If you only take calcium supplements but fail to exercise, the calcium with just be excreted, instead of being used to strengthen the bones.  

What about calcium supplements for younger women?  Once again, exercise is the of utmost importance in helping to prevent or minimize osteoporosis².  Making sure you are getting a sufficient amount of calcium each day is also important. The recommended daily requirement for calcium is 1000-1200 mg.  So, lets assume that a typical vitamin/mineral supplement supplies 500 mg of calcium. A small container of yogurt adds another 250 mg. A glass of milk or a piece of cheese can add another 250 mg. If you're avoiding dairy, other good sources of calcium include turnips, spinach, sardines (including bones), and calcium-fortified orange juice. So, you can get the recommended requirement by combining both a daily supplement and eating a variety of calcium rich foods.

Magnesium deficiency is another very common mineral deficiency in the United States.  Magnesium and calcium balance each other, so if you do supplement, look for a product that ideally contains equal amounts of both.  Having a lot of muscle tension may be a sign that you are low in magnesium.  Appropriate magnesium levels are also important for promoting cardiovascular health, regulating blood pressure and controlling blood sugar.  Spinach, almonds, pumpkin seeds, swiss chard, cashews, and black beans are all very good sources of magnesium.

Vitamin and mineral supplements are an easy way to make sure you are getting the nutritional support your body needs.  By supplementing your diet appropriately, you can make sure you are receiving a consistent and optimal dose of the most important nutrients. Eating a varied diet of healthy whole foods along with getting regular exercise, will help to ensure vibrant and glowing good health³.


1Rosen CJ: Clinical practice. Postmenopausall osteoporosis. N Engl J Med 353(6):595-603, 2005
2Swanenburg J, et al: Effects of exercise and nutrition on postural balance and risk of falling in elderly people. Clin Rehabil 21(6):523-34, 2007
3Speckerr B, Vukovich M: Evidence for an interaction between exercise and nutrition for improved bone health during growth. Med Sport Sci 51:50-63, 2007

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What's Your Vibe?

This is a repost from the Millar Chiropractic Clinic website.

What's Your Vibe?

Being Present

We're not talking about raising your hand when your name is called.  No, we're talking about "being in the moment" as a way of being more centered and getting more joy out of life.  It's something that requires practice in order to make it your default way of being.  Even at that point, being present still requires a certain amount of ongoing attention for most people. And really, that's what "being present" is all about - paying attention to the present moment. After all, the present moment is all we truly have. We may have memories of the past and thoughts of the future, but the past is over and the future is not yet here.  (And will likely never be "here" exactly the way you imagine it.)  If we're not in the present moment, we're nowhere. The present is where your power resides, and when you're present, people around you can feel your energy.  You are more charismatic when you are present in the moment.  People will see you as authentic and a good listener, which is very appealing.  They'll want to spend time with you. There's no time like the present to begin "being present"

In the story of Snow White, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, and Bashful were precisely that.  The names of the seven dwarves accurately and literally represented their overall vibe. It doesn't usually work that way for us, but we give off plenty of subconscious signals that let people know who we are and how we're feeling.  The look in our eyes, the tone of our voice, our facial expressions and posture are just some of the clues that let other people intuit what's really going on with us. Often, the vibe we're giving off is a more accurate reflection of our inner being than the words we are saying.

Other people can usually tell what's really going on with us, no matter what we say or don't say.  But when we're communicating clearly and interacting meaningfully, we usually feel less stressed-out. The surprising benefit is that our health improves as a result.^1,2

Here's an easy way to determine whether you're sending out a negative or positive overall vibe - when you visit a friend who owns a dog or pass one on the street, does it growl at you or does it wag it's tail?  Do cats tend to hiss at you or do they instead offer a friendly purr? When someone introduces you to a toddler or baby, does he or she start to cry, or do they usually smile at you? These are all pretty reliable signs as to whether your personal vibe is more negative or positive.

Young children and animals are very perceptive and pick up on the subconscious signals people send out.  Who you are being is very clear to them.  Many of us lose this intuitive ability over time, and pay more attention to what people say than to the subtle clues they give off that can tell us more about how they are feeling in general, whether or not they are being honest with us, and how overall trustworthy they are.

Over time, people often get used to being a certain way, and may not even realize that they've become chronically grumpy, angry or pessimistic.   It's like they get stuck in an emotional rut, and may not even realize the way they are coming across to other people.  If animals and young children react negatively to you, it may do you some good to take stock of the vibe you're sending out.  Being chronically "negative" can also have a negative effect on your health.

Negative and positive vibes can "rub off" on you too, especially if you're a sensitive person.  If you spend time with a friend or acquaintance who is always very negative, and find that you end up feeling down, or angry, or depressed as a result, you would probably do well to limit the time you spend with them.

On another note, paying attention to the "vibe" can also be useful in health care interactions. You may wait for hours to see a doctor, and then even though they say nice words, you might sense that he doesn't really care about your well-being and just wants to finish with you and get on to the next patient. You may sense a similar vibe at the front desk - they behave politely, but you can tell that they're super-stressed and can't wait to get out the door themselves.

Most people will notice a significant difference between the vibe in a typical medical office and the vibe in a chiropractic office.  Chiropractors tend to place a high value on the human component of their interactions with patients. Chiropractic offices strive to be a very welcoming environment.  It is not unusual to hear people say that their chiropractor's office "feels just like home" and that the staff "feels like family".

You can tell that your chiropractor is genuinely interested in both your health and your well-being.  Chiropractors know that it's important to take the time to really listen to your concerns and to make sure you're getting the service and attention you need. Chiropractic is a wholistic healing profession which recognizes that the quality of the doctor-patient relationship is an important part of the healing process.


¹Seedat S, et al: Life stress and mental disorders in the South African stress and health study. S Afr Med J 99(5 Pt 2):375-382, 2009
²Koetaka H, et al: Long-term effects of lifestyle on multiple risk factors in male workers. Environ Health Prev Med 14(3):165-172, 2009

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How Chiropractic Can Help You Be More Fit

This is a repost from the Millar Chiropractic Clinic website.

How Chiropractic Can Help You Be More Fit

Chiropractic - Helping Your Body Run More Efficiently

Everyone knows how important it is to get regular vigorous exercise and to eat the right foods to maximize our health. But what happens if you're in too much pain to be able to exercise comfortably or safely? What if your range of motion is limited by stiff joints and chronically achy muscles? By eliminating the chronic backaches, headaches, muscle tightness and nerve interference (which we refer to as subluxations) that result from misalignment of the spine, chiropractic helps to restore proper range of motion and optimal functioning of the body's systems so that you can fully enjoy being more active.

If you've been shopping for home appliances in the last few years, you know that efficiency is a major selling-point. And with rising gasoline prices, it has also become an important consideration when buying a car. Smart shoppers are asking the question, "How much energy will this use?" 

If we're buying a used car, we want to make sure that the car was properly cared for and that the owners followed the appropriate maintenance schedule. The applies to our bodies too. Just like it's very important that a car receive its appropriate regular maintenance, getting regular oil changes and tune-ups, it's similarly important to have our spines adjusted regularly.  Really, maintaining our spinal health is much more important because, unlike a car, you can't replace your spine. Good spinal health helps to ensure that all the body systems are fully supported and functioning properly.  This allows us to function better in all aspects of our lives.

Physical fitness is not a precise measurement, but we can think of it as maintaining an overall state of good health that includes being able to perform a wide range of activities with efficiency and ease - everything from participating in a strenuous workout to being able to work at your desk for extended periods of time without discomfort. The American College of Sports Medicine recognizes four interrelated types of fitness that are important for complete health:

• Cardio-respiratory fitness - including the heart, blood vessels and lungs.
• Muscular fitness - including both muscle endurance and muscle strength.
• Body composition - which is the percentage of body fat compared to other tissues such as bones, muscles, organs, etc.
• Flexibility - including ideal range of motion and muscle/tendon elasticity.

The various systems of your body work together, so the fitness of one body system affects all the others.

In order to maximize our health in all of the categories mentioned above for total fitness, it's important for us to eat a good diet, get regular exercise, pay attention to our body's signals, and get enough rest.  It's equally important to make sure we receive regular maintenance by having our spines properly aligned.   Regular chiropractic adjustments can be an important factor in increasing overall fitness. One of the objectives of chiropractic treatment is to balance the various systems of the body - muscles, bones, nerves, glands, and organs - by improving posture and alignment. Regular chiropractic care allows the whole body to perform optimally and efficiently, increasing energy reserves as it decreases the fatigue and stress that usually results from poor alignment.

In fact, many professional athletes depend upon chiropractic care to maintain their peak physical performance. Back in 2002, the U.S. teams for the Winter Olympics were the first to employ an official Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Robin Hunter, and they had one of the best showings ever. Was that purely coincidental? Dr. Hunter has stated the chiropractic care is all about "correcting bio-mechanical faults and misalignments, and treating injuries with hands-on work, so that the athletes can return to play faster and better." John Stockton, a pro basketball player that has turned to chiropractic to better his game says, "It's not just the adjustments, it's balancing muscles and overall health." And after a serious skiing accident, Schwarzenegger remarked, "I had one of those miracle moments when you call a chiropractor, they care for you and then days later you ski again like a champion on moguls."

Though it may feel like a miracle to many people who experience the benefits of chiropractic, the underlying principle is really quite simple. When the body is properly aligned, muscles, ligaments, and joints function together with greater ease. Internal organs aren't hindered, so the heart and lungs are better able to perform their jobs. Perhaps even more importantly, chiropractic care can help to prevent injuries that often result from overtaxing a particular part of the body that may already be compensating for those that aren't functioning as well.

Chiropractic care is like giving your body a tune-up. It helps us to function more efficiently and enjoy a greater sense of ease and well-being.

How would you rate your current level of physical fitness?  Would you like to learn how chiropractic care can help you with your goals?  The doctors of Millar Chiropractic are happy to help!

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Our Genetic Heritage

This is a repost from the Millar Chiropractic Clinic website.

Our Genetic Heritage

Chiropractic and Your Genes

The genes you inherited from your parents determine all of your physical characteristics, such as your hair color and eye color. Your genetic heritage can also contribute to your personal interests, choice of profession, the activities you enjoy, and even your personality. Your genes are also very closely involved with your state of health and well-being. Of course, there is much more to who you are than just your DNA. The 30,000 genes that are tightly packed into each of your cells is only the beginning point. The ways in which your genes are expressed are also very much affected by diet, exercise,  socioeconomic, and environmental factors. A significant part of the environment we tend to overlook is the nerve system - the guiding system of our internal environment. If nerve signals are blocked or not flowing freely, gene expression may become disorganized and disordered. When the proper information repeatedly fails to get through, health begins to deteriorate. Chiropractic treatment can help to restore proper nerve system function, thereby helping to optimize both cellular function and normal genetic activity.

Species evolve over time as a way of attempting to better deal with their environment.  In many instances, our underlying DNA may stay the same, but our diet and other factors change the functional expression of our genes.  These functional changes are called "epigenetics" and can even be passed along through your genetic line.

The overall objective for a species is survival, and as such, it develops various survival strategies over time.  For example, when a person is exposed to a time of great famine, their epigenetic strategy may adapt to this by changing the function of the DNA so that the body stores more energy as body fat.  That can help a person successfully survive a famine.  The problem arises when this epigenetic tendency is passed along and remains a survival strategy even during times of plentiful food supply.  In this case, a person who carries this epigenetic strategy to survive famine, by way of an overly thrifty metabolism, is at much greater risk for diabetes and obesity.

 

This tendency toward a thrifty fat-storing metabolism gets passed along to the famine survivor's genetic descendants - who then have a survival strategy (store more fat) that doesn't necessarily match up with their current environment and food supply.  If your DNA instructs your body to have a slow metabolism and store more fat, you are very likely to struggle with weight gain issues no matter how much you exercise or how few calories you consume.  In fact, not eating enough or going on a crash diet can make a person with these tendencies even more likely to store (as body fat) most of the calories they consume. 

 

In his book, Change Your Genetic Destiny, Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo labels this thrifty genetic group GenoType 2 - "The Gatherer".  Through his years of research and treating patients, Dr. D'Adamo has found six different "GenoType" (genetic archetype) groupings, each with specific strengths and challenges. He has also developed a unique diet and exercise plan for each type that is specifically geared to each group's genetic tendencies.¹

Human DNA continues to evolve over time, although we remain personally unaware of the process. Our lives are short compared to the length of time it usually takes to notice significant genetic mutations in a species. By looking at archeological remains, we can see obvious differences in the average height and lifespans of today's humans compared to humans of 1,000 years ago. These are just two of the genetic changes that have occurred over the last millennium.

On an individual level we may not be able to alter our actual DNA, but we can often change whether or not we are affected by certain genes by changing our diet or other aspects of our lifestyle and environment.  This is the emerging science of epigenetics, which studies how the environment influences the expression of our DNA. 

 

We can make an effort to strengthen our bodies and to help ensure that our genetic and cellular processes are functioning at their highest level. Cells require the right fuel and the proper metabolic environment in order to function properly. So appropriate food in the proper quantities and the right amount of regular exercise are important. ² Another very important factor is to make sure the nerve system is functioning optimally, because the nerve system coordinates all your body's activities. You can think of the nerve system as the conductor of your own personal physiologic orchestra - making sure that everything works together smoothly and efficiently.

From the point of view of genetics and evolution, an individual human being has an advantage if she is well and healthy. If such a person has children it is likely they will be healthy and well too, especially if she is well-nourished during pregnancy and able to avoid excess stress. She will pass on whatever genetic advantages she has gained, as will her offspring under the same optimal conditions. A healthy nerve system is vital in helping to ensure health and wellness. Chiropractic care helps your nerve system function at peak efficiency, doing exactly what it's designed to do.

Chiropractic treatment works by improving the biomechanical function of spinal vertebrae, which in turn improves the free flow of nerve signals throughout your body. These nerve signals work to coordinate the various body systems so that your cells are able to receive the appropriate raw materials they need to function properly.  Your cells can then accurately duplicate themselves as they divide, and genetic function can be optimized.

Proper flow of instructions and information transmitted via the nerve system helps to ensure health and well-being at the deepest levels. Your genetic advantage is passed on when you're healthy and well. Chiropractic care plays a vital role in making this happen.

 

 

¹D'Adamo, Dr. Peter J.  Change Your Genetic Destiny (Originally published as The GenoType Diet in 2007, hardcover.) New York, NY.  Broadway Books, a division of Random House. 2009.
²Solomons NW: Developmental origins of health and disease. Concepts, caveats, and consequences for public health nutrition. Nutr Rev 67(Suppl 1):S12-S16, 2009

 

 

 

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