9 Reasons Your Chiropractor Should Take Full Spine X-Rays (Part I)

Anyone in architecture, construction and engineering will tell you that not only is having a blueprint an important part of creating a building, it is ESSENTIAL.  In this video I go over the first three reasons why taking Full Spine X-rays is essential, when clinically indicated, in determining how to provide a practical solution to your health issues, how to accurately fix the problem, and how to manage your spinal structure in the long term.  Click on the video blog below to learn more and give our office a call to see if we can help you live your best life!

4 Delivery Types & How to Prevent Most common Complications

Your Baby’s Spine and What you Can do to Help Protect it

Here are seven important things you as a parent must consider in regards to pregnancy, how your child presents, what you must look for and what to do about it!

What is Juvenile Arthritis and What to do About It?

Over a quarter of a million children are now being diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis.  The largest portion of this population consists of children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, which basically means the cause is largely unknown.

Parents may write off their child’s symptoms because they can often mimic signs of the flu or an allergic reaction.  Itchiness, redness of joints, swelling, and many more symptoms indicative of an arthritic issue have been recorded in children as young as 6 months all the way up to 18 years old.  Considering that children’s immune systems aren’t fully developed until about 18, it makes sense that the symptoms they experience are in proportion to how well their immune system regulates itself and adapts to its environment.

FOUR SIMPLE STEPS that will help your child overcome Juvenile Arthritis

If your child has been diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis, there are tools that can help! As we end the month of July and Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month, here are four things you and your child can do to improve.

1. Vitamin D is the bees knees!

Most people realize that vitamins are essential to overall body function, but we are now beginning to realize just how crucial vitamin D is as a raw material for the overall performance and resilience of the body.  It’s important not only for bone and joint health, but it’s actually one of the most important building blocks for developing the immune system. Virtually every cell in the body has receptors for vitamin D, especially the cells making up the immune system.  Even if your child does not like being physically active YET, it’s still important to make sure they are getting adequate exposure to sunlight in the middle of the day so that their body can make vitamin D. In most cases, as a nation we still don’t get enough vitamin D so it might be necessary to take a supplement to reach 800 IU intake a day at a minimum.  Many sources are now suggesting that it is necessary to take more than that for optimal absorption and utilization by the body.

2. Sugar is not so sweet after all

Many times parents feel compelled to give some sort of sugary treat as a reward for good behavior.  This could be one major thing that is contributing to joint inflammation.  Candy contains a lot of artificial sweeteners, fillers, and things that were made chemically in a lab. When a child eats these things it’s actually foreign to the body, it raises blood pressure, cortisol, and spikes inflammation……which is basically putting gas on an open flame!  The younger your child is, the more likely you can instill healthier eating habits without much push back because they haven’t developed significant association to what is bad or good. One thing to try giving as a reward is something like strawberries, which are quite sweet, or some other fruit. While fruits do contain natural sugar, their bodies knows how to process it so it doesn’t cause such a spike in inflammation and other negative effects in the body.

3. Life is motion

Everyone knows that smoking is bad, but it really puts things in perspective when people are now saying that sitting is the new smoking!  Children today are becoming less physically active than ever before in the history of our nation.  When I was growing up I was out in the yard with my best friends and brothers playing wiffle ball to see who can get an in-the-park home run, or even playing street hockey pretending to be in the pursuit to win the next Stanley Cup.  Children today are living their childhood through a screen, whether it be playing a game on their parents’ phone, on a tablet, watching movies or playing video games. This one doesn’t take a special formula, other than realizing that more time sitting in front of a screen = less time being active!  Parents have more demands placed on them than ever before, so the easiest way to get them active is to give them scheduled screen time.  Now if physical activity is an issue because of joint discomfort, the first step would be at least getting them outside and going for a family walk for 30 minutes to instill better lifestyle choices and make them feel that the family isn’t just doing it for them, but that it is a family affair and something that everyone should engage in on a daily basis!

4. Take care of the Command Center

Many times parents are making all the right decisions to help their child that is suffering with Juvenile Arthritis, but it just feels like no matter what they try or what new habit they adopt, they are still left without answers.  Families feel hopeless because their child has been labelled with a disease or diagnosis. If we give power to that diagnosis, then it becomes the person; whereas if we realize that optimal health is the real entity, if it is not being expressed then there is something we can do about it.

Children live their lives through their nerve system (the command center) and every human experience we have is processed through the brain, spinal cord and nerves.  When there is a structural shift in the spine that has been left unidentified and uncorrected, this causes a disruption. These structural shifts happen as a result of a number of different things such as: in-utero constraint, birth complications, slips and falls, etc. It is essential that a child have their spine and nerve system properly examined by a chiropractor that uses objective technology to assess the function of the nerve system ensure the proper function of their body with specific chiropractic care.  When the command center of the body cannot properly send and receive messages to the immune system due to structural shifts in the spine, the immune system becomes compromised and cannot accurately react to demands of the body and the environment which can lead to joint inflammation, aches and other pains and dysfunctions.

References:

1. https://curearthritis.org/juvenile-arthritis/
2. https://www.vitamindcouncil.org/

Image via iStock.com/SolStock

Shoulder Pain Helped

“It Feels Like It’s Ripping Apart”

Shoulder Pain is common.

This is mainly due to the nature of the shoulder joint itself. It has the most range of motion in the body.

Think of all of the ways your shoulder can move.

Whether you’re reaching across the table for something or scratching the itch on your back, your shoulders allow for so much movement.

Many suffer from shoulder pain due to the large amount of motion.

A research article noted that between 16% and 26% have reported experiencing shoulder pain. It is also the 3rd most common muskuloskeletal reason for going to the doctor.

We’ve found that there are 3 major reasons for shoulder conditions:

Rotator Cuff injuries

The shoulder blade has a number of muscles that attach to it. These are called the rotator cuff muscles.

They extend from the scapula around to the arm. These muscles become stressed due to rolled in shoulders and tight chest muscles. Because of this, the muscles are primed for injury.

Rotator cuff tears can be commonly seen in repetitive activities. Reaching forward or pulling motions can become extremely uncomfortable.

Impingement

The ligaments or bursa within the shoulder can become impinged. This can lead to irritation and inflammation. Once this occurs, pain may be experienced.

This type of injury can be seen with over head repetitive activities.

In addition, things like reaching back or overhead can become painful. Scratching your back or tucking in a shirt can be extremely uncomfortable.

Scapula Instability

There are many factors in regards to shoulder blade stability.

Due to the nature of our habits, we tend to have dysfunctions. Our chest muscles become tight, and our upper traps become tense.

Unfortunately, other muscles around the scapula can become weak. This can lead to improper shoulder mechanics. In addition, winging of the scapula can often be seen.

Due to the improper firing of the muscles, the instability can lead to a number of shoulder injuries.

Chiropractic Can Help

Structural and neurologically based chiropractic care focuses on improving the function of the body.

Targeting areas of the spine that have a direct impact on the shoulder can be effective. This can be found in areas such as the base of the neck or upper back.

There are times when addressing the shoulder joint can help. However, having proper spinal and nerve function is crucial for overall improvement.

Chronic pain can be difficult. Chiropractic care can help you begin the journey to health and recovery.

To see how Intero Chiropractic can help you, schedule your appointment today!

Why Do I Have Chronic Pain?

“I’ve just learned to live with the pain…”

We often get patients in our office that have dealt with pain for several years.

In fact, in 2016, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that 20% of US adults suffered from chronic pain.

I can remember a patient suffering from pain for so long that her doctor told her “You know, I think this pain might just all be in your head.” Now, granted, there are patients who malinger regarding their pain, but she was in legitimate discomfort. They were just unable to help her.

Chronic pain simply means that you have been dealing with pain for longer than 6 months. This can be related to headaches, back pain, or any area that you experience pain.

There are several reasons for chronic pain. Here are just 3 reasons that we often see in our office:

1. Procrastination: Often times, we hope that the pain will just “go away.” So, we will push through the pain and neglect our injuries. As time progresses the pain might diminish, but the problem still remains.
2. Turning Off The Alarm: Symptoms are the body’s alarm system to alert us that something is wrong. We have sharp pain or muscle spasms, so we take a pill, an injection, or an ointment to help us feel better. While that may help you get through the day, it does not get rid of the root cause.
3. Giving Up: Losing hope after trying several types of treatments, ointments, and therapies that didn’t work is common. It can become discouraging. Therefore, we just learn to “deal with it.”

What to do…

The keys to getting rid of pain:

• Get to the root cause of the problem.
• Take action as soon as possible, don’t wait!
• Keep searching for the solution.

If you haven’t heard of Dr. Jerry’s story, I recommend checking it out here. I won’t spoil it for you, but him and his wife sought far and wide for the answer.

They had to fly his wife, Kat, to New York to get structurally and neurologically based chiropractic. Because of the relief that his wife received, Dr. Jerry decide to quit his job on Wall Street and commit his life to helping people just like his wife.

Ricardo, who has been suffering from pain for over 10 years. If you’d like to see what structurally based chiropractic was able to do for him check out the video below: