Sitting Is The New Smoking

There has been a lot of poignant information that has come out that has viewed sitting for periods of time to labeled as the "new smoking". I believe this is scaring a lot of people and causing a lot of misinformation. I think the main point is that sitting for long periods of time is obviously not healthy, but are nowhere near as dangerous as smoking. Sitting, while not the optional position to carry out long days is far better than other activities. It can be said it's not sitting which is the exact problem it's more like how you are sitting that causes problems. In recent studies it was been found that the optimal position for sitting is 135 degrees, reclining back. The worst position it has been found was the slouched over position making your spine less than ninety degree. The angle of ninety degree is where your spine is at a right angle, while this is better than slouched over reclining is the better position. Don't sit for more than one hour without getting up and taking a five minute walking break. Just do these easy objectives to help make your sitting not so strenuous.  

Plano Chiropractors Have New Tools To Help With Spinal Corrections

Many people we find in our Plano Chiropractor office have, of course, issues with their spine. The patient usually wants to know a few things, can we help them, how long will it take, and how much will it cost. While all of these are excellent and important questions, we are always trying to improve the model in which we correct spinal alignments. We are always going to try and do it fast and better, with less visits. As of late technology has allowed us to do this. We have recently purchased new tools that will facilitate the healing process. The ArthroStim puts a gentle impulse of between 12-14 thrust a second into the vertebral segment in question moving it. Since the sensory motor cortex is on the same 12-14 frequency the ArthroStim sends the signal to the brain where the proper alignment is due to where the force is applied. The Vibracussor is another tool that allows muscle spasms to decrease and spreads out inflammation which allows it to be re-absorbed easier, which helps decrease overall pain levels. We are help to have these tools in our office, which many other chiropractors do not have, to help you get better sooner and keep you healthier long.      

Can Chiropractic Help With Herniated Discs?

We treat a plethora of patients in our Plano Chiropractic office that have herniated discs, and most of them responded very well to care. A herniated disc is when a portion of the gelatinous material inside the outer annulus breaks through and puts pressure on the nerve or causes inflammation which them puts pressure on the nerve.

There are a few options that can be done to treat a herniated disc. The first option is medication, while there can be serious reactions to medication it can be effective, although it is rated the lowest in effectiveness compare to the other options. Most people do not like medication and it seems that every person reacts differently. In this case the medication will usually be in the form of an analgesic and anti-inflammatory. This option could further lead to epidural steroid injections and surgery which could equally be ineffective as well as surgery carries an increased risk of permanent injuries or death. It has been estimated that while some surgeries do work up to seventy percent of lower back surgeries fail. Surgery should always be the last option.

Another option is physical therapy, while physical therapy can be effected and is more effective than medication it is still less effective than chiropractic. Physical therapy usually employees stretching and exercises as well as some passive modalities. Many physical therapy patients get frustrated easily because care can be mundane and usually centers around the physical therapist babysitting the patient in doing exercises. Most active patient learn the exercise then don't see the need for the therapist any more. Chiropractors usually incorporate some sort of physical therapy into their treatment protocol as well which is one of the reasons chiropractic is rated the most effective for lower back pain and disc herniations.

Chiropractic is by far the most effective for treating lower back pain and herniated disc as reported by the patient. Most patients report better customer service due to more doctor face time and report that the therapies overall are more effective. The chiropractic adjustments which work on increasing the zygapophyseal joint space as shown via MRI will increase the overall size of neural foramina allowing greater area for the nerve is question to traverse. Chiropractic is the only conservative treatment that does this. In addition to the above chiropractic increases the range of motion, breaks joint adhesions and helps in decrease inflammation. Including chiropractic with physical therapy is the best choice and since physical therapist cannot preform chiropractic adjustments, the chiropractor should be the first line of defense in lower back pain and disc herniations. If you want help due to a herniated disc or lower back pain we are here to help.     

         

What Causes Numbness?

Many people feel numbness or numbness like symptoms and they can be very annoying and aggravating. We treatment many patient who have numbness, but numbness is usually not their only symptom. Their numbness is usually accompanied by neck pain or lumbar spine pain. Numbness can also be called transient sensory neurapraxia, which is the scientific name. The point is numbness usually does not happen unless there is nerve involvement, meaning a nerve is injured or is pinched. Most of the time in chiropractic we find that a patient has spinal dysfunction which causes the nerve to be irritated, injured, or pinched. When the nerve is affect where ever that nerve goes to is going to be equally effected with numbness or symptoms.

As chiropractors, we can find out what is causing the spinal dysfunction and also find what is causing the numbness. More often than not if the spinal dysfunction is alleviated then the numbness usually clear up when the nerve heals. Numbness can also occur out of the spine as well, although we find the spine to be most common area. The problem is that nerves are all throughout the body and sometimes they have to travel near the skin and have to go through little holes in the bone called foramina, there is a possibility the problem can arise from these area as well. The good news is that chiropractors are well versed in finding where the nerve is injured at and where to fix it. If you have numbness and it's driving you crazy, check out Twisted Spine and Joint Center in Plano to see if they can help.

What Is The "Crack" During A Chiropractic Adjustment?

This is a common question I get from patients from time to time, they never really seem to understand how it works. I have heard answers such as "are the bones breaking" or "are you snapping my head off". Of course at this point of practicing I've told patient the cause of the "crack" before they guess that answers themselves, trying to be proactive. The "crack" noise is something that is actually very minor, it is nothing more than gases escaping from the joint capsule. The gas, which is nitrogen, must escape the joint during a chiropractic adjustment, the gas that leaves the joint capsule leaves the joint as an audible pop. So while the "pop" or "crack" sounds scary it's nothing more than a natural process of gas escaping a joint. The quick motion of the adjustment creates a negative pressure inside the joint and takes nitrogen out of solution in the form of a gas. It's important to note that not all joints make an audible click during an adjustment and you also don't need the audible click to have adjustment confirmation. The adjustment is a feedback from how the bones move as sensed by the chiropractor delivering the adjustment. This is also independent of a wellness adjustment or an adjustment treating a certain condition.     

Chiropractic Treatment For Functional Leg Length Discrepancy

A functional leg length discrepancy is when one leg upon measurement seems to be longer than the other when it's not anatomically longer, meaning one just appears to be longer. While measuring is going to yield the same results, radiographs may show a pelvis discrepancy in the iliac crest or greater trochanters. This discrepancy can be attributed to a possible issue within the lower back or sacroiliac joint. When the lower back and sacroiliac joints are not functioning properly it changes the way the tissues response creating an "asymmetry" in the spinal muscles. If the muscles in the spine are either tight (hypertonic) or loose (hypotonic) then the certain structures can be elevated or depressed leading to an appearance of a longer leg. Radiographs will show this and it can be explain to the patient.

If a functional leg length is present and remains for a long period of time without being treated by a chiropractic major issue can arise. Of course lower back and sacroiliac pain will be present but also any joint in the legs can be effected due to a disruption of normal biomechanics. If a joint is holding more weight than the other joint it is going to fail and become inflamed quicker, then a patient will start to favor the sore joint which will then cause the other joint on the other leg, due to compensation, to have aberrant biomechanics and that starts to turn into a long process when now both joints hurt. Long term effects of improper mechanics wear on the overall strength and stability of the lumber spine leading to possible disc herniation or injuries with minimal force compared to a normally functioning spine.

Chiropractic treatment rendered can help, the first step is to correct the muscle to make them more pliable so one side is not completely spasmodic due to the long standing effects. Then after taking careful radiographic measurements you can adjust the sacroiliac joint in their respective position. One side should be done in a posterior inferior direction while the other should be in a posterior superior direction. This chiropractic adjusting can be done in a prone position with chiropractic drops. After a course of treatment there should be a new resting alignment, this could be observed with radiographs or measurements on the patient's body. Once the new resting alignment is observed to satisfactory of the patient and the chiropractor, corrective and strengthen exercises can be done to hold the alignment and possibly help preventing future injury due to weakness. As always wellness care can and should be recommended for maintaining gains and prevent possible future reoccurrence. If you are having back pain and want to see if chiropractic can help you visit our website or our Plano Chiropractic office.          

Why Is Chiropractic Treatment For More Than One Visit?

This is a great question for someone which is unfamiliar with chiropractic care. I always tell a patient that care is a process and a treatment protocol meaning there are different steps involved. If you go to a medical doctor and get a prescription for a course of treatment such as an antibiotic, do you really think you would be better from one pill? No, of course not, the doctor would say take every pill, that is their course of treatment, as a multiple number of visits is a course of treatment from a chiropractor. The course of treatment is a word used in the healing arts, the difference is a medical doctor gives pills as a course of treatment and a chiropractor gives adjustments and therapies. It is just as unreasonable to think that one adjustment is going to cure your neck pain or low back pain forever, as it may help slightly for a temporary time it is a long term fix, just like one pill of antibiotic is not a long term fix for an infection.

The steps or phases to chiropractic treatment usually fall under three sections and they all vary on progress of the patient and the severity of the condition. The first step is the acute or relief phase, this is the phase where the doctor works on getting the patient out of pain and decreasing their inflammation. The next phase is the healing or correction phase, this the phase where the doctor works on the patient to restore function to their spine and getting their tissues to heal properly. The last phase is the health or strengthening phase which is where the doctor works with the patient to get them back where they were prior to the problem and strengthen and stabilizes the tissues. The last phase which is optional but we highly recommend is the wellness or maintenance phase, in this phase the patient takes responsibility for their health by getting regular check-ups to make sure their spine is staying health and there are no problems.
 

Why Should I Get Wellness Care?

Wellness care is a very important lifestyle choice that many people like to make. Weather the choice for wellness care came out of a serious past injury or an athlete just to be at top physical shape, it really doesn't matter.  What does matter is that you made a choice to take care of your body and decided to be proactive with your health and life. In my experience the people who receive wellness care are adamant about being well. In our country there has been a large paradigm shift (albeit we would like it larger) towards taking care of your body before problems arise and keeping it healthy.

Recent evidence suggest that visiting a chiropractor and having a chiropractor as your primary doctor would yield better results in the form of saving money and probably increasing your overall health and wellness. This can be due to fact that chiropractors are in trend with the paradigm shift of wellness, where an allopathic doctor would have you visit her/him when there is a problem a chiropractor would have you visit when there is possibly no problems and try to keep problems from arising. We have found that it's easier and more cost effective to keep you healthy than to neglect your health and try to get you out of a hole to restore your health again.

I always like to quote Thomas Edison whom was a great thinker, innovator and forward mover, he said "The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease." Even Thomas Edison long ago saw how healthcare should be ran, he saw that the doctors of the future will be so knowledgeable that they will prevent people from getting sick and medicine will not be needed, now we are not there yet but we are moving there.

The reason why wellness care is effective is because you are putting yourself in front of a highly trained professional more often than not. When you do not get regular check-ups, problems can manifest without you even knowing they are there until it's late and if they are neglected you're ushered back into the old model trying to dig your health out of a hole. Within the wellness model the doctor can find issues with your body that you did not know were present, the doctor can find these issues, treat them and/or refer appropriately to take care of the problem(s) quickly and before it to late. You have only one life to life and health is the greatest wealth.

    

I Have Headaches! What Can I Do?

Headaches seem to be an ever occurring problem with a large number of people. First let's just start and stay headaches are not a normal thing. Many people pass off headaches like it's not a big deal, the problem is headaches could be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to other issues. There are many different types of headaches and many different cause. The causes range from hormone imbalance to high blood pressure. For our sake we will be talking about cervicogenic headaches because it fits our audience perfectly. Cervicogenic headaches are a very common type of headache which arises from the cervical spine in origin. Cervicogenic headaches can arise from irritated facets, tight muscles, sore joint, and nerve impingement.

The pain from these headaches can be mild to severe, they can last from a few minutes to hours, day, or weeks on end. They can come on gradually or happen spontaneously and they can leave the same way with treatment. There is one common theme though, if you have headaches arising from your cervical spine you definitely a cervical spine problem. Pain and other symptoms are the last thing to show up when there is cervical dysfunction, the good thing is they are also the first thing to go away. The important thing is that chiropractic treatment can help with the headaches from the above mentioned symptoms.  After the headaches are gone it's very important to correct the spinal dysfunction that caused the symptoms and then usher to wellness care to make sure the cervical dysfunction can be quelled as needed.

We Are Back To Talk About Chiropractic & Wellness!

After a long hiatus Living Healthy 24/7 is back and we will be talking about chiropractic and everything wellness. It's going to be a lot of information and it's also be fun in the upcoming weeks. We are going to be trying to hit it hard so try to keep with us and check back frequently.

We also have some other sites that are putting out a lot of good content, I suggest everybody to check it out if they are interested, they will be hyperlinked. If you have any direct question we would love to help you out check out our main site for more info that can answer your questions, click here.

We decided to change direction to appeal to our audience a little more, we were asked to speak about chiropractic more. Ask and ye shall receive, we always want appeal to our audience so if there is ever a specific topic you want us to write on we will try to do our best to make it possible. Enjoy our future content and stay tuned!

Dr. Phil on Chiropractic

Great information on Dr. Phil about the benefits of chiropractic and how it works