Now you Know about Chiropractic!

Is Your child ready for summer athletics?

As the temperatures rise and the weather improves day by day, more and more children participate in summer sports like soccer, baseball, football, swimming, dance and gymnastics.  Unfortunately sport injuries account for a large percentage of injuries in kids. Studies show that over 55% of childhood injuries happen in children between 11 and 15 years of age.  Chiropractic care can help prevent injuries as well as maximize performance in children of all ages.  Chiropractic focuses on the nervous system which is extremely important considering it controls all body functions.  One of the most important functions of the nervous system in sports is coordination.  Your body constantly analyzes its position in space and communicates with the brain to alter or correct its position.  This positional awareness is known as proprioception.  When playing sports its crucial to know exactly where your body parts are at all times when jumping, catching, throwing, and more.  Even a slight miscommunication between the brain and the body can mean a difference between a caught ball versus a dropped ball or a perfect landing versus a sprained ankle.  Make sure you have your kids checked by a chiropractor this summer to make sure their nervous system is functioning at 100% of their potential.

Seniors are a growing segment of the U.S. population.  By the year 2030, one in five Americans will be over the age of 65.  This is partially due to aging of the baby boomer generation.  A generation that has been known for their innovative ways and thinking outside the box.  This is no surprise that chiropractic care is one of the most frequently utilized forms of complementary and alternative healthcare.

Seniors can benefit from chiropractic care on several levels.  Most commonly, the senior population is looking for pain relief.  Chiropractic care corrects misalignments in the spine, taking pressure off the nerves and often times alleviating pain.

As the body ages, it looses flexibility and range of motion.  This is due to loss of elasticity in the joints combined with many other factors such as muscle spasms. Proper chiropractic care can increase mobility and range of motion to help with simple tasks we take for granted like turning around to look back when backing up from the driveway. 

Another reason seniors choose chiropractic care is to help their balance and coordination.  The body is constantly correcting its position and coordinating movements without us consciously thinking about it.  Every joint in the body sends feedback to the brain informing it of its position.  Chiropractors make sure the nervous system functions to the best of its ability, therefore improving the body’s ability to judge its position in space, also known as proprioception.

One of the most important reasons for seniors choosing regular chiropractic care is wanting to stay active.  Taking under consideration less pain, increased range of motion, better balance and the many more benefits of chiropractic care, seniors can live a healthier and more independent life.  Studies done at Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College showed that seniors who received regular chiropractic care reported being able to perform more strenuous activity, decreased intake rate to senior living homes as well as a decreased hospitalization rate when compared to the non-chiropractic control group. Talk to your chiropractor to learn about all the benefits chiropractic care can offer for the elderly patient.

Dealing with everyday stresses

Modern world continues to create new demands on our minds and bodies.  As a result, many of us suffer from increased levels of stress.  Stress can be attributed to three major sources.  These three include environmental, physical and emotional stresses.  Environmental stress comes from air pollution, noise, traffic, unhealthy food, work demands, extreme temperatures, natural disasters and here in the Poconos, snow in April.  Physical stress comes from falls, traumas, heavy physical labor, car accidents and lack of proper rest.  Emotional stress deals with our inability to cope with our emotions and how we deal with the environmental and physical stresses we are subjected to on daily basis.

Stress is often defined as an inability to balance body systems due to excessive stimuli.  This can trigger the body’s fight or flight mechanism, also known as the sympathetic response, and can lead to increased rate of wear and tear on the body.  Medical research shows that most diseases are somehow related to stress. These include digestive issues, high blood pressure, ulcers, weak immune system and infertility just to name a few.

Chiropractic adjustments can aid in reducing the effects of stress on your body by reducing the pressure on your nervous system and allowing your body to return to a more relaxed state.  As the body becomes more relaxed the fight or flight system slows down and your body can finally start healing.  Make sure your spine and nervous system are in optimum shape with regular chiropractic adjustments so that you can handle life’s everyday stresses better!

With the winter season in full swing, it seems like more people than ever are coming down with a cold or the flu.  We are trying anything from grand-grandma’s cures passed from generation to generation to more extreme measures such as the flu shot.  However you choose to tackle this year’s flu season, the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) is recommending that people of all ages add chiropractic to their strategy for warding off and fighting the flu and its effects this season. 

Chiropractic adjustments can have a positive effect on immune function by correcting the vertebral subluxation complex and improving nerve function.  Our immune system, like every other system in the body, is coordinated and controlled by the nervous system.  A study done by Patricia Brennan Ph. D showed that chiropractic adjustments to the thoracic region (mid back) increased the number of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (white blood cells) in as little as 30 minutes post adjustment.  This is no surprise given what we now know about the interactions between the nervous system and the immune system.  In another study consisting of 2,818 individuals undergoing chiropractic care, researchers found between 7 and 28% decrease in symptoms such as stiffness/lack of flexibility in the spine, physical pain, fatigue, incidence of colds and flu, headaches, menstrual discomfort, gastrointestinal disorders, allergies, dizziness and falls.

Give your body that extra edge in fighting off the flu by adding chiropractic care to the list of your healthy habits.  Give us a call at 570 992 2929 to schedule an appointment today!

With the New Year comes the time for the dreaded New Year’s resolutions.  According to the University of Scranton Journal of Clinical Psychology, loosing weight and staying fit and healthy are on the top of the list.  Although increasing your activity levels is a great way to stay healthy and loose weight it also opens the possibility for injury.  Chiropractic care is a great way to make workouts safer, more effective and more enjoyable for everyone.  Chiropractors can help improve your flexibility, range of motion, and reaction time. A report in the Journal of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation found significant increases in athletic performance after only three months of chiropractic care, and the U.S. Olympic Committee assigns a chiropractor to its staffs for the Pan-American and Olympic Games. Adjustments can help you maintain your full range of motion, which protects against muscle strain during workouts and reduces joint dysfunction by ensuring that your joints aren't misaligned.  Chiropractic is so effective when it comes to improving athletic performance, that in 2002 31% of the National
Football League (NFL) teams had a chiropractor on their staff.  As of today, every one of the 32 NFL teams has a chiropractor.  On a broader scale, chiropractors have been working with the United States Olympic Team since the 1980 Lake Placid Winter games and continue to be a part of every Olympic Games since.  Make sure your body is ready to get the most out of your work out routine by keeping your spine aligned properly and increasing your range of motion with chiropractic care.  Let’s work together to have a healthier 2013. 
 

One of our wonderful pregnant Mamas right after her adjustment! A couple of weeks ago they scheduled a C-section for her bc baby was not head down - a few hours after giving her a Webster technique adjustment the baby positioned herself perfectly for natural delivery! ♥

Here is the info about this:

A recent world wide study among 28 countries determined that 3-4% of all pregnancies result in breech presentation.  Up to 87% of those pregnancies end up being delivered via caesarian section.  Although caesarian section deliveries were determined to be safer than vaginal deliveries in a case of a breech presentation they do not come without severe maternal risks.  In a study of 2088 women with a singleton fetus, 3.6% undergoing caesarian section had reported severe morbidity including serious extension to transverse uterine incision, wound infection, systemic infection, postpartum fever, pneumonia and early post partum depression.  Due to increased maternal risks during and post partum, and increased costs associated with caesarian section, women are looking for alternative methods, including chiropractic, to eliminate the need for this high risk procedure.

How can a chiropractic adjustment help with a breach pregnancy? 

Webster’s technique has been used by chiropractors since the late 70’s to aid pregnant females in restoring proper pelvic function and in many cases allowing the fetus to return to a proper vertex position.  The technique consists of palpating the abdomen via the Leopold maneuver to determine the position of the fetus followed by a chiropractic sacrum adjustment and release of trigger points in the abdomen.

How effective is Webster’s technique?

 Studies show that the efficacy of Webster’s technique is between 82-92%.  This is extremely high compared to alternative methods and makes it vary popular among women with breech pregnancies who want a safer, drug-free method to having a natural birth.  Talk to us if you would like to know more about Webster’s technique and how it can have life changing results for you or a loved one.