As many new mothers can attest, the muscle strains of pregnancy are very real and can be more than just a nuisance. The average weight gain of 25 to 35 pounds, combined with the increased stress placed on the body by the baby, may result in severe discomfort. Studies have found that about half of all expectant mothers will develop low-back pain at some point during their pregnancies.

During pregnancy, a woman’s center of gravity almost immediately begins to shift forward to the front of her pelvis. Although a woman’s sacrum-or posterior section of the pelvis-has enough depth to enable her to carry a baby, the displaced weight still increases the stress on her joints. As the baby grows in size, the woman’s weight is projected even farther forward, and the curvature of her lower back is increased, placing extra stress on the spinal disks. In compensation, the normal curvature of the upper spine increases, as well.

While these changes sound dramatic, pregnancy hormones help loosen the ligaments attached to the pelvic bones. But even these natural changes designed to accommodate the growing baby can result in postural imbalances, making pregnant women prone to having awkward trips and falls.

How Can Your Doctor of Chiropractic Help?

Before you become pregnant, your doctor of chiropractic can detect any imbalances in the pelvis or elsewhere in your body that could contribute to pregnancy discomfort or possible neuromusculoskeletal problems after childbirth.

Many pregnant women have found that chiropractic adjustments provide relief from the increased low-back pain brought on by pregnancy. Chiropractic manipulation is safe for the pregnant woman and her baby and can be especially attractive to those who are trying to avoid medications in treating their back pain. Doctors of chiropractic can also offer nutrition, ergonomic, and exercise advice to help a woman enjoy a healthy pregnancy.

Chiropractic care can also help after childbirth. In the eight weeks following labor and delivery, the ligaments that loosened during pregnancy begin to tighten up again. Ideally, joint problems brought on during pregnancy from improper lifting or reaching should be treated before the ligaments return to their pre-pregnancy state-to prevent muscle tension, headaches, rib discomfort, and shoulder problems.

Original Article from the ACA

Nearly 1 in 3 Americans suffers from high blood pressure and more than half don’t have it under control, says a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the report, most people with uncontrolled high blood pressure have health insurance and had actually seen a doctor at least twice in the previous year, yet their condition remained unmanaged.

High blood pressure is defined as a reading of 140/90 mm Hg or higher (if either the top or bottom number meets the threshold, blood pressure is considered high). Having high blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke: hypertensive people are four times more likely to die from a stroke and three times more likely to die from heart disease than people with normal pressure, according to CDC director Dr. Thomas Frieden. Together, those two conditions cause nearly 1,000 deaths a day in the U.S. and account for $131 billion in yearly health-care costs. “[High blood pressure] is public health enemy No. 2, second to tobacco,” said Frieden in a teleconference on Tuesday.

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Did you know numerous studies have shown Chiropractic adjustments are a safe and effective way to manage high blood pressure? Call our office today so we can determine if you’d benefit from Chiropractic care.

Parents should make a daily check of the how many items their school-age children stuff into their backpacks because the excess weight is causing them permanent damage.

A recent study found that about 76 per cent of the children carried backpacks exceeding 10 per cent of their body weight – “and the experts saying it should not exceed 10 per cent” – while 20 per cent carried more than 15 per cent of their body weight.

Parents should supervise the contents of backpacks of their children. Children have a tendency to collect items in their backpack, and over time these items will add to the weight of the backpack. The key is to carry only what is needed in order to avoid over loaded backpacks and spinal damage in children.

Original Article

It is recommended that your child’s backpack weigh no more than 10% of their body weight. Other recommendations include using a bag that has wheels so it can be pulled, and have us check your child’s spine and backpack – call today for an appointment.

With the physical stresses astronauts experience they are five times more at risk than the average individual to suffer from disc herniation.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) addressed the heightened risk of musculoskeletal injuries threatening astronauts, and discussed its concerns during a Spinal Deconditioning Injury Risk Summit. Among experts invited to the Summit was University of South Florida’s John Mayer, D.C., Ph.D.

“Deconditioning – the breakdown of the spine’s musculoskeletal support system – is a very common and serious condition occurring in astronauts,” says Dr. Mayer.

During the Summit, a multidisciplinary panel of experts addressed various issues including identifying impacting factors – such as microgravity exposure, flight weight and landing forces – and defining potential protection and prevention options. Going forward, NASA expects to develop and test new measures to counteract spinal deterioration in space crews, based on the panel’s recommendations. “Possible options to enhance safety measures for astronauts can include everything from developing new equipment to altering spaceflight exercise procedures to new healthcare practices,” says Dr. Mayer.

Dr. Mayer continues, “using effective specialized musculoskeletal care, such as Chiropractic, will effectively reduce the incidence of injuries for individuals exposed to a variety of physical demands.”

Full Report.

In the picture shown right, the first image represents “perfect” head posture. A line dropped from the center of the external auditory meatus (EAM) would land directly in the center of the shoulder.

For every inch your head moves “forwards”, the head “gains” 10 pounds in weight, as far as the muscles in your upper back and neck are concerned, as they have to work harder to keep the head (chin) from dropping forwards onto your chest. This forces the muscles that raise the chin to remain in constant contraction, putting pressure on nerves, stressing the spinal muscles and joints and often resulting in headaches, TMJ problems and more.

What are the consequences of forward head posture?

1. Long term forward head posture (FHP) leads to long term muscle strain, disc herniations and pinched nerves (Mayo Clinic Health, March 2000).
2. Decreased respiratory muscle strength and dysfunction in chronic neck pain patients has strong correlation in patients with FHP (Cephalgia, February 2009).
3. “Every inch of FHP, increases the weight of the head on the spine by an additional 10 pounds.”  (Kapandji, Phys of Joints Vol. 3).
4. “Loss of cervical curve stretches the spinal cord by 5-7cm and causes disease.” (Dr. Alf Breig, Neurosurgeon and Nobel Prize Recipient).
5. “90% of the stimulation and nutrition to the brain is generated by the movement of the spine,” says Dr. Roger Sperry, Nobel Prize Recipient for brain research. He demonstrated that 90% of energy output of brain is used in relating the physical body to gravity. Additionally, Dr. Sperry demonstrated that 90% of the energy output of the brain is used in relating the physical body to gravity.  Only 10% has to do with thinking, metabolism, and healing, so when you have forward head posture your brain will rob energy from your thinking, metabolism, and immune function to deal with abnormal gravity/posture relationships and processing.
6. Dr. Rene Calliet, MD, Director of the Dept. of Physical Medicine and Rehab at University of Southern California, FHP can add up to 30 pounds of abnormal leverage on the cervical spine.  This can pull the entire spine out of alignment. FHP results in the loss of vital capacity of the lungs by as much as 30 %. This shortness of breath can lead to heart and blood vascular disease.  The entire gastrointestinal system is affected, particularly the large intestine. Loss of good bowel function and evacuation is lost in FHP. It causes an increase in discomfort and pain, because proprioceptive signals fromthe first four cervical vertebrae are a major source of the stimuli which create the body’s pain controlling chemicals(endorphins). With inadequate endorphin production, many otherwise non-painful sensations are experienced as pain. FHP dramatically reduces endorphin production.
7. FHP has been shown to flatten the normal neck curve, resulting in disc compression, damage, early arthritis, decreased quality of life and a shortened life span.
8. Forward head posture is a silent progression that can lead to irreversible damage.

Help your self and other by assessing each other’s posture. Simply look at them from the side and see if the middle of their ear lines up with the middle of their shoulder. If it does, congratulations, that’s awesome. You are on your way to better health. If it doesn’t line up, then call us to schedule a Chiropractic spinal checkup.

More than 100 chiropractic doctors from North America are treating athletes at the  2012 Olympics. They have been chosen to help members of USA judo, weightlifting, wrestling and sitting volleyball win a medal. This is the first time that a large group of chiropractic doctors have traveled with Olympic bodies to represent the US at the games. It is also the largest contingent of chiropractic doctors to have been selected to support and care for athletes.

Terry Steiner, 2012 USA Women’s National Coach commented, “I have seen a tremendous value in our partnership as it pertains to the performances of our Olympic team. I can further see the positive, life-long effects these doctors can have on their lives after London.”

Chiropractic doctors are not only being utilized by athletes at the 2012 Olympics but also by the 2010 Major League Soccer World Champions, Colorado Rapids, US Martial Arts, the International Brazilian Jujitsu Federation, many top MMA teams, and hundreds of athletes and teams at all levels and all over the world including ‘World’s Fastest Man’, Usain Bolt.

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What’s Usain Bolt’s secret to being the fastest man alive? One of them is Chiropractic. Several Olympic athletes receive Chiropractic adjustments on a regular basis. So when watching the Olympics notice how many talk about Chiropractor or who are adjusted on tv, just like Usain Bolt!

Usain Bolt receiving Chiropractic care from Dr Michael Douglas

With so many people sitting in front of a computer all day long, plus time sitting while driving, and time watching TV, learning how to sit properly and take ‘microbreaks’ to avoid muscular imbalances is vitally important.

Use this checklist for ‘proper sitting’ while driving a car or sitting your office:

• Sit up against the seatback with a tall spine.
• Adjust the seat pan length so you can permit a fist to pass between the front of the seat and the back of the
  upper calf.
• Adjust the back rest in the car up and down to your comfort level. It should be placed firm against your back and
  may be tilted a bit backwards for more comfort. Your head should rest comfortably against the head rest.
• Adjust your hips so that they are level and square.
• Lightly draw your belly button in towards your spine.
• Lightly push the back of the head against the head rest while maintaining a level chin.

Learning how to sit right can save you from spine complications later in life. Make sure to talk to us about assessing the way you sit and whether it is affecting your health.

Whether you exercise every day or not, you still need to cut down the time you spend sitting in a chair.

Sitting for more than three hours a day can cut two years off a person’s life expectancy, even if he or she exercises regularly, a new study finds. Watching TV for more than two hours a day can shorten life expectancy even further, by another 1.4 years.

The findings suggest that when it comes to gleaning health benefits from physical activity, it may not be enough just to get the recommended amount of daily exercise — the government advises about a half-hour of moderate activity a day for adults. But what about the other 23.5 hours of every day? Researchers say it’s important not to spend it sedentary or sitting.

In the same way that both pushing the gas and hitting the brake can adjust the speed of your car, researchers say that physical activity and sedentary behavior independently affect your health and life expectancy. Whether “you’re physically active and meet the exercise guidelines, or if you’re not active,” says Peter Katzmarzyk, professor of epidemiology at Pennington Biomedical Research Center and lead author of the new paper published in the online journal BMJ Open, “sitting is bad.”

You can start by getting up from your chair intermittently at work. Take walks around the hall in your office or try holding walking meetings instead of sitting around a table. Get up to chat with your colleague instead of sending an email. Standing doesn’t take the place of exercise, but it should replace a good chunk of time you spend in your chair. The key is to spend as little time as possible sitting down.

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Ask us for other tips and ideas on how to stay active during the day.