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Hunchbacks in the Hood

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We live in a world where technology dominates our daily lives. From watching TV, utilizing computers for work, video games for kids, and of course, staring at our smart phone for hours mindlessly scrolling through social media or playing games. It is pretty clear that the world would not be what it is today without technology. However, as technology rapidly grows with each passing day, its consequences are starting to catch up with our health and they are presenting us with serious problems.

Recently, more and more children, teenagers and young adults are developing hunchbacks due to the poor posture associated with constant use of cell phones and other devices with screens. It’s even become common in parents, the middle-aged and the aging populations. We used to associate bad posture, slouching shoulders and a hunchback as a sign of old age or a symbol of depression, weakness and an inferiority complex. Now, even the strong-willed, the leaders and the empowered are developing hunchbacks while they are young.

No matter what piece of technology you use, your neck and nerves may be paying the ultimate price. For every inch you look down at your phone, the weight of your head increases by roughly 10 pounds. Multiply these by several hours a day, 7 days a week for months on end and what happens? This forward head translation places an enormous amount of stress on spinal bones, nerves and the muscles that control your head movement.

It is not a coincidence that headaches and neck pain are increasingly being seen by chiropractors and other healthcare providers. Because your body is amazingly adaptable, the hunchback is your body’s method of adapting and coping with the stress that looking down on your phone places on your neck and spine. This body position can reverse the curvature of your neck and place additional stress on the entire spine and nervous system causing all types of health problems and accelerating spinal and nerve degeneration, interfering with your health on many levels both today and as you age.

The nervous system is the master controller of your entire body, and it is imperative to make sure that it is healthy. Much like a cell phone requires a tower signal in order to send and receive calls and messages, your nervous system is your body’s natural IT system that is responsible for sending electrical signals to and from your brain so you can move, breathe, talk, and perform all of your favorite activities. When this system is interfered with, dis-ease sets in and manifests itself in a variety of painful, chronic and unfavorable ways.

Straighten up. Don’t wait for a crisis! Be conscious of your posture when you’re on the phone. Make the health of your nervous system a priority with Chiropractic Lifestyle Care. Don’t let technology make you old before your time. Live your ideal 100 Year Lifestyle and unlock the potential that will allow you to live your best life, every day of your life.

Contributed by Cory Plasker, BEXSc

Personal Fitness or Cardiac Rehab

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The difference between being on a personal fitness program and going to a cardiac rehabilitation session is quite simply timing.

Personal fitness is a key element of living The 100 Year Lifestyle. Cardiac rehab happens after you have had a heart attack. Otherwise, the procedures of each are similar. Many people who are into personal fitness wear a heart monitor to track their results. During cardiac rehab, the cardiac specialists hook you up to a more sophisticated heart monitor to minimize your risks and their liability. You have a choice of which path you take.

Heart disease is a leading cause of preventative death in the United States and most of the industrialized nations. The key word in the previous sentence is ‘preventable.’ Through common sense food choices, maintaining your ideal weight, regular exercise, and a stress free spine and nervous system, you can keep your heart healthier for a lifetime.

Most overweight people are aware that their weight is an issue and it can lead to serious health problems. Unfortunately they are just waiting for a severe crisis to give them the life changing wake up call.

If there is somebody in your life who is on this dangerous path, you can be the intervention that wards off the crisis.

Have a heart to heart talk with them. Let them know that you are concerned about their well-being and that they are headed for a crisis. Ultimately the decision to change their lifestyle will be theirs, but it will help them to know that you care.

Decide together to buy healthier foods at the grocery store and make healthier choices at restaurants. Begin choosing quality calories over empty calories during all your meals.

If you have a history of heart disease, are concerned about an underlying heart condition, or experience chest pain consult your cardiologist. After you consult with your cardiologist, start a plan to Get Your ESS in Shape: Endurance, Strength and Structure. All three are essential to a healthy heart and quality of life as you age.

Make an appointment with your chiropractor to ensure that your structure, spine and nervous system are stable enough for exercise, and that the nerve supply to your heart is clear.

If you’re reading this then you are probably in a position to delay a heart attack and cardiac rehab, and even prevent it completely. Take action and make your appointments today so you can continue enjoying the life that make you smile now, tomorrow and for years to come.

Pregnancy, Posture & Fitness

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Every pregnant woman wants to bring a healthy and vibrant child into this world. Making healthy choices during pregnancy is a critical component to handling the physical, mental and emotional demands of pregnancy while ensuring a safe birth and long, vitalistic life for both you and your baby.

Women’s bodies were innately designed to give birth. When pregnant the hormone Relaxin is produced to relax the muscles, ligaments and tendons to accommodate for the growing baby. As a woman approaches the end of the first trimester, increased weight in the belly creates a pelvic tilt forward creating a more exaggerated curve in the lumbar spine. Oxytocin, another hormone, helps create effective contractions while simultaneously acting as the body’s natural pain reliever and preventing bleeding after labor. These changes create more space, protection and stability for the growing baby.

A fitness regimen throughout the pregnancy and post-partum period supports the desire for an uncomplicated pregnancy and birth. Unfortunately, recent research shows that only 1 out of every 6 pregnant women exercise a light to moderate intensity most days of the week (Fieril).

As a mother’s weight increases, her center of gravity shifts outward and postural changes such as instability in the spine and pelvis occur (Ohm). Some of the instability in the spine and pelvis comes from a weakened pelvic floor and core thus creating less intra-abdominal pressure.

Fortunately, poor posture has been perceived as being improved through fitness and chiropractic care during pregnancy (Fieril). One study revealed that urinary incontinence as a result of weakened pelvic floor is a common condition in pregnancy and in the post-partum period. Chiropractic care has been shown to effectively improve the muscular tone and restoration of the articular function twice as much as no care at all (Roy).

Staying active while pregnant has been reported and described by women as “enjoying using their muscles during exercise” which leads to a “psychological boost”. Chiropractic care at the core of a healthy lifestyle, in conjunction with physical fitness during pregnancy, helps mom achieve optimal health and peak performance so that her body can better adapt to the demands of the birth process. A healthy nervous system ensures a healthier growing baby during pregnancy, a safer pregnancy for mom and full life expression for both today and throughout a lifetime.

Pregnancy is an empowering and natural experience that should be looked upon as something other than a disorder to be monitored. Do you have questions on where to start for your fitness routine during pregnancy? Ask your 100 Year Lifestyle chiropractor today to learn how to keep your spine and nervous system healthy throughout pregnancy. Lifestyle chiropractic care along with physical activity during pregnancy prepares mom for the endurance, strength and structure needed during labor and birth.

Take charge of your body and the decisions made prenatal, perinatal and post-partum to support you and your newborn’s 100 Year Lifestyle.

Contributed by Heather Kimbley, BA, AAS, PTA

Fieril KP., Olsen MF., Glantz A., Larsson M. Experiences of Exercise During Pregnancy Among Women Who Perform Regular Resistance Training: A Qualitative Study. Phys Ther 2014; 94 (8): 1135-1143. doi: 10.2522/ptj.20120432

Roy, AM. Pelvic muscle floor training in a case of postpartum urinary incontinence. JCCP. 13; 2, 1017-124. December 2012. http://jccponline.com/jccp_v13_n2.pdf

Ohm, J. Chiropractic care for an easier pregnancy and safer birth. PathWays to Family Wellness magazine, Dec. 1st, #24 http://pathwaystofamilywellness.org/Pregnancy-Birth/chiropractic-care-for-an-easier-pregnancy-and-safer-birth.html

Live an Independent Life

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Who would not want to live their life in health and vitality for as long as possible? The benefits of Lifestyle Care are well documented. From improving athletic performance, increasing brain function and increasing bone density to strengthening the immune system and preventing deterioration, it ensures your potential to live an independent life for as long as possible.

Lifestyle Care is about keeping your spine and nervous system aligned, balanced and functioning to its full potential throughout your lifetime. This allows your brain and your body to communicate efficiently, without interference, so that they can function at their highest level and you can enjoy life to the fullest.

People will frequently say, “This makes a lot of sense. How often should I come and get my spine and nervous system checked?”

The answer is quite simple and depends a lot on you. The intensity of your Lifestyle Care will depend on the intensity of your lifestyle as well as the underlying condition of your spine and nervous system. People who live stress free lives and have no underlying deterioration in their spine or nervous system require much less Lifestyle Care.

On the other hand, people with moderate amounts of stress and deterioration require more frequent visits and people who are under severe stress or have a lot of severe deterioration in their spine and nervous system require much more frequent visits to keep their body functioning at high levels of health. You and your chiropractor will determine together the frequency that is best for you based on your personal health condition and goals.

As the intensity of your lifestyle changes from month to month or from year to year you may find that the intensity of your Lifestyle Care also needs to change.

If you have found that an adjustment every two weeks has been ideal for you and you change to a more stressful job with a lot of sitting or a long commute you and your chiropractor may find that a weekly adjustment works better for you.

If you are a casual exerciser and decide to start participating in triathlons, the increased intensity of your training might require you to increase the intensity of your visits to multiple times per week. If your life becomes less stressful, you begin meditating three times a day and your underlying spinal conditions have already been corrected, you may find that your Lifestyle Care frequency may decrease in its intensity.

The most important thing for you to understand is that Lifestyle Care is not based on symptoms. Your frequency is not determined by how you feel. It is determined by whether or not you have a subluxation (a spinal imbalance with nerve pressure) that needs to be adjusted. Research has revealed that nerve compression can exist without pain. Waiting until you have symptoms to get checked is not a good idea. Only your chiropractor can determine whether you need an adjustment. They will do that through a chiropractic check-up.

Ask around and you will find that you probably know people who have been under chiropractic care for decades not just because they have had a problem but because they have experienced the benefits of Lifestyle Care. These people may be some of the healthiest people you meet and they are enjoying a lifetime of independence, free from depending on others because their health has failed. Too many people are suffering because they are crisis oriented when it comes to their health. Don’t let this happen to you. It is easier, less expensive and more fun to stay well than it is to have to get well after you become sick or injured. Make Lifestyle Care your top priority and enjoy your lifetime of independence.

Nerve Compression Without Pain – M. Hause in Spine

Bone Density -JBSR September 2002

Increased Brain Function – In Touch Volume 4:3 March 2000

Copyright 2017. The Family Practice, Inc., Dr. Eric Plasker and The 100 Year Lifestyle. All Rights Reserved.

What’s Age Got to Do With It?

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People who are 100 years old are jumping out of airplanes, running races and traveling the world while other people in their 70s, 80s and 90s are suffering and in assisted living centers and nursing homes. Quality of life, activity level and energy have nothing to do with age.

Imagine what your life at 100 would look like based off of your current lifestyle choices. Do you get excited or scared? As centenarians, 100 year old people, are proving, how you age is largely dependent on the lifestyle choices you are making right now. Getting older doesn’t have to mean aging along the way.

While many older people still languish in assisted-living facilities, hampered by poor health and decreased mental agility, centenarians across the globe are showing that it doesn’t have to be that way. Consider Verdun Hayes, who set a world record in May of this year by becoming the world’s oldest tandem skydiver at age 101. Then there’s Don Pellmann, a 101-year-old track star from Santa Clara. He began running in track events at age 70, and has since participated in 890 of them, winning most and even breaking world records. Some other great examples of high-quality 100 year living are Fauja Singh, the 106-year-old marathon runner, and Mieko Nagaoka, who is still breaking world records in swimming at 102 years old. Compare these go-getters to people you might know in their 80s or 90s who are living lives of poor health and low energy, and you’ll begin to realize that quality of life has very little to do with age.

People across the globe are living longer. Information from a CDC study indicates that in the United States, the number of people 100 years old or older has increased greatly in the past few years, jumping by 44%! If you knew you could live to more than 100 years old, wouldn’t you want to be as healthy as possible?

How can you live a healthy, fulfilled life all the way to 100 years old and beyond? The 100 Year Lifestyle promotes practices that can be easily remembered if you use an acronym related to the word fitness. Take the NESS from fitness, square the “N”, and use this acronym to enjoy your healthiest today while propelling yourself into a healthy, happy 100 years and beyond.

– N is for Neurology. All of your conscious and unconscious functions are controlled by your nervous system, including your heart, muscles, digestion and circulation. Taking care of your body means paying attention to your neurology, which is an integral part of chiropractic care and promotes full body health.

– N is also for Nutrition. You’ve heard it said that you are what you eat, and it’s absolutely true. A diet full of fruits, vegetables and lean proteins, low in sugar and processed carbohydrates, is essential to a strong and healthy body.

– E stands for Endurance. You can build your endurance through cardiovascular activities like walking, running, swimming and bike riding, which increase your heart rate and strengthen your cardiovascular system. Start slow and steady, be consistent and you’ll be able to increase the frequency, intensity and duration of your endurance training over time. Who knows? You could be a 106-year-old marathon runner, too!

– S is Strength. Don’t wait until you lose your strength to prioritize it! Instead, start strength training today, so that as you age your muscles will remain strong and healthy.

– S also means Structure. Staying active and healthy means keeping your spine healthy, strong, and straight. That’s why so many world class athletes turn to chiropractic care to help them protect this important part of the body.

Are you ready to get started? It’s time to live your best life for at least a century, and we can help! It’s all about making the critical transition from crisis care to lifestyle care, taking care of your body so it will be in good shape throughout your (long) life. Visit our office and give us the opportunity to make a difference for you.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/25/health/centenarians-increase/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db233.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/15/europe/101-year-old-skydiver/index.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/100-year-old-track-star-don-pellman-keeps-breaking-records-california-santa-clara/
https://www.thenational.ae/sport/other-sport/101-year-old-japanese-swimmer-aims-for-more-world-records-1.158307

Easy Hard or Hard Easy?

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The great philosopher Aristotle once asked, “What is the ultimate purpose of human existence?” He, among many other philosophers of his time, agreed that it was happiness. We all want great relationships, wealth and good health. We want these things because we believe that they will bring us happiness.

How many people do you know who are truly happy? Better yet, how many people do you know that are 80, 90 or 100 years old and are truly happy? Many people at these ages are sick, suffering or dissatisfied with their lives. If the ultimate purpose of human existence is to be happy, why are so many people sick, suffering and dissatisfied?

Jerzy Gregorek, a 62-year-old and four-time world champion in Olympic weight lifting, lives his life by the following principle: “Easy choices, hard life. Hard choices, easy life.” If you make your choices based off of what is easiest and most convenient, a harder life will follow. If you make your choices based off of what will give you the most satisfaction and growth for the long term, an easier life will follow.

Whether you like it or not, want to or not, you will probably live longer than you ever expected. Why not make the decisions today that will give you an easier, happier and more fulfilled life today and for the years to come?

Many people make what appear to be easy choices when it comes to their health and the health of their families and suffer long term consequences. For example,
– It appears to be easy to stay sedentary and not exercise.
– It appears to be easy to eat fast food.
– It appears to be easy to stay up late every night.
– It appears to be easy to take a drug to mask uncomfortable symptoms rather than address the underlying cause.

All of these ‘easier’ lifestyle choices can cause interference in your nervous system and directly affect the way you age. If you make these choices now because they appear convenient and easy, they can lead you down a path that is much harder in the future. Think of your parents and grandparents who may be 80, 90 or 100 years old. If they are sick and suffering, how different would their life be had they made healthier decisions when they were younger?

On the flip side, many other people choose to make what appears to be harder choices when it comes to their health and the health of their families.
– It appears to be hard to exercise consistently.
– It appears to be hard to eat well-balanced, whole-food meals and take the time to prepare food properly.
– It appears to be hard to get adequate amounts of sleep.
– It appears to be hard to consistently see a chiropractor for Lifestyle Care.

However, these people experience an easier life because they consistently make choices that are good for them today and the long haul. While these choices may appear to be harder, by making them daily habits, each choice will become easier and it will result in an easier life. As it says in The 100 Year Lifestyle, “learn to love the things that are good for you.”

Your 100 is coming, you make the call.

Centenarians are the fastest growing segment of the population. You and your family will probably live longer than you ever expected. Take care of your body now by exercising, eating right, getting rest and keeping your spine and nervous system in balance and well-adjusted so that you and your family can enjoy the active, happy and fulfilled life you deserve.

Contributed by Adam Coats, B.S.