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Lifestyle Care Continuum

Hope And Healing

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We hope for a healthy mind and body. Many of us hope for meaningful relationships and the abundance to live, give and enjoy the good things in life. We hope these things for our loved ones, too.

What happens when something changes in our lives and hope is hard to muster? What can we do when we are faced with many challenges at the same time and we find ourselves feeling hopeless?

The Anatomy of Hope: How People Prevail in the Face of Illness by Jerome Groopman, MD discusses those living in “extreme circumstances” as having a hope that “assesses all of the obstacles, all of the problems, all the potential for failure” and still “sees a path to the future”.1 Research demonstrates the healing power of hope and how it can impact pain levels, respiratory problems, heart attack outcomes and Parkinson’s disease by stimulating neurochemical changes in the brain.2

Hoping is a healthy way to cope with daily stressors and the unexpected. Set your mind to believe that things will get better. Take action steps to do something different to make the rest of today and tomorrow better. Think positive thoughts. Consciously choose to spend your time, energy and resources in ways that agree with your goals. Take care for your body so you have the energy and attitude to be at your best. No matter your current situation, it is not too late to start.

Our Chiropractic patients present with a wide variety of conditions and goals for care. Some people come in seeking care for a crisis, seeking chiropractic care as a last resort. Children come in because their parents want them to have the advantage of growing up with an optimally functioning spine and nervous system. Athletes want to keep their body mechanics working at peak levels so that they can heal faster, avoid injuries and enjoy their sport for as long as possible. Some people are concerned about chronic conditions that are draining their bank accounts and causing them physical, mental and social suffering. They want a drug-free, non-surgical solution that will address the root cause of their health problems.

What should you do if you or a loved one has been hopeless about your health or potential to heal? As long as you are alive and breathing and there is life flowing over your nervous system be hopeful and consider giving chiropractic care a chance to work for you. A chiropractic examination will be able to identify whether or not there is interference to the function of your nervous system that may be affecting your health on many levels. Chiropractic care can help your body and mind to function better and you will learn to think differently about your health decisions. Your hope combined with the chiropractic techniques and lifestyle suggestions we offer can make the difference.

If you are suffering from acute or chronic pain, have been diagnosed with a severe condition, are feeling discouraged or stressed, there is hope. Make the health of your nervous system a priority. Your hope and personal commitment can make all the difference.

1. Daniel Cappello. (November 10, 2003). The New Yorker. In The Reeve Factor. Retrieved March 8, 2015, from http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/11/10/the-reeve-factor.

2. Park, Kevin K, Liu, K, Hu, Y, Smith, P, Wang, C, Cai, B, Xu, B, Connolly, L, Kramvis, I, Sahin, M, and He, Z. Promoting Axon Regeneration in the Adult CNS by Modulation of the PTEN/mTOR Pathway. Science. 2008 Nov 7; 322(5903): 963-966.

Copyright 2016. The Family Practice, Inc., Dr. Eric Plasker and The 100 Year Lifestyle. All Rights Reserved.

What Happens When You Stop?

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“Your body is a reflection of your lifestyle.”
Outwardly, this is obvious to us. Bodybuilders are easily recognized, as are yogis and other athletes. Even when we observe those who meticulously groom themselves or those who decline to subscribe to grooming standards, there is a “lifestyle” and values associated with the behavior. We are creatures of habit, as they say, and what we choose on a daily basis affects our long-term outcomes, even if the effects aren’t as outwardly apparent.

Continual chiropractic adjustments have already been shown many times to increase health due to the ability to increase positive neuroplasticity.1 “In the past ten years, researchers have objectively demonstrated that spinal adjustments can change aspects of nervous system function including muscle reflexes, reaction time and the speed at which the brain processes information.” Chiropractic Lifestyle Care ensures your body’s potential to experience your longevity with a nerve system that is continually optimized.

Across all health platforms, research has continually supported the importance of lifestyles and habits that foster health, instead of those that foster inactivity, disease and negative neuroplasticity, loss of brain function.2,3 When it comes to exercise, research published in the journal Frontier in Aging Neuroscience revealed that endurance runners who skipped workouts for 10 days had reductions in blood flow to their brain.4 Just like we cannot expect to eat healthy for one week and expect those effects to last a lifetime, we cannot expect to receive chiropractic care for a few visits or a couple of weeks and expect our nervous system to be optimized for the rest of our lives, especially in the high-stress world we live in today.

The 100 Year Lifestyle is about developing and nurturing habits that will ensure your health through your 100th birthday and more. Abandoning the consistent care of your spine and nervous system as a part of your lifestyle can result in a return to what has become known as the “standard” aging process. The brain and nerve system is like the rest of your body: when you don’t use it consistently, it assumes you have no more need for these abilities. Therefore, the body uses energy elsewhere, allowing the ill-used brain to atrophy and shrink. Due to this physiological adaptation, the normal aging adult experiences a decline in information processing speed in the brain, affecting all nervous system processes, including, but not limited to, motor function, joint function, memory, cognitive quickness and slowed autonomic responses to homeostatic changes.3

Instead of allowing the nervous system to stagnate, lose speed and function, utilize chiropractic Lifestyle Care to keep your spine and nervous system well adjusted. You will enjoy the benefits of the care today and you will appreciate them even more as you age.

Works Cited:

1. Murphy, Dr. Bernadette. Chiropractic and Neural Plasticity. University of Auckland 2003. https://spinalresearch.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Factsheet-LG2003-6.pdf
2. Schuster, Tonya et al. Wellness Lifestyles I: A Theoretical Framework Linking Wellness, Health Lifestyles, and Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2004. Vol. 10, No. 2; pg 349-356.
3. Vance, David E. et al. Neuropsychology and Cognitive Health in Healthy Older Adults. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services 2012. Vol. 50, No. 6; pg 30-37.

Posture, Growth and Healthy Emotions

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Your spine is the structural support system of your body. At any age – child, teenager, adult or senior – how your spine supports you can be seen in your posture.

Posture reveals weaknesses that can progressively worsen under the stresses of daily life as you grow and age. Because your structure, spine and nervous system are the lifeline of health and energy to all the vital organs of your body, it is important to pay attention to your posture before pursuing prescription medications or over the counter remedies for physical and emotional health problems or imbalances. Many of these medications have serious side effects and do not get to the cause of the instability affecting you.

Postural distortions may look very slight on the outside or they may be obvious. They can cause rapid degeneration of your metabolism and immune system on the inside or take years to manifest. Both systems are crucial for your overall health and vitality. Falls, car accidents, sports injuries, trauma and even the birth process can accelerate degeneration of the spine, leading to disability and a shorter life span.

People that have spinal injuries or vertebral subluxation may have it and not feel it. Uncorrected, it can cause degenerative changes and nerve interference. Someone with a subluxation may not function as well in everyday life and may not enjoy the same quality of life as people with a healthy structure, spine, and nervous system.

Regardless of the condition of your spine and nervous system today, there is potential within you for better health and happiness tomorrow and as you mature physically and emotionally and as your body heals.

Postural and structural weakness can cause someone to experience chronic or disabling pain, a weakened immune system, lower energy, fatigue, digestive difficulties, less satisfaction with personal relationships, and a shorter life. Dr. Freeman published findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association stating, “Aging in the spinal discs caused postural deviations leading to intestinal diverticula, hemorrhoids, varicosities of the legs, osteoporosis, hip and foot deformities, overall poor quality of health and life and a shortened life span.”

Postural distortions and a weaker spinal structure can have a major effect on a person’s overall strength and health, which can even have an effect on their earning potential when in the workforce. Later, these distortions can cause accelerated aging and may make you feel older than your chronological age because there is interference in nerve supply to your organs, muscles and joints.

A simple Posture Self-Test can determine if you or a loved one, children included, have underlying conditions that can lead to anxiety, chronic pain, disability and accelerated aging. A chiropractic examination and regular adjustments can help relieve pressure on the nervous system so messages delivered to and from the brain can be delivered.

Make your posture a priority. Have your children checked so all of you can enjoy the good health and happiness that comes with living your ideal 100 Year Lifestyle today, tomorrow and for a lifetime.

References

Freeman JT; Posture in the Aging and Aged Body. JAMA 1957; 165(7)

Takahashi T. Osteoporosis Int. 2005; 16 273-279

 

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

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.

I Just Woke Up With It

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Do you know someone that woke up with an injury or illness and attributed it to sleeping? It is not uncommon to hear people say something like, ‘I just woke up with it.’

While sleeping in awkward positions may trigger aches and pains in the morning, there are usually underlying conditions that are the cause of the problem.

Jacob Riis, esteemed reporter and colleague of Theodore Roosevelt once said, “look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and-first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”

The same principle holds true with your health, including the health of your spine and nerve system.

Spinal injuries known as subluxations, for example, can occur during the birth process, when a child is learning to walk, from childhood falls, toxicity and stress just to name a few. This condition can lie dormant for decades and suddenly show up one morning because the way you slept was ‘”the straw that broke the camel’s back.” And if the nerves are involved your entire body could be affected.

Your nervous system controls the function of every cell, tissue and organ in the body and adapts you to your environment. Brain function,heart rate, digestion, elimination, movement, strength, stamina, the ability to focus and adapt are just a few of the daily functions of your nervous system.

Research shows:

– 8-10 mm of pressure, the weight of a dime, can reduce spinal nerve transmission- CU

– Nerve compression can exist without pain- Spine.

– After only two weeks since an injury, the nerves begins to degenerate- T. Videman, MD

Other lifestyle habits that can affect your spine and nervous system are overeating, poor nutrition, slouching, excessive drinking, taking prescription or non-prescription drugs, or sitting too much.

Because it only takes a small amount of pressure to injure a nerve and a little bit of time for the degeneration to set in, regular chiropractic check-ups should be a priority.

Don’t wait until you ‘feel it’ because you may not have pain at first. Schedule an appointment today to begin enjoying your sleep, waking up refreshed and getting back to living your ideal 100 Year Lifestyle.

Article contributed by Emily Plasker, BA.