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Getting the Winning Edge!

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In our ultra-competitive world of college prep, job insecurity, sales targets, promotions, placement tests, parenting, sport performance, etc., seeking an edge to succeed under pressure is desired by many.

Professional and Olympic athletes are always striving for the edge to win. Many would expect elite athletes to utilize the latest science on performance nutrition, exercise physiology and mental training, and they do. But few are aware of how these top performing athletes use the power of a balanced spine and nervous system to their advantage.

The 2015 British Open golf champion, Zach Johnson along with 2015 Masters Tournament and U.S. Open winner Jordan Spieth, credit chiropractic care with giving them the winning edge. Other well-known champion athletes including Super Bowl champion quarterbacks Tom Brady and Aaron Rogers as well as 6-time Olympic Gold Medalist Usain Bolt “The fastest man in the world”, all give credit to chiropractic care for helping them get and stay in winning form.

In high level sports, the winning edge goes way beyond genetics, which is exciting news for those of us who may not have won the genetic lottery.

The science of Epigenetics recognizes that our DNA is not necessarily our destiny. At most, only 30 percent of our health, longevity and performance is determined by our genetics. More than 70 percent of our destiny is determined by our lifestyle and choices. How we live and take care of our bodies matters more than our genes.

If you have chronic pain, sickness or ill health, this will be an impediment to performance which may keep you from enjoying life and achieving your goals.

Top performers adapt well to stress. How about you? Your ability to handle stress is also dependent on how well your nervous system is functioning. The role of your nervous system is to run all your cells, organs and tissues while it adapts you to your environment. The healthier your body and mind communicate via your nervous system, the better you are able to adapt and perform under stress.

If you want the winning edge, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Simply adopt the health habits and lifestyle choices of peak performers. Utilizing chiropractic care with your entire family can help give you the winning edge as you live out your ideal 100 Year Lifestyle.

Contributed by Drs. David and Lorraine Melendez

Acute and Chronic Injuries

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Acute injuries can occur from slips, falls, household chores, accidents, sports, trauma, car wrecks and work injuries to name a few. In extreme or life threatening cases, the injury could require the attention of paramedics or an emergency room physician and you should take this action step immediately.

However, many acute injuries such as strains, bruises, and whiplash can heal quickly with chiropractic care which helps the body to heal itself. Getting the nerve system healthy is an important first step towards beginning and optimizing the healing process. If the acute injury has a nerve and spinal component, and this component is not addressed, acute injuries can become chronic and affect your health for a lifetime.

Chronic injuries are those that cause discomfort and dis-ease over a long time causing deterioration in the spine and nervous system. This type of injury can lead to serious long-term health problems.

Chronic conditions may have been caused by an acute problem earlier on in life. You may have dismissed the original injury as no big deal. The pain has dissipated or been masked so the cause of the problem is now ignored. We frequently see people in our practice who have deterioration of their spine and nervous system who may not be bothered by the pain any longer, but instead, they have conditions related to organs and systems that are beginning to malfunction. Over time and left uncorrected, these conditions can worsen.

Age is not the only factor in the seriousness of the chronic injury. Infants and children are just as likely to experience troublesome conditions as a 35 year old professional football player. It is not uncommon to see a child who had a traumatic birth develop asthma, allergies or headaches later on in life. Childhood falls while learning to walk or playing on the playground can come back to cause more serious conditions during or after a growth spurt.

You may be reading this after trying several medications and seeing more than one type of doctor for an acute or chronic condition. The Chiropractic care we provide may be just the thing your body needs to help you make a comeback to pre-injury health status or beyond.

Don’t let an acute injury become chronic, and don’t let a chronic injury limit your quality of life. A healthy spine and nervous system is vital to healing no matter what the condition or length of time you have had it. Schedule your appointment regardless of how you feel today, before your condition becomes more chronic than it is right now.

Lifetime Care Study Reveals

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In a new pilot study performed by the Life University Research Department, Dr. Eric Plasker and The Family Practice, the data suggests very promising results relating to quality of life and length of time under chiropractic care.

Eleven clinics and more than 100 patients ranging from one to three years under care to more than 20 years under chiropractic care, show two trends worth noting.

The first trend is that people under chiropractic care during their first three years showed a definite improvement in their overall health even beyond their initial complaint. In patients under care from three years to more than 20 years, the second trend takes the form of a leveling off effect – indicating that there was no decline in health with age.

This is an important finding as many advocates for lifetime chiropractic care have described how chiropractic care as a part of their lifestyle contributes to their quality of life and activity level as they age.

Staying healthy is more important than ever as we are learning that we have a greater longevity potential than our parents and grandparents.

In fact, 100-year-old people are the world’s fastest growing group and we are the first generation in history that is getting the advanced notice that whether we like it or not, we will probably live longer than we ever thought.

According to the New England Centenarian Study, “Health span equals lifespan…Instead of the aging myth that the older you get, the sicker you get, it is much more the case of, the older you get, the healthier you’ve been”. Staying healthy is more important than ever to ensure your quality of life as you age so that your health span matches your lifespan.

Too many people are crisis oriented when it comes to their health. As the study suggests, if you want to be healthy, make the critical transition from Crisis Care to Lifestyle Care and make the health of your spine and nervous system a priority.

The pilot study results are preliminary and require confirmation in a larger study that we are planning now. We will keep you informed as to when the results of Phase Two are completed and ready for circulation. Between now and then, make this transition with your family and make Lifestyle Care your top priority.

1. Hitt R, Young-Xu Y, Perls T. Centenarians: The older you get, the healthier you’ve been. Lancet, 1999;354 (9179):652.

Healthier Pregnancy, Healthier Life

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New longevity research declares that babies born today could routinely live to 100-120 years and beyond. Parents need to know how their lifestyle will affect their baby today, tomorrow and for a lifetime.

It’s wise for pregnant moms to reduce and avoid stress.
Stress affects longevity by shortening telomeres, the caps on chromosomes. They are considered the timekeepers of the cell and telomere shortening can happen at any age. When umbilical cord blood is drawn from newborns, the babies whose mothers experienced more stress during pregnancy showed shorter telomeres than those moms who experienced easier or less stressful pregnancies.(1)

If conditions during pregnancy were not ideal, then embracing a healthy lifestyle now with good nutrition, exercise and a balanced spine and nervous system are vital for mom and child, to preserve and optimize their longevity potential while also reducing the risk of degenerative diseases.

The science of epigenetics empowers us with the knowledge that we have greater control over our own and our baby’s destiny than we may have thought. Depending on the research you read, between five to 30 percent of disease development is determined by your genetics while 70 percent or more being related to your lifestyle choices, how we take care of ourselves today. This is a game changer for making the extra effort to create the healthiest pregnancy, delivery and environment for mom and baby. A vitalistic, less stressful pre and post-natal phase can set the stage for health.

The old saying “you are what you eat” is especially true during pregnancy and quality prenatal supplementation plus eating nutritious whole food is important. Include protein sources rich in omega 3 fatty acids and free from hormones and antibiotics. Eliminate exposure to toxins, pesticides and estrogen mimickers commonly found in plastics, sunscreens, cleaning agents and insecticides. Pesticide exposure can be reduced swiftly by switching to organic foods.

Regular exercise like walking, swimming and stretching prepares the body well for labor. Building strength will prepare mom for the endurance needed during delivery and the weeks following birth.

The structure of the mom’s pelvis can determine her ability to carry and deliver her baby in a healthier way. Lifestyle chiropractic care can align her pelvis and contribute to a delivery with less stress on her and her baby. If mom’s pelvis and/or sacrum are misaligned, abnormal tension can occur in her nerve system leading to unnecessary complications such as breach or transverse presentation, back pain, sciatica or severe ‘back labor’.

Women receiving chiropractic adjustments report shorter labor times and better delivery experiences. Offering the gift of a chiropractic checkup to an expectant mother can be the highlight gift at every baby shower. Proper spinal alignment before, during and after pregnancy sets the stage for mom and baby to live their ideal 100 Year Lifestyle.

1. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2013 Feb;208(2):134.e1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2012.11.033. Epub 2012 Nov 27.

Contributed by Drs. David and Lorraine Melendez, A 100 Year Lifestyle Affiliate in Cardiff by the Sea, CA

The Nerve of Spring

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Spring is just around the corner. Do you have the nerve for it?

The sunshine and warmer weather can be strong motivators for people to go out and play. They bring the benefits of natural Vitamin D, fresh air, longer days and the potential to do more. It can also offer changes to your fitness routine as you become more active and do what you dreamed of when the cold kept you indoors.

As your energy and activity level rises, your nervous system will be tested in many new ways. Gardening, walking, running, bike riding, organized sports and pick-up games become part of your routine, and all of these activities will be more enjoyable if your spine and nervous system are healthy.

If you started a new fitness routine recently or have become more active, don’t wait for a crisis to get your spine and nervous system checked. A chiropractic checkup can help you heal quickly if you are injured. Why not be proactive and prevent a hiccup to your momentum before an injury occurs?

If you’ve had allergies, you may find their relief or disappearance a positive side effect of your care. Researchers have discovered molecular connections between the nerve system and immune system which explains why so many people with allergies respond to their care.

A healthy nervous system is essential for you to be able to adapt to your environment. Dr. Robert Zieve states, “We live in a toxic world. The great majority of chemicals we now take in daily were not on the planet 30 years ago. These toxins become neurotoxins, damaging the nervous system.”

You can control exposure to many toxins by making healthier nutritional choices and avoiding the environmental toxicity found in fertilizers, insect repellant and commonly used household cleaning supplies. Keeping your nervous system and your family’s healthy with regular chiropractic check-ups can make a difference in your body’s ability to resist and adapt to these toxins, pollen and irritants.

If you’re an athlete who’s upping your mileage, research has shown that nerve compression can exist without pain and your bones and joints can begin to deteriorate on a microscopic level within a few weeks. This can slow your reaction time and lead to unnecessary injuries.

For children and adults, nerve compression can mimic symptoms of many other conditions and even affect the function of your organs and systems.

Now that warmer weather is arriving, it’s time for you to blossom. Don’t sidetrack your desire to enjoy this beautiful time of year. With Lifestyle Chiropractic Care, you’ll have the nerve to enjoy every season as fully as you want!

If You Had 24 Hours to Live

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What if you were told that you only had 24 hours left to live? Once the shock wore off you would urgently pursue, do and handle everything that was important to you in your life.

Would you prepare or acknowledge your most important relationships? Would you do something exciting like parachute from an airplane? Would you meditate or pray to make peace with your maker?

This is a common question that people ask themselves as they make decisions about how they want to live. Here’s another question that is equally important: What if the powers that be looked at you and said something like, “We made a mistake when we told you that you have 24 hours to live. You have 30 days.”?

You might approach this situation differently. You would still feel a sense of urgency but now you would make a longer list and start checking it off. You might take a trip, spend more time with your loved ones, or write your memoir.

What if you were given a decade or even better, an entire century? At some point you would realize that you need to find the balance between immediate gratification and planning for the long-haul. Your adventures would be enjoyed while at the same time you were preparing for the future by taking care of your mind, body and spine. If you didn’t, and you just went at life full speed ahead without a long-term vision in mind, then you might end up with some incredible stories while your body, bank and relationships become beaten and broken.

One of the most interesting things we hear people say when talking about the possibility of their extended lifespan is “they don’t want to live to 100”. But here’s an important point to consider: You may not have a choice. 100-year-old people are the world’s fastest growing group and none of these people planned to live this long. If you have relatives in their 80s, 90s or over 100 years old, then the odds are that you will live at least that long or longer. What will your quality of life be like along the way?

Immediate gratification may feel good in the moment but will compromise your health as time goes on. Medications, for example, can mask the pain and cause damage to your heart, liver or kidneys. Be aware and careful not to wear yourself out with quick fix addictions that can slow you down and cause chronic conditions.

People start to feel old when they can no longer do the things that they love or used to be able to do and their suffering becomes chronic. Be proactive.

Find the balance between immediate gratification and taking care of your body and mind for the long-haul. Adjust your lifestyle. Eat healthier, exercise, get plenty of rest and take care of your spine and nervous system with Lifestyle Care. You will enjoy the present more while you also enjoy a sensational century.