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lifestyle

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.

We Are Not Just Lucky

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Luck, as defined by the Cambridge Dictionary, is the force that causes things, especially good things, to happen to you by chance and not as a result of your own efforts or abilities. Winning the lottery would classify one as being lucky and for the amateur golfer, so is a hole-in-one.

The athlete who trains for their sport day after exhausting day, the straight-A student who reads and studies extensively, the person who changes their eating habits and becomes more active and returns to their ideal weigh…their success has nothing to do with luck and everything to do with action and choices!

What about health? Is it luck that allows children to be born drug free and without intervention? Is it luck that those same children enjoy a childhood free from ear infections, antibiotics and trips to an urgent care facility for every illness that happens to be going around? What about when they grow into adults who do not require major surgeries, countless prescription and over-the-counter drugs and ultimate confinement to a bed in a nursing home? The answer, is no. It involves effort and choices.

Paying close attention to eating a healthy menu of food and exercising on a regular basis is helpful. These actions are of vital importance to overall good health; however, there is another piece to the puzzle. You were born with the Innate Intelligence that gives your body the ability to heal from the inside out. From the moment of conception, the power that made the body heals the body. You must choose to trust your body to do its job.

In order for your body to do this, the pathways by which it receives its messages from the nervous system must be clear. The function of every cell, tissue and organ depends on it.

Interference in this communication can be caused by events such as birth, or a fall, or a sports injury, or a car accident. Interference can also be caused by choices such as eating poorly, drinking too much, strenuous work, heavy exercise or not enough movement. Outside influences such as stress at school or work, chemicals in our food and toxic exposure affect the nervous system. The effects of interference can express itself in ways such as physical illness or pain. It may occur today or it may occur in the years to come, but when it occurs and how should not be left to luck.

A chiropractic examination will determine if you or your loved ones have spinal or nervous system interference. A chiropractic adjustment is the way to remove that interference. The beneficial side effect is a body that has the ability to heal itself from the inside out, just as it was meant to do. The need for sick days, medications and surgery decrease and the potential to live a long, healthy, active life increases. Who would not want that for themselves and their loved ones?

Choose chiropractic for your health, get your spine checked and get those you love checked. When we make a choice, when we take action, when we put our abilities to work then good things happen. Enjoy living life at your best instead of hoping you are just lucky.

Contributed by Jaime Coxon, RD, LD

Pilates, Balance and Chiropractic

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The health of your brain, body and mood is dependent on the health of your spine! Neurology and structure are the bookends of fitness, allowing for optimal endurance, strength and flexibility.1

Alignment and Overall Health

Certified PMA Pilates Instructor and owner, Deb Mandeville-Bowen, of Bend Pilates in Bend, Oregon says, “Pilates increases flexibility, strength, balance, lung capacity, endurance, bone density and energy while developing body awareness.” A research study on Pilates also found that a 60 minute Pilates exercise program improved mood in sedentary women and improved their psychological health after only ten weeks of exercise.2

Core Strength and Alignment

Lifestyle chiropractic care and Pilates enhance the benefits of each. Chiropractic adjustments optimize your neurology and help balance your structure. Regular and consistent lifestyle chiropractic care will accelerate your overall body results from your Pilates routine.

Strengthening and lengthening your core muscles with a regular Pilates routine provides postural support and reduces stress on the spine and weight bearing joints. With a strong and balanced support to your frame, your entire body moves better and maintains alignment longer. Pilates exercises work deeply in the body and mind through concentration, breathing and controlled movement. This allows energetic alignment between the mind, body, and breathing patterns.

Conditioning and Core Strength

Pilates was developed by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s and focuses on the development of core musculature, including the abdominal muscles, the low back, inner and outer thigh and gluteal muscles.3 A personalized Pilates workout engages smooth, integrated movement patterns and increases strength and flexibility.

A research study was performed on active middle-aged men and women engaged for just a few weeks in a Pilates exercise. The results were increased abdominal endurance, hamstring flexibility, and upper-body muscular endurance.4 Muscle strength is imperative to the natural aging process through improvements in everyday body movement, gait, balance and posture.5

Chiropractic adjustments align the spine, improve range of motion, posture, and work deep in your neurology to allow proper communication between the brain and the entire body. Roger Sperry, a Nobel prize winner on brain research, found that 90% of the stimulation and nutrition to the brain is generated by movement of the spine. Misalignments and restricted motion in the spine, called vertebral subluxations, cause interference in the nervous system and increase stress hormones in your body, leading to a variety of dysfunctions, including decreased immunity, digestion problems infertility, lack of focus, and low energy.6

Chiropractic adjustments restore your body to its natural rhythm in so it is better able to adapt to stress and maintain health. Research has revealed that chiropractic adjustments increase plasticity, or re-wiring, in the brain which allows your brain to adapt to the experiences of life at any age. Get your structure checked today to optimize your fitness routine and overall health!

References:
1. Plasker E. The 100 Year Lifestyle. 1st ed. Avon, Mass.: Adams Media; 2007.
2. Tolnai N, Szabo Z, Koteles F, Szabo A. Physical and psychological benefits of once-a-week Pilates exercises in young sedentary women: A 10-week longitudinal study. Physiology & behavior. 2016 Sep 1; 163:211-8
3. Pilates J, Van Heuit-Robbins L, Robbins J. Pilates Evolution: The 21st Century. Ashland, Or.: Presentation Dynamics Llc; 2012.
4. Kloubec JA. Pilates for improvement of muscle endurance, flexibility, balance, and posture. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. 2010 Mar 1;24(3):661-7.
5. Gleberzon BJ, Annis RS. The necessity of strength training for the older patient. The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association. 2000 Jun;44(2):98.
6. Korr IM. The spinal cord as organizer of disease processes. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 1976 Sep;76(1):35-45.

Contributed by Dr. Sarah Powers

Stop Blaming Old

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When you awoke this morning did you feel groggy or did you feel rested? Do your clothes fit the way they did when you bought them? Do you dread a flight of stairs? Maybe it is your knees, ankles, low back or memory reminding you that you are not a teenager anymore. Before you decide your age is to blame consider the following:

Feeling out of breathe is not because of old age.

Struggling to find clothes in your closet that fit is not because of old age.

Forgetting appointments or where you left your keys is not because of old age.

Waking up with stiff and sore joints is not because of old age.

A chronically sore back is not because of old age.

Taking medications daily is not because of old age.

In a recent issue of Psychology Today, Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D wrote “Blame is an excellent defense mechanism. Whether you call it projection, denial, or displacement, blame helps you preserve your sense of self-esteem by avoiding awareness of your own flaws or failings.” It is not a flaw to be tired, weak, in pain or forgetful. It is a failing to deny one’s personal duty to acquire physical and mental strength and stability, and avoid damaging activities, foods and drugs.

Cicero wrote, “The foolish lay their own vices and their own faults to the charge of old age.” Since no one wants to be thought of as a fool, it’s time to stop blaming “old age” and begin to take responsibility for the way you feel, think and live, and make your health a priority.

Your body is capable of adapting in a healthy way to positive changes in your lifestyle. These changes include the way you take care of your spine and nervous system every day.

Unfortunately, injuries and interference to the function of your nervous system can cause many of the conditions that make people feel old. They can be caused by falls, accidents and injuries as well as chronic stress or exposure to toxins to name a few.

Most of these nervous system imbalances can be improved, corrected and reversed so it is not necessary to live with them for the rest of your life and get old before your time.

If you are feeling old, Chiropractic care can help restore the function of your nervous system to get you feeling young again and Lifestyle Care can keep you feeling that way before problems arise.

Combined with movement, nutrition and good habits you and your loved ones will be able to enjoy a greater possibility of both quality and quantity years as you age.

Stop blaming “old” and start building your awareness of ways to defend yourself from potential or ongoing chronic issues through healthy choices that will afford your mind and body what it needs for today and in your future.

Remember:

Regardless of your age…

“If you want to perform at the top of your game
Eat healthy foods and take care of your frame.

The choices you make will direct your Innate
To a life of decay or an optimum state

Take care of your body, your mind and your spine
Make healthy choices that keep you in line

You’ve got to have nerve to adjust to it all
Your 100 is coming, you make the call.”

Sick, Fit People

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We have all seen them in the gym, in the yoga studio or in cycling clubs. The person who looks fit: has toned arms, shredded legs and probably has a 6-pack under their gym clothes. That same person, although they look like a specimen of health on the outside, carries a package of tissues, a bottle of nasal spray, emergency Vitamin C packets, chewable antacids and over the counter NSAIDs in their gym bag because they are constantly sick. Sadly, many gyms and fitness studios are filled with sick, fit people.

Think of the examples of people who, on the outside look healthy, but inside are sick and suffering. Patrick Swayze, James Fixx, Bob Harper and countless others – people living what most of us would consider healthy lifestyles, have suffered heart attacks, been plagued with cancer and died too young, regardless of what their bodies looked like or how they felt.

What makes these stars different than someone like “The Godfather of Fitness”, Jack LaLanne, who lived a happy, healthy life until the age of 97 years old? LaLanne understood how important his nervous system was as to a long, healthy lifestyle.

For your body to heal properly and fight infection, you must have an optimally functioning nervous system. The central nervous system, brain and spinal cord, control every function of your body. When you exercise, your nervous system coordinates the growth and efficiency of your muscles and bones to build them stronger.

When you eat a healthy diet, your nervous system coordinates the digestion and absorption of nutrients into your blood stream, building every cell in your body healthy and strong. This is essential so that these nutrients are available for better workouts and sustain your immune system to guard you from germs, bacteria, viruses and other stressors.

Optimizing your body’s nervous system with Chiropractic Lifestyle Care at the core of your healthy lifestyle so you can be fit and healthy rather than fit and sick, especially if you want to enjoy being fit over a lifetime.

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to leave the medicine chest out of your gym bag?

If you are considering a new fitness routine or want to get back in shape, getting your spine and nervous system checked before you begin can start you off on the right track, prevent injuries and optimize your fitness results. A healthy nervous system benefits every level of fitness. It helps to keep you feeling your best on the inside and enables you to continue looking great on the outside.

Whether you like it or not, want to or not, you will probably live longer than you ever thought. Why not get there in style with health and vitality, fit and healthy, so you and your loved ones can enjoy the ideal 100 Year Lifestyle you deserve?

Contributed by Daniel Kimbley, B.S.

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