Allergy Relief Through Chiropractic Care?

The next time you sneeze, it may be a good time to visit a chiropractor. Yes, a chiropractor. Most people never think about it, but chiropractic care can help provide allergy relief.

That’s because chiropractic care, often thought necessary for only back and neck problems, can help with keeping the body operating at peak performance. The body’s immune system helps with preventing disease and infection, dealing with stress and overall well being. The immune system also tackles the invasion in a body of foreign substances such as pollution, dust, dead cells, etc. Current research is showing that there is a direct link between the nervous system and the immune system. Chiropractors remove nerve interference and allow the immune system to work optimally.

The immune system is affected by nerves and hormones. An immune system not operating effectively can:

• Fail to recognize and remove abnormal cells such as those that are cancerous.
• Be unable to fight infections.
• Overreact to things such as bee stings, penicillin, certain foods, pollen etc.
• Become depressed making you more vulnerable to disease.

Allergic reactions are the most frequent immune disorders and happen when the body’s immune system overreacts to allergens such as dust, pollen, pet dander, etc. The response is that the body overproduces neutralizing chemicals such as histamines to correct the problem.
What causes allergies? No one knows for sure. Some theories say it’s our increasing sterile environment. Others suspect the overuse of antibiotics and vaccinations. The idea here is our immune system is at its best when fighting off disease, parasites, and bacteria all by itself. The more we try and help it, the weaker it becomes. It is proven that children who live on farms and are exposed to different animals and the outdoors have fewer allergies than those who are not exposed.
Traditional allergy treatments only deal with the symptom without addressing the cause. This is because western medicine has no cure for allergies. Worse yet, antihistamines used over time or combined with other medication can be deadly. More recently, Canadian researcher Lorne Brandes, in an article published in the May 1994 Journal of the National Cancer Institute, has produced research showing that certain antihistamines (Claritin, Hismanal and Atarax) make cancerous tumors grow faster in lab rodents.

But just how can chiropractors help with such problems?
The answer is simple, chiropractic care releases stress on a patient’s nervous system. This allows the immune system to operate more effectively, which is beneficial to anyone and especially those suffering from allergies.

The chiropractic approach is to remove subluxations, a term for a misaligned spinal vertebra pinching a nerve. Subluxations place stress on the nervous system. Free from nervous system stress, your body will work more effectively to neutralize the allergy-causing chemicals in your environment.
No matter what disease or condition you have, you can benefit from a healthy spine. Spinal health can be as important for your overall healing as proper nutrition. Are you and your family carrying the vertebral subluxation complex in your spines? Only a chiropractic spinal checkup will tell. A healthy spine can improve your life – see your chiropractor for periodic spinal checkups.

Joy And Happiness Comes From Good Health

There is nothing more important to your happiness factor than taking proper care of your body.

There is nothing better than a good night’s sleep to make you feel better. Well, maybe a perfect diet, proportioned in fat, carbohydrates, proteins and calories. Oh, I almost forgot the benefit of a good exercise program will do wonders for your health and well-being.

Taking care of your health is an integral part of taking care of your mental well-being. It’s hard to feel happy if you don’t get proper nutrition, sleep or exercise, no matter how hard you try to keep a positive attitude. If you don’t feel rested or fueled, happiness is going to be just beyond your reach.

Take time to get the rest you need. Go to bed earlier than usual, but don’t disturb your natural rhythm too much. Eat smaller meals, but more frequently, to keep your blood sugar levels regular. Eat fresh foods; lots of fresh fruit and vegetables will help keep your energy levels up, and make sure to include some proteins for long-term energy.

Exercise tells your brain to release “happy hormones,” called endorphins. Regular exercise that makes you breathe just a little bit hard helps you to burn fat and to get the added benefit of the endorphins that give you a burst of energy and a sense of well-being.

Take control of your own body as a way of making yourself happier. By making better food choices, getting plenty of quality rest and getting more exercise is a sure-fire way of increasing you “happy factor.”

Should You Seek Help For Your Middle Back Pain Or Just Tough-It-Out?

Middle back pain may only seem an annoyance but the truth is if left untreated will only get worse and could result in more severe problems.

That’s why seeing a chiropractor is crucial when mid back pain begins. Back pain can be cause by simple factors such as driving for extended periods or working in a job that requires long hours of sitting. It may also be a complication of an organ system such as the liver or kidneys. Postural distortions of the neck can add increased stress to the middle back as well, increasing the degeneration process in the middle back and cause pain.

Mid back problems can also cause the rib cage to become distorted, resulting in shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, and fast or slow heart rhythms and thus leading individuals to believe that they are experiencing cardiac or respiratory problems. Other warning signs may include:

• Muscle tightness and spasms.
• Restricted range of motion when bending or twisting.
• Sharp radiating pain.
• Rib pain.

Regardless of its origins or warning signs, an individual experiencing signs of mid back pain should consult a chiropractor immediately, which can determine the cause of pain and create a care program specifically tailored for them.

Chiropractors are experts in the musculoskeletal systems and associated biomechanical-related functions. Allowing a chiropractor to become familiar with a patient’s medical history and lifestyle will allow him to determine a plan for treatment. If it is a mechanical problem there is a mechanical solution!

Here are some of the ways a chiropractor can help a patient with mid back pain:

1. Chiropractors use the hands or small instruments to conduct specific spinal adjustments that help reposition and align the bones of the skeletal system, thus allowing the body to heal itself.
2. The repositioning permits related soft tissue structures around the back such as nerves, muscles, tendons and ligaments to heal.
3. Chiropractic care can be instrumental in helping improve and restore motion to joints that are stuck or moving incorrectly, thus allowing the joint to pump the inflammation out and relieve pain.

Visiting a chiropractor is the alternative option to using medications or potentially risky surgeries. Chiropractic is a gentle, safe, natural form of health care. Of course, regular chiropractic care is an even better option that waiting for problems to arise. That’s because chiropractors can detect potential problems to a patient’s nervous system before they occur. Remember only ten percent of nerve fibers are actually associated with pain!

Our Fremont Chiropractors specialize in the care of nerves, muscles and connective tissues, which make up 60 percent of the body. All of the joints in an individual’s body are part of this musculo-skeletal system and its optimal function is necessary for overall good health.

As with any treatment, chiropractic adjusting techniques are also modified based on an individual’s size, weight, and unique spinal problems. Recommended treatments may include specific spinal adjustments, recommendations on exercise, nutritional advice or other conservative methods of care based on health history, age, and lifestyle.

Things You Can Do To Safeguard Your Kids Health

If you’re a parent, you worry about your kids health and well-being. You want your kids to grow up healthy and happy, but sometimes it seems like an uphill battle. Besides the colds, flus and other childhood illnesses, there are other issues that are ongoing. You hear about the epidemic proportions of childhood obesity in this country. Lack of adequate exercise combined with poor dietary habits, along with too many sodas and unhealthy snacks contributes. So what’s a parent to do? Here are a few tips that help you nurture kids health and take a load off your list of worries.

It’s never too early to start instilling healthy habits in your kids. Demonstrate by example. For snacks and beverages, choose fruit, yogurt, cheese and crackers, and juices. If a toddler gets used to receiving cookies, candy and sodas for between-meal fare, you’ll have a hard time changing these habits later.

Other kids health issues can crop up as a result of these sugar fests. For example, tooth decay can begin early. Youngsters as young as six can become overweight, causing a lifelong struggle with weight management. So when the kids start saying how mean you are to deprive them, buck up. It is truly for the benefit of the kids health.

To encourage a habit of exercise, again, set the example. Take your kids for walks, go to the park, zoo or anywhere that walking is part of the activity. Team sports are a fun and vigorous activity which promotes good circulation and muscle development. If kids get used to being active, they’ll want to continue to do so. Consistency ultimately wins.

Another good strategy is to teach kids about nutrition. Teach them about vitamins and minerals and what parts of the body they benefit. A little boy wants to be strong and agile. If he knows that protein builds muscle while fat simply adds fat to his body, he”s motivated to go for the protein. Pre-teens can be motivated to eat fruits and vegetables if they realize that the nutrients they contain will prevent a lot of pimples, whereas those tasty fries encourage excess oil in their skin and thus more pimples. Get a good nutrition guide and you can make your own home study course that’s age appropriate. Your kids will enjoy showing off what they know to their friends. Your home kids health nutrition class can be fun for the kids, help combat peer pressure and build your kid’s confidence in one fell swoop.

Your kids health depends on you, an awesome responsibility. If you consistently make exercise a part of every day’s normal activity, encourage good eating habits and discourage excessive sweets in a low-key way, your kids will reap the benefits. Teaching your kids why certain foods are good for different parts of their bodies goes a very long way towards making them willing adherents to your cause. Kids do always ask “Why?”, right? Here’s your chance.

Your Baby Eats Well If You Eat Well During Pregnancy

Pregnancy and Nutrition

You are besides yourself with joy as you see that your pregnancy test is positive. You find yourself already caressing your stomach in hopes that your little one can feel you. The next nine months are going to be an exciting time for you and your baby. You are going to have a human life grow inside of you. It truly is a miracle.

In order to help this miracle along, it is essential for you to eat as well as you can — in terms of nutrition — throughout most of your pregnancy. The first three months might be a little difficult to eat balanced meals when you are dealing with food aversions and morning sickness. If you are one of the few lucky ones whose stomach doesn’t so much as move during your first trimester, then you can take full advantage of eating healthy right out of the gate.

Making sure you eat balanced and nutritious meals is laying down the foundation for your baby. A diet of junk food is not going to help your baby with bone development and organ formation. Potato chips will not help with brain development. Your baby and your body need calcium and vitamins to achieve all of this.

Eating well during pregnancy is going to help your baby eat well after it is born and on solid foods. As your pregnancy progresses, some of what you eat will cross the placenta and the taste will be in your baby’s amniotic fluid. Babies swallow this fluid and their taste buds are developed enough that even in the womb they are able to taste the flavors. Doctors believe that babies who are exposed to a wide variety of fruit and vegetables while in the womb have less of a chance of being a fussy eater later in life. They believe that these are the babies who will eat their fruit and vegetables without putting up any fight.

Doctors also believe that moms who drink milk through out their pregnancy have an easier time weaning their babies from formula or breast milk to regular milk. This however is only one benefit, the other benefit of drinking milk throughout your pregnancy is all the calcium you will be giving your baby’s bones. Many doctors recommend that you drink at least one eight ounce glass of milk, usually fat-free, a day. Calcium is a must-have for your baby’s bones and his teeth, even though you won’t see their teeth for at least a few months.

This isn’t to say that you have to stay away from all sweets all the time. You can indulge every now and then and thanks to cravings you may find yourself wanting sweets more often than not. You do have to keep it in moderation. Being pregnant should not be looked at as an excuse to eat whatever you want for nine months. Both you and your baby could pay a dear price if you do, so eat well during your pregnancy and that your baby will eat well too.

Gonstead Chiropractic Technique Explained

Imagine the irony of attempting to correct problems of the musculoskeletal system without trying to identify the source of the problem. In many cases that is how injuries and pain are treated. Pain is treated with medicine that numb the body’s senses and surgery is performed before the root of the problem is identified.

On the other hand, chiropractors who practice using the Gonstead Technique address the whole problem, rather than only treating symptoms or making adjustments that only represent short-term solutions. The Gonstead Technique not only relies on the expert hands of trained chiropractors to help patients, but also helps the body heal without the use of expensive equipment, painful surgery or medications that may result in side-effects.

The practice of Gonstead Chiropractor was developed by Dr. Clarence S. Gonstead (1898-1978). According to a 2003 ranking by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners, the Gonstead Technique is the fifth most popular treatment among chiropractors, with just over half (57.2%) of chiropractors using the treatment.

Here is how the Gonstead Technique works. Chiropractors gather a clear understanding of spinal misalignments in each patient using a serious of tests and evaluations. Since the human body is unique and never exactly the same between two people, every patient will have a different set of misalignments. The chiropractor will determine which alignments to correct first and which to address later. They will deliver a very specific adjustment to correct the problem at its source. Correcting the wrong misalignment can cause the spine to compensate in other areas and create other problems.

A Gonstead Chiropractor will adjust the neck with the patient sitting upright as opposed to lying down. A Gonstead chiropractor will also use their hands to perform the adjustment as opposed to an instrument called an activator.

This technique is so and effective that the first Gonstead clinic in Wisconsin would see hundreds of patients a day. The reputation of this clinic spread world wide and today the clinic is over 22,000 square feet with a waiting room to seat 100 people. Not all chiropractors offer the Gonstead Technique because of the time needed to master — and subsequently demonstrate — competency in the method. Yet, as already noted, a study found that more than half of chiropractors believe in the Gonstead Technique.

The GCSS is also charged with validating the technique through continued research and data collection.

The Gonstead Method differs from other approaches by chiropractors because if offers a thorough analysis of a patient’s spine that encompasses five areas:

• Visualization, which cross reference all findings in a patient’s posture and movement which could indicate problems
• Instrumentation through the use of the Nervoscope, a device which detects uneven distributions of heat along the spine which alerts chiropractors to inflammation and nerve pressure
• Static Palpation, a feeling of the spine that detects problems
• Motion Palpation – This also involves feeling the spine as it moves in different directions
• X-Ray Analysis

For more information about the Gonstead Technique, talk to our Fremont chiropractors. Discover Chiropractic is located in Fremont, Ca and Union City, Ca.