It's going to be a hot one out there....

Don't forget to drink plenty of water! Check out some interesting facts about water below.

The human body is composed of 75% water and as adults we can only survive three to four days without water.Only nerve function and the air we breathe are more important for life than water.Hydrated people perform better on tests than dehydrated people. 20% more strength and aerobic power can be seen in a typical 150 lb person who has optimum body water levels as compared to individuals who lose 3 lbs of water weight during the same activity.

Water as an aid to weight loss…We often turn to food when in fact we’re only really thirsty. Drinking water can fill you up, replenish fluids and even give you energy allowing your body to function properly and reduce weight.

Drinking water and losing weight!

“Drink enough water each day” is what we hear all the time but what weight loss benefits do we get from drinking water?

Drink half your body weight in ounces water per day i.e. if you are 150 lbs, you should drink 75 ounces of water, if 200 lbs, 100 ounces and so on. Not soda pop, not juice, not coffee, not tea, but water. North Americans do not drink enough water to increase health potential. Many health problems are due to dehydration; the list is long. Drink more water and within two weeks you will feel the difference.

All functions within the body require the presence of water. A well hydrated body enables these functions to occur quickly and efficiently. All chemical processes involve energy metabolism and drinking plenty of water will make us feel more energetic and boost our metabolic rate.

Water makes your metabolism burn calories 3% faster. Drinking water is important if you’re trying to lose weight, some studies have shown that thirst and hunger sensations are triggered together. If there is a slight dehydration the thirst mechanism may be mistaken for hunger and one may eat when the body is actually craving fluid. As most food contains some water, if one doesn’t drink much they may be subconsciously driven to eat more to gain the necessary water supply however, you also gain the undesired effects of increased calorie consumption. Drinking more water can help to prevent overeating and benefit weight loss.

Chiropractic and ADHD

Did you know chiropractic can help children with ADHD?

If you answered no, you're not alone. Many people are surprised to hear that chiropractic may help more than aches and pains. Check out an interesting case study below that was published in PATHWAYS magazine. Also, please check out http://icpa4kids.org/Wellness-Articles/ADD/ADHD/ for more research articles.

In the October 2004 issue of the peer-reviewed research publication, the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT), comes a case study of a child with ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder),who was helped with chiropractic.

The case was of a 5 year old boy who had been diagnosed with ADHD at age 2. The child’s pediatrician prescribed methylphenidate (Ritalin), Adderall, and Haldol for the next 3 years. The combination of drugs was unsuccessful in helping the child.

At age 5 the child was brought to a chiropractor to see if chiropractic care would help. The history taken at that time noted that during the child’s birth, there were complications during his delivery process. The results of this trauma and complications resulted in a 4-day stay in the neonatal intensive care unit. The child’s mother reported no other incidence of trauma.

The chiropractic examination and x-rays showed noticeable spinal distortion including a reversal of the normal neck curve indicative of subluxations. Chiropractic care was begun and the child’s progress was monitored.

According to his mother, positive changes in her son`s general behavior were noticed around the twelfth visit. By the 27th visit the patient had experienced considerable improvement.

The child was brought by the mother to the medical doctor for a follow up visit and questioned the usage of the Ritalin. The medical doctor reviewed and examined the child and based on that assessment and his clinical experience, the MD felt that the young boy was no longer exhibiting symptoms associated with ADHD. He then took the boy off the medications that he had been taking for 3 years.

The conclusion of the author of the JMPT case study noted, “The patient experienced significant reduction in symptoms. Additionally, the medical doctor concluded that the reduction in symptoms was significant enough to discontinue the medication.”

Have You Looked At Your Workstation Ergonomics Lately?

Most of us spend a large portion of our day sitting at a computer. Poor posture, lack of proper equipment, incorrect positioning can cause a lot of stress to the body and spine.

Here are some tips to setting up a healthy workstation.

1) Place the monitor as far away from you as possible while maintaining the ability to read without consciously focusing. Keep a minimum of 20" between you and your computer screen.

2) Place the center of the screen at a 15 degree angle down from your eyes with your neck slightly bent and your head perpendicular to the floor.

3) Position the keyboard slightly below the elbow at a downward angle to allow the wrists to be straight. Do NOT use the keyboard supports to raise. Do NOT tilt the keyboard tray so that the back of the keyboard is higher than the front. This results in your wrists typing at an upward angle and can result in a repetitive stress injury.

4) Place the mouse on the same level and immediately next to the keyboard.

5) Adjust the height of your chair so your feet rest completely and comfortably on the floor.

6) Allow 1-3" between the edge of the seat and the back of your knees.

7) Do not work for long periods of time without moving. Take frequent breaks every 20 minutes to help you stay awake, and keep you productive and healthy.

For more information visit our website, www.simmonsfamilychiro.com or call 925-5003.

Do You Suffer from STRESS?!?!?!?

Since April is National Stress Awareness Month, today's Blog is an interesting article from "The Hundred Year Lifestyle." (Current practice members-the same company that prints your Report of Findings Folders.) Have you ever noticed how some people deal better with stress than others? These days, stress is so common it’s often seen as “normal.” Since it’s unlikely that we can eliminate stress in our lives, improving our ability to withstand and accommodate it is important for our health. An optimal functioning spine and nervous system allow our body to better deal
with the stress.

Generally, stress falls into three categories:                                                                                                                             

1)Physical Stress - Repetitive motions (painting the ceiling), postural distortions Is this you? (falling asleep with your neck twisted) and whiplash injuries from a car accident are physical stresses. So are slips and falls. Even a difficult birth or learning to walk.

2)Emotional Stress - Ever face an impossible deadline at work? Or grieved the loss of a loved one? Notice the posture of someone who is depressed. Anger, or a sense of hopelessness, are common forms of emotional stress that may affect the spine.

3)Chemical Stress- Today’s environment constantly assaults us with chemicals. Drugs, preservatives, tobacco, alcohol, pollen, pet dander, detergents, wheat, dairy, and a host of other substances that can affect our nervous system and muscle tone.

Stress produces a reaction in your body. Besides increased levels of stress hormones, the fight or flight response may produce spinal joint dysfunction. Think of it as your body’s circuit breaker.  You want the power turned on right?  Now, some stress is a good thing but too much can do more damage to your body than you might realize.  Chiropractic has be shown to be one of the most effective tools for stress.  The chiropractic adjustment balances the nervous system and turns the power on so you can better deal with the everyday stress. 

Please feel free to share the below article with others :o)

 

It is well documented that high levels of stress can contribute to heart disease, cancer, headaches, ulcers, digestive disturbances, backaches and nearly every other condition known to mankind. How can one word cause so many unique and different problems in different people especially since the stress reaction is the same for everyone? The answer may be simpler than you think.

Stress is a nervous system reaction that causes your heart to beat faster, your muscles to be tense, your stomach to tighten, and your hair follicles to stand up, all as a way to prepare your body for an emergency. When you interpret a situation as stressful, whether it truly is or not, your brain triggers this reaction by sending a signal over your spinal cord and nervous system to every cell of your body. In prehistoric times, this would have been the perfect reaction to escape from a hungry dinosaur, but in today’s stress filled world and no Tyrannosaurus Rex, this chronic reaction can cause pain, sickness and disease.

Where your body breaks down from stress may depend on whether or not you have a condition known as vertebral subluxation. A vertebral subluxation is a spinal injury that interferes with the normal function of your nervous system which can affect your health on every level whether you have symptoms or not. If you have this in your spine, your body is already pre-stressed.

Many people deal with stress through deep breathing, meditation, exercise and healthy food choices. These are all very good things to do as part of your lifestyle to counter balance stress, but if your nervous system is pre-stressed, the slightest deviation from the perfect stress management plan can send you into a frustrating, uncomfortable, or painful tailspin. Removing this pre-stress causing subluxation can improve your resistance to daily stressors dramatically.

Research shows that it only takes the weight of a dime to reduce nerve transmission. Additional research has found that nerve compression can exist without pain and can cause deterioration within two weeks.

In this pre-stressed condition, your body becomes more vulnerable to outside stresses while other people may be much more resistant. The location of the subluxation can determine what types of symptoms, if any, you experience. For example, someone with nerve interference in the upper part of the neck might feel headaches, have allergies, or a stiff neck. Because the nerves fibers that come out of the upper neck also go to the entire body, pressure here can literally cause or mimic nearly every symptom or disease you can name.

Interference to the nerve supply in the lower back can cause a backache, leg problems and also affect ovary, prostate, bladder or bowel function. Interference to the nerves in the middle of your back can affect your heart and lungs or cause tension, stomach problems, digestive disturbances and discomfort.

The scary part is that like most serious conditions, vertebral subluxations can cause stress for decades without any symptoms. This is when serious problems occur, many of which could have been avoided by eliminating this pre-stressed condition right away. The birth process, childhood falls, sports injuries and poor lifestyle habits are just a few causes of subluxations. Rather than getting to the cause and removing this underlying problem, many people attempt to chase their symptoms away with drugs, or another type of quick fix, and then wonder why their condition returns. Removing the cause and optimizing the function of your nervous system is a better immediate and long-term plan.

Regardless or your symptoms, a chiropractic examination can locate pre-stressed areas in your spine that may be affecting your health on every level.

Crisis care is one way to deal with stress, only receiving care when you are hurt. A much better option is to remove the subluxation, stress, from your body and keep it out as a part of your lifestyle. This will help you to stress less, live more, and enjoy the quality of life you deserve.

Chiropractic and Allergies

Runny nose, itchy eyes, a headache that just won’t go away… It’s allergy season folks and I see these complaints in my office every day. Many practice members are quite surprised to find that chiropractic may help. Let’s take a look how.

The most common immune system disorder is an allergy. Allergies occur when the immune system overreacts to an allergen such as dust, pollen, dog/cat dander, milk, strawberries, mold, etc. The body produces too many neutralizing chemicals or histamines in response. Many things influence how your immune system functions such as your nervous system, diet, stress, and emotions.

Orthodox medicine has no cure for allergies, only treatment of symptoms. Since many allergy symptoms-runny eyes, irritation, redness, fullness in the sinuses and others are caused by histamines, anti-histamines are often prescribed to dry up mucous membranes. However, anti-histamines can cause drowsiness, headaches, nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, dry mouth, confusion and more serious heart problems.

Allergy sufferers have praised chiropractic for over a century. Chiropractic is NOT a treatment for allergies though. The goal of chiropractic care is to remove nervous system stress through spinal adjustments. A misaligned neck can easily cause your nervous system to become imbalanced. When the upper cervical spinal joint is irritated, it can provoke or worsen asthmatic and allergic symptoms. Chiropractic enables the immune system to function more effectively, something all allergy sufferers need since a nervous system with less stress functions more efficiently.

Spinal Degeneration

 

Spinal decay is a degenerative process that worsens with time. If neglected, or simply ignored, this condition quietly progresses without obvious symptoms. 

It starts with some type of uncorrected trauma to the spine such as a slip, a fall, or a car accident. Sometimes it can occur as early as the birth process or when we learn to walk. When your spine degenerates, spinal bones begin to deform, discs swell then shrink, and ligaments, tendons, and muscles first harden then weaken.  This causes you to lose balance, flexibility, stability, and strength. Most people believe they lose height when they reach old age; however, it may begin in your 20’s and 30’s as one of the symptoms of spinal degeneration.

Spinal degeneration is like tooth decay. As with tooth decay, early detection of spinal decay can help avoid painful symptoms and permanent damage.  If left uncorrected, the body responds by depositing calcium onto the affected joint surfaces, ligaments, and connective tissue.

The side view of your neck should have a forward banana shaped curve, equal disc spacing and unobstructed openings for nerve roots to exit the spinal cord.

The first phase of spinal decay involves loss of curve and reduced range of motion. At this stage, some patients often say there is no pain other than occasional discomfort while others complain of headaches, neck, or shoulder pain.

In the second phase of degeneration, there is a much greater degree of decay, disc narrowing, and bone spurs. Postural changes are much more evident and spinal canal narrowing (stenosis) may occur. This phase is characterized by aches and pains, fatigue and a diminished ability to cope with stress. This condition is very common - by age 40, 80% of males and 76% of females exhibit moderate disc degeneration. With chiropractic care at this stage, significant improvement is possible.

In the third and most advanced stage of degeneration, the postural imbalance is severe and motion is limited. There may be extensive nerve damage, permanent scar tissue is formed and bones may begin to fuse. Individuals experience pain, various degrees of physical or mental disability and continued loss of energy and height. At this stage, the condition is considered irreversible, although chiropractic care may give some symptomatic relief.

The purpose of chiropractic care is to locate the areas of the spine that are not working right and use specific adjustments to improve function and structure. Chiropractic can slow and even reverse spinal degeneration by improving spinal balance and posture. Dr. Simmons recommends bringing in your children for periodic spinal checkups as a preventative measure. To schedule a complimentary consultation, please call 304-925-5003 or schedule online at www.simmonsfamilychiro.com

Chiropractic and Kids?

Chiropractic care benefits all aspects of your body’s ability to be healthy for people of all ages. This is accomplished via the nervous system, which is basically the communication pathway between your brain and entire body.

The nervous system is the first organ to develop in utero at 3.5 weeks. Tiny nerve impulses are sent to every soon to be formed cell, tissue, and organ in the body. In utero is a very important time for the fetus to develop and grow, therefore it is important for mothers to have their body functioning at its optimum potential through chiropractic care. With pregnancy, come hormonal changes, a shift in body weight, and a laxity of connective tissues. New stresses are experienced by the lower back and pelvis. Many women report their pregnancies were easier and their delivery times were shorter when they received chiropractic care.

The birth process puts a lot of strain on the mother as well as the baby during delivery. Many forces and pressure are placed on the baby’s fragile spine and nervous system when the head is pulled and twisted. Even more pressure and stress occurs with C-section delivery and medicated labors so it’s important to have a baby’s spine checked post-delivery. Getting adjusted by a chiropractor as a newborn, infant, or toddler is just as important as getting adjustments as an adult. Babies take plenty of tumbles, falls, bumps, and bruises while learning to roll over, crawl, and walk each time putting stress on the spine. A commonly asked question we get from adult patients and parents is do we adjust babies and kids the same way we adjust them? The answer is not exactly. The technique we use is much more gentle. Adjusting techniques are modified for each person’s size and unique spinal problem. An infant’s spine rarely has the long-standing muscle tightness seen in adults making a child’s chiropractic adjustment gentle, comfortable, and effective.

Today we find many more parents bringing in their children for problems such as ear infections, colic, unexplained crying, lack of appetite, colds, allergies, bed-wetting, and growing pains. Instead of using drugs we work children’s bodies to help strengthen their immune system and heal.

Dr. Simmons is a huge advocate of preventative care. “It’s similar to dentistry. You don’t wait until your child’s teeth are rotting before you take them to the dentist, so why wait until your child begins to show abnormal spinal curvatures, earaches, pain, or other symptoms before you bring them in for a chiropractic check-up? Prevention is key because the nervous system controls and coordinates every function in the body. Regular chiropractic care starting at birth absolutely helps children to grow up healthier, happier, and symptom free.”

To schedule a chiropractic check-up please call, 304-925-5003 or schedule online or ask a question online at www.simmonsfamilychiro.com