Long Term Solutions for a BIG Problem

August 21st, 2010

via Integrative Nutrition Blog by Integrative Nutrition on 8/5/10

                                                                                                                                                                                           One of the major health problems facing our country today is the epidemic of obesity. Unfortunately, experts on obesity are turning toward an unsustainable and potentially dangerous solution to this problem.  According to a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle, citing the June issue of the medical journal Obesity, doctors are recommending a “minimally invasive weight loss surgery” to combat the obesity problem.

This is disappointing news; not only because the number of overweight children in the United States has tripled in the last 30 years.

Since obesity has hit alarming rates, physicians are scrambling for a quick fix.  The solution is actually very simple: start in the early years and create a diet for your child that is full of whole foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals.  Make sure they get physical activity everyday and diversify your meal choices.  Instead of white rice or other refined grains choose quinoa, bulgur, or buckwheat.  Processed foods that contain additives, like high fructose corn syrup, will only perpetuate the obesity problem in our country.

Remember that quick fix solutions do not generally result in long-term success. If you fix the problem at its source, you are more likely to create a lasting change. In this case, the diets of children in the US must be changed or an entire generation will remain at risk of diabetes, heart disease, and countless other problems. 

What are your thoughts on weight loss surgery as a soulution to the obesity problem?

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Raw Milk: A Do or a Don’t?

August 21st, 2010

via Integrative Nutrition Blog by Integrative Nutrition on 8/4/10

Raw milk has become such a hot topic of debate recently; police are even getting involved.   Rawesome Foods, a natural food store in Venice, California, was the target of a police raid that confiscated over $10,000 worth of raw dairy products.  Is raw dairy a do or a don’t?  Check out both sides of the argument and give us your opinion on this dairy dilemma.

Do: Raw food enthusiasts believe that raw milk contains important bacteria that build up the immune system and prevent allergies as well as lactose intolerance. Since raw milk is banned in many states, people will drive for hours to buy raw milk from farms in neighboring states. Those who support raw milk believe that pasteurization kills not only the dangerous bacteria, which may or may not be harmful, but also the important nutrients that are in the milk in its purest form. They consider it a superfood full of nutrients and beneficial enzymes. 

Don’t: Others are happy to stick with the milk that is readily available at grocery stores throughout the country. The dangers are very real, they believe, and it is not worth the risk to drink milk raw. Bacteria found in raw milk such as E. coli, salmonella, and listeria can make people sick or even be lethal.

What do you think? Should pasteurization be legally necessary for all milk products? Should the bans on raw milk in some states be lifted?

You can listen to the story on NPR’s All things Considered here.

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Be Smart When Using Dumbbells

June 16th, 2010

As a chiropractor I laud that benefits of exercise to all my patients. In fact, I offer community lectures on the subject because I believe that a regular routine of both aerobic and weight-bearing exercises is important for overall health and longevity. Many of my patients use lightweight dumbbells in their workouts and that’s great. But, it’s important to use them correctly in order to avoid injury. So, I’m happy to pass along an exercise that outlines the proper use of dumbbells, offered by Karen Voight, the creator of a line of fitness DVDs, including “Sleek Essentials.”

  • Grasp a 3- to 5-pound dumbbell in each hand and stand with your feet hip-width apart, toes facing forward. Bend your knees and sit back on your heels to avoid putting stress on your lower back. Begin with your elbows bent and tucked in to the sides of your body, palms facing forward.
  • Use your abdominal muscles to support and brace your spine as you simultaneously bring your left arm in front of you and your right arm behind you.
  • Pause when your dumbbells are at shoulder level and make sure your elbows do not “lock out.”
  • Bend your arms and return to the start position. Repeat the exercise, this time extending your right arm to the front and your left arm to the back.
  • Continue to alternate arms for a total of 16 repetitions. Rest for 30 seconds and repeat for a second set.

For more information, write Karen Voight

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Obesity: The Greatest Threat to Public Health in This Century?

June 15th, 2010

As a chiropractor and healthcare provider, I would be remiss if I didn’t address the vital issue of excess weight and how it negatively affects every part of the human body. I explain the health challenges to my overweight patients and hammer away on the subject in my blogs because in addition to the cardio-vascular diseases caused by obesity, much of the back pain, hip pain, and knee pain that people experience is influenced by the undue stress excess weight puts on the joints of the body. And, though it may not surprise you, an expert panel in a report out just today said that people in this country must slash their calories and increase physical activity because the obesity epidemic is “the single greatest threat to public health in this century.” 

We all know that dieting isn’t easy, but the advisory committee for the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans gave this clear-cut advice: “People in this country need to cut the calories they consume from added sugars and solid fats (butter, marbled meats) and start eating a more nutrient-rich, plant-based diet.”

The report called for many changes in the food environment. To read more, go to: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2010-06-15-

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Chiropractic Internet Marketing Strategy: Do it Yourself or Outsource?

May 16th, 2010

Here’s an interesting question for you to consider: Do you want to keep your chiropractic internet marketing in-house or do you want to hire a professional? There are pros and cons to both, and the answer lies in your particular situation. Let’s check out the advantages and  disadvantages of both.

Advantages of in-house chiropractic internet marketing

  1. There is a lower monthly cost involved in using someone already employed by you.
  2. The staff knows your practice intimately.  Your staff has a good understanding of your clinic’s particular services and, therefore, is able to describe your specialties easier than those who don’t know the specifics of your particular practice.
  3. You can communicate anytime. Being in-house it is easier to set up times to have meetings or just to chat about situations on the fly.

Disadvantages of in-house chiropractic website marketing

  1. The staff may not be fully aware of what SEO (search engine optimization) is, let alone how to accomplish it. In that case, a lot of education and training will be needed to make sure SEO gets done right.
  2. The staff may be overworked. Sometimes the time it takes to do SEO can be underestimated. It is an ongoing process that can actually be a full-time job.  If a marketing manager has been told to do SEO as well as his or her full time job, obviously that person will be overworked and feel overwhelmed.
  3. Attention needs to be paid to detail. This goes together with Point #2. If the staff is overworked, they have no time to check out search engine news and keep up-to-date on how the search engines have changed the game each week and what needs to be done to implement those changes to keep your clinic internet presence up in the rankings.

Advantages of using an outside professional

  1. Chiropractic marketing companies are specialists in the field.  They have experience in working on numerous clinics and their websites and optimizing them for SEO.  They know, first hand, what works effectively and what doesn’t.
  2. There is a dedicated team at the company who will be working on your site and can give it the attention it requires.
  3. The company has a specific plan and won’t be just jumping around, going from short term tactic to short term tactic with no organized strategy and no clear way to reach your desired goals. In other words, they have an “integrated” internet marketing strategy.

Disadvantages of a chiropractic internet marketing company

  1. Let’s face it, it can get expensive, but costs vary widely from company to company. Some companies out there are charging $600-$700 a month for their services. It is definitely worth your while to shop around and research before you buy.
  2. There is usually a commitment. Most chiropractic internet marketing companies will want you to sign up for at least six months to a year.
  3. Account management can be a problem. With high turnover rates at many companies, especially the big ones, there may be a chance that you’ll get handed from account manager to account manager just when you were building a relationship of trust. You may have to start over again, maybe even have to redesign and reiterate your strategy with the new manager.

Now that you’ve taken a moment to look at the pros and cons of both keeping your internet marketing in-house or hiring a professional, the solution to SEO and your internet marketing strategy will depend on the size of your practice, the time and staffing you can devote to it, and your overall long-term goals.

Now, of course, we are a chiropractic internet marketing company that specializes in helping chiropractors with their internet presence. So, I will admit that I am a bit biased on the side of your hiring an expert to do it right. If you are thinking of hiring a company to develop and implement your internet marketing strategy, it is tremendously important for you to hire one that specializes in chiropractic clinics. Why? Because we understand the chiropractic profession intimately. Therefore, in the long run it will save you both time and money not having to explain what chiropractic is about to some general SEO company. There are several of us out there.

If you are going to go with an outside company, be sure to read the fine print. Look at the bottom of their page for a disclaimer. If they have one, read about their “typical” results. You don’t want to be fooled by outrageous claims even though such hype can be enticing. Remember, your internet marketing strategy is just one stream of new patient leads. Even though chiropractic internet marketing is fast becoming a great source for new patient leads, and even though internet marketing gets more important with every passing day,  and even though it is a crucial area in which to generate new patient leads, it is still not the only source of marketing you will need to succeed in your practice.

Whether you choose to keep your internet marketing in-house or to hire a professional, you want to be sure that the time and money you spend on SEO gets you where you want to go. A member of your staff that does your internet marketing for “free,” while squeezing those efforts in-between other tasks, may “cost” you in the long run. A professional whose sole focus is internet marketing, won’t lose sight of your goals. Internet marketing is essential to your practice, so choose your chiropractic internet path wisely.

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Corona Chiropractor Explains How Chiropractic Treatment Can Eliminate Hip Pain

May 15th, 2010

Corona Chiropractor

Where hip pain relief is concerned, your chiropractor in Corona offers potent non-invasive, drug-free treatment. Whenever possible, surgery should be seen as a last resort. Therefore, before you schedule a surgery to replace that hip, consider the following questions: Is it out of the question for you to get a good night’s sleep because your hip pain wakes you up at night? When you get out of bed in the morning, and/or when you step out of your car, are you stiff and do you find it difficult at first to move your legs? Do you feel pain in one or both hips when you cross your legs or rotate or twist your hips? If you’ve answered “yes” to any or all of these questions you probably have imbalances and misalignments in your lower extremities that, in addition to causing your hip pain, can over time lead to osteoarthritis in your hips if not treated. The good news is that whether or not degenerative changes have already begun, chiropractic treatment can help!

It may be true that you’re getting older and your hip joints just aren’t what they used to be. But, did you know that your hip pain (and related problems), which generally point to age-related degenerative conditions, may not actually be created by osteoarthritis? That’s right. In fact, rather than being the root cause of your problem, osteoarthritis of the hip joint is more often than not the result of a earlier injury (or injuries) to your hips.

Frequently, hip problems have to do with asymmetry or imbalance when you are in motion, like walking for instance. If you tend to walk “pronated” like a duck, with your toes pointing away from your body, it is inevitable that you will feel pain in your hips as a result of the asymmetrical tension on your hip joints and your body’s efforts to compensate. However, you can make changes in your gait pattern at any age, and your chiropractor in Corona can show you how to do it.

Moreover, you may have had gait changes as the result of an ankle sprain or knee strain, and since “the knee bone’s connected to the hip bone,” these biomechanical accommodations generate hip pain. There is no doubt that, if not corrected, your hip joints will suffer further consequences, namely, the wear and tear that creates degenerative changes.

Other activities that can frequently adversely affect the hip joints are starting a new job or beginning a new sport that necessitates your moving your body in uncommon ways. Also, ferrying a child (or grandchild) on one hip can create hip pain. Even your sitting position or driving for long periods of time on a regular basis can cause hip injury and pain.

See? Not every pain is caused by “old age,” though we may suffer from more pain as the result of the progressive activity of untreated injuries.

As part of the chiropractic management of your hip problem, along with your adjustments, your Corona Chiropractor will provide individualized rehabilitative exercises that include gentle muscle stretching and strengthening, and will also analyze your gait and may suggest simple pattern changes.

Your hip pain won’t disappear on its own. Hip pain is a signal that there’s a problem that requires correcting. If put off, it is very likely that at some point you will require that hip replacement surgery. So, don’t put off until tomorrow, what truly needs to be done today. Your Corona Chiropractor can eliminate your hip pain, get your body back into balance, and help you get to back to enjoying your life again!

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Chiropractor In Santa Barbara Explains The Cause Of Spine Osteoarthritis

May 10th, 2010

Santa Barbara Chiropractor

You know what they say, When you consider the alternative, getting old isn’t so bad.” However, it’s no joke if the aging process is causing you pain! As a chiropractor in Santa Barbara, when it comes to musculoskeletal problems, I see too many age-related breakdowns that probably would not have taken place if the primary cause had been treated earlier. Pain in the back, neck, hips, knees, and even the feet are frequently the result of needless stresses due to poor posture, improper gait, and repetitive overuse. If we only knew then how our aging body would feel now, eh? But, as they say, “hindsight is 20-20.”

Back pain is at the top of the list as the most prevalent musculoskeletal problem to develop as we get older. Age-related back pain is most commonly caused by a degenerative disorder known as Spondylosis (spine osteoarthritis).

Spondylosis is caused by prolonged wear and weight-bearing pressure on the spine that, over the years, does harm to the discs, joints, and surrounding ligaments. The area of the body and measure of the degenerative process of spondylosis varies from person to person. The areas likely to be affected are the cervical (neck), thoriacic (mid-back), or lumbar (low back). Spondylosisi symptoms very from person to person and depend on the severity of the degeneration, and can range from low-amplitude pain and numbness to extreme sensory loss and muscular atrophy.

Calcium is deposited in the tissues around the vertebrae due to repetitive stresses that adversely affect the cartilage surrounding the joints Adjacent nerves, blood vessels, and soft tissue can be constricted by these calcific deposits, also called bone spurs. This particular of compression is at the root of Spondylosis.

Regular chiropractic care and overall chiropractic management has been shown to significantly slow the aging process of the spine whether or not you are suffering from spondylosis. It may be true that “you can’t un-ring a bell” or “turn back the hands of time,” but it isn’t too late to give your spine the consideration it deserves. Chiropractors are experts when it comes to treatment of the spine. See your Santa Barbara Chiropractor today, for the health of your spine.

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Helpful Practices That May Help You Avoid Hip Fractures From Falls

May 8th, 2010

It isn’t news to anyone that elderly people are more prone to bone fractures, especially of the hip. Fortunately, there are a number of preventative measures that older adults can take to help avoid bone fractures, especially from falls. As a chiropractor, I recommend a number of preventative measures to my older patients, not the least of which is for them to have regular chiropractic treatment to help to improve and maintain balance and to keep their body in good alignment. As far as I’m concerned, in addition to balance challenges and poor muscle strength, an aging body that is out of alignment is a hip condition waiting to fracture.

According to a new study by Dr. Marian Hannan, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical school and co-director of the Musculoskeletal Research Program at the Institute for Aging Research, elderly people who eat more protein are less likely to suffer hip fractures. Why? Because consuming proteins such as meat, eggs, fish or cheese helps to build stronger muscles in the legs, which, in turn can reduce an older individual’s chances of falling.  In addition to helping to build stronger muscles, other studies have shown that protein intake can increase bone density.

For more on protein study go to: dailymail.co.uk

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Your Wichita Chiropractor Has Years of Experience Successfully Treating Sciatica

May 2nd, 2010

Wichita Chiropractor

I am aware from more than twenty years experience as a Chiropractor in Wichita helping people suffering from the pain of sciatica that the affliction can be extremely incapacitating. Those who suffer from sciatica are regrettably all too familiar with the deep radiating pain that accompanies their waking hours each day and restricts almost all of their daily activities.

There is a way to ascertain if your low back pain is generated by sciatica. If your pain radiates from your low back, through one or both sides of your buttocks, down the large sciatic nerve in the back of your leg(s), and possibly penetrates into your knee(s), you probably have sciatica. Also, not only activity, but even sitting can be painful. Frequently lying down will lessen, or occasionally even temporarily get rid of the pain. However, you should be alerted to the fact that sciatica will not go away without appropriate treatment.

Radiculopathy

A radiculopathy is a medical term that describes a condition where a disc has protruded from its natural position in the vertebral column and is putting pressure on the radicular nerve (nerve root) that forms part of the sciatic nerve in the lower back. Such pressure can produce excruciating pain.

Increased pressure on the intervertebral discs, as well as imbalances in the muscles encompassing the spine, can occur during and after prolonged sitting, particularly in an awkward position. Generally, a specific event or injury doesn’t cause sciatica, more often sciatica has a tendency to develop over time as a consequence of ordinary wear and tear on the structures of the lower spine. Over the course of time the lower spine can lose its ability to function normally during common stresses.

Ultimately, the intervertebral disc develops small fissures or cracks that then allow the soft nucleus to protrude the disc outward. Pain is produced as the disc pushes on sensitive tissues. This occurrence is frequently known as a ruptured, or slipped, disc. Sciatica is the result of the disc pressing on the spinal nerve. With chiropractic adjustments and management, which often includes postural exercises, almost all disc challenges, including sciatica, can be completely relieved.

Periformis Syndrome

Periformis syndrome is another condition that results in sciatic pain. Periformis syndrome occurs when the periformis muscle, for whatever reason, goes into spasm and irritates the sciatic nerve, which runs “deep to the muscle.” In combination with chiropractic treatment, this kind of sciatica can be significantly relieved by sciatica stretches that your chiropractor will advise you on.

If you are experiencing sciatic pain, it is crucial for you to see your chiropractor for treatment. If you are in the Wichita area, as your Wichita Chiropractor, I look forward to helping you to get out of pain and get your life back!

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Not All Carbohydrates Are Equal

May 1st, 2010

As a chiropractor who works with athletes, both young and old, and one who preaches a healthy diet in addition to regular chiropractic care, I am often asked by my more active patients about “fuel foods,” especially before a big high school football game or prior to a weekend warrior event. The most frequently asked question is: Are carbohydrates the best source to “fuel my sport”? And, my answer is “yes and no.” If you play sports, it’s important for you to know that even though carbohydrates burn off quickly, and are generally the best source of energy (and I recommend them highly), other factors come into play when the body is under the “stress” of the game. And, while pasta, energy bars, fruits, breads, yogurt, potatoes, cereals, and milk may all be great energy foods to eat before your sport, you should also include high sources of protein, including meat and peanut butter. Why? Because even though carbohydrates give you energy, proteins rebuild your cells and help you to maintain your muscle mass. 

Another important thing to remember is that not all carbohydrates are equal. And while healthy fats can be an excellent source of energy during your sport, it isn’t wise before the game to eat fats that digest too slowly, like the fats contained in potato chips, fried foods, doughnuts, candy bars, and other sugary foods. Not only can hard-to-digest fats cause stomach cramping, but these types of fats are hard on the body systems for many reasons.

Maintaining an active lifestyle is important to overall health. But, doing it right and not overdoing it will make a big difference in how well you perform.

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