The greatest wealth is health
~ Virgil
Exercise
Exercise helps promote proper digestion, better circulation, increase flexibility and keeps muscles toned. Cardiovascular and strengthening exercises combined with chiropractic care are an important component of pain management.
After a thorough evaluation, specific instructions are given by the chiropractor with respect to proper exercise for the patient’s condition before beginning any exercises. Programs, generally, require that a reasonable amount of exercise is performed daily.
Active Health Centers recommends patients utilize activities they enjoy to meet their daily exercise goals. Walking around the block at least once or twice a day is a convenient and popular activity. Also, many forms of work and or household tasks can function as an exercise program. The important point is to exercise!
Please note, if a chiropractic patient has a history of heart problems, it is important for the patient to consult with their Primary Care Physician to be certain they can tolerate cardiovascular fitness activities.
Types of exercise for chiropractic care for patients with low back pain.
There are many applicable exercises that are available for patients undergoing chiropractic care for lower back pain. Patients can be classified into one of two categories, flexion or extension biased, to determine the type of exercise best for that patient.
1. If a patient feels best when bending over (flexion biased), exercises such as pulling the knees to the chest, posterior pelvic tilts, bending forward from a sitting position and others are usually helpful.
2. If a patient is least symptomatic in extension, especially if leg pain centralizes or diminishes (extension Biased), exercises such as prone press-up are usually helpful.
3. In addition to the relevant exercises, strengthening of the pelvic stabilizing muscles (Trunk Muscles) hamstrings, adductors, and other overly short or tight postural muscles, as well as proprioceptive or balance promoting exercises also can result in a greater patient satisfying out come for reducing or eliminating low back pain.
Your chiropractor is trained in nutrition and how your diet affects your health and well-being. To your chiropractor, nutrition comprises more than simply eating three meals a day. The chiropractic profession views nutrition as the materials needed to maintain your health, and includes the vitamins, minerals, and tissue building quality of what you eat. Some foods should be avoided, while others consumed more frequently. You should consult your chiropractor for your specific nutritional requirements, but generally you should consider:
Remember, your specific condition may require special dietary supplements,
consult with Dr. Farrah Mousseli to make sure you get the right vitamins not just more vitamins!
You should avoid :
- Smoking and Alcohol
- White refined carbohydrates... including bread, sugar and candy
- Junk Food and empty calories
- Caffeine, found in coffee and cola drinks
- Trans-Fats found in fried foods
You should increase your intake of :
- Water
- Fruits and Vegetables
- Whole grains
- Lean cut red meats
- Fish and Poultry
- Complex carbohydrates
Headaches
Everyday people suffer from pain that is being directed inside their head, the term we use for this is headaches.
Headaches are a fairly common pain for everyone, and most people just rely on medication like aspirin to deal with it. What these people do not realize is that the pain causing the headache may be coming from some other region in the body and will continue unless treated. Stress, back, and even muscle pain can send pain signals to the nerves, arteries, and veins inside their head to cause these headaches.
Chiropractic care can relieve and correct the problem causing the pain. We want to help you live your life pain free. There are also ways you can help yourself, like keeping active and getting daily exercise.
Sleep Problems
You wake every morning feeling like you were up all night, well maybe you were.
Even though you were sleeping all through the night you may be experiencing sleep disturbances. There are over 70 different types of sleep disorders and are all categorized in three areas lack of sleep, disturbed sleep, and excessive sleep. Sleep disturbances occur throughout the night without you even knowing it, this can be caused by many different problems. Keeping your body in shape, dieting correctly, removing caffeine, and developing a good lifestyle can correct these problems. Everyone is different, and your Chiropractor can help.
There are stages in your sleep that your body must go through to achieve a good night sleep, in fact there are 5. This cycles over and over throughout the night.
This usually takes about an hour and a half to complete 1 cycle. Sleep is needed for your body to function properly, so take care of yourself and do what it takes to achieve a good night sleep..
General Pain
When pain occurs it is showing you that somewhere in your body a problem has surfaced. People shrug pain off everyday thinking it will work its way out, but that may not be the case. You might need to seek professional help to correct and maintain the problem. There are two types of pain:
1. AcutePain- This pain is new to the body and can be caused by a sprain, cut, broken bone etc. The pain can be mild to severe and will usually dissipate with healing.
2. Chronic Pain- This pain is different and might be accompanied by insomnia, exhaustion, even weight change and can last up to six months or more. Many look to painkillers to alienate the symptoms, this seems like the right thing to do, after all no one wants to live in the discomfort of pain. Quite often painkillers will mask the cause of the problem by reducing the amount of pain. Doesnt it make more sense to find the true cause of the pain and treat it directly?
Sinus & Allergies
Your body has its own built in immune system to protect you from outside elements, such as dust, pollen, pollution, etc. If your immune system is not working properly you may suffer from, watery eyes, a running nose, sneezing, or many other threats of sicknesses.
Histamines cause most sinus and allergy problems, and for example most people treat these problems with anti-histamines. These medications will dry the membranes and suppress the symptoms but is not a cure. Stress can often be a factor why your immune system is not working properly and, when ignored, your body cannot correct itself.
The nervous system and immune system, when working properly, can work as a natural healing aid and help to correct your sinus and allergy symptoms.
Mood Swings
Most people that have mood swings do not even realize how unpredictable their moods can fluctuate. They can become irritable and unreasonable over the smallest of things and sometimes are quite difficult just to be around. Medical doctors mostly treat these symptoms with medications compiled of chemical solutions that may have negative side effects worst than the symptoms themselves.
These moods swings may be the result of a persons body missing a natural and needed ingredient. Chiropractors take a natural approach to treating these symptoms through diet, supplements and exercise. Many Chiropractic patients have found relief and can live normal, healthy lives again.
Fatigue
Feeling tired, drained, exhausted, and depressed, these are symptoms commonly known as fatigue. Fatigue is a sign that your body is feeling physical or emotional stress. Thinking that it will just go away is a common mistake that everyone does. Causes are determined by the person, the way theyre dieting, what medications they are on, lack of activity, lack of exercising, and just feeling alone. The common person can feel fatigue or knows someone who feels fatigue, helping them and/or yourself can change your life.
The first step to living your life to the fullest is yours to make, so take action and get the energy back in your life.
Research has shown that people who are physically fit are less likely to have back pain, injuries, and will also recover much faster from injuries than those who are less physically fit.
The abdominal and back muscles help to stabilize the spine allowing proper spinal movement and correct posture. Also, having strong leg and hip muscles allow for proper lifting techniques and body mechanics.
Strengthening back and abdominal muscles can help to relieve back pain, provide energy and give a feeling of wellness making daily routine activities much easier.
As always if you are experiencing back pain
be sure to check with your chiropractor
before starting an exercise routine.
Spinal balance and correct posture are two very important elements to abundant energy.
Good posture should be a relaxed, comfortable and balanced state providing you with stability, poise,
and energy.
Good posture is when your head is balanced over your hips, your chin is parallel to the floor, and your pelvis is level. You walk with vigor and your
step feels light.
Good posture is a very important part
of good mental and physical health.
Proper spinal movement is aligned
with flexibility and strength.
Having adequate flexibility of tissues around the spine and pelvis allows
full normal spinal movement, prevents abnormal force on the joints, and decreases the possibility of injury.
Stretching exercises prepare muscles
for activity. Stretching before and after
a workout can prevent muscles strain, soreness and help to avoid injuries.
Stretching exercises will help improve your flexibility and strengthen muscles.
Posture and Balance
Spinal balance and correct posture are two very important elements to abundant energy. Good posture should be a relaxed, comfortable and balanced state providing you with stability, poise, and energy.
Good posture is when your head is balanced over your hips, your chin is parallel to the floor, and your pelvis is level. You walk with vigor and your step feels light. Good posture is a very important part of good mental and physical health.
Strength
As always if you are experiencing back pain be sure to check with your chiropractor before starting an exercise routine.
