Archive for the ‘Health Articles’ Category
Welcome to Chiropractic Life and Wellness Center's Health Articles Archive. Here you can learn more about Chiropractic Life and Wellness Center, Chiropractic, and Dr. Brandon Chorney, today's choice for Chiropractors in New Fairfield, CT. Read Dr. Brandon Chorney's Chiropractic Health Articles for the health of it.
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by Dr. Brandon Chorney | Jun 5, 2012 | Health Articles
You wouldn’t go to a gas station and fill your tank with the wrong type of fuel, would you? Of course not, because you know what the consequences would be. You’d break down a half mile along the road. It’s pretty much the same with the human body, except for one thing: we are such...
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by Dr. Brandon Chorney | May 31, 2012 | Health Articles
Traveling can be rough on the body. Whether you are traveling alone on business or on your way to a sunny resort with your family, long hours in a car or an airplane can leave you stressed, tired, stiff and sore.
“Prolonged sitting can wreak havoc on your body,” says Dr. Scott Bautch, a member of the American Chiropractic Association’s (ACA) Council on Occupational Health. “Even if you travel in the most comfortable car or opt to fly first class, certain pressures and forces from awkward positions can result in restricted blood flow. One of the biggest insults to your system from prolonged sitting is the buildup of pressure in the blood vessels in your lower legs. Contracting and relaxing the muscles helps the blood flow properly.”
Use the following to help fight the pains and strains of travel before they occur.
Warm Up, Cool Down
Treat travel as an athletic event. Warm up before settling into a car or plane, and cool down once you reach your destination. Take a brisk walk to stretch your hamstring and calf muscles.
In the Car:
- Adjust the seat so you are as close to the steering wheel as comfortably possible. Your knees should be slightly higher than your hips. Place four fingers behind the back of your thigh closest to your knee. If you cannot easily slide your fingers in and out of that space, you need to re-adjust your seat.
- Consider a back support. Using a support behind your back may reduce the risk of low-back strain, pain or injury. The widest part of the support should be between the bottom of your rib cage and your waistline.
- Exercise your legs while driving to reduce the risk of any swelling, fatigue or discomfort. Open your toes as wide as you can, and count to 10. Count to five while you tighten your calf muscles, then your thigh muscles, then your gluteal muscles. Roll your shoulders forward and back, making sure to keep your hands on the steering wheel and your eyes on the road.
- To minimize arm and hand tension while driving, hold the steering wheel at approximately 3 o’clock and 7 o’clock, periodically switching to 10 o’clock and 5 o’clock.
- Do not grip the steering wheel. Instead, tighten and loosen your grip to improve hand circulation and decrease muscle fatigue in the arms, wrists and hands.
- While always being careful to keep your eyes on the road, vary your focal point while driving to reduce the risk of eye fatigue and tension headaches.
- Take rest breaks. Never underestimate the potential consequences of fatigue to yourself, your passengers and other drivers.
In an Airplane:
- Stand up straight and feel the normal “S” curve of your spine. Then use rolled-up pillows or blankets to maintain that curve when you sit in your seat. Tuck a pillow behind your back and just above the belt line and lay another pillow across the gap between your neck and the headrest. If the seat is hollowed from wear, use folded blankets to raise your buttocks a little.
- Check all bags heavier than 5-10 percent of your body weight. Overhead lifting of any significant amount of weight should be avoided to reduce the risk of pain in the lower back or neck. While lifting your bags, stand right in front of the overhead compartment so the spine is not rotated. Do not lift your bags over your head, or turn or twist your head and neck in the process.
- When stowing belongings under the seat, do not force the object with an awkward motion using your legs, feet or arms. This may cause muscle strain or spasms in the upper thighs and lower back muscles. Instead, sit in your seat first, and using your hands and feet, gently guide your bags under the seat directly in front of you.
- While seated, vary your position occasionally to improve circulation and avoid leg cramps. Massage legs and calves. Bring your legs in, and move your knees up and down. Prop your legs up on a book or a bag under your seat.
- Do not sit directly under the air controls. The draft can increase tension in your neck and shoulder muscles.
Safe Travel For Children:
- Always use a car seat in a car when traveling with children below the age of 4 and weighing less than 40 pounds.
- Ask the airline for their policy on child car seat safety. Car seats for infants and toddlers provide added resistance to turbulent skies, and are safer than the lap of a parent in the event of an unfortunate accident.
- Make sure the car seat is appropriate for the age and size of the child. A newborn infant requires a different seat than a 3-year-old toddler.
- Car seats for infants should always face the rear. In this position, the forces and impact of a crash will be spread more evenly along the back and shoulders, providing more protection for the neck.
- Car seats should always be placed in the back seat of the car-ideally in the center. This is especially important in cars equipped with air bags. If an air bag becomes deployed, the force could seriously injure or kill a child or infant placed in the front seat.
- Make sure the car seat is properly secured to the seat of the vehicle and is placed at a 45-degree angle to support the head of the infant or child.
Chiropractic Care Can Help…
If you follow these simple tips, you can enjoy pain-free, safe travel. If you do experience pain and stress on your back, doctors of chiropractic are trained and licensed to diagnose and treat problems of the spine and nervous system.
by Dr. Brandon Chorney | May 29, 2012 | Health Articles
The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway on the palm side of your wrist made up of several bones and ligaments. The nerve which controls sensation and movement in the thumb and first three fingers, called the median nerve, travels through this passageway along with tendons to both the fingers and thumb. If the median...
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by Dr. Brandon Chorney | May 24, 2012 | Health Articles
Looking your best might not always be the best thing for you. Today's society is extremely fashion and style conscious. Unfortunately, clothing designers and stylists aim to please by creating unique looks that might not always be practical or even comfortable. The look of the season shows runway models in high platform heels and tight...
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by Dr. Brandon Chorney | May 22, 2012 | Health Articles
Chiropractic is a drug-free, non-invasive form of treatment, thus it is widely recognized as one of the safest options available to treat back pain, neck pain, pain in the joints of the arms or legs, headaches, and many other neuromusculoskeletal conditions. Nevertheless, no form of treatment is 100% free of potential adverse effects, so, despite...
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by Dr. Brandon Chorney | May 17, 2012 | Health Articles
Scoliosis is a condition that affects 5 to 7 million people in the United States, most often adolescents between the ages of 10 and 15, and more commonly girls, although it can affect any age. Over half a million visits to the doctor are made each year to either evaluate or treat scoliosis. As the condition can be inherited, a history of it occurring within a family, or current cases, should lead to evaluation of all the children by an appropriate professional.
What is scoliosis?
Scoliosis is a lateral (sideways) curvature of the spine where that curvature is greater than 10% from the vertical. Less than 10 degrees may simply be the result of postural changes. Although the nervous system works to keep your spine straight, problems can occur. Scoliosis may not exist in isolation, and lordosis (abnormal curvature toward the front) or kyphosis (abnormal curvature toward the back) may also be present. The vertebrae are also often rotated.
80% of the time, the cause of scoliosis remains unknown, and this is called idiopathic scoliosis. In the other cases, the condition will be the result of some form of trauma, neurological disease, tumor, or similar. Where postural problems, muscle spasms, or leg-length inequality cause the condition, it is known as functional scoliosis, and can often be corrected. Structural scoliosis, on the other hand, is not reducible with postural changes.
Scoliosis symptoms
Scoliosis can cause pain, and impair lung function or heart function. It can also lead to psychological problems such as poor self-esteem, especially because it so often happens at an age when peer pressure is at its most powerful.
With 4 out of 5 scoliosis sufferers, the spinal curvature is less than 20 degrees, and this is not normally visible to the untrained eye. Provided these cases do not appear to be worsening, there is no great cause for alarm. However, as children and adolescents have bodies that are still growing, mild curvatures can bend by a further 10 degrees or more in a matter of months. For this reason, evaluations should be made frequently.
Scoliosis evaluation
Scoliosis is evaluated by conducting a detailed family history and a physical examination that includes postural analysis. If a curvature is detected, further investigation is required to establish if there is any obvious cause of the problem, such as a birth defects or any prior injury
X-rays are a useful tool when the curvatures are pronounced, to check more thoroughly on the structure of the spine, and if the scoliosis is impinging upon anything else. The wrist is also often x-rayed because this is used to assess the patient’s skeletal age, as a barometer of where that person is in relation to the accepted norm, and for monitoring the progression of the condition. X-rays may be needed anything from once every 3 to 4 months, to once every few years, depending on the doctor’s feelings about the possible rate of progression.
A device called a Scoliometer can be employed to monitor progression once diagnosis is certain. This measures changes in the rib humps that are linked to scoliosis, and is painless, being a non-invasive technique.
Progression in scoliosis
The vast majority of scoliosis cases are mild, non-progressive, and there is no need for treatment. This is not true for one category, though, which is young girls with a curvature of at least 25 degrees, who have not yet menstruated for the first time. As there is relatively fast growth in the year before the first period, it follows that any curvature will also progress quickly. After the first period, this slows down.
Scoliosis treatment
Traditionally, scoliosis is treatable in three ways: observation, bracing, and surgery. The first option is the most common and is not really a treatment because nothing is actually done to the sufferer, for the reasons outlined above regarding its usually non-progressive state. Bracing is normally only applicable to children whose skeletons have not fully matured whose curvatures are between 25 and 45 degrees. In progressive cases beyond 45 degrees, and/or if the function of the heart, lungs, or other vital organs may be affected, surgery becomes an option.
Today the treatment option which is showing the most promise is a combination of spinal adjustments or manipulation, therapeutic exercise, and electrical muscle stimulation. These can be especially helpful to anyone whose scoliosis is causing them spinal pain such as lower back pain, neck pain and also headaches. A general piece of advice, exercise is both advocated and well-tolerated for patients with scoliosis. Most importantly, it should be remembered that most people who have scoliosis lead their lives no differently to anyone else, however, as their spine is exposed to increased levels of strain mechanically it is important to ensure that extra efforts are made to help keep the spine healthy. Chiropractic care is a great method of ensuring spinal health.
