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 | Aug 24, 2021 | Health Articles
We all know that playing sports and healthy exercise should be an essential part of staying healthy. These health-smart actions benefit your heart, lungs, joints, bones, and also your mind in the way it releases mood-enhancing endorphins. The downside is that physical activity can sometimes lead to injuries. Injuries are caused by a variety of factors including accidents, poor conditioning or training practices, not wearing the proper protective equipment or an inadequate warm-up. Some of the most frequent sports injuries include Achilles tendon injuries, sprains, strains and stress fractures and knee injuries.
What is most important is that if an injury does occur that you know what to do to help expedite the healing and seek advice from a sports rehabilitation specialist.
Athlete’s First Aid Protocals
Sports injuries are usually pretty easy to diagnose because the athlete will typically be aware of when something went awry. A physical examination should confirm this, but x-rays may also be ordered if the injury suspected could be more severe, like in the case of a fracture.
Most often the injuries are less severe and are to the soft tissue, as in the case of tendonitis, strains, and sprains. With these type of injuries, the treatment can be one or a combination of the following protocols:
Raise it High and Compress
Typically forty-eight hours of rest with compression and elevation are the general prescription for a mild strain or sprain. Raising the injured joint or limb above the level of the heart along with light compression by a medical bandage or sleeve is helpful in reducing the inflammation and swelling.
Optimally a balance of activity and restoration of normal function are encouraged earlier to avoid harm from inactivity while avoiding a re-injury due to over enthusiastic comeback before the injury has healed properly.
Nature’s Best Anti-Inflammatory
Ice is nature’s best anti-inflammatory. It can help to reduce the inflammation and increase the speed of the healing process. The best guideline is to use the ice for 20 minutes every hour. Is is best to place the ice, which is wrapped in a thin towel to protect the skin, on the affected area for 20 minutes and then remove to let the area return to a normal temperature. This action will act as a natural pump to reduce the inflammation.
What Should I Do About Pain Relief?
According to recent research, the use of certain nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should be limited as they may, in fact, retard the body’s natural healing process, causing a longer recuperation than necessary. If you use anti-inflammatory medication use sparingly and restrict activities as the medication will allow your body to feel you are no longer in pain and no longer injured.
Sports Rehabilitation Is So Much More
Sports rehabilitation treatments can help with certain types of injuries, lowering pain levels and speeding recovery. Chiropractors and their teams are trained musculoskeletal experts and work with their teams to provide the best sports rehabilitation programs.
We’re On Your Team!
Our expert team is trained and licensed medical professionals who work with physicians and other healthcare providers to evaluate and manage musculoskeletal injuries. A huge bonus is that our team will not only rehabilitate your injuries back to active health status but work to revitalize the areas to a better condition than which you arrived.
Our Sports Motto: Be prepared 1000% by being the 1% who have the health team behind them to help get them there!
by Dr. Brandon Chorney | Aug 17, 2021 | Health Articles
Next time you are out, look to the person on your left and right or better yet look at the group of people who are just a short distance from you. What you may notice is the rolled shoulders and head forward posture. No, it is not the cell phone they have in their hands that they are staring intently into, but their now adapted postures due to those and other computer devices that have become the absolute norm of our American generation lifestyle.
Although we are way ahead in technology, unfortunately, our generation is leading the way in spinal degeneration, arthritis, and chronic illnesses. Lower back pain is now so common that it affects almost 90% of adults with the majority suffering from lumbar arthritis as a contributing factor to their lower back pain.
Let’s Examine Our Spine
The spine is composed of twenty-four moving segments, known as vertebrae, classified into three regions: cervical (neck), thoracic (mid-back), and lumbar (lower back). Between the spinal vertebrae are intervertebral discs that act as shock absorbers. Theses discs are anchored to the vertebrae by the collagen fibers allowing movement between vertebrae and the distribution of weight bearing forces from one vertebra to the next in the spine.
The intervertebral discs often lose their elasticity and hydration with age and poor posture or as the result of an injury. The loss of elasticity decreases their ability to handle all the load bearing forces of daily activity. When the discs thin, this changes the relative position of the vertebrae and the connective tissues throughout the rest of the spine. Over time, this thinning of the disc could progress to where the vertebra is effectively lying on the next vertebra. The loss of disc space often results in increased pain and decreased ranges of motion.
Ultimately, this pattern of degeneration can lead to microfractures and cartilage injury. Although the body tries to replace and repair the damage, it is often insufficient to overcome the degenerative process without assistance.
Could I Have Arthritis?
The classic symptomatology of arthritis includes joint pain, swelling, and stiffness. As with most forms of osteoarthritis, pain and stiffness are the most pronounced symptoms in the morning. As movement increases over the course of the day, the symptoms tend to subside. In general, if there is no evidence of nerve root compromise, pain from an arthritic spine is localized with possible dull aching.
If the degeneration of the spine continues into a diagnosis of spinal stenosis patients may experience numbness, tingling, or weakness in the legs due to irritation of the lumbar nerve roots.
Available Treatment Options
Lumbar arthritis and back pain is usually responsive to conservative management.
During an acute attack of back pain, relative rest that avoids activities that aggravate the symptoms may reduce inflammation. Drinking moderate amounts of water frequently while minimizing caffeinated drinks will also be beneficial in helping hydrate the discs.
For long term relief, lifestyle modifications must be undertaken. This includes weight loss when appropriate as it will have a tremendous impact on reducing back pain due to the lumbar spine bearing the weight of the upper body and weight of the head.
Exercise is also critical as it will contribute to reducing weight while increasing muscle strength to support the lower back. You should consult your chiropractic physician before beginning any exercise or diet program.
Your chiropractor and their spinal rehabilitation team may prescribe spinal decompression in combination with rehabilitative therapy. Working with a rehabilitative team to design a proper exercise regimen will be useful for strengthening core muscles and minimizing your back pain.
We Can Help!
Our team understands that long-term back pain is not only physically debilitating but emotionally exhausting. To serve our community, we have built an expert team committed to working together harmoniously to help you or your loved ones recapture the quality of life they desire – pain-free!
by Dr. Brandon Chorney | Aug 10, 2021 | Health Articles
We have all become more health oriented these days, especially those of us who are parents or are now recapturing our health from our care-free days of youth. In this quest, we know that fruit is an essential part of the nutritional pyramid of a well-balanced, healthy diet. Fruit not only provides an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants but boosts our immune system which reduces our risk of illness and chronic disease.
Unfortunately, not all the ways we can eat fruit will give us the same benefits.
Warning – Dried Fruit Is Natures Candy
Although many people think dried fruit is a great healthy snack, it is nature’s candy. Unfortunately, when the fruit is dried or dehydrated, it becomes more concentrated in not only beneficial antioxidants but sugar. Plus, may contain extra unhealthy preservatives from the packaging process.
When buying dried fruit look at the ingredients and watch for added sweeteners (sugar, corn syrup), particularly in tart fruits, like cherries and cranberries. Remember in the list of ingredients only the fruit should be listed. Also, look for packages that say “no sulfites,” a preservative that maintains color. Dried fruit should not resemble the original. So while it might not be pretty by looking brown and shriveled, it is your best bet.
With fewer than 30% of adults eating the recommended two servings of fruit a day, dried fruit can be a measurable way to fill the gap and a smart way to meet your antioxidant and nutritional needs on the go. Just be smart in the intake amount, specific ingredients and the process preparation of the fruits.
Leave The Canned Fruit On The Shelf
Ahh, fruit in a can! Although preserved fruit can be an alternative to having fruit out of season or allow you to take your time eating it without spoiling, you will find that many canned fruits are bathed in sugary syrup. It may taste great, but it can wreak havoc on your waistline and blood sugar levels if you’re not careful! Watch out! Even those that are labeled “light syrup” often have a high sugar content.
So if you are a fan of canned fruit as a healthy snack, make sure it does not have any added sugar or is packaged in 100 percent fruit juice.
The Deceptive Fruit Juice
Fruit juice, even if it’s all natural, contains a lot of sugar. What’s worse is that many fruit juices, especially those marketed for children, have added sugar in them. In fact, the majority of fruit juice sold in stores contains just as much sugar as soda, sometimes even more!
Health Smart Simple Rule
As a general rule, try to eat fruit fresh as found in nature! The fiber in the whole fruit slows the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream making it much healthier for your body.
Now, of course, it’s okay to have juice, dried or canned fruit every once in awhile, but make a note of the other nutritional values and ingredients when tallying your nutritional needs for the day.
Have More Nutritional Questions?
Our practice is proud to serve the wonderful families in our community and look forward to helping you and your families keep healthy for generations to come.
If you are looking to restore, rehabilitate and rejuvenate your health, call our fantastic team today and let us help you create better health and wellbeing.
by Dr. Brandon Chorney | Aug 3, 2021 | Health Articles
As the temperatures rise so does our bodies need to cool down. To do this, your body, an incredible machine, has a built-in cooling system which performs the function of perspiration. This fabulous machine is also responsible for self-sustaining by making its own repairs and with proper nerve flow regenerating new healthy cells which make up every organ, tissue fiber, and fluid in our body.
When we get down to it, our bodies contain more water than anything else – about 65-90 percent of our total body weight. This water helps regulate our bodies temperature, transports nutrients, helps remove waste, and helps our spinal discs stay full. Every day we lose water when we breathe, sweat, urinate and defecate. Therefore, every day we must replenish the water not only lost with normal daily activities but as an increased priority when the water is lost by exercise, exerting activities, summer temperatures and unfortunately some poor lifestyle choices including the consumption of too many caffeinated drinks and/or cigarettes.
So with water being the dominant factor in our bodies makeup, how important is keeping our bodies hydrated? Critical!
How Much Water Do I Need?
Statistically, the human body can survive three to five weeks without food, three to five days without water, three to five minutes without oxygen, and three to five minutes without nerve supply.
Although water intake would be unique to the activities and lifestyles of the individual, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy continually reviews research evidence on adequate water intake, and their most recent suggestions for daily intake are as follows:
- Men: 13 cups (about 10.5 cups from beverages)
- Women: 9 cups (about 7 cups from beverages)
- Pregnant women: 10 cups (about 8 cups from beverages)
- Breastfeeding women: 13 cups (about 10.5 cups from beverages)
Am I Hydrated Enough?
Most people can gauge their water intake by simply looking at the color of their urine. When you are getting enough water, your urine should be a pale yellow, and you should urinate several times a day.
Unfortunately, urine color doesn’t work for everyone. For instance, when taking dietary supplements or certain medications, your urine can vary and even be a bright yellow.
The Equation of Hydration
One big question that we are often asked is, “How much water do we need to drink every day?”
Although that is a simple question, it does not have an easy answer. It depends on some environmental and physical factors that can change every day. An additional factor into the equation is the amount and type of food that you eat. On average 20 percent of your water intake can come from the foods you eat with the remaining 80 percent coming from non-caffeinated beverages preferably water.
One of the simpler formulas that we have found works well is simply drinking fluids each day that equal half of your body weight, in ounces. For example, we advise that a 200 lb. Person to drink 100 ounces of water a day. With the intake of water being small and often rather than huge quantities all at once.
Ready To Help!
Our expert team is ready to help you and your family by recommending various methods to help you get hydrated and stay hydrated to lead your body away from a desert of dysfunction to a water oasis of optimal health and wellbeing.
by Dr. Brandon Chorney | Jul 27, 2021 | Health Articles
Unless you live on Netflix, you are unable to turn on the television without a commercial appearing, for some new pharmaceutical drug that will cure whatever condition or disease that your body may be suffering from at the moment. Drug manufacturers commonly advertise on television and in various other media to encourage people to "Ask your...
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by Dr. Brandon Chorney | Jul 20, 2021 | Health Articles
The summer season is in full swing! As we are enjoying the warm weather, barbecues and the excitement of long awaited vacations, are you feeling red with anger, white with pain, and emotionally blue with being park-benched with low back and leg pain? If so, read on. What is Sciatic Nerve Pain? Your sciatic nerve...
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