by Admin | Dec 8, 2017 | Uncategorized
This week’s blog is going to piggyback off the last post on fascia. As a recap, fascia is the outer layer that surrounds muscle tissue. It holds everything together. The importance of muscle goes without saying, but its ability to shift the spine out of neutral is the main concern for us as chiropractors. Fascia holds a significant amount of responsibility when it comes to the tone and flexibility of muscles. Tight fascia can pull muscles, and therefore, structure out of its normal alignment. So what are some ways we can reduce the facial tension in the body? First, and easiest way to do this is by drinking more water. Most people aren’t getting enough of it. The more dehydrated you are, the more tension will be found in your fascia and muscle. The best thing we can do for our comfort levels and muscle is to stay very hydrated. Another step you can take is by getting movement each day. Exercise is important for all physiological processes in the body to work correctly. However, without movement, muscle begins to tighten and become less compliant. What can you do to avoid this downfall? Move! Move every joint, multiple times every single day. This will help keep muscle and fascia hydrated, full of nutrients from the blood and happy. Finally, utilizing mobility exercises can be great for breaking down specific areas of fascial/muscle tightness. It’s helpful to have a few tools to get the job done. These tools include: -Foam Roller -Lacrosse Ball Most people who don’t have access to massage daily or weekly can use these items to break...
by Admin | Dec 1, 2017 | Uncategorized
Great question, and one that’s becoming more and more common for people looking to achieve optimum health. Before we get into the details, let’s explain why we’re discussing fascia. The reason it’s so critical to us from a chiropractic standpoint is because of its role in keeping the structure of your spine and nervous system functioning at a high level. Fascia can affect your spine in a negative way if not handled properly. When this happens, pain, discomfort, and other symptoms can be the result. Fascia is the outside layer that covers your muscle tissue. For many years, scientists thought the only purpose of fascia was to hold the muscle tissue together. However, in recent decades more has been discovered about the important role fascia plays in our health and function. Whenever someone feels pain or discomfort, the fascia could be a contributing factor. This happens for a variety of reasons: -dehydration -improper movement/posture -mental/emotional stress -etc. Dehydration can cause the fascia to clump up. When this happens, instead of sliding with little resistance every time we move, like it should…the fascia stays stuck in place and causes us pain and stiffness. Improper movement can cause fascia to be over-worked in some areas, and under-worked in others. This imbalance over time can lead to pain, stiffness, and loss of flexibility. Our emotions are also intimately tied to how our bodies function and perform during the day. When we’re stressed, overburdened, frustrated, fatigued, worried, fearful, or angry these emotions will cause a stress response in the body that results in hormones being released that tighten muscle tissue and fascia down....
by Admin | Nov 23, 2017 | Uncategorized
It’s easy to get down and focus on everything that hasn’t gone your way in 2017, the business that hasn’t been growing, the relationship that’s been fizzling, the money that hasn’t been coming in. However, one thing is for certain…no matter who you are, or what’s going on in your life, you still have a lot of which you can be thankful. Giving thanks isn’t just something that should be honored only one day. We should be grateful every day we wake up. Our body is the universe’s most amazingly designed machine. Capable of running trillions of processes each second without skipping a beat. Each morning we wake up and open our eyes, we could spend that time to reflect on just how magnificent that one moment truly is. Life is precious and it’s gone in a flash. We don’t cherish it as much when we’re constantly in the bubble. This is understandable, but also a shame. Many people wait till they’re on their deathbed before realizing what they should have and could have appreciated during their lifetime. You have the power to do that now, starting today. To give thanks for all that you’ve been given. No, it doesn’t need to be material things that you’re thankful for. Rather just the opportunity to wake up and smell the morning grass another time. Or to hear your loved one’s voice. Be thankful for the amazing opportunity you’ve been given to live life on earth. And even more special, to live life on earth in the greatest country our world has ever seen. We can spend plenty of time discussing...
by Admin | Nov 23, 2017 | Uncategorized
Seems like an easy enough question. However, before we answer it, we should probably define what “health” means. Our definition of health is different than most you’ll find online. We think health is the absence of disease or infirmity. It also implies full-function of the body and all its faculties. The reason this is important is because many people think they’re healthy when they aren’t feeling ‘sick’. Not true. It is very possible for you to feel ok, and still have disease within the body. For example, someone who recently is diagnosed with cancer, may feel fine until consulting their doctor. It doesn’t mean they were healthy when they didn’t know they had cancer. Unless they run some diagnostic testing on their body and find that they had a disease process that had taken root, they would have assumed they were healthy. If you take anything away from this post it is this, judging our health on the absence of disease or symptoms is just a piece of it. The other part has to do with how we’re functioning. When was the last time you checked the function of your nervous system? If you’re like the majority of Americans, then your answer is probably never. The reason it’s important to know the function of your nervous system is because it controls and runs everything in your body. Therefore, it’s the ultimate place to start to determine how well your body is working, or not working. What sort of tests do you run to see the strength and function of your nervous system? There are many different tests that tell...
by Admin | Nov 17, 2017 | Uncategorized
Do you squat? Many people do it as part of a strength regimen, but how many people just squat to simply do that? Squatting was something that was very common in our species thousands of years ago. In Western societies, toilets have replaced holes, thus eliminating as much need for squatting. In Eastern countries, squatting is still very common. The position of squatting is something innately ingrained in us as infants. Babies will typically get into this position to rest. As we age, this position becomes less and less common. We tend to sit in chairs instead of squatting. This might be because of our tendency to look at squatting and think it looks immature or childish. However, there’s nothing childish about the benefits that can be gained by squatting. The position is a much more natural way to remove waste from our bodies, as well as deliver babies. By avoiding this position, we don’t get proper motion in the hip or knee joints. Without proper motion, the joints will stop producing as much synovial fluid and become much more difficult to move. After all, if you don’t move it, you lose it. This philosophy is true when applied our body’s muscular and structural systems. As a chiropractor, squatting opens up the hips and pelvis and allows better range of motion in the area. This allows for better blood flow and nervous system energy. Many people use walking as their major form of exercise. The problem with this is they never get proper motion in the joints of the hip or knee. Walking just doesn’t provide enough movement to...
by Admin | Nov 10, 2017 | Uncategorized
If you weren’t aware, November is Diabetes Awareness Month. Due to the theme of the month, we’re going to focus this post towards the epidemic that has overtaken North America. Diabetes Type I is a congenital disease that a very small percentage of the population suffers from. Type II is a lifestyle disease that the majority of diabetes sufferers deal with. Diabetes Type II happens because of blood sugar problems, due to our diet. Most people who suffer from this issue consume entirely too much sugar and processed food. Diabetes doesn’t necessarily kill you, however, it does make your life a living hell after you get it. Therefore it has been termed a ‘disabler’. The most common disablers in N. America are diabetes and stroke. Although, Diabetes Type II is a specific disease due to blood sugar issues, it isn’t the only one that can be caused by too much sugar in our bodies. Alzheimer’s is now being called Type III Diabetes due to its link with blood sugar issues. In fact, someone who suffers from Diabetes Type II has a much higher rate of suffering from Alzheimer’s later on in life. Typically, when someone thinks about a Diabetes Type II sufferer, they imagine an overweight individual. However, this is not always the case. Many people who deal with this problem actually are normal weight. It’s not a weight issue, although that can come with it. Diabetes is an insulin and blood sugar issue. So, what can we do to prevent ourselves from becoming a statistic? The first step is to avoid sugar and processed foods. The foods you...
