Health & Wellness

Today’s Chiropractic's message

Your body is the world's greatest drugstore. It makes every chemical you need to live a long and healthy life.

Over-the-counter and prescription drugs often have side effects that can be deadly. They are never what your body really needs.

In addition, drugs usually suppress acute symptoms (fever, inflammation, rash, cough, aches and others), which prevents your body from performing its cleansing and healing functions. Suppression of acute symptoms has been shown to cause chronic health problems.

Chiropractic's purpose is to help your body function as it is meant to function - permitting it to be balanced so it may work at its peak and manufacture its own drugs. If your spine is unhealthy, your ability to function optimally and produce your own balance of natural chemicals will be impaired. Meanwhile, remember to:

Eat, Move, and think Well!!

HEALTH INFORMATION

The most comprehensive image search on the web.  See anatomical areas of the body through chart/poster views.  Just type in area of body you wish to review.

http://images.google.com/

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By Kim Christensen, DC, DACRB, CCSP, CSCS

Although much has been written in the health care literature regarding spondylolisthesis, the clinical decisions required for management remain challenging. This condition, which affects adolescent athletes, adults, and the geriatric population, is not necessarily associated with a pars defect and has a wide range of treatment options - from bracing to spinal manipulation to fusion surgery.

So, what is the best and most effective treatment for chiropractic patients with a spondylolisthesis? How can we go beyond symptomatic care to provide long-term support for the spine with spondylolisthesis?

What, Where, Why

Traditionally, spondylolisthesis is defined as an anterior displacement of a vertebral body in relation to the segment immediately below.¹ There are several types of spondylolistheses, with the most common being spondylolysis of the pars interarticularis, occurring in the young, and degenerative, which occurs in older patients.² The vast majority of spondylolistheses are found in the lower lumbar region, with rare occurrences in other spinal regions.

We now understand that most spondylolistheses seen before the age of 50 are due to a break in the pars that occurred during childhood or adolescence (often during athletic activities requiring lumbar extension). When seen after the age of 50, a degenerative cause becomes more likely.

The primarily young athletes who comprise the RSS group have an active stress fracture of the pars, and benefit most from avoidance of hyperextension. Activity restrictions and use of a rigid lumbosacral brace often will produce a successful outcome.⁵ The most common type of spondylolisthesis seen in chiropractic offices is the stable pre-existing type (PSS-S).

Response to chiropractic care is often excellent. Studies have shown that when a spondylolisthesis is found in an adult, specific side-posture manipulations to the dysfunctional joints are quite effective, and that the prognosis is not significantly different from other patients.⁶ These researchers reported that the spinal segments most commonly needing adjustment were the ones above or below the spondylolisthetic segment, as well as the sacroiliac joints. Flexion-distraction also has been found to be a successful treatment method, as long as the patient does not demonstrate instability (PSS-U); in unstable patients, the treatment provided little benefit.⁷

Improving Stability and Control

An important approach to the treatment of patients with spondylolisthesis is to strengthen and re-coordinate the deep support muscles of the lumbar spine. An attempt is made to improve the dynamic stability and segmental control of the spine. These muscles include the multifidus muscles and the internal oblique and transverses abdominus muscles.⁸ Exercises to train the co-contraction patterns of these muscles often are called "spinal stabilization" exercises. Specific maneuvers include: posterior pelvic tilt; lower abdominal hollowing; and abdominal bracing.

The exercises are started non-weight-bearing while lying supine and/or prone, and then progress to quadruped (on all fours) if the position does not worsen symptoms, and finally to upright sitting and standing positions. They are described as low-resistance, isometric exercises whose focus is on precision of performance and re-learning of function. A 10-week program of supervised exercise sessions designed to progressively incorporate these postures into daily activities was found to reduce back pain and disability levels significantly over more than two years in subjects with spondylolisthesis.⁹

Postural Correction

Many patients with spondylolisthesis develop postural asymmetries over time. One important factor in treatment is the correction of any loss of the normal upright alignment of the pelvis and spine. While there is no standard "spondylo posture," it is not unusual to see a change in pelvic alignment (often a forward-flexed pelvis) or in lumbar spinal curve. The lumbar changes can be either a hyperlordosis or (in some cases) a lack of normal lumbar lordosis. Patients will need to be shown corrective exercises specific for the postural imbalances they have developed.

HEALTH PREVENTION ARTICLES & WEB SITES

Phytochemicals

Phytochemicals are non-nutritive plant chemicals that have protective or disease preventive properties. There are more than thousand known phytochemicals. It is well-known that plant produce these chemicals to protect itself but recent research demonstrate that they can protect humans against diseases. Some of the well-known phytochemicals are lycopene in tomatoes, isoflavones in soy and flavanoids in fruits. They are not essential nutrients and are not required by the human body for sustaining life.   

http://www.phytochemicals.info/

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Plastics to Avoid

#3 Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) commonly contains di-2-ehtylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), an endocrine disruptor and probable human carcinogen, as a softener.

#6 Polystyrene (PS) may leach styrene, a possible endocrine disruptor and human carcinogen, into water and food.

#7 Polycarbonate contains the hormone disruptor bisphenol-A, which can leach out as bottles age, are heated or exposed to acidic solutions. Unfortunately, #7 is used in most baby bottles and five-gallon water jugs and in many reusable sports bottles. 

Tips for Use :

*Sniff and Taste: If there's a hint of plastic in your water, don't drink it.

*Keep bottled water away from heat, which promotes leaching of chemicals.

*Use bottled water quickly, as chemicals may migrate from plastic during storage. Ask retailers how long water has been on their shelves, and don't buy if it's been months.

*Do not reuse bottles intended for single use. Reused water bottles also make good breeding grounds for bacteria.

*Choose rigid, reusable containers or, for hot/acidic liquids, thermoses with stainless steel or ceramic interiors.

For more info, see Product Reports on "bottled water" and "baby bottles ."

Green Guide 101 | March/April 2004 | For Your Health

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Mercury Detoxification (Minimal Recommendations)

Garlic
Onions
Broccoli
Cilantro
Vit C 1000mg +
N-acetyl cysteine  1500-3000 mg
Algae (Kelp)
Chlorella
Alpha-lipoic acid
B-complex

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Symptom of Adrenal Fatique

• Morning fatigue -- You don't really seem to "wake up" until 10 a.m., even if you've been awake since 7 a.m.
• Afternoon "low" (feelings of sleepiness or clouded thinking) from 2 to 4 p.m.
• Burst of energy at 6 p.m. -- You finally feel better from your afternoon lull.
• Sleepiness at 9 to 10 p.m. -- However, you resist going to sleep.
• "Second wind" at 11 p.m. that lasts until about 1 a.m., when you finally go to sleep.
• Cravings for foods high in salt and fat
• Increased PMS or menopausal symptoms
• Mild depression
• Lack of energy
• Decreased ability to handle stress
• Muscular weakness
• Increased allergies
• Lightheadedness when getting up from a sitting or laying down position
• Decreased sex drive
• Frequent sighing
• Inability to handle foods high in potassium or carbohydrates unless they're combined with fats and protein
  

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Fascinating Facts You Never Knew About the Human Brain

The human brain has amazed and baffled people throughout the ages. Some scientists and researchers have devoted their entire lives to learning how the brain works. Here are some facts about your brain.

Physical Attributes

The weight of your brain is about 3 pounds.
Your skin weighs twice as much as your brain.
Your brain is made up of about 75 percent water.
Your brain consists of about 100 billion neurons.
There are anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 synapses for each neuron.
There are no pain receptors in your brain, so your brain can feel no pain.
There are 100,000 miles of blood vessels in your brain.
Your brain is the fattest organ in your body and may consists of at least 60 percent fat.

The Developing Brain

At birth, your brain was almost the same size as an adult brain and contained most of the brain cells for your whole life.
A newborn baby’s brain grows about three times its size in the first year.
Humans continue to make new neurons throughout life in response to mental activity.
The first sense to develop while in utero is the sense of touch. The lips and cheeks can experience touch at about 8 weeks and the rest of the body around 12 weeks.

Brain Function

Your brain uses 20 percent of the total oxygen in your body.
If your brain loses blood for 8 to 10 seconds, you will lose consciousness.
While awake, your brain generates between 10 and 23 watts of power -- or enough energy to power a light bulb.
The old adage of humans only using 10% of their brain is not true. Every part of the brain has a known function.
The brain can live for 4 to 6 minutes without oxygen, and then it begins to die. No oxygen for 5 to 10 minutes will result in permanent brain damage.
A study of 1 million students in New York showed that students who ate lunches that did not include artificial flavors, preservatives, and dyes did 14 percent better on IQ tests than students who ate lunches with these additives.

Psychology of Your Brain

You can’t tickle yourself because your brain distinguishes between unexpected external touch and your own touch.
There is a class of people known as supertasters who not only have more taste buds on their tongue, but whose brain is more sensitive to the tastes of foods and drinks. In fact, they can detect some flavors that others cannot.
The connection between body and mind is a strong one. One estimate is that between 50-70 percent of visits to the doctor for physical ailments are attributed to psychological factors.

Memory

Every time you recall a memory or have a new thought, you are creating a new connection in your brain.
Memories triggered by scent have a stronger emotional connection, and therefore appear more intense than other memory triggers.
While you sleep at night may be the best time for your brain to consolidate all your memories from the day. Lack of sleep may actually hurt your ability to create new memories.

Dreams and Sleep

Most people dream about 1-2 hours a night and have an average of 4-7 dreams each night.
Studies show that brain waves are more active while dreaming than when you are awake.
Some people (about 12 percent) dream only in black and white while others dream in color.
While you sleep, your body produces a hormone that may prevent you from acting out your dreams, leaving you virtually paralyzed.