Forward Head Posture - The new technology crisis

With the advancement of technologies like text messaging, video gaming and surfing the internet, increase in use can have dramatic health consequences. One of these consequences can be forward head carriage.

Forward head carriage is the direct result of having your head down for prolonged periods of time while texting, using apps on your Iphone, playing video games on a Nintendo DS or even using an e-reader such as the Amazon Kindle. This postural stress can then produce neck pain, headaches, shoulder pain, and/or numbness and tingling in to the arms/hands. It can even predispose an individual to develop arthritis earlier than they should.

As outlined in the article "Your Body Is Sending You A Message", 6 consequences of forward head posture were revealed.

1. Long-term forward neck posture leads to "long-term muscle strain, disc herniations and pinched nerves".

2. There is a strong association between an increased forward head posture and decreased respiratory muscle strength with can lead to respiratory dysfunction.

3. For every inch of forward head posture, it can increase the weight of the head on the spine by an additional 10 pounds.

4. Loss of the cervical curve stretches the spinal cord 5-7cm and causes disease.

5. 90% of the stimulation and nutrition to the brain is generated by the movement of the spine. 90% of the energy output of the brain is used in relating the physical body to gravity. With forward head posture, your brain will rob energy from your thinking, metabolism, and immune function to deal with abnormal gravity/posture relationships and processing.

6. Forward Head Posture can add up to 30 pounds of abnormal leverage on the cervical spine with can then pull the entire spine out of alignment. This in turn can lead to a reduction of vital capacity of the lungs which can lead to heart and blood vascular disease. The entire gastrointestinal system is effected. The body's pain controlling chemicals (endorphins) can make otherwise non-painful sensations experienced as pain.

Chiropractors are the most well equipped health care providers to either help prevent or diminish the effects of forward head posture. Schedule an appointment today!

Chronic neck pain: Chiropractic vs. Massage

The following is a link to a research article which discusses chronic neck pain and the efficacy of chiropractic in caring for chronic pain.

The statistics are impressive and shows scientifically what we as chiropractors have known for years!

http://uschirodirectory.com/index.php/neck-problems/item/240-chronic-neck-pain-and-chiropractic-with-a-comparative-study-with-massage-therapy

Chiropractic Adjustments and Blood Sugar

As chiropractors, on a daily basis, we try and perform the finest adjustments possible to help our patients. Over the years, however, the adjustments don't seem to "hold" as well as they used to. The main culprit has been found to be the patient's lifestyle and diet where there are blood sugar handling problems.

A link to the article will be included in this post, but to simplify things, a few bullet points will be discussed here.

Normal blood sugar is controlled by the two hormones insulin and glucagon. Insulin is the escort service of blood sugar throughout the body. Glucagon is released as the blood sugar levels fall. Glucagon releases blood sugar from the liver and and muscle cells to keep blood sugar stable. When more food is digested and blood sugar is absorbed from the gut, insulin production is stimulated again and glucagon is suppressed.

The normal blood sugar cycle continues to degenerate over time due to many different lifestyle and nutritional factors in today's society. Eating processed and refined foods can break down the blood sugar handling mechanism. Lack of exercise helps regulate insulin levels. Chronic stress and sex hormone imbalances can cause problems with blood sugar handling as well.

So, the take home is try and eat more whole foods and a balanced diet. Exercise more regularly. Thirty minutes of exercise three days per week has been proven to resensitize insulin receptors to burn more calories. Find more effective ways to manage life's stress.

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Joint pain and chiropractic...a cheaper and more non-invasive approach

"What should I do if I suffer with joint pain?"

Answer: Did you know that one-third of Americans suffer with joint pain? I recently learned that the leading cause of disability in the U.S. is arthritis and arthritis related joint pain. We expect to see this problem get worse. Currently arthritis pain affects over 70 million Americans! What is interesting about joint pain is that very few people realize that chiropractic is an effective treatment for easing / helping / aiding the pain of joint pain. Most understand why chiropractic is effective treating back pain. But few understand it can be used for treating joint pain.

George Bivins, a father of an M.D. in Jacksonville, and a D.C. in Thomasville, was recently diagnosed by an M.D. as having an arthritic knee. He sent George to an orthopedic surgeon who recommended knee replacement. With a heavy heart he went to his son, a chiropractor. What were the results? Within three months, George was walking without a cane. He had no arthritis. He had misaligned hips. Today, George has no knee pain.

Hey, sometimes surgery is needed, no doubt. But we have a belief that before you engage in an invasive, potentially unsafe procedure like surgery… you should first exhaust all the NON-invasive options first. And based on our experiences working with patients who come to me with “arthritis”, we have found that the problem can often be corrected without surgery. Without expensive medications. The natural way. Again, not always, but in many instances. Note: Chiropractic treatment is about 90% less expensive than surgery.

As you can see, with joint pain affecting 70 million American’s, this is a big problem. If you or someone you love has experienced joint pain for more than 48 hours, you should schedule an appointment immediately by calling (425) 670-2600 or online here. And if you’re reading this and have been suffering with arthritis or join pain, it’s possible that chiropractic could successfully address some of your problems. That’s great news, for over 70 million Americans!

Zipfizz is the June product of the Month

Back to Action Chiropractic likes to promote one of it's products each month and offer a discount to patients. For the month of June, Back To Action is offering a free bottle of water with the purchase of 2 Zipfizz!

Zipfizz is a healthy energy mix, with only 10 calories, no sugar, and 2 net carbs! It contains 25 nutrients that give an energy boost usually in about 15 minutes.

If you haven't tried Zipfizz, give it a try. You'll be glad you did!

accident chiropractor Lynnwood Washington

l disc and facet joints as a result of an accident chiropractor Lynnwood Washington causes a non-voluntary contraction of the spinal segmental movers at the level of injury and for several segments above and below the injury which accelerates disc and facet joint degeneration or arthritis.

The best management of spinal joint trauma requires passive efforts, such as chiropractic spinal adjustments.

accident chiropractor Lynnwood WA

Whiplash biomechanics from an accident chiropractor Lynnwood WA causes injury to the spinal disc and facet joints and consequently is the source of the initiation of the perception of chronic whiplash pain.

50 million Americans suffer from chronic daily pain. Those who suffer from chronic daily pain have a statistical increased probability of dying from cancer (55-207% increased risk). The longest published studies on whiplash prognosis show that 55% have chronic pain 17 years after the accident.

It is more than just a pain in the neck. It indicates a sequence of immuno-suppression that has adverse systemic health consequences.