Careful With Spine Popping

Does your neck or back feel tight or stiff when you wake up in the morning or get up from sitting in the same position for an extended period of time?  Have you ever felt slight discomfort when bending over to tie your shoes or pick something up from the floor?  Do you feel pain or hear “clicking and popping” when turning or stretching your neck?  If you answered yes to any of these questions heed this warning!  What you’re experiencing are signs that you are at risk for even simple everyday tasks to cause serious debilitating conditions, such as a herniated disc.

Millions suffer with disc problems every day. Many just suffer with the problem or take a medication to cover up the pain and agony that associates the problem – low back pain, sciatic pain, and numbness and tingling. A herniated disc is a disc in the spine that pushes out and puts pressure on the nerves coming out of the spine.  The question almost never solved nor uncovered is what caused the disc herniation in the first place!  The accident or fall or injury forces the disc to herniate, but what physically happens to cause this?

If you were to look at your spine from the side it should have three 45 degree curves in it: one in the neck, one in the mid-back, and one in the low back. The three perfectly symmetrical curves help to support and hold up your body and to absorb the impact of everyday life. Without these curves, your spine becomes unstable. The most common area of disc herniations, the low back, should have a 45 degree curve.  If that curve starts to straighten out it is like straightening out a banana with it’s peel on. What happens to the banana? It smashes. That is exactly what happens to the discs, which are in between every vertebrae in your spine.  A slip or fall, or constant bad posture, or too much improper lifting, etc. cause that curve in the low back to decrease and straighten out.  As the curve straightens, more and more pressure is put on the discs. Eventually the discs cannot take it anymore and finally one will give. The discs bulges out like a squeezed balloon. This bulging presses into the near by nerve and makes it extremely irritated, hence all the pain.

So, most of the time the problem isn’t the herniated disc, it’s the loss of the structure in the spine.  A surgeon will go in, scrape off the bulging disc so it stops irritating the nerve.  But, does that fix the problem? No, the banana is still mashed, you just cleaned up the banana mush that was spilling out of the peel.  This quick fix type of patchwork is why up to 50-90% of back surgeries fail within 5 years, and then new patchwork needs to be done!¹ If you constantly patch the holes in your car’s tires and never realign them, what happens?  A blow out!  Now that’s a dangerous way to live.

Too many people in agony from herniated disc pain learn about this condition the hard way: after the suffering has already began.  The pain is so debilitating at times that many feel the only pathway to relief is to cut. But surgery is not the answer. The majority of back surgeries fail.² The return of the pain after back surgery is so common it has a special name: Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS). FBSS often entails chronic pain, sleeplessness, anxiety, depression, and de-conditioning.³ In addition it also increases one’s risk of developing peripheral artery disease, diabetes, and autoimmune disorders. These people are left with a further damaged spine, additional pain, less money, and the original unresolved problem. Most devastating of all, if not properly addressed, disc herniations keep people from doing the things they love to do with the people they love to do them with.

Maximized Living doctors have an excellent track record with herniated disc sufferers. Why? Because rather that masking the signs and symptoms of the problem, we address the root cause, by using the latest techniques available to correct spinal curves, straighten the spine from front to back, and strengthen postural muscles.

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¹http://www.emaxhealth.com/2/45/28350/unnecessary-spinal-surgery-will-waste-billions-2009.html
²Groopman J. A knife in the back (Is surgery the best approach to chronic pain?). The New Yorker. April 8, 2002.
³Fritsch EW, Heisel J, Rupp S (Mar 1996). “The failed back surgery syndrome: reasons, intraoperative findings, and long-term results: a report of 182 operative treatments”. Spine 21 (5): 626–33.

From Maximized Living Blog.

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Chiropractic Is For Children Too

By Philip Vincent

People often associate chiropractors with the aches and pains of adults, and rarely think of very young individuals as potential patients. More and more young people are being introduced to this practice, however, and not only to relieve an aching neck or back. Chiropractic for children is often a good way to prevent or avoid certain kinds of physical problems that can follow them into adulthood.

The main focus of this treatment method is proper spinal alignment. Because the spine houses our primary pathway for nerves, bones that are not sitting properly can pinch those nerves, leading to pain and dysfunction in various areas of the body. Infants can experience spinal misalignment as early as the day they were born.

From the beginning, the process of being born can put a great deal of pressure on the neck and spine, and compresses the bones. This is all a natural part of being born, but is not without hazards. Early stresses on the spine can lead to discomfort later. In addition, babies learning to crawl and walk have the opportunity for injury or spinal stress due to falls and other common childhood factors. A chiropractor can help correct these problems.

An infant who cries excessively can not explain exactly where he or she hurts. Often, the cause is colic, which may be relieved in some instances by spinal adjustment. Successful treatment will allow the child to sleep more easily at night, and can reduce crying during the day.

Parents sometimes worry that an adjustment for a young child will be painful. While it is true that some adult treatments can be vigorous, a chiropractor treating children will use much less aggressive methods specifically tailored to the needs of a small child, not simply a smaller adult. An office visit will be not be risky or painful, and in fact will likely reduce the discomfort a youngster may already be experiencing.

By the time kids are in elementary school, many already suffer from adult-sized problems such as back pain, headache, chronic irritability, nervousness and excess fatigue. When these problems can’t be avoided or eliminated by lifestyle changes, a spinal adjustment will often help the pain. In addition, the physical stress of carrying a heavy backpack full of books and supplies may cause misalignment.

Early visits can also catch some problems before they have a chance to develop into something more serious. Scoliosis, or curvature of the spine due to misalignment of the vertebra, is one example. When caught in its early stages, it can be corrected more easily, and early visits to the chiropractor may pay dividends in good health later on. Chiropractic for children is an excellent addition to early health care and pain prevention.

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When should I exercise?

By Dr. Aaron Sparks

It’s a new year.  January calls many back to a workout routine for the first time in months.  On average only one in three Americans exercise regularly, but this month that number annually increases.¹ So to help you this year, remember this:  When you exercise may have as much to do with your results and reaching your goals as much as anything else.

Fact: Exercising first thing in the morning gives optimal benefit!

There are two huge benefits of exercising first thing in the morning:

1. It gets done!  Obstacles get in the way as the day goes on, and many put off exercise for other responsibilities.

2. The benefits of exercising before your first meal of the day are numerous.

According to a recent study published in the Journal of Physiology, working out on an empty stomach puts your body at a huge advantage. The report concluded that participants who exercised in a fasting state, or with no food, helped them burn fat and become more resistant to weight gain.  Other participants of the study did not see the same results.  In fact, those who ate a carbohydrate rich breakfast and exercised later actually gained weight instead of becoming weight loss resistant.²

One of the explanations for how this fat burning process occurs involves your nerve system.  More specifically, your sympathetic nerve system controls all fat burning.  The sympathetic nerve system is activated by exercise and lack of food. Additionally, it’s been shown that working out this way will improve the secretion of good hormones – just like our Maximized Living type of exercise is designed to already do.

A small percentage of people may experience negative symptoms including dizziness, nausea, or fatigue from working out on an empty stomach. When starting this routine, it may be necessary to eat something small before a workout.

Along with exercising first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, the right type of exercise is just as important.  Start exercising smarter, not longer.  Maximized Living doctors are trained in cutting edge information on the right type of exercise – pure surge training, also known as burst training.  Not only is it the right type of exercise to lose weight, it also takes literally minutes to do.

Exercising and the right type of exercise routine is only one piece of the puzzle when losing weight.  Register for the upcoming Maximized Living Makeover on January 15th in your area to learn more about this type of exercise.  You can also go to your Maxinized Living doctor’s website and watch about Surge Training.

Source: Maximized Living Blog

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Chiropractic Care Effectively Treats Sciatica

by CARISSA HANG

Many people suffer from Sciatic pain. What is Sciatica? Sciatica refers to pain, weakness, numbness, or tingling in the leg. Sciatic pain can start in the low back and travel to the buttucks and legs. It is caused by injury to or compression of the sciatic nerve. Sciatica could be caused by a bulging/herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, piriformis syndrome, pregnancy, spinal stenosis, a spinal tumor, spinal infection, spondylolisthesis, or trauma. Since sciatica originates in your low back, the lumbar spine, chiropractors have been the doctor of choice for that reason alone.

Many cases of Sciatica can be helped with chiropractic care. When a person has sciatica, the first step is to identify the cause of the sciatic pain pattern. Orthopedic exams, neurological testing, x-rays, and other diagnostic testing such as MRI’s can help determine if the Sciatica is cause by herniated discs or other reasons. Many times, Sciatica is caused by what has been coined Piriformis Syndrome. The piriformis muscle is located in the lower part of the spine, connected to the thighbone. The sciatic nerve runs under the piriformis muscle, so muscle spasms can compress the sciatic nerve causing leg pain.

Through chiropractic care, we can diagnose the cause of the sciatic pain and properly correct the Sciatica. If the Sciatic pain is caused by Piriformis syndrome, certain chiropractic treatments are utilized to relax the piriformis muscle and lessen the nerve root irritation. In my experience as a chiropractor over the last decade, I have found many cases of chronic sciatica healed over a relatively short period of time once the piriformis muscle spasm had been addressed and corrected.

If the Piriformis muscle is not involved, and the cause is L4-S3, it is possible that a malposition of the vertebrae in the lower spine is causing impingement and nerve root irritation on the nerves that form the Sciatic Nerve. We call this a subluxation. A subluxation is the malposition of a vertebrae causing interference to the nerve flow hence creating nerve irritation. Another possible reason for Sciatica could be from a bulging, protruding, or herniated disc. This is when a disc has pushed outside its normal boundaries and pressed against the spinal cord or spinal nerves causing nerve irritation.

After determining through neurological and orthopedic exams, and using diagnostics such as x-rays and MRI’s, we can find the possible cause that is contributing to the Sciatica, and restore proper alignment and biomechanics to that vertebrae and the adjacent one to relief the nerve irritation. Freeing up the subluxation many times helps the sciatica in relieving the pressure off the nerve. Incorporating chiropractic adjustment with physical therapy and spinal decompression is often very effective in restoring the integrity of the disc, allowing the body to heal itself.

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Healthy Fats and Chiropractic Together

“I’m just getting old.”

“I’m just falling apart.”

“It’s just part of life….”

Unfortunately, we hear these cliché lines all too often. Getting old surely includes more pain, more sickness, more drugs, and more surgeries, doesn’t it? As people get older, their bodies become more susceptible to diseases and ailments as they neglect their health and their eyes are no exception. According to the National Institutes of Health, fifty percent of eighty year-olds have an age related eye diseases in the United States. Diseases like macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts, and sight loss associated with diabetes are on the rise. Imagine not being able to see your spouse or grandchildren during the last years of your life. Maximized Living is here to help and prevent this from occurring to you and those you care about. Acting now to prevent this situation is easier than you may think.

A new study published in the journal of Ophthalmology confirms consuming omega-3 fatty acids helps maintain eye health and protects against age related eye diseases. Participants of this study who ate higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids had much less macular degeneration and eye disease than those who did not consume adequate amounts of healthy fats.1

This is great news! However, it’s also important to point out something that these researchers often miss. Today’s diet has an inadequate amount of omega-3 and an excess of omega-6. This imbalance causes poor health at nearly all levels – including your eyes. So, adding omega-3 is important. But, what you need is not simply more omega-3. What you need is the right balance of omegas. This has been addressed in our Perfect Ratio Omega that you can get from your local Maximized Living doctor.

Along with eating healthy fats like omega-3s, routine exercise, proper detoxification, a positive attitude, and most importantly maintaining a properly functioning spine and nerve system will keep you on track towards an amazing life and future!

Maximized Living Perfect Ratio Omega is the perfect solution to keep you and your eyes healthy! Buy yours today at the front desk!

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