Chiropractor Santa Barbara: There Is A Natural, Drug-Free Approach to Treating ADHD
Posted on 29. May, 2009 by admin in Chiropractor Santa Barbara, pediatric chiropractic
Chiropractor Santa Barbara believes strongly that pediatric chiropractic, appropriate exercise, and good nutrition are paramount to building a healthy foundation for all children, including those children who display ADHD symptoms. Have you heard that chiropractors treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)? Well, that’s not totally accurate. Although chiropractic care can absolutely help children, and adults too, who suffer from it, chiropractors don’t actually “treat” ADHD. The reason that chiropractic treatment is effectual is because ADHD is a neurological disorder. Chiropractic manipulations not only help to reduce nervous system disruptions in general, but an adjustment can be intentionally directed to stimulate under-active areas of the brain and calm over-active areas as well. Due to the fact that a chiropractic approach to ADHD is natural and drug-free, many parents choose chiropractic care over the common medical approach of giving children Class 2 psychotropic drugs that have dramatic side effects including personality changes and permanent alterations in the brain. The vast majority of parents who’ve chosen chiropractic treatment for their children have observed stunning behavioral changes as a result.
Because of the differences between the ways in which boys and girls use the left and right hemispheres of their brain, ADHD seems to afflict more boys than girls and, additionally, is commonly more conspicuous and easily observable in the behavior of boys rather than of girls. Some of the symptoms that are most pronounced include difficulty concentrating and sitting still, inability to control impulsive thoughts and behaviors, easily distracted by noises and activities, chronic movement of fingers, hands, arms, feet, or legs.
Many children who exhibit ADHD symptoms are hypersensitive to specific foods, such as dairy or gluten products, and sugars and artificial sweeteners. Furthermore, they commonly have a hypersensitive reaction to additives in foods, herbicides and pesticides used to grow non-organic fruits and vegetables, and laundry products such as detergents, fabric softeners, and other chemicals. As a general rules, the elimination of these environmental agencies can go a long way in decreasing ADHD symptoms.
Your Santa Barbara Chiropractor will give your child a comprehensive chiropractic examination, determining if there are spinal abnormalities and checking for express responses to specific neurological tests.
Natural, safe chiropractic care can help your child to get his or her life back in balance. If your child exhibits the symptoms of ADHD, before taking drastic pharmaceutical measures, call your chiropractor to make an appointment for a complete evaluation. For better health for your child, call today!
Chiropractic Santa Barbara Asks: What Could Be Worse For Your Health Than Eating Fast Food?
Posted on 25. May, 2009 by admin in Chiropractic Santa Barbara, wellness
Chiropractic Santa Barbara knows that wellness is about many things, including what you put into your body. This new finding may surprise you: Are you ready for this? For years (and years) chiropractors like me, plus nutritionists and other health-conscious professionals have been advising men, women, and children to lay off the fast foods. Everyone is aware already of the artery-clogging, fat-producing effects of a fast food diet. So, tell you something you don’t know, right? Well, here it is: It’s not just the fast food, itself, that can shorten your life span, but the wrapper it comes in that is a risk to your health and longevity, as well!
Add to the growing list of chemicals showing up in human blood, chemicals called diPAPs. They’re found in the compounds that make food wrappers grease-proof. These chemicals are fairly new and scientists don’t know yet if they are harmful to human health. But diPAPs break down into another worrisome chemical, called PFOA (perfuorooctanoic acid), which is in a class of compounds called perflurochemicals, and may be carcinogenic.
PFOA and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate, another perflurochemical) are resistant to oil and water, which makes them perfect for use as fast food wrappers, and as liners on nonstick pans, microwave popcorn bags, and pizza boxes, not to mention carpets clothes, and electronics among many other applications. The problem is that these compounds end up in the environment, our food and our bodies.
“The take-home message is that some chemicals that make our lives easier, better and more satisfying end up in our bloodstream with unknown toxicological consequences,” said Scott Mabury, a chemist at the University of Toronto. “We should be smart enough to design chemicals that do what we want them to do without causing a chemical pollution problem.” Imagine that — designing chemicals that wouldn’t harm our bodies or pollute the environment. I wonder why no one has thought about that until now?
For the complete article, go tohttp://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/05/15/food-wrapper-chemical.html?campaign=w01-101-ae-0001
Your Santa Barbara Chiropractor Wants You to Know That A Minor Car Accident Can Make a Big Impact on Your Health
Posted on 21. May, 2009 by admin in whiplash
Your Santa Barbara Chiropractor has treated hundreds of people for whiplash injuries. Some sustained their injuries from what they considered a minor fender-bender. If you drive a big car and you’re in an accident it’s easy to assume that you haven’t been injured if your car doesn’t look “hurt.” After all, isn’t that the reason you’re driving a big vehicle? It’s for protection, right? Then you might find it a bit disturbing to learn that research has proved that occupants of vehicles, both large and compact, can be hurt considerably more than might be expected from a minor auto accident. In reality, as far as your body is concerned, there’s truly no such thing as a “minor” fender-bender.
Let’s face it. There are going to be reverberations when your body is compelled to stop abruptly and unexpectedly. An emergency room attendant may offer you a clean bill of health because you haven’t sustained any broken bones, and you may be given a prescription for drugs to reduce the muscle spasms that you are surely experiencing due to the structural changes in your neck or lower back that you encountered from the impact. But, your condition could go from bad to much, much worse unless you’re treated for the injuries you’ve sustained. In fact, many individuals experience problems years after an auto accident as the consequence of their not getting the help that was necessary for them in the first place.
Your Santa Barbara Chiropractor absolutely knows what your body undergoes during an auto accident. Chiropractic techniques include treatment for soft tissue injuries and spinal bio-mechanics impairment. And your chiropractor is an expert in rehabilitation strategies.
If you’ve experienced a minor auto accident, even if your car may not require much repair, you probably do. Neck and back traumas are not only painful in the regions in which they take place, but they can also cause pain, tingling, and numbness in your arms and hands and cause headaches days, weeks, even months after an accident occurs.
You can get back on the road to feeling good again with drug-free, natural chiropractic care. It will go a long way in putting the trauma of your accident where it belongs – in the past. Furthermore, because your chiropractor has experience communicating effectively with insurance companies and lawyers, not only will you undergo less physical stress, but less emotional stress, too!
Chiropractic Santa Barbara Asks: Lithe, But Plus-Size? Yoga for Round Bodies Could Be for You!
Posted on 17. May, 2009 by admin in Chiropractic Santa Barbara, exercise
Chiropractic Santa Barbara believes in healthy exercise, no matter what your size, and is excited about the following information from a great article about yoga for plus-size people: What a wonderful concept! I tell all my patients that “health begins right where you are today. You can’t wait for more time or less body weight.” However, up until now, yoga studios have not usually been purlieus for people of size. Striking a yoga pose has seemed to be an exclusive option for lithe, limber bodies. But, not anymore! Yoga classes for heavier people have been sprouting up all over the country with names like Buddha Body Yoga, MegaYoga, HeavyWeight Yoga, and Yoga for Round Bodies.
The ancient practice of yoga might be based on a philosophy of self-acceptance and non-competitiveness, but plus-size people usually feel too self-conscious to even try a yoga pose, much less try on a yoga philosophy. In addition, most yoga classes, even beginner courses, don’t address the needs of big bodies, says Michael Hayes, the owner of Buddha Body Yoga in New York. Poses considered standard for those who are fit or slim are often difficult or even impossible for heavier students.
So, if your body weight has been holding you back, and if you’ve been waiting for just the right moment to start getting healthy and fit, it looks like that moment has arrived. Check to see if there’s a yoga class for plus-size people in town. If not, maybe you can start one!
For the complete article go to http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/health/nutrition/14fitness.html?_r=1&em
Chiropractic Santa Barbara Suggests You Can Walk Away From Foot Pain
Posted on 15. May, 2009 by admin in foot pain
Chiropractic Santa Barbara wants to share a great article from the New York Times about foot pain: Did you know that a huge number of people develop foot pain in their 60s? If you have foot pain and you’re 60 or over, you may already be painfully aware of this fact. But, the problem can actually start as early as the 20s and 30s.
Age related factors such as diabetes and circulation problems can contribute to foot pain. But, excessive weight, improper footwear, and a sedentary lifestyle can also be contributing factors, as well, and at any age. Obviously, proper footwear and regular exercise, then, can play a crucial role in preventing foot problems.
Amazingly, the average person walks the equivalent of three times around the Earth in a lifetime. So, it’s not surprising that in a recent survey for the American Podiatric Medical Association, 53 percent of respondents reported foot pain so severe that it hampered their daily function.
Being farthest from the heart, the feet can often be the first part of the body to manifest complications like poor circulation and loss of feeling, both of which can lead to poor wound healing and amputation. In addition, the most common foot conditions that occur with age are arthritic joints, thinning of the fat pads cushioning the soles, plantar fascitis (inflammation of the fibrous tissue along the sole), bunions (enlargement of the joint at the base of the big toe), poor circulation and fungal nails.
Excess weight simply adds to these problems. The force on your feet is about 120 percent of your weight. “Obesity puts a great amount of stress on all the supporting structures of the foot,” said Dr. Bart Gastwirth, a podiatrist at the University of Chicago.
“A lot of people think foot pain is part of the aging process and accept it, and function and walk with pain,” said Dr. Andrew Shapiro, a podiatrist in Valley Stream, N.Y. Though some foot problems are inevitable, their progress can be slowed. If you’d liked slow the progress down, here are a few questions and conditions that are important for you to address: 1) Do you have poor circulation? 2) Do your parents complain about their feet? 3) Do you have flat feet or high arches? Either puts feet at risk. 4) If you can bend back your thumb to touch your lower arm, the ligaments in your feet are probably stretchy, too, Dr. Gastwirth said. 5) Do your shoes fit? In the podiatric association’s survey, more than 34 percent of men said they could not remember the last time their feet were measured. 6) Do you wear high heels? “The high heel concentrates the force on the heel and the forefoot,” Dr. Gastwirth said. 7) Do your feet ever see the light of day? 8 ) Have you seen a podiatrist?
Believe it not, however, putting more mileage on your feet is the best way to exercise the muscles and keep them healthy. So, it’s important to lighten up, weight-wise, and wear shoes that are supportive and fit properly. And, if you’re experiencing foot pain, visit an experienced health care professional and find out why…before you walk too many more miles.
To view the original article, go to http://health.nytimes.com/ref/health/healthguide/esn-footpain-ess.html
Your Santa Barbara Chiropractor Can Help Your Low Back Pain
Posted on 11. May, 2009 by admin in back pain
If you’re feeling low back pain, you’re not the only one, and your Santa Barbara Chiropractic can help. Low back pain bothers many people, an amazing 80% in fact, making it second only to the common cold in its prevalence. However, unlike the common cold, waiting for your back pain to “run its course,” and taking prescription or over-the-counter remedies while you wait, is not the cure. Usually most back pain won’t go away by itself. Frequently, if your pain lessens, it is routinely because your body has compensated for the problem, thus producing new conditions. Low back pain is nothing to sneeze at! If you’d like to defeat your back pain for good (and who wouldn’t?), you need to seek the advice of a back pain expert, like your chiropractor.
In many instances back pain is a mystery to most people who are afflicted by it, and chiropractors are proficient at solving the puzzle. They want to know why it is that they have not experienced any trauma, accidents, or major injuries before the onset of their condition? The answer is that the cumulative effects of unsuitable sitting posture, bad work habits, incorrect lifting, lack of routine exercise, and other unhealthy lifestyle-related influences generate most back pain. These factors add up over time and produce stresses and imbalances on the spine producing subluxations that can turn into serious back conditions. The process is similar to the front end of your car being out of alignment. When you persist in driving anyway, there is unbalanced wear and tear on your tires. If you ignore the problem, the situation would, no doubt, get worse until you “blew” a tire. The stability of the spine is jeopardized when your spine is misaligned. It’s not only a problem waiting to happen, so to speak, it’s a problem waiting to get worse. And then, something as easy as bending over to pick up a piece of paper can be the “final factor” that causes back injury. The surrounding back muscles go into spasm when thisoccurs to stabilize the stressed or injured tissues of the back.
Chiropractors have more education, training, and experience than medical doctors when it comes to problems of the spine. They offer highly qualified diagnosis and experienced treatment for all muscular-skeletal problems. They not only provide welcomed relief to individuals suffering from back pain, but they are aware of what will assist you in avoiding further back pain. Your chiropractor not only will provide you with effectual adjustments and other productive chiropractic therapies but, in addition, will offer a personal exercise strategy and recommend other beneficial lifestyle changes that will help to keep you well-adjust and pain-free in the future.
Santa Barbara Chiropractic Can Help Scoliosis
Posted on 05. May, 2009 by admin in Santa Barbara Chiropractic, scoliosis
Santa Barbara Chiropractic can help your scoliosis because, when it comes to problems of the spine, your Santa Barbara Chiropractor is an expert.
The more you know about scoliosis, the more informed decision you will be able to make regarding pain management:
When the body is seen from behind, a normal spine looks straight without much disparity from one side to the other. However, if the spine is seen to have a lateral, or side-to-side, curvature, the patient might have an affliction called scoliosis.The disorder shouldn’t be confused with poor posture, though it often gives the appearance that the person is leaning to one side. Scoliosis is a puzzling deformity that is expressed by both lateral curvature and rotation of the vertebra frequently creating a distinctive “rib hump” in the mid or thoracic spine. This is produced by the vertebrae in the zone of the major curve rotating toward the concavity and pushing their attached ribs posterior thus causing the distinctive rib hump seen in thoracic scoliosis. If the thoracic curve and rib rotation are severe, greater than 70 degrees, pulmonary and cardiac function can be interfered with. This intensity of curve and consequential cardiac and pulmonary changes are oftentimes seen later in life in untreated severe idiopathic infantile and juvenile scoliosis patients and, quite frequently, present a threat to life.
Anatomy
The spine displays four normal curves: the cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral, all of which are observable from a side view of the trunk. The thoracic, in the chest vicinity, has a natural round curve, “reversed C,” called a kyphosis, while in the lower spine there is a normal “C” curve, known as swayback or lordosis. Hyperlordosis is the term used to describe heightened swayback, while increased kyphosis in the thoracic spine is called hyperkyphosis. Alterations from normal that are visible from a side view regularly accompany scoliosis changes. Occasionally round back deformities are simply due to bad posture and can often be corrected with postural exercises. A small number of individuals with kyphosis have more rigid deformities than the postural type, which are associated with vertebral deformity. This kind of deformity, called Scheuermann’s kyphosis, is much harder to treat than postural kyphosis, and it’s cause is unknown.
Even a nonprofessional can help to identify a child or adult with scoliosis simply by viewing the person in a standing position, preferably bare-chested and in boxers, and observing the following:
* One shoulder may be raised than the other.
* One scapula (shoulder blade) may be raised or more prominent than the other.
* There may be more space between the arm and the body on one side when the arms hang loosely at the side.
* One hip may seem to be raised or more pronounced than the other.
* The head is not aligned with the pelvis.
* One side of the back appears higher than the other when the individual is analyzed from the rear and asked to lean forward until the the spine is horizontal.
Once scoliosis is suspected, the child or adult should be sent to a healthcare professional, such as a chiropractor, for further assessment. your chiropractor would be happy to help.
The most common type of scoliosis is, by far, Idiopathic, and although there are a variety of origins and many kinds, Idiopathic Scoliosis accounts for approximately 85% of all cases. “Idiopathic” means “no known cause” and is seen with equal frequency in boys and girls in the mild or low curve magnitudes. Depending on the age of onset, this affliction can be sub-classified into infantile, juvenile and adolescent categories. Idiopathic Scoliosis frequently runs in families and may be linked to genetic or hereditary influences. However girls, for unknown reasons are five to eight times more likely than boys to have their curves increase in size and require treatment. As the term “Idiopathic Scoliosis” suggests, this class of scoliosis more often than not occurs when children are finishing their last major growth spurt. It is a good idea to have this age group viewed by a professional on a regular basis because young people are disinclined to let their body to be seen by parents or other adults.
It is vital that if a scoliotic curve is observed in a growing adolescent, the curves be monitored for any advancement by a periodic examination and on occasion standing x-rays. In ninety percent of cases, the scoliosis is mild and does not require active treatment, however increases in spinal deformity demand evaluation to ascertain if a brace or other therapy is necessary. In a small number of people, surgical treatment may be required.~Surgery may be necessary for a small number of people.
Brace treatment (orthosis) is recommended for both juvenile and adolescent children when an increase in their scoliosis or kyphosis is identified, or when new conditions of moderate scoliosis or abnormal kyphosis are found. There are a number of styles of braces, all designed to prevent curves from increasing through acting as a buttress for the spine during active skeletal growth. Bracing is effectual in halting curve progression in an impressive portion of skeletally-immature adolescents. But, braces generally won’t make the spine perfectly straight, and cannot always keep a curve from increasing.
Scoliosis has no simple solution. Most cases, even though often monitored, are not actively treated. Severe conditions are occasionally treated surgically, but the common medical treatment for moderate conditions is a brace. You may want to see your local chiropractor first.
Along with bracing, many other methods have been used successfully such as specialized exercise, electric stimulation of spinal muscles, nutritional programs, and chiropractic treatments. It seems like the best results have been sustained with a multi-faceted approach to the treatment of this affliction.
There are chiropractors, that have excellent success managing scoliosis symptoms.
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