Benefits of Chiropractic for your Child

There are innumerable benefits of taking your child to a chiropractic doctor. Several of very serious and worrisome conditions that your child suffers from can be dealt with under this conservative care. The one major reason why chiropractic is considered a conservative mechanism is that it helps maintain the health and prevents it from unforeseen risks and issues.

Benefits

Several reasons worry you about your kids, and chiropractic treatments are a great way to tackle these reasons. You might have stumbled upon a few of these benefits earlier, however, chiropractic has success stories in a wide array of child related issues. Following is a list of benefits that attract parents to this form of care:

1. Alternative To Medicine– During pregnancy, women avoid all kinds of medication to ensure the safety of their developing baby from any physical or mental harm. Similarly, parents avoid medicines with their infants and young children. Chiropractic services are a healthy and active way of dealing with many issues.

2. Colic- For the first few months of an infant’s life, being in a colic state is one of the major headaches for the parents. With several spine manipulation techniques, this state can be overcome allowing the child to be at ease.

3. Sleep disturbance- Inadequate or disturbed sleep can constantly irritate the mood of an infant. Spine dysfunction is said to be associated with sleep issues and a chiropractic doctor can help alleviate the issues.

4. Bed wetting– Chiropractic practitioners manipulate the spine to adjust the functioning of the body. Running through the spine are nerve roots that carry signal and messages to and from different parts of the body. Spine manipulation can then allow the practitioner to adjust nerves that run to urinary system and treat the habit of bed wetting.

5. Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) – A common psychological disorder amongst children, this is often dealt with the use of medication. The medications can have several negative side effects such as loss of memory etc. However, with a chiropractic doctor, the part of the brain that functions poorly can be stimulated through spine manipulation. Thus, conservative care can put forward promising results for ADHD.

Several other issues with which chiropractic care is effective include ear infections, allergies, asthma, headaches, constipation, cold, sore throat, body aches and many more. The chiropractic doctor utilizes several manual therapies on the spine, and contributes to the healthy development and the overall wellness of your child.

Imaged used under Creative Commons Licensing: Soapbubbles-SteveEF.jpg

Avoiding Fights with a Passive Aggressive Person

Passive Aggression – Avoid the Conflict

When I first heard the term “passive-aggressive” I thought the person was joking, giving me an example of an oxy-moron. I soon learned that not only was she not joking, but that I would have to learn how to deal with these tricksters in order to move ahead in life.

Passive-aggressive behavior frustrates everyone involved and doesn’t ever help anyone. Particularly the one who instigated the behavior. My first experience with a passive-aggressive personality left me feeling that I had lost my mind. “No one in their logical mind would behave that way!” I fumed.

And that should have been my first clue. Normal people do not behave that way. I met the woman at my son’s school. She seemed normal, gregarious, involved,if perhaps a little intense. We became acquainted because our sons were in the same class and had both joined Scouts.

Everything seemed fine until she began calling me and telling me things really bothered me, even though she sounded so sweet on the phone and claimed that, really, everything was fine, but she thought I would want to know.

Then as we began to become more involved, both in Scouts and with each other, I noticed even more peculiar behavior. I would ask her is she had completed a task she had agreed to do. “Well, no, I haven’t been able to do that. But it doesn’t matter. Just go on ahead. You don’t need that done.” Was she kidding? We were ready to start the annual fund raiser and she was supposed to have printed all the forms to pass out to the boys that night at the meeting. I felt as if she was playing with my mind.

Only later did I learn that passive aggressive behavior is “sugar-coated hostility” and she had no intention of doing what she had agreed to do. She wanted to see how I would solve the problem. She sounded so sweet over the phone, even in person. But I soon began to look beyond the words to see what was really going on. If she didn’t want to do something…she should just say so.

But that is not the way of the passive-aggressive personality. I learned that she would do anything to avoid direct conflict. I’m a very direct person, so we probably didn’t make for a very good pairing.

Soon we devolved into episodes of sarcasm, then the silent treatment, then she moved into sabotaging my efforts by not only making me late, but making it look like I hadn’t kept my word.

To this day, I don’t know if what she did was intentional. She had a home life I couldn’t even imagine living and perhaps she envied mine. All I know is that I learned quickly to ignore any hostility and assign a critical task to someone I knew would follow through. I began to set limits and when she exceeded those, I called her out on them. I had to be very specific about what was expected of her and when she held a critical assignment, I called her regularly to make sure she would come through.

I recognized her techniques. I have even found myself resorting to them occasionally. But once I saw how destructive they could be, I held myself to an even higher standard. Passive-aggressive sounds somewhat innocuous, but it can really ruin your organization. Identify those who participate in that behavior, and then take steps to stop it. You don’t have to be aggressive, but you do have to be assertive and be willing to confront the person.

Photo Credit: Charity Mugger – 2 via the justified sinner at Flickr

How Lack of Exercise Affects Health

A lack of exercise results in numerous health problems, starting from seemingly harmless weight gain to cardiovascular diseases and a much higher chance of suffering a stroke. Research has concluded that as many people die because of the effects of lack of exercise as the number that die from smoking.

This is why chiropractic exercises are strongly recommended to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle and avoid all complications that can lead up to a stroke.

The following problems can occur due to lack of exercise:

1. Obesity

Obesity is one of the major effects of a lack of exercise. Various health problems can surface due to obesity such as diabetes, breathing issues, high blood pressure and a far greater risk of suffering a heart attack.

Besides the physical effects, many psychological effects also accompany obese people. Low self-esteem that leads to depression can be a devastating experience.

It is no doubt that obesity can result from genetic factors, but a lack of exercise is usually a major reason.

2. High Blood Pressure

Being overweight can lead to hypertension. The blood vessels clog up which restricts blood flow. Hypertension exposes a person to various other risks, such as heart attack, kidney failure and many other ailments. A hypertensive individual is more likely to develop diabetes.

3. Decline in Brain Function

Exercise helps in increasing the flow of blood to the brain, while lack of exercise does the opposite. A brain that is deprived of blood cannot function normally as it would otherwise. The brain can also physically shrink due to the lack of blood supply – a research states that this ‘shrinkage’ can be avoided and mental abilities can be enhanced by regular exercise.

4. Reduction in Strength of Bones and Muscles

A sedentary lifestyle can weaken the bones and muscles, thus exposing an individual to a greater chance of injury as well as diseases such as arthritis. Lack of exercise can make a person more prone to fractures in case of a fall along with knee-joint and hip problems later on.

5. Increased Chances of Developing Cancer

Research was carried over several years and the results show an increased chance of cancer from a lack of exercise. Also, people who were physically fit when they developed cancer had a far greater chance of survival than those who had led a sedentary lifestyle.

Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: The ‘weigh’ he was — weightloss at Guantanamo.jpg

Back Pain Relief from Yoga

Yoga & You

In talking with people, they either love yoga or they hate it. Some have an opinion without ever having tried yoga. Regardless of your feelings about yoga, please read on to learn how yoga can actually provide some back pain relief for you, especially if your pain is chronic. Incorporating even a couple yoga positions and breathing techniques could provide great relief from your chronic back pain.

Generally speaking, yoga practitioners are pretty healthy people. They typically eat right and when they practice their craft regularly, they are clearly in tune with their bodies. One yogi in particular, Cameron Alborzian, wrote a book called The One Plan where he shares his approach to helping to manage back pain with yoga.

Naturally many patients experience back pain from an injury. But back pain can also be caused by stresses of life or even lifestyle choices such as sitting too long, aggressive movement, or other excessive behaviors. By decreasing stress and changing our bad habits we can actually decrease our lower back pain.

Learning deep yoga breathing has been proven to reduce stress. Simply sit quietly and focus on your breath. Nothing else. Notice a slow breath in, as deep as possible. Hold it. Then slowly release it. Breathing exercises are one of the very basic lessons you can learn in a yoga class. Just by practicing this type of breathing you will feel calmer, your heart rate and blood pressure will decrease, and your stress hormones will diminish.

For those who are looking to use yoga for stress relief or for gentle stretching, look for a restorative yoga class. Before the class begins, be sure to let the instructor know that you are either new to yoga and that you have a back condition. Your instructor will give you extra attention and instruction to help you get the most out of the class without experiencing any additional pain or injury. Yoga is a practice where you go at your own pace. There is no competition in yoga.

Restorative yoga focuses on just a few positions where a position or stretch is held for longer periods than a yoga flow class that moves gently but more quickly through a greater variety of positions. Restorative yoga is an excellent place to start for someone looking to reduce stress and increase their flexibility.

Diet for your Disc Injury – Know what Works

An Apple a Day Keeps the Spinal Surgeon Away

One of the cardinal rules that all chiropractors go by is to rely on the human body’s own abilities to heal its own self. In fact, this is exactly why most chiropractors say that patients who suffer from potentially debilitating conditions such as herniated discs can prevent the condition by eating the right kind of foods. Almost 80% of the population suffers from back pain and would rather resort to minimally invasive back treatments to make their pain a passing memory.

Sadly, most people do not see the connection between what they eat and the affect it might have on their backs. Remember, your body needs to ingest the appropriate amount of nutrition in order for the muscles in your back to move as they should. Here is what you can include in your diet to ensure just that –

Power Foods

Your muscles need power foods in order to, well, become powerful enough to support your movements. These are natural food items that provide a great boost of energy in small doses over the course of a few hours. In other words, they can supply an ample amount of energy to keep you going without craving for a sugary donut that will deplete you of any reserves you might have in minutes.

Foods that contain a high amount of antioxidants such as blueberries and salmon that contains omega 3 fatty acids are good examples of power foods. Chiropractors say that foods such as these can keep your body supplied with the fuel it needs to maintain or support your spine thereby preventing you from acquiring a disc injury.

Foods that contain vitamins and minerals can also prevent your back from failing you when you need it the most. Power foods such as these actually aid the body in releasing energy from the food it ingests to keep itself healthy. Calcium and Vitamins such as vitamin D keep your bones strong and durable as well.

Eating right can seem like a difficult prospect in the fast paced societies of today. However, your body shouldn’t suffer for it. Spinal injuries such as a disc injury are nothing to scoff at. Therefore it’s best that you include food items such as whole grains, whole wheat bread and vegetables in your diet. Not only will this help keep your back in shape for the long run it will also help you run on a full tank of gas till lunch time.

Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: Discovery apples.jpg

Passive Aggression – Avoid the Conflict

Yoga & You

Connect With Us