Author: getradiant

Can Pain Be a Good Thing?

Bottom Line: Pain is your body’s way of signaling to you that something needs your attention. In other words, when a problem occurs in your body due to ergonomic stress, spinal misalignment, or degenerative changes, it uses pain to get you to take action and correct the problem. Think of PAIN as your body saying: “Pay Attention Inside Now!” Believe it or not, pain is usually the last thing to show up and the first thing to leave after an injury. Just because your pain goes away, doesn’t mean the root cause that led to that pain has been corrected. Many pain relief methods simply mask symptoms. Chiropractic adjustments work to provide pain relief while also correcting the underlying problem.

Why it Matters: You may know someone who has visited a medical doctor in the past with neck or back pain. Perhaps, an injection was given. Perhaps, as is often the case, their pain returned in a matter of days or weeks. Why? Because the medication had worn off and ultimately the real cause of the pain was not corrected. Research has proven that chiropractic care effectively treats the underlying mechanical and neural causes of neck and back pain. In fact, studies have shown that people seeking relief from their neck and back pain who received chiropractic care often reported a 60% decrease in pain, which was nearly 10% MORE relief than those patients who opted for an injection instead.

• Pain is your body’s signal that something is wrong, especially when it comes to neck or back pain.
• Injections and medications often provide short-term relief from neck or back pain without correcting the cause.
• Adjustments have been shown to successfully address the root mechanical & neural causes of neck or back pain.

Next Steps: If someone you know has or is considering receiving an epidural injection to treat their neck or back pain, share this research with them. Let them know that integrating ongoing chiropractic adjustments into their care plan will result in a more significant outcome than that injection alone. If that someone is you, you’re in the right place! Give us a call or stop in and see us so we can get you on the path to relief from pain today!

 

Science Source: Spinal Manipulation Post-epidural Injection for Lumbar and Cervical Radiculopathy: A Retrospective Case Series. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. September 2004 Symptomatic MRI-Confirmed Lumbar Disk Herniation Patients: A Comparative Effectiveness Prospective Observational Study of 2 Age- and Sex-Matched Cohorts Treated with Either High-Velocity, Low Amplitude Spinal Manipulative Therapy or Imaging-Guided Lumbar Nerve Root Injections. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. May 2013 A Retrospective Analysis of Vertebral Body Fractures Following Epidural Steroid Injections. The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. June 2013

When It Comes to Your Health, Give Yourself The Edge!

Most people measure their health by how they feel – if they’re not sick or in pain, they figure they’re doing okay, and they may be right.

But some are not content to just feel okay – they demand peak performance from themselves, feeling consistently great and being able to function at optimal efficiency. They want any edge they can get.

This goes far beyond being symptom-free – it’s enjoying a high degree of vitality, and an outstanding quality of life.

So if you want this kind of edge, there are a few habits you can make part of your lifestyle.

First, develop positive self-talk. That little voice inside your head can be your best friend or your worst enemy, sometimes both within minutes. So, train yourself to be kind in your self-assessment — build yourself up in strong and noble thought, not based on ego, but on self-esteem and confidence. That’s how you get the most out of yourself.

Next, treat your mind and body like a finely tuned machine, like a race car or high-performance athlete. Give yourself plenty of rest, the best food, abundant water, and stay away from toxic stuff that’s bad for you.

Reduce your stress through exercise, meditation, or simply communing with Nature – a walk outside in a lovely environment goes a long way toward relaxing you and helping you to build momentum behind your good health and wellness.

Consult your chiropractor to be sure your brain, spine and nerve system are tuned up and ready to go. The downward pull of gravity, injuries and accidents, and weak or faulty posture hurts your spine, and your brain needs your spine to move properly for its stimulation and nutrition. And, your heart has to be able to communicate with your brain, and chiropractic care supports and enhances that kind of nerve communication. We serve Hatboro, Horsham, Warminster, Warrington, Willow Grove, and the surrounding communities. If you or someone you know is ready to see a chiropractor, give us a call or request an appointment today!

Those who want the most out of life are willing to go the extra mile, to work a little harder, invest a little more, raise their standards and push to the next level. We all have more potential than we currently express – get your brain and heart working right, and it will turbo-charge your life! That’s how you discover what it’s like to get the edge!

Heart-Healthy Habits Are Brain-Healthy Habits

It’s no secret that people who do a better job choosing healthy lifestyle habits have a better chance of living a better quality of life with more vitality and less illness. Current research is showing that the healthiest people have healthy brains and healthy hearts, and developing good wellness habits can make both your heart and your brain healthier. For example, exercising and staying fit is great for your heart, and it’s also great for your brain. Improving your circulation, moving your body and expanding your breathing makes you feel better, look better and work better.

And the foods you eat play a major role in both heart and brain function. Years ago, people thought that fat was bad for you and sugar was brain food – now, we know that it’s the other way around, sugar is bad for you and healthy fat is brain food.

The worst dietary culprits that hurt heart and brain health are sugary foods, fried foods and processed foods. So, you’d want to reduce or completely stay away from candy, cake and cookies, muffins and donuts, soda, deep-fried chicken or French-fried potatoes, sausage, bacon or luncheon meats.

Instead, if you want to give your brain and your heart foods that make you healthier, start by deciding you won’t settle for less than first quality food – organic when you can get it, non-GMO (not changed in a laboratory, in plain English), and free of added preservatives, chemicals and artificial flavorings. Read the labels of what you’re putting in your body, and raise your standards if you want a healthier brain and heart.

The best diets are plant-based, like fresh vegetables and many fruits and for some, meat or seafood, for others, nuts and seeds – there are many choices once you have decided to eat healthier. Experiment to find out what works best for you and your family.

For example, your brain and heart love foods that are rich in healthy fats, like avocado, salmon, walnuts, and olive oil. So, a simple guacamole (mashed avocado with cilantro, lime juice, tomato and onion as preferred, and salt, pepper and jalapeno to taste) can be a great healthy lunch or snack with organic tortilla chips, or you could try a delicious healthy dinner of grilled salmon and green beans with a lovely salad of your favorite lettuce, walnuts, avocado, shredded carrot and a thin slice of red onion with a drizzle of olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar.

It should be obvious enough from decades of unfavorable press and scientific scorn that smoking is bad for you, but one of the worst things about it is how much it stresses your heart and your brain. Smoking damages the blood vessels, which increases the odds of a heart attack or a stroke. Smoking raises your blood pressure, and reduces circulation because it constricts blood flow. If you smoke, find a way to quit. If you don’t smoke, do yourself, your brain and your heart a favor and don’t start.

Eating is one of the most fun and rewarding things you can do, but a little common sense keeps your food from hurting you and will give you many more healthy years to eat and enjoy.

Eat a reasonable amount – moderate portions will keep you from overeating. Strike a balance between types of foods – some people like meat, some do not. Spicy food, salty food, creamy food, crunchy food, find the healthiest foods that meet your standards, and support you in feeling and functioning well.

Maintaining a healthy body weight also seems to be an essential part of the healthy-brain-healthy-heart lifestyle. The logic is unmistakable – too heavy, and your heart and brain have to work too hard to keep running properly. Too undernourished, and the brain and heart don’t have the raw materials or fuel to function well.

There is a reasonable range of appropriate body weight, based on height and build, as well as activity level, and you may have a good idea what works best for you – but if you’re not sure then it’s simple to find out what a healthy target weight might be for someone like you.

None of these habits are extreme or difficult – when applied consistently, they will strengthen your heart and circulation, and your brain and nerve system. And getting your brain and body to work together at peak performance is enhanced by chiropractic care – the latest scientific research demonstrates that chiropractic adjustments improve brain function, including the communication between brain and heart. So, there’s one more important health habit to consider – visit your family chiropractor. If you don’t have a family chiropractor yet, we’d love to apply to be yours! We serve the Bucks County and Montgomery County areas with the best chiropractic care, and we look forward to taking care of your family!