Active Family Chiropractic

Empowering Your Health

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I feel great! Do I really need a Chiropractor?

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We get this question all the time. I feel great! Do I really need a Chiropractor? The answer is yes. Our spine is the most important part of our body. It supports us, it protects and encases our central nervous system and we only have one. But if I physically feel great, why do I need a Chiropractor?

Stress

As we go through life, we put stresses on our spine. Big stressors like falls, car accidents and sports can cause subluxations. Small stressors like slouching and looking down all day can cause subluxations. Any impact on your body can cause a misalignment. We may feel great afterward and feel as though we come out unscathed but the reality is that we may have caused some internal issues that can lead to a structural deficiency. Many times after a stressor you may not feel the pain initially. It may take time and repeated use for that pain to begin. Seeing your chiropractor on a regular basis can help to prevent delayed pain and keep you in optimal function.

 Sleep patterns

Believe it or not, how you sleep can affect your spinal structure. Have you ever woken up with a kink in your neck? That can be from a misalignment you obtained while you were sleeping. Do you sleep on your side with a pillow between your head and your arm? Sleeping this way can wear down the cartilage in your joint and inhibit movement in the long run. Maybe you’re a back sleeper, which is great! However, you like to sleep by twisting your lower body to one side. Learned behaviors such as sleep positions can put unnecessary stress on your spine and joints and lead to subluxations.

You may be subluxated and not even know it.

As mentioned earlier, subluxations occur throughout the normal course of life. Sleeping in the wrong position, falling, sitting and even standing the wrong way can lead to subluxations. Life is hard and we are hard on our bodies. Even our hobbies can cause misalignments. For example, for someone who loves to knit, the repetitive motions can cause wrist subluxations, much like people who work on computers all day. Their posture as they sit, hunched looking at their screens and the position of their hands on the keyboard can all lead to subluxations. Regular visits to your chiropractor can help you to correct these learned behaviors. Subluxations do not always cause pain, but they always affect your body function.

It’s a Holistic approach to healing.

We should look at Chiropractic care as a preventive instead of a reactionary medicine. Think of it as vitamins that we need to sustain health instead of medication that we use for disease. If you were to look at your spinal structure, you would see that your nervous system is encased in your spinal column. Your nervous system is the Grand Central station for all nerve and brain activity in your body. When there are “kinks” in that system, that’s when we see symptoms such as allergies, tingling in our hands and feet and a variety of other ailments. When we view Chiropractic care as preventative medicine, we are helping our bodies to function at an optimum level.  If you think you feel great now, start going to a chiropractor and see how much better you can function and feel.

For more information:

Contact: Dr. B at [email protected]

 

Spring cleaning and yard work safety

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With spring here it’s important to keep some very important rules in mind when you embark on your spring cleaning and yard work. These are things that can save you from a lot of pain later on.

Warm up!

One of the most important things is to warm the body up before you do any kind of yard work or spring cleaning. This includes arm swings, leg swings, some air squats, just whatever you can do to get your body moving. Even taking a fast walk around your yard to get your blood pumping through your body. It’s very important to avoid straining your body.

Drink Water & Take Breaks

It’s very important that while you’re cleaning make sure to drink plenty of water and make sure that you’re taking breaks. Also, if you are doing a one-sided activity, such as raking, you want to switch sides so that both sides get the same amount of work on the body.

Cool Down!

Finally, when you’re done with the activity a lot of people make the wrong choice. They sit down with a beverage or they reward themselves with some kind of treat such as ice cream. However, it’s most important that after you do a physical activity to reward your body in a positive way. Some of the ways you can reward yourself positively is by stretching and some kind of rebuilding for the muscle tissue such as eating a steak or getting some kind of protein into your system. Also, make sure that you drink plenty of water to replace what you lost.

Follow the steps

Following the steps will allow you to do more and to recover quickly so that you can spend your spare time doing things you love without pain or soreness. As always the way to keep you in optimal health is to get regular adjustments by your CBP doctor. So make an appointment today!

For more information ask Dr. B at [email protected]

 

Can CBP adjustments help a hunchback?

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The only time that a CBP chiropractor cannot help someone with a hunchback is when it’s too far gone. Often times you will see somebody who has severe degeneration in their spine from lack of care over time. You may notice it more in seniors.

The reason isn’t because of their age that a hunchback might develop, it is because they might have had a problem in their spine at a young age and it wasn’t addressed. As gravity pulls you and time passes it becomes more of a hunch.

Often times you can reverse any spinal structure as long as the spine hasn’t fused. Your spine can naturally fuse and will naturally fuse to help support your body if you’re not doing anything to help maintain it. That’s what arthritis is.

There are times when people have something called a hyperkyphosis, which is an extreme rounding of the spine. This is like when you think of Quasimodo. That is usually a serious form of scoliosis in the thoracic spine.

There are some conditions when a person is predisposed to having loss of disc height and loss of bone height in the front and your body will start to collapse forward on itself. In those instances, surgical intervention is needed quickly because there is nothing you can do otherwise.

It really does depend on what the problem is and a CBP doctor would not be able to help unless you have a check-up. So the first thing to do is to get your spine checked by a CBP practitioner to determine what is going on. Make an appointment today.

 

For more information ask Dr. B at [email protected]

Why do I get the same subluxations and can they be avoided?

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Why do I get the same subluxations?

Have you ever wondered why you seem to get the same subluxations over and over again? Ever tried to change the way you sleep? Sit? Stand? It’s difficult to relearn new patterns, to change old habits. However, it can be done. The same is true for your subluxations.

Typically people will have the same subluxation patterns. These patterns are developed over time. They occur because of how you sleep, stand, sit and move. These things can influence your posture which then can cause subluxations. However, it doesn’t stop there, your choice of hobbies, exercise and leisurely activities can also cause subluxations.

How are these subluxations established?

As you move through your life you develop habits. These habits are as simple as how you sleep in bed or how you sit at your desk. For most people, it is more comfortable to slouch at your desk then to sit up straight. Some people prefer to sleep on their left side instead of on their back. These simple habits create subluxations.

For example, when you slouch at your desk, you are creating a reversed curvature in your lower spine, which may be comfortable but is not ideal or beneficial for the health of your spine. Instead, try to sit with your shoulder blades pulled back together. This will prevent you from slouching and although it may be tiring at first, like going to the gym, you’re working those muscles to help support your spine, therefore providing optimum health.

Can I do anything to help minimize or eliminate these subluxations?

The first thing to do is to see your CBP chiropractor. Regular visits will help correct the structure, which will strengthen the muscles around that affected area and promote health. The Doctor can then give you exercises to do at home to help prevent [Read more…]

Can a CBP Chiropractor help with arthritis/spinal stenosis?

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A CBP Chiropractor can help people with arthritis and/or spinal stenosis. It does depend on how severe the arthritis or spinal stenosis is. If there is natural fusion there isn’t a lot a CBP Chiropractor can do with those segments. Traditionally a person’s whole spine isn’t fused, so most people can be helped.

Arthritis, traditional osteoarthritis, the wear and tear type of arthritis, comes from bad structure over many years or it can come from a trauma you’ve had, such as a car accident or a slip and fall. Those things can start to change the structure of the spine. Then when that happens your body produces new bone to help stabilize the bad structure and that’s what arthritic change is. Unfortunately, the bones that grow are sharp and pointy and they start to become compressed.

Spinal Stenosis is when there is pressure from that arthritis around the spinal cord itself. So you’re starting to have major malfunction in the body because of direct pressure on the spinal cord. Whereas a lot of times arthritis will just affect the spinal nerve. One of the branches coming off of the spinal cord will become compressed. However, with something like stenosis it actually compresses the spinal cord. So whatever neural pathways which are being controlled by that are being affected.

For example, if someone has spinal stenosis in the lumbar spine a lot of times they lose bowel and bladder function, they have trouble with reproductive organs, or they start losing function in their legs because of the pressure on the spinal cord. All of these are global problems in the body versus specific problems which can stem from arthritis. Stenosis is certainly more severe than traditional arthritis and CBP chiropractic can help.

CBP Chiropractors can help by fixing the structure through adjustments. You must get a check-up first to determine how much can be done. With the right plan in place, you can start to fix your structure and get pain relief through CBP chiropractic care. So, make an appointment today.

For more information contact Dr. B at [email protected]

 

Why is Chiropractic care considered natural?

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Chiropractic care is considered healthy primarily because there are no unnatural things being forced into the body to get the body to change, such as medicine. It is considered natural because chiropractic does not use drugs or surgery to try to change the body.

The body is changed through adjustments to help the body function at a better rate so that you don’t have to rely on medication. That’s why it’s considered natural. Chiropractors don’t encourage medicine or surgery, unless absolutely necessary.

There are a lot of ways that you can heal your body by just getting your spine aligned. Your body has the power to heal itself and with correct spinal alignment, your nervous system can operate at a higher capacity.

So, get a spinal check-up today with a CBP chiropractor and get yourself on the path to a medicine and surgery free life. For more information contact Dr. B at [email protected]

Kids need Chiropractors too!

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It’s simple, children need to be adjusted because they have spines as we all do. Children need to see a chiropractor maybe more so than adults because of their activity levels.

As a child grows they are learning how to walk, how to ride bikes, how to play sports and with all that comes falling, tripping, and stumbling. All of these things create trauma in the body, which creates misalignments and shifts creating a strain on the nervous system.

A child receives their first subluxation at birth. When the child is born either naturally or via c-section, the first subluxation occurs in the neck when the child is extracted from the mother. We know that upper cervical subluxation can be a cause for sudden infant death syndrome, so it is very important that every child has a spine check-up and adjustments.

As a child grows they are subject to the harsh realities of life. They may fall down a couple stairs or fall off the changing table. They may be tackled by a friend or tumble out of their crib when they’re starting to walk. Any time a trauma happens there’s spinal misalignments. Those have to be minimized in order for the child to be healthy.

Chiropractic care isn’t about how you feel. It’s about how you function. If you fall or have any kind of trauma your function is going to be affected, no matter how old you are. So get your child a spinal check-up today. Their immune system with get a boost and they’ll grow up big and strong.

For more information ask Dr. B at [email protected]

How do I tell others about CBP chiropractic when they come from a medical background?

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That is a little bit difficult because most people that either have a doctor in the family or are in the healthcare field, they have very strong opinions on healthcare and on what’s right and what’s not right. Just like anyone with strong opinions it might be very difficult for them to see your opinion or to consider something different.

If you have someone in your family who you would like to have some chiropractic care done and they don’t have any support at home, is to call Active Family Chiropractic. When they call the office they can ask questions and Dr. B will go over what happens at the office and the benefits of chiropractic care and put any fears they might have at bay.

Chiropractic care is safe and effective and it helps thousands of people every day. It is non-surgical and non-medication. So for people who have strong religious beliefs or want more of a holistic approach, it’s worth looking into seeing a chiropractic practitioner.

If you have strong opposition at home to chiropractic care, call the office. or do the research and be your own health advocate. It’s important to not just follow what someone says blindly. Ask questions and make the best decision for yourself and those you care for.

For more information ask Dr. B at [email protected]

Is it flu season or sugar season.

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A lot of people are hearing on the radio and on television that this is flu season. The flu is around all year long, it isn’t just here during one season. The thing is that the other months of the year people make better health choices. That means that they are making wiser choices on what they eat and they tend to exercise more. They also get a lot more natural sunlight which gives them natural Vitamin D and they tend to drink more water because they are hot.

When the weather starts to get colder, people start to change their habits. They don’t exercise as much, their water consumption goes down, they aren’t seeing as much sunshine and they start to fall off of good habits like eating healthy. People start to eat more comfort foods which are laden with refined sugars, such as Pumpkin Spice lattes, hot chocolate, cakes, and cookies.

When you look at the holidays, the major holidays start in October, during Halloween. Every holiday after that encourages some sort of sugar eating. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter are all major sugar holidays. During these holidays there is a lot of encouragement to eat a lot of pies, cakes, and sugar.

The problem with sugar is that it destroys your immune system functions. It actually suppresses your immune system for 6 hours after eating it. When your immune system is suppressed, it is not working at optimum levels, your immune system is distracted from other things, other jobs it normally has like identifying the flu virus and getting rid of it before it becomes a problem for you physically.

This is what happens in the summer. When you are eating less sugar and are making better health choices your immune system has the opportunity to fight off the flu virus and remove it from your body.

The flu is around all year long, so why the press for the flu vaccine now, during this time of the year? It is because people are making bad health choices. The medical community knows that people are going to be over-consuming sugar in all forms and they are trying to stop an epidemic of the flu.

Should I get the flu shot?

It is a totally personal preference. If you are taking care of your body, making sure you’re eating right, taking vitamin D, drinking enough water and getting adjusted regularly, you should have no need for the flu shot. If you choose to not take care of your body, don’t get regular adjustments, and over-indulge then you might want to consider it.

The biggest take away is that you need to make your health a priority in order to stay healthy. During this holiday season if you know that you’re going to be eating sweets, pies, and cakes, moderate your intake a taste of each dessert will do. You don’t have to consume the whole pie!

Make sure that if you’re going to eat sweets you are drinking more water, getting more sleep and try to get some exercise in. Also, try to schedule an adjustment with your CBP doctor and get your spine right for the holidays.

For more information ask Dr. B at [email protected]

Do Chiropractic adjustments cause strokes?

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As a Chiropractor, Dr. B gets asked this question all the time. Adjustments do not cause strokes. Let’s start there.

There have been a few instances where there have been pre-existing conditions, meaning that the patient had problems with the arteries in their neck, that were undiagnosed problems. The patient then had a negative response to the adjustment, whether it had been a stroke or something of that nature. The problem is that their arteries already had the issue and it created something of a ticking time bomb.

People have strokes every day. The only time it’s ever linked with Chiropractic adjustments is right after a Chiropractic adjustment. This happens when the arteries in the person’s neck are already compromised. This happens by the virtue of the person’s choices such as what they eat. If you are eating really bad foods that clog your arteries it will lead to blockages which can cause strokes.

People have strokes in this country all the time. It’s the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States. However, it is only brought to the media’s attention when it is in consort with a Chiropractic adjustment. It is very rare when it does happen.

Chiropractic care is not dangerous, it is extremely safe. Active Family Chiropractic goes an extra step to ensure that there is no way that they could create a problem with someone like, inducing a stroke, by performing a very thorough exam to test for the compromise of those arteries. They also take x-rays which can show if a ligament is calcified and putting pressure on the arteries. They make sure to take care and note if there are any pre-existing issues within the patient before any adjustments are done.

Chiropractics adjustments are done every day all over the world and there are so many people who benefit from Chiropractic care. Don’t be afraid to get an adjustment it’s one of the safest and best things you can do for your body. So call your local CBP Chiropractor and make an appointment today!

For more information contact Dr. B at [email protected]

About Us: Learn about Chiropractic Biophysics (CBP) through the stories of a CrossFit athlete, a passionate artist, and parents of twin babies

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