Archives for April 2013

1. Increased Circulation

Stretching has been proven to increase the blood flow and supply of nutrients to muscles and cartilage. This reduces muscle soreness after working out. The less sore our muscles are, the less painful it will be to work the same muscles and to exercise in general, and the more comfortable day-to-day life will be.

2. Flexibility

As we age, our muscles gradually become shorter and tighter, reducing overall flexibility. This restriction makes us more susceptible to muscle, tendon, and joint injuries. Stretching is primarily responsible for increasing flexibility, and reduces these risks. Increased flexibility also allows us to exercise more easily.

3. Increased Range of Motion (ROM)

Stretching has been shown to effectively increase ROM in joints. Increased ROM allows us to keep better balance. Better balance reduces our susceptibility to falls and the resulting injuries, especially as we age. Increased ROM also helps to keep us up and moving about!

4. Reduce Stress

Stress causes our muscles to contract, becoming tense, which can have negative effects on just about every part of our body. Gentle stretching exercises relax tense muscles associated with stress. Also, since stretching is an exercise, it has the same endorphin-boosting effects, improving our mood and the way we feel in general.

5. Alleviate Lower Back Pain

It's true: Millions of people struggle with chronic lower back pain. Also true: Stretching is an excellent way to strengthen the lower back muscles, alleviating soreness and pain. Since many muscles (quadriceps, hamstrings, lower back muscles, and hip flexors) contribute greatly to our posture, stretching these muscles has the ability to significantly reduce or eliminate lower back pain.

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SOURCE: Five Benefits of Stretching

Back and neck pain are the chief complaints for which patients seek chiropractic help. Through spinal manipulation, chiropractic care focuses on maintaining healthy musculoskeletal and nervous systems to ensure overall wellness.

Effectiveness

According to the Annals of Internal Medicine, studies show that spinal manipulations performed by a chiropractor, along with exercise, relieve neck pain more effectively than medication.

Also, in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, it was reported that an integrated approach to health care (including chiropractic), reduced pharmaceutical costs by 51.8% and resulted in 43% fewer hospital admissions.

If you experience frequent pain in your back, neck, joints, or even headaches, you should consider seeing a chiropractor. This is also true if intense soreness follows household chores or prolonged periods of poor posture.

Back and neck pain

Chiropractors are best known for safely and effectively treating acute back and neck pain, as well as headaches. A medical doctor might prescribe pain medicine, anti-inflammatory drugs, or even muscle relaxers; an orthopedic doctor may suggest surgery. But a chiropractor will treat your back problems by hand, through manipulation of the spine.

By adjusting the spine with their hands at particular pressure points, chiropractors unblock nerve energy and allow it to flow better down your spine and throughout your entire body. Repeated visits can, over time, realign your spine to optimize overall health.

Treatment plan

Chiropractors examine every patient's level of health, not solely for the reason of their visit. Thus, many chiropractors seek to care for the whole person, from general wellness to disease prevention. After a thorough exam and diagnosis, a chiropractor develops a treatment plan that may include combinations of spinal manipulations, physical therapy, and rehabilitation procedures.

Some chiropractors (such as Dr. Luther at Sport and Spine) also provide nutrition advice, exercise recommendations, ergonomic and lifestyle counseling and so on. This holistic approach allows chiropractors to offer patients opportunities for complete wellness, as well as reduce the need for potentially addictive pain medication or invasive surgery.

"Chiropractic [care] allows the nerves to work at their most optimum ability allowing the body to heal at its optimum ability." ~Brian Elwartowski, Chiropractor

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SOURCE: FOX News Health

Tips for Foam Rolling

What is foam rolling? Why should we do it? See this quick video to hear what Dr. Luther has to say about it!

Do you remember why you first visited a chiropractor?

For some, it was due to an injury; for most, it was because of pain. A good majority of “what ails us” today was caused by years of wear and tear on our body—and our inattentiveness to address our body’s needs.

Would you have come to us at an early age if you had been given the option, knowing then what you know now about the benefits of chiropractic care?

Did you know that the average “cruising” (walking short distances from object to object) toddler falls an average of 38 times a day? That translates into a lot of bumps and bruises! From birth (imagine how much of a strain the actual birthing process puts on a newborn’s neck and shoulders) to the active teenage years (do your teenagers remind you of yourself as a teenager?), children encounter a lot of trauma to their entire bodies—not just the spinal cord!

If you’re thinking you sure could have used a chiropractor during your “memorable” teenage years, don’t you think your child could benefit from a chiropractor today?

At Sport and Spine, we are committed to providing excellent healthcare and wellness opportunities to ALL of our patients—and this includes parents and their children. You see, families are important to us! We believe the benefits of chiropractic should be experienced by people of EVERY AGE.

Think of it this way: When you sit at a desk all day, five days a week, you can communicate to someone that your neck is stiff and it’s making your head ache, and as a result, making you irritable. But as a toddler, you can’t as easily communicate that sitting the car seat for three hours has made you uncomfortable; that sitting in that one position has tightened your neck so that the fluid cannot drain from your ears and now you have an earache. All you can do is cry, become irritable, not sleep well.

We want to ensure your child begins life with the best possible potential. For both young and older children, chiropractic care makes sure their bodies are developing and growing correctly.

Chiropractic care has numerous health benefits for infants and toddlers. It can reduce the number of colds a young child experiences, help prevent injuries, decrease the use of antibiotics (because the body is healing itself naturally), decrease colic and ear infections.

For active teenagers, regular chiropractic care allows for quicker healing from injuries and will prevent future problems.

Chiropractic care should begin in childhood and last a lifetime. That is why we are offering a VIP plan just for kids. Call us today to discover more!

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SOURCES: Why Should Children See a Chiropractor?, Does Your Teen Athlete Receive Chiropractic Care?