Balance, Body Awareness, and Chiropractic

Here in Redmond, as you sit at your computer at Microsoft (or other companies) working away, do you look at your fingers?  If not, have you ever wondered how your brain knows where they are and what they are doing without looking at them?  Your joints are the key.  They provide huge amounts of information about their position, whether they are moving or not, and what sorts of pressure they are being subject to.  These nerves are called proprioceptors and feed into a part of the brain that is responsible for coordinating body movements and posture.

Your eyes and ears are also very important for body balance, movement, and posture.  Anyone who has had an ear infection and gotten dizzy can attest to that.  Obviously your eyes can tell you whether your head is moving or if you are leaning to one side. 

Less obvious is the role of the joints so I'd like to focus on that for today.  An important problem is when you have a loss of movement in a specific joint.  This can be due to acute inflammation or more long term ligament change.  The joint is usually misaligned in this case and often does not correct itself from this problem.  We call this a vertebral subluxation when it is in the spine and simply a subluxation if it is in another joint.  There may be several components of a subluxation but let's discuss the motion aspect for now.

The motion stimulates the proprioceptors to tell the brain how the joint is moving and changing.  It also tells the brain what direction and how fast the joint is moving.  This is quite useful in something like typing.  Without looking I can tell where my fingers are moving and at what rate.  Therefore I can send messages to them to direct various key strokes.

On a bigger scale, the combination of several joints and this movement information allow us to walk and balance ourselves on one foot.  They also allow us to stand still and in a straight and upright posture.  The loss of this information then, is very detrimental for us.  You might feel as though "good" posture feels wrong.  You might be getting clumsier.  You might find that you are losing dexterity in your fingers or bumping into things more often.  You could even get vertigo or other balance disorders.

The handling for this is relatively simple.  The chiropractor needs to isolate which joints are functioning incorrectly and restore that motion.  He will likely recommend movement exercises as well to aid in your recovery.  Would exercise alone handle this problem?  Not likely.  Exercising the spine in particular, moves many joints not just the specific one with a problem.  And if you are diligent and do a very good exercise routine it may very well cover up the problem.  Then it will just come right back when you stop exercising and may be causing joint deterioration the whole time anyway.  A far better solution is to get the spine adjusted AND do the exercise.  That will allow both activities to support each other and give you a far better result.

That Evil Belly Fat!

We all know how problematic belly fat can be.  But did you know there are actually two kinds of fat?  Subcutaneous fat is jiggly fat that rests between your skin and abdominal wall.  Visceral fat is the next layer and surrounds your internal organs.  Visceral fat is biologically active.  That means it produces an excess of hormones.  This may increase the risk of insulin resistance which may lead to diabetes.  Visceral fat also boosts inflammation throughout your body and raises the risk of breast cancer in women.

Poor diet, lack of exercise, and genetics can all play a role in the accumulation of this problem.  As a society our work activities are becomming less physically active.  Americans love unhealthy fatty foods and refined carbohydrates (white flour and white sugar.)  It's much too easy to develop far more belly fat than what is healthful. 

How much is too much?  Experts say that a bare abdominal measurement just above the hips of 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women is a tipping point.  At and above this level, the risk for various diseases increases substantially. 

I'm ready.  Let's get rid of it!  Good, start with exercise.  Even just a walk around the block is a good start.  Work into the activity on a gradient so that you are not overwhelmed.  Try to work up to at least 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise three times per week. Begin to include exercise with weights.  By increasing your muscle mass, you speed up your metabolism.  And did you know, muscles burn calories all day and all night?

Eat less and eat better.  Take smaller portions.  No seconds.  At restaurants always leave enough on your plate to require a doggy bag.  Eat only whole grains.  Avoid all refined (white) sugar and flour.  Not only will this help you loose some of the belly fat, it lowers the overall inflammatory level in your body.  That lowers your risk of many illnesses including heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and diabetes.

Can Chiropractic Help With Allergies?

Since the beneficial effects of chiropractic adjustments on the nervous system are well documented, it's not surprising that many chiropractic patients report a reduction of allergy symptoms when treated regularly for vertebral subluxations. These misalignment or dysfunctional movements of vertebra can cause a local irritation in the spine which then creates an abnormal signal received by the central nervous system. When this incorrect signal occurs along the same pathway required for the input of normal environmental messages, the body may not interpret the information correctly. When this occurs, an allergic reaction can result.

Although scientific research shows chiropractic adjustments do not cause an improvement in all allergy cases, they're definitely beneficial for some. The reason for the inconsistency may be because there are a number of different causes for a patient's hypersensitivity. Vertebral subluxation is only one of many potential causes.

If you suffer allergies, consider chiropractic as one of your potential options. Even if it does not result in a reduction of your allergic symptoms, removing subluxations from your spine has several positive effects on your nervous system. And that reduces your overall physical stress level.

Golfers Love Chiropractic

The motions required in golf are very demanding on the body. They require a lot of flexibility, good posture, and repetitive one-sided motion. Unfortunately many people do not have good flexibility. They also exhibit several types of poor posture and just about anyone's spine is stressed by repetitive unbalanced movement.

Chiropractic comes into play because we can detect joints in the spine and extremities that are not functioning at their full potential. Having all your joints working together in a balanced way will allow your body to produce the level of motion necessary to prevent golf injuries and even to take several strokes off your game!

Your chiropractor may also help with your posture. Having poor posture locks up your body and reduces it's ability to move fully. Try and experiment to see for yourself. Sit on a bench and slouch over. Cross your arms genie style and then try to rotate as far as you can to the left and right. Then sit up straight with good posture and repeat the rotational test. Notice how much further you can move? Chiropractors not only coach you on good posture, but by restoring the normal motion to all the joints it is simply easier to hold yourself in good posture.

Of course it is also your responsibility to maintain these changes and help avoid injury. Be sure to warm-up before each game. Get your blood and body moving, do some stretching and ask your chiropractor for a good core stabilization program. Fore!

Food and Your Mood

Foods can have a much greater affect on your mood than most people realize. Of course we know that some people get pretty grouchy if they are hungry. But I'm referring to how what you eat now will likely affect how you feel later.

As you may have already guessed, sugar is one of the biggest culprits in causing mood problems. When you eat a high sugar food like candy, soda pop, or cake it gives you a temporary lift but you are very likely causing significant blood sugar fluctuations later. After the spike in blood sugar wears off your mood is likely to worsen. It can even lead to blood sugar instability the next day!

Caffeine is another problem when used as so many do to support their mood and mental activity on a regular basis. As with sugar, when it wears off your mood will drop significantly. That leads many people to reach for more caffeine or sugary items.

It's far better to minimize the consumption of foods like that. Eating more complex carbohydrates, proteins, fruits in moderation, and vegetables will keep your blood sugar much more consistent. This directly translates into a more balanced mood and energy level. Yes, this takes some planning but is very worthwhile. Once you experience the more natural balance that will occur in your mood from improved nutrition, you'll see how much healthier this approach is rather than relying on sugar and caffeine.