How to Know When You Need an Adjustment: Top 3 Ways

Most people make an appointment when they are having pain. And we all know chiropractic is great for helping with pain, but what if you could prevent it before it starts. Just like how regular dental care reduces pain and problems with our teeth, regular chiropractic care reduces pain and problems in our spine. Watch the video below for some quick tips to know when you need to be adjusted, before that nagging pain returns.

So, yes, pain is an indicator you need an adjustment. Or rather you needed an adjustment a few days or weeks ago. Radiating pain shows a deeper issue, usually involving the discs, or some kind of pressure to the nerves exiting the spine. If you have radiating pain get adjusted ASAP!

Assymmetry gives us insight as to what is going on in our underlying structure, particularly the spine. If your head is tilted to one side, or your shoulder or hip is higher, your spine is most likely not aligned. If it’s not aligned, degeneration (arthritis) will be sped up, inflammation will increase, and you will most likely be hurting pretty soon.

Motion is such a big key here as well. And this takes awareness. Notice how far your head turns to one side or the other. Notice what movements seem difficult, or restricted. Do you have a hard time turning your body to one side versus the other? When there is restriction in any of our movements, there is usually a joint that is not properly aligned. There will be muscle involvement as well, but remember any time a muscle is tight or weak, there is an effect on the joint. And anytime a joint is out of place, there is an effect on the muscles.

Remember, the more aligned your spine is, the less degeneration and arthritis will occur, and the better your nervous system will work. Best of all the better you will feel!

Change These 4 Things in Your Diet Now

We all know the basics with nutrition, right? Eat more fruits and veggies, watch the sugar and salt, balance your diet with all the colors of the rainbow, etc etc. But there is so much more to eating a truly healthy diet. Here are 4 simple things you can do to start taking your nutrition game to the next level.

Eat whatever you want! As long as you MAKE IT YOURSELF. This is one of the best pieces of advice for anyone trying to eat better. The large food ‘industry’ adds so many unnecessary ingredients into the products the manufacture. There are ingredients to preserve shelf life, ingredients to change color and appearance, even ingredients to stimulate our brains and our taste buds that actually make these foods addictive.

Fats are your Friends! Years ago there seemed to be a war on fats. They were responsible for obesity and heart disease, among other things. But the whole truth is that we NEED fats on our diet. Good fats, that is. Every cell in our body is coated with a fatty layer that allows nutrients to pass in and out of the cell. Our brains and nervous systems are made up of a lot of fatty tissue. Many of our hormones and endocrine glnds rely of fats for proper function. Also, consumption of healthy fats actually DECREASES the amount of bad fats in our body. So eat those avocados, use that coconut oil, eat those good locally farmed eggs. Your body will thank you.

Let’s talk about animal products. Most of our meat, dairy, eggs etc come from large scale farms that don’t always treat their animals the best. They are usually crammed into tight quarters in dirty environments. They are usualy given antibiotics due to the high levels of infections caused by these conditions. Often they are given hormones to make them grow larger, or affect the product in other ways. The high levels of stress these animals experience does go into the product, changing it in an undesireable way. The best thing we can do for ourselves, and for our environment, is to get as much of our animal products from local farms that treat their animals well. Happy animals make a better product.

Fermentation: Fermentation has been a part of every civilization since the beginning of time. I’m sure you’ve tried saurkraut, kimchi, or yogurt in your life. Historically it has been a method of preserving food, but it has many other benefits. Fermentation uses bacteria or yeast to start breaking down foods, but also to prevent bad bacteria and yeasts/molds from spoiling the food. This also increases the amount of certain vitamins and nutrients, like some B vitamins. Fermentation also breaks down something called phytic acid, which is an enzyme inhibitor found on grains, seeds, and legumes. By breaking this down the food becomes alive, and will grow if given the opportunity. It’s always better to eat food that is alive rather than dead.

So take these 4 tips and start implementing them now. You will feel SO much better!

Chiropractic and Yoga

For years I’ve been benefiting from both chiropractic care and yoga. There are many similarities between the two. Both help with our alignment. Both help improve our range of motion, and decrease stress. I’ve been recommending that my patients start their own yoga practice to help maximize the benefits they receive from an adjustment. But I feel that both chiropractic and yoga can be misunderstood by many. I hope this video will help clarify some things, as well as give you some good tips to help you to feel better.

When our spines are in line, our range of motion is better. This not only helps us to move through yoga poses easier, it also minimizes potential damage and strain to the joints. If we are really stretching out our joints and they are not moving right, we could hurt ourselves.

Yoga also is about POWER and STRENGTH. It’s not just about flexibility. Holding these poses strengthens our postural and core muscles. This will also help the body to hold the adjustments longer after treatment.

There are so many parts of a healthy lifestyle. So many therapies that are effective. It can be hard to know what is the best course to take when changing our lifestyle for the better. But one thing is for sure: The combination of regular chiropractic care and yoga is one of the best things you can do for your body.

Check out https://www.yogahivepgh.com/ for some great classes and events!

Posture: A deeper look into how to be more aligned

At some point we’ve all heard that we need to stand up straight. Pull our shoulders back. Chin up! And while we may be able to correct some of these things by just sheer determination, there are some other important factors to acheive that great posture we are all looking for.

Most of us neglect our breathing. We breathe from a more stressed out, or ‘sympathetic’ state. Focusing on slow, full breaths in through our nose will help to expand our ribcage, which will improve our posture.

Another often overlooked factor is literally foundational to our posture: our feet. The arches in the feet are actually different bands of muscles. They have a kind of spring-like action when they are working correctly. Most of us are thrown into shoes way before our arches have developed, and we wind of wearing shoes with arch supports for most of our lives. Constantly ‘supporting’ these muscles will actually make them weaker over time. So take more time to walk around barefoot. It will help more than just your feet.

Finally, no one can have correct posture if their spine is out of alignment. You just can’t. And you won’t always have pain when the spine isn’t aligned. It’s crucial not only for your posture, but for your overall health and well-being to get your spine checked every few weeks, even if you’re not hurting.

So put those shoulders back, keep your chin up, and pull your low back into your belly. And also all the other stuff mentioned above 🙂

Carpal Tunnel: what is it and what to do about it

We all know someone (or maybe you’ve experienced this yourself) who has had pain in the wrist. Sometimes it can extend into the hand, or up to the forearm. You’ve probably heard the term ‘Carpal Tunnel’ used when this is the case.

The Carpal Tunnel just refers to a sheath that wraps around the tendons controlling our fingers and hand muscles. Watch the video below for a better explanation:

We’ve all got a carpal tunnel (actually two, if you have both hands), but this term usually refers to a problem, usually pain or lack of movement, within this area.

So if you or someone you know is experiencing any hand or wrist pain, even elbow, shoulder, collarbone, or neck pain, have them see a good chiropractor to adjust those areas. Do the stretches outlined in this video. Massage the spots pointed out here as well.

Remember, the pain you’re feeling in your wrist or hand could be coming from a completely different area.

As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you have. We’re here to help 🙂