Chiropractic Care For Scoliosis
Oftentimes, a school nurse will take a day or two to examine all the kids in his or her school for scoliosis. The screening for scoliosis in most schools involves having a child perform the Adam’s Forward Bend Test to look for unevenness or abnormalities in the shoulders, rib cage or back. Some school nurses might use a device called the scoliometer or take an X-ray. The problem with school screenings, though, is that the nurse has tons and tons of kids to examine, so he or she tends to go quickly and may not give each child the kind of attention that a chiropractor could. The signs of scoliosis are subtle. They can be easily missed!
A smart way to diagnose scoliosis is to measure the curve using the Cobb method. A positive diagnosis is determined by a curve greater than 10 degrees, with a curve greater than 25 degrees being considered significant and one exceeding 45 degrees considered severe. A proper diagnosis can involve looking at medical and family history, as well as a physical examination and X-rays of the spine.
If you’re the parent or caregiver to a child who is between the ages of 10 and 14, it’s recommended that they get screened for scoliosis. Scoliosis occurs most often during the growth spurt just before puberty. It’s a disorder that causes an abnormal curve of the spine or backbone. There’s a normal spinal curve when looking from the side, but the spine should appear straight when looking from the front. Some of the symptoms of scoliosis include back pain and leaning to one side. Females and those with a family history of scoliosis are most at risk.
For a non-invasive option to help bring the spine back to its proper posture or to keep the spine curvature from progressing, it makes sense to visit Lakewoods Chiropractic where a child’s spine can be restored to its normal function.
Hidden Injuries From Automobile Collisions
Okay, you were in a car crash. But you walked away from it feeling okay. Maybe you were a little stunned and “shaken up,” but for the most part you didn’t feel “in pain…” But then, three months later, one morning you wake up and try to get out of bed but you can barely walk! There are often hidden injuries from automobile collisions. And they might not show up until weeks or months after the crash!
Take, for example, Joe Smith. He was in his minivan, stopped at a stop sign. Suddenly he heard a noise that sounded like an earthquake. He lurched forward in his seat. Stunned, he thought, “What was that?” When he got out of the van to look around, he saw a woman in a smashed up car behind him! She had fallen asleep at the wheel. She had to go to the hospital, but Smith felt good enough to just go home and go to sleep that night. Three months later, though, there was a sharp pain down his leg, with numbness in his toes. After a series of doctor visits, it was determined that he’d need surgery on his “L4-L5” to take that pain away. A surgeon cut his back open and did what he had to do– and Smith took a couple weeks to walk like a normal person again… and even then, he had some pain in his legs, feet and lower back. Smith visits his chiropractor regularly for “maintenance” and relief from chronic pain associated with that car crash.
When car crashes happen, it’s so important to visit a chiropractor. Your chiropractor can help assess what’s going on with your body and then tend to the problem areas over time. With chiropractic care, the body can feel better. Typically, after a crash, problem areas include the neck and lower back. If and when you’re in a crash, don’t hesitate to call and make an appointment at Lakewoods Chiropractic!
Spread Love And Kindness This Valentine’s Day
It is better to give than to receive is an old adage that rings true. People feel good when they give to others, whether it’s their time, talent or treasure. For instance, when a person with money can help make it possible for a poor person to eat a meal, they feel good inside. Spreading love and kindness is good for a person’s health!
This Valentine’s Day, what can you do for someone else? How can you help? Serving others is a great way to enhance your own life. It gives your life purpose and meaning. The body responds to these actions with a sense of accomplishment and “good feelings.”
When a person gives another person a present, their intention is to make that other person feel good. When they see the look on their face as they open the package or envelope, they, too, feel happy. Doing kind things for other people is surely a way to feel better about life in general. Despite all the negativity in the world, who doesn’t like it when someone else is kind and loving toward them? Sometimes it’s the littlest things that make the biggest difference– like giving someone your parking space, or even just smiling at them when they’re having a bad day.
Meanwhile, being social is good for your health, too. Rather than stay inside all day watching movies or scrolling the Internet, you should be out “in the world” talking with people, laughing, smelling flowers, and participating in games and challenges and adventures. Research shows that an active social life may help people live longer. People with strong social connections seem to live healthier, longer lives than loners who don’t socialize on a regular basis.
Think of senior citizens. There are some who mope about their days indoors just watching the news and being depressed. Then there are others who go to the local pool and do water aerobics with other people their age. Sure, they’re getting exercise, but they’re also discussing things with one another, laughing, smiling and feeling good about life.
When you focus on love and kindness in your life, you’ll see worthwhile benefits, this Valentine’s Day and always!
Fight Childhood Obesity With Real Food
Today’s kids are getting bigger, and is it any wonder? Walk into most grocery stores and notice what they’re selling in large quantities: potato chips, soda pop, chocolates, and all sorts of processed foods. If your family doesn’t watch what it eats, it can be very easy to take in more calories than you need, leading to chubby kids, chubby parents, etc.
So how can parents today help fight childhood obesity? The answer is simple: real food. Not the kind of food made in a factory with chemicals and additives– instead, real food is unprocessed and unrefined. It doesn’t have additives. It’s just natural. What are some examples of real foods? Fruits and vegetables are perfect examples. It’s better to eat an apple than to drink “apple juice” from a juice box. Why? Because that juice isn’t just natural apple juice. It probably has added sugar in the form of “high fructose corn syrup” to sweeten the taste.
What do people crave? They want salt, sugar and fat in their food. In limited quantities, these are all okay. But today’s processed foods are loaded with them, to the point where kids are packing on pounds. Instead of eating M&M’s, try blueberries. Instead of French fries at the restaurant, get broccoli. Having a salad? Go easy on the salad dressing!
Take some time to read labels and know what’s actually in the foods your family eats. For instance, if there are “hydrogenated oils,” that’s not going to help your kid lose weight. If there are artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose or saccharin, those aren’t the best, either. Even items labelled “diet” or “low-fat” can be deceiving. In reality, they have additives and may not be that healthy!
Kids are going to want to choose junk food over real food. That said, as a parent you can influence your child’s choices and make sure they’re getting more and more real foods in their diet to help fight childhood obesity.
Posture Perfect Pain Prevention
When you’re sitting at the computer at a desk, where do your feet go? Are you crossing your legs? Are you slouching in the chair? How far away is the monitor from your eyes? Do you find yourself bringing your head (and neck/chin) forward and down to be closer to the keyboard while typing? How is your posture when sitting? How’s it when standing?
A lot of people have jobs that involve sitting or standing for long periods of time, without much movement. And that’s not good. It’s like your body gets frozen in one position and then becomes stiff, tight, and, ultimately, in pain. Think of all the little old ladies you know who walk hunched over– they got that way because they hunched over for years and that position just kind of stuck with them. Do you want to be hunched over when you’re 80?
When your posture is in good alignment such that your shoulders are back, your chest is out, and you’re straight rather than crooked, then you are in a fine position to prevent pain. However, most of us have terrible, sloppy posture. We bend in weird ways. We move our arms and legs into awkward positions. Our gait is “off.” Basically, a lot of us are sitting and standing and walking “all wrong,” and it’s causing us all sorts of pain in various body parts, including our necks, shoulders and backs.
Do you get a lot of backaches? How about headaches? What about arthritis? All of these things could be stemming from the way you carry yourself– your posture. It’s not something most people think about, but it’s actually very important to have good posture or else risk feeling bad.
What can you do to improve your posture? Why not make an appointment at Lakewoods Chiropractic? You’ll get your spine adjusted and aligned. The chiropractor will show you how to sit/stand/walk “better,” and give you ideas on how to improve your posture even when you’re not in his/her office. Furthermore, you can “check-in” with your chiropractor over time to see how you’re improving– it’s nice to know you’ve got someone to be accountable to, and someone who can track your progress. Over time, you can go from a slouching person in pain to someone who stands up strong and tall, feeling healthier and happier. Call Lakewoods Chiropractic in Forest Lake, MN, at 651-464-0800 and make your appointment today.
How To Make Your New Year’s Resolution Stick!
New year, new you, right? Every December 31st, right before Midnight, people decide to come up with a plan for the new year, and they make New Year’s resolutions.
Resolutions are a tradition in which a person decides to change an undesired trait or behavior, to accomplish a personal goal, or otherwise improve their lives. For most people, it’s “I want to lose weight in the coming year. I want to be healthier.”
So how many people actually do what they say they’re going to do (and stick to it)? Probably about 12%. While the majority are very confident at the beginning, when they make the resolutions, they often “give up” because they’ve created unrealistic goals (from a size 16 to a size 2 dress in 2 months? Yeah right!), didn’t keep track of their progress (thought I was losing weight, but, oops, looks like I gained 10 pounds last month– should’ve checked the scale more often, huh?), and/or they forgot about them (what did I say I’d do back in January– I don’t even remember!).
So how do people make resolutions “stick,” whereas they actually accomplish what they set out to accomplish? The trick is to come up with goals that are made in terms of small and measurable goals. For instance, instead of declaring you want to “lose weight in 2020,” you should say, “I want to lose one pound per month in 2020 by eating less and exercising more.” With that specific goal in mind, you just might achieve it!
It also helps to be accountable to someone or something in order to make your resolution stick. For example, if you decide you want to stop using swear words in 2020, and you come up with a plan whereas your family members make you put $20 in a jar (where the money goes to charity) every time you do swear, you’re going to be held accountable for your actions. Pretty soon, you’ll avoid swearing because you don’t want to give away so much money! Or maybe you decided you “want to exercise more.” What if you and your sibling or co-worker make it a point to take a mile walk once a week at 2pm every Friday for the next 3 months? Write down your plan(s) on paper– put it on the calendar. Have the other person “check in” with you, often, and then both of you take your weekly walk together… it can be a good time to chit chat such that you don’t even realize you’re exercising!
If you tell a lot of people what you plan to do and then you do it, that’s great. If you tell people and then don’t follow through, that’s not good. With help from friends, family and others, including your chiropractor, you can stick to your New Year’s resolution(s) in 2020. You never have to “go it alone.” Those who succeed often have the support and backing of others in their lives. Oh, and they’ll reward themselves at the end, when they’ve accomplished their goal.
What Do Symptoms Mean When It Comes To Internal Disorders?
At Lakewoods Chiropractic, we take a proactive approach to people’s health and wellness. Oftentimes, people wait until they’re in awful pain before they even consider going to a chiropractor. While we do our best to help them, it’s much better if someone who doesn’t yet have major symptoms makes a preventative appointment with a chiropractor. Why is this? Because a chiropractor can and will make safe and gentle adjustments to the spine in order to prevent internal disorders from ruining their patients’ lives.
What are some of the internal problems chiropractors work to alleviate or prevent? Carpal tunnel syndrome, headaches, backaches, infantile colic and ear infections are all internal issues that can’t easily be fixed without hands-on help from someone else. True, some people will take pills to help with their pain, but, in the end, what they really need is a chiropractor to get to the root of their problem, rather than just treat symptoms.
You see, a headache is a headache, but where’s it coming from and why is it happening? A chiropractor will help discover that information. Likewise, a backache might be coming from a problem in a person’s neck! The general population doesn’t know or understand much about internal problems. They see what they can see on the outside of their bodies as they look in the mirror. But ask them about the names and locations of various bones and joints and they draw a blank. Chiropractors, though, know all about what’s under the skin, where it is, and how it’s all connected. They know where joints, tendons, muscles and nerves are– and they manipulate the body to heal itself through hands-on adjustments.
People don’t want to get cancer or diabetes. They don’t want to live with high blood pressure and worry about having heart attacks. So, with that in mind, regular visits to a chiropractor should be viewed as preventative maintenance for the body. Chiropractic care helps with natural disease prevention. When the body’s systems are all working as they should be, the body doesn’t have any reason to be in pain. If there’s little or no inflammation, and blood flows freely as intended, then it’s “all systems go,” and a person is healthy and happy. That’s the aim of chiropractic care.
What Do Symptoms Really Mean?
If you go to most general practitioners (GP), they’ll be diseased-focused, whereas most chiropractors are wellness-focused. In other words, a GP will look at your symptoms and prescribe pills to get those symptoms to go away… whereas a chiropractor takes a more holistic, preventative, and/or proactive approach to a person’s health. They’ll want to make hands-on adjustments to get to the root of your problems (in a natural way), rather than just temporarily treating the symptoms with pills.
What do symptoms really mean when it comes to spinal and musculoskeletal disorders? Symptoms are evidence that something’s going on somewhere, and that something is probably causing you pain. Oftentimes, people today regard symptoms as indicators of the start of an illness. However, chiropractic care assumes that symptoms indicate the final mark of an illness. Therefore, chiropractors work diligently in order to prevent spinal/musculoskeletal disorders before symptoms even appear!
Typically, chiropractors examine patients and look for vertebral subluxations (partial dislocations of joints) in their earliest stages. Think of this as a car mechanic checking car parts for any signs of wear and tear that could lead to a breakdown later on… and by making adjustments proactively, that “part” should be good for many more miles. By making adjustments, a chiropractor helps the body heal itself and function properly.
Basically, chiropractors like to challenge their patients to shift the way they think about symptoms, with a focus on prevention.
What are some common symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders which chiropractors are trying to fix before they get out of hand? Symptoms might include pain, stiffness, weakness, joint noises and decreased range of motion. When the body has inflammation, certain body parts might swell or get warm and/or tender. They might not function as intended. Skin might redden. A chiropractor will, of course, ask about these symptoms, but, better yet, try to help patients proactively take care of their potential problems before they even get to the point of having overt and noticeable symptoms.
If something’s “not quite right” with your neck, shoulder or back, chances are a visit to a chiropractor can truly help you feel better soon. Why not make an appointment at Lakewoods Chiropractic in Forest Lake, MN, by calling 651-464-0800?
Vacation For The Health Of It!
It’s a cold January day in Forest Lake, Minnesota. The temperature is about 17 degrees, and that’s without the wind chill. People are shoveling their driveways and sidewalks, twisting their bodies into all sorts of positions, many of which aren’t good for their already bad backs. You can hear complaints all around these parts of Minnesota this time of year… “I don’t want to go to work today,” “I hate this winter weather,” and “I wish I could take a vacation.”
Now about that last one… when is the last time you actually took a vacation? For many working Minnesotans a vacation is a foreign concept. After all, there’s “work to be done.” But, too much work and not enough relaxation ends up messing with your body– and you could be stressed out!
Rather than complain about being exhausted but do nothing about it, now’s the time to consider taking a vacation– even if it’s just for a few days to get away from the stresses of your everyday life.
Why take a vacation? There are actually science-based reasons why vacation is good for you.
For starters, there’s the much needed reduction in stress. Since you can get away from the people, activities and environment of work, you can literally get away from those stressors. Giving your body and mind “time off” from “all that” helps recharge your batteries. Then, when you do go back to work, you’re more relaxed. And that means fewer headaches, backaches and pains.
What about heart disease? Want to help prevent it from happening to you? Those who take vacations regularly suffer fewer heart attacks than those who skip vacations. Professional research studies have shown this to be true for both men and women.
How about improved productivity? As you’d imagine, it takes a lot of energy to be constantly productive. For those who take a vacation, they “come back from it” more ready to work in such a way that actually improves their overall productivity for the year. There’s nothing quite like getting away from something for a bit to allow the body and mind to tackle it later on with more gusto. If taking a vacation could help you be a happier, more productive employee, then why not take one?
Finally, when people have too much on their minds they don’t sleep well. But vacations give the mind a chance to rest and concentrate on simple things, like the beauty of flowers and trees or the taste of a good meal. Getting “better sleep” leads to better focus, less stress and a chance to reset your sleep pattern.
Maybe it’s time you took a vacation. Get away from the cold winter weather. Find a beach in Florida, get some sun, and watch the waves– it’s time you took some “time off!”
Can Chiropractic Adjustments Improve Well-Being?
Imagine, for a minute, you could shrink yourself and somehow manage to get inside a person’s body and travel through the various systems. Wouldn’t it be fascinating to see how all those tunnels and organs work? It’s hard to even imagine all the amazing processes going on, right now, inside the body.
If you think of the inside of your body as a series of highways with blood and/or brain messages flowing down these highways to make everything work right, then imagine when something blocks the flow… suddenly, the blood/brain message can’t flow like it should… and you experience pain. Ugh!
Chiropractors are known for helping people with bad backs, but if you think about it, they can actually tend to many other parts of the body. And what do they do? They use hand manipulation and certain devices to help move things internally and/or coax them back to their natural position. Ideally, they get rid of “traffic jams” in the body so the natural flow of things is restored.
Can chiropractic care help with a person’s well-being? Definitely! For starters, chiropractic care can help relieve and/or eliminate pain. By improving musculoskeletal health, a person’s everyday functions and quality of life improves… you walk better, look better, and feel better.
Some of the well-being benefits of seeing a chiropractor for regular adjustments include an improved immune function, lowered blood pressure, more energy, less inflammation, better digestion, easier breathing, better posture/balance, improved range of motion, and better quality sleep. For women who are pregnant, chiropractic care helps take pressure off the spine, relieves body pain, and helps make for healthier pregnancies and births.
Emotionally, a person often feels better after seeing a chiropractor. They need someone to help them feel better because they can’t do it all alone. The chiropractor makes adjustments and then the person thinks, “Well, now my body can heal itself because he/she helped jumpstart the process that I couldn’t do on my own.” As the body “gets back to normal,” a person has fewer worries and challenges– it becomes easier to move around, which is exactly what they hoped for!
Lakewoods Chiropractic of Forest Lake, MN, helps many people improve how they feel. If you want to improve your overall health and well-being, make an appointment at Lakewoods by calling 651-464-0800 today.
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