Staying Off the Sidelines | Written By: Dr. Gary Shoemaker
All machines need a perfect alignment to function normally. If the wheels on your car are out of alignment, you'll spend money replacing the tires regularly. If your washing machine is out of alignment when spinning out, it can easily walk across the room. Your spine and extremities are no exception. Misalignment leads to malfunction, then injury, then damage. It's as simple as that.
If you are active or athletic, alignment is even more critical. The faster you move, and the more you lift, the more that alignment matters, and the greater the potential damage. In a proper chiropractic evaluation, your body is assessed for posture, leg lengths, bilateral weight-bearing, and rotation. The alignment of your spine, hips, pelvis, knees, and ankles, as well as your shoulders, elbows, and wrists, should be aligned. Anything not aligned is a potential for injury.
Joint replacement has become an epidemic in the United States at more than $6 billion a year. While it can be said that a person that has joints replaced could be from heredity or age, it is likely that any single joint replaced was due to years of wear while out of alignment. Therefore, if your joints are realigned periodically, your risk of a joint replacement is significantly lower.
So, before the warm weather returns and you are back into a golf, tennis, or softball league, you are walking or running, or just being active in the yard, be sure to see your chiropractor to make sure your human-machine is running proper and balanced!
Babies and Chiropractic Care | Written By: Dr. Alex Jeffrey
I have found it to be a common question now that I am a father, "Why would my baby need chiropractic care?" Other common questions are, "Is it safe?" "Do they get adjusted the same way that I do?"
From the start, being born is a hard job. While each birth is different, there is always a chance that there will be some kind of birth trauma due to a variety of different reasons. Birth trauma can put stress on the developing nervous system of a newborn and there can be nervous system dysfunction and subluxation in their spines. As a chiropractor, we want to eliminate any stressors on the nervous system to allow the baby to grow and develop to the highest potential. Different signs that there could be subluxation and nerve dysfunction from birth trauma could include reflux, colic, irritability, difficulty nursing, sleeping difficulty, or delayed developmental milestones.
Is it safe for babies to be adjusted? Yes! An adjustment for a baby is however very different from the adjustment you might be used to as an adult. When adjusting a baby, we will only use the amount of pressure that you would use to comfortably push on your own eyelid. The baby will be checked in a comfortable position and gentle pressure is applied to make corrections to their spines.
Many parents, including myself, choose to have their babies and children checked regularly by a chiropractor to help them maintain a healthy lifestyle! Chiropractic care is safe, gentle, and effective! Chiropractic care detects and corrects subluxations and nervous system dysfunctions early to promote overall wellness in a growing child.
If you have any questions about if or when your child should be adjusted, please ask me!
Chiropractic and Weightlifting | Written By: Dr. Nathan Blackwell
Along with chiropractic care, weightlifting and exercise are great lifestyle choices to help you feel good and stay healthy! “How do I know if it’s safe for me to lift weights?” Well, start slow and find out what works best for you. Doing bodyweight squats in the living room is a great place to start for everyone! When starting to exercise and lift weights, it is important to know your boundaries and take it slow and steady. You should never stress your body to the point of pain while exercising, this should be a feel-good process that makes your mind and body feel strong and refreshed. Research shows that while you exercise, your body releases endorphins that allow you to feel good and accomplished during and after the workout session! As someone who has exercised for 10+ years, I see the benefits daily!
Sometimes the hardest part is just getting started. If you can just take the first step, you will be helping your body and mind for a long time to come. If you are curious about where to start, or how to start lifting weights, visit our office and ask, “Dr. Nathan, how can I start working out?”
Learn More About Chiropractic!
If you would like to learn more about how chiropractic care can strengthen your overall health, read our blogs at https://clairpointe.com/blog and follow us on Instagram and Facebook for weekly health topics. Or make a new patient appointment today by calling our office at (313) 886-8030.