Regular Kitchener Chiropractic Care and a Healthy Nerve System

Replacement Parts: What You Need to Know

Regular Chiropractic Care and a Healthy Nerve System

The need for hip, knee, and shoulder replacement surgery often arises when the joint in question cannot be used without causing substantial pain. The person has avoided attempts to lift the arm, bend the hip, or flex the knee. But such loss of function may not be tolerable in the long-term, and surgery may be required. For most of us, lifestyle choices could be implemented long before such a critical stage is reached. Certain courses of action can help us improve joint mobility and overall musculoskeletal function. Regular vigorous exercise, for example, consistently challenges joints and muscles, helping improve range of motion and tolerance for daily mechanical stress. Regular chiropractic care is an important part of such lifestyle choices. By helping reduce nerve interference, regular chiropractic care enables your body's master system to function at peak efficiency. The result is enhanced musculoskeletal performance and increased levels of overall health and well-being.

If you've ever been involved in a motor vehicle collision, you're probably familiar with the term "replacement parts" or "crash parts". Your auto insurance company will usually offer to repair your car using after-market bumpers, door panels, wheel assemblies, and other parts. Or, you may prefer to have the repair done with parts from the original manufacturer. Regardless of the source of the parts, your car will not be the same as it was in its original condition. It's important to bear the auto analogy in mind if a surgeon has recommended a hip, knee, or shoulder replacement as a solution to a problem of chronic pain.

The frequency of joint replacement procedures of all types is dramatically on the rise within the last 20 years.1 For example, in the United States there has been a 58% increase in total knee replacements from 2000 to 2006. There has been a 50% increase in total hip replacements from 1990 to 2002. Unfortunately, the revision rate (repeat procedures) for total knee replacement more than doubled and revision total hip replacements increased by 60% within the respective, above-noted intervals.

The simple fact is that although your body may appear to be a machine, it is rather an exceedingly complex entity whose whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. Thinking of your body as a machine may be a useful metaphor, one that may aid considerably in medical practice. But the metaphor is not the reality, and forgetting this crucial distinction may lead to substantial and possibly irremediable problems for a patient. Manufactured joints are never as good as your actual physiological structures, no matter the quality of the replacement components.

Of course, there are many circumstances in which joint replacement is indicated and provides great benefit for a patient. However, such procedures should probably be a last resort and never considered standard of care. A best practice would be to reserve joint replacement for situations in which pain is unrelenting and the person has failed several forms of conservative care.

Optimally, in most cases measures are available to avoid such radical outcomes. The best steps for each of us to take is to begin ongoing programs of regular vigorous exercise and healthy nutrition.2,3 Regular exercise, a healthy diet, and sufficient rest will assist all our physiologic systems to achieve peak levels of performance. By making such beneficial lifestyle choices, we help diminish the likelihood of chronic, debilitating pain and loss of function. As a result, we help ourselves avoid the need for replacement parts.

1Singh, JA: Epidemiology of Knee and Hip Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review. The Open Orthopaedics Journal 5:80-85, 2011
2Marley J, et al: A systematic review of interventions aimed at increasing physical activity in adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain--protocol. Syst Rev 2014 Sep 19;3(1):106. [Epub ahead of print]
3Tanaka R, et al: Effect of the Frequency and Duration of Land-based Therapeutic Exercise on Pain Relief for People with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. J Phys Ther Sci 2014 Jul;26(7):969-75. doi: 10.1589/jpts.26.969. Epub 2014 Jul 30

Questions? Concerns? Give us a call at (519) 748-5535 and put your mind at ease.

Or

Visit our website: www.fairwaychiropractic.net

The Right Kind of Pain by Chiropractor in Kitchener, Ontario

The Right Kind of Pain

Listen to your body!

How often have you heard the expression, “No pain, no gain”? It can apply to many life situations, including exercise to shape up, tone or drop weight. But when pain is severe or prolonged, you gain nothing and stand to lose a lot!

There are a number of tips to help you stay safe to avoid workout injuries. Some of them include:

• Warming up – Warm muscles are far less likely to tear than cold ones. So, if you’re going out for a run, walk a bit first, then trot before you go into full running mode. Stretching your muscles, especially the ones you’re going to be using, also helps you to avoid injury.
• Cooling down – The same is true when you end an exercise session. You can’t just automatically stop when you are finished with your workout because this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Using running as an example- slow down to a walk again before you just stop your exercise. It’s also important to stretch out those muscles again.
• Staying hydrated – Water, water, water! Drinking water before, during and after a workout replaces fluids lost from sweating and exertion, especially important in warm or hot weather.
• Taking it easy – You can’t expect to run a marathon your first day out. Start slowly and build in terms of time spent and exertion level for your workouts. For example, if you’re engaging in weight training, you don’t want to start with the heaviest weights; you want to start small and gradually increase weight levels.
• Listening to your body – Don’t continue your workout if suddenly you find yourself in pain. Your body is trying to tell you something. Ignoring it can only make it worse, so stop whatever you’re doing and give your body a few days to recover before starting up again.
• Making sure you’re wearing the right shoes for the exercise – This is really important to reduce the impact of the exercise on your body, particularly your ankles, shins, calves, knees and other joints.
• Learning the proper technique for the workout – Make sure you know the proper technique for any new workout routine you are attempting for the first time. Correct technique is as important as warming up to avoid injury.

The decision to exercise is an important one for your overall health – as important as diet/nutrition and regular chiropractic care – to keep your nervous system fit and healthy. Just remember to start out slowly, don’t overdo it and stop if you feel any type of pain, in order to avoid serious injury. And… if you do experience any pain, be sure to let us know.

Questions? Concerns? Give us a call at (519) 748-5535 and put your mind at ease.

Or

Visit our website: www.fairwaychiropractic.net

Is meat good or bad? Who's right? - Chiropractor Kitchener, ON

Is meat good or bad? Who's right?

It seems a week doesn’t pass that we don’t hear something in the media about the dangers of eating, drinking or coming into contact with one substance or another. Even more confusing is that if you wait long enough, someone else comes out with another study extolling its health benefits!

Consider some of things that the “authorities” have flip-flopped about concerning their safety:

Sushi, Red meat, NutraSweet, Sucralose, Saccharin, Dyes, Perfumes, High fat foods, Eggs, Decaffeinated coffee, White bread, Hot dogs, Sugar, White flour, Coffee, Carbohydrates, Tap water, Margarine, Butter, Wheat, GM corn, Fluoride, Silver fillings, Tuna, Bacon.

Consider this. For every person who has had an adverse effect, millions have not. In fact, we’ve all heard of those in their 80s, 90s or older claiming their secret to longevity was the result of eating or drinking something we’ve been told is bad for us.

Hmmm. Maybe it’s not just the substances. Maybe it’s our attitude, stress level, ability to adapt (nervous system integrity), the toxicity of our environment and a constellation of countless other issues at play. What do you think?

Dr. Steven Murdoch Chiropractor -:

Dr. Steven Murdoch Chiropractor in Kitchener, ON is the proud owner of Fairway Chiropractic Centre in Kitchener, Ontario. He offers family chiropractic care at his Chiropractic office.

For more information visit our Website: http://www.fairwaychiropractic.net

A Free Report on Back Pain Relief from Fairway Chiropractic Centre

Pain of any kind is a sign something’s wrong. Some people silence the pain with drugs. But that would be like removing the battery to silence a smoke detector!

Six Choices

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If you suffer from low back pain, you want relief. Besides the painful symptoms, it’s distracting and interferes with your life. It disrupts your sleep, changes your personality, reduces your patience and is a constant reminder that something isn’t right. Here are the choices:

1. Ignore It

Actually, this is the most common approach. Hoping it’ll go away or resolve on its own is often the first strategy. The fact that you’re reading this suggests that you’ve already tried that. Unfortunately, when spinal problems are ignored or neglected, the underlying problem usually worsens.

Pain pills or muscle relaxers can numb the pain, but ignore the underlying cause of your problem.

2. Medication

All too frequently the next stage is some type of pain medication. Besides the possibility of addiction, drugs merely numb the pain, ignoring the underlying problem. The pain is gone as long as you take the drugs. Until it doesn’t work any longer. Then the dose is increased. Like merely making the minimum payment on your credit cards, you never really solve the problem.

3. Therapy

Some people are sent for physical therapy. And while it has its place, especially in the rehabilitation phase of an injury, stressing malfunctioning spinal joints to “harden” them can be destructive. (If the front end of your car is out of alignment, driving more, or faster, won’t help!)

4. Bed Rest

About half of all back surgeries fail, while producing irreversible damage and prompting more surgery!

Related to ignoring the problem or postponing action is modifying your daily activities. This can include asking for lighter duty at work to leaving things undone around the house. Research shows that bed rest and reduced activity can actually slow the healing process. Moving, which is often painful with impaired spinal biomechanics, is essential for proper healing.

5. Surgery

When drugs no longer work, drastic surgery actually starts to sound good. This may involve permanently cutting away spinal structures or fusing joints. Besides the considerable risks, success is so rare (only about 50%) the common result even has a name: Failed Back Surgery Syndrome.

6. Chiropractic

While it shouldn't be the last choice, it often is. Specific chiropractic adjustments can help the spine “right itself.” By restoring the way your spine works, nerve involvement causing your pain can be eased and your body can heal. And while chiropractic care has broader use than the relief of back pain, we’ve helped many with this all too common condition.

Exercising misaligned spinal joints just can’t restore proper function and reduce the irritation to nearby nerves.

What’s Going On?

The nerve-rich facet joints on the back side of each spinal bone are a common cause of back pain. The pain can be a sign these interlocking “fingers” aren’t moving right.

The discs between spinal bones can be involved, too. Stress, either physical, emotional or chemical, can cause the disc to weaken, allowing the soft, pulpy material in the middle to bulge, putting pressure on nearby nerves.

Sciatic Pain is Common

Back pain may start in lower back extend down one or both legs. It typically worsens with periods of sitting or standing. This is called sciatica.

This is usually a sign that the discs between the spinal bones of the lower back are encroaching upon the nerves. Disc bulging crowds nearby nerves, causing irritation and inflammation. Coughing, sneezing or other kinds of movement can be painful.

Take This Simple 'Contracted Leg Length' Test

Improving joint motion in the lower back with a program of safe and simple chiropractic adjustments has given relief to millions. One of the ways to see if you’re a good candidate for chiropractic care is to take this simple at home test.

Many foot, knee and lower back problems that we help every day create the appearance of a short leg.

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Step 1

Have the test subject wear a pair of hard soled shoes and lie across a bed, face down, with arms relaxed at each side. (The head must remain straight down throughout the test.)

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Step 2

Apply equal pressure with both thumbs to the arches of each shoe. Are both legs of equal length when the bottoms of the shoes are parallel?

  Left leg short    Right leg short    Equal length

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Step 3

Bend both legs to a 90° angle so the bottoms of the shoes are parallel with the floor. Does one leg appear shorter?

  Left leg short    Right leg short    Equal length

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Evaluation

A difference of greater than 1/4” in any of the positions is clinically significant. Uneven leg length is a common sign of spinal problems that often respond to chiropractic care. Find out if we can help.  Call Fairway Chiropractic Centre now to arrange a more thorough examination!

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Still Skeptical?

Taking a shower at home is more dangerous than benefiting from today’s chiropractic care!

If you’re still not sure, or have tried chiropractic in the past without the results you wanted, we understand. To help you reach an informed decision, we provide this information as a public service. Here are some other action steps to consider:

• Email Us. We appreciate the opportunity to field questions, clear up concerns and put prospective patients at ease before coming to our office. 
• Ring Us. You don’t need a referral from a medical doctor or anyone else to begin chiropractic care. If you want to explore an issue privately, ask to speak with Dr. Steven Murdoch. 
• No-Obligation Consultation. Arrange a private face-to-face consultation with Dr. Steven Murdoch.  These 10-15 minute visits are helpful in getting your questions answered and specific concerns addressed.

“It all starts with you,” says Dr. Steven Murdoch  “If we think we can help, we’ll tell you. And if we don’t think we can help, we’ll tell you that too and refer you to someone we think can.”

If you don’t have a chiropractor, we’d like to be yours. Contact us to schedule a no-obligation consultation today. For more details visit our website http://www.fairwaychiropractic.net

Try Media-Free for a Better Life!

Consider how many hour are wasted amusing ourselves watching television!

Have you noticed changes in your children’s personalities -- increased irritability, impatience, even hostility? Or have you seen them even in yourself? Do you notice that time seems to fly away from you, and that the contentment and peace you once cherished appears to have vanished?

Try looking at the amount of time you and your families spend ingesting the output of our major media: television, radio, even printed materials. And if a little voice tells you those could be the guilty parties, try a radical concept that’s gaining popularity: go media-free for a trial period of thirty or forty days.

You’ve probably heard for years the familiar complaints about the effects of television. Well, the news is that these ill-effects have become more proven and more dire with every passing year. It has become an established fact that TV watching leads to poor dietary habits, inactivity (and all the resulting health effects, even an increased risk of juvenile diabetes!), and a host of behaviour ills, including a greater likelihood of teenaged viewers starting to smoke!

Yet in our advertising-driven, sensationalistic times, even the other forms of media can cause stress, anxiety, and a feeling of disconnection from our surroundings. Going “without” these time-wasting, attention-sucking diversions can actually add hours to your day and open up your life to the kinds of enrichments you always wanted to enjoy but “never found the time for.”

Your kids will tell you they’re bored at first, but boredom passes quickly and usually turns to creativity. Soon you’ll find your family taking hikes, playing games, engaging in conversation, and much more. One thing they won’t be doing: missing the hours in front of the tube.

Dr. Steven Murdoch Chiropractor -:

Dr. Steven Murdoch Chiropractor in Kitchener is the proud owner of Fairway Chiropractic Centre in Kitchener, Ontario. He offers family chiropractic care at his Chiropractic office.

For more information visit our Website: http://www.fairwaychiropractic.net

Give Your Medicine Cabinet an Overhaul

We use so much medication in our culture that we build special cabinets just to hold it all! Have you checked yours lately?

When was the last time you took a good look into your medicine cabinet? You most likely clean your bathroom with some degree of regularity, so why not your medicine cabinet? If you’re like most of us, there’s probably some stuff that’s been in there for years!

Here are some ways to give your medicine cabinet a makeover:

• Toss out expired medications. Most medications lose 10% of their potency within a year’s time, and 90% may or may not be effective, depending on the drug. Some supplements, such as fish oil, may even become rancid after the expiration date.
• Get rid of makeup products that have been around for a year or two. Unlike medicines, makeup has no expiration date, but the anti-bacterial components usually break down after a year or two. Mascara has the shortest shelf life and should be changed frequently because it may contain bacteria harmful to your eyes.
• Toothbrushes and razor blades tend to grow bacteria and staph relatively quickly and need to be replaced often.

Now, that you’re rid of all the old stuff, let’s talk about things you should have in your medicine cabinet, things like:

• Toothpaste
• Aloe for burns
• Bandages and antiseptics for scrapes and cuts
• Herbs and essential oils such as chamomile, ginger and lavender

In other words, you don’t need much. Taking the time to clean up this one area of your home may have some profound effects on the future of your health!

Dr. Steven Murdoch Chiropractor:

Chiropractor Kitchener Dr. Steven Murdoch is the proud owner of Fairway Chiropractic Centre in Kitchener, Ontario. He offers family chiropractic care at his Chiropractic office.

For more information visit our Website: http://www.fairwaychiropractic.net

Can Chiropractic Improve Your Game?

Golf can result in injuries anywhere in your body!

It’s been called the “gentleman’s game,” but more and more women are joining in as well. Many schools and colleges have teams and it’s considered the perfect game for networking or negotiating important business deals.

We’re talking about golf, and golf courses are big business, from building them to maintaining them, as more and more players are getting into the game!

So… how can chiropractic care help you to improve your golf game?

• Many golfers suffer from chronic low back pain. Back pain responds exceptionally well to chiropractic adjustments, increasing mobility and range of motion.
• Chiropractic care can help to improve posture and flexibility, two components of longer and more powerful drives.
• We become less flexible with age and immobility (working at a desk job, sitting in a car driving everyday) contributes to that as well. Swinging a golf club requires collaboration on the part of many joints from the feet up to the hands, including ankles, knees, hips, spine, elbows and wrists. Lack of flexibility contributes to many repetitive motion injuries in the joints. Chiropractic care attempts to address, correct and prevent joint injuries.
• When combined with stretching and corrective exercises, chiropractic care is a cost effective, all-natural way to improve mobility… which translates to consistency during the four – five hours it takes to play 18 holes.

Fancy new high-tech clubs, shoes with the right spikes and the latest golf attire do nothing to improve your game. However, increased flexibility and mobility can certainly improve your golf score. Just ask the pros – nearly 75% of them receive regular chiropractic care while on tour each year.

Jeffry H. Blanchard, golf professional and author of The Geometry of Golf stated, “The chiropractor is the perfect choice to evaluate, educate, treat, condition and train those who choose to play golf.”

Dr. Steven Murdoch:

Chiropractor Kitchener Dr. Steven Murdoch is the proud owner of Fairway Chiropractic Centre in Kitchener, Ontario. He offers family chiropractic care at his Chiropractic office.

For more information visit our Website: http://www.fairwaychiropractic.net

Seven Reasons to See a Chiropractor

Seven reasons to visit a chiropractor

Do you know someone we could help? Here are seven reasons to send them our way.

1. Effective. Because the nervous system controls every cell, tissue, organ and system of your body, and the primary focus of chiropractic care is the restoration of nervous system integrity, chiropractic care can be helpful for a wide range of health care problems. 
   
2. Natural. Simply put, chiropractic care doesn’t add chemicals or foreign substances to your body. And chiropractic care doesn’t remove parts or take things out. Instead, chiropractic care seeks to restore proper control and regulation of your body so health can return, naturally. 
   
3. Safe. Chiropractic care is safe. So safe, even newborns get adjusted to correct the spinal trauma from the birth process. Chiropractic care is tailored specifically to each patient’s health problem and individual health goals. 
   
4. Few adverse effects. There are no warning labels required for chiropractic care. In fact, most "effects" of chiropractic care are considered positive effects, such as better balance, more energy, increased vitality, extended endurance and improved coordination. Even the rare instances of muscle stiffness or other reactions are often signs that healthy changes are being made. 
   
5. No obligation. Tour our website or schedule a complimentary consultation to find out if you’re a good candidate for chiropractic care. If you are, we’ll invite you to begin care. If you’re not, we’ll recommend someone we think can help you. 
   
6. Delighted patients. If those critical of chiropractic had any real basis for their objections, chiropractic would have disappeared a 100 years ago. However, it continues to thrive due to high levels of patient satisfaction. It simply works. 
   
7. Smart choice. It makes sense to correct the underlying cause (loss of proper nervous system control of the body) rather than numb the body with drugs. Research shows that those who are more highly educated choose chiropractic care.

If you know someone that you think we could help, please send them our way, or at least share these reasons why chiropractic care makes sense.

Dr. Steven Murdoch:

Chiropractor Kitchener Dr. Steven Murdoch is the proud owner of Fairway Chiropractic Centre in Kitchener, Ontario. He offers family chiropractic care at his Chiropractic office.

For more information visit our Website: http://www.fairwaychiropractic.net

Do Cervical Collars Really Help?

You see them on people all the time – those big stiff collars that keep someone’s head from moving. Usually people wear them after a car accident, a sports injury or a fall, for ‘whiplash” or a soft tissue injury to the neck. They look uncomfortable. More and more of us are questioning whether they should be used at all!

'I’ve been in an accident' but if they’re used for too long they can impede proper healing.

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Many believe that short-term use of a soft cervical collar can be beneficial in the initial acute phase of an injury. However, continued usage causes the muscles in the neck to weaken because the collar is actually taking the place of those muscles. Some studies have even shown that the use of a cervical collar may actually prolong the recovery process.

So how should you treat a neck injury?

• Get in to see us! The sooner proper spinal, muscle and joint function are restored, the better. Waiting lengthens recovery time.
• Try to keep you neck moving in as normal a fashion as possible; this helps keep the muscles from stiffening.
• If you’re inclined to use a cervical collar, limit its use to less than a week.
• Perform stretching exercises that help support the neck muscles/joints.
• Continue with your normal daily routine and activities; don’t “baby” the injury.

Whiplash injuries can also affect the normal curve in the neck. A chiropractic exam can determine the amount of damage. While pain relievers and muscle relaxers may make you feel better, they won’t heal damaged ligaments, muscles and tendons. And a cervical collar can’t return the natural forward curve to the neck.

If you know someone wearing one of these fashion accessories, encourage them to call our office for a consultation. We promise to give them the same high quality care you’ve come to know us for.

Dr. Steven Murdoch Chiropractor:

Chiropractor Kitchener Dr. Steven Murdoch is the proud owner of Fairway Chiropractic Centre in Kitchener, Ontario. He offers family chiropractic care at his Chiropractic office.

For more information visit our Website: http://www.fairwaychiropractic.net