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

Silence Those Sinuses! - Chiropractor Kitchener, Ontario

Silence Those Sinuses!

While it’s not specifically a treatment for sinus headaches, many report improvement with chiropractic care.

You know the feeling…your head is congested and your face hurts. You press on your cheeks and there’s pain – the pain that can only come from an inflammation in your sinuses. And then…there’s the headache that usually accompanies the sinus congestion. Let’s face it – you feel downright miserable.

Sometimes the symptoms of a migraine and a sinus headache can be confused, however, sensitivity to light and sound and nausea generally accompany migraines.

Symptoms of a sinus headache may include:

• Pressure and pain in the areas of the forehead, eyes and cheeks
• Nasal congestion and stuffiness
• A yellow or green discharge from the nose
• Extreme tiredness
• Chills and fever
• Swelling in the face

Natural remedies that may alleviate some of these symptoms include using a nasal saline (salt) rinse or spray, breathing moist air to help drain nasal passages, avoiding cigarette smoke and drinking plenty of water.

A visit to our practice may also help. Many have reported improvement with chiropractic care. Restored nerve communications to the head and neck can often help reduce sinus pressure and improve sinus drainage. It is a safe and natural alternative to prescription and over-the-counter medications that may leave you feeling fuzzy-headed and tired, or that may produce additional side effects that only address symptoms, rather than the cause of your discomfort.

Fairway Chiropractic Centre -:

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: 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

Hypertension Hope - Chiropractor Kitchener

Hypertension Hope

A new study shows chiropractic care can have a significant influence among those with high blood pressure.

Have you been diagnosed with hypertension, more commonly known as high blood pressure? If not, would you even know you had it? Do you know what the symptoms are? Usually there aren’t any – that’s why it’s called the “silent killer.” Many people discover they have it through some catastrophic, life threatening, and often fatal event, such as a stroke or heart attack.

Those who do have symptoms generally experience headaches, blurred vision, and dizziness – and these symptoms may lead them to their medical doctor where hypertension is diagnosed after a blood pressure check.

Since one in four adults are diagnosed with high blood pressure, this is a condition that requires careful and frequent monitoring, especially if there is a family history of the disease.

Causes of hypertension? The list is extensive – and emotional stress, obesity, genetics and kidney failure rank high on that list. However, other conditions such as substance abuse, smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, pregnancy, high cholesterol, thyroid disorders and certain prescription medications may also contribute to its onset.

Treatment for high blood pressure usually includes one or more of the following – medication, exercise, diet therapy, smoking cessation, reducing alcohol consumption and weight loss.

However, the results of a promising new study recently appeared in the Journal of Human Hypertension, WebMD, Science Daily and on a number of television news shows. The study was conducted by George Bakris, MD, director of the Hypertension Center at the University of Chicago Medical Center, and Marshall Dickholtz, Sr., DC, of the Chiropractic Health Center in Chicago.

Fifty participants with diagnosed high blood pressure participated in the study; 25 received specific adjustments to the first vertebra of the spine, known as the atlas. The other 25 received “sham” adjustments (placebo). Immediately after, the 25 who received the “real” adjustments experienced a significant decrease in blood pressure, while those who received the sham adjustments showed no change. The results remained the same eight weeks later.

It is also notable that although participants took no blood pressure medication during the eight-week study, the “real” atlas correction had the effect of two blood pressure medications taken in combination.

Finally, chiropractic is getting some notable press from the medical community and with good reason. When you address causes of illnesses, rather than just alleviate symptoms, through spinal corrections that “free” up the nervous system to work as it is intended, real miracles occur.

Fairway Chiropractic Centre -:

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: 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

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