Neck Pain and Neck Pain Triggers You’ve Probably Never Thought Of

Neck Pain and Neck Pain Triggers You’ve Probably Never Thought Of

By Dr Greg Millar, DC CCEP; Dr Ken Randolph, DC ASBCE; Dr Justin Walbom, DC; Dr Ryan Friel, DC; Dr Jessica Davis, DC and Dr Kay Bishop, DC
Millar Chiropractic Clinics - Huntsville, Madison, Jones Valley and Decatur Alabama 

Your neck is flexible and supports the weight of your head (10-12 lbs), so it can be vulnerable to injuries and conditions that cause pain and restrict motion. Neck pain causes include:

• Muscle strains. Overuse, such as too many hours hunched over your computer or smartphone, often triggers muscle strains. Even minor things, such as reading in bed or gritting your teeth, can strain neck muscles.
• Worn joints. Just like the other joints in your body, your neck joints tend to wear down with age. Osteoarthritis causes the cushions (cartilage) between your bones (vertebrae) to deteriorate. Your body then forms bone spurs that affect joint motion and cause pain.
• Nerve compression. Bulging disc, herniated disks, or bone spurs in the vertebrae of your neck can press on the nerves or nerve roots branching out from the spinal cord.
• Injuries. Rear-end auto collisions often result in whiplash injury, which occurs when the head is jerked backward and then forward, straining the soft tissues of the neck.
• Diseases. Certain diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, meningitis or cancer, can cause neck pain.
• Occupation. While not as common as low back pain, it is estimated that as much as 20% of workers have neck pain yearly. (Studies reported 16% for men and 20% for women).   Machine operators, carpenters, and office workers have a lifetime prevalence of neck pain at 81%, 73% and 57% respectively. Other occupational neck pain jobs include sewing machinist (98%), welders (94%), teleprinter operators (79%) microscopist (66%), seamstress (60%). 
• Sports Injuries. Sports injuries can last a lifetime. Sports like football, cheerleading, hockey, wrestling, gymnastics, track and field events, baseball, soccer, and more.

You find yourself seeking neck pain relief, but pinpointing the cause can sometimes be tough.  To get to the bottom of the cause, you’ll need to take a look at your lifestyle.    What’s Causing Your Neck Pain?  Here are some things that cause neck pain that you might not have thought of: 

1.  Sleeping on Your Stomach: You know who you are.  Stomach sleepers enjoy their sleep position so much that most of them don't want to change it even though it causes neck pain.  The problem is that sleeping on your stomach causes your head to turn to the side for hours at a time.  This forces your neck into an over rotated position for most of the night.  It practically guarantees that you’ll have neck pain. The good news is that you can train your body to sleep in a new sleep position.  Start slowly.  If you wake up on your stomach, just switch to your side or back each time.   Try this: Put a banana clip or clothes pin on the front of your pajamas.  This may provide you with just enough discomfort to roll you over to your back or side.  

2.  Weight on Your Shoulder: Carrying a heave purse by the shoulder strap. Carrying bags things like dog food on you shoulder, Shoulder Rides for kids. Even though the shoulder can be nice and flat, its not designed to carry heavy weight. We have nerves exiting the neck into nerve plexus right at the top of the shoulder. Putting weight on this area is almost assured that you will have neck pain.   

3.  Your Phone: Most of us don’t hold our phones up high enough.  Instead, we hold them down, forcing our neck into a compromised position for long periods of time.  Over time, this causes a stiff neck and even neck pain as the weight of your head puts pressure on your neck. Change the way you hold your phone and never hold it up with your shoulder.   If you’re sitting at work or at home and need to go online, opt for using the computer and keep the screen high enough that viewing it doesn’t force you to look down.  

4.  Neckties: Yep.  You read that right.   Neckties that are tied too tight increase tension in your neck.  To make sure your tie is loose enough, check to see if you can fit the width of your finger between your shirt and neck.   If not, loosen the tie. Finally, an excuse to loosen your necktie a bit more!  

5.  Your Computer Monitor:  If your monitor is slightly off either too high or too low or to the left or right, you’re hurting your neck.  Too high or too low causes you to move your head up or down to compensate. To the left or right causes you to turn your head to one side for an extended period of time.   If your job requires you to sit at a desk for eight hours or more a day, neck pain is just waiting to happen. The solution?  Move your monitor so that it is directly over your keyboard and elevate (by using books or a computer stand) it so that you don’t have to look down to see your screen.  

6.  Your Pillow: Your pillow has a lot to do with neck pain. Too much pillow, your head is bent forward and you'll have neck pain. We recommend sleeping with as little pillow as possible. Also too much pillow actually makes breathing harder. 

7.  Your Lights: If the lighting above your desk is insufficient, you’ll crane your neck forward to read your computer screen.  The forward position of the head places stress on the upper vertebrae in your neck and the muscles at the base of your head.  Headache and neck pain are often the result.   

8.  Your Eyes: Get your eyes checked.  Near or far-sightedness, if left untreated, can cause craning of your head – similar to poor lighting conditions.    

9.  Late Night TV:  We all love late night TV as much as the next guy, but if you’re in the habit of lying down with just a pillow propping up your head while you watch TV at night, your in for a double whammy!  This position results in both a forward and a rotated position of the neck. Just like too much pillow this position puts stress on the back of the neck muscles.    

10. Getting in and out of a car or truck. Most of us don't think about it but in order to get in and out of most cars and trucks we have to bend and croon our necks. This puts additional strain on neck muscles. Try to get in and out of your care holding your neck in one position as you get in and out. 

Bonus: Today posture plays an important roll in neck pain. Is your head forward? Are you shoulders rounded forward? Is one shoulder higher than the other? If so you probable have or are going to have neck pain. We call this upper crossed syndrome and its produces neck pain with uncanny certainty. The good news is its treatable.  

When to See Your Doctor: Neck pain often occurs over a long period of time.  This makes it hard to uncover the cause.  If you’ve eliminated these possible culprits and still find yourself seeking neck pain relief, a visit to your Millar Chiropractor can help. Millar Chiropractors specialize in neck pain relief through chiropractic adjustments and physiotherapy.  Millar Chiropractors work to alleviate neck pain by restoring motion to joints and muscles. 
   
Our team of experienced chiropractors specializes in treating neck pain at the source.  To see if you can benefit from chiropractic care, call our office to schedule a free consultation today at 256 830-0000.

Millar Chiropractic Clinics
303 Williams Ave SW
Huntsville AL 35801
(256) 830-0000 

Copyright 2002-2016 Millar Chiropractic Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this website including all links to other pages or websites herein including but not limited to text, graphics, images, comments, statements, or information from doctors, host or guest, and other material contained therein (Content) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not use this Content for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of Content you have seen, read or heard. Please see our Terms of Use page that apply to this this blog.

Sciatica - Pain Down The Leg

Sciatica

Pain that radiates from your lower (lumbar) spine to your buttock and down the back of your leg is the hallmark of sciatica. Occasionally, sciatic pain in men is caused by sitting on a wallet.

The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in your body. It starts in the low back, runs into the pelvis, through your hip area and buttocks and down each leg. The sciatic nerve branches into smaller nerves as it travels down the legs providing feeling to your thighs, legs, and feet as well as controlling many of the muscles in your lower legs. The term sciatica refers to pain that radiates along the path of this nerve of pain that runs down the leg. 

What causes Sciatica?

Sciatica is actually a sign that you have an underlying problem putting pressure on a nerve originating in your lower back. The most common cause of this nerve compression is a bulging or herniated lumbar disc. Piriformis syndrome is another common cause of sciatica. The piriformis is a muscle that lies directly over the sciatic nerve. If this muscle becomes tight or if you have a spasm in this muscle, it puts pressure directly on the sciatic nerve. In about 10% of the population the sciatic nerve actually courses through the piriformis muscle. In those patients sciatica is more common. Occasionally, sciatic pain in men is caused by sitting on a wallet or simply sitting too much. it can also be caused by standing too long, pelvic injury or fracture or even tumors. However the last two causes are morete rare findings in most doctors offices. 

How do I know if I have sciatica?

Pain that radiates from your lower (lumbar) spine to your buttock and down the back of your leg is the hallmark of sciatica. Sciatica may be accompanied by numbness, tingling, and muscle weakness in the affected leg. This pain can vary widely, from a mild ache to a sharp, burning sensation or excruciating discomfort. Sometimes it may feel like a jolt or electric shock. Sciatic pain often starts slowly or gradually and intensifies over time. It's likely to be worse when you sit, cough or sneeze. In some cases, the pain is severe enough to make a person unable to move.

The pain most often occurs on one side. Some people have sharp pain in one part of the leg or hip and numbness in other parts. The pain or numbness may also be felt on the back of the calf or on the sole of the foot. The affected leg may feel weak.

Sciatica pain may get worse:

• After standing or sitting
• At night
• When sneezing, coughing, or laughing
• When bending backwards or walking more than a few yards, especially if caused by spinal stenosis

Signs and test

Your Millar Chiropractor will perform a thorough history and physical exam. This may show:

• Weakness of knee bending or foot movement
• Difficulty bending the foot inward or down
• Abnormal or weak reflexes
• Pain when lifting the leg straight up off the examining table

Tests determine on the suspected causes. They are often not needed unless pain is severe or long lasting. They may include:

• Blood tests
• X-rays
• MRIs or other imaging tests

Home Treatment

• Apply heat or ice to the painful area. Try ice for the first 48 - 72 hours, then use heat after that.
• Consider taking over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB) or acetaminophen (Tylenol) if your stomach can tolerate them.

Bed rest is not recommended. Reduce your activity for the first couple of days. Then, slowly start your usual activities after that. Avoid heavy lifting or twisting of your back after the pain begins. If you get better, you should start exercising again after 2-3 weeks. This should include exercises to strengthen your abdomen and improve flexibility of your spine. 

If at-home treatment measures do not help after 3 days see your Millar Chiropractor.

How is Sciatica Treated?

The vast majority of the time, sciatic pain can be relieved through a combination of stretches, deep tissue massage of the piriformis muscle and chiropractic care. We often utilize cold lasers, ultra sound and deep e-stimulation. Occasionally, in cases where chronic spasm of the low back or piriformis muscles is causing the sciatic pain, it may be necessary to do a procedure called a dry needling or a steroid injection, where a medical pain specialist injects a small amount of anesthetic directly into a spasmed muscle to break the spasm cycle. However, this is typically not necessary.  When the cause is a bulging or herniated disc, decompression traction may be indicated. First we need to locate the point of nerve compression and then treat that compression. Your Millar Chiropractor has many tools in his treatment toolbox to properly diagnose and treat your sciatica. Call Millar Chiropractic today and set your appointment.

Dr Greg
March 15th, 2012

       

Copyright 2012 Millar Chiropractic Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this website including all links to other pages or websites herein including but not limited to text, graphics, images, comments, statements, or information from doctors, host or guest, and other material contained therein (Content) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not use this Content for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of Content you have seen, read or heard.

Stop Low Back Pain Today

Stop Most Low Back Pain Today

Remember to Stretch

Exercise is a three-step process: stretching, exercising, and abdominal strengthening. Stretching prepares you for the work of exercise, and is done first — before anything else — gently and gradually. You may be tighter than usual on a particular day. This is not important — you should never try to stretch to where “you think you should be”. Just stretch, making sure to pay attention to what you’re doing. It’s easy to injure a muscle if you’re thinking about something else, or if you’re rushing, trying to squeeze in some stretching before dashing off.

You never know until you hurt it how much you use your lower back all day long. When your lower back is injured, every movement becomes painful. Simple actions, such as getting out of a chair or bending over the sink, become excruciating, and your daily routine becomes difficult and frustrating.

Back pain affects 60 to 80 percent of U.S. adults at some time during their lives, and up to 50 percent have back pain within a given year. Some of these problems are easily treated and low back pain never return, but in twenty percent of patients low back pain becomes chronic and the person continues to have recurrences and exacerbation (episodes).

Effective treatment of uncomplicated low back pain involves treatment in a chiropractor’s office and beginning and continuing an exercise program. A recent study conducted by the Medical Research Council, a research organization based in the United Kingdom, has found that patients given a combination of spinal manipulation and exercise experienced greater improvement in back function and greater reduction in pain compared to those treated with spinal manipulation or exercise only.

Much mechanical lower back pain is associated with tight leg muscles (hamstrings and quadriceps) and weak abdominal muscles. Leg muscles need to be stretched and abdominal muscles need to be strengthened to avoid recurrences of low back pain. This is a daily event. We recommend that a person spend about the same amount of time each day on their back doing exercises as they do brushing their teeth. (4 min a day)

People are generally not aware of these relationships. You may know you “should be exercising”, but you may be unaware of the importance of stretching. Also, abdominal strengthening is usually the last thing a person thinks of when he or she thinks of doing exercise.
Abdominal strengthening helps support the lower back. Spinal muscles are not designed to carry your body weight. If your abdominal muscles are weak, then your back muscles will be used to carry your body weight, and eventually you’ll have low back pain. Abdominal strengthening not only helps keep your lower back healthy, but also helps maintain good posture. Postural benefits include an easy, relaxed gait; muscles that are long and supple, rather than short and tight; and an open chest that allows for easy, smooth breathing. Your body is continuous. Everything’s connected. A lower back problem often affects many other areas. By making sure to stretch daily and by including abdominal exercises in your home exercise daily routine, you can help ensure having a low back that works.

As a Huntsville AL Chiropractor, Madison AL Chiropractor, Decatur AL Chiropractor, Millar Chiropractic. we have tried this program successfully on many patients.

Copyright 2011 Millar Chiropractic Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this website including all links to other pages or websites herein including but not limited to text, graphics, images, comments, statements, or information from doctors, host or guest, and other material contained therein (Content) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not use this Content for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of Content you have seen, read or heard.

A New You - Your New Reality

A New You - Your New Reality

120-Day Makeover

Your body's cells and tissues are constantly undergoing replacement, remodeling, and makeovers. For example, your red blood cells - the cells that carry oxygen from your lungs to every other part of your body - replace themselves every 120 days. Other cells with such a high rate of turnover include the cells lining your gastrointestinal tract - stomach, small intestine, and large intestine - and hair cells. Ultimately all of your body's cells die and are replaced. What this means is that the "new you" doesn't have to be the same as the "old you". As you get healthier - eat more nutritious foods, exercise regularly, and get sufficient restful sleep - your new replacement cells also become stronger, fitter, and healthier. For most people, chiropractic care is an essential ingredient in becoming healthier. Chiropractic care helps improve the functioning of your nerve system, which in turn helps every system of your body function more effectively and efficiently. With respect to health and well-being, chiropractic care helps your desire for a "new reality" become a reality.

Is it possible to create "a new you" personal reality? So-called unscripted reality television shows say you can - "The Biggest Loser" being one of the more popular of these tell-all and show-all programs. But most of us realize that these shows don't closely represent reality as we experience it. What causes us to tune in anyway? The answer is that even though reality shows may be scripted or controlled, they do contain an element of reality regarding the actual problems of the participants/contestants. We empathize with their struggles, and hope to discern some new knowledge that may help us overcome our own hurdles. But can a real person, in real life, make long-lasting changes in lifestyle, health, and wellness?  "A New Reality"

The provisional answer is yes.^1,2,3 A real person can lose significant weight and keep it off. A real person can become physically fit, even though she hasn't exercised for 20 years, or ever. A real person can create a nutritional food plan that covers all the basics and also tastes great. A real person can sleep seven or eight hours a night, most nights, and have the ongoing experience of feeling well-rested. A real person can enjoy meaningful and fulfilling relationships with family and friends. In short, a real person can design and have a real life, even though from today's perspective such a rewarding life might seem an impossibly unattainable goal.

Your new reality is possible, but it doesn't come for free. If no effort were involved, every person in the developed world would be living happy, creative, self-fulfilled lives right now. You can see that is not the case when you look around at your workplace, the local market, or the shopping mall. How many people appear to be happy and engaged? How many appear anxious or stressed? Many times, anxiety and stress far outweigh happiness and enjoyment. For many, our default way of being seems to include worry, disorganization, disorder, and breakdown. These conditions lead to anxiety, which leads to stress, which leads to more worry and anxiety. When they form, these negative habits of thinking and action are habitually ineffective; they continue to be negative influences on our lives until we abolish them. In terms of health and well-being, our negative habits lead to the opposite conditions - we aren't healthy and we don't feel good about ourselves.

The world around us works the same way. Every moment, the universe is tending to greater entropy - the breakup of organized energy patterns and greater disorder. On the other hand, life has the power to reverse the natural tendency toward entropy. Life creates structure. Life creates organization. Think of honeycombs. Think of dams. Think of skyscrapers. Think of human endeavor.

Why then do human lives often seem to fall apart so easily? The missing secret ingredients include intention, planning, effort and mental state. And not only the effort required to keep the whole thing operational. Extra effort is called for to really make a difference. Extra effort that we take on our own behalf. In order for us to create a new personal reality, extra effort will be required. Weeks, months, and years of extra effort. This sounds like a lot. It is. The good news is that the payoff can be huge. The real payoff is the person you become as part of this process of renewal. You become your authentic self and reach "Your New Reality".

 

For years as a Huntsville AL Chiropractor, Madison AL Chiropractor, and Decatur AL Chiropractor, of Millar Chiropractic Clinic. we are often asked questions about how does one reach that reach that new reality. We often tell our patients to start today by following their DREAM. Where "D" stands for Diet (any thing you eat is your diet); "R" stands for rest (that includes sleep and rest at peace; "E" stands for Exercise; "A" stands for adjustments to keep the system optimally working; and "M" stands for mental state (perhaps the most important of all).

¹Totsikas C, et al: Cardiorespiratory fitness determines the reduction in blood pressure and insulin resistance during lifestyle intervention. J Hypertens 29(6):1220-1227, 2011

²Lohmann H, et al: Fitness consultations in routine care of patients with type 2 diabetes in general practice: an 18-month non-randomised intervention study. BMC Fam Pract 11:83, 2010

³Ryan AS: Exercise in aging: its important role in mortality, obesity and insulin resistance. Aging Health 6(5):551-563, 2010

Copyright 2011 Millar Chiropractic Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this website including all links to other pages or websites herein including but not limited to text, graphics, images, comments, statements, or information from doctors, host or guest, and other material contained therein (Content) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not use this Content for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of Content you have seen, read or heard.

The Natural Order of Things

Getting Healthy and Staying Healthy with Chiropractic Care

Nutritious food and regular exercise will only go so far if your nervous system is not working properly. Spinal nerve irritation can block the free flow of information between your brain and the rest of your body, interfering with healthy functioning and leading to a wide range of diseases. Irritated nerves cause too many nerve signals or too few nerve signals to flow between the brain and the body. Information transfer is either speeded up or slowed down - either situation leads to a breakdown in communication and results in various disorders and diseases. Your chiropractor is a specialist in detecting and correcting spinal nerve irritation or nerve interference. Chiropractic adjustments help restore normal nerve transmission, helping restore optimal health and well-being.

The natural world functions very well on its own. Left to their own devices, members of the tens of millions of species on our planet thrive and prosper without relying on outside agencies.

In order to grow abundantly, plants consume carbon dioxide, water, and nutrients from the soil. Likewise, herbivorous animals consume plants whereas carnivorous animals consume other animals. Insects eat a wide variety of foods, including plants, fruit, other insects, detritus (dead leaves, stems, and twigs), and even blood. Many types of bacteria and fungi recycle decomposing matter. Whales, among the top predator in the oceans, may consume more than a ton of plankton per day in addition to fish, squid, and other crustaceans.

Every member of every species except humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) obtains everything it needs from the environment. Modern humanity is the only species for which the abundance provided by the global ecosystem is insufficient.

For instance, mountain lions, raccoons, and coyotes don't need sleeping pills. But humans spend more than $1.5 billion per year on the sleep aid Ambien. Dolphins, antelope, and bluebirds don't have problems with blood glucose levels. In stark contrast, the annual cost of diabetes medications in the United States was $12.5 billion in 2007. In the wild, oak trees, tuna, and elephants don't need nutritional supplementation. Humans, however, spend more than $23 billion annually in the United States alone. What is wrong with this picture?

As a species, humans have the unprecedented ability to manipulate and drastically alter the world in which we live, some for the good but some for the bad. Also aside from epidemic infectious disease, and unlike any other animal on the planet, there exists no natural check on the human animal. As populations expand, resources become more and more scarce. Populations flocking to urban enclaves not only leave behind the countryside but also local sources of fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry. So canning, packaging, and transportation of food over long distances become necessary to supply the food needs of the cities. But only calories and not much else are obtained by these methods. Energy is provided but food quality and nutritional value is substantially reduced.

Chronic disease becomes widespread. Diabetes, cardiovascular disorders including high blood pressure, heart attacks, and stroke, and obesity are all the direct result of a severely compromised food supply.^1,2,3

Our disconnect from the natural world poses many additional challenges. Our bodies were designed to meet the demanding physical requirements of a hostile environment. But for the most part we don't do physical work anymore. If we don't find satisfactory substitutes for strenuous physical activity our musculoskeletal, metabolic, and endocrine  systems easily deteriorate. The consequences include osteoporosis, chronic aches and pains, gastrointestinal problems, and anxiety and depression. In cities, we spend our days sitting and at working computers and meetings. All along our muscles slowly deteriorate and become less and less effective. And we haven't even talked about stress and what that can do to the human body.

It takes a lot of effort to maintain good health when we're so far removed from the natural world. We need to make sure our diets are fresh and healthy and we need to get sufficient and regular strenuous exercise. The short- and long-term benefits include happiness, self-esteem, and ongoing well-being. So think DREAM - Diet, Rest, Exercise, Adjustments, and Mental State. Balance yourself and enjoy the Natural Order of Things.

¹Kesse-Guyot E, et al: Adherence to nutritional recommendations and subsequent cognitive performance: findings from the prospective Supplementation with Antioxidant Vitamins and Minerals 2. Am J Clin Nutr Nov 24 2010 (Epub ahead of print)

²Wolfe AR, et al: Dietary protein and protein-rich food in relation to severely depressed mood: A 10 year follow-up of a national cohort. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry Nov 22 2010 (Epub ahead of print)

³Pekmezi DW, Demark-Wahnefried W: Updated evidence in support of diet and exercise interventions in cancer survivors. Acta Oncol Nov 24 2010 (Epub ahead of print)

For Information or Appointments at any office call
Toll Free 1-800 Go Chiro 1-800 462-4476

We are Huntsville AL Chiropractors, Madison AL Chiropractors, Decatur AL Chiropractors, Millar Chiropractic.

 

Copyright 2011 Millar Chiropractic Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this website including all links to other pages or websites herein including but not limited to text, graphics, images, comments, statements, or information from doctors, host or guest, and other material contained therein (Content) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not use this Content for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of Content you have seen, read or heard.

Do You Have Good Posture?

Chiropractic Care Helps Create Good Posture

Most of our daily activities work against good posture. We spend large portions of our days sitting in an uncomfortable chair, peering at a computer terminal. Muscles tighten and joints get stiff as we make our way through our daily tasks and responsibilities. Neck muscles, lower back muscles, thigh muscles (quadriceps and hamstrings), and calf muscles shorten, lose their mobility, and become stiff and sore. Aches and pains add their burdens to chronically poor posture. Over time we become even less of the person we were meant to be. Chiropractic care helps you reverse these downward spirals. Chiropractic care helps you restore good posture by relieving mechanical stresses and strains and by causing your musculoskeletal system to become more flexible and resilient. The result is improved range of motion, reduced pain, and an enhanced sense of well-being.

Has your mother ever told you to "sit up straight and stop sloughing"? Well, mine did. I also remember long ago and far away, a fourth-grade teacher saying "stand up straight - you look like a pretzel". The unthinking adult only offered criticism. All I could do was snap to attention and try to unkink myself. 

Most of us think good posture involves sucking in the stomach, thrusting out the chest and pulling back the shoulders. Informing a person that he needs to improve his posture usually results in a sudden, robot-like increase in stature, the person stiffly incorporating most or all of these muscular stresses.

As a direct result of our weak relationship to sound concepts of what good posture actually is, most people have protruding stomachs, slumped shoulders, and necks that protrude far in front of their body's center (forward head carry). Aside from perpetually unattractive aesthetics, chronic inefficient posture places ongoing strain on back and neck muscles. Poor posture also interferes with normal functioning of your heart and lungs. Metabolic processes deteriorate owing to lack of normal oxygen supply. Poor posture not only leads to musculoskeletal problems like chronic back and neck pain and degenerative disc disease but also is implicated in gastrointestinal and endocrine diseases and many other disorders.

The welcome news is that achieving good posture is not that difficult. Work is required, of course, as well as consistent attention. But the work is not hard - it is merely new and different, for most of us. As we can guess, the key element in good posture is a properly curved spine. Importantly, that doesn’t mean straight or rigid. Normal spinal alignment is one of curves all stacked over each other.

The main consideration here is how to get your spine aligned without tightening all your muscles and holding your breath.¹ The solution requires a little imagination. Picture in your mind a string dangling from the sky down your body to the floor. The taught string goes from the sky, to your ear, to your shoulder, to your hip, to your ankle and to the floor.Your body if then aligned over itself is in "Good Posture"

Another piece to the posture puzzle is to allow your shoulder girdles to rest on your rib cage. You don’t have to press your shoulders down to do this - just don’t hold them up. Most of us unconsciously tighten our neck and shoulder girdle muscles all day long. By starting to be conscious of what’s going on, we can start letting go of tight shoulder girdle muscles. The shoulders will then gently descend and come to rest on top of the rib cage, where they belong.

By paying attention to these basic postural corrections, over time we can develop a posture that is fluid and efficient. We will appear taller, comfortably reaching our full height with grace and ease. Tension and anxiety begin to reduce and we sleep more restfully at night. Good posture is good health.^2,3

¹Movahed M, et al: Fatigue sensation, electromyographical and hemodynamic changes of low back muscles during repeated static contraction. Eur J Appl Physiol Sep 30, 2010 (Epub ahead of print)

²Edmondston SJ, et al: Postural neck pain: an investigation of habitual sitting posture, perception of 'good' posture and cervicothoracic kinaesthesia. Man Ther 12(4):363-371, 2007

³Prins Y, et al: A systematic review of posture and psychosocial factors as contributors to upper quadrant musculoskeletal pain in children and adolescents. Physiother Theory Pract 24(4):221-242, 2008

For Information or Appointments at any office call
Toll Free 1-800 Go Chiro 1-800 462-4476

We are Huntsville AL Chiropractors, Madison AL Chiropractors, Decatur AL Chiropractors, Millar Chiropractic.

Copyright 2011 Millar Chiropractic Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this website including all links to other pages or websites herein including but not limited to text, graphics, images, comments, statements, or information from doctors, host or guest, and other material contained therein (Content) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not use this Content for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of Content you have seen, read or heard.

New Beginning

Chiropractic Care and Long-Term Health

Achieving long-term health does not imply that you will never get sick. Achieving long-term health does not imply that you will never have a neck or back problem. Achieving long-term health does mean that you will get the most out of what you've got; you will be much healthier than otherwise; and you will feel better about yourself, have more energy, and get more out of life. Chiropractic care is an essential component of achieving long-term health. Making sure you eat good food, drink plenty of water, and eat several portions of fresh fruits and vegetables each day is a very good place to start. Adding a daily program of 30 minutes of regular, vigorous exercise is the next key piece in achieving good health. Chiropractic care is the important link that brings everything together, enabling your body to make the best use of your nutrition and exercise. Chiropractic care helps ensure that the various parts of your body are working in harmony to achieve your long-term goals in health and wellness.

The time is always right to begin returning to good health. Regardless of whether your issues involve weight, exercise, diet, blood pressure, diabetes, or chronic pain, now is the time to begin taking action on your own behalf creating your new beginning.

You are not alone. Literally hundreds of millions of people worldwide have various chronic complaints and illnesses.^1,2,3 Some problems are more serious than others, but everyone eventually wants to find a better way to manage their health problems. Eventually everyone wants to actually begin to be healthier and feel better.

For some it takes a life changing event, a heart attack, an illness, or worse the loss of a loved one.  For others, they just come to the self realization that they must make a change. They realize that if they do not change, then their life will be cut short and they won't have those extra  years to live with family or friends.

Of course, a healthy diet and regular vigorous exercise are the key elements in any process of returning to good health. People know this, but for the most part this knowledge alone does not do any good. The deep truth is that feeling good and actually being healthy takes a lot of effort. It's much easier to pick up dinner from a fast food restaurant than to spend precious time planning and shopping and preparing meals. It's much easier to sit on your couch and watch people on TV trying to lose weight than to actually do the work of losing weight yourself. It's much easier to spend 30 minutes watching the news for the third time that day than to put on your workout clothes and go for a brisk 30-minute walk.

We are all slaves to our habitual ways of thinking and habitual ways of living. Just as in physics, people have inertia. Newton's First Law of Motion states that a body at rest stays at rest and a body in motion stays in motion, unless it is acted upon by an external unbalanced force. We will do the same things we have always done, achieving the same results we have always achieved, unless we make an active choice to engage in new thinking and new activities.

By the way, no one is going to make any lasting changes in their lifestyle - for example, by choosing a healthy diet and daily exercise - merely because someone told them they needed to do it. If you're chronically overweight, your doctor has told you every year that you need to make changes. Every year at your annual physical she tells you to begin regular, vigorous exercise and adopt healthy eating habits. Do any of these admonitions ever make a lasting difference? They don't, not because they are bad advice, but because they were not a match for your own world view. Real change, lasting change, has to come from within, from your own personal choice.  

When a person is actually ready to choose to revamp her lifestyle with respect to achieving good health, there are many possible steps to take. Chiropractic care can be an important and critical component of an overall health improvement strategy.

¹Temple R, Murphy H: Type 2 diabetes in pregnancy - An increasing problem. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab 24(4):591-603.

²Li S, et al: Genetic predisposition to obesity leads to increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Diabetologiz Jan 26, 2011 (Epub ahead of print)

³Urquhart DM, et al: Increased fat mass is associated with high levels of low back pain intensity and disability. Spine Jan 25, 2011 (Epub ahead of print)

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