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Chiropractic Care During Pregnancy: The Benefits

Back pain is a common problem faced by women during their pregnancy. This occurs when pregnant women put on extra weight causing extra pressure on the spine. Receiving spinal treatments can reduce such pains through chiropractic, and pregnancy issues like delivery can be made more comfortable and faster.

Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic care is a conservative form of treatment that addresses the spinal cord, discs and related nerves without the use of surgery or drugs. It involves the adjustment of spine to align it back to its normal position. This reduces the spinal nerve stress which can cause various other health complications in the woman and later on in the child. Hence, chiropractic treatment addresses the whole body to promote health and well being.

Safe during Pregnancy

Many complications can occur during pregnancy that can be triggered by spinal problems. These complications can get transferred to the newborn, as they affect the nervous system of a mother. Babies can develop colic, breathing problems, allergic reactions, bedwetting, and neural disorders. The Webster Technique is commonly employed for pregnant women to reduce the spinal nerve stress and balance pelvis, ligaments and muscles.

Throughout the stages of pregnancy, specialized chiropractic care plans are devised to suit the patient. Research shows there are no known potential contradictions to chiropractic treatment during pregnancy. Chiropractic professionals are known to adjust treatments to better suit the body of a pregnant woman. They follow tables and employ techniques which avoid unnecessary pressure on the stomach.

Benefits of Chiropractic Care

Many medical experts recommend chiropractic care during pregnancy as it helps maintain pelvic balance. A balanced pelvis gives a baby more room to move into the correct birth position. This avoids some of the potential fallbacks of delivery. Other benefits include:

Reducing back, neck and joint pain
Reducing nerve stress to promote healthy development of the mother and baby
Relieving pressure from the spine and maintaining better posture
Restoring joints to ensure optimum range of motion
Reducing symptoms of nausea
Reducing time of labor and delivery
Stimulates optimal functioning of reproductive organs
Preventing potential cases of cesarean
Maintaining a healthy pregnancy

A visit to the chiropractic clinic begins with physical evaluations, and then a treatment plan is made, involving therapies, nutrition and exercise. Chiropractic care aims to provide comfort for mothers during and after pregnancy, and also ensuring their babies enjoy proper bone and neural development.

Image Used Under Creative Commons Licensing: Profile of a pregnant woman by Jason Pier in DC

Introduction to Chiropractic

What is Chiropractic?

Being a type of manual therapy, the practitioner utilizes techniques, forces and manipulations that are administered chiefly by hands. The spinal cord is the center of all therapies for a chiropractic doctor. Their belief is that the spine is the central structure as it allows messages from different parts of the body to reach the brain and vice versa. Under the state of paralysis in any part of the body, it is the spinal cord that can make any limb completely nonfunctional.

Spine Manipulation

Keeping the vitality of the spine in mind, D. D. Palmer brought to life the concept of spine manipulation to deal with vertebral subluxation. It is the practice of applying varying amounts of force to the area of concern in the spine to restore normal functioning. Palmer is popular for applying this technique to a deaf individual (deafness not present at birth) and being successful at restoring his hearing capabilities.

Subluxation

Primarily a chiropractic practitioner deals with a vertebral subluxation. A subluxation is when the spine loses its normal positioning and the neural pathway dysfunction causes a compromise in the functioning of several different parts of the body including the visceral system. A subluxation occurs as a result of a trauma, injury or even a chemical imbalance in the body.

Chiropractic’s Forte

A thorough examination is undertaken before your doctor performs any chiropractic techniques to relieve your pain. Several conditions are beyond the realm of this care. If you have a neurological condition, then you will be recommended to a neurologist and will not be administered any care procedures under a chiropractic practitioner. Other such conditions that cannot be dealt with manual therapies include tumors, broken bones, osteoporosis and arthritis. Areas that can be called its forte are pain in the upper and lower back, neck pain, and headaches, minor injuries related to sports, asthma, tennis elbow, frozen shoulder, menstrual pains and the like.

Neck pain

This is said to be the second most valid reason for paying a visit to a chiropractic practitioner. However, neck pain can be caused by a variety of reasons. Several of which can be dealt with utilizing chiropractics. With cervical disc degenerative diseases, pinched cervical nerve, minor injuries to ligaments, herniated disc disease and the like, chiropractic can be very effective.

When the neck becomes an area of concern, several other parts of the body can suffer the impact. Weakness in the arms, shoulders and hands, the tingling sensation in parts of the body supplied by the neck suffer along with the pain in neck. Therefore, dealing with neck pain with the help of a chiropractic practitioner is a wise decision.

Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: Spine and Disc Herniation by Michael Dorausch

When Life Gives You a Lemon…

Ok, seriously, this is all about lemons!

Ancient Egyptians believed that eating lemons and drinking their juice would protect them from poisons. Even more strange, recent research has proven them right.

Lemons are a powerhouse of antibacterials, antivirals, and immune-boosting components. They help in weight-loss. They have huge amounts of vitamins and minerals promoting immunity and thwarting infections.

Whether you just want to add a slice of lemon to your water, (a great start to an alkaline lifestyle) or you want to incorporate lemons in every part of your life, you’re in luck because we’re going to be talking about many ways to use lemons for your improved health.

Did you know that lemons can help acne? They contain citric acid, which has been shown to help with acne. By applying fresh lemon juice to your acne at night, you will see noticeable results by morning. If this seems to harsh for your skin, mix lemon juice with an equal amount of honey, and then apply that to the skin with a cotton ball. Leave it on for half an hour and then rinse gently with water.

The scent of lemon has been shown to have a calming effect on people. In addition, it helps with fatigue, dizziness, anxiety, and nervous tension. Inhaling lemon oil has also been shown to improve concentration and alertness. Now you know why your office smells of lemon.

If you suffer from mouth sores, mixing fresh lemon juice in a cup of warm water will give you the perfect solution to swish around your mouth. Rinse afterward. Repeat up to four times a day to help heal those mouth sores.

Lemon has been used to help with chills and fever associated with cold and flu. Add the juice of one lemon to a mug of hot water, sweeten with honey and then drink one mug every two hours until the fever breaks.

Is it just a cold? No fever, but a runny nose and sore throat? The vitamin C level in a lemon will come to your rescue. Again, squeeze the juice of a lemon into a mug of warm water and drink one mug of this every two hours.

Fight Fatigue with Lemons. Long-distance walkers and runners will suck on a lemon by piercing the whole lemon with a straw and drink the juice from inside the lemon. A small amount of lemon juice actually quenches thirst faster and more effectively than a similar amount of water. Some people report that when studying for exams or having to work long into the night that they find help by drinking lemon water. Lemon oil stimulates brain activity.

Freshen your breath by eating the flesh of a small slice of lemon after any meal. It increases salivation and reduces any incidence of bad breath.

Lemon from Lucas Arrrrgh via Flickr

Chiropractor in Gilroy explains knee exercises for beginners.

Here is a simple exercise that you can do at home with no equipment.
It works the biceps femoris, semimembranosus, semitendinosus muscles.
The purpose of this exercise is to increase knee strength and muscular endurance.
By doing this exercise you can have the benefits of improved stability, functional strength and injury prevention.

Begin lying on floor facing up.
Bend knees so feet are firmly on floor.
Extend arms upward toward ceiling.
Activate core muscles.
Lift hips off floor to attain a bridge position with knees, hips and shoulders in alignment.
Slowly return to start position.
Repeat for prescribed repetitions and sets.

Initially, you may develop some cramping in the back of your thigh. A simple hamstring stretch before and after may prevent this from occurring.
Slowly return to start position.
Repeat for prescribed repetitions and sets.

Diet for your Disc Injury – Know what Works

An Apple a Day Keeps the Spinal Surgeon Away

One of the cardinal rules that all chiropractors go by is to rely on the human body’s own abilities to heal its own self. In fact, this is exactly why most chiropractors say that patients who suffer from potentially debilitating conditions such as herniated discs can prevent the condition by eating the right kind of foods. Almost 80% of the population suffers from back pain and would rather resort to minimally invasive back treatments to make their pain a passing memory.

Sadly, most people do not see the connection between what they eat and the affect it might have on their backs. Remember, your body needs to ingest the appropriate amount of nutrition in order for the muscles in your back to move as they should. Here is what you can include in your diet to ensure just that –

Power Foods

Your muscles need power foods in order to, well, become powerful enough to support your movements. These are natural food items that provide a great boost of energy in small doses over the course of a few hours. In other words, they can supply an ample amount of energy to keep you going without craving for a sugary donut that will deplete you of any reserves you might have in minutes.

Foods that contain a high amount of antioxidants such as blueberries and salmon that contains omega 3 fatty acids are good examples of power foods. Chiropractors say that foods such as these can keep your body supplied with the fuel it needs to maintain or support your spine thereby preventing you from acquiring a disc injury.

Foods that contain vitamins and minerals can also prevent your back from failing you when you need it the most. Power foods such as these actually aid the body in releasing energy from the food it ingests to keep itself healthy. Calcium and Vitamins such as vitamin D keep your bones strong and durable as well.

Eating right can seem like a difficult prospect in the fast paced societies of today. However, your body shouldn’t suffer for it. Spinal injuries such as a disc injury are nothing to scoff at. Therefore it’s best that you include food items such as whole grains, whole wheat bread and vegetables in your diet. Not only will this help keep your back in shape for the long run it will also help you run on a full tank of gas till lunch time.

Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: Discovery apples.jpg

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