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What Kind of Headache Do I Have?

29 Apr

Last month, we discussed three types of headaches: Tension Headache (the most common), Cluster Headaches (a vascular headache – less common, short duration but REALLY painful), and Sinus Headaches. Migraine headaches were discussed the month before last. In keeping with the theme, ONE more headache type will be discussed: Rebound Headaches, followed by anti-inflammatory herbal remedies, and finally, “Headache Triggers.”

Rebound headaches are the result of pain killer overuse. Of course, one would think of pain killers like aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol), or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, Nuprin, etc.) as well as many prescription drugs as being “friendly” and commonly reached for when a headache or any other ache or pain occurs. But, as the old saying goes, “…too much of a good thing can be bad!” These culprits, instead of helping, can actually hurt you! One theory for the cause of rebound headaches is that too much of these meds can cause the brain to shift into an excited state that triggers the headache. Another theory is that these headaches result from too sudden of a drop of the medicine in the bloodstream, which would only occur if the medication was being taken at a high dose for a relatively long period of time. According to the Migraine Research Foundation, EVERY 10 SECONDS, someone in the United States goes to the emergency room with a migraine or headache due to the intense pain, severe nausea or dehydration, drug interactions, or side effects from headache medications! DON’T BE ONE OF THEM!!!

As mentioned last month, PLEASE FIRST try an anti-inflammatory herb like ginger (Zingiber officinale), turmeric (Curcuma longa), Feverfew, passionflower (Passiflora alata), Peppermint (menthe piperita), ginko (ginko biloba), caffeine (Coffea Arabica), black or green tea, Valerian (Valeriana officinalis), Coriander Seed (Coriandrum sativum), Dong Quai (Angelica sinensis), Lavender Oil (Lavandula angustifolia), Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Lime or Linden (Tilia spp.), horseradish (Armoracia rusticana), honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), and more!

So what triggers headaches? Here are a few of the more commonly researched triggers: weight [in females, a BMI of 30 (mild obesity) = 35% greater risk, and BMI of 40 (“severe obesity”) = 80%]; personality (traits such as rigidity, reserve, and obsessivity); “let-down” or weekend headaches (breaking your routine, like staying in bed until noon); odors and fumes (e.g., fresh paint); dehydration (drink water AND eat fruits / veggies to get more water); skipping meals (hunger is a common trigger); physical exertion (certain sports like running, weight lifting); too much caffeine (small amounts help, but too much can trigger headaches); inactivity (sedentary lifestyles trigger – 30 min./day cardio, 5x/week is ideal); sleep deprivation (those averaging six hours have more frequent & severe headaches); and certain foods like red wine, beer, MSG, chocolate, aged cheese, sauerkraut, and processed meats like pepperoni, ham, and salami. Foods that can reduce headaches include those high in magnesium– spinach, tofu, oat bran, barely, fish oil, olive oil, white beans, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds. In addition to GOOD CHIROPRACTIC CARE, headache management requires a multidimensional approach for best results!

We realize you have a choice in whom you consider for your health care provision and we sincerely appreciate your trust in choosing our service for those needs. If you, a friend, or family member requires care for headaches, we would be honored to render our services.

CTS, Exercise, and Chiropractic.

28 Apr

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a condition characterized by numbness, tingling, and/or pain located on the palm side of the wrist, hand and into the index, third, and half of the ring finger. It’s caused by pressure exerted on the median nerve as it passes through the “tunnel” located in the wrist. The “floor” of the tunnel is a ligament while the “walls” are made up of eight small carpal bones that lock together in the shape of a tunnel. There are nine tendons (tendons attach muscles to bones allowing us to move our fingers), sheaths covering the tendons, blood vessels, and the median nerve that ALL travel through the tunnel, so it’s packed pretty tight. ANYTHING that increases the size of any of these structures or anything “extra” that shouldn’t be there can increase the pressure inside the tunnel, pinch the median nerve, and result in the classic numb/tingling symptoms that wake people up at night, or interfere with work or driving.

In the Unites States (US), about 1 out of 20 people will suffer from CTS. Caucasians have the highest incidence rate and women are affected more than men by a 3:1 ratio between ages of 45-60 years old. Only 10% of the reported cases of CTS are under 30 years old. Occupational CTS (as of 2010) affects 8% of US workers with 24% attributed to manufacturing industry jobs. This equates to approximately 3.1 million cases of work-related CTS in 2010. The risk of developing CTS increases with age, diabetes, hypothyroid, pregnancy, taking birth control pills, having an inflammatory arthritis, being obese, pinched nerves in the neck, thoracic outlet, elbow, and others. Therefore, managing CTS requires a thorough evaluation in order to assure accuracy in the diagnosis. With this background information, let’s look at the question, WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP CTS? One answer is, don’t age – good luck with that! In addition to keeping your weight under control, exercise can be VERY effective and YOU can be in charge of that process, but we have to teach you the exercises.

1) The Carpal Stretch (“nerve gliding”): Place your palm on the wall near shoulder height with the fingers pointing down at the floor and press the palm of the hand flat on the wall. Lastly, reach across with the opposite hand and pull your thumb back off of the wall and hold for 5-15 seconds.
2) The Wrist Extensor Stretch: Do the same as #1 but place the back of the hand on the wall in front of you, again fingers pointing downward. Here, there is no need to stretch the thumb.
3) The “Bear Claw”: Make a fist and then open up the hand. Keep the small finger joints flexed while extending the knuckles at the base of each finger straight (not bent). Repeat 5-10x.
4) Putty Squeeze: Simply squeeze putty in your hand for two to five minutes until fatigued.
5) Yoga has been shown to reduce pain and improve grip strength in CTS patients!

Now the question, “…can these exercises prevent surgery?” The answer is “maybe.” They certainly help in some cases, but a multi-dimensional treatment plan is the BEST approach. This includes: 1) Chiropractic manipulation of the hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder, and neck; 2) Soft tissue “release” techniques of the muscles in the forearm, upper arm, shoulder, and neck; 3) Cock-up wrist splint to be used at night, and in some cases, at times during the day; 4) Ergonomic management of your work station or situation (to minimize repetitive insult to the area); 5) Nutritional support that may include an anti-inflammatory diet and nutrients (vitamins, minerals, herbs, etc.), and 6) Managing any contributing conditions like diabetes, hypothyroid, and/or the others. Here’s the GOOD NEWS: CHIROPRACTIC can manage these six steps, though some cases will require co-management with primary care and/or specialist.

We realize you have a choice in whom you consider for your health care provision and we sincerely appreciate your trust in choosing our service for those needs. If you, a friend, or family member requires care for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, we would be honored to render our services.

This Might Make You Happy.

27 Apr

Do you want to be happy? If you do, it really is quite simple. Allow me to explain with the help of this quick story…

Many years ago there was a very lonely man. He did not have many friends and did almost everything alone.

One day while eating, he saw the owner of the restaurant carry in a huge pile of mail. It was the holiday season and he watched as the restaurant owner opened at least 100 holiday cards!

The lonely man was astonished and told the restaurant owner that he did not get any holiday cards. Not one.

The restaurant owner’s reply was simple… “How many do you send out?”

“Well… none. Why would I? No one sends any to me.”

The restaurant owner smiled and said how he ALWAYS sends his out the first week in November. That way, everyone he sends one to has plenty of time to send one back and almost everyone he sends one to sends one in return.

Now, I’m not sure if the lonely man learned anything from this story, but I sure did. I learned that the secret to getting what you want is to first give other people what they want.

If you want to receive holiday cards, you should send out holiday cards FIRST.

If you want good people in your life, you should be a good person FIRST.

If you want people to help you, you should help them FIRST.

Always try to improve other people’s lives. That is the way to improve yours.

And if you want to be happy, go make someone else happy.

If you put your own self-interest aside and help people get what they want and help them be happy, if they are a good person, then they will help you get what you want and help you be happy too.

7-UP Used to Include Psychiatric Medication?

26 Apr

The lemon-lime flavored soda 7-UP was created by Charles Grigg of the Howdy Corporation in 1929 and first launched two weeks before the 1929 stock market crash. It was originally named “Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda” and included lithium citrate in its formula. Lithium citrate is a mood-stabilizing drug that was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and it is still used today for people with bipolar disorder, among others. Obviously, such a lengthy name wasn’t ideal on the consumer side of things, so the beverage’s name was quickly shortened to “7-UP Lithiated Lemon Soda”, then chopped to just “7-UP” in 1936. The lithium citrate, surprisingly, stuck around in the drink all the way until 1950 when new research showed it had potentially dangerous side effects.

Are You A Good Enough Person To Do This?

26 Apr

Here is proof that there are still amazing people in the world. Are you one of them?

Every day, it feels like all the news covers is the dark, horrible side of humanity.
Sure, people do bad things, even evil things. But, there is another side to this story. There’s a clear argument that can be made that many more people are good than bad. For every one bad person in the news (or going viral on the internet) there are hundreds, thousands, or millions who did not do anything wrong. In fact, many, if not most, probably did quite a bit of good.
So, why don’t we hear about all this good? Quite frankly, it’s because bad stuff sells. It sells much more than good news. People love drama. It’s no coincidence Honey Boo Boo, The Kardashians, and The Jersey Shore were/are monstrously successful shows.
That’s why I bet you have probably heard of those shows but have not heard about this…
Rabbi Noah Muroff lives in New Haven, Connecticut and bought a desk off Craig’s List for $200. So far, that’s nothing shocking… but it gets better…
When he got the desk home, he couldn’t get it into his office in one piece. So, Rabbi Noah took the desk apart and pulled out the drawers.
Behind one of the drawers, he found a plastic bag. At first glance, Muroff saw what he thought to be a $100 bill.
When he opened the bag, he discovered there were quite a few $100 bills. In fact, there was $98,000 in cash. That’s ninety-eight THOUSAND dollars in CASH.
WOW! So let me ask you a question… What is the first thing you would do with that money after you stopped jumping around cheering? Pay off some bills? Buy a car? Go on vacation? Give some to charity?
Muroff did none of that. Instead, he did the right thing. He called the person he just bought the desk from and told them what he had found.
As it turned out, the desk’s previous owner had hidden her inheritance money in the desk and had forgotten all about it.
Muroff returned the money. All of it. He is quoted as simply saying, “The most important thing in life is to be honest.”
That’s it. There was no police chase. No drugs or violence. No one yelling and screaming. Just an ethical and moral person choosing to do the right thing and not making a big deal about it or even looking for public approval or praise.
The comments posted on this story were varied. Some praised him and said they would do the same thing. Others said he was a fool and they would have spent the money. Some said it is all just a matter of the amount and that we all have a price. If that was $10 million… or $1 billion… that he would have kept it.
So, the question for you is, what would YOU do? Let’s say it was $10 million and no one else knew. It was your secret. Do ethics and morality really have a price?
Do YOU have a price?

Low Back “ON-THE-GO” Exercises (Part 1).

25 Apr

Low back pain (LBP) is a reality in most of our lives at one point or another. It can range from being a “nag” to being totally disabling. Let’s look at some exercises for the low back that can be done from a SITTING position so that they can be: 1) Performed in public (without drawing too much attention) and 2) Repeated every one to two hours with the objective to AVOID LBP from gradually getting out of control (STOP the “vicious cycle” so LBP stays “self-managed”).

RULES: 1) DON’T do any exercise that creates SHARP pain; 2) Stay within “reasonable” pain boundaries; 3) DO these multiple times a day WHEN you feel tight, stiff, sore (take 10-30 sec. every hour rather than 15 min. twice a day).

SITTING LOW BACK EXERCISE OPTIONS:

1) SITTING BEND OVERS: 1) Slowly bend forward from a seated position and attempt to reach the floor; 2) Spread the knees as needed to allow for a full range of motion; 3) Hold for 3-10 seconds or until it feels “loose.” 4) Do the opposite – sit and arch your low back as far back as is comfortable. Repeat frequently for short hold-times – make it “fit” your time limitations/schedule!

2) SITTING HIP / BACK STRETCH: 1) Cross your leg; 2) Raise the knee to the opposite shoulder; 3) Arch the lower back until you feel an increase stretch in your buttocks; 4) Twist your trunk to the side the knee is raised; 5) Move your knee up/down and around to “feel” for the tightest “knots” and “work” them loose; 6) Modify by bending forward 7) REPEAT on the opposite side.

3) SITTING TRUNK ROTATIONS: 1) Slowly twist your shoulders and trunk to one side while keeping your knees straight; 2) Reach back and pull for additional stretch if comfortable; 3) Hold for 3-10 seconds or, until it feels “loose;” 4) REPEAT on the opposite side.

Remember, DO these MANY times a day (at least once every hour). We have many others as well (ask us)!

We realize you have a choice in whom you consider for your health care provision and we sincerely appreciate your trust in choosing our service for those needs. If you, a friend, or family member requires care for back pain, we would be honored to render our services.

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