Pain Relief Chiropractic

Do you frequently feel sleepy throughout the day? Do you doze off soon after you sit down? Do you feel “restored” when you wake up in the morning? How much sleep is REALLY needed and how important is it? Let’s take a look…

The short answer is that sleep is REALLY important! Prior to the 1950s, most authorities thought sleep was just a passive, dormant part of life. However, we’ve come to appreciate that our brains are quite active during sleep, and sleep quality affects our daily functioning and our physical and mental health in ways we’re JUST beginning to understand!

There are five phases of sleep: stage 1-4 and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. These stages occur in that order creating distinctly different brain wave patterns. We spend about 50% of our sleep in stage two sleep, about 20% in REM sleep, and about 30% in the other stages (this varies with age).

We sleep much lighter in the early stages (one and two) of sleep—meaning it’s easy to be woken up by noises or other disturbances. Sleep is much deeper during stages three and four (called delta wave sleep) and if something manages to disturb these stages of sleep, you’ll find yourself groggy and disoriented for the first couple minutes upon waking. REM sleep includes rapid, irregular breathing, increased heart rate and blood pressure, and this is often when bizarre, illogical dreams occur.

Infants need require about sixteen hours of sleep, teenagers need nine hours, and adults should sleep seven to eight hours a night (more during pregnancy). Too little sleep leads to “sleep debt,” which must eventually be re-paid. Though we can function on little sleep for a while, our judgment, reaction time, and other functions are impaired. If you feel drowsy during the day, experts say you haven’t had enough sleep, which unfortunately has become the norm in our society!

There are MANY studies that make it clear that sleep deprivation is DANGEROUS! Sleep deprived drivers may be as unsafe on the road as drunk drivers. In fact, experts estimate driver fatigue plays a role in about 100,000 car wrecks and 1,500 deaths each year in the Unites States alone—which is probably a conservative estimate!

While we are still trying to figure out WHY sleep is so important, animal studies show that rats will die within three weeks when they are deprived of sleep and within five weeks if they’re only deprived of REM sleep.

Bottom line: getting enough quality sleep each night is important for maintaining your mental and physical health.

FOR A FREE NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION CALL 717-697-1888

Dr. Brent Binder
4909 Louise Drive, Suite 102
Mechanicsburg Pa, 17055

Member of Chiro-Trust.org

This information should not be substituted for medical or chiropractic advice. Any and all healthcare concerns, decisions, and actions must be done through the advice and counsel of a healthcare professional who is familiar with your updated medical history.

The focus on aerobic exercise is all around us. You can’t pass a magazine stand without being inundated with cover pictures of people walking, running, cycling, or doing some form of exercise. So the question begs, is walking good enough? Let’s take a look!

A GREAT plus about walking is that it can be done virtually anywhere and at any time, indoors or outdoors. It can be mixed into a routine that may include stretching, strengthening, balance training, HIIT (high-intensity interval training), and more. The options associated with combining walking with other forms of exercise are limited only by one’s imagination!

Though walking may not be as “sexy” as some other sports, scientific evidence continues to grow regarding the benefits of walking when compared with other more physically intensive activities.

It appears the trend of walking is catching on! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that from 2005 to 2010, 20 million more people initiated the habit of walking for at least ten minutes once a week. With this increase, New York, Chicago, Cleveland, and Boston and many other cities have transformed busy traffic routes into pedestrian-friendly pathways. A trend of changing from walking as a sport or separate activity to walking as a necessity such as to get to work, school, or to shops and grocery stores IN PLACE OF driving is gradually becoming more popular!

Doctors, insurance companies, and public health personnel have been promoting walking because, quite simply, “it’s good for us!” Some have described walking as “a wonder drug” without a prescription or cost because of its MANY benefits—­a few of which include: 1) weight loss and maintenance; 2) stimulates energy (especially a couple hours after eating due to a drop in blood sugar levels); 3) it lifts our spirits (in just ten minutes, it boosts the mood for up to two hours!); 3) it strengthens our memory (in an elderly study group, 40 min. walks, three times a week resulted in a 2% average increase in the size of the hippocampus vs. a 1.4% loss in size in those that utilized only stretching; 4) heart disease protection (lowers BP by at least 4.2% and heart disease risk by 4.5%); and 5) may reduce cancer risk (in those with colorectal cancer, those that walked for six or more hours a week were 60% less likely to die from the disease than the sedentary patients. One hour of daily walking may reduce a woman’s likelihood of a breast cancer onset by 14%).

If a more intense exercise effect is desired, interspersing short, intense bursts of high-intensity activity for short time periods can add additional health benefits. For example, try walking for five minutes at a leisurely pace (2.5-3 miles/hour on a treadmill) followed by five minutes at a brisk pace (3-3.6 mph)—walk as if you’re late for an appointment, followed by a 30 second really fast walk (4.5 mph) and then taper back down in reverse order. Increase the ‘sets’ gradually as you’re able to.

There are so many ways you can walk! The bottom line: Whether you walk, run, or mix it up, the evidence is clear—ALL approaches far outweigh none. Plus, you’ll live a longer and happier life!

FOR A FREE NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION CALL 717-697-1888

Dr. Brent Binder
4909 Louise Drive, Suite 102
Mechanicsburg Pa, 17055

Member of Chiro-Trust.org

This information should not be substituted for medical or chiropractic advice. Any and all healthcare concerns, decisions, and actions must be done through the advice and counsel of a healthcare professional who is familiar with your updated medical history.

In the United States: 1) seniors represent over 13% of the population but consume 40% of prescription drugs and 35% of over-the-counter drugs; 2) on average, people 65-69 years old take nearly 14 prescription drugs per year, and those 80-84 take an average of 18; 3) 15-25% of drug use in seniors is considered unnecessary or inappropriate; 4) adverse drug reactions & non-compliance are responsible for 28% of hospitalizations of the elderly; 5) 36% of all reported adverse drug reactions involve an elderly person; 6) annually, 32,000 seniors have hip fractures related to medication-related problems.

Regarding pain control, let’s look at opioid use and the impact it has on our overall health. One recent study investigated problems associated with chronic low back pain (cLBP) and its effect on daily function. The authors specifically focused on the sleep patterns in patients with cLBP and then looked to see if there were differences between those taking opioid vs. non-opioid medication.

The study compared ten healthy “controls” and 21 cLBP patients where six were taking non-opioid meds and fifteen were taking an opioid medication. Using questionnaires and sophisticated sleep study equipment, the researchers found that patients in both cLBP groups—regardless of medication type—had significant sleep and wake disturbances, decreased sleep quality, increased symptoms of insomnia, increased fatigue, spent more time in bed, took longer to fall asleep, and had higher variability in other measurements compared to the control group.

However, those taking opioids (>100 mg morphine-equivalent/day) had distinct abnormal brain activity during sleep unlike the others. It’s well known that sleep disturbance can gravely affect our overall health and longevity, and the use of opioids only makes sleep problems worse!

When compared with a placebo, opioid side effects include: constipation, nausea, somnolence, dizziness, itching, and vomiting. Medications to treat the primary opioid side effect of constipation (such as Movantik) have their own side-effects when compared to a placebo including abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, flatulence, vomiting, headache, and sweating. These side-effects may prompt yet another medication to try to counteract the above, thus creating a dangerous vicious cycle!

As a disclaimer, we realize that many people HAVE TO take certain meds to stay alive or to achieve an acceptable quality of life.

The “take-home” message here is to minimize the amount of medication taken as much as possible making sure the benefits truly outweigh the risks! For conditions like musculoskeletal pain, consider non-drug, non-surgical options like chiropractic care. Many studies show chiropractic care is not only highly safe but it can get patients out of pain fairly quickly. Additionally, the benefits may persist long after treatment ends, something that doesn’t typically happen if you cease taking a medication for such conditions.

FOR A FREE NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION CALL 717-697-1888

Dr. Brent Binder
4909 Louise Drive, Suite 102
Mechanicsburg Pa, 17055

Member of Chiro-Trust.org

The concept of cleanliness has been a topic of great debate for many years. On one side of the fence, frequent cleaning reduces the number of bacteria and viruses that cause illness. On the other side, some experts argue that our body’s immune system has to work harder when regularly exposed to pathogens and allergens, which can improve our autoimmune response against the various bugs we might encounter during our day-to-day lives. So, what does the evidence say?

In a recent study, researchers found that children who bit their nails or sucked their thumb— habits frequently discouraged by parents—were half as likely to have allergies at age 32! It’s suspected the children’s immune systems strengthened due to frequent exposure to the bacteria that were under the nails or on the hands.

This new discovery—coined the hygiene hypothesis—may explain why allergies are more common now than they were during the Victorian era—a time when hygiene was much worse.

There has been a steady rise in allergies over the past twenty years, yet no one can fully explain why. For example, in the United Kingdom, one-in-four people suffer from an allergy at some point in life, with an increase in the number each year. Though some research supports germ exposure concepts, experts stress that other VERY important factors including diet, exercise, environmental factors, antibiotic use, and a family history of allergies may also play a larger role in allergy development.

Of course, maintaining good personal and home hygiene standards is very important! Avoiding and preventing the spread of infection to others by covering your mouth when you sneeze (especially if you’re sick) or washing your hands after using the toilet are solid practices! The KEY is NOT to be obsessive about cleanliness!

The available evidence seems to support the following:

• Children raised on a farm develop fewer allergies (possibly due to farm animal exposure).
• Chemicals found in household cleaning products are NOT linked to a rise in allergies.
• The frequency of bathing or showering is NOT linked to increased allergy risk.
• Antibiotic use IS linked to allergy (by disturbing the body’s balance between good and bad bacteria).
• Vaccines are NOT directly linked to the rise in allergy.
• Diet changes, especially in childhood, have been linked to the rise in allergy. Introducing “high allergy” foods like nuts, seeds, milk, soy, wheat/gluten, and egg AFTER at least six months of exclusively breastfeeding (during the weaning process) can reduce the number of children developing allergies in later childhood.
• Chiropractic adjustments support the immune system and may offer relief for some children suffering from allergies.

FOR A FREE NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION CALL 717-697-1888

Dr. Brent Binder
4909 Louise Drive, Suite 102
Mechanicsburg Pa, 17055

Member of Chiro-Trust.org

This information should not be substituted for medical or chiropractic advice. Any and all healthcare concerns, decisions, and actions must be done through the advice and counsel of a healthcare professional who is familiar with your updated medical history.

With growing evidence that meditation has significant health benefits, a 2016 study by a team of researchers from the United States, Spain, and France sought to explain how and why meditation actually works.

The study investigated the difference between “mindful meditation” in a group of experienced meditators vs. “quiet non-meditative activity” in a group of untrained control subjects. After eight hours of mindfulness practice, the meditation group showed a range of genetic and molecular differences, which in turn correlated with faster physical recovery from a stressful situation.

According to researchers, this is the first time a study has documented a rapid alteration in gene expression within meditating subjects. Interestingly, the researchers observed these changes in the SAME genes that anti-inflammatory and pain-killing drugs target! Thus, they speculate that mindful-based training may benefit patients with inflammatory conditions! This and prior studies have prompted the American Heart Association to endorse meditation as an effective cardiac preventative intervention.

Meditation has been found to be helpful for many conditions including stress management, lowering high blood pressure, heart disease, and depression. You can incorporate meditation into your life with three simple meditation exercises! The initial advice is “…go slow and be compassionate and gentle with yourself.” Your mind will try to wander (called our “default mode”) which consumes about half of our day, so try to focus (called “focus mode”)!

1. WALKING MEDITATION: At a slow to medium pace, focus on your feet. Notice how your heel hits the ground and then feel the roll of your foot followed by the big toe pushing off prior to the swing phase. Feel for stones under the foot and other interesting sensations. If your mind starts to wander (default mode), gently bring your attention back to your foot (focus mode). You WILL get better with practice, and you’ll soon find it much easier to “focus” during stressful situations!
2. NOVEL EXPERIENCES: It’s much easier to lose focus on the people you see everyday vs. those seen only one time a month. The next time you arrive home from work, pretend you haven’t seen your spouse/friend in 30 days. Give them your undivided attention. Then, try this on co-workers and other people you see every day. Believe me, they WILL notice a difference!
3. GRATITUDE EXERCISES: When you’re not in their presence, focus on a person’s face and send them a “silent gratitude” for being in your life. Try this on family members, friends, co-workers, and others!

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, we would be honored to render our services.

  YOU MAY BE A CANDIDATE FOR CHIROPRACTIC CARE! FOR A FREE NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION CALL 717-697-1888

In 2010, Dr. Gert Bronfort published a pinnacle report that reviewed studies published up to 2009 and identified 26 categories of conditions for which there is evidence that manual therapies (including spinal manipulation, mobilization, and massage) are beneficial. These 26 categories included thirteen musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions (like low back and neck pain), four types of chronic headache, and nine non-MSK conditions (like infantile colic).

In 2014, the 2010 study was “updated” by Dr. Christine Clar and five colleagues from the Warwick Medical School in the United Kingdom using the same methodologies. They concentrated on the conditions that resulted in a “negative” or an “inconclusive” result in 2010 and either confirmed, updated, or added a new category based on the results of newer research.

After reviewing 25,539 studies, other conditions such as shoulder rotator cuff disorder, cervicogenic headache, and other types of headaches were added to the list. They also added a large number of non-MSK conditions they had not previously considered, of which most were rated ‘inconclusive.’

The 2014 study pointed out the continued need for more high-quality research on many conditions, but it shed light on a significant number of conditions not previously reported in the 2010 study such as TMD (jaw pain), myofascial pain syndrome, active upper trapezius trigger points and neck pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow, shoulder disorders, nerve and muscle pain in the shoulder, plantar fasciitis, arthritis with and without angulation of the great toe (big toe), and many more!

The non-MSK conditions that Dr. Clar and her team found that are in need of further high-quality studies include: asthma, cervicogenic dizziness, hypertension, infantile colic, enuresis, pneumonia/respiratory disorders, dysmenorrhoea, and PMS.  “NEW” categories include: ADHD/learning disorders, cancer care, cerebral palsy, chronic fatigue, chronic pelvic pain, cystic fibrosis, gastrointestinal, menopause, Parkinson’s disease, pregnancy and neonatal and post-natal care, rehabilitation, and peripheral arterial disease.

Obviously, these two studies have taken the quest of determining the current “science” behind many of the claims that doctors of chiropractic have made for many conditions HEAD ON. This is a VERY important step in the right direction so we as healthcare professionals can tell our patients which conditions are likely or not likely to respond to this form of care based on research!

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, we would be honored to render our services.