As a chiropractor I often have people come in and tell me something like “I usually just adjust myself but this time I can’t get it.”  I usually ask them to give a demonstration of their technique which usually scares me.

 

The reason it scares me? Well when you pop your neck (if you do, please stop) you stretch the joint involved to it’s physiologic limit. At this point it pops, which is actually just nitrogen gas escaping the joint.  Yes, it feels better temporarily but the actual problem is not fixed.

 

Over time this repetitive stretching of the joint ligaments will lead to a decreased ability to stabilize the neck or back which in the long run leads to chronic neck or back pain due to instability.  I’m talking about years and years before this happens so it’s not like your going to be in dire straights tomorrow but then again smokers don’t get lung cancer from the 20th cigarette either.

 

If you have a joint in your neck that feels like it needs to crack its a sign from your body that something is wrong in that area. It may be a minor problem that just needs rest or it could be a chronic misalignment of a joint that needs chiropractic care. What it doesn’t need is a forced “pop” by stretching the joints too far. So if you are experiencing this feeling on a regular basis call us and get it fixed. Our 4 Corners office number is 715-246-7500 and the Glenwood City office is 715-265-7500 or you can contact us via Facebook.

 

 

Let me ask you a question.  The last time you went to the chiropractor (You do see a chiropractor right?) how long were you there? What did they do for treatment? Did you get muscle work? Electric stimulation? Anything?

 

The average chiropractic visit lasts between 4-7 minutes and while regardless of how much time the doctor spends with you the adjustment is probably great the big question in my mind is did they address the muscles as well?

 

You see, the muscles attach directly to the bones of the joints being adjusted.  If they are tight, inflamed and not moving well the adjustment usually is more uncomfortable and doesn’t do as much good as it could.  I learned this lesson well 10 years ago as an intern where the doctor I was working with always did muscle massage, including deep tissue work for several minutes before adjusting and followed the adjustment with some type of therapy to further relax the muscle which helped improve the efficiency of the adjustment. Let me tell you he had some happy patients!

 

That’s why at Arvold Chiropractic we also focus on not only the spine, but the muscles of the spine and neck as well. Taking the extra time to address any underlying issues in the muscles and connective tissue reduces tension in the back and allows the adjustment to realize its full therapeutic value.

 

I’d like to take this opportunity to invite you to try Arvold Chiropractic.  At each visit we perform soft tissue techniques (much like a mini massage) and use spinal traction therapy to relax the muscles after your adjustment.

 

I’m confident we can help you and that you will love our office.  Everyone one should be using some level of chiropractic care to maintain healthy joint movement, normalize soft tissue and to promote overall good health. Our offices can be reached at 715-246-7500 for the 4 Corners or 715-265-7500 for our Glenwood City office. If you prefer we can also be reached via Facebook Messenger.

 

 

Do you have trouble sleeping? Many Americans, as much as an estimated 40% have problems either falling asleep or staying asleep.  Sleep is an essential time when the body repairs itself and regulates hormones. With so many people not getting good sleep it’s no surprise many chronic diseases are on the rise.

 

Despite all we know about sleep these 3 things get very little mention even though they are well known sleep destroyers!

 

Caffeine- yep our good buddy caffeine is the #1 reason people struggle with sleep. The half life of caffeine, or the time it takes for your body to metabolize half of the amount consumed is very long. Depending on the person a single cup of coffee can take 7-9 hours to completely clear the system. What happens if you drink 3 cups? 6? 9?  The point is you can have lots of caffeine in your system long after your last caffeinated beverage. Keep it to one cup a day and before noon and you wont have to worry about caffeine keeping you up.

 

Blue Lights- This translates to TV’s, smart phones, computers and other diode based electronics.  The light emitted by these devices triggers the pineal gland to stop the secretion of melatonin, which normally happens as it gets dark outside, which in turn prevents you from feeling sleepy.  This is why watching TV before bed is such an aweful idea.  To make sure you do not have any trouble caused by blue light emissions turn off electronics at least 1 hour before bed.

 

Under-eating- Yes you read that correctly! Not eating enough for dinner, especially carbohydrates, can keep you up at night and prevent you from falling deeply asleep.  Eating carbs at dinner time rises blood sugar for about an hour or 2. After that the subsequent falling of blood sugar causes you to get sleepy. This allows the body to shift more easily into sleep and reach the deeper levels of sleep needed to fully restore the body.

 

Making sure these 3 things are not keeping you awake at night will go a long ways towards improving sleep. For more information or to schedule an appointment to help set up a sleep plan call our office at 715-246-7500 or 715-265-7500.

When I sat down to right this article I had an interesting thought.  There are many, many ways to improve your health.  You can change how you eat (in a million different ways), you can start an exercise program (there are lots of choices!) or you can find another of the myriad ways of improving health. There are literally so many ways to improve health if you look and just go for it.

 

But wrecking it? That’s easy.  There are maybe 10 concrete ways to really destroy your health and most of them we already know. Smoking, stressing, sitting, etc… but what are the top 3? The holy grail of health destruction?  Read on and discover the best ways to wreck to your health.  Or as I like to think of the them, the 3 things you never want to do.

 

1. Don’t Sleep- you want to wreck your health this is hands down #1, the master of disaster.  Lack of sleep prevents you from undergoing any meaningful healing, prevents the regulation of hormones and makes keeping your stress levels down virtually impossible.  Making sure to budget at least 8 hours a night for sleep and avoiding caffeine and blue lights (TV’s, phones, computers, etc) before bed should be priorities unless you do not want good sleep.

 

2.  Drink Coffee in the morning and alcohol each night- another great way to wreck you health is to start each day with caffeine and end each day with booze. They play opposite roles in the body. Caffeine ratchets you up and booze simmers you down. Unfortunately caffeine stays in your system for on average 9-10 hours (if you drink a normal sized coffee. Drink more than that and its closer to 12-13 hours) so its still there when you have a drink. This gives the body 2 conflicting signals and this is great for messing with your heart.

 

3.  Avoid all natural foods- this one does a great job of wrecking health too.  Processed foods contain a fraction of the nutrients of real whole foods and usually have some other form of chemicals in them too.  This double whammy of anti-nutrition makes sure your body is scrapping by on next to nothing in terms of micro-nutrients while having a huge stock pile of sugar and salt.

 

There you have it. The top 3 ways to wreck your health.  Of course, if you wanted to improve your health this list shows you the top 3 things to avoid.  I’d rather see your health in great shape so I recommend NOT doing the things on this list!.

Don’t forget that these 3 things also go a long way to determining how well your chiropractic and other treatments go as well.  A healthier body will respond better to physical treatments like chiropractic. To schedule an appointment with me call 715-246-7500 or message our Arvold Chiropractic Facebook page.

Are you an athlete? Do you participate in organized sports of any kind? If you answered yest to either question then there are 2 main components to your sports related activities.

1)Training/Practice

2)Competition/Games

If you have seen one of my videos or read other posts then you may have seen that there are 2 major ways peoples spines get out of alignment and thus interfere with the nervous system.

 

The first is acute injuries. If you have participated in sports for any length of time you now that injuries are just part of the game. Acute injuries respond well to chiropractic care because they prevent injured soft tissues from getting too hypertonic and thus preventing normal motion in the joints of the back and neck.

 

The second is repetitive stress injuries, which are caused by repeated movements that eventually lead to injury in the soft tissues. Any chronic pain or tightness is a good sign that some sort of imbalance is present and should be addressed.

 

Because both aspects of causing a subluxation in the spine are frequently present in sports, athletes need routine chiropractic care to function at their best. That is the reason almost all pro sports teams employ a chiropractor or have a team doctor to consult with upon injury.

 

If you play sports, chiropractic is a wise investment in your game.

 

 

Lunch is one of the hardest meals to eat clean on. Most of us have 30 minutes or so for lunch and most restaurants don’t have much in the way of organic salads with a good protein choice.  Oh, and most people are somewhat stressed by work at that time of the day too.

 

This is a simple recipe I throw together some variation every week. You just make the long grain brown rice ahead of time so you have a few days worth then basically mix and match toppings.

Detox Salad

2 cups organic baby spinach

1/2-1 cup long grain brown rice (cooked)  *rice can be seasoned before being added to salad

1/2 cup broccoli florets

Redmond Real Salt to taste

pepper to taste

1-2 tablespoon organic extra virgin olive oil

1 cup of your meat of choice. (Chicken, steak, sardines, salmon, etc…)

 

Put the spinach in your lunch container and top it with the rice followed by the broccoli and meat. Add the olive oil then salt and pepper. Toss to mix.

That’s it! Its super easy and super healthy plus it will help you body get rid of excess toxins in your body. As a side note, I usually eat a small handful of Brazil nuts, dark chocolate or a side of blueberries or black berries with mine. Hope you enjoy this!

If you have ever had vertigo you know it is a terrible feeling.  The room spins. You aren’t sure which direction is up or down and many people report wondering if perhaps they are having a stroke.

However terrible the symptoms, which often strike suddenly and randomly, Benign Positional Vertigo is a very common and treatable condition.  Disturbances in the inner ear are what cause vertigo in most cases and often problems with the upper neck aggravate or even cause the underlying imbalance which leads to the symptoms.

Because of the nature of the human spine and neck, treatment often consists of 2-4 visits with the goal being to restore normal motion in the neck and reducing tension in the surrounding soft tissues.  This allows the inner ear to “settle down” and the symptoms of vertigo often subside or disappear completely.

Over the years I have treated many cases of vertigo by simply adjusting the neck and massaging the upper neck muscles.  If you have vertigo or tend to have episodes of vertigo call my office at 715-246-7500 to schedule an appointment.  Chiropractic is a safe, drug free treatment that can potentially make a huge difference in your case.

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If you are looking for a healthy, nutrient packed meal that not only tastes great but is very easy to make then this recipe is for you.

 

I typically use this as my lunch. It has a good mix of carbohydrates, fat and protein and it keeps me feeling full for several hours.  You can also easily change the recipe by adding different meats, veggies, sauces and seasonings.  This is my base recipe.  You can download my cook book for free in the upper right hand corner if you want other healthy recipes.

 

What you will need:

1 cup cooked chicken breast, cubed

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 cup fresh broccoli florets

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Redmond Real salt to taste

6-7 twists fresh ground black pepper

4 dashes garlic powder

4 dashes cayenne pepper (optional)

 

In a bowl add the rice and all seasonings.  Do not mix yet. Put the broccoli over the rice and then put the chicken over the broccoli.  Pour the olive oil over the mixture and stir to blend.

 

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If you have are a student athlete or have one at home this seminar is for you!

 

What you eat can make all the difference in sports performance, recovery from injury and staying fresh throughout the season.  Dr. Austin Erickson, DC will be presenting a class on sports nutrition on Monday, August 22nd from 5-6pm. The class will be held at Arvold Chiropractic’s  4 Corners office on Hwy 64.

 

He will specifically cover what foods to eat to maximize performance and training, what supplements actually work to improve performance and common training mistakes to avoid.

 

His easy to implement advice will help you make changes to diet and routine that will maximize time spent at the gym and get you in tip top shape for your sports season.  He will also give out sample meal plans.

 

There will also be a SPECIAL OFFER for all in-season athletes!

 

Please call to register for class as seats are limited. 715-246-7500

 

For updates on the class follow us on Facebook or sign up for our email list in the box in the upper right hand corner of this page.

Ok, so the name of this article is a bit tongue in cheek but one thing I hear a lot is that people believe in chiropractic.  I always say “well that’s good because chiropractic is based entirely off biomechanical principles such as gravity.”

 

The reason I say this is that for years chiropractic was written off as silly or something you only did if you were out of options in the medical health field.  This was done intentionally by the medical establishment (seriously, you can look it up. The AMA lost a defamation case in federal court). The truth is that chiropractic care works because your body follows the same principles as other physical objects.  If you apply a stress to it, it reacts accordingly.  There is nothing magical or supernatural about getting a joint moving and pain receding.  It’s the natural order of things.

 

Chiropractic works by restoring natural movement in the spine, muscles and soft tissues.

 

The human spine is a beautiful and elegant design, using a J-S curve to distribute pressure as evenly as possible and thus reducing wear and tear on the body. When the natural movement of the spine is hindered via injury to muscle, bone or other soft tissue pain and dysfunction is the natural result. That is the reason chiropractic care is so effective for problems originating in the spine, muscle or soft tissues.

 

Another important this to be aware of is that as you use your body small imbalances build up over time. These can be caused by postural issues, minor or major injuries or repetitive stresses such as sitting, typing, driving or any other activity done over and over again over a long period of time.

 

That is the reason regular chiropractic check ups are essential for maintaining optimal function of the spine.

 

Our clinic has been treating patients for over 20 years and applying the time-honored techniques of chiropractic care. For an appointment call 715-246-7500. You can also sign up for your email list and receive a free cook book in the email field in the top right corner of this page. Please Like and Share this article on Facebook if you found value in it.

Arvold Chiropractic Blog

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