How is your Core Strength?

Your Core muscles are VERY important. Wither you are an athlete running, catching or throwing or a parent, aunt, uncle, brother and do most of your running chasing kids, friends or your busy schedule. These muscles keep you moving.

Anyone that has ever had an episode of bad back pain will tell you that it can keep you from doing the things you want to do the most. One of the top ways to help prevent back pain and keep it from coming back

if you have suffered with it in the past is to have a strong core.

Blondina Polazzo is a certified personal trainer and a while ago I asked her to write an article for my patient news letter and I wanted to share it on here also!

Blondina writes,

"What is a helpful way to explain the core to clients and why is it so important?

Blondina Polazzo, ACE Certified Personal Trainer

President, Fitness Empowerment, LLC

The core is best described as the anatomical "box" in the mid-section of the body, with the abdominals in the front, the paraspinals next to the spine and the gluteals in the back. The diaphragm is the roof, while the pelvic floor and hip girdle musculature are at the bottom. The core fuctions as a muscular "corset," working as a unit to stablize the spine. It is the 'foundation" of all limb movements.

As an Exercise Professional I am committed to maintaining and improving the fuctional independence and physical performance of my clients. Core stability is defined as the ability to have functional strength and endurance through all planes of motion and actions. Therefore, core stability is crucial in being fully functional in daily activities without pain through a normal range of motion.

Research has demonstrated that two of the deep spinal stabilizing muscles, the multifidus and transverse abdominis, start to rapidly atrophy following an episode of low-back pain. This is like a vicious cycle where a weak core leads to low-back pain which further weakens the core. If these muscles are not retrained, back pain will most likely reoccur in the future.

Core stability can be assessed by yourself, or more accurately by chiropractor. The very basic do-it-yourself method involves holding the ‘plank’ position for at least 30 seconds, as a time below that would indicate a weak core. The ability to go over 60 seconds is indicative of having a strong core. In our Boot Camps "core" work is a part of each workout performed.

For more information about Boot Camp Challenge or Personal Training by Blondina please visit: www.my-fitness-studio.com"

Chiropractic is important to helping overcome and prevent back pain because along with strengthening the core muscles adjusting the low back, pelvis and sacral areas are important in making sure you have a strong foundation and proper joint function in order to build and maintain proper core strength

If you have more questions about low back pain or core stability feel free to email me or stop by my office.

Staying Active in the Changing Season

Fall is here! The leaves are changing the weather is getting colder and we are getting excited for holidays and spending time with family. As our thoughts are turning from outside barbeques and sports to raking leaves and winter coat, it’s important not to forget to stay active. Here are some easy ideas that can help you to stay active this winter and keep your health out of hibernation.

· Take a hike – find trails and parks in your area where you can get out and enjoy the changes of the season.

· Take advantage of the activities at your city’s recreation centers

· Look in your community’s newsletter for activities going on in the community.

· Get to know your neighbors. – sharing an evening of back yard games with your neighbors and friends it a good way to stay active.

Remember that staying active is key to staying healthy. Get out there and enjoy.

ACA - Stress Relief

Stress is something we all have and need to some extent. Here is a link to an article with some good tips on how to handle stress in a healthy way.

ACA - Stress Relief

Walk It Off

Child bumping their head, smashing your finger with a hammer, a baseball player getting hit with a pitch what do these all have in common? Well they hurt but something else that they have in common that you may or may not realize is that they all three do once thing similar.... the use movement to help it feel better.

When a child bumps their head a mom will almost as a reflex tell the child to rub it. Don't go trying it but when you smash one of the first things you'll to is start shaking your hand in the air. Coaches alway tell their players no matter the situation to get up and "walk it off". Why is that you ask? What makes movement so important that we do it almost on instinct when we are injured?

To understand first you have to know a bit about how our nervous system works. There are millions upon millions of nerves that go to and from every part of our body. These nerves have different jobs with out getting too complicated we'll talk only about two types ones that send pain from your body to your spinal cord and brain that sense movement.

The first type there is easy enough to understand their job. when you smash your finger with the hammer these nerves let your brain know it.

The other type have special movement detectors (mechanoreceptros) When they detect movement they let your body know. That is how you are aware that you are moving, walking, jumping or whatever it may be. These nerves as well as sending a signal to your brain informing it of movement it also send substances (neurotransmitters) into the spinal cord that help to block pain signals. This is why in the before mentioned scenarios rubbing it or walking it off helps you feel better. It also it why we feel so good getting a massage.

Movement is important for keeping our joints healthy, keeping us physically fit and now you know that it also helps with dealing with pain. Chiropractic adjustments help to decrease pain (short term affect of care) and improve the motion of joints in your body to improve or maintain proper movement and keep the joints and you healthy and functioning well.

I enjoy being a chiropractor and helping people feel and function better. If you or someone you know wants to talk about how chiropractic care can help please email me.

Are your electronics killing you

Have you ever watched a person text or work on their mobile phone or hand held device for an extended period of time? If you have maybe you have noticed some of the following things; The longer a person texts the lower and lower the head may go down and you may even see their head start to stick out more and more. Also they tend to roll their shoulders and slouch their upper back forward. Another common thing is to see their arms wrist of fingers sore from the constant tapping of the keys or with a lot of devices now they are not even keys just a continual tapping on the screen accessing the virtual keyboard.

Some of the above are things that I notice in me and others who use their mobile device a lot to work and play. In myself I notice that using the phone a lot to text and write emails causes the muscles in my neck and upper back to get very tight and I can even on occasion start to feel a headache come on.

In the article Your Body is Sending You a Message by Dr. Dean Fishman, it's mentions that the Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that young people 8-18 years old spend in excess of seven-and-a-half hours a day using some form of mobile media. The continual head forward position among other things will be a cause of aches in pains for years to come. In the book Physiology of the Joint Volume 3 by Kapandji it explains that every inch of forward the head is from its normal position over the shoulders can equate to increasing the weight of the head by 10lbs!! reach back and feel your traps, is Kapandji talking about you? The forward head posture can also lead to long term muscle strain, disc degeneration, and even nerve impingement (Mayo Clinic Health Letter, March 2000).

Now if you are like me you are probably not going to go as far as to get rid of your phone, PDA, PSP or whatever your device of choice may be. Our phones are great we just have to learn how to use them and still take care of our body. The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) has a few simple guidelines that one can use to help you get the most out of your electronics while saving your neck and back. A few of them are the following:

Sit upright, keeping your ears over your shoulders.
Look down with your eyes and gently tuck your chin in, not forward.
Never pinch the phone between your ear and shoulder.
Using a headset
Minimize the time you bend the elbows to hold the screen up to see it.
Instead of returning all your e-mails on the phone, wait until you can

use the computer.
Avoid leaning on the flexed elbow while talking on the phone or in the car.

If after trying these tips you still can't seem to get rid of pain or discomfort that you may be feeling its may be a sign that you need to get help from a health care professional. This type of mechanical pain is a big part of what I as a chiropractor deal with day in and day out. Chiropractors are a great cost effective way to treat this and similar types of pain. if you need helping finding a chiropractor near you I would be more than happy to help. Also if you would like to have a copy of the article for the ACA with more information and tips you can email me and I can send it to you in PDF format at DrCarpenterDC@gmail.com

Family Time

Summer is in full swing now. I love this time of the year there is so much to do and its a great time for family bonding. While the family time is great its easy for aches and pains to creep in and spoil the fun. Here are a few ideas of easy things to you can do to make sure you get the most out of your family time this summer.

As soon as the weather warms up lots of people go out to jog and walk around their neighborhood. Most importantly as you are out stay well hydrated. Making sure you drink enough water will help reduce muscle cramps and injuries. Also remember kids dehydrate in the hot weather faster than kids so even if you are not thirsty they may be.

Secondly I see lot of people out jogging or walking with their children in a stroller. Before you start make sure to check the height of the stroller handles to make sure they are not too low. it you are leaning to far forward while you are pushing the stroller this could set you up for some unwanted back pain. Also for your child's safety make sure the stroller has a good harness system and adequate shade from the sun.

Swimming is a great summer activity that allows families to bond. When planning an outing to the pool remember to pack the sunscreen and bring plenty of water. Here are some good tips for pool safety taken from a publication by the CPSC.

Never leave a child unsupervised near a pool.

Instruct babysitters about potential hazards to young children in and around swimming pools and the need for constant supervision.

Completely fence the pool. Install self-closing and self-latching gates. Position latches out of reach of young children. Keep all doors and windows leading to the pool area secure to prevent small children from getting to the pool. Effective barriers and locks are necessary preventive measures, but there is no substitute for supervision.

Do not consider young children "drown proof" because they have had swimming lessons; young children should always be watched carefully while swimming.

Do not use flotation devices as a substitute for supervision.

Also taking a CPR class is a good way to make sure you are prepared for an emergency

Hiking is another great family summer activity. Lots of parks have great places to hike and explore your local outdoors. When hiking its important to make sure everyone has the proper footwear to avoid blisters and sprained ankles. Also make sure you don't get so distracted by all the wonders of nature that you don't watch where your going. Bring along fruit or trail mix for a healthy snack to keep you energized along they way.

ACA - Temporomandibular Joint Disorder

I could talk for hours about the effects of the TMJ on your health but I like this article and I will let it talk for me. I will add that I had a patient that was suffering from headaches and working with her TMJ is one of the things that really helped change her life.

ACA - Temporomandibular Joint Disorder