Jimmy woke up sore this morning. It isn't going to be a good day for him. He can't even turn his head a little without wincing in pain. Worst thing about it, he's got no clue how he did it… The Atlas is a small 2 oz bone that holds up the entire weight of your head, about 10-12 pounds or the size of a bowling ball. When it gets stuck in one position too long (subluxation), it creates tension in your nerve system and turns you into one unhappy camper. So what 'did Jimmy in?' He fell asleep on the couch watching Desperate Housewives and now he's paying the price. He's human, it happens. We just hope Jimmy doesn't make another mistake by waiting for it to get worse. He should really get to the chiropractor and have it checked right away. The moral of the story? Don't be a Jimmy! Content provided by Principle33.
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Infant car seats are now mandated in all states (find the Illinois requirements here). They keep children safer in motor vehicle accidents (which is still unfortunately the leading cause of accidental deaths in children under the age of 14). They are also seen as a handy alternative to baby slings or other carriers. After all, if your infant falls asleep in the car, it's much more practical to carry the whole car seat into the house and allow the child to continue sleeping, as opposed to unbuckling her in the car, waking her up, and then carrying her into the house crying and rubbing her eyes.
Unfortunately, using the car seat as a carrier comes with its own set of problems. The International Chiropractic Association's Council on Chiropractic Pediatrics recently published an article which included this jarring fact: There are far more injuries outside the motor vehicle because of the misuse of infant car seats than parents realize. Family practitioners should caution adults if they see them carrying infants in car seats. According to a study conducted at the British Columbia Children’s Hospital, 43% of infants presenting to the emergency departments of hospitals were the result of falls while being in a car seat outside the motor vehicle — overturning of the car seat on soft surfaces, or falls from the car seat when carried or placed on an elevated surface such as a table, chair, counter and even a washing machine. Misuse of car seats can cause serious head injuries and also suffocation from the restraint strap. It's possible that Peoria parents are more sensible than Canadian parents, but accidents can and do happen. At the very least: ensure that your infant remains strapped in their seat when you are carrying the car seat, and always place the car seat on the floor instead of an elevated surface. If you are unable to do so, it's wise to listen to the statistics of the British Columbia hospital, and avoid leaving your child in the car seat. Additionally, the car seat should not be viewed as a substitute for a flat sleeping surface. Infants who tend to sleep in car seats have more difficulty outgrowing the single-curved infant spine (the so-called "C" curve) because they don't have to work their neck and back muscles like infants who sleep in cribs. For proper spine health and growth, infants should be encouraged to lift their heads and push their bodies up with their arms. Unfortunately, their heads are already pushed forward in car seats, and there is no natural requirement for them to emphasize the use of their own muscles. Such flexion of the head can also exacerbate other health conditions in which it is actually unsafe to allow your child to sleep in a car seat. Although colonoscopies are seen as instrusive, a hassle, and uncomfortable (all valid points), the truth of the matter is that they save lives. Even if your family doesn't have a history of colon cancer, it's still extremely important to have regular cancer screening checks. This type of cancer is preventable, since cancerous or precancerous polyps can be detected during the screenings and even removed right then and there.
But what if the idea of a colonoscopy makes you nervous? There's even more good news! Colonoscopies are not the only way to screen for colon cancer. There is a non-invasive test which detects blood in your stool, a test which can be easily repeated annually. There is no financial excuse not to have a screening. Did you know that Medicare covers most types of screenings? They will even cover a preventative colonoscopy once every ten years for low-risk individuals, or once every two years for high-risk people. Many other private insurance plans cover screenings for people over age 50. Check with your plan to find out specific coverage. How do we know that colonoscopies and other tests save lives? Because the statistics are overwhelming. The following article from the Wall Street Journal emphasizes the saving power of these tests: From 2003 to 2007, the incidence of colon cancer dropped by 3.4% per year, while the death rate dropped by 3% a year, the CDC says. That adds up to about 66,000 fewer cases and 32,000 fewer deaths than expected. Besides more screening, reductions in risk factors such as smoking and obesity and improved treatments helped lower the death rate. CDC head Thomas Frieden used himself as an example, saying he had his first colonoscopy at age 40 due to a family history of the disease. That screening found nothing, but a test at age 50 found four noncancerous polyps — two of them large — that were removed. The report says an extra 1,000 colon-cancer deaths could be prevented each year if the government’s screening target of 70.5% of the eligible population is met. The CDC said last fall that nearly half of colorectal-cancer cases are diagnosed late, when the disease is harder to treat. Click here to read the entire article. Although Johnson Family Chiropractic doesn't provide colon cancer screenings to the Peoria community, I highly encourage all my patients over age 50 to consider this procedure. It might be the one thing to save your life, and the procedures are widely available in central Illinois. For example, Methodist Hospital in Peoria offers virtual colonoscopies, among its other cancer screening techinques. The New York Times seems to think so. A recent health article gives many good common sense tips on how to avoid back problems. However, the conclusion of the Times article seems to be that no matter how well you take care of your back, you're going to end up with degeneration. In their own words: "Some back problems, of course, can’t be avoided. Over time, spinal vertebrae naturally degenerate and spinal facets become inflamed, causing stress and discomfort." Is that true? Is the degenerative process a natural process that occurs in everyone? The picture to the left is an all-too-common image: a man and woman stooped with age. But just because this is a common image, it is not necessarily a natural image. When one hears the word "natural", one normally assumes that the "natural" thing is good for us. After all, we are part of nature. Natural health foods, natural shoes, natural diapers, natural backpacks, natural dog food, natural sunscreen, etc. Natural things are meant to be good for us, but we can all agree that this degeneration is not good for us: stooped posture and the associated muscular weaknesses that result from a displaced center of gravity. Also, since we are all part of nature, we assume that those things which are natural for one person ought to be natural for everyone else. But we know that not everyone ends up with stooped posture in their old age. And that brings us to Exhibit B... This amazing woman is Ernestine Shepherd. She is 74 years old. She is not stooped. One look at her abs of steel and strong shoulders will tell you everything you need to know about spinal degeneration. Spinal degeneration is not natural, but is the result of unnatural spinal dysfunction. When spinal vertebrae are fixed, subluxated, injured, wounded, or otherwise negatively impacted, only then are they subject to the process known as spinal degeneration. Spinal discs are literally fed by motion. Since they have very little direct blood flow, they only receive nutrients by the squishing motion of the vertebrae above and below them, slowly squeezing nourishing fluids to them throughout the busy day. If that motion ceases, then so does the nutrition. As the disc slowly dies, the body attempts to protect the area by building up extra bone to provide stability to the region. But rarely is the problem confined to one portion of the spine: the whole rest of the body begins to compensate for the loss of motion in the spine, causing far-reaching dysfunction and problems. Note well: I'm not encouraging everyone to become Ernestine Shepherd, who now holds a Guinness World Record as the oldest female bodybuilder. But the point is simple: maintain motion, exercise, and chiropractic analysis in your life in order to keep the spine healthy and in good shape. Don't sit for hours at a time. Walk. These things are natural. Spinal degeneration isn't. |
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DisclaimerUnless otherwise attributed, all content is written by Kyle Johnson, DC, of Johnson Family Chiropractic of Peoria.
All images used are under Creative Commons license. Although every effort has been made to provide an accurate description of our chiropractic care and its benefits, the information given on this website and blog is not intended to be, nor should it be interpreted as, medical advice for any condition. If you have any questions regarding your condition, you should seek the help of Dr. Johnson in person, so that he may properly assess your condition. This blog is provided by Johnson Family Chiropractic of Peoria, S.C., proudly located in Peoria, IL. |