The New Year is a great time to start with a CLEAN SLATE. Like everyone, you're probably making resolutions to exercise more, eat healthier and improve your lifestyle. The question is, who's going to help you reach those goals successfully in 2011? There's a saying that goes, "If you want to be happy, then hang out with happy people." The same can be said for being healthy. Ever notice the families who walk in and out of a typical Chiropractor's office? They're happy, full of energy and bubbling with excitement about Life. Most of them didn't start off that way, however. Many were introduced to Chiropractic because of a chronic pain, a debilitating health condition or pure frustration with a medical system that could only offer a lifetime of drugs and testing for their problem. But gradually, after receiving regular Chiropractic adjustments and hanging out with other HAPPY, HEALTHY Chiropractic clients, they too were transformed into happier and healthier people. Your 2011 New Year's Slate is clean and ready to be chalked on. If your resolution is to have more Health and more Life by having a clear nerve system, then spend more time at Johnson Family Chiropractic of Peoria, IL. The doctor is waiting to help you achieve your health dreams in 2011. Content provided by Principle33.
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You could go out and buy a $10 ice pack from any store in Peoria. You could buy a $2 ice pack and watch the blue liquid leak all over your nice clothes. Or you could make your own when you need it: quick, effective, practically free, and a perfect way to recycle those plastic grocery bags. Although aesthetic beauty is not one of its many attributes, this homemade ice pack has an important advantage: it's much, much larger than conventional ice packs, so it gives much greater coverage on the back and can wrap around an arm or leg. What you need: 1) ice, 2) a plastic grocery bag. (Click on any picture for a larger version) If the ice is in whole cubes, you'll need to crush it with a rolling pin or a hammer. It's a good way to take out aggressions. If you're blessed with an in-freezer ice dispenser, however, you'll be able to simply choose the "crushed" or "chopped" ice instead of the cubed. I prefer "crushed" over "shaved" or "pulverized" or "atomized". Fill your bag up to half full with the ice chips. Press down on the bag to evacuate the air. Tie off the top of the bag. By filling the bag only halfway and then pushing out the air, you've created a malleable bag that will easily mold to any body part. You've now created your ice pack! That was easy. Never put a plastic ice bag directly on the skin. Put a damp (not sopping) paper towel between your skin and the bag, to prevent ice burns. Leave the bag in place on your injured body part for about 15 minutes. After you remove the bag, the area will continue to get colder, believe it or not, so you're inviting frostbite by leaving the bag on longer than that. Don't ice more than once an hour. Also, be very cautious when applying ice packs to children or the elderly: their skin is fragile and more easily injured.
At first glance you'd think a Chiropractor was responsible for these words. But they were actually written by a Harvard medical school instructor and practitioner in the late 1800's. While this belief is trivialized today by the medical and pharmaceutical community, it remains the core foundation of the practice of Chiropractic. Chiropractors humbly acknowledge that "the ONLY thing that can heal the body is the Power that created it." The wisdom Dr. Cabot refers to in his quote is called Innate Intelligence by Chiropractors. It is the Power of Life that animates our cells, tissues and organs. It is the coordinating force that maintains our body's intricate chemical balance. It silently and confidently orchestrates all steps involved in the healing process from mending a broken bone to putting cancer in remission. It is in favor of you living, rather than you dying. Chiropractors are responsible for letting you know about this great force inside you. If you really want to know who's responsible for getting you better from the weak state, chronic illness, incapacitating pain or depressing condition you first walked into a Chiropractor's office with? Take a look in the mirror. It was the best doctor on the planet, the one staring right back at you, that did ALL the work. Content provided by Principle33. From inside a warm automobile. No surprise. It's December in Peoria and the weathermen are calling for a winter storm this weekend. I don't think it's too bold to predict that Peoria will probably have snowstorms on and off until March. There are two choices to be made when the snow flies. 1) Ignore it. 2) Shovel it. Here a couple simple tips to ensure that after you shovel your sidewalk/driveway/porch this weekend, you don't find yourself frantically calling your local Peoria Activator doctor.
How many times have surprising fads taken hold of our consumer imaginations, only to be later proven ineffective or dangerous? Darvon and Darvocet were just recently pulled from the shelves due to side effects, even though their active ingredient has been used since the 1950s! Infant sleep positioners were supposed to save lives by preventing the baby from rolling onto its stomach, yet ended up suffocating babies to death. There are any number of fad diets which promise weight loss and instead deliver nutritional imbalances and metabolic disruptions.
Who touted the supposed benefits of all these products? Marketers, of course. It's their job to convince us that our lives have been incomplete without their product. We usually fail to understand that these marketers don't have our best interest at heart. The makers of Darvon, infant sleep positioners, and fad diets are just entrepreneurs. My guess is that if they weren't making money selling those items, they'd be making money selling something else. They don't sell these products because you need them, they sell these products because they need them. This brings me to the new fad of rocking-chair-sneakers. I know many people swear by these shoes, and I readily admit that I haven't worn a pair yet. I do not criticize the shoes themselves, nor the people who buy them; I would simply like to shine a spotlight on modern "health" marketing. Skechers and their many imitators have produced a new kind of shoe that is supposed to effortlessly tone your gluteals and thighs. They promise that if you wear their shoes, your rear end will look just like Jennifer Lopez's or Beyonce's just by walking around normally, no gym membership necessary. They even market the product by saying that wearing their shoes is just like walking barefoot, so, really, it's good for you. My question is: why not just walk barefoot? Putting aside the impracticality of walking barefoot in a Peoria winter, the snarky question still stands. Why should I buy a $100 product when I could get the same effect by spending nothing? That bizarre thick-rounded sole is supposed to imitate a natural walking motion on uneven ground? Is this expensive product really better for you than any other shoe? The human body is extraordinarily adapted (or designed, depending on your view) to function in this world and environment. The human foot is a remarkable structure: this relatively small structure supports your entire body weight, connected to the rest of the body by a complex hinge joint in the ankle. The foot is lightweight, sturdy, and perfectly balanced. The perpendicular arches on the bottom of your foot are mindblowingly perfect structures to distribute impact on rocky earth. In fact, the human foot is not adapted or designed to wear shoes or walk on perfectly flat floors. It functions best when uninterfered with. It's when shoes are introduced to the human foot that ankle problems, knee problems, and hip problems begin to emerge, especially high heels, the bane of bipedal existence. Call me skeptical. I tend to raise my eyebrows when unnecessary products promise perfect results without added effort. For example, you should run (not walk) away from any diet that promises to work without exercise. You should run away from any exercise program that ignores diet. I have a hard time thinking that muscles will be well toned without actually getting exercise. Even more, I worry about the long-term impact of changing the biomechanics of foot-fall on the ankles, knees, hips, and low back. Some people truly think these shoes are wonderful. My point is simply that there are three strikes against the marketing of this product: 1) it takes the unnaturality of footwear to new levels; 2) there are possible negative future health effects; and 3) if it sounds too good to be true... |
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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. |