El CAJON CHIROPRACTIC AND PREGNANCY

April 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Chiropractic care in El Cajon and surrounding areas during pregnancy is an important part of pregnancy care.

A woman’s body undergoes an amazing amount of changes during pregnancy.  As her baby grows, her musculoskeletal system must adjust accordingly to accommodate and prepare for delivery. Chiropractic care in El Cajon helps her body to stay aligned as these changes occur and also helps to keep the nervous system functioning at its optimal level.

Many pregnant women experience low back pain and hip/pelvic pain. These discomforts are the result of the stresses put on the body by the “rapid growth” of the baby and the changes the body must undergo to accommodate those adjustments.  This causes stress in these areas, resulting in spinal misalignments, (or subluxations) which then causes pain and dysfunction.

My goal as a chiropractor is to correct the subluxations or spinal misalignments in the pelvis to help balance the uterus and allow the baby to get into a better position.  Chiropractic adjustments for a pregnant woman in El Cajon are specific, gentle, and safe.

Besides increasing a pregnant woman’s comfort level, an aligned pelvis can result in a quicker, safer, and easier birth. When a baby is in breech or transverse position a cesarean section is almost always performed.  Helping the baby to get into a proper head-down position by balancing the pelvis and ligaments helps to avoid c-section due to baby positioning.

Help your baby develop properly by having your spine checked regularly and getting your spine adjustment here in El Cajon.

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75 Ways to Think Yourself into Good Health, part 2

February 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment

This is my second part (of seven) on 75 ways to think yourself into good health.  This one is on the subject of dealing with stress.

75 WAYS TO THINK YOUR WAY INTO GOOD HEALTH

Health isn’t just about working out and eating right. The way you think and feel can have a big impact on your health as well. Here are some ways that you can use your brainpower to make you happier, healthier and more fulfilled every day.

Dealing With Stress

Stress can have a big effect on physical and mental health. Here are some ways to think yourself free of it. 

* Relax and let stress go.
* Think about each breath.
* Control your thoughts at bedtime.
* Prepare mentally for bed.
* Revise your dreams.
* Concentrate on each muscle individually.
* Allow yourself to daydream.
* Stop worrying.
* Set aside time to think.
* Write in a journal.

Mace Richter, Chiropractor El Cajon

Filed Under: Chiropractic, Chiropractic Tips, health, Natural Remedies Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Improving Performance in Sports

February 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

What do Evan­der Holyfield, the heavyweight champion of the world, John Smoltz, the 1996 Cy Young award winner, and Dan O’Brien, the 1996 Olym­pic Gold Medalist in the decathlon have in common?

They have all been on the cover of Today’s Chiropractic Magazine sharing their excitement about the benefits of Chiropractic Wellness Care.

Evander Holyfield stated in the December 1988 issue, “I do believe in chiropractic. I found that going to a chiropractor three times a week helps my performance. Once I drove 20 miles to see a chiropractor before a fight. I have to have my adjustment before I get in the ring.”

Dan O’Brien said in the August 1996 issue, “you obviously can’t compete at your fullest if you’re not in alignment. It was the holistic idea that I liked about chiropractic. I really think chiropractic is essential in running. If I could put a percentage on it, I think I compete eight to ten percent better from regular chiropractic use, if not more. It is essential for me and my training routine,” declared O’Brien.

Ten percent is a huge amount for an athlete, or anyone for that matter. For Dan O’Brien it was the difference between him winning the gold medal and not even making the team.

Can you imagine if your entire life improved by ten percent? What if your energy, sleep, healing ability, and immune function were all improved by 10%? How about a 10% improvement in hormonal balance and digestion efficiency? If your entire body was functioning just  ten percent better it would make a huge difference.

Mace Richter, El Cajon Chiropractor

 

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Think Your Way Into Good Health

February 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

This will be the first of seven posts with health tips from your El Cajon Chiropractor!  Each round will be on a different topic.

75 WAYS TO THINK YOUR WAY INTO GOOD HEALTH

Health isn’t just about working out and eating right. The way you think and feel can have a big impact on your health as well. Here are some ways that you can use your brainpower to make you happier, healthier and more fulfilled every day.

General
1. Get out negative emotions.
2. Breathe
3. Realize change is possible.
4. Think about things that energize you.
5. Imagine yourself aging more slowly.
6. Feel in control.
7. Embrace your faith.
8. Trust in yourself.
9. Be honest.
10. Live consciously.
11. Accept what comes your way.
12. Forgive yourself.

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Why Do We Perspire?

February 7, 2012 by Leave a Comment

You know the saying, “Never let them see you sweat.” Well, maybe they don’t have to see you sweat, but if you’re not perspiring, your body may be trying to tell you something and you’d better be listening!

Your body comes equipped with its own internal thermostat that keeps body temperature at a normal 98.6° F or 37° C. Every day, your body “fuels” itself with the food you eat and then burns this fuel using about 2500 calories in a process known as oxidation. The heat produced in this process could bring 25 gallons/23 liters of water to the boiling point. Now that’s a lot of heat!

So… what happens to all that heat? Well… the thermostat turns on its cooling system, which slows down the oxidation process. Then your body releases the heat to maintain normal body temperature. How is all this heat released? Through sweat, of course!

Here’s the cool stuff. There is a network of more than 2 million sweat glands throughout your entire body. Sweat, or perspiration, exits your body through the pores in your skin in tiny droplets that you can’t see. These droplets evaporate quickly to cool your body. 

When you are under emotional stress, bacteria on the surface of your skin start to break down the apocrine sweat and this is what causes body odor! Exercise, hot weather and emotional stress or anxiety ALL have an effect on the amount of sweat produced. How much you sweat depends on many different factors – your mood, diet, hormones, medications, illnesses… even heredity plays a part! Something about body odor… try taking a look at the foods you’re eating – salty/spicy foods, garlic, onions and caffeinated beverages are known to affect body odor.

Mace Richter, Chiropractor El Cajon

Filed Under: Chiropractic, Chiropractic Tips, health, Natural Remedies Tagged With: , , , ,

Chiropractic for Chronic Ear Infections

January 31, 2012 by 2 Comments

An article by Jane Sheppard that I thought was worth sharing.

More and more parents are beginning to look to chiropractors to complement their children’s health care. Chiropractic care involves diagnosing spinal misalignments and correcting them by adjusting the spine. A slight pressure is most commonly used with children rather than the more forceful manipulation sometimes used with adults. Chiropractors attempt to get to the root cause of a health problem rather than just treat the symptoms. Misalignments of the spine (also called subluxations) can occur during childbirth, from tumbles or falls, or from any other normal activity. Misalignments left untreated can irritate the nerves and eventually disrupt the body’s ability to function properly. The purpose of a chiropractic adjustment is to help to restore the normal functioning of the nervous system so the body can heal itself without the use of drugs or surgery. Ear Infections and Chiropractic Ear pain is the number one reason for child visits to chiropractors. Many chiropractors believe that there is a strong link between the birthing process and recurrent ear infection… Ear infection accounts for over 35% of all pediatrician visits in the United States. Antibiotics, the usual treatment, are not always effective and may even lead to a recurrence of ear infections. Many children are dealing with a continuing cycle of repeat ear infections, which lands them back at the pediatrician for more antibiotics. For nearly 100 years, the chiropractic profession has claimed that ear and other upper respiratory infections respond favorably to chiropractic adjustments. A promising study published in the Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics indicates that there is a strong correlation between chiropractic adjustments and the resolution of ear infections. 332 children with chronic ear infections participated in the study. Each child, ranging in age from 27 days to 5 years, was given a series of chiropractic adjustments. The results show that close to 80% of the children did not experience another ear infection within the six-month period following their initial visits. The six-month period included maintenance treatments every four to six weeks. Joan M. Fallon, D.C., the author of the study and the chiropractor who treated the children in the study, states that this pilot study can serve as a starting point from which the chiropractic profession can begin to examine its role in the treatment of children with chronic ear infections… chiropractic treatment is a conservative, drugless approach to consider trying if your child has a history of chronic ear infections.

 The Holistic Pediatric Association also provides an online directory of pediatric health professionals, including chiropractors. Related Article: Ear Infections: Alternative Solutions Fallon JM. The Role of the Chiropractic Adjustment in the Care and Treatment of 332 Children with Otitis Media. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics. 1997; Volume 2, No. 2:167-183. Coulter ID. Efficacy and Risks of Chiropractic Manipulation: What Does the Evidence Suggest? Integrative Medicine 1998;1:61-66.

Mace Richter, Chiropractor, El Cajon

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Body Trivia From Your El Cajon Chiropractor

January 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 Your body is an amazing system. If you take good care of it, it will take good care of you. Here are just a few things you may not know that I’d like to share with you today.

  • The thickness of your skin varies from 1/2 to 6 millimeters, depending on the area of your body.
  • The four taste zones on your tongue are bitter (back), sour (back sides), salty (front sides), and sweet (front).
  • The five senses are sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste.
  • Your body contains eight pints (3.79 liters) of blood.
  • The strongest muscle of the body is the masseter muscle, which is located in your jaw.
  • Muscles normally account for 40% of one’s body weight.
  • There are 230 joints in the body, 37 of which are in your neck.
  • The large intestines are five ft (.61 m) long and are three times wider than the small intestines.
  • Most people shed 40 lbs (16.14 kg) of skin in a lifetime.
  • Your body is 70% water.
  • When you sneeze, air rushes through your nose at a rate of 100 mph (160.93 km/h).
  • An eyelash lives about 150 days before it falls out.
  • Your brain sends messages at the rate of 240 mph (386.23 km/h).
  • About 400 gallons (1,514.16 liters) of blood flow through your kidneys in one day.
  • You blink your eyes about 20,000 times a day.
  • Your heart beats about 100,000 times a day.
  • Humans breathe 20 times per minute, more than 10 million times per year and about 700 million times in a lifetime.
  • You have about 100,000 hairs on your head.
  • There are 10 million nerve cells in your brain.
  • Each of your eyes has 120 million rods, which help you see in black and white.
  • Each eye has six million cones, which help you see in color.
  • One in 12 men is color blind.
  • Placed end to end, all your body’s blood vessels would measure about 62,000 mi (99,779.33 km).
  • You see with your eyes and hear with your ears, but your eyes must send a message to your brain in order for you to see, and your ears must send a message to your brain in order for you to hear.
  • Your brain weighs 2 percent of your total body weight. It uses 20 percent of your body’s energy.

Mace Richter, Chiropractor El Cajon

Filed Under: Chiropractic, health, Natural Remedies Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Busy Schedule And Your Health

January 26, 2012 by 2 Comments

3 Simple Ways To Get In A Litte Exercise When You’re Busy

It seems our lives are becoming more hectic every day and it is getting harder and harder to find the time to do the things we want to do for ourselves. We often find getting enough exercise to keep you healthy and energized is very difficult.

1. Consider setting your alarm 30 minutes earlier in the morning to give you time for a 20 minute workout. If you did this 3 days a week you can get an hour of exercise time in that you did not have before. Exercising in the morning before you day gets going is often easier as you are not yet caught up in all that you have to do that day.

2. If your day includes business luncheons and dinners, consider if there might be a couple of them or a few that you can do by phone and thus shortening the time it takes.  Use this extra time to do some physical activity, even if it is just a brisk 30 minute walk.

3. Exercise while at work. There are several things you can do while seated at your desk to get some exercise in while working. One example is to keep some small weights in your desk and use them while on the phone, especially if you think it is going to be a long call or take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Use these tips as a starting point and be on the lookout for more spots in your day where you can fit in a little exercise. You don’t have to go all out for 45 minutes to reap the benefits of exercise. Short exercises done throughout the day add up and don’t seem like such a daunting task. I wish you all the best.

Mace Richter, Chiropractor for El Cajon and surrounding areas.

Filed Under: Chiropractic, Chiropractic Tips, health, Natural Remedies Tagged With: , , , , ,

Pillow Talk

January 19, 2012 by 30 Comments

How’s Your Pillow Treating You

and

Is That a Major Problem For You?

Headaches and neck pain been bothering you? Believe it or not, you spend up to 1/3 of your life sleeping; shouldn’t you think about giving some serious thought to whether or not you have the RIGHT pillow, considering your head spends about 8 hours every night laying on it. Your pillow is pretty important, don’t you agree?

Do you know how to pick the proper pillow? Do you think it’s just a matter of what feels the most comfortable? Or is it about your ability to “scrunch it all up” with your hands to make it what Goldilocks would call, “just right”! From a chiropractic standpoint, here’s what’s important about selecting a pillow:

* When sleeping on your side, your pillow should support your head so that your head, neck and shoulders are INLINE with your middle and lower spine. Side sleepers may also want to use a spacer pillow between your knees for maximum spine alignment. 

* When sleeping on your back, your head and neck should be aligned with your spine.

* Pillows that are too thick or too thin generally do not support the head to maintain proper spinal alignment. Foam materials that mold to your head and “spring back” often provide good support.

* Your pillow should also support different sleep positions because you don’t remain in the same position all night! You should, however, avoid sleeping on your stomach – this is the worst sleep position for your neck and spine.

* Make sure the pillow is made of hypoallergenic (non-allergic) materials.

If you have any problems with your neck or headaches I recommend the use of cervical pillows, usually made from foam or memory foam, which have a concave middle and are raised in the area where your neck lies. These pillows support the head and neck properly and help to alleviate neck pain. 

Regardless of the type of pillow you use, keep one thing in mind – just as mattresses don’t last forever, neither do pillows! Over time, pillows become breeding grounds for dust mites and they get lumpy or flat and are less supportive as a result. Is it time to go pillow shopping? If so, please ask us what we recommend to get the optimal support and pain relief you need! Remember, it’s not about symptoms, it’s about prevention.

 

Dr. Mace Richter, Chiropractor in El Cajon, CA

Filed Under: Chiropractic, Chiropractic Tips, health, Natural Remedies Tagged With: , , , ,

Health tips from your El Cajon Chiropractor

January 11, 2012 by 3 Comments

Everything we do either increases your energy or takes it away.  Here are some tips for you to increase and maintain energy and better health:

* Drink 8 glasses of water a day – dilution is the solution to pollution.

* Eat 8 fruits and/or veggetables a day (Preferrably organic).

* Deacrease processed food – full of slowing fillers and taste enhancers – mostly anything in a box and including fast food.

* Limit refined carbohydrates and sugars.

* Eat breakfast and six small meals a day.

* Eat good fats – Omega 3′s (fish/tuna oil), flax, olive oil, avocado.

* Get 8 hours of sleep a night or get the best quality sleep you can.

* Limit caffeine and energy drinks – if you can’t live without them it’s time for a detoxification.

* Exercise 30 minutes every day.

* Get adjusted (chiropractic) regularly. Getting adjusted is like fine tuning a radio to your favorite station. Taking away the static on the nervous system so you can live your life to the fullest extent.

Mace Richter, Chiropractor El Cajon

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