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Don’t wake up in pain
Sleep is a vital biological function. It is essential to physical and emotional wellness. No matter what age you are, limited sleep can affect every aspect of your lifestyle –from work to home to personal relationships. When your body works well, you sleep well.
The position your spine is in while you sleep is critical to your spinal health. The spine naturally curves forwards in the neck, backwards in the mid back and forwards again in the low back. In this position, the spine is relaxed with minimal pressure on nerves, muscles and spinal discs.
Sleeping Positions
Sleeping on your stomach will eventually create problems with your spine –it puts unnecessary pressure on your neck due to twisting of the head, and also strains your lower back.
Sleeping on your side is a better position for sleeping. Try lying with your lower leg fairly straight, and bend your upper leg at the hip and knee. Place a pillow between your upper knee and the bed. Alternatively, bend both knees and hips slightly and position a pillow between both knees. Your pillow should be the right height to keep the neck straight. It should mould to the shape of your head.
Sleeping on your back can also be a good position for sleeping. It is often useful to place a pillow under your knees. This may help reduce strain on the lower back. Your pillow will need to maintain the forward curve of the neck. If you have a fairly straight back, then you should use a thinner pillow than someone with rounded shoulders.
For many Canadians, the underlying cause for poor sleep is literally right under them! Improving your sleep quality can be as simple as sleeping on a better mattress.According to a recent study in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, compared to mattresses five years old or older, a new mattress provided sleepers with significant improvements including:
• 70.8% in sleep comfort
• 62.0% in sleep quality
• 55.3% in back pain
• 50.7% in spine stiffness
We spend a third of our lives in bed, so choosing the correct mattress and pillow is vital for getting straight to sleep.
Mattresses
How do I know it’s time to get a new mattress?
· Every five to seven years –manufacturers and chiropractors recommend replacing mattresses over this period.
· When sagging starts happening –saggy spots in a mattress result in people tensing their muscles to compensate for the uneven surface.
· When annoying peaks, dips or lumps show in the surface.
· When you experience lifestyle changes such as weight loss or gain, or a change in sleeping partners.
· If you are waking up sore with stiffness, aches or pains, it’s probably time to replace your mattress.
What should I look for in a mattress?
Research has shown that medium-firm mattresses reduce back pain, shoulder pain, spine stiffness and improve sleep quality.For people suffering from spinal health related conditions such as chronic low-back pain, it has been asserted that firm should remain the “first choice of patients.”
How can I look after my mattress?
Turn your mattress every few months so that body indentations are kept to a minimum. Body weight can impact on mattresses resulting in dips, peaks and an uneven surface. Refer to your bedding manufacturer’s advice for further information on mattress care.
Pillows
Pillows are often given little thought, but are extremely important in getting straight to sleep.
How do I know it’s time for a new pillow?
• As soon as your pillow becomes “squishy”.
• If you tend to fold your pillow in half for extra padding.
• If your pillow looks flat and lumpy, or the inside foam has become powdery and brittle.
What should I look for in a pillow?
There is no such thing as a ‘one size fits all’ for pillows, so make sure you try, try, try before you buy! However, there are some important things to look out for when shopping.
• A pillow should have enough give to allow your head to mould into it. If it doesn’t, it’s probably too firm and could result in neck pain. If your head sinks to the bottom, it’s probably too soft, and could result in strains and sprains of neck joints, ligaments and muscles.
• Pillows should support the space between your head and shoulders. Your head and neck should remain level with your mid and lower spine.
• In many cases, you get what you pay for. While many ergonomic pillows on the market may seem expensive, they are more likely to provide long term spinal health benefits.
TIPS FOR QUALITY SLEEP
• Ensure you have a comfortable, supportive mattress and pillow.
• Adopt a healthy posture in bed. Don’t sleep on your stomach! Lying on your side and back are the best sleeping positions.
• Establish a sleep schedule.
• Reduce your caffeine intake –avoid it 4 to 6 hours before bed.
• Use the bedroom for sleeping only –24 hour accessibility of TVs and computers can disrupt normal sleeping patterns.
• Avoid alcohol before bedtime, as it can cause you to wake up during the night.
• Exercise at least 30 minutes a day, but avoid high intensity physical exercise just before bedtime. If exercising in the evening, try to do so at least 2‐3 hours before going to sleep.
• Relax before bedtime. Try to forget about work and paying the bills before bedtime!
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Is your injury making you fat?
You run 6 days a week, do some strength training on the 7th day and eat whatever the hell you want because you burn so many calories during the week.
You just sprained your ankle and now you start running on it before its healed, throwing off your stride and suddenly you hear your knee pop as you fall to the ground.
Now what?
You stop running…. you don’t work out at all because you are in pain and your doctor told you not to put any weight on your leg for atleast 3 weeks. So you stay at home and now you have all this extra time because you aren’t out running. What do you do? You pick up a new hobby… eating! You eat because your knee hurts, you eat to make yourself feel better, you eat to fill the void from not running, you eat because you feel like crap and then you eat some more. This is probably not the best idea.
The key is to prevent the injury before it takes you away from the activities you love and if you do get injured, get treated right away so that you can resume activity earlier.
A good Chiropractor can treat the sprains and strains that go along with an athletic lifestyle and also incorporate an exercise program into your treatment plan to reduce or prevent future injuries. Regular maintenance activities such as weekly Aqua Massages and daily stretching can keep you limber and help your body recover from injuries faster.
Runners are prone to tight psoas and piriformis muscles which can throw off the alignment of the pelvis. With regular myofascial release of these muscles and mobilizations/adjustments to the Sacroiliac joint, a runners performance and endurance can be increase and injuries reduced.
So your injuries don’t have to make you fat. Take care of yourself and your body will take care of you.
You can treat your body to an Aqua Massage and Injury rehabilitation at the[clinic] in Toronto. If you do not live in the Toronto area, find a chiropractic clinic that offers sports injury rehabilitation and massage therapy. And don’t forget to stretch!
the[clinic] was founded in 2008 by Dr. Liza Egbogah and Dr. Rhuel Maano as Toronto’s first and only executive chiropractic practice. In addition to chiropractic care, the[clinic] also offers corporate wellness programs, aqua massage therapy, injury rehabilitation, and custom orthotics, all in the heart of Toronto’s Financial District.
http://www.theclinic-toronto.com/
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My head aches
Headache Prevention and Treatment
For most people, headache symptoms usually begin gradually. In fact, the sudden onset of severe headache may signify a serious problem and requires immediate medical attention. The most common headache is often described as achy, dull or throbbing pain. It typically begins at the base of the skull/upper part of the neck and may radiate into the eye(s), the temple, or other locations. Headaches may be felt on one or both sides of the head. Often loud noises or bright lights may make them worse. Some patients may become nauseated or experience odd smells, sounds, or sights before and during the headache attack.
How Is a Headache Evaluated?
Early diagnosis and treatment are important in identifying a serious underlying cause for your headache. In most cases, an in-depth history and physical examination can help determine if your symptoms are related to an easily treated problem, or if it is more serious. Your doctor can use other tests that reproduce the symptoms of your headache to help develop a specific management plan for your condition, or refer you to another health care provider. X-rays, laboratory tests and even advanced imaging studies like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be necessary.
What Is the Treatment for Headaches?
Headache treatment is cause-related. Doctors of chiropractic often treat patients with tension-type headaches, migraines and headaches caused by problems with the joints and muscles in the neck, as well.
Joint manipulation and mobilization of the neck, along with stretching and strengthening exercises, have been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of this type of headache.
Massage and other forms of soft-tissue treatment can sometimes be helpful. Scientists are also investigating other therapies, such as laser therapy, to prevent and treat this disorder. Over-the-counter pain relievers, such as acetaminophen, can be used for an occasional headache, but not for long-term headache management. More serious causes of headache require aggressive treatment, and your doctor of chiropractic can assist you in finding a medical headache specialist. The majority of patients with headache recover completely after treatment. Unfortunately, the recurrence rate is relatively high, particularly with tension-type headache. If you have any questions or concerns about headache, feel free to discuss them with your doctor or chiropractic.
What Causes Headaches?Headaches can be primary and secondary. Primary headaches do not result from some other health condition. The most common type of primary headache is caused by problems with the neck muscles. Changes in the blood vessels inside the skull usually cause migraines. Other common types of headache include “cluster” headaches—headaches grouped together over weeks at a time; sinus headaches, associated with allergies and/or sinus infection; and headaches from poor vision. Secondary headaches result from some other cause or condition—head injury, concussion, blood vessel problems, or high blood pressure—or from side effects of some medications, infections in the head or sinuses or elsewhere in the body. Rare headache causes include tumors, aneurysms and other abnormal growths inside the skull, and toxic substances in the blood. Certain foods, such as monosodium glutamate (MSG), a food flavor enhancer, may cause headaches, as well.
How Can Headaches Be Prevented?
Muscle-tension headaches can often be avoided by maintaining proper posture and neck movements while performing your normal activities.
You should:
Avoid slouching
Avoid reading with your neck bent forward
Keep your computer monitor at eye level
Take frequent breaks from reading and working on the computer.
Try a low-fat, high-complex carbohydrate diet. A recent study demonstrated that such a diet can dramatically lower the frequency, intensity, and\duration of migraine headaches
Dr. Liza Egbogah is a chiropractor and executive director of the[clinic] in Toronto.
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Ouch. Its Plantar Fasciitis
When your first few steps out of bed in the morning cause severe pain in the heel of your foot, you may have plantar fasciitis. It’s an overuse injury affecting the sole or flexor surface (plantar) of the foot. A diagnosis of plantar fasciitis means you have inflamed the tough, fibrous band of tissue (fascia) connecting your heel bone to the base of your toes. Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel pain in adults.
Symptoms
You’re more likely to get the condition if you’re a woman, if you’re overweight, or if you have a job that requires a lot of walking or standing on hard surfaces. You’re also at risk if you walk or run for exercise, especially if you have tight calf muscles that limit how far you can flex your ankles. People with very flat feet or very high arches are also more prone to plantar fasciitis.
The condition starts gradually with mild pain at the heel bone often referred to as a stone bruise. You’re more likely to feel it after (not during) exercise. The pain classically occurs again after arising from a midday lunch break.
If you don’t treat plantar fasciitis, it may become a chronic condition. You may not be able to keep up your level of activity and you may also develop symptoms of foot, knee, hip and back problems because of the way plantar fasciitis changes the way you walk.
TREATMENTS
Rest
Rest is the first treatment for plantar fasciitis. Try to keep weight off your foot until the inflammation goes away. You can also apply ice to the sore area for 10 minutes three or four times a day to relieve your symptoms.
Exercises
A program of home exercises to stretch your Achilles tendon and plantar fascia are the mainstay of treating the condition and lessening the chance of recurrence. Your chiropractor or therapist may prescribe exercises to to stretch the calf musculature and plantar fascia as well as strengthening exercises.
Rehabilitation
About 90 percent of people with plantar fasciitis improve significantly after two months of initial treatment. You may be advised to use shoes with shock-absorbing soles or fitted with a custom orthotic device. Your foot may be taped into a specific position. You may also be treated with ultrasound or laser therapy as well as soft tissue techniques used to release the plantar fascia.
If your plantar fasciitis continues after a few months of conservative treatment, your doctor may inject your heel with steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (corticosteroid). If you still have symptoms, you may need to wear a walking cast for two to three weeks or positional splint when you sleep. In a few cases, you might need surgery to release your ligament.
Remember to consult with your Chiropractor or Family doctor to effectively diagnose your condition before undergoing treatment.
Dr. Liza Egbogah is a chiropractor and executive director of the[clinic] in Toronto.
