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San Leandro Chiropractor

Major Don’ts During Low Back Pain

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LOW BACK PAINEveryone is experiencing lower back pain sooner or later in their lifetime. However, when that time come many sufferers are ready to do anything for the pain to go away. Over the past ten years I have seen people doing all kind of things by an advice of a friend, neighbor or a close relative. My mind was always wondering: “How is that supposed to help a soft tissue injury or misaligned vertebrae?” Some of these recommendations will do more harm to lower back than help. Dr. Orly Avlzur advises to avid the major none professional recommendations.

Bed Rest is not a good idea at all. During prolonged bed rest lower back muscles loose their tone and can lead to a greater pain. Also prolonged supine position can cause loss of lumbar lordosis. One must move around and stretch. That is correct, physical activity is in favor against resting state. Do you remember those days when you get up from a bed and everything is sore in your body. As a day progresses thing seems to get better and the pain level goes significantly down.

People need to learn how to listen to their bodies. It is not recommended to sit up straight during pain with certain lumbar spine conditions. This position can cause an excessive pressure on already pinched lumbar nerve root. Short periods of fetal positioning may help alleviate this pain. Posture has a direct relationship to the health condition of your spine. Read this post – “Why is Posture so Important” and “Stabilizer Muscles’on Role on Role in Injury Prevention.”

People must watch how much they eat. Pendulous Abdominus will cause alteration in a lumbar lordosis and will eventually cause lower back pain. If you are already over weight please consider changing your diet. Getting rid of refined products, white bread and sodas will do good to not only your back but an overall well being.  Weight gain can expedite lumbar disc degeneration.

Some buy shoe orthotics with the hope that it will help the pain. These orthotics only work for rare conditions when one leg is shorter than the other. But for most part they will not resolve lower back pain. I always emphasize to my female patients to avoid frequent use of high hill shoes. They will also increase lumbar lordosis.

Several studies suggest that people who suffer from low back pain actually benefit more from a medium-firm mattress. Why? If a mattress is too firm, it won’t support the body evenly and may cause discomfort at the heaviest points like hips and shoulders. If the mattress is too soft, a sleeper could sink into the bed and have a harder time moving, which could cause stiffness and pain come morning. Having a slightly softer mattress places less compression on your body and may grant you a better night’s sleep. Take a look at this post on how to chose a mattress.

Do not use surgery as the first choice of therapy. Surgery is recommended when a patient is experiencing serious motor or nerve deficit. Many common back problems can be fixed by your local chiropractor. If you are a local Bay Area resident try our facility at San Leandro Chiropractic Clinic. And not everyone that undergoes surgery is happy with the end result. A 2009 survey of almost 1000 consumerreports.org subscribers who had undergone surgery for low back pain found only 60 percent said they were completely or very satisfied with the results of their operation.

While the advice is sound and it’s better to: bend at your knees, not at your waist; lift using your leg muscles; tighten your abdominal muscles; and hold the object close to your body – if you have a known back problem, like a herniated disc, it’s best to avoid strenuous lifting entirely. It’s fairly common for me to see return patients who get into trouble because they continued to lift heavy weights at the gym, moved furniture, or shoveled snow.

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Ways To Deal With Anxiety

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ANXIETYModern American life is very stressful and many people start a new day with anxiety.  So, what is anxiety? According to wikipedia: anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is “to vex or trouble”, in ether the absence or presence of psychological stress, it can create feelings of fear, worry uneasiness and dread. This condition is considered to be a normal reaction to a stressor. It may help a person to deal with a difficult situation by prompting one to cope with it. When this condition is to excessive, it may fall under the classification of anxiety disorder.

Dealing with anxiety is best done before it reaches the breakdown pint. Those who have advanced stage will have to find a professional help. However, most of the people can cope with this condition on their own.

SLEEP:

My teacher used to say: “Sleep is your weapon.” If one lacks it on a regular bases it is impossible to concentrate on important daily tasks. A good night sleep is very important for the body to regenerate the nervous system after a long and stressful day and it also helps to rest other important physiological processes that are taking place in our body. Our body has its own physiological clock and it likes to keep sleeping and eating habits at the same time. This will allow the body to run smoothly. It is imperative that you do these two essential things at the same time as much as possible.

FOOD:

Stay away from foods that contain too much sugar and too much sodium. These foods will cause inflammation process in your body. Have you ever seen people with swollen faces? Guess what – it is the diet that is responsible for it. Consume anti-inflammatory diet full of low sugar  and sodium foods, vegetables, omega-3s, plant based protein – almond, walnuts and many other nuts will do the job. These foods will help to keep the mood stable and blood sugar level in check.

EXERCISE:

It is not a secret that one must have vigorous cardiovascular exercise at least three times a week for 30 minutes. It will help excrete excess toxins from your body. Exercise will stimulate production of endorphins in your body and is an awesome way to de-stress. If time is the limiting factor try to walk around your office. One must find time to exercise. Keeping this schedule on regular bases will add years to a healthy and productive lifestyle.

STRETCHING:

As you age, the muscles in your body tighten and range of motion in the joints can be minimized. This can put a damper on active lifestyle and even hinder day-to-day, normal motions. Tasks that used to be simple, such as zipping up a dress or reaching for a can off the top shelf, now becomes extremely difficult. A regular stretching program can help lengthen your muscles and make daily living activities easier. Performing stretching on daily bases is very important and will help to cope with anxiety. It does not take much time and will provide a great benefit for your body and mind.

Below are some benefits

  • Reduced muscle tension
  • Increased range of motion
  • Enhanced muscle coordination
  • Increased blood circulation
  • Increased energy level

MUSIC:

A study from University of Michigan proves that music therapy relieves health anxiety. One must use this tool if music brings the joy to a life. Find music that matches your mood. Music can support you through a multitude of emotions.

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New Orleans Lifestyle for a Health Conscious Individual

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NEW ORLEANSThis post is going to go live on Monday while I will be somewhere in the air flying Southwest Airline back to San Francisco Bay Area. My recent trip to New Orleans had filled my brain cells with lots of great traveling experience. It is definitely a great city to visit with its rich history. French Quarter is an amazing place to hang out. It has a great variety of different tours. To name a few: steam boat ride along the Mississippi River, Bus Tours, Vampire Tours, Swamp Tours, Carriage Ride and many others. The city is intermixed with French, Spanish and American roots. You can see it in architecture of buildings – which are absolutely beautiful and something that you will only be able to see in New Orleans.

During a boat tour along the Mississippi river I found out that Domino Sugar Refinery is producing six millions pounds of sugar a day. The Port of New Orleans is at the center of the world’s busiest port complex – Louisiana’s Lower Mississippi River. Its proximity to the American Midwest via a 14,500-mile inland waterway system, six Class One railroads and the interstate highway system makes New Orleans the port of choice for the movement of cargoes such as steel, rubber, coffee, containers and manufactured goods.

I am not going to bore you any longer with a history and facts. The purpose of this blog post is to describe my experience about health consciousness of this historic town. The number one thing that was really unpleasant that restaurants are allowing smocking inside. It is really unpleasant experience for someone who does not smoke and really a huge turn off for someone who travels with kids, which was in our case. Many Southerners are chain smokers. People are smoking everywhere here, and smoking a lot. Many individuals are overweight. I guess it has to do with too much heat, humidity and unbalanced diet. People just don’t have a chance to get out for a walk during spring and summer time as it is getting really hot in here. When we ate out the menu choices from different restaurants were not very healthy. With few substitutions we were able to manage to get a semi healthy meal. Very famous beignets from Café du Monde were a huge disappointment. After eating one I felt like my organs were shutting down one by one. It is just deep fried flower and covered with a ton of powdered sugar. The place is packed 24 hours a day and is one of the busiest tourist attractions. I guess it is one of the few things a visitor must experience, which I did.

Dinner at Irene’s Cuisine was absolutely fabulous and healthy but was discovered by speaking to a local resident. If you are in French Quarter of NOLA I highly recommend it to you, comes with a price and long wait. That was the lightest and healthiest food I have eaten in the past five days being here. Breakfast at Bistreaux of Maison Dupuy Hotel was another healthy alternative and excellent service.

Overall my family and myself have enjoyed the stay and everything this beautiful city has to offer. I personally think it should be on every ones bucket list. Hopefully you have enjoyed this semi negative review about my trip to NOLA.

 

Facts About Hospital Errors

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HOSPITAL ERRORS

Studies show that medical errors can occur in about one-third of hospital admissions. It is really scary to admit but the facts point out that medical errors are about 10 times more common than what was previously estimated. One study is authored by David C. Classen, MD who is an associate professor of the Salt Lake City’s University of Utah in medicine. Dr. Classen used a new tracking tool to be able to accurately determine where and what areas the common medical errors happen and for them to focus on improving these areas. He doesn’t want to ruin his profession by exposing these medical errors but his main goal is to promote awareness with his fellow physicians with what they need to improve in these areas. Through voluntary reporting and other methods, Dr. Classen was able to develop a new tracking method for determining medical errors.

Protecting Patients From Common Hospital Errors
To name a few most common hospital errors include some medication related issues, hospital acquired infection and procedure mistakes. These are the most common ones which Dr. Classen’s procedure was able to determine. But according to him, proper knowledge by asking question and talking with the physician could reduce the risk of medical errors.It is very important for a patients to know why they are taking certain medication and what effects does it bring to their body when they start taking it. And talking to the physician that would be responsible for the patient’s surgery is also very important. Talking with the physician about all the steps involved and asking questions that might be difficult for a patient to understand are just some of the important procedures that are sometimes taken for granted. A patient should also make sure that when they will undergo certain surgery they should bring an advocate, either a family or a friend that could watch over things and can also help them get a clearer view of things.There are times when a surgery needs to use certain devices like urinary catheter. A patient should ask their physician daily of when they will remove it. Because sometimes infection might develop through this and it should be removed as soon as it is no longer necessary.
Looking For A Second Opinion
It is very important that a patient should seek for a second opinion if they are not satisfied with the findings of their first physician. Some conditions has numerous ways of treatment and there are also several conditions which have the same symptoms and different physicians might have different findings.Another patient safety expert Peter Pronovost, MD believes that the new tracking tool is way too far from fail-safe. He is a professor at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine on anesthesiology and critical care medicine. According to him this tool is not really a good measure of the hospital errors problem.Though patients should be very careful in choosing where they will have their surgeries, like researching about the hospital’s bloodstream infection rate and such. And they should make sure that the physician that would handle the operation has a lot of experience in that area. Even in the medical field practice really makes it perfect says Dr. Pronovost. Though he doesn’t deny the fact that this new tracking tool shows the need for patient awareness and system improvement on the medical field, it is just another call to action to raise awareness on hospital errors.

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