Can the Car Ride Cushion Shake up the Chiropractic Industry?

June 8, 2018 by drburt

Can the Car Ride Cushion Shake up the Chiropractic Industry?

How does a valuable medical innovation start?

In today’s entrepreneur-focused world, innovation driven by individuals touches even the medical world. Although traditional medical establishments offer us new guidelines and forms of treatments, it’s often up to solo creators to come up with devices that can help people stay healthy and safe in their day-to-day lives.

However, just because an invention is new doesn’t mean it’s effective. Can a car ride cushion effectively prevent kids from needing a chiropractor later in life? That’s what one new invention from a chiropractor named Dr Cormier claims to do.

In this article, we’ll take a look at whether or not these cushions stand a chance of combating back pain, neck pain, and other issues that can start in childhood. Keep reading to find out whether or not they’re a good investment for your family.

What is the Car Ride Cushion?

The name “car ride cushion” is vague, so the concept merits some explanation.

James Cormier, a chiropractor based in Massachusetts, was inspired by a photo to create the cushions. Two years ago, his sister-in-law snapped a picture of Cormier’s son, who was 7 at the time. The exhausted kid had fallen asleep in the car, hunched over against his seatbelt, as kids often do.

Although Cormier appreciated the picture, it also got him thinking ― specifically, about his son’s spine. As a chiropractor, he knew the slumped position was far from ideal. Yet kids who fell asleep in the car were almost always hunched over or reclined at an odd angle that put the spine out of alignment. What was the long-term toll of the hours spent in these positions?

Dr Cormier decided to develop his own solution to the potential problems this could cause. He came up with a set of cushions that attach to car seat anchors so they’re on each side of the child’s head. The process was fast ― he began designing prototypes in 2016 and had the invention patented and up for sale by 2017.

Cormier believes letting children sleep in unnatural positions can cause a whole host of problems with the spine and nervous system. Is he right? Let’s take a closer look at the science behind his claim.

The Importance of Good Posture in Youth

Anyone with a desk job ― and most people without one ― know the importance of good posture. Strain, pain, fatigue, and more serious issues can all come from hours spent hunched over at a desk or in front of the TV.

Parents with children have to monitor not just their own posture, but their child’s posture too. Heavier backpacks and more time spent in front of screens make combating poor posture in young children more difficult than it once was.

However, recognizing that good posture matters isn’t the same as recognizing why it matters. Good posture isn’t just a matter of etiquette: Research shows that it’s actually crucial to proper anatomical development.

What is Posture?

Posture specifically refers to the way the body is aligned and positioned to hold up against the constant pull of gravity. For example, gravity makes it tempting to let our heavy heads hang forward, while good posture fights against this pull to keep the spine aligned.

Gravity affects the body in all positions, including sitting, standing, and lying down; and it affects all parts of the body. When our posture is good, the bones can do the majority of the weight-supporting work, giving the muscles a much-needed break. This reduces potential muscular strain and injury, as well as damage to the ligaments and joints.

Proper posture requires the spine to be straight and the head and shoulders pulled back, with the ear aligned with the shoulder.

Poor posture can result in muscular dysfunction, spinal degeneration, and chronic pain. If poor posture starts in youth, there’s more time for issues like these to develop. Fostering good postural habits in youth also makes it easier for kids to keep their spines aligned when they become adults. If postural distortion starts at an early age, it’s much harder to break the pattern as an adult.

Childhood Posture Risk Factors

Many children start to develop bad postural habits around age 6, when they start going to school.

School-age children tend to spend a lot of time sitting at a desk, where they often slouch over without taking enough breaks to realign posture. When they get home, they may spend more time in the same position while doing homework. Add in the heavy backpacks and time spent playing video games or watching shows on a tablet, and there’s a recipe for poor posture throughout childhood.

Many schools have added postural analysis for their students to help fight this problem. Yearly analysis starting at age 6 can help catch postural distortion early, while it’s still easy to fix. It’s also important for teachers and parents to do their part to correct posture. This includes adding regular posture breaks for children to stand up and stretch.

However, parents often aren’t thinking about the posture issue when their child is asleep. A good mattress at home can help keep the spine properly aligned. But Dr Cormier and his customers believe posture cushions for the car will also make a difference in fighting childhood posture issues.

Will Car Ride Cushions Work?

The vast majority of childhood posture issues happen while the child is awake.

Hours spent at a school desk in a slumped position, combined with hours spent at home in the same position while doing homework or looking at a phone, add up to a potential posture disaster. Vigilant parents and teachers can help by instilling good posture habits from an early age.

Compared to all those high-risk posture hours at school and home, the time spent sleeping in a car is fairly minimal. Car ride cushions might help, but it depends on how often they’re really being used. For a family that doesn’t take many long car trips, there’s not much a car cushion can offer.

However, if your child does spend a significant amount of time asleep in the car, it might be worth the investment to keep their spine in alignment. The cushions will only work with children of a certain height, though, so they just offer a short-term solution until your child grows.

Cormier’s invention may not do much against the perils of bad posture at school and at home, and it won’t shake up the chiropractic industry in any significant way. However, it could become a valuable part of a good posture plan for some families. If you’d like to try it for yourself, you can look up car ride cushion on Amazon.

Video on Dr. Cormier’s invention

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About the Author

Andrew is the head editor for eChiropractor.org. eChiropractor.org is your one-stop shop for chiropractic news and techniques. We offer current research, actionable advice, and balanced viewpoints ― if you check us out, make sure you read our article about disc desiccation.

How to prevent aches and strains

November 15, 2017 by drburt

Back pain and neck pain are among the most common issues complained about by most travelers. Most of the time, we usually take it for granted until when it finally blows out. With holidays approaching, many people usually have plans to travel. It can be either by bus or if going abroad; many may use airplanes. It is during this time when most people claim on back and neck pains. This is usually because of sitting in a car or plane for long hours. It is apparent that with long hours of sitting in one position, it can lead to various complications such as stress, tiredness, and stiffness. A good reason as to why long-distance travelers experience such travel aches and pains. Travel ache can, however, be prevented in numerous ways. In this article we discuss some of them.

Travelling By Airplane

To avoid aches and strains, there are various methods you can apply for quick relief. According to HealthMax, Toronto Chiropractors, it is crucial that you should warm up and cool down both prior and after travel. A few stretches and workouts can be a great idea to drive the pains away hence leaving you much healthier.
You can use blankets to help you maintain the S curve of your spines
Avoid too much strain on your body by carrying luggage that does not exceed your weight. This is by ensuring that all your bags are checked thus being suitable for overhead lifting.
Ensure that you vary positions from time to time while sitting. Also, massaging your calves and legs can be a great idea. This not only makes you flexible but encourages blood circulation.
Shoulder and neck muscle tensions are usually caused by drafts. To avoid this, therefore, do not sit under air controls.

Travelling By Car

A good sitting position is usually with your knees slightly higher than your hips. If traveling by car, you can achieve this by adjusting your seats appropriately.
It is necessary to think about having a backrest/support to reduce discomfort. This is also a better way to prevent swelling risks that might occur much later after the journey.
Your legs are another part of you that might experience severe fatigue during traveling. This is always when you drive for long hours, and your legs have to perform the same routines for more extended hours. For these reasons, you can do various tactics such as opening your toes open for minutes and tighten your thigh and calf muscle amongst others.
Take into consideration the driving indications from your instructors.
A better way to reduce muscle fatigue and increase blood circulation, it is a good idea to loosen the grip on the steering wheel frequently.
During your journey, you can often take rest breaks to loosen your body.

As they normally say, prevention is always better than cure. For these reasons, it is better if you consider taking appropriate preventive measures before and after traveling. This will, without a doubt, ensure that you are safer from any possible back and neck pain. Various sites such as “Aruba tourism” a site focused on Aruba tourism, are a good guide on proper tips to avoid travel aches. This can be a better option for most exciting and safer trip.

How Can Seniors Benefit from Chiropractic Care?

September 25, 2017 by drburt

How Can Seniors Benefit from Chiropractic Care?

Various chronic conditions and health problems come with old age. These issues are most commonly linked to old age and are a problem for many seniors in the U.S. You can read about the most common senior health issues here

Among the most common chronic conditions, arthritis affects 31% of elderly U.S. citizens. Arthritis is an inflammation of the joints that causes stiffness and pain, decreasing the seniors’ mobility and causing constant pain. Seniors who suffer from arthritis usually have difficulty moving and have to hire a caregiver though companies like A Better Way in Home Care.

Fortunately, there are sure ways to prevent arthritis and treat its symptoms:

Regular exercise: at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.
Maintaining regular weight
Providing support for the arms, legs, and back
Try to avoid joint injuries
Quit smoking
Visit a chiropractor

Visiting a chiropractor has proven to be beneficial to seniors in more than one ways. Chiropractic care can provide numerous benefits to seniors, from pain relief to better motion and balance.

Here’s how seniors can benefit from chiropractic care:

It Improves Motor Skills

Chiropractic care is known to increase the range of motion both in the spine and the extremities. Seniors who don’t move too often are more in danger of suffering from limited motion due to the added risk factor of old age.

Needless to say, being able to move is extremely beneficial to seniors. They can socialize more and enjoy outdoor activities like walking, gardening or playing with their grandchildren. This is by far the chiropractic care benefit seniors cherish the most.

It Prevents Joint Degenerations

A misaligned spine can lead to other serious issues across the body, mainly, degeneration of the joints. As time passes, seniors experience decreased mobility and severe joint pains.

Visiting a chiropractor is an effective way of battling joint degeneration by treating the source of the problem: the spine. With the body aligned properly, the risk of joints degenerating is severely minimized.

It Provides Pain Relief

Chiropractic care is often hailed as one of the most effective pain relief methods without the use of medication. It helps alleviate everything from headaches, to back pains and arthritis. Pain medications and drugs only temporarily suppress the pain, while chiropractic care takes a different approach by eliminating the cause rather than the symptom.

It Improves Overall Health

There are so many ways a properly aligned spine can change a senior’s health and even the mood for the better. After going to a chiropractor, seniors will feel revitalized and able to exercise, enjoy better sleep and feel energized.

This means they will be able to spend more time with their families and friends, enjoy fun activities and do things on their own. This will undoubtedly do wonders for their confidence, health, and mood.

How to Have the Best Sleep: Chiropractic and Sleep

July 4, 2017 by drburt

How to Have the Best Sleep: Chiropractic and Sleep

The Field of Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine which is getting more attention nowadays. As with most alternative forms of medicine, chiropractic always get reactions full of skepticism and doubt. A lot of people considered chiropractic as a western form of acupuncture and oriental massage. A lot of individuals even find the field as a gimmick or a way for people to make a quick buck out of someone gullible enough to believe in some outlandish practice. Chiropractic, by definition, is the diagnosis and treatment of disorders that concern the musculoskeletal system.

Most practitioners of Chiropractic believe that these problems affect how the body functions via the nervous system. The basics of chiropractic heavily involve physical manipulation of the spine and neck. Chiropractors, those who practice chiropractic, are split into two different groups: The “Straights” which are more keen on unfounded beliefs and practices regarding chiropractic. The other group is otherwise known as “Mixers” are the more preferred group which believes in modern and conventional medicine such as massage therapy, exercise, and diet.

People who seek treatment for lower back pain, often go to chiropractors to relieve them of their chronic pain. Chiropractors also believe that spinal manipulation can alleviate a multitude of conditions such as bad posture, problems with appetite, headaches, and sleeping problems.It is a well-known fact that sleep affects people in a lot of ways. Getting enough sleep is healthy and good for the body while getting more or less sleeping hours is dangerous. With chiropractic, here are some good ways to improve sleeping habits.

Position

Most people sleep on their backs. What a lot of them don’t know is that sleeping on one’s back can increase the risk of having sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a dangerous condition where the body pauses to breathe which usually lasts for a minute to an hour in most extreme cases. Sleep apnea if left untreated, can cause high blood pressure, aneurysms, diabetes, heart disease, etc. Contrary to some beliefs, sleeping on your left side is an excellent way to prevent neck and back pain when waking up. Research believes that sleeping on the left can relieve heartburn. For pregnant mothers, the left side is also good because it significantly improves circulation, good for both the mom and baby inside the womb. Sleeping on the stomach is the worst possible position for a person to sleep. Although sleeping on one’s stomach can prevent sleep apnea and aid in digestion, the weight created by the body puts a lot of pressure on the spine. The lower back also gets a lot of that pressure and will eventually cause the neck to turn at such an unnatural angle. With the neck being in such a strange position for prolonged hours, the risk of spinal and neck injury significantly increase.

Exercise

Part of a healthy lifestyle is getting enough exercise. Training enables the body to have a healthy circulation needed to help better itself. Exercise also helps build up the muscles of the body so that it can better contribute to supporting the body’s weight. Exercise should be during the day, where the body is still alert and active. Exercising before going to bed is bad because heat is retained in the body making you sweat. A fast heartbeat resulting from rigorous movement can also interfere with normal sleeping patterns.

Mattresses

Choose a bed that will adequately support the spine and the body. Make sure that the bed isn’t too soft, as it will bring the body down, forcing another strange position. Sleeping in these positions can cause a lot of problems such as neck and back pain. Another weird thing an improper bed does to a person is that it may cause them to snore. Snoring is done when the lungs make the tissues of the airway vibrate. These often result in a snort-like sleep during sleep. Snoring can affect a person’s breathing while he or she sleeps. Snoring is also a sign of impending diseases such as heart problems and diabetes.

Regular Chiropractic Sessions

Due to some decompression by spinal manipulation during chiropractic adjustments, people often find relief in their sleeping problems. A lot of them report that their sleeping habits are better after a session with their chiropractor.

Takeaway

Chiropractic and sleeping patterns come hand in hand when it comes to overall health. When a person has healthy habits coupled with regular sleeping hours, a healthy lifestyle is insured. A lot of benefits such as relief from heartburn and better circulation is just a few of what people can expect from sleeping in the right position and the right bed.

Author Bio

Rachel Minahan is a writer and a blogger. Although she is an interior designer by heart, her passion falls within writing. She particularly loves writing about health, lifestyle, food, and sleep. She often cites Beds Online as her reference when writing. In her free time, Rachel enjoys playing with her pet cat named Cookie.