Top Chiropractor in San Leandro, CA

San Leandro Chiropractor

Wellness Chiropractic Care or Symptom Based Care

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Wellness or PainThis month I have seen my three old patients who have not received chiropractic care for a very long time. The treatment gap varies for each of them. For one patient it was a year and a half, for another nine months, and for the third one it was six months gap. All three patients made an appointment to see me because their pain symptoms got so bad that none of them could function properly on day to day bases. Their quality of life has gone down to the point that it was basically a painful existence.

I have asked all of these patients the same question.  “Why would you wait for so long that your pain level has gone to the point that you can not enjoy your activities of daily living?” The first patient told me that He felt good for a long time since he saw me last time and gradually his symptoms reappeared and got worse. This gentleman has to seat in his office chair for 10 hours a day six days a week. When he walked in to my office his posture looked like a question mark.  Pretty scare stuff. He was crying like a baby when my massage therapist was working on his soft tissue. The second person was a patient who had a sport injury while skiing. Her neck and mid back were in pretty bad shape. The worse symptom was her eye site. She was loosing it very rapidly. Prescription glasses had to be replaced every other month. About twelve sessions of therapy brought her eye site back to normal, to the point where she did not need to wear any glasses. Neck and mid back pain has disappeared. Good results in a relatively short period of time. Third person had a bad case of TMJ. After several sessions utilizing SOT technique and some other tools his problem was resolved and he was very pleased with the results.

My advice to all of these three patients was to come back once a month for maintenance cares. I like to compare our bodies to a vehicle.  Everyone changes oil in their vehicle every 3000-5000 miles depending on the oil they use. After certain mileage we change tires, rotate them and balance the wheels. Tune up is a must for every car and changing brake pads is an inevitable process. Human body needs the same thing.

Every day stress creates micro injuries in our bodies. These micro injuries turn into more serious problem over time. For some it takes longer for some it takes much faster. Maintenance or Wellness care is the same thing as the tune up for your vehicle, oil change, and brake pad replacement. Without these basic things the vehicle will not run properly, and eventually will brake down. The same thing will happen to our bodies in a form of pain and eventually disease. My question is:  “Is it better to have a healthy quality of life or to live in a miserable existence.” Choice is always yours.

Healthy Neck and Ergonomic Office Chair for a Professional

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bad postureMillions of people all over the word wonder how to eliminate their neck problems. Many people ignore the basic principle of a good posture, thus inviting stiff cervical spine pain which slows down productivity and degrades the quality of life. Individual won’t even realize how often he or she will be slouching during a day or sitting wrong. For those of you where living depends on sitting for prolonged hours in front of the computer, chronic neck pain due to strain and overuse of  muscles is inevitable. It is important to catch yourself slouching and prevent doing it in the future. If you find yourself in the situation where pain during working hours in front of the computer becomes a daily occurrence, stretches and exercises for your neck is a must. Additional exercises such as Isometric Neck Exercise would be a great addition to keep your spine healthy.

Another great way to keep your neck healthy is by using an ergonomic desk chair. An ergonomic desk chair should help increase back and neck support to help improve posture and prevent slouching. Employees frequently experience back pain because they sit in their chairs for long periods of time. This increases stress in the spine, neck, arms, shoulders, and legs as well as in various muscles. A chair that isn’t ergonomically friendly can also aggravate existing conditions. READ MORE…

If you get to the point that exercises and stretches do not help to coop with pain and work productivity it is time to visit a health care professional who specializes in soft tissue rehabilitation. Local Chiropractor, Acupuncturist, Physical Therapy and CMT comes to mind.

Pain is a warning sign that there is something wrong with your neck or other body part that is hurting. Ignoring the warning signs can be the cause of the osteoarthritis in your vertebral joints. Osteoarthritis is irreversible condition that will only get worse when a person ages. Overuse of neck muscles can aggravate neck arthritis, take ample rest. Check these simple but a very helpful charts – Helpful Hints For a Healthy Neck and Exercises For Cervical Strain.

Question: if you have any additional tips and advices please feel free to leave them in our comment section.

Chronic Headaches and Natural Healing Remedies

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headache

The definition of chronic headache – occurs about 15 times a month during 3 months period.  There are primary and secondary cephalgias. The primary one includes – migraine, tension type and cluster headaches. Very frequent or prolonged ones are know as the chronic cephalgias. Medical conditions such as infections or intracranial pressure will be classified as secondary headaches. The percentage of the secondary headaches is very small.

There are varieties of treatments available for different types of headaches. Prescription medications such as, beta blockers, Analgesics, antidepressant and injection of anesthetics are used for headaches treatment. These medications are only providing temporary relief and are not treating the cause of the problem. Frequent use of these medications will loose the therapeutic effect. Many have serious side effects. There are varieties of alternative therapies for pain relief which are quite as effective and without any side effects.

  1. Meditation, Hypnosis, Biofeedback, and Yoga – these are stress management and relaxation techniques therapy.
  2. Dehydration could be another cause of headaches: Drinking up to eight glasses of water a day can help you lessen the onset of headaches and be in optimal health.
  3. Massage therapy is a great way to relieve stress. Massaging scalp, forehead, sub occipital muscles and neck could help relieve the headaches
  4. Acupuncture can help relief the muscle tension.
  5. Ice pack can be used in a dry towel. Apply it to your forehead for 10-15 minutes every waking hour. Cold reduces the inflammation and relaxes tense muscles.
  6. Watch what you eat. Many of us are allergic to certain food and often times do not even aware of that.
  7. Avoid Caffeine at all times. Products such as tea, chocolate, certain medications, and some drinks contain caffeine. If used on regular bases, dependency is inevitable and can develop withdrawing of the substance which may lead to severe headaches.
  8. Foods such as: Aged Cheese , Vinegar (relish, salad, sauces, catsup), organ meat (kidney, liver), alcoholic beverages ( red wine in particular), Sour cream, Yogurt, some processed meat, yeast extracts pickles, onions, olives, fava beans, raisins, nuts, avocados and canned soups all contain Tramline. Tramline is a substance that has been found in certain foods after a breakdown of protein
  9. Food preservative and additives: MSG (Monosodium Glutamate), aspartame, saccharine, nuts, hot dogs, ham, sausage, bacon, luncheon meats, Chinese foods, caned soups, dressing, mayonnaises, frozen foods and potato chips. Many of these additives in food could be the cause of nasty headaches.
  10. Salt intake reduction will help to eliminate headaches, excessive amount of salt can and will cause headaches.
  11. Aromatherapy: Olfactory nerve or cranial nerve #1 will be stimulated by this therapy. This method of healing has been around for centuries.
  12. Reflexology:  This type of therapy seems to help some but not all headache sufferers. It is worth a try as there is no side effect from this procedure.
  13. Avoid triggers. Many things such as particular foods, stress, and direct sun light can trigger headaches. Try to avoid these triggers in the future and save yourself form needless suffering.
  14. This list would not be complete without mentioning Chiropractic Care. Your local chiropractor can help with tension, long lasting and severe headaches.

Finally, it’s important to note that frequent or severe headaches may be symptoms of another illness or disorder. If you experience frequent or severe headaches, or headaches that are accompanied by other symptoms, such as nausea, vision problems, or dizziness, you might want to make an appointment with your doctor to get an accurate diagnosis and effective treatments.  Headaches can be a sign of many different things, always consult your health care provider for any health care concerns you may have.

Question: Do you know any additional information about natural headache relief? Please leave your answer in a comment section.

Infant Chiropractic Adjustment

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Infant Chiropractic AdjustmentLast week I was visiting my family in New York City. My sister had her third child, beautiful and healthy baby boy – Gabriel. As soon as I saw my nephew my professional eye has noticed that his head was bent to the left at all times. Either he was laying down in his bed or held in hands the position of his head would not change. I could not help myself but perform a digital palpation of this one month old baby and figure out what was happening.

A little bit about the birth history. The first two children were born normally without any complications. However, the third child was born via C section. It is kind of strange because statistically the second and the third child should be relatively an easy birth. Unfortunately for my sister the last addition to the family was positioned wrong and normal delivery via birth canal would not be possible at all. This prolonged abnormal positioning in a mother’s womb was the cause of the left lateral neck tilt.

During digital palpation I have noticed that the paraspinal musculature on a right side of Gabriel’s neck was very tight. He also had very limited ROM when I tried to bend his neck to the right side. After I have finished my examination I figured out that his C6 vertebral level was out of alignment. The newborn’s vertebrae are not ossified and are very small. The best way to adjust and palpate this tiny spine is by using small fingers of both hands.

I guess one video will replace thousand words. Below is a video of an Infant Chiropractic Adjustment.

Right after Chiropractic adjustment I have rechecked Gabriel’s cervical spine and noticed that he had improved range of motion in his cervical spine. You can see at the end of this video a happy smile on his face. I guess it is a sign of my nephew saying: “Thank you uncle.”

This is an article from Parents magazine about Chiropractic Care and Children written by Holly Pevzner who is a mother of two boys.

My dad sees a chiropractor. Some of my runner friends do, to. But babies? And  for crying? It’s true.  “Today about twenty percent of my pediatric patients come in because if colic or digestive issues,” says Elise G. Hewitt, a board- certified pediatric chiropractor in Portland, OR. Baby chiro care is not as scary as it may sound. The adjustments involve short, quick impulses delivered to the spine with hands, as well as using very light touch on the bones of the skull. It’s quite comfortable for the child and can be done while he lies on parent’s lap or chest. “babies often fall asleep during treatment,” notes Hewitt.

Why it may work for you: Soon-to-be published research found that parents were eight times as likely to report a significant reduction in crying when the baby was treated with chiropractic care three or four times over a ten day-day period than if the baby wasn’t, says lead researcher Joyce Miller, associate professor in clinical sciences at the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic, in Bournemouth, England. The theory behind it: The practice helps alleviate tightness and joint issues that were caused by cramped position in utero or during birth. To find a chiropractor experienced with infants, talk to you pediatrician or go to  the website of the American Chiropractic Association