Top Chiropractor in San Leandro, CA

San Leandro Chiropractor

Backpacks, Children, Nook, Kindle and Bad Posture

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BACKPACKI wrote a post in September of 2010 – “Backpack Safety – Back To School and 14 Helpful Tips.” Millions of kids wear heavy backpacks that affect their posture, which results in interfering with a proper functioning of nervous system and thus leads to sick days and unnecessary pain. A post about “Relationship of Nervous System and Spine to Organs”, will provide you a better understanding of what I am talking about. A developing young organism must be free of any obstacles for proper development. It is even more true for young girls. These individuals are the future of this society. With advancing technology our future generation can save their posture by carrying all of their heavy load of books on an electronic book reader. I am talking about iPad, Kindle, Nook and probably some other electronic gadgets that are available on the market today.

These devices are not as expensive as they used to be. It is a very minor investment in the future of your kids. My boy is turning four next month and pretty soon he is going to go to school. Currently he is practicing on my iPhone to play with different apps.  Some of my patients are principles at schools and I have talked to them  about this issue. With budget cuts in every State in the United States and over 26 billion dollars deficit for 2011 in a State of California alone it is not an easy task to accomplish. Education budget cuts are growing every year and with bureaucratic system that the State make the transfer to electronic book reader is a distant possibility.

What is the solution to this problem? I think parents must take action in their own hands and provide their kids with these light readers that weight less than a pound versus full back pack of books which can weight up to 15 pounds and sometimes even more. The solution is easy the implementation is not. Below are comparison videos of the Nook from Barnes & Nobles and Kindle from Amazon that your child can use in school.

Getting the books you buy onto as many readers as possible is a matter of great interest to educators. Right now, there are basically three ways to leverage e-books to increase distribution of titles in schools.

When Amazon came out with the Kindle, the company realized that book-buyers would want to be able to load their purchases onto more than one reading device. So the company made it possible for customers to load their purchases onto as many as six devices, in most case, if the devices were registered to the same account. As schools began to implement ereader programs, educators saw the benefit of this policy: if a school purchases six or more Kindle, every book they buy can be distributed to six devices, effectively cutting the cost of an already lower-priced e-book by a factor of six. It is like buying six copies for the price of one. And with a little extra management, this “sharing” of books among devices registered to the same account has worked well. Here is how it works for two major booksellers:

Amazon Kindle: You can download up to six copies of each book to different platforms.

Nook/Nook Color: You can download each book within devices on an account, limit six.

I think parents should take advantage of this program and send their kids to school with Kindle or Nook, pen and notepad. Make a change now before it is too late. Currently there several models available on the market: Kindle 3, Kindle DX,  Nook Black & White, and Nook Color.

Heavy Metal Band Metallica Gets Chiropractic Care

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METALLICAI have come across a very interesting article in “The American Chiropractor” written by Dr. Don Oyao, who is a chiropractor from Australia.  He is a six –time Official Olympic Team Doctor in Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Lillihammer 1994, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008. He now works as Metallica’s touring band chiropractor and one of their biggest fans.

Dr. Oyao compares Rock Stars to Athletes. He stated that both Rock Stars and Athletes require tremendous amount of energy in a short period of time. In order to achieve this amount of energy, an uninterrupted flow of nervous system and balanced musculoskeletal system is required. He has been providing chiropractic care to four members of Metallica’s band for the past nine years, which equals to more than one thousands tour concerts. James Hetfield, Robert Trujillo, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammet are all get deep tissue work done, chiropractic adjustments and simple rub downs between the songs. Their aging bodies require constant care for a demanding performance on a stage in front of many thousand of fans. By the way I am one of them and my favorite is “Master of Puppets” – still get an adrenaline rush when I listen to it.

It is amazing to see that Metallica’s members places priority on their healthy habits. Each band member must individually maintain cardio-vascular endurance, and exercise and stretching regime as well as balanced diet and nutrition. Players must be at peak performance physically and mentally at all times, due to intense tour schedule and high energy performance on the stage. Robert Trujillo requires attention to his guitar-strumming arm and its speed-demon finger, even between songs backstage.

Dr. Oyao says that Metallica brings a harmony to their fans as the band roams the jungle of a world filled with chaos and insanity. Helping Metallica bring their music to the world has been his own rock and roll dream come true. For him it has been a privilege to work and tour around the world living in the mad, mad world of Metallica.

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Coping With Stress and Anxiety at Work

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STRESS AND ANXIETY AT WORKWorking becomes harder when stress and anxiety becomes a redundant occurrence to the point that it affects how individuals do their jobs. Pressures are often the cause of stress and anxiety, from meeting deadlines, dealing with a demanding boss and having complex relationship with co-workers are just some of the things that make life at work difficult.

It is important to have a balanced life outside of your place employment to provide you with enough space to handle the pressures, stress and anxiety that the workplace brings. This can be achieved through a proper time management and a positive outlook in life.

Below are seven ways to cope with work stress and anxiety that can help you balance and enjoy life to the fullest.

  1. Find a job you love: having a job you love frees up a lot of pressures and stress for everybody. This kind of job often puts you in a healthy environment and doing the things you are passionate about. Look for a career that best suits your passions and talent. For example, if you love photography, indulge in a career that allows you to show your creativity through the camera of your lens.
  2. Spend more time with people you easily get along with: hanging out with people you love to spend time frees up the negativity that builds around a pressure packed and stress filled job. Try to spend more time with your friends by regularly scheduling a weekly get together to hang out and have fun.
  3. Listen to Soothing Music: listening to music soothes the mind and relaxes our senses. Play your favorite music during lunch break and incorporate it into your job for a few minutes in between. This will help you relax and flow along the rapid pace of your workplace.
  4. Do Exercises at Work: Try to practice exercises at your place of employment. Create a schedule for a 5 minute exercise every break time to just calm the muscles and put more energy to your body. A tired body often results to stress and anxiety and what better way to solve this than to have a regular exercise regimen.
  5. Relax at your Job: Every now and then try to relax at your job by closing your eyes for a couple of minutes to release the tension of staring at your computer screen for hours. By relaxing for a couple of minutes you end up clearing your mind of cluttered thoughts that results into stress and anxiety.
  6. Regular Workout at the Gym: balance your life outside of work by enrolling yourself in a gym. This affords you to gain a healthy lifestyle and with a regular workout program your body tends to reacts well with strenuous activity at your job as well as stress and anxiety. A healthy body helps you become more productive.
  7. Get 8 hours of Sleep: Lastly, make sure you get enough sleep each day you report to work. An average sleep length of 8 hours is enough to reinvigorate the body and prepare it for the next day’s workload. This gives you the adequate energy to combat stress and anxiety that usually develops in the work place. My teacher used to say: “Sleep is your weapon.”

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7 Major Causes of Lower Back Pain?

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INTERVERTEBRAL DISCMillions of people are affected with lower back pain all over the world. It could be a minor and temporary pain and it could be as extensive as referring pain into upper and lower extremities. There are different factors and causes of lower back pain. Below is the list of 7 major causes of lower back pain.

SPRAIN AND STRAIN:

A deconditioned lower back and the one with previous injuries is more prone to soft tissue injuries like sprains and strains. An overstretched muscle is a definition of a sprain injury. An overstretched tendon is definition of a strain injury. Both injuries result in fibrotic tissue which is extremely painful if not properly and timely rehabilitated.

DISC PROBLEMS:

The IVD or intervertebral discs (look at the main picture) are serving a function in our spine as shocks or struts in a vehicle. Their job is to prevent the vertebral bodies of the spine from degeneration which in medical term is called osteoarthritis.  Lack of mobility between vertebral bodies will cause the IVD to dehydrate and eventually shrink in height. IVD does not have any blood supply and the only way it gets the nutrients is by the process called imbibition. In plain English – when two adjacent vertebras move they help to pump liquids with nutrients into the IVD. Common disc complaints involve the disc protrusion or bulging (which can be prolapsed or sequestrated) the later is a very bad one. Make sure that you schedule your appointment with your local chiropractor at least once a month. Our body just like the vehicle we drive, it requires maintenance.

MUSCLE IMBALANCE:

Muscle imbalance is the cause of a poor posture. Over the time certain muscles loose their function under overworking conditions or when they are under utilized. If this happens the inevitable result will lead to problems such as neck pain, shoulder pain, and lower back pain or even frozen shoulder.

EMOTIONAL:

Emotional problems linked together with neuromuscular system. Stress or emotional trauma would lead to muscular tension. Muscles such Upper Trapezius and SCM (Sternocleidomastoid) are innervated by cranial nerves (which are the nerves that are connected directly to the brain).

STRACTUAL PROBLEMS:

Scoliosis – an excessive sideways curve of either the upper or lower regions of the spine. Kyphosis – sometimes referred to as “hunchback”, this is an excessive outward curve of the upper back.

DISEASE:

Ankylosing spondylitis – a disease that causes inflammation in spinal joints and limb joints potentially leading to fusion of vertebrae Arthritis – especially osteoarthritis, involves cartilage that normally cushions joints breaking down. Osteoporosis – is a condition involving thinning of the bones. It commonly occurs in women after the menopause but can also affect men.

SCIATICA:

Sciatica is a nerve pain from the sciatic nerve, a nerve that runs from the spine through the buttock and down the back of the leg. Sciatica is often caused by a disc bulge or prolapse pressing on the spinal nerve. Other causes can include a narrowing of the nerve tunnel between the discs as a result of osteoarthritis. If you would like to discover how to completely cure sciatica naturally without drugs, surgery, physical therapy, exercise, or change of diet you might want to take a look at this report “Stop Sciatica.” (affiliate link)

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