Headaches and Migraines

Migraines are the third most common disease in the world, currently ranked 7th as the most disabling disease. 

Anything from bright screens, loud music or lack of food and water can all be triggers for one of these uncomfortable aches. They are so common that most people just accept them as a part of their life and pop a painkiller so that they can carry on with their day, rather than trying to find and address the cause.

 Just because they are common does not mean they are normal. 

Frequent or not, head or neck pain caused by migraines and tension headaches are not something to live with and endure. No one should feel miserable and irritable, desperately trying to find something to make them go away. Many headaches are caused by damaged structures around the neck like joints, ligaments, muscles and cervical discs, all of which have complex nerve endings. Our highly qualified and experienced chiropractors are trained to find, examine and correct the musculoskeletal problems that lead to headaches. They have several specific techniques which can help improve the function of the neck and make headaches and pain killers a thing of the past.

If you like to discuss your headaches in further detail. Contact Dr. Elton Clemence at the clinic at www.family1stchiro.ca or call us at 403-347-3261 for consultation and to set up a time to have your spine and nervous system checked.

CranioSacral Therapy and Our Children

CranioSacral Therapy and Our Children

Now that the kids are back to school and we are getting back into a routine some of us need to think about our children’s health issues and how we can help them make the most out of their school year.  CranioSacral Therapy, like most other formal and complementary treatments is never successful in 100% of cases. 

However, the following gives some idea of the degree of success in certain situations:

·         Dr. John Upledger's research has found that 50 – 60% of hyperactive child problems originate in the CranioSacral system and can be treated successfully with CST.

·         Learning disabilities and dyslexia – again 50-60% of problems can be effectively treated with CST if the problem is caused by a malfunction of the CranioSacral system.

·         Autism. Three years of intensive research with autistic children in the late 1970’s revealed significant reduction in self-destructive behavior and improvement in displays of affection and social interaction. These improvements, however, usually deteriorated in 3-6 months after the CranioSacral Therapy treatment discontinued.

Jeannette Raskin practices at Family First Chiropractic, 142 Erickson Drive, Red Deer, Alberta.  403-347-3261. www.family1stchiro.ca.

Small Bursts of Exercise Can Make Kids Healthier

Small Bursts of Exercise Can Make Kids Healthier

Exercise is one of the pillars of good health. Your body was designed to move throughout the day and in many different directions. With well over 200 joints, your body can do amazing things. This can be an impressive display of balance and power with hardly any discernable effort. Unfortunately, while digital technology has improved efficiency in many aspects of your life, it has also encouraged less movement and more sitting/ sedentary lifestyle.

Many people sit between seven and 15 hours each day. Excessive sitting increases your risk of metabolic disease, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Adults and children are facing these same challenges. The rising number of children suffering from obesity increases health risks and costs as the children grow to adulthood. In 2012, more than one-third of all children and adolescents were either obese or overweight.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), this number more than tripled from 1971 to 2011. This has lead to a staggering number of adults who are now at higher risk of multiple health concerns ranging from obesity to degenerative arthritis.

Contributing factors to declining health include poor food choices, lack of quality sleep and insufficient exercise.

Getting kids to exercise has become difficult over the past 20 years. What used to be common daily activity for children with their friends has turned into a chore. The effects of this difference in daily activities is showing up in the growing number of children suffering from obesity.

Recent studies have shown that children may benefit from very short periods of high intensity physical exercise. Researchers called the high-intensity interval training (HIIT).  They describe a more kid-friendly Fun Fast Activity Blast (FFAB).

The study evaluated 101 adolescents, measuring triglyceride levels, waist circumference, non-fasting blood glucose, c-reactive proteins, resting blood pressure, 20-meter shuttle run test and carotid artery intima media thickness.

The control group continued their normal activities, while the experimental group participated in three 20-minute high intensity exercise sessions per week for 10 weeks, involving an exercise of their choice from basketball, dance, boxing and soccer drills.

The results demonstrated benefits in both lower triglyceride levels and reduced waist circumference measurements. Researchers also found an unexpected advantage in the experimental group. These students increased the amount of physical activity by 16 minutes each day over the control group.

The increased activity during non-exercise hours suggested to researchers that increasing structured exercise may carry over to increased activity during unmonitored hours. The goal of the researchers in this study was to find an approach to exercise that was sustainable, practical and engaging for students.

Finding exercises your children enjoy may be one key to unlocking a desire to move throughout the day and enjoy the benefits that follow. Unfortunately, reduced time in physical education and recess time at school, combined with most school system's reticence to using stand up desks, significantly adds to the problem.

There isn't time to wait for your school system to change to impact the health of your children. Especially if your children are not getting copious amounts of physical activity at school, it's important to encourage them to be active in the hours they aren't in school and on weekends. Competitive school team sports are just one way of increasing movement and exercise. Consider joining your children after school for a quick 20-minute HIIT workout using an exercise tape, interval walking, biking, basketball, dance or any number of other activities. Children are more likely to do what you do and not what you say.

FFAB is a proven method of improving cardiovascular fitness. It's also important to incorporate muscle strength training.

Once done with your HIIT exercises with your children, spend a few minutes cooling down and stretching to reduce the potential for tight muscles. Flexibility is key to both strength and reducing the potential for injury. Just five minutes is all it takes. Consider yoga, martial arts or dance a couple times a week to increase flexibility and activity.

Your health is a complex combination of external forces such as nutrition, sleep, exercise and exposure to toxins, and internal forces such as motivation, hormones, enzymes, vitamins and neurological connections. Your internal forces are affected by external forces acting on your body.

Essentially, this means you become what you do each day. The more you move, the easier it becomes to move, and vice versa. Eating junk food, plastered in front of a computer screen and sleep deprived, it's difficult to scrape together enough energy to get up and get moving.

With better food choices and sufficient sleep, you and your children may likely experience better health, more energy, greater motivation to move and exercise and a better mood.

The more physically active your child is, the better they do in school.

Improved cognition may happen as a result of increased blood and oxygen flow to your brain, increased levels of norepinephrine and endorphins with a reduction of stress and an improvement of mood or an increase in growth factor that may help to create new nerve cells and support synaptic plasticity.

Chiropractic is great for kids to get them moving and keep them playing the activities they love. Consider bringing your children in for an examination and treatment to get their spine/ extremities moving optimally. This will ensure proper function and your children feeling great.

Dr. Stephen Kelly D.C.

Dr. Kelly practices at Family First Chiropractic located at 142 Erickson drive in Red Deer. Call us today to book an appointment (403)347-3261 or visit us at www.family1stchiro.ca

Back pack Safety

Back pack Safety

This is taken from the Alberta College of Chiropractors website http://www.albertachiro.com/site/public_service_programs

Kids and backpacks just seem to go together. Whether sending them off to school, to a sporting event or for a sleepover with a friend, chances are they are be bringing a backpack. But carrying a heavy load unevenly or improperly can result in poor posture and even distort the spinal column, causing muscle strain, headaches, neck and arm pain, and even nerve damage. At out clinic we see many children with mid back pain, lowback pain, headaches, and even scoliosis aggravated by carrying an overfull back pack.

More than 50 per cent of young people experience at least one episode of low back pain by their teenage years. Alberta’s chiropractors offer the following tips to ensure your child’s pack doesn’t become a pain in the back:

Pick it Right

·         Choose a bag made of lightweight material, such as vinyl or canvas.

·         Pick a bag that has two wide, adjustable and padded shoulder straps, along with a hip or waist strap, a padded back and plenty of pockets.

·         Ensure the bag is proportionate to body size and no larger than needed. The top of the pack should not extend higher than the top of the shoulder, and the bottom should not fall below the top of the hipbone.

·         Explore other options like bags with wheels and a pull handle for easy rolling.

Pack it Light

·         The total weight of the pack should not exceed 10 to 15 per cent of the wearer’s body weight (depending on age).

·         Make sure the backpack contains only what is needed for the day or activity.

·         Spread the weight throughout the pack.

·         Pack the heaviest items close to the body.

Wear it Right

·         Both shoulder straps should always be used and adjusted so the pack fits snugly against the body. You should be able to slide a hand between the backpack and the wearer’s back.

·         The pack should sit two inches above the waist.

·         Never allow your child to sling a backpack over only one shoulder.

·         The waist strap reduces the strain on the back and transfers some of the load to the hips.

Dr. Joelle Johnson is a member of the ACAC and focuses on children’s health issues in her office Family First Chiropractic and Wellness, 142 Erickson Drive, Red Deer, T4R 2C3 403-347-3261
www.family1stchiro.ca

Exercise should be enjoyed not painful.

Exercise should be enjoyed not painful.

Working out for personal gain or overall health and wellness can be rewarding. However, over training or over stretching can lead to injury. This is anything but gain or healthy, instead it creates setback or even take you out of training completely. There is no need to suffer to the point of disliking the workout or dreading the next one. I agree we need to push ourselves to overcome fitness plateaus, but exercise should be less about pain and more about fun.

Here are some tips to make your workouts more enjoyable:

Ø  Choose a fitness program you like and can fit your schedule- You have the option to choose your fitness path. With so many styles of training and workout programs one can choose and personalize their own training programs to suit their goals. Programs that focus on core and strength training are recommended.

Ø  Focus on a balanced Lifestyle - It’s good to be determined in achieving your goals. However, becoming obsessed with your workouts can leave you drained and even injured.

Ø  Change your mindset - Exercise is about personal well-being, which is body and mind fitness. Unnecessary mental stress to get fit leads to being counterproductive. Attitude should be towards making it a fulfilling journey and not being a serious no fun policy.

Ø  Inspire to confidence - Seeing changes in your mind and body should be an inspirational thought, which adds confidence.

Avoiding pain and injury during your workout:

No pain no gain motto should not lead to injury and/or take you out of the fitness program altogether. So here are some guidelines to help you avoid injury.

Ø Warm up before your workouts and cool down after - It’s best to do light cardio before stretching then stretch. Stretching without warming up could lead to injury. More intense workouts should end with a cool down consisting of light cardio and then end with stretching.

Ø Use logic and listen to your body - Don’t run before you can walk. Going from inactivity to strenuous exercise could lead to injury. It’s healthy to be competitive and have enthusiasm to achieve fitness goals. However, it’s more effective to learn how to exercises properly and consistently. Finally, listen to your body: If it hurts Stop. Pushing through pain again can lead to injury and takes the fun out of your fitness journey.

Talk to the experts. They can help you start your workout program, guide you to work out properly and most importantly help you to achieve your personal goals. In addition, use your Chiropractor to help you get the most out of your exercise regime.

Dr. Elton Clemence is a Chiropractor at Family First Chiropractic and Wellness, located In Red Deer, AB 142 Erickson Dr ,www.family1stchiro.ca 403-347-3261 to book an appointment.

Why your entire family needs Chiropractic care

Why your entire family needs Chiropractic care

Infants, Toddlers and pre-teens are not thought of when talking about chiropractic care. Young healthy people are certainly at the top of that list and it’s because they might not have pain like we see later in adults. Usually it is only after we are in pain from an accident, poor posture, or we hear our joints grinding from arthritis that we think of chiropractic as an important healing tool. However, the gestation and birth process can leave trauma too. Many newborns start life with subluxations./misalignments of the spine. This is easy to miss if we are not aware how common this occurs.

As children grow and become more adventurous they are prone to many falls and bumps along the way. This continues as they enter elementary and secondary school and start getting into sports with further sports injuries. Like adults, children required to sit for long periods of time will start showing stress on the spine from poor posture and sedentary habits. Even sleeping posture can have a negative effect on the spine. Low quality or old mattresses may not give the needed support and should be replaced. Children are engaging with electronics at earlier and earlier ages and “text neck” and TV or video gaming postures all have it’s toll on a growing body.

It may take several years or even a few decades before these misalignments cause enough pain to bring these people into our clinics. Meanwhile spinal degeneration has been going on undetected all that time.

The main take away message is to have your children assessed for possible misalignments as soon as possible, especially if they have the following symptoms:

• stiffness or restricted back or neck movement;
• posture shows the head being tilted to one side; one shoulder higher than the other; one hip higher than the other; or one leg longer than the opposite;
• Any child who has pain when light pressure is applied to any part of the spine, or who has tightness or muscle spasm anywhere along the spine. Should have a thorough spinal examination to determine the possible cause.

Dr. Elton Clemence practices at Family First Chiropractic and Wellness 142 Erickson Drive, Red Deer, 

T4R 2C3 to book call 403-347-3261 or check out our website at www.family1stchiro.ca

The Dirty Dozen Ways to Die That You Can Avoid

 

Black Swan Avoidance – The Dirty Dozen Ways to Die That You Can Avoid
Brought to you By Family Fisrt Chiropractic at 142 Erickson Dr, Red Deer 403-341-3261
 www.family1stchiro.ca

Dr. McGuff calls the risks that follow “black swans.” By steering clear of them and instead using the tips that follow, you can protect your health from not only tragic accidents but also more insidious threats.

1. Buy a Big Car

Accidents, including motor vehicle accidents, are the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. You probably can’t stop driving … but you can protect yourself better by buying a bigger car. In a collision, generally the bigger the car you’re in, the safer you’ll be. Also important is choosing a car that is loaded with airbags.

6. Gas Grill

I’ve written on some of the dangers of eating grilled food, but Dr. McGuff speaks about the dangers from lighting one. If your gas grill won’t start, he says, walk away. Otherwise, the gas build-up can lead to major flames when it finally does ignite, and this can translate to third-degree burns, or worse, for you. Not to mention, gas grills are involved in nearly 7,000 home fires a year.³

7. Feet First

Thinking of diving into a pool, lake, ocean or any other body of water? Don’t. At least, not until you’ve jumped in feet first, first, so you can determine how deep the water is. Diving in head first into a too-shallow body of water can break your neck, paralyze you, or kill you, so just don’t do it.

An estimated 800 spinal cord injuries occur each year from people diving into a body of water, and 90 percent of these happen in water depths less than six feet.⁴ Generally, a minimum water depth of at least nine feet is recommended for head-first dives.

8. Ladders

Your intentions are good – you want to hang holiday lights or fix a shingle on your roof. But climbing onto a ladder to do so can quickly turn deadly. If you can, hire a professional to do any painting or other repairs that require you to climb a ladder, so you can avoid becoming one of the more than 164,000 people who end up in emergency rooms each year due to ladder-related injuries.⁵

9. Retirement “Dream” Homes

Thinking of building your dream home to live out your retirement years in bliss? Find one that already exists and just move in instead. According to Dr. McGuff, he sees an inordinate number of people suffering from heart attacks caused by the stress from – you guessed it –dealing with contractors and other issues while building their retirement home.

10.“Hell No!”

If anyone tells you to get into a car at the point of a weapon, your response should be, “Hell no!” Once you get into a car against your will, you will most certainly die, likely after suffering immensely. Do whatever you need to do to NOT get in the car – run, yell, scream, fight back, anythingto keep from getting into that car.

11. Bad Relationships

About 15 percent of the population has psychotic, anti-social personality disorders. When you are in a relationship with one of these people, you will feel emotionally fatigued and upset, recurrently. If you notice these signs, ditch the relationship, and that may include a family member, friend, employer, etc.

Relationship problems, like most emotional struggles, represent a major drain on your health and well-being, so be ruthless in cutting any unhealthy relationships from your life.

12. Lottery
Don’t play it! Unearned wealth will destroy you. “If you get money you did not earn, it will take you down!” Dr. McGuff says. If you don’t believe this, do an Internet search for stories of lottery winners, and you’ll see the wrath that often follows …

13. Bonus: Be Kind

Being kind is the most important strategy for your health and for society, according to Dr. McGuff. This makes sense, as people tend to attract the energy that they give off, so if you are kind you’re likely to be surrounded by kindness in return.

2. No 4-Wheel ATVs

All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are a popular hobby for many, but they’re also responsible for hundreds of deaths, and over 100,000 emergency room visits, every year.¹ Dr. McGuff has seen too many people who have died or become paralyzed (including children) after using these vehicles, so his advice is to just stay off.

3. Roads are for Cars

If you love jogging or cycling, do it indoors or on a designated walking/biking path. If you do so on the road, you’re risking your life to distracted drivers who often don’t see or slow down for pedestrians and cyclists. In 2010, for instance, 618 cyclists were killed and an additional 52,000 were injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes.²

4. Only Pilot if You’re a Professional

If you’ve devoted your life to becoming a professional pilot, good for you. If not, stay out of the sky. Part-time amateur pilots simply have not put in the extensive time needed to hone their piloting skills, and as a result are at a much higher risk of crashing and getting killed.

5. Heel Dust

If you see a group of men walking toward you on the street, and they appear intoxicated, angry or aggressive, cross to the other side. Any time you are faced with a confrontation with an aggressive person, your best bet is to show them “heel dust” – in other words, run away, don’t fight.

Dr. Doug McGuff, M.D., is an emergency room physician and, as such, is uniquely positioned to speak about the common ways people end up dying prematurely. He has a unique perspective as he has worked for over twenty years in the ER and viewed firsthand the most common mistakes that people make that wind up seriously harming them or prematurely ending their life.

 

CranioSacral Therapy and Birth

You may have planned and hoped for a natural vaginal delivery but what happens if complications arise during birth? These complications during labour may result in your baby being delivered by:

·         Caesarean-section (c-section).

·         With the help of vacuum pump or suction.

·         With the help of Forceps

Interventions, when necessary, often save lives. In my experience with CranioSacral Therapy - it helps to eliminate, or minimise, complications that arise as a result of these types of deliveries.

With CranioSacral Therapy, I work on the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that surround and protect a person's brain and spinal cord, extending from the bones of the skull (which make up the cranium) down to the tailbone area (or sacrum).

The role of this system in the development and performance of the brain and spinal cord is so vital that an imbalance or dysfunction in it can cause sensory, motor and/or neurological disabilities

A CranioSacral Therapist uses a touch generally no heavier than the weight of a nickel. Skilled practitioners can monitor this rhythm at key body points to pinpoint the source of an obstruction or stress. Once a source has been determined, they can assist the natural movement of the fluid and related soft tissue to help the body self-correct.

I have noticed that most babies (and mums too!) often need assistance following the effects of a difficult labour. One of the reasons for this is that in the ideal birth situation, nature has designed a baby's skull to be compressed as it travels through the birth canal during a vaginal birth.

Babies born by c-section miss out on this vital compression (which helps balance the cranial bones) through the birth canal. Babies born with the use of forceps or vacuum often experience undue stress on the head and face and strain patterns can often develop in their bodies. The euphoria of your baby's safe arrival can mask the stress that your baby has experienced. But soon problems can arise.

With Craniosacral Therapy I use specific, gentle touch techniques to assess, resolve and eliminate the restrictions that cause these problems. The light pressure creates deep change - releasing restrictions in the baby's tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. This intervention encourages the infant's body toward a natural alignment.

With Craniosacral Therapy I use specific, gentle touch techniques to assess, resolve and eliminate the restrictions that cause these problems. The light pressure creates deep change - releasing restrictions in the baby's tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. This intervention encourages the infant's body toward a natural alignment.

During the treatment the baby often naturally needs to cuddle, feed or cry as balance is restored and emotion is released in the body. Mums and Dads often feel a sense of relaxation as the baby's Craniosacral system returns to optimum function.

I have found that treatment with Craniosacral therapy benefits all babies following birth - but it is highly recommended for babies who have had birth complications - including Caesarean Sections.If you have any questions please call Jeannette Raskin at 403-347-3261 at Family Furst Chiropractic and Wellness, located at 142 Erickson Drive, Red Deer