Back-N-Motion

When educating patients about their condition or ways to improve their health, I find that analogies work best. People can make better choices if they can relate what is going on with their body to something else they are familiar with. While I’m not a gearhead, by any stretch, I tend to use a car to motivate people to make informed choices. I also find that most people take better care of their cars then they do their health.

Now take a moment to close your eyes and think of your dream care. It may be a Porsche, Lamborghini or Corvette. Now let’s imagine that you drive four hours and hours in the vehicle of your dreams and now its time to fill up with gas. Would you put the cheapest gas in your new ride? Heck no! You would buy the premium grade to not only improve performance, but to also increase the longevity of the engine. Whey don’t people do this with themselves? Most people “fuel” themselves with junk food, thus causing them to function at less than 100%. They become tired, sluggish and unmotivated. Eating junk food may also decrease your longevity or lifespan as well.

Let’s get back to our car for a moment. It would be nice if all we had to do was the roll the top down, drive with the wind in our hair day after day. This is not reality. In between our times of “putting the pedal to the metal,” we must perform regular maintenance. Tasks such as checking the tire pressure, changing the oil and replacing the air filter are a must to insure the best driving experience for years to come. What happens if these tasks are not done? Parts wear out and break, thus decreasing the function of the car. Then you generally have a costlier, more time consuming problem on your hands. The same is true for your health. Most people wait until they are sick and broken before they do anything about it. By this time, it gets to this point, it usually robs them of time (to heal) and money (for treatment). It’s best to make lifestyle choices to avoid this “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude. Examples of these include: proper diet, proper ergonomics, massage, regular exercise, meditation, adequate water intake, and regular checkups with health care providers such as your dentist, medical doctor and chiropractor.

Finally, imagine again that despite all of you regular maintenance, your “check engine” light goes on in your car. Would you put a piece of tape over the signal? No, you would fix the problem. Often we take medication to cover up symptoms. This helps people to ignore problems with their health and hopes that they will go away. It is wise to contact your physician so that proper treatment can be started sooner rather than later.

In review, the lessons that you can learn from your car are the following:
1. Feed your body with quality fuel for optimal performance
2. Perform regular maintenance to prevent a breakdown in health
3. Do not ignore or cover up symptoms. Consult a physician if symptoms should arise.
Yours in Good health

Jacob Peterson, DC

Most people are familiar with the famous landmark called “the leaning tower of Pisa.”
This 8–story structure, located in Pisa, Italy leans to an angle of 5.5 degrees. This results in the top of the tower being more than 12 feet from where it should be!

What does this have to do with health? While you may have seen people hunched over due to pain or poor posture, our bodies do not work in the same way as the tower in Pisa. The human body is full of joints that can bend and move, unlike a solid structure of a building or tower. What the tower and our bodies do have in common is that problems often begin from the ground up. The reason that this famous tower leans is because its weight cannot be supported by its base. Your base must also support the rest of your bodies as you perform the tasks necessary for work and home duties.

Your base, aka your feet, contain 3 arches, the large one forms the inner aspect of the foot, the smaller one forms the outer edge, and the final arch extends across the ball of your foot. All three arches must remain intact to provide you with the support you need. In some people, these arches break down and this can cause problems in the normal posture and mechanics of the feet.

In addition, people with these types of problems may not have foot or ankle pain. Pain may result in other parts of the body such as the knee, hip or back. That’s right, your back pain might actually be coming from problems in your feet. What is a person to do? A simple solution to this problem is with the use of custom made foot orthotics (shoe inserts)

Orthotics are designed to level your base and to create support for the rest of your body. Good posture begins at your feet. Orthotics are made specific to your needs and can be ordered right in the office. The doctor can either mold your feet within a foam mold, or have each foot scanned using computer technology. Once the mold or scan is obtained, this information is sent to a company that makes a custom orthotic for you.

Patients that benefit greatly are those that have the problems mentioned above, as well as athletes or workers who are on their feet all day. Contact your chiropractor to see if orthotics are right for you!

Yours in Good Health,

Jacob Peterson, DC

We can not turn on the television without being bombarded with the latest health fad or fitness craze. Those that are pedaling these products are all too eager to take your money for the latest gizmo, gadget, or widget; promising you to look like the people on the commercial. Magic pills, potions and creams that make you live longer, take away wrinkles and give you 6 pack abs all without exercising, are also a familiar sight.

The questions with many of these items, is do they work? How much money are you willing to spend to find out? I have one item that may improve your health that you can buy at your local grocery store. No 1-800 numbers to dial, no free Ginsu knives, no free delivery if you are one the first 10 callers. No, this item can be found at your local super market, and this particular item is pomegranate juice.

Pomegranate juice has been shown to have a positive affect on the cardiovascular (heart and its vessels) system. In fact, a 2004 study in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition demonstrated this point. Participants in the study had known plaquing in their arteries. One group, the control group did not take any pomegranate juice. After one year, the thickness of the plaques increased by 9% on average. The other group consumed 3oz of pomegranate juice every day. After one year the thickness of the plaque decreased by 35%! This is phenomenal.

What a great health benefit, from something so easy and convenient. The only downside that I have seen with pomegranate juice is that it is quite a bit for more expensive than other juices. I think it is a worthwhile investment, and overall, a small price to pay to have improved cardiovascular health.

Pomegranate juice is not a magic bullet, or cure all concoction. You must strive towards optimal health in all areas of life. If you smoke, eat Pop tarts and Cheetos for breakfast and watch TV 6 hours per day, pomegranate juice alone will not get you very far along your health trek. So next time you reach for a Mountain Dew, try a glass of pomegranate juice, hour heart will thank you!

Yours in Good Health,

Jacob Peterson, DC

DISCLAIMER: Opinions in this blog are not to substitute the advice and recommendations of your medical doctor. Pomegranate juice is not a cure for heart disease and should not be interpreted as such. If you are currently taking any medications for hearth disease or any other condition, contact your medical doctor in regards to usage ofthese drugs.

Hi All-

Did you know that Chiropractic is the largest, most regulated, and best recognised of the complementary and alternative medecine professions?  It is the third largest doctoral-level health care profession after medicine and dentistry.  Many people ask me what type of schooling a chiropractor must go through.  Doctors of Chiropractic undergo at least four years of professional study.  There are currently 15 recognized chiropractic programs at 18 diffrent locations.  In addition, Doctors of Chiropractic must pass national board exams and become state licensed prior to practicing. 

If you have any questions or commments feel free to post here!

Leo Bronston, DC, MAppSc

Dr. Bronston

Hi. Dr. Bronston here. I wanted to welcome you to my new chiropractic blog focused on answering your questions about neck and back pain and various treatment options. You can read this blog at Back-N-Motion.com or on our company website, Bronston Chiro.com.  I will try to update this as often as possible so stay tuned.  If you have a question about a post, please feel free to comment on it and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.