Exercise of the Week

 

Exercise 1 – Range of Motion:
Flexion/Extension

Difficulty: Easy
(Consult your chiropractor before doing this or any other exercise.)

Start: Sit upright in chair.

Exercise: Bring chin down toward chest. Stop at point you feel resistance to movement, but no pain. Hold for 10-15 seconds. Then, move head back as far as it will go, bringing chin up toward ceiling. Stop when you feel resistance, but no pain.
Try not to compress back of neck when you do this. Hold for 10-15
seconds. Repeat 5-10X.

Can Chiropractic lend me a hand… with my hand symptoms?

When you have symptoms in one or both of your hands, a chiropractor might not be the first person you think of… but after reading this issue of Wellness Express™, we hope you will
change your mind.
Since chiropractors are experts when it comes to nerves, joints and muscles, there are very few conditions affecting the hand that your chiropractor cannot help you with. In this report, some of
the most common reasons for hand symptoms will be presented, including the approach that your chiropractor may use to help alleviate them.
THE CAUSE
Unless you experience direct trauma to the hand (crushing, slicing, freezing, etc.), most symptoms can be traced back to the irritation and/or inflammation of nerves, muscles or joints
associated with that area of the body.

When irritation of nerves exiting the spine is thought to be the cause, it is called radicular pain. If tight and sore muscles (with trigger points) can be attributed to the symptoms, this is referred pain and when an inflammatory condition involving one of the
local tissues in the hand is causing the symptoms, it is referred to as a case of …itis (arthritis, tendinitis, neuritis, etc.)
Radicular pain is typically caused by compression or irritation of a cervical nerve (also called radiculopathy). This can be caused by disc herniation, vertebral subluxation, mechanical irritation by osteophytes (bone spurs) or chemical irritation by inflammation of surrounding tissues. The pain associated with radiculopathy is usually sharp, and well-defined according to
the nerve that is being irritated. There may also be some weakness in the hand associated with radiculopathy, as the
nerve signals for motor control will travel along the same nerve that carries sensory information. If your symptoms are caused by a radiculopathy, your chiropractor will be able to reproduce or aggravate your symptoms by performing specific provocation tests with your neck.

Referred pain is caused by muscle tightness and spasm, leading to “trigger points.” Typically, when a muscle is over-used or severely strained, it can develop tight bands or knots within it.
When this happens, the muscle itself can become very sensitive, and will often develop trigger points. Trigger points are localized areas within a muscle that, when pressed upon, will refer pain in a predictable pattern away from that point. Referred pain from trigger points is usually more achy and diffuse, and is exacerbated by pressing on the muscle itself.
Pain from inflammation will vary depending upon the tissue affected. As a result, any movements that challenge that tissue will exacerbate the symptoms, plus, redness, heat and swelling
can usually be found in the immediate area. Rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis can affect the joints of the fingers and hand in a typical pattern. Tendinitis or tenosynovitis can target the tendons of the fingers or wrist, leading to such common conditions as “Carpal Tunnel Syndrome” or “Trigger Finger.”
THE CURE
The first thing your chiropractor will do when you present with hand symptoms is to differentiate between the potential contributing factors to determine the cause.1 If necessary, you may be sent for special imaging to confirm your chiropractor’s diagnosis. Next, a treatment plan will be created, taking into consideration the history of your condition, its severity and/or chronicity, and its impact on your daily activities.

Although radicular pain is the only condition mentioned above that is directly caused by neck misalignment and subluxation, your chiropractor will always check to make sure your spine
is aligned properly when symptoms of hand problems are present. All nerves to and from the hand find their origin in the cervical spine and since the nervous system is the conduit for all brain-body communication, adjusting the spine has proven to be helpful for a number of hand conditions, including Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome.2
If the symptoms in your hand are caused by referred pain or a local inflammatory condition (an …itis), your chiropractor may also recommend supplementary treatments like ice, trigger point therapy, massage, stretching or special exercises you can do at home. Referral to other healthcare professionals may be necessary for some conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Remember: no matter what symptoms you feel in your musculoskeletal system, rely on your chiropractor
FIRST to lend you a hand!

Hormones, Exercise and Weight Loss

Someone once said: “I keep trying to  lose weight.... but it keeps finding me!”
Certainly one of the most frustrating  aspects of weight loss is that after you
reach your goal, you often find it  difficult to maintain your new weight  level. This seems to be especially true  for those who are defined as obese.
According to medical research,  approximately 80 percent of obese  people who drop pounds are unable to  sustain their reduced weight. Scientists  believe hormones play a key role in
both weight reduction and weight gain.

Hormones: Loss and Gain

In a study published in the New  England Journal of Medicine, 50
overweight or obese patients underwent  a 10-week low energy weight loss  program. After the diet, they were  found to have an increase in appetite producing  hormones and the levels of
these hunger hormones remained  consistent for a year after the initial  weight loss. This result is believed to  be a main reason why it is difficult for  people to maintain their reduced weight  level, as study participants regained  about 11 pounds (5 kgs) within a year.
One of the most studied hunger  hormones is ghrelin, which is produced  in the stomach and stimulates appetite.
Scientists presented interesting  research at the Endocrine Society’s 92nd  Annual Meeting. In their study, the  researchers administered either a salt  water (placebo) injection or a ghrelin
hormone injection to a small group of  healthy adults – none of whom knew  which type of injection they received.
The study participants were shown  pictures of high calories foods  (chocolate, cake, pizza) and low calorie foods (salads, vegetables, fish). The  participants who received ghrelin
hormone injections were more likely to  rate high calorie foods as appealing  than those who received the placebo  injection.
Another study published by the  Endocrine Society revealed the amount  of appetite hormones present in the  body prior to dieting may be vital to  predicting the likelihood of dieters’
regaining weight. Scientists measured  body weight and appetite hormone  levels on a group of participants before,  during and after dieting. Those study  subjects who had higher plasma levels
of leptin and lower levels of ghrelin  before they started the diet were more  likely to regain weight.3 This knowledge  could be used to develop better  techniques to treat post-diet weight
gain.

However, appetite hormones may have a much wider impact than just promoting or suppressing hunger.
They may actually impact neurological disorders.
Scientists at UT Southwestern conducted investigations that showed the hormone ghrelin may actually
reduce symptoms of stress-induced depression and anxiety. When a person is hungry, his or her body produces
more ghrelin and this could explain why some people eat more when feeling overwhelmed or sad. Scientists used two types of mice in the research.
A test group of mice that were put on a calorie restricted diet displayed lower levels of anxious or depressive behavior
when exposed to stress - such as navigating mazes. Another group of mice also had a calorie restricted diet but they had been genetically engineered not to respond to ghrelin. The genetically altered mice showed higher levels of anxiety and depression when
exposed to stress.

Orexin Spurs Fat Burning

The brain-produced hormone orexin may provide an alternative way to treat obesity. Instead of controlling appetite, orexin appears to help a type of body fat, known as brown fat, to burn
calories. Obese people are often deficient in orexin.
Researchers conducted experiments on mice and discovered a group of overweight mice that were orexin deficient actually ate less than a group of normal weight mice. This leads to the theory the overweight mice were heavier because of inefficient burning
of calories rather than overeating.
While the results are promising, the research has only been conducted on rodents. Human trials would need to happen before any orexin treatments could become available.

A Powerful Ally to Battle Hunger

While some hormones may make losing weight and keeping it off a
challenge, you do have a friend in this hormonal battle: exercise.
A study that appeared in AJP Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology indicates aerobic exercise seems especially beneficial because of its influence over the appetite
hormones ghrelin (promotes hunger) and peptide YY (suppresses hunger).
The test subjects participated in both treadmill running and weight training but at different times. Researchers tested the participants’ levels of appetite hormones and found that after the
aerobic treadmill exercise participants had lower amounts of ghrelin and higher amounts of peptide YY. After the strength training session, the researchers discovered only levels of
ghrelin were affected. Need advice on exercise?

Talk to your chiropractor!

Exercise of the Week

Exercise 1 – Calf Stretch
Variation 1
Difficulty: Easy
(Consult your chiropractor before doing this or any other exercise.)

Start: Standing behind a chair or in front of a wall. Place hands on
backrest or wall for balance.

Exercise: Bring one foot behind as far as possible, keeping heel
on floor and knee straight.

You should feel tension behind lower leg, close to knee.
Lean hips toward chair or wall to increase lengthening effect.
Hold for 30-60 seconds, relaxing muscles of lower leg. Switch
sides, and repeat 2X per side.

Photo credit: Mayo Clinic

Exercise of the Week–Standing Quadiceps

Standing Quadriceps Stretch

Difficulty: Easy
(Consult your chiropractor before doing this or any other exercise.)

Start: Standing beside a chair.

Exercise: Reach for one foot, and hold it behind you. Keeping
knees close together bring foot up toward buttocks until you feel a
light pull along front of thigh.

Hold for 30-60 seconds. Switch sides, and repeat 2X per side.

Exercise of the Week

Hamstring Stretch

Difficulty: Easy
(Consult your chiropractor before starting this or any other exercise.)
Start: Standing in front of a chair.

Exercise: Place one foot up on chair, with leg straight. Slowly bend forward, reaching toward foot.

Stop and hold when you feel a light pull behind leg. Hold for 30-60 seconds, relaxing muscles of upper leg. Switch sides, and repeat 2X per side

Priority Health is having a birthday party! We’re turning 8!   Don’t miss your opportunity for an $8 adjustment!  Party Details.

Chiropractic from Head to Toe: THE HEAD

Don’t miss our birthday celebration!  Read more about it here.

THE HEAD
In this new series of articles, Chiropractic from Head to Toe, we are going to start from the very top. Two of the most common conditions involving the head that chiropractors are recruited to treat are: TMJ syndrome and headaches.
The TMJ is where the jaw bone connects to the head. It is also called the temporomandibular joint. Since it is a moveable, functional structure, any misalignment or restriction in this joint
can cause pain in and around the jaw, ear or head. Causes of TMJ pain may include: poor alignment of the teeth, grinding or clenching the jaw while sleeping, excessive gum-chewing, etc.
Chiropractors know how the TMJ is supposed to function. After assessing your jaw for dysfunction, your chiropractor
may apply chiropractic adjustments to the TMJ in order to restore proper function. Whenever you feel your jaw clicking or popping, or have pain on opening or closing your mouth, call on your chiropractor to help. Research has shown how effective
chiropractic can be to solve this problem.

Another common condition affecting the head is the collection of symptoms referred to as “headaches”: including migraines, tension-type headaches, cervicogenic headaches, cluster headaches and so on.
Since irritation of the brain itself does not result in pain (open brain surgery has proven this to be true), “aching” in
the head can only be caused by the irritation of a number of other pain sensitive tissues. Muscles, nerves, joints or ligaments are all examples of potential sources for head pain.

Muscles:
The most common type of headache is the tension-type headache. It represents approximately 90% of all headaches
and is described as a generalized tightness and ‘achiness’ around the head. The cause of tension-type headaches is thought to be tightness in the muscles of the neck and scalp. There are a number of contributing factors, including mental stress, postural stress,
lack of sleep, etc. Chiropractic adjustments are very helpful in reducing the frequency and intensity of tension-type headaches, because joints that move easier and have better alignment significantly reduce the stress and strain on the surrounding muscles.

Nerves:
The scalp is innervated primarily by the occipital nerves, originating in the upper cervical spine. Whenever these
nerves are irritated, the tissues that are connected to these nerves can feel like they are being irritated also. Thus, it is
common to feel headaches when subluxations are present between the first and second cervical vertebrae. If your head is aching at the base of your skull, and/or the pain is traveling around to your temples, then your pain is likely being caused by an irritation of the occipital nerves. If you are prone to these types of headaches, be sure to have your chiropractor assess your
neck. Often one or two adjustments are all that you need to take the pressure off these nerves.

Joints:
When joints become dysfunctional, all other tissues can be negatively affected, often leading to painful symptoms. Headaches that originate from dysfunctional joints in the neck
are called cervicogenic headaches. When the normal freedom of movement is restored in these joints with chiropractic adjustments, headache intensity, duration, and the need for
medication are all significantly reduced.
Thankfully, there is a study that finally shows how vertebral subluxations really are a pain in the neck (and head):
In this recently published study3, a researcher recruited a sample of students between the ages of 10 to 13 years old. The sample was divided into two groups: one containing children
who experienced recurring neck pain and/or headaches (40% of all the students surveyed), and the other group with an absence of these recurring symptoms. Then, a physical examination
was performed on each child, specifically analyzing postural alignment, range of motion of the cervical spine, muscle tone and function, plus passive motion of the individual neck vertebrae.
The results amazed even the researcher: of all the data collected
from the physical examinations, the only factor that could be correlated to the students’ pain was the presence or absence of cervical subluxations!
So, if you have any symptoms that resemble TMJ pain or headaches, remember to consult with your chiropractor
first.