It’s that time of year again, BACK-TO-SCHOOL! As helpful as backpacks are, they can strain muscles, joints, and could cause back pain if too heavy or used incorrectly. On Monday Dr. Fletcher will go over the proper way to wear a backpack for all of our back to school children.
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1. Try a new pillow.
In terms of comfort and support for your neck, while you sleep, there are many options and you may need some trial and error to find what works best for you. As a general rule, it is best to use a pillow that keeps your cervical spine in neutral alignment—meaning, the natural curve of your neck is supported and maintained. (Provigil)
There are a number of options, and what works best for you will largely be determined on the cause of your neck problem as well as your sleep preferences. Here are a few examples:
If you’re like most people, you change your sleep position during the night, so be sure to have a pillow—or more than one pillow—that works for each of your sleep positions.
Read more about pillows: Different Types of Pillows
2. Sleep on your back if you can.
In general, sleeping on your back is the best position to let your entire spine rest comfortably. Some people with neck problems find it helps to sleep on their back and place a pillow under each arm, with the idea that supporting each arm takes strain off the neck.
Some people with spinal arthritis or stenosis may find that sleeping at a slight incline is easier, so they add a foam wedge pillow to their bed and/or switch to an adjustable bed.
See Considerations Before Buying an Adjustable Bed
If you prefer to sleep on your side, make sure your pillow is not too high—usually around 4 to 6 inches thick, depending on the density of the pillow material and the distance between the neck and point of the shoulder. This height should typically prevent your head and neck from turning or bending unnaturally to either side.
The bottom line is if it’s not comfortable, it’s not a good “fit”!
Learn more about sleeping positions: Best Pillows for Different Sleeping Positions
Laptops most often require you to angle your head downward to see the screen, so connecting your laptop to a separate monitor, or screen, is often very helpful.
For further reading on office ergonomics, see:
4. Exercise and stretch your neck.
Keep your neck muscles strong by doing short sets of strengthening and stretching exercises throughout the day. One of the simplest exercises to do is the chin tuck exercise
Watch Video: 4 Little-Known Natural Pain Relievers
This exercise helps strengthen the muscles that pull the head into alignment over the shoulders. It also stretches the scalene and suboccipital muscles.
See What to Consider Before Starting Exercises for Neck Pain
For a full description of how to do this exercise and others, see:
5. Stay well hydrated.
Yet another reason to drink lots of water during the day is to nourish and hydrate the discs—the spongy structures that lie between the vertebrae in your neck. These discs are made up of mostly water, so staying well hydrated will help keep your discs pliable and strong.
See Spinal Discs
Ideally, try to drink at least 8 large glasses of water a day. Try a few options and see what works best for you:
Keep a water bottle with you and sip throughout the day
Set an alarm on your watch or cell phone for every 2 hours and chug a glass of water every time it goes off
Drink 2 to 3 large glasses of water with each meal
6. Carry weight evenly.
A common mistake people make is carrying a heavy purse or briefcase on one side of their body. This uneven load can cause your shoulders to become uneven, straining your neck muscles.
First, try to lighten your load by taking only your essentials in your purse or briefcase, and make an effort to keep your shoulders level at all times when you carry it. Consider using a backpack that distributes weight evenly across both of your shoulders.
6.Maintain supportive posture.
Poor posture can cause neck pain by straining muscles and ligaments that support the neck, resulting in injury over time.
The head-and-shoulders-forward posture is the most common example of poor posture that contributes to neck pain. This occurs when the neck slants forward, placing the head in front of the shoulders.
For every inch the head shifts forwards, an extra 10 pounds is added to the muscles in the upper back and neck. A 5-inch forward shift results in 50 extra pounds of force. Remember, keep your chin tucked inward to avoid this.
This posture causes the upper back to slump forward as well, placing a strain on the entire spine.
7. Relieve trigger-point pain.
Irritation to the facet joints of the lower cervical vertebrae in your neck can result in muscle trigger point pains. Trigger points are small knots in the muscle or fascia—which is a layer of tissue under your skin and around the muscle—that can lead to pain. There are certain massages you can do yourself to work these trigger points and lessen the pain. See Trigger Point Exercises for Neck Pain for a description of these exercises.
References quoted from:
https://www.spine-health.com/blog/10-tips-prevent-neck-pain
Check us out on Facebook, twitter, and instagram
https://www.facebook.com/fletcherchiropracticcenter
https://twitter.com/fletcher_chiro
https://www.instagram.com/fletcherchiropractic/?hl=en
1. Try a new pillow.
In terms of comfort and support for your neck, while you sleep, there are many options and you may need some trial and error to find what works best for you. As a general rule, it is best to use a pillow that keeps your cervical spine in neutral alignment—meaning, the natural curve of your neck is supported and maintained.
There are a number of options, and what works best for you will largely be determined on the cause of your neck problem as well as your sleep preferences. Here are a few examples:
If you’re like most people, you change your sleep position during the night, so be sure to have a pillow—or more than one pillow—that works for each of your sleep positions.
Read more about pillows: Different Types of Pillows
2. Sleep on your back if you can.
In general, sleeping on your back is the best position to let your entire spine rest comfortably. Some people with neck problems find it helps to sleep on their back and place a pillow under each arm, with the idea that supporting each arm takes strain off the neck.
Some people with spinal arthritis or stenosis may find that sleeping at a slight incline is easier, so they add a foam wedge pillow to their bed and/or switch to an adjustable bed.
See Considerations Before Buying an Adjustable Bed
If you prefer to sleep on your side, make sure your pillow is not too high—usually around 4 to 6 inches thick, depending on the density of the pillow material and the distance between the neck and point of the shoulder. This height should typically prevent your head and neck from turning or bending unnaturally to either side.
The bottom line is if it’s not comfortable, it’s not a good “fit”!
Learn more about sleeping positions: Best Pillows for Different Sleeping Positions
Laptops most often require you to angle your head downward to see the screen, so connecting your laptop to a separate monitor, or screen, is often very helpful.
For further reading on office ergonomics, see:
4. Exercise and stretch your neck.
Keep your neck muscles strong by doing short sets of strengthening and stretching exercises throughout the day. One of the simplest exercises to do is the chin tuck exercise
Watch Video: 4 Little-Known Natural Pain Relievers
This exercise helps strengthen the muscles that pull the head into alignment over the shoulders. It also stretches the scalene and suboccipital muscles.
See What to Consider Before Starting Exercises for Neck Pain
For a full description of how to do this exercise and others, see:
5. Stay well hydrated.
Yet another reason to drink lots of water during the day is to nourish and hydrate the discs—the spongy structures that lie between the vertebrae in your neck. These discs are made up of mostly water, so staying well hydrated will help keep your discs pliable and strong.
See Spinal Discs
Ideally, try to drink at least 8 large glasses of water a day. Try a few options and see what works best for you:
Keep a water bottle with you and sip throughout the day
Set an alarm on your watch or cell phone for every 2 hours and chug a glass of water every time it goes off
Drink 2 to 3 large glasses of water with each meal
6. Carry weight evenly.
A common mistake people make is carrying a heavy purse or briefcase on one side of their body. This uneven load can cause your shoulders to become uneven, straining your neck muscles.
First, try to lighten your load by taking only your essentials in your purse or briefcase, and make an effort to keep your shoulders level at all times when you carry it. Consider using a backpack that distributes weight evenly across both of your shoulders.
6.Maintain supportive posture.
Poor posture can cause neck pain by straining muscles and ligaments that support the neck, resulting in injury over time.
The head-and-shoulders-forward posture is the most common example of poor posture that contributes to neck pain. This occurs when the neck slants forward, placing the head in front of the shoulders.
For every inch the head shifts forwards, an extra 10 pounds is added to the muscles in the upper back and neck. A 5-inch forward shift results in 50 extra pounds of force. Remember, keep your chin tucked inward to avoid this.
This posture causes the upper back to slump forward as well, placing a strain on the entire spine.
7. Relieve trigger-point pain.
Irritation to the facet joints of the lower cervical vertebrae in your neck can result in muscle trigger point pains. Trigger points are small knots in the muscle or fascia—which is a layer of tissue under your skin and around the muscle—that can lead to pain. There are certain massages you can do yourself to work these trigger points and lessen the pain. See Trigger Point Exercises for Neck Pain for a description of these exercises.
References quoted from:
https://www.spine-health.com/blog/10-tips-prevent-neck-pain
Check us out on Facebook, twitter, and instagram
https://www.facebook.com/fletcherchiropracticcenter
https://twitter.com/fletcher_chiro
https://www.instagram.com/fletcherchiropractic/?hl=en
HEADACHES AND CHIROPRACTIC
If you have a headache, you’re not alone. Nine out of 10 Americans suffer from headaches. Some are occasional, some frequent, some dull and throbbing, and some cause debilitating pain and nausea. What do you do when you suffer from a pounding headache? Do you grit your teeth and carry on? Lie down? Pop a pill and hope the pain goes away? There is a better alternative.
Research shows
Research shows that spinal manipulation- one of the primary treatments provided by doctors of chiropractic- may be an effective treatment option for tension headaches and headaches that originate in the neck. A 2014 report in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT) found that interventions commonly used in chiropractic care improved outcomes for the treatment of acute and chronic neck pain and increased benefit was shown in several instances where a multimodal approach to neck pain had been used. Also, a 2011 JMPT study found that chiropractic care, including spinal manipulation, improves migraine and cervicogenic headaches.
What can you do?
The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) offers the following suggestions to prevent headaches:
if you spend a large amount of time in one fixed position, such as in front of a computer, on a sewing machine, typing or reading, take a break and stretch every 30 minutes to one hour. The stretches should take your head and neck through a comfortable range of motion.
Low- impact exercise may help relieve the pain associated with primary headaches. However, if you are prone to dull, throbbing headaches, avoid heavy exercise. Engage in such activities as walking and low- impact aerobics.
Avoid teeth clenching. the upper teeth should never touch the lowers, except when swallowing. this results in stress at the temporomandibular joints (TMJ)- the two joints that connect your jaw to your skull- leading to TMJ irritation and form of tension headaches.
Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day to help avoid dehydration, which can lead to headaches.
What Can a Doctor of Chiropractic Do?
Doctors of chiropractic undergo extensive training to help their patients in many ways beyond just treatment for low-back pain. they know how tension in the spine relates to problems in other parts of the body, and they can take steps to relieve those problems.
Information linked from:
http://www.spinalwellness.com
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http://facebook.com/fletcherchiropracticcenter
Outdoor winter activities
Winter Recreational activities and chores can pose problems for the outdoor enthusiast whose bodyu is not in condition. Winter sports like skating, skiing and sledding can cause painful muscle spasms, strains or tears if you’re not in shape. Even shoveling snow the wrong way, climbing awkwardly over snow banks, slipping on sidewalks and wearing the wrong kind of clothing can all pose the potential for spasms, strains and sprains.
The ACA (American Chiropractic Association) suggests that you start with some light aerobic activity (jogging, biking, fast walking) for about 7-10 minutes. then follow these tips to help you fight back the winter weather:
Shoveling Snow
Shoveling snow can also wreak havoc on the musculoskeletal system. The ACA Suggests the following tips for exercise of the snow shoveling variety.
After any of these activities, if you feel sore, apply ice to the affected area for 15-20 minutes, then take it off for a couple of hours. Repeat a couple times each day over the period of the next two days. If you continue to feel soreness, pain, or strain after following these tips, it may be time for you to visit your chiropractor.
Consider visiting a chiropractor next time winter activities leave you with aches and pains.
/www.facebook.com/fletcherchiropracticcenter
/www.instagram.com/fletcherchiropractic
http://www.acatoday.org
Outdoor winter activities
Winter Recreational activities and chores can pose problems for the outdoor enthusiast whose bodyu is not in condition. Winter sports like skating, skiing and sledding can cause painful muscle spasms, strains or tears if you’re not in shape. Even shoveling snow the wrong way, climbing awkwardly over snow banks, slipping on sidewalks and wearing the wrong kind of clothing can all pose the potential for spasms, strains and sprains.
The ACA (American Chiropractic Association) suggests that you start with some light aerobic activity (jogging, biking, fast walking) for about 7-10 minutes. then follow these tips to help you fight back the winter weather:
Shoveling Snow
Shoveling snow can also wreak havoc on the musculoskeletal system. The ACA Suggests the following tips for exercise of the snow shoveling variety.
After any of these activities, if you feel sore, apply ice to the affected area for 15-20 minutes, then take it off for a couple of hours. Repeat a couple times each day over the period of the next two days. If you continue to feel soreness, pain, or strain after following these tips, it may be time for you to visit your chiropractor.
Consider visiting a chiropractor next time winter activities leave you with aches and pains.
/www.facebook.com/fletcherchiropracticcenter
/www.instagram.com/fletcherchiropractic
http://www.acatoday.org
Scraping Therapy Benefits
Scraping is a soft tissue mobilization technique that helps to aid your body in healing from soft tissue injuries. Tissue in our bodies that connect, support or surround our internal organs and bones generally what are called ” soft tissues.” These would include fascia, ligaments, tendons, and muscles. If you are experiencing pain caused by soft tissue injury, you may be interested in scraping therapy.
Soft tissue injuries can be caused by trauma and come on suddenly, or injuries can be caused by overuse. Soft tissue injuries can be mild, moderate, or cause severe pain. Swelling, stiffness and/or bruising can all be associated with soft tissue injuries. When soft tissue is aggravated in your body, adhesions are formed it’s a way your body of dealing with the source of pain. (pckart.net) on some accounts, scraping can help and offer pain relief.
What is Scraping Therapy?
There are a vast amount of different tools used in different shapes and sizes used in scraping therapies. During your scraping therapy your physician will use a tool to gently “scrape” back and forth over any muscle that is experiencing problems. This is to reduce soft tissue restrictions and muscle restrictions. Scraping can be very helpful to patients that have scar tissue, fascia restrictions, and strained muscles.
What does Scraping Therapy benefit?
How does Scraping Therapy work?
Scraping therapy is done to release the body of blood stagnation. To visualize this, you may want to compare the water from a running stream versus the water in a stagnant pond. The stagnant pond typically is full of green moss, and other growths as well. While the running stream will have clear water and constant flow. Our blood circulation is very similar to this analogy. When blood isn’t flowing properly, it becomes stagnant and creates an environment more suitable for disease.
This is why Scraping is a useful technique. it can quickly release blockages in your body. This is because it promotes body fluid circulation which helps to normalize cellular metabolic processes and release toxins from your deep cellular tissues. Scraping has two main functions, where it both nourishes and detoxifies.
For further questions on scraping therapies reach out to your chiropractor, physical therapist, or massage therapist. Scraping therapies are commonly used in these practices.
Scraping Therapy Benefits
Scraping is a soft tissue mobilization technique that helps to aid your body in healing from soft tissue injuries. Tissue in our bodies that connect, support or surround our internal organs and bones generally what are called ” soft tissues.” These would include fascia, ligaments, tendons, and muscles. If you are experiencing pain caused by soft tissue injury, you may be interested in scraping therapy.
Soft tissue injuries can be caused by trauma and come on suddenly, or injuries can be caused by overuse. Soft tissue injuries can be mild, moderate, or cause severe pain. Swelling, stiffness and/or bruising can all be associated with soft tissue injuries. When soft tissue is aggravated in your body, adhesions are formed it’s a way your body of dealing with the source of pain. on some accounts, scraping can help and offer pain relief.
What is Scraping Therapy?
There are a vast amount of different tools used in different shapes and sizes used in scraping therapies. During your scraping therapy your physician will use a tool to gently “scrape” back and forth over any muscle that is experiencing problems. This is to reduce soft tissue restrictions and muscle restrictions. Scraping can be very helpful to patients that have scar tissue, fascia restrictions, and strained muscles.
What does Scraping Therapy benefit?
How does Scraping Therapy work?
Scraping therapy is done to release the body of blood stagnation. To visualize this, you may want to compare the water from a running stream versus the water in a stagnant pond. The stagnant pond typically is full of green moss, and other growths as well. While the running stream will have clear water and constant flow. Our blood circulation is very similar to this analogy. When blood isn’t flowing properly, it becomes stagnant and creates an environment more suitable for disease.
This is why Scraping is a useful technique. it can quickly release blockages in your body. This is because it promotes body fluid circulation which helps to normalize cellular metabolic processes and release toxins from your deep cellular tissues. Scraping has two main functions, where it both nourishes and detoxifies.
For further questions on scraping therapies reach out to your chiropractor, physical therapist, or massage therapist. Scraping therapies are commonly used in these practices.
