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Chiropractor Costa Mesa Can Help You to Finally Eliminate Your Balance Challenges

Aug 13

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Chiropractor Costa Mesa can help you with your balance challenges. Controlling and maintaining body position while staying still or mobile is the essential function of good balance. Good balance helps someone to walk without faltering, arise from a sitting position without falling, and to climb stairs without slipping.

Balance difficulties are often disclosed by 9 percent of adults, aged 65 and older. Good balance is essential in aiding an older person to stay independent, and implement daily chores and activities. Many older individuals, however, undergo dizziness, “wooziness,” and challenges with balance.

The term, vertigo, refers to the feeling that some people have that they, themselves, or the things around them are spinning. About 40 percent of Americans will experience dizziness that is consequential enough to go seek medical assistance. And, among older adults, falls are the prevailing cause of serious injury and deaths.

Balance and Inner Ear Conditions

There are many types of balance disorders. Three customary types are benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, labyrinthitis, and Meniere’s disease. Of these three, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the most widespread. Its symptoms involve a brief, intense experience of vertigo with a change in head position, when rolling over to the left or right in bed or when getting out of bed, or when looking up for an object on a high shelf. This condition is more probable in persons 60 and older, however it can also take place in younger individuals.

There are diverse causes for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Inner ear infection, head injury, or simply aging can cause the problem. Whereas it can be linked to other disease processes, often a simple Epleys procedure can eliminate the problem. Your Costa Mesa Chiropractor has many years of experience in this procedure.

Labyrinthitis is an infection or inflammation of the inner ear that produces dizziness and loss of balance. It affects people|individuals of any age and the cause is unknown.

Ménière’s disease is a balance disorder that causes vertigo, irregular hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing or roaring in the ears), and a “full feeling” in the ear.

Age is not the only explanation for why these problems arise, but older persons are more likely to encounter balance disorders. Care for balance disorders varies depending upon the reason. Sometimes, there’s a simple answer to balance challenges, such as simple exercises for vestibular rehab. A chiropractor is well-trained in analyzing and treating most of balance problems. Consult a health care professional, such as your Costa Mesa Chiropractor, if you have experienced, or are currently experiencing, dizziness, vertigo, or other abnormalities with balance.

Whereas some balance disorders are created by challenges in the inner ear, other disorders may be associated with another area of the body, such as the brain or the heart. Other components, besides aging and ear infection, may include head injury, certain medicines, interferences with blood circulation, upper respiratory infections, viral infections, stress, fatigue, smoking, alcohol use, stroke, high or low blood pressure, and heart disease.

Balance disorders produced by high blood pressure can generally be managed by less sodium intake,cultivating a healthy weight, and exercise. To assist in making the symptoms of dizziness less severe, most often eating low-salt or salt-free foods, and staying away from caffeine and alcohol, will help.

Balance disorders are significant. It is the most prevalent cause of falls and fall-related injuries in older people. It is crucial to have a suspected balance disorder analysed and treated as soon as possible.

If you can answer “yes” to any of the following questions, you should discuss the symptom(s) with your chiropractor:

• Do you have the feeling of being “unsteady?”

• Does the room seem to spin around you?

• Is there ever a time when you feel as if you are moving when you know you are standing still?

• Do you lose your balance and/or fall?

• Do you feel as if you are falling?

• Does your vision ever become “blurred?”

• Do you ever feel disoriented, or lose a sense of time, place or identify?

Don’t wait until it’s too late! Call your Costa Mesa chiropractor today.

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Ask Chiropractor Costa Mesa How Chiropractic Can Help During Your Pregnancy

Aug 12

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If you are wondering if it a good idea to get your spine checked while you are pregnant, Chiropractor Costa Mesa has this answer: Absolutely! It is highly beneficial to get adjusted while you are pregnant.

You’ve probably noticed that, your body is going through many changes, and these adjustments will continue as the pregnancy progresses. One change that goes basically unnoticed is your body’s increased production of the hormone elastin. This hormone is designed to relax the tendons in the pelvis. This relaxation allows the pelvis more flexibility during the birthing process to make delivering the baby easier.

This process, despite the fact that its function is to assist the mother during labor, can create a lot of back pain in the months leading up to the birth. As the pregnancy advances, more elastin is released, which allows the pelvis to become increasingly more unstable. Add to that the gradual increase in the size of the baby and uterus, and you have the recipe for severe low back pain. As a Costa Mesa Chiropractor, I currently have several pregnant patients coming into my office for symptoms associated with their pregnancy, but as a rule it is for their low back pain.

A bonus to seeing a chiropractor routinely during your pregnancy is that there is proof that it can actually decrease labor time. Why do chiropractic adjustments help? Simply put, if the pelvis is where it needs to be, the muscles contracting during the labor process are more efficient and won’t have to strain against misaligned joints.

In answer to the second question above, most assuredly chiropractic care during your pregnancy is safe. Chiropractic is not only safe and beneficial in relieving the low back pain associated with pregnancy, but other symptoms like heartburn, nausea, swelling, and so on. Certain trained chiropractors can also help mothers who have a breached baby. This is done by using the Webster Technique, a low force technique to manipulate the uterus and get the baby into the proper presentation for delivery. A simple Google search on the Webster Technique can give you much more information.

In summation, not only is chiropractic safe for pregnant women, it is also very beneficial in helping with the symptoms associated with their pregnancy. To any pregnant women out there reading this, please go to see your local chiropractor, or if you are close enough, look up your Costa Mesa Chiropractor. We can make you feel a lot more comfortable during your pregnancy, and we can even make the labor process easier.

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Chiropractor Costa Mesa: Banking Takes on a Whole New Meaning When It Comes to Five-Year-Olds

Aug 2

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Chiropractor Costa Mesa believes that good chiropractic care includes pediatric chiropractic, and offers the following information:

From time to time, it can feel exhausting attempting to keep up with a five-year-old. If you have an active child of this age, or if you’ve ever been around one for any length of time, you may have found yourself wishing that the kid would just “veg out” for a minute or two. But, new research is recognizing the long-term health benefits of this whirlwind of activity. In fact, according to a new University of Iowa study, rather than making an effort to slow these little ones down, five-year-olds ought be given motivation to be as active as possible. Why? “Because it pays off as they grow older,” said Kathleen Janz, lead author of the study and professor of health and sport studies in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Even if kids don’t continue to be as active later in childhood, being active at age five assists them in avoiding excess fat as they get older. “We call this effect ‘banking’ because the kids benefit later on, similar to having a savings account at a bank. The protective effect is independent of what happens in between,” Janz went on to say.

The UI team tested the body fat and activity level of 333 kids at ages five, eight and eleven using a special scanner that accurately measures bone, fat and muscle tissue, and an accelerometer that measures movement every minute. The kids wore accelerometers to record their activity level for up to five days, providing much more solid data than relying on kids or parents to track minutes of exercise.

Even when controlling for their accumulated level of activity, the study (published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine) indicated that kids who are active at age five end up with less fat at age eight and eleven.  The average five-year-old in the study got thirty minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per day. For every ten minutes on top of that, kids had one-third of a pound less fat tissue at ages eight and eleven.

Although further investigation is needed to determine what happens to the active kids’ bodies that keeps them in better shape down the road, Janz said that it may be possible that the active 5-year-olds didn’t develop as many fat cells, improved their insulin response, or that something happened metabolically that provided some protection even as they became less active.

Weight moderation, however, isn’t the only benefit of early exercise. As a chiropractor I have observed in my own practice that active kids don’t have as many of the usual childhood health issues, such as catching colds and the flu. Chiropractic treatment is, naturally, particularly beneficial in helping kids to stay healthier. But, in addition, the stimulation to the brain that occurs during activities, especially those that necessitate “cross pattern” motor movements of the larger muscles, i.e., right hand/left leg and left hand/right leg, such as crawling, running, climbing, and skipping, also boosts the autoimmune system and keeps kids healthier.

Too many children today are overweight and unhealthy. Though part of the problem is an unhealthy diet, lack of exercise is also a major contributing factor. If you have a five-year-old who chooses to watch television or play video games rather than to participate in more active play, help your child to get up and get moving into healthier activities. Moderate to vigorous exercise will not only benefit your child now, but will help to build a healthier future. You can bank on it!

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Chiropractor Costa Mesa Asks: Does Your Computer Use Give You a Tingling Feeling?

Jun 25

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Chiropractor Costa Mesa is concerned that if you sit for extended periods at a computer, you may be experiencing lower back pain, upper back pain, and/or neck pain that also radiates down one or both of your arms generating additional pain, pins and needles, or numbness. Neck and shoulder pain are, in fact, the most common upper-extremity musculoskeletal problems among computer users. In a 2002 study tracking 632 computer users newly hired at major Atlanta companies, Dr. Fredric E. Gerr, an occupational medicine physician and ergonomics investigator at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and colleagues observed that roughly 60 percent developed neck or shoulder pain in the first year, though the study did not track how long symptoms persisted.

Younger generations growing up in the digital age are also joining the ranks of the “typing wounded.” Surveys at two universities found that 40 to 50 percent of undergraduates experienced upper-extremity pain from using their computers. Colleges do not build dormitory furniture to be ergonomically adjustable, said Dr. Benjamin Amick, scientific director of the Institute for Work and Health in Toronto, who was a co-author of those studies. “They build it to be indestructible.”

In addition to repetitive stress problems, sitting at your computer too long places your upper back in a sustained, stressful posture, especially if you tend to lean forward when you’re working. This also puts your neck at an unnatural and strained angle. Lower back pain, in addition to being generated by simply sitting for long periods of time without getting up and moving around, is aggravated by bad posture.

Problems caused by extended computer use can not only lead to an inability to perform your work duties, but can keep you from enjoying the rest of your life, too. Your Costa Mesa chiropractor can assist in eliminating the lower back pain, upper back pain, and/or neck pain that you are currently experiencing. After that, it is important for you to become mindful of your body as you sit at your computer, and to give your body what it naturally needs. You can cultivate the habit of both sitting straight in your chair (as opposed to slouching) and relaxing your shoulders. This will help to relieve tension in your lower and upper back and neck. Take time to stretch periodically to ease muscle tension and encourage healthy blood flow. If your work station permits, sitting on an exercise ball can not only aide in keeping you in a beneficial posture, but can help to strengthen your core muscles as well. (Make sure that the ball is the right size so that when you are seated on it your arms are at a ninety-degree angle to your keyboard.)

Good posture for ease of movement, variety in the motions that you do, and short breaks to relax and stretch will go a long way in keeping your computer work (or play) pain-free.

Partial source: The New York Times, Health Review, June 22, 2009

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Chiropractor Costa Mesa Offers A Surprising Solution to Your Allergy Symptoms

Jun 17

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Chiropractor Costa Mesa offers a surprising solution for your allergies:  Everyday life can be miserable when you have allergies. A walk in the garden, a play date with Fluffy, a shellfish stew, or even something as small as a nut can cause such unwelcome symptoms as itchy eyes, a runny nose, sneezing, or a skin rash. To make things worse, for some of us allergic reactions can go from just plain irritating to dangerous and life-threatening as our air passageway constricts and we have a hard time breathing. It may even seem to you, from time to time, that your environment is a pretty hostile place and that the world around you is, in fact, out to get you!

Why does your body react, or rather overreact, to the environment with such a severe allergic reaction while other people seem unaffected? It’s a valid question. The answer is that some people, like you, have a hyperactive immune system that literally “freaks out” when they are confronted with common substances such as pollen, dander, shellfish, or nuts.

Have you been wondering if your chiropractor can help your allergies? The answer may surprise you. Even though chiropractic care doesn’t treat allergies, quite a few individuals notice that they experience ease from their allergy symptoms after receiving chiropractic adjustments. This relief occurs because chiropractic adjustments affect the entire nervous system, including the autoimmune system. When there’s an impedance in the nervous system, in conjunction with other problems, the autoimmune system, whose task it is to assist us in adapting and responding appropriately to our environment, can become under-active or overactive. The problem is the latter when it comes to your allergies. Since chiropractic manipulations decrease or take away disturbances in the nervous system and bring back balance and harmony to the body, the manipulations provide that same homeostasis to the auto-immune system as well. A strong immune system reacts appropriately to supposed allergens in the environment.

So, as pointed out above, your chiropractor doesn’t directly treat allergies. You could say, instead, that relief from your allergies is merely a part of a well-adjusted nervous system. Make an appointment, today, to see your chiropractor and get back into harmony with your environment.

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Chiropractor Costa Mesa Offers A Natural, Drug-Free Approach to Treating ADHD

Jun 14

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Chiropractor Costa Mesa offers pediatric chiropractic information for you and your child:  You may have been told that chiropractors treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Well, that’s just not true. Although chiropractic care can certainly help children, and adults too, who suffer from it, chiropractors don’t actually “treat” ADHD. The reason why chiropractic treatment is effectual is that ADHD is a neurological disorder. Chiropractic manipulations not only effective in reducing nervous system disruptions in general, but an adjustment can be intentionally directed to stimulate under-active areas of the brain and calm over-active areas as well. Because a chiropractic approach to ADHD is natural and drug-free, quite a few parents choose chiropractic care over the standard medical practice of giving children Class 2 psychotropic drugs that have dramatically negative side effects such as personality changes and permanent alterations in the brain. The vast majority of parents who’ve chosen chiropractic treatment for their children have reported amazing behavioral changes as a result.

Because of the differences between the manner in which boys and girls use the two hemispheres of their brain, ADHD seems to afflict more boys than girls and, in addition, is commonly more apparent and easily recognizable in the behavior of boys rather than of girls. Prominent symptoms include difficulty concentrating and sitting still, inability to control impulsive thoughts and behaviors, easily distracted by noises and activities, incessant movement of fingers, hands, arms, feet, or legs.

Quite a few children who display ADHD symptoms are hypersensitive to certain foods, such as dairy or gluten products, and sugars and artificial sweeteners. In addition, they routinely have a hypersensitive reaction to additives in foods, herbicides and pesticides used to grow non-organic fruits and vegetables, and laundry products such as detergents, fabric softeners, and other chemicals. Frequently, the exclusion of these environmental factors can go a long way in easing ADHD symptoms.

Determining the presence of spinal abnormalities and particular responses to specific neurological tests are part of the comprehensive examination offered by your Costa Mesa Chiropractor.

Natural, safe chiropractic treatment can give your child a chance to get his or her life back in balance. If your child exhibits the symptoms of ADHD, before taking drastic pharmaceutical measures, call your chiropractor to make an appointment for a complete evaluation. For the health of your child, call today!

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Chiropractor Costa Mesa and Your Child's Health

Apr 17

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Chiropractic Costa Mesa offers gentle pediatric chiropractic care. Today’s parents are more concerned than ever about the adverse effects drugs have on their children. Parents are frequently asking, when handed a prescription for a child’s recurrent problem, “Is this really all I can do for my child? Isn’t there a safer alternative?”

Moms and dads are adverse to just mask symptoms with medication, and they are worried about side effects. Today, moms and dads are seeking out health care opportunities for their children that encourage and support their child’s inherent ability to be healthy.

Chiropractic care is that option. All children are stronger with 100% nerve function. The immune system is controlled by the nervous system. When it is working optimally, children stay healthier.  As far as a child’s health is concerned, “the best offense is a good defense.” Children are exposed to an extraordinary number of health-endangering illnesses every day that it would be inconceivable to immunize them against them all, even if there were such immunization available. Your Costa Mesa Chiropractor well-informed and has years of expertise when it comes to colds, sore throats, ear infections, fevers, colic, asthma, tonsillitis, allergies, bed-wetting, infections, pains, falls, stomach-aches, and the hundred and one little (and big) things children go through as they in their childhood years.

One of the functions of a chiroractor is to keep your child healthy and strong so that the ailments that seem to be an unavoidable part of childhood, either will not affect your child as fiercely or will not affect them at all. The function of chiropractic treatment is to remove interferences to the innate healing power running through the body. When that power is freed, the healthy results that take place quite frequently are profound.

Furthermore, when a child’s spine is in alignment, he or she is far less vulnerable to sports and play injuries. In addition, children who get adjusted on a regular basis more often than not don’t experience as many “growing pains” as other children.

Lately, we are finding at your Costa Mesa Chiropractor that more and more moms and dads are bringing their children to us for general childhood health concerns. All children are entitled to manifest their entire potentiality. Chiropractic care for children at your Costa Mesa Chiropractor is safe, gentle and effective.

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Chiropractor Costa Mesa Can Help Your Shoulder Pain

Apr 15

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Chiropractor Costa Mesa Can Help Your shoulder pain. Here’s why:

The complexity of the shoulder joint allows it to perform many different actions and activities. Anatomically, the shoulder involves three unique bones – the scapula, the clavicle, and the humerus – many connecting ligaments, and approximately 20 different muscles. The primary articulation, the glenohumeral joint, is joined by ligaments and a group of muscles (and their tendon attachments) known as the rotator cuff. Problems with the rotator cuff are common causes of shoulder pain and disability. sports injuries, mechanical dysfunctions from muscle imbalances, or wear and tear of the tissues encompassing the joint are often the causes of shoulder problems. Arthritic changes do happen in the shoulder joint, though not as commonly as in the weight-bearing joints of the spine, hips and knees.

Anatomy

Problems in the shoulder often arise in the cervical spine as the nerves from this region animate all of the muscles and other tissues of the shoulder, elbow, arm and hand. If these nerves are irritated, the shoulder muscles can become tight or weak causing dysfunction in the normal mechanics of the joint, principally in the rotator cuff. A similar problem can occur if one overuses the shoulder in sports such as tennis and golf, or in other repetitive activities that cause the muscles of the joint to become overly tight or strained. People are at risk of developing imbalance and shoulder problems if they sit too much in a lazy position, or with their shoulders held forward.

Rotator Cuff Syndrome

Pain and restricted motion will continue to occur until the imbalances and irritation are rectified. The severity can vary from a slight “catching” or pain to an almost complete inability to use the shoulder. This painful condition is often called Shoulder Impingement or Rotator Cuff Syndrome, and can afflict patients of all ages.

Frozen Shoulder

Another common condition is ” frozen shoulder. “This often incapacitating condition occurs when the ligaments and tendons of the glenohumeral joint get so inflamed that adhesions occur making the joint nearly stuck together. This results in extreme pain, as well as limitation of shoulder movement that makes even dressing oneself difficult! Attention from a professional, such as your Costa Mesa chiropractor is very important because if left alone, frozen shoulder could take several years to heal if it heals at all. The disorders mentioned above are the most prevalent of all shoulder disorders.

Treatment

Most shoulder treatments are relatively the same. Muscle imbalances can be fixed with chiropractic treatment that includes soft tissue mobilization modalities to restore proper mobility to the shoulder joints and to correct any subluxations in the spine. Special rehabilitation exercises recommended by your Costa Mesa chiropractor are also essential for a fulland fast recovery.

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