Connecting DCs to Relief Agencies

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) sends its thoughts and prayers to the victims and survivors of the deadly tornadoes that struck the southern and midwestern regions of the country recently. Reports indicate that the storms killed as many as 247 people in six states. Many more have been impacted by the disaster.

The ACA has attempted to reach out to state associations in affected areas to learn more about the impact on the chiropractic profession. At this time, no loss of life has been reported within the chiropractic community; but sadly, some homes and business have been damaged or destroyed.

“My heart goes out to everyone affected by these devastating storms,” said ACA President Dr. Rick McMichael in response to the news. “But I know that the chiropractic community will band together and provide support to colleagues in need during the difficult weeks and months ahead.”

For doctors of chiropractic who wish to donate or volunteer, and to those who may have been affected by the tornadoes, below are useful links to Red Cross and FEMA resources and information.


AMERICAN RED CROSS
www.redcross.org

- Donate to support relief efforts
- Become a volunteer
- Learn how to help

FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION (FEMA)
www.fema.gov

- Disaster Areas

- 2011 Federal disaster declarations
- Alabama
- North Carolina

Waterloo Music Festival on May 14 & 15

Waterloo Village is coming alive again through the efforts of the Friends of Waterloo Village, which will present the Waterloo Music Festival Saturday and Sunday, May 14-15. Headlining on Saturday night at 7 p.m. is the Chapin Family. Tom, Steve and Jen and their bands will delight the audience with their incredible musical talent and their wonderful songs and stories. This multi talented, Grammy award winning family will delight you with their warmth, easy style and friendly manner.

The event will feature live music both days.

The Waterloo Music Festival is an event sponsored by the Friends of Waterloo Village in collaboration with the Spirit of the Arts Foundation for the purpose of raising funds for the restoration and revitalization of Waterloo Village, a National Historic Site situated on the Morris Canal in Byram Township.

The festival will include food vendors, beer and wine, business and craft vendors and more. Come by and say hello to us at our booth. Optimal Family Chiropractic will be located in the vendor section of the Village.

Gates open 11 a.m. each day. The kids (including you) will love to visit the Indian Village and the Canal -- all at no additional cost. You might even remember going there as a child yourself...

Ticket information is available at www.WaterlooMusicFestival.com. Reserved seating is available for both days. Reserve your tickets now. For further information, call Sandy at 973-875-2068.

Maintenance Care for Low Back Pain

Third-party payers, medical-model providers and other health care stakeholders who question the value of maintenance care, particularly for low back pain (LBP), should consider findings from a new study published in the journal Spine, which asks (and then answers) the question, "Does Maintained Spinal Manipulation Therapy for Chronic Non-Specific Low Back Pain Result in Better Long-Term Outcome?"

The study suggests patients with low back pain of at least six months duration experience greater improvement following one month (12 treatments) of spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) followed by "maintenance spinal manipulation" every two weeks for nine months than subjects who receive one month of SMT only (12 treatments) or 12 treatments of "sham" SMT for one month. Patients in the manipulation and manipulation-plus-maintenance groups improved with respect to pain and disability after one month compared to the sham group. After 10 months, only the group receiving maintenance care reported significant improvement, whereas the one-month-only group's pain and disability scores had returned "near to their pretreatment level."

According to the investigators, even greater differences were seen with respect to disability scores over the duration of the study: "By the end of the first phase [one month], SMT significantly reduced the disability score in the no-maintained-SMT group and maintained SMT when compared to the sham group. Analysis of the data after the 10-month period showed that while the disability score of the patients in the no-maintained-SMT group returned back nearly to their pretreatment level, the score was significantly lower in patients who received maintenance SMT. In the maintained SMT group, the disability score was reduced by an average of 18.98 points lower than baseline level."

Measurements of forward bending and lateral bending also revealed sustained improvements in subjects receiving maintenance SMT, while improvements in the no-maintenance group during the initial phase of care decreased to near the pretreatment level by the end of the second phase.

Source: Adapted from Senna MK, Machaly SA. Spine (published ahead of print), Jan. 17, 2011. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e3181f5dfe0

Tips for Spring Conditioning

Spring is here and summer is fast approaching but hibernating all winter on your couches and shoveling snow could have a negative impact on your health. As you throw that softball around and work around your garden, digging up weeds and planting flowers, you need to be conscious of backaches and other muscle strains that can place stress and strain on your bodies after a winter of inactivity.

The Association of New Jersey Chiropractors (ANJC) has come up with a list of 10 tips that individuals can best prepare for spring and summer activities.

To properly condition oneself for spring yard work, gardening and leisure activities, the ANJC recommends the following tips:

10 Tips for “Spring Conditioning”

1. Don't over-do things in the beginning; warm-up with jumping jacks or a slow jog for sports activities.

2. Stretch after the light-jog/jumping jacks; stretch all the muscles used in an activity (not just the legs).

3. If you are working in the garden, bend with your knees and not your back, and use your arms and legs while working.

4. Consider using more ergonomically designed tools.

5. If you are working on a home or garden project ask a family member, neighbor or friend for assistance. Don’t try to do too much, too soon and too fast!

6. Always incorporate breaks while you do your task. To avoid injuries, stop the activity when fatigue starts to set-in.

7. Whether or not you feel pain, apply ice to any joint that typically is sore after activity.

8. Have a plan of action if an injury is experienced.

9. Know your limits and have fun whatever the activity.

10. Remember to remain hydrated and concentrate on keeping your breathing comfortable and natural.

If you continue to feel soreness, pain or strain after following these tips, it may be time to visit a chiropractor.

Getting a Great Night's Sleep

This is the fourth and final article in a series about the importance of sleep for your health and wellbeing.

Good sleep is one of the most underappreciated contributors to good health, even though the connection between the two is abundantly clear. It goes way beyond whether you'll be sluggish the next day; a poor night's sleep can affect your health in countless ways, from the psychological to the physical. Discuss these helpful hints with your doctor and make sure you get the sleep you need every night. It's that important.

Common Sleep Stoppers

Improper planning

Uncomfortable beds and sheets

Unexpected stress

Normal, everyday stress: job stress, money stress, etc.

Lack of sex

Lack of proper diet

Injury

Pain

Noise

Lack of white noise

Medication use

Improper napping (too long or too close to normal bedtime)

How Pain, Stress and Medication Affect Sleep

When you're in pain, it can be difficult to sleep due to the constant stimulation to your nervous system. Significant numbers of individuals attempt to self-medicate or mix medications in an attempt to achieve sleep, which can have dangerous consequences.

When we sleep, our body breaks down various chemicals and forms a major sleep chemical known as serotonin. The activity of serotonin can be blocked by high levels of cortisol. Our bodies produce cortisol in direct relationship to the amount of stress we are under. Cortisol works as a very slow adrenaline and its presence will elevate the heart rate and mental alertness at all times of the day and night. Many patients take antidepressants long-term, which can lead to a hypersensitivity to serotonin.

Some commonly prescribed anti-depressant drugs work by making your nerves more sensitive to serotonin. If prescribed long-term, they can lead to a hypersensitivity to serotonin. This is known as serotonin syndrome, symptoms of which include changes in mental status and a host of other effects on the body and its systems. These symptoms will definitely not help you sleep.

11 Ways to Get a Great Night's Sleep

Limit exercise and other stressful activities immediately before bedtime.

Remove all distractions from the bedroom that could keep you from sleeping.

Organize your life so you can get to bed at a consistent time each night.

Sleep on a regular schedule: 4.5, 6, 7.5 or nine hours is ideal because it marks the completion of a sleep cycle.

Buy a pedestal fan to help you sleep deeply; point it at your face (not too close to cause sinus problems).

Make sure your bed, mattress and pillow are comfortable enough to sleep through the night.

Don't drink liquids so close to bedtime that you need to get up in the middle of the night.

If you need to fall asleep to TV, music or with lights on, program a sleep timer so they'll go off at a certain time.

Minimize or eliminate medication use for pain/sleep/depression if possible.

Use natural supplements (only if needed and with advice from your doctor).

If you're experiencing sleep problems, talk to your doctor and keep a sleep journal for a few weeks.

David Ryan, BS, DC, is a former two-sport professional athlete with more than 20 years in the health care field. This article was published in To Your Health, an MPA Media publication.

April Is Backpack Safety Month

4 Steps to Safe Backpack Use

Below are helpful tips to insure you know how to safely use your backpack in order to promote spinal health.

Step 1: Choose Right. Choosing the right size backpack is the most important step to safe backpack use. Tip: Bring a friend to help you measure your backpack properly.

Step 2: Pack Right. The maximum weight of the loaded backpack should not exceed 15% of your body weight, so pack only what is needed.Tip:If the backpack forces the wearer to move forward to carry, it's overloaded.

Step 3: Lift Right. Face the Pack-Bend at knees - use both hands and check the weight of the pack - lift with the legs - Apply one shoulder strap and then the other Tip:Don't sling the backpack onto one shoulder.

Step 4: Wear Right. Use both shoulder straps - snug, but not too tight. Tip: when the backpack has a waist strap - use it.

Chiropractic Care: Less Pain or More Health?

What are you hoping to get from your chiropractic care? Less pain? Less tightness? Or more health? More movement? More life? This single distinction best explains why some people opt to benefit from chiropractic care for the rest of their lives. They’re the ones who want more.

But it often doesn’t start that way. Many people begin chiropractic care because they have an ache or a pain they want to quiet. In other words, they start out wanting less. As they learn what chiropractic care is, they discover it could offer more. More of what they really want. Participating in that discovery is one of the greatest joys chiropractors experience.

Some don’t see the difference between a proactive (more) and a reactive (less) approach to their health, preferring to seek care only when they have symptoms. No worries. Everyone shows up at a different place on this journey of self discovery. Chiropractors are merely here to serve, whether they want less or more.