Author: Randy Briesacher

How to Improve Your Posture

When discussing posture, we often refer to your body’s overall position as you stand, sit, or lie down.

Most experts would agree that a “good” overall posture involves physical positions that reduce stress on the body by balancing the load placed on the muscles and ligaments that support the spine.

If you’ve looked in the mirror and noticed that your posture doesn’t look as balanced as you’d like – not to mention it doesn’t feel as balanced as you’d like – you may be wondering what you can do to improve it.

One of the best ways to improve your posture is through motion.

Changing positions frequently during the day, stretching, and specific postural exercises are all ways to improve your posture.

Good posture helps you keep your bones and joints in proper alignment, which helps reduce the wear and tear on your joints and decrease the strain on the ligaments that support your spine.

Here are some key takeaways:

Good posture means keeping your spinal curves aligned and weight evenly distributed.

Stretches and exercises can help improve your posture and reduce your risk of neck and back pain.

Standing desks have been shown to reduce back pain by over 30% compared to sitting at a desk.

Remember that stretching and exercising are essential when creating a plan to improve your posture.

Equally important is knowing where to start.

Our postural and movement assessments can help you determine the best strategy to help balance and improve your posture, especially if you’ve been living with pain.

It all starts with a phone call. We’re standing by and ready to help!

Perfect Posture is Dynamic

Is there such a thing as perfect posture? The answer may surprise you.

The latest research shows that it’s actually more beneficial to think about your posture as dynamic, not static.

In other words, your ideal posture is constantly changing and evolving.

Think of your posture as a dynamic pattern of responses, reflexes, and habits, not just a fixed position.

Gravity, your work environment, and your body’s anatomy all play essential roles. For instance, sitting for hours at a time staring at a computer screen is a perfect example of a damaging static posture that, over time, can lead to the development of chronic forward head posture.

Forward head posture affects millions of people who spend their days using computers and can potentially cause pain and degenerative changes in your spinal joints. It places stress on the neck and shoulders and weakens the supporting muscles.

Here’s what you need to know…

Forward head posture affects millions and results in neck pain for up to 75% of those affected.

Neck pain, tension, stiffness, and tenderness are all signs of chronic forward head posture.

Trapezius strengthening has been shown to provide clinically significant relief for those struggling with neck pain due to forward head posture.

If you spend long hours each day in a single position – like sitting at a computer – it’s important to take the time to take periodic breaks to stretch and move your body.

Remember, posture is dynamic, and stretching can help “reset” your posture but also help keep your spine healthy and your energy levels up!

Scheduling a posture and movement assessment with us is also a smart idea to help ensure you remain as pain-free as possible no matter how you spend your days. Just give us a call!

E-Learning: How to Avoid Tech Neck

Is your child connected to a phone, computer, or tablet during and after school? Think about it. Many of us aren’t more than an arm’s length from our phone at any time (even when sleeping). Spending time every day looking down at our devices can place a lot of stress on the supporting muscles of our neck and lead to an uptick in headaches. It’s a condition called “Tech Neck,” one of the most common causes of headaches and neck pain.

The countless daily hours kids spend on phones and computers can significantly contribute to tension headaches. It’s estimated that kids spend up to 1,400 hours per year in the exact positions attributed to the development of “Tech Neck.” That’s not surprising. Recent research has also shown that even 15 degrees of forward head tilt can triple the weight of the head on the spine.

Here are some key things to remember when it comes to “Tech Neck”:

“Tech Neck” is the term used to describe the symptoms of headaches, neck pain, and poor posture attributed to the forward head posture often associated with using your phone, tablet, and computer.

Taking a break from our mobile devices every 15 minutes can help reduce the likelihood of developing recurring neck pain and headaches.

Chiropractic care, including adjustments and postural exercises, can help decrease the pain and reverse the effects of “Tech Neck.”

Next Steps:

Keep it simple. Encourage your children to take breaks and stretch often. These are some of the best (and easiest) ways to help them break the bad habits leading to “Tech Neck.” If your child spends a lot of time online and begins experiencing neck pain or headaches, don’t hesitate to give us a call.

Our team is experienced in evaluating children and creating kid-friendly care plans. Our doors are open, and we’re ready to help you and your family live the highest quality of life possible!

Power Your Child’s Brain with Movement

Years ago, many believed that the health benefits of exercise were limited to the body. However, research has demonstrated that regular physical activity and movement can benefit the body and the brain. Recent studies have highlighted that movement can improve the supply of oxygen to the brain and promote the production of new cells. It appears movement also aids in creating new connections in the brain!

Many schools have reduced physical education classes. Many more students have moved towards e-learning. For those reasons, it’s important to be mindful of our children’s physical activity and encourage them to exercise more daily. And not just to benefit their physical health. In many ways, exercising each day is likely to make your child a better student! Movement triggers the release of chemical substances in the brain that enhance brain function.

Here’s a quick snapshot of the benefits of movement:

Better Brain Function – Movement may protect your brain against degenerative changes.

Better Stress Reduction – Exercise and movement have been shown to have an antidepressant effect that can help reduce overall stress.

Better Memory – Regular exercise can help directly and indirectly improve recall and reasoning skills.

Why Chiropractic Care is Critical for Kids Who Play Sports

Youth sports are a big deal. It’s estimated that over 45 million kids are actively engaged in sports! While sports give kids a fantastic opportunity to grow socially and physically, they also increase risks for injuries, pain from overuse, and muscular imbalances. Finding proactive ways to reduce the risk of injury and balance the effects of training are essential for your child’s developing musculoskeletal system.

Your child’s skeletal system is actively developing until they are approximately 25 years old. Their postural habits, history of injuries, and genetics play a role in their body’s final form (and function). Sports have the potential to add a significant amount of stress and increase the chances of injuries for your developing child. Even small injuries to their spine can create bigger challenges down the road as they get older.

To recap:

Addressing minor injuries and challenges while your child is young can help ensure proper musculoskeletal development.

Youth sports can increase your child’s likelihood of developing overuse, growth plate injuries, and chronic pain.

Chiropractic care is a safe and natural way to help your child stay active and perform their best.

Be Smart With Your Smartphone and Look Up!

As education steps into the digital age, many students will be e-learning in some capacity for hours each day on their digital devices. While our devices can be fantastic tools for entertainment and education, the postural effects are something all parents should be aware of. For many students, e-learning may increase neck, mid-back, and low back pain.

Spending six or more hours each day looking down at your digital devices can profoundly affect your mental, social, and physical health. It can also lead to the development of “Tech Neck Syndrome.” This forward head posture often places tremendous stress on the neck (cervical spine) and can lead to an uptick in headaches, back and neck pain, and more.

Did you know…

Low back pain is the 3rd most common form of pain interfering with schoolwork.

It’s estimated that 50.3% of school-aged children present with posture disorders.

Approximately 41.6% of children experience back pain from prolonged sitting.

The Benefits of Chiropractic

Do you know the benefits of chiropractic care? Many people know that chiropractors adjust the body’s joints, but things can get confusing after that. The truth is that chiropractors help your body heal itself through movement-based techniques that influence your body’s nervous system, muscles, and joints.

The benefits of chiropractic can extend beyond just your spine. Chiropractors have been trained to work with nearly all the joints in your body. But there is something unique about spinal adjustments. Spinal adjustments have been shown to directly and indirectly, influence your nervous system. Since your nervous system is the master control system of your body, you may experience improvements in function and pain relief that extend beyond the area of your body that is being adjusted.

– Spinal adjustments can help relieve pain and improve your body’s function

– Chiropractors are trained to treat a variety of conditions that extend beyond your neck and back

– Adjustments can influence your neuromusculoskeletal system and provide unexpected benefits beyond pain relief alone

Next Steps:

Whether you are looking to find relief from pain, correct the cause of your health issues, or you’re seeking improvements in function and performance, chiropractic care may be able to help. It’s very common for people with low back pain, headaches, or neck pain to seek chiropractic care. But don’t forget about all of the other joints of your body- we can help there too. And finally, if you’re seeking human performance improvements, you may want to try chiropractic care. There’s a reason chiropractors are a part of every major sports team

Taking a Stand Against Opioids

Meta-description: About 30 years ago, medicine had a shift in how they thought pain should be addressed. “Pain is a 5th vital sign” became a rallying cry, and new medications were created to block pain…at all costs. It’s now time to take a stand against opioids.

About 30 years ago, medicine had a shift in how they thought pain should be addressed. “Pain is a 5th vital sign” became a rallying cry, and new medications were created to block pain…at all costs. They now know that these medications created a never-before-seen healthcare epidemic. To begin with, the drugs weren’t very good at addressing chronic pain, and they require larger and larger doses to achieve an effect over time.

Taking a stand against opioids starts with our ability to help people find relief from chronic pain. Nearly all of our primary healthcare organizations have now advocated for a non-drug approach to care. And the data is clear- people are looking for solutions for chronic pain that extend beyond a prescription.

– The Centers for Disease Control (FDA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and others have recommended a non-pharmacological approach to chronic pain should be the first line of treatment

– Over 40% of blogs relating to opioids are focused on people trying to find solutions “beyond the pill”

– Together, we can end the opioid crisis by breaking the cycle of chronic pain with natural and effective healthcare choices

Chronic pain is described as biopsychosocial, which means that it’s complex and has many dimensions. Creating personalized care, goal-oriented, and coordinated care plans are critical and exactly why our practice begins each patient with a complete and thorough evaluation. Our evaluation helps us understand your history, goals, and challenges. From there, we can create a comprehensive plan of care that enables you to find long-term relief from chronic pain.

Exposing the Truth Behind Opioids

The truth will set you free. While much of the information about the opioid epidemic is shocking, it’s important to understand how we got here. For example, when we first learned that 35 billion opioids (half of all the distributed pills) were handled by about 15% of pharmacies, it became clear that there was a network of “pill mills” that weren’t concerned about helping people actually find relief from their chronic pain.

Chronic pain is a real issue for tens of millions of people each day. In many cases, the answer isn’t found in a pill but rather with a combination of movement-based treatments. Your body heals through motion. Taking medications may provide temporary relief, but they don’t address the cause of your pain. Nearly everyone who takes opioids for an extended time becomes dependent. We think it’s a smart idea to avoid the risks.

– In 2016, over 91 million people used prescription opioids – The rates of emergency department visits involving opioids more than tripled from 1999 to 2013

– Over 16 million people currently suffer from an opioid use disorder

Finding Relief Without Opioids

There is no question that opioids are powerful painkillers. The problem is they are also highly addictive and don’t actually fix the cause of your pain. But, if you’re struggling with chronic pain,

you may be curious about your best care options. How can you fix the cause of your pain, find lasting relief, and avoid these harmful medications?

You may be surprised to discover that people who saw a chiropractor for spine pain had half the risk of filling an opioid prescription than those who didn’t. It’s not just that chiropractors don’t prescribe these dangerous medications. As time passed, most people were not likely to fill an opioid prescription at all. That indicates the care provided by chiropractors helped people find enough relief that they no longer sought medications to find relief!

● Choosing chiropractic for spinal pain can reduce your risk of filling an opioid prescription by over 50%

● Masking spine pain with medications can possibly increase your risk of further injury

● Movement-based care helps your body heal and can improve your likelihood of finding long-term relief