One Key to Perfect Posture

So my topic for this month's Blog Talk at the clinic (on Wednesday the 18th at 6pm) is "The Power of Perfect Posture".  And I thought it would be the ideal time to talk about a much overlooked and essential anatomical feature that has a great deal to do with our posture.  Our feet.

Even though our society as a whole is getting more and more sedentary, we still spend a great deal of time on our feet.  And, our feet play a very vital role in our posture.  I especially think this is an appropriate topic given the fact that it is now flip-flop season in much of the country.  First, a little anatomy.

Did you know that there are not one, not two, but actually three arches in your feet?  It's true.  We not only have the main arch along the inside of the foot, but also one along the outside, and one along the ball of the foot. 
The bad part is that most shoes do NOT provide support of any kind to the former two arches.  Some are very good at giving ample inside arch support but there are few flip-flops that do so.

Since we typically do not get enough support for our multiple arches, most people will have decreased or even collapsed arches.  When this happens, we typically get pronated feet.  It basically means that your flat feet cause your foot to lean toward the middle of your gait.  When this happens, it can have other ramifications.

Anytime that you are on your feet, your body's weight is being supported by your feet and the arches in your feet, or at least the arches that should be there.  So if your feet are pronated, for example, it can put more stress on your ankles, knees, hips, and spine all the way up to the base of your skull.  It's a lot like a building.  It could be perfectly level in the beginning but then ground settling and changes in the earth may cause the building to sit crookedly and over time, even the smallest beams can become warped and cracked.  Therefore, if the base of your body is out of alignment, your spine is more susceptible to imbalances such as subluxations.

So, the moral of the story is, if you have chronic knee, hip, low back, or even neck pain and nothing seems to be helping, it's worth getting your feet looked at.  Because a sturdy foundation can only be good for the weight it supports.

What's the Difference?

Alright.  It's time for some Chiropractic Philosophy.  This time I'll be addressing a topic that's kind of a heated topic within the chiropractic realm.  That is the difference between an adjustment and a manipulation.

I just want to state right off the bat that the two terms, in my view, are NOT interchangeable.  There is a difference and a rather large difference I believe.  However, when it comes to insurance companies, there is no such difference. 

A manipulation of a joint is not what I do.  A manipulation is basically making a joint, or area, move for the sake of getting motion into that area.  There is no specific force, direction, or necessarily even specific intention involved.  You just get the area moving.  It's kind of like when you crack your knuckles.  You're not studying where exactly the joint is fixated, or stuck, which way it needs to move,and how much force to use.  You just crack your knuckles.

An adjustment of a joint is completely different.  Yes, with an adjustment, you get the joint moving again, but that's about where the similarity with a manipulation ends.  A chiropractic adjustment has years of book learning and physical training behind it.  There's a reason that I went to undergraduate college for three years then got my Bachelor's and Doctorate at chiropractic school during a rigorous three and one third years of year round schooling.  That's because there is a LOT to be learned about the human body, how it works, and how to fix it when it's "broken".

In chiropractic school we are taught to perform chiropractic adjustments, not manipulations to just get an area moving.  With every chiropractic adjustment that I do, I take into consideration which joint I am trying to move, why it needs to move, which direction it needs to move into, how much force to use based on the joint, body type, and fixation, and I have the intention of moving the joint to remove any irritation from the surrounding structures (ie: nerves).  As you can see, there's actually quite a big difference.

So if you've been hearing the two terms being used interchangeably, especially if you follow chiropractic laws or insurance jargon, just remember that there is a difference.  And, if you see a chiropractor who says that he/she uses manipulation, don't hesitate to ask why they don't call it an adjustment.  It's what chiropractors have been calling it for the past 125+ years.

UPDATE: WA State Vaccine Fight

As some of you may have seen, I posted about an issue in the State of Washington where there was a bill trying to restrict the personal decisions of parents and require them to get their children vaccinated without the choice of religious or philosophical exemption.  Since then, there have been some changes.

First of all, the Senate Bill (ESB 5005) passed on March 25th.  That means, 90 after the adjournment of the session, the bill becomes law.  Now if the session adjourned that day, the new law would take effect on approximately June 23rd.

Secondly, the bill was slightly changed since my last posting on the topic.  The philosophical exemption is still gone.  The religious exemption was left on the books, it's just been changed.  You need to prove membership in a church that does not allow medical care.  Also, the medical exemption is still on the books.  For both the religious and medical exemption, you will be required to visit a medical practitioner (eg: MD, DO, ND, NP), get a signed piece of paper stating that you have been informed and educated on vaccines (not necessarily the detriments of vaccines), then meet the religious exemption requirement or prove that your son or daughter's health is in danger when receiving a vaccine.

However, for those of us who do not belong to a church that prohibits medical care, myself included, that creates a bit of an issue.  Forget about the right to choose what you deem necessary for your children for a second.  You will be required to pay for an office visit to a medical practitioner to maybe get a piece of paper signed saying you are exempt for a medical reason.  Not to mention, they typically give vaccines while at the hospital after the baby is born.  And if you have time to get that separate office visit done in the couple minutes between the birth and the administration of the Hep B vaccine, more power to you. 

The only way to fully get around the new law is to home school your children.

Finally, I've had a few people ask what we can do in the meantime.  Sadly, there's not much.  As I've been told by higher ups, there will be litigation in the court system against the Constitutionality of the bill.  One way to help support is to join the Yahoo group Fundamental Rights Coalition of WA to stay up to date with what is going on.  You can also contact your legislator on the issue.  At the end of the post, I will list which legislators voted for restricting our rights and which voted against restricting vaccination exemption.

The best way to help fight what has happened is the good old grass roots movement.  Spread the word.  Let your friends and family know what's happened in WA State.  Of course, if anyone has comments or questions, please feel free to comment below.

Yea Votes (voted to restrict vaccination exemption):
Representatives Alexander, Anderson, Bailey, Billig, Blake, Carlyle, Chandler, Clibborn, Cody, Dahlquist, Dammeier, Darneille, Dickerson, Dunshee, Eddy, Finn, Fitzgibbon, Frockt, Goodman, Green, Haigh, Haler, Hasegawa, Hope, Hudgins, Hunt, Hunter, Hurst, Jinkins, Johnson, Kagi, Kelley, Kenney, Ladenburg, Liias, Lytton, Maxwell, McCoy, Miloscia, Moeller, Moscoso, Nealey, Ormsby, Orwall, Pedersen, Pettigrew, Probst, Reykdal, Roberts, Rodne, Rolfes, Ryu, Santos, Seaquist, Sells, Smith, Springer, Stanford, Sullivan, Takko, Tharinger, Upthegrove, Van De Wege, Walsh, Wilcox, and Mr. Speaker

Nay Votes (voted to keep philosophical, religious, and medical exemptions as they were):
Representatives Ahern, Angel, Armstrong, Asay, Buys, Condotta, Crouse, DeBolt, Fagan, Hargrove, Harris, Hinkle, Kirby, Klippert, Kretz, Kristiansen, McCune, Orcutt, Overstreet, Parker, Pearson, Rivers, Ross, Shea, Schmick, Short, Taylor, Warnick, and Zeiger

The Fad Diet Frenzy

It seems like every couple months, there's a newer, more effective diet that's the rage of Hollywood.  The diet gets really popular because of the star power and press it receives, hangs around for a few years, then flickers until no one even thinks twice about doing the diet again.  These are known as Fad Diets. 

Just like anything else (Pogs, Furbies, Pet Rocks, etc.), most diets that use some product or service fall into the fad category.  Most of these Fad Diets are loosely based on science, if they're even science based at all.  The problem is that most of the time, these diets are such a drastic change in your normal dietary patterns that they will make a difference, but it is commonly short lived.

For example, one of the biggest diets on the scene right now is the HCG Diet.  The HCG diet is loosely based on the premise that getting a regular supplement, or even injection, of HCG, aka Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (a normal physiological hormome most prominent in pregnant women, it's actually the hormone that's tested when a pregnancy test is performed), will help someone in their quest for weight loss.  However, when you actually start looking into the diet portion of the HCG Diet, the daily caloric intake (how many calories you eat) is severely restricted.  And if anyone severely restricts the amount of food they eat, they're at least going to lose some weight.  Not to mention that severely restricting how much you eat is unhealthy.  Your body needs food.

On the unhealthy note, some fad diets are just plain dangerous.  Remember the Atkins Diet.  Basically you wouldn't eat any carbs and then load up on proteins.  It didn't matter if the protein was bacon or quinoa.  But of course more poeple are going to eat bacon and other "unhealthy" meats instead of quinoa.  These unhealthy proteins can lead to severe problems like atherosclerosis (plaque in the blood vessels) and other diseases.  In fact, Mr Atkins himself died from complications typically linked to a diet rich in high fat foods.

So the next time that you hear that Scarlett Johansson used the X Diet to lose 15 pounds for her next role or Ryan Reynolds tried the Y Diet to beef up for his next gig, just pass it off as another one of those tricky Fad Diets.  After all, you know what you should and shouldn't be eating.  Just listen to that little voice in your head and reach for a handful of sugar snap peas instead of a handful of Cheetos.

Sit Up Straight!

With me hosting my 2nd blog based class tomorrow about the American Sedentary Lifestyle, I figured that it would be the perfect opportunity to address one of the aspects of our increasingly sedentary lifestyle, sitting at work.

As most people know, there are far more jobs that require people to sit at work than there used to be.  With the advent of technological advances in computers and robotics, our jobs require us to sit a lot more than before.  We are able to communicate and calculate using our work computers instead to getting up and physically going somewhere.  There have also been robots taking over jobs that have long been held by people, and then of course we need people to use computers to control the robots, which means more sitting.

And all this sitting is not so great on our bodies because it decreases our mobility and can lead to chronic problems.  The good news is even if you do need to sit all day, there is a proper way to do so.

First thing first, make sure you have a good chair.  One that changes heights, back angles, has adjustable arm rests, and a back that goes up to at least your shoulders is a good start.  Even better would be a chair that has an adjustable lumbar support.  If your chair doesn't have a lumbar support, you can easily add one by taking a towel, rolling it up, and placing it right in the small of your back.

You also need to make sure eveything's is ergonomically set up.  Having your screen at eye level prevents you from looking down and forward the whole day.  Make sure that your keyboard is set up so that you are not straining to use it.  Make it sit at a comforatble angle for you shoulders, elbows, and wrists.  Just make sure that it's not sitting too low that you have to hunch over to type comfortably.

Finally, and the previous two go hand in hand with this, make sure that you have proper posture.  By having everything in the correct place, you should be sitting tall with your shoulders back and your head directly over your shoulders.  Most people will be slumped forward with no lumbar curve, their shoulders rounded forward, and their head way in front of their shoulders.  This position only leads to trouble.  Take a look at the picture for a good reference:

Of course, you should always get up and move around whenever possible.  Stretch, go for a walk on your break, take the stairs, etc.  It's pretty easy to add that tiny bit of exercise and you'll be doing your body a world of good by adding that little bit.

Fight for What you Believe In

If there's one blog that I want you to read, it's this one.  The reason is that there is a serious issue going on in the State of Washington right now.  Our governor, Chris Gregoire, has initiated a bill to the state House and Senate that would abolish a right of choice of it's citizens.  House Bill 1015 and Senate Bill 5005, if passed, would do away with the right of the parents of a child to choose whether or not to have their child vaccinated for religious or philosophical reasons.

Now, I'm not going to argue that I want these bills to be shot down because my son isn't vaccinated or because of the potential harm that vaccines pose to people, especially infants with a developing immune system, that can be found in my previous blog.  This blog topic is going to focus on the principle of the presented bills.

First, these bills would take away the right that parents do currently, and should always have, to make a decision on what they deem best for their child.  Whether it is because of religious views or philosophical views, you should never be forced to do something to your child that is potentially harmful. 

Secondly, if these bills are passed, the governement is saying that they know what's best for your child and that your child needs to be protected via vaccination which has been proven to be harmful.  I don't know about you, but I think I know a little bit better what is best for my child than a group of politicians being lobbied by pharmaceutical companies.

Thirdly, the proposed bills, if passed, would be in contradiction to the 1st and 14th amendments.  Whether you are religious or not, you know that we have the right to religious veiws, and if your religious views go against vaccination, the governtment isn't able to usurp those views (1st Amandment).  Also, "no State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States" is directly from the 14th Amendment.  It sounds like if these bills are passed and become law, then the law would be in violation of the US Constitution. 

I know this blog sounds very political.  However, whether you are liberal or conservative or somewhere in between, whether you are against vaccination or for it, the principle is that we should never be forced to do something that is potentially harmful to ourselves or our children.

If anyone would ilke some more information on what you can do to help defeat these bills and keep the law the way it is, please feel free to e-mail me and request more info at menstad@nwhealth.edu.

Runnin' On Empty

I know that during these dreary, cold winter days, it's more difficult to keep those energy levels up.  But, if you're not careful, you could be on the slippery slope to chronic fatigue.

Fatigue is an ailment that affects most, if not all people, at some point in their lives.  The key is to not let it stay for a prolonged period of time.  The reason that fatigue is so damaging to you health is because it is a negative stressor on your body. It does things such as release cortisol, the stress hormone, decrease metabolism, cause dehydration, headaches, anxiety, and a whole lot of other unhealthy things.  When your body gets into a rut of chronic fatigue, you will not only feel crummy and tired all the time, but your body will be running at a sub-optimal level.  And this sub-optimal level could actually lead to stress related diseases such at Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, and others.

So what can you do to fuel up your tank?  Here's a couple easy, everyday changes that you can make to your routine to help boost your energy levels.  Now, they may be difficult at first, but once you do them for a while, it will be like second nature, and before you know it, you'll be able to feel the extra energy.

1- Get more & regular sleep.  Our bodies function on what's called a Circadian Rhythm.  When you get at least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep by going to bed and waking at the same time, your body will be able to get into a groove and you will feel more rested and energized.

2 - Exercise.  It kind of sounds counter productive.  Use energy to get more energy?  But it's true.  When you exercise regularly, you increase specific hormones which in turn can increase your metabolism and you also get more oxygen into your system for better cellular recovery and energy levels.  The key is to not overdo it and give yourself some recuperation time.

3 - Drink!  Just water though.  Anytime that you feel thirsty, your body is telling you that you are at least mildly dehydrated.  And even mild dehydration can lead to stressors such as anxiety, depression, aggravation, and other energy suckers.  So make sure you're drinking at least 64 ounces or water per day.

4 - Chow down.  Food is energy.  And your body needs the right kind of food to keep up your energy levels.  You should be eating a large breakfast (Breakfast like a King) with foods that have a low glycemic index.  This essentially means that the food will be digested and broken down for a longer period of time.  It's like a time-release capsule, you'll be getting the energy (calories-yes you need calories) for a longer period of time instead of all at once like if you were to eat a 3 Musketeers.  In general, low glycemic index foods include proteins, fats, and complex carbs.

So you can try all four right away or just try one of the suggestions and see how you feel after a week, then a month, then a year and I'm sure you'll be able to tell the difference.