Chiropractic and Oil Changes: What the Similarity Means to You

Maintaining your health is very similar to maintaining your car. When you really think about the comparison and look at it on a very basic level, there is not much difference.

The Parable of the Poorly-Maintained Truck

When I was 18, I had a white ’97 Chevy S-10. It was my first vehicle and I really enjoyed it.

The dealership we bought it from gave me a checklist of things that needed to be done on the truck i.e. oil change every 3,000 miles, rotate the tires regularly, etc.

I enjoyed having a truck, don’t get me wrong, but I wasn’t the most intelligent human being at 18.

I was also pretty lazy.

Case in point: I did not get my first oil change in the truck until about 12,000 miles.

That was my first and last oil change for a long time.

The truck had a warranty for 3 years or 36,000 miles, whichever came first, which is pretty standard with a new vehicle.

At about 36,001 miles, my truck started making a clicking noise. I didn’t pay much attention to it for a while. What’s the big deal, right?

The clicking gradually grew louder and louder, until finally I decided I better take it in to the shop. I took it to the dealership we bought it from and they looked at it. I waited for a while while they looked at it, until finally the service manager came out and asked me a question.

“Have you changed the oil lately?” He asked.

“Uh, yeah,” I said. “I think I changed it, uh, just last month.”

“Really,” he said in a very skeptical tone. “Because there’s nothing but black sludge in the engine, and that usually happens when the oil hasn’t been changed in a very long time.”

While he was talking, I was thinking to myself that it wasn’t a big deal and they would just fix it.

Then I snapped out of it when he said “Your engine has to be replaced.”

I suddenly felt a pit in my stomach. Getting an engine replaced was a big deal… and it was expensive. I knew that much. I also knew that I did not have that kind of money.

He told me he was going to see what he could do and get back to me in a few days.

Eventually it worked out. They were able to replace the engine, and somehow, by the grace of God, they were able to apply the engine replacement to the recently expired warranty. I don’t know how and I don’t know why, but I escaped that incident without paying a dime. But, I did learn a very potentially costly lesson: change your vehicle’s oil more than every 12,000 miles.

Needless to say, I make sure to get the oil changed regularly now.

Comparing a Truck to a Human Being

What happens if you don’t maintain your health? Let’s take a look.

Let’s say Bob slips and falls and smack his head on the ground. That fall shakes his spine up and his atlas (C1) misaligns. He starts to develop headaches not long after the fall. He begins feeling achy everywhere as well, due to spinal compensation, which is a re-alignment of the rest of the spine to compensate for the misalignment of the atlas… Not a good thing.

Over time, the headaches get worse and Bob goes to see a general practitioner (GP). They prescribe him Thorazine to relieve the pain and occasional nausea that accompanies it.

At the same time, Bob’s spine is beginning to degenerate a much quicker pace than normal. Because his atlas has misaligned, the rest of his cervical spine has leaned forward to compensate. This gives him a forward head posture that stretches his spinal cord, which over time may lead to leg weakness, incontinence, and scoliosis. His cervical spine begins to develop a reverse curve, which his thoracic spine compensates for by curving more than usual. His lumbar spine then responds by straightening itself out.

Now Bob begins to have bad low back pain. He begins to take over-the-counter NSAIDS like ibuprofen.

Bob also realized, from his recent trip to his GP, that he has high blood pressure, so he is now on Sectral as well.

Because of all his pain and discomfort, Bob has become depressed. He goes to a psychiatrist and gets a prescription for Prozac, but it needs to be balanced out so he doesn’t get too much of a high, so the psychiatrist prescribes Bob lithium as well.

During this time, Bob’s spine continues to degenerate. His intervertebral discs start to degenerate in his neck. The friction that the newly touching vertebrae are creating causes bone spurs to form in his cervical spine.

Meanwhile, all the drugs he is taking are causing him severe abdominal pains and his liver is not functioning properly anymore. His cervical spine begins to fuse in places where the intervertebral discs have now almost completely disintegrated.

And the process of dis-ease becoming disease goes on and on until Bob is finally relieved by death.

How many of us want to go out like that?

Prevention is the Best Medicine

Just like getting an oil change maintains the health of your vehicle, getting your upper cervical spine checked and/or adjusted on a regular basis is key to allowing your body to function at 100%. Allowing your body’s Innate Intelligence to express itself properly so that dis-ease does not take hold is paramount.

The only way to do that is to make sure your body is free of nerve interference.

The best place to start is a specific upper cervical adjustment.
- By Dr. Brandon Harshe, The Atlas of Life


Chiropractic Rehab Center and Advanced Wellness Studio
www.nkychiropractor.com
(859) 331-9566

Healthy Tips for Everyday

Just like brushing your teeth, healthy habits should be cultivated on a daily basis. The following is a guide to daily tasks:

1. Activity should be a daily occurrence. Walk, run or jump for a minimum total of 20 minutes a day.

2. Protect your skin. Sun block should be applied on face, neck, arms and hands even in the dead of winter. It protects against climatic toxins too. Moisturize skin daily.

3. Eat fruits, vegetables, grains, low-fat dairy products and small amounts of protein. Avoid sweets and other processed foods.

4. Meditate or spend a minimum of five minutes daily in quiet time.

5. Find your spiritual self. Discover what inspires you, raises your level of consciousness, motivates you, and satisfies your soul.

6. Exercise your brain. Read, study, solve problems, and learn new skills. As does the body, the brain atrophies with lack of use.

www.nkychiropractor.com

Vitamin C for Wrinkles - Is Oral or Topical Better?

Brought to you by the Advanced Wellness Studio, located within the Chiropractic Rehab Center of Crescent Springs.

Vitamin C is much touted for its ability to prevent and improve wrinkles. Many people take Vitamin C as a supplement, but does oral Vitamin C work as well as topical Vitamin C skin care products for wrinkles?

The mechanism with which Vitamin C prevents wrinkles is due to its antioxidant properties. Damaging free radicals are generated in the skin by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun. These free radicals cause photo-aging, ie wrinkles and sun spots. Vitamin C in the skin is thought to play a key role in neutralizing these free radicals and reducing UV skin damage.

Once the sun damage has been done, vitamin C is believed to help treat photo-aging and improve wrinkled skin due to both vitamin C's antioxidant properties and by increasing collagen production and improving collagen organization.

There is an abundance of skin products on the shelf that contain vitamin C. But is it really worth the extra cost, could consuming extra Vitamin C be enough? The human body has to get vitamin C from the diet because it can't make it's own. The vitamin C available from our diet is then used by every cell in our body, including our skin. Couldn't eating lots of Vitamin C rich fruits and veggies and/or taking vitamin C orally be enough?

Well, it turns out that a very high concentration of vitamin C is required to get a therapeutically effective level of vitamin C in the skin. There are two characteristics of vitamin C that keep us from getting skin-therapeutic levels from oral supplementation. The first is that vitamin C is well absorbed orally at lower does, but absorption decreases as the dose increases. Approximately 80% of a 100 mg dose is absorbed, 63 % of a 500 mg dose is absorbed, and less than 50% of a 1250 mg dose is absorbed.

The second characteristic of Vitamin C that limits our attainable vitamin C levels in the skin, is that vitamin C is water soluble. So at high doses most of the Vitamin C that is absorbed is actually just excreted in the urine.

Topical preparations that contain vitamin C work well to increase the amount of vitamin C in our skin. Research indicates that skin creams containing 10% vitamin C might be most effective for increasing vitamin C concentrations in the skin. By using lotions or creams with vitamin C daily you can benefit from the protective antioxidant effect and the restorative collagen-boosting effect of vitamin C.

For additional information about Health and Wellness, please visit our website:
www.nkychiropractor.com



By Nicole Evans, M.D.
References:

Kligman AM. Topical treatments for photoaged skin. Separating the reality from the hype. Postgrad Med 1997;102:115-26.

Padayatty SJ, Levine M. New insights into the physiology and pharmacology of vitamin C. CMAJ 2001;164:353-5.

Raschke T, Koop U, Dusing HJ, et al. Topical activity of ascorbic acid: from in vitro optimization to in vivo efficacy. Skin Pharmacol Physiol 2004;17:200-6.

Traikovich SS. Use of topical ascorbic acid and its effects on photodamaged skin topography. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1999;125:1091-8.

Tips for Reducing Back Pain While Driving

After hours of driving, even minor back pain can become unbearable. One way to ease some of the pain is to make frequent stops, stepping out of the car, and placing your hands on your hips and leaning backwards. Occasionally, however, this may not be enough to chase away the pain from driving.

Here are a few tips for reducing back pain that is caused by driving for a long period of time:

•Stretch out slowly in the morning. Avoid vigorous exercise because it is at this time that discs are most filled with fluid and especially prone to injury.

•If you are headed out the door for your commute, put your wallet in your breast pocket. The bulk of a wallet can press on the sciatic nerve when you sit and drive.

•If you use your mobile phone in the car, remember to use your wireless headset, don’t cradle the phone on your neck while you drive as it can increase your buildup of back and neck strain. Also, if your seat is too soft it could be adding more stress to your back.

•While you are driving, learn to recognize tension. Put on relaxing music. Try reducing muscle tension by stretching one leg and arm at a time.

•Park your car the farthest possible distance from where you work. The walk will do you and your back good, and it may be the only exercise you’ll grab before you begin the commute home again.

If you don’t have the benefit of a seat with lumbar support try these tips to help reduce the amount of stress on your lower back.

•Insert a small, rolled towel against the base of your spine. The towel should be placed at or slightly below the belt line. This will place the lumbar spine into a neutral position.

•Adjust the angle of your hips relative to your knees. Anytime you are in a sitting position and your knees are higher than your hips, your back will flex into a forward-bent position. A simple way to adjust your position is to place one or two folded towels underneath your buttocks, bringing your hips in line with your knees. It may feel awkward at first as you are higher in the seat, but it will also prevent you from having pain.

For more information please call our office at (859) 331-9566 or visit our website at: www.nkychiropractor.com


Portions of these tips were taken from Medical News Today and Zero Pain.

Stop Sloughing!

For every inch your head drops forward as you're slouching, the stress on your spine increases by 10 pounds. So sit up straight!

Poor Posture (Part 1)

By Dr. Lisa Beighle

You’ve probably heard people say, “sit up straight, keep your shoulders back and don’t slouch.” Children usually get that advice from their parents, and like all good advice it should last a lifetime, because poor posture can lead to a painful condition called postural syndrome.

Postural syndrome can cause physical changes to the body and painful side effects. Most people with the condition notice their shoulders are rounded and tend to droop forward. Muscles that connect the shoulders and the back of the neck to the head then tend to pull the head forward, and the resulting position can cause constant, aching pain, stiffness and even burning in the upper and middle back areas, as well as in the shoulders, neck and head. Over time, poor posture can also lead to the development of trigger points (tight muscle fibers), which can refer pain throughout the back and neck, as well as cause headaches.

Poor posture usually develops gradually in people who sit improperly for long periods. Think about how much time you spend sitting. You probably sit in your car, at work, when you’re eating meals and when you’re watching television. And if you’re like most people, you probably tend to sit with a forward bend, which causes your shoulders to become hunched over. This is the opposite of good posture, which is a state of musculoskeletal balance that involves a minimal amount of stress or strain on the body.

Over time, poor posture can cause a muscular imbalance in the body. Normally, there are balanced tug-of-war games happening between the chest muscles and the upper back muscles and between the muscles that bring your chin to your chest and the muscles in the back of your neck . No muscle group wins, because they all have equally strong players.

The impasse ends, however, when chronic poor posture gives the chest muscles the advantage. The chest muscles then become tight and short, tugging or pulling the shoulders forward. Chronically tight chest muscles cause the muscles behind the shoulders to become relatively weak. At this point, the stronger muscles pull the spine out of its normal alignment, causing postural changes. Now the shoulders are slouched forward and the head, because of its connection, must follow. In an effort to hold the head up to compensate, the muscles in the back of the neck then become tight, ending the other tug-of-war and causing the head to jut forward.

If you have postural syndrome or just poor posture, it’s important that you see your chiropractor as soon as possible. Postural awareness and adequate care can help restore muscle balance and joint health, but since it may have been many years since you started ignoring your parents’ advice, it may take some time for you and your chiropractor to fix the problem.

For more information about this or any other health releated topic give us a call at (859) 331-9566 or visit our website at: www.nkychiropractor.com