Self Care
As Chiropractors, we specialize in keeping your nervous system healthy by ensuring your spine and extremity joints function optimally. However, the overall goal is to make you as healthy as possible by empowering you to take control of your health. Below is a list of things that you can do to ensure your body functions at the highest level.
Nutrition - One of the most important aspects of our health is a healthy diet. It directly affects everything about you, including your spine, soft tissues, and immune system. There is a lot of confusion in our culture about what constitutes a healthy diet and what does not. Our doctors are very well-trained in nutrition, and they are passionate about encouraging dietary change in our patients. You can read more about how to improve your diet at our blog. Please contact our office should you have any questions about your diet and may need to instill a few simple changes.
Water Intake - Consuming an adequate amount of water every day is incredibly important. Oftentimes, water consumption is viewed as overly basic and taken for granted. We need water to supply our nervous system, maintain our immune health, to digest well, and to lubricate our joints so that they don’t become arthritic, just to name a few of the many functions for which water is required. Many symptoms that you are experiencing may well be due to the fact that you are chronically dehydrated, and in reality, the majority of people in our society fail to consume an adequate amount of water daily. We recommend you drink approximately half of your body weight in ounces daily. The type of water you drink is also very important. For any questions about proper sources of water, please feel free to reach out!
Exercise - One of the most fundamental components of our health is physical activity. Exercise will boost your immune function, increase your energy levels, improve your mental health, aid in stress management, help your body detoxify, and allow you to better manage your weight. It also helps you maintain strength and bone density, which is important for preventing injury, especially as you age. We recommend that you do your best to live an active lifestyle: Do yard work, garden, go for walks, have a scheduled work out time and routine throughout the week, etc. Patients often ask about the best way to exercise. Our response is, “Whatever you’ll do consistently - and safely.” Most patients have significant postural imbalances being addressed while we are caring for them. If you have postural changes, that means your movement patterns are altered. This sets you up for injuries since high impact workouts or heavier weights can expose structural weaknesses in your body. We absolutely recommend that our patients stay active, but also that they perform lower impact workouts with only their body weight or light weights during the time they are receiving postural corrective care. This establishes a proper postural foundation that is more stable, and helps to prevent new injuries, or the exacerbation of old injuries, due to postural restrictions and poor movement patterns. Once their postural asymmetries have improved through care, we recommend that they gradually get back to whatever activity they love. If you have any questions about your posture and how you may be exposed to injury, please reach out to us for a detailed and thorough examination!
Sleep - Getting enough quality sleep each night is vital for your nervous system health (especially your brain), your immunity, your pain responses, and your mental health. Consistent high-quality sleep is also protective against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. We recommend 7 to 7 ½ hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. We do a lot of sleeping in our lifetime. Since sleep is so important for our health, we recommend you make an investment in a good night’s sleep. Purchasing a good pillow and a good mattress are two ways you can do that.
- Pillow - Supporting the natural curves of your neck while you sleep, whether on your back or side, is crucial for maintaining your spinal health. We recommend using a pillow with a neck curve that has been properly sized to you and is dense enough to support your neck. Our team would be happy to fit you for the right pillow!
- Mattress - A good mattress that supports your spine well during the night is very important for maintaining your spinal health and ensuring you get a good night’s rest. The appropriate combination of materials will result in a comfortable mattress that also supports your spine properly. If you need some recommendations, please feel free to contact us!
Footwear - Allowing for the natural motion of the foot is crucial to maintaining not only foot health, but lower extremity and spinal health. Unfortunately, the vast majority of modern footwear does not allow for the natural motion of the foot to take place. The proper mechanics of the foot is greatly altered, creating foot pain, bunions, hammer toes, knee and hip pain, and even low back pain. Disrupted foot mechanics also will reduce the inherent shock absorbing properties of the feet, affecting the entire human frame. This is largely due to shoes being made with an incline in the heel and having a narrow toe box. For shoe recommendations, please feel free to reach out!
Workplace Ergonomics - Many of our jobs are now indoor and tend to include a lot of sitting in front of a computer. When we consistently sit for long periods of time without the proper head and neck position, it begins to disrupt our posture, constantly building neuro-musculo-skeletal dysfunction, and eventually resulting in a forward head, a humped upper back, slumped shoulders, and symptoms. Or, maybe your job includes a lot of manual labor. Either way, sitting properly, taking posture breaks, improving your workstation, or lifting and moving properly are vital for the longevity of your spine and extremity joints. Please reach out with any questions you may have about workplace ergonomics!