Dear Dr. Bartz: Is Self Adjusting Bad For You?
January 30, 2009 by admin
Filed under chiropractic
This is one of the most common things I see going on in younger and younger adults. The act of “cracking” your own neck or back can give temporary relief but can also create more health problems down the road.
What’s The Problem?
The problem with self-adjusting is that it creates instability in the spine by overstretching the ligaments tat hold our joints together. Ligaments are not like tendons (the structures that bind muscle to bone). Ligaments simply do not have the same elastic capabilities as tendons so repeated overstretching (as in self adjusting) is like stretching a rubber band over and over until it can no longer retain its original shape. This results in a hypermobile joint which actually moves too much and wears down much more quickly. Greatly increasing the chance of compressed nerves and irreversible degenerative changes, like arthritis, later in life.
But it Feels Good.
Your darn right it does! After a joint gets adjusted it sets off a cascade effect of helpful healing chemicals that will dull pain, decrease inflammation, and relax muscles. Only a chiropractor knows which vertebrae need adjusting and, more importantly, which ones don’t.
Now That I Have Started How Do I Stop?
Most people who adjust themselves do it to relieve neck pain or tension in the low back. Spinal muscles tighten up because they are weak and get burned out. The best way to break the habit is to make a habit of strengthening your neck and low back with spinal exercises.
THE 5 WORST EXERCISES
If you’re trying to make the most of limited gym time, the last thing you want to do is waste effort on exercises that aren’t effective or even potentially dangerous. Here is the list of my top 5:
1. Lat pull-down behind the head. This exercise is done sitting on a machine with a weighted, cabled bar overhead. You reach for the bar, then pull it down behind your head and neck.
So many things can go wrong with this exercise.
Alignment is number one: Only people with very mobile shoulder joints can keep their spines straight enough to do this exercise properly.
Most people’s shoulders aren’t that flexible. So the move can lead to shoulder impingement or worse, a tear in the rotator cuff.
A safer alternative: On the pull-down machine, lean back a few degrees, use a narrower grip, and bring the bar down in front of your body to the breastbone, pulling shoulder blades down and together. Contract your abdominals to stabilize the body, and avoid using momentum to swing the bar up and down. Read more
Staying Well in Winter
January 26, 2009 by admin
Filed under Uncategorized
Winter. In most of the United States, cold winds blow. Snow, sleet, and icy rain pound the rooftops and pavement. Streets are slushy. Shoes are wet. Clothes are cold and damp. Even in the Southwest, winter is a radically different season. Temperatures in the high 50s and low 60s in Southern California feel like the 30s to local residents. It’s definitely not warm.
In winter, the sun is low in the sky. Sunlight is angled downward and brings much less warmth. The sun goes down around 4:30 p.m., hours earlier than in spring and summer. You may wonder how to stay healthy and well in these challenging weather conditions. 1,2 Read more
5 Foods For A Healthy Gut
January 16, 2009 by admin
Filed under Uncategorized, digestive health
If you’re experiencing bloating, belching, abdominal discomfort, or any other symptoms of an overburdened digestive tract, you may benefit from including one or more of the following foods in your diet – all of them are rich in nutrients that are particularly important to the health of your digestive system.
- Yogurt’s Probiotics–good bacteria that give yogurt some of its tangy flavor–aid digestion by helping protect against the unhealthy bacteria in your body and by eating most of the lactose in dairy. Probiotics may also help alleviate symptoms of or prevent constipation, inflammatory bowel disease, and other stomach-related issues, according to a 2004 review published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Note: Sugar content will diminish the amount of good bacteria in yogurt so try to keep the sugar levels below 30 grams/ 6oz. serving(naturally occuring lactose accounts for 12 grams) and no more than 1.5 grams of saturated fat. Read more
Probiotics=Beneficial Bugs for the Immune System
January 15, 2009 by admin
Filed under Supplements
Yogurt fortified with healthy bacteria may help you ward off certain illnesses.
In a recent study, researchers gave workers a daily dose of either Lactobacillus reuteri, a type of beneficial bacteria, or a placebo for 80 days. Only about 10 percent of workers who took L. reuteri came down with a respiratory or gastrointestinal infection that caused them to miss work; more than 26 percent of the workers who took the placebo fell ill.
Beneficial bacteria inhabit your intestines, preventing infection by harmful bacteria and aiding in digestion. Antibiotic use or bouts of diarrhea or vomiting can disrupt the balance of intestinal bacteria, leaving you more vulnerable to illnesses. Lactobacillus reuteri, a type of beneficial bacteria, may help prevent harmful bacteria from colonizing in the gastrointestinal tract and enhance the function of immune cells that combat viral infections. Not all kinds of yogurt contain L. reuteri. Read yogurt labels carefully.
Reference:
Increasing work-place healthiness with the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri: A randomised, double-blind placebo-controlled study. Tubelius, P., Stan, V., Zachrisson, A., Environmental Health 2005 Nov 7;4(1):25
Dr Bartz Comment: I have been telling my patients for years that one of the first lines of defense for the immune system is our gut. Most illnesses are contracted through our intestines first, not our respiratory system. Antibiotics kill off good and bad bacteria in our systems. Other good bacteria killers are over-the-counter and prescription medications, environmental toxins and preservatives in the processed food we eat. Do yourself a favor and eat a fortified probiotic yogurt, probiotic supplement, or kefir( a fermented milk drink that comes in many flavors found in the refrigerated section of most supermarkets).
Doing this daily will create a thick barrier so that bad bacteria can’t get through to the bloodstream and create illness.
