Migraine Headaches

The holidays can be stressful, can’t they? We often see more patients in with complaints of low back pain and shoulder pain due to the long hours of shopping or driving OR from getting those decorations out of the basement. However, migraine headaches can also come creeping back into our daily lives.

A migraine headache can be caused by many things:

1. Misalignment of the spine

2. Inadequate water intake or drinking too much caffeine

3. Eating lots of carbohydrates like cookies, candies, holiday punch and fruit cake (We don’t do any of that around the holidays!) J

4. Changes in hormones

5. Drinking wine

Migraine headaches are a type of headache where you'll often get a throbbing type pain in the head which is not usually relieved or improved by lying down. It may be accompanied by nausea, dizziness or problems with your vision. There are some folks who have an "aura" before the migraine comes, such as tingling in the fingers or lips or visual disturbances.

In order to combat migraines, don’t forget to keep well adjusted with chiropractic care this holiday season. Freeing up the nervous system by aligning the spine and relaxing the muscles in your neck can make a difference in the frequency and intensity of your migraines. Also, try to drink mainly water or herbal teas, keeping caffeine intake to a minimum. Limit your intake of carbohydrates like bread, rice and pasta as well as processed foods. Many of the items down the interior aisles of the grocery store are processed, stripping the foods of nutrients and leaving you nutritionally mugged. Instead, eat lots of vegetables, some lean meat and then a minimal amount of fruit and carbohydrates. The carbs you do eat should mainly be whole grain bread (make sure that the first ingredient on the package is NOT "enriched") and brown or wild rice.

If you suspect that your headaches are hormone-related, we have a doctor available who uses alternative methods of hormone testing and is skilled in helping women (and men) balance their hormones through the use of diet and nutritional supplements. In that way, you may be able to avoid the use of medications to treat the symptoms.

Don't hesitate to contact our office to schedule a consultation with one of our doctors to discuss chiropractic care and/or nutritional counseling to get control of your migraines! 620-665-5076

What’s one thing I can do to be healthier?

There is much talk out there (especially in the form of commercials) trying to get you to eat more fiber, which is very important to your overall health. However, the way that you get that fiber is debatable. Let’s dispell some of the myths and discuss why fiber is so important.

First of all, it shortens the time it takes for your bowels to pass. Let’s face it, if someone says “you’re full of it” you don’t want it to be a literal statement! Next, it increases stool bulk and binds to toxins, thereby clearing those toxins out of the body. Also, soluble fiber provides your gut with the nutrients it needs to multiply the healthy bacteria living there. In this way, you maintain the healthy intestinal flora while warding off the harmful organisms.

Soluble fiber includes pectin (from apples and citrus fruits), beta-glucans (from oats, rye, and barley) and arabinose (from beans), and peas. Insoluble fiber is mainly cellulose and is found in all plants. Good sources include whole grains and vegetables.

In our office, we offer Standard Process supplements, including Gastrofiber which contains five different whole foods and botanicals that contain multiple nutrients and soluble fiber. This product helps support healthy gastrointestinal elimination and healthy digestive function. These capsules can add supplemental dietary fiber to your diet. Additionally, there is a product called Whole Food Fiber which is similar to the Gastrofiber but is a powder form. Both are excellent for helping you get adequate fiber. If you have questions about these products, please call the office and we'll be glad to get you connected with one of our doctors. They would be glad to go over your particular health situation to see if you are getting adequate amounts of dietary fiber.

Additional information available on the web:

http://www.standardprocess.com

We have some scary statistics for you: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) more than 60 percent of adults in the United States are either overweight or obese! Obesity is associated with an increased risk of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and some types of cancer. Being overweight stresses the joints of the hips, knees and feet. Diet and exercise are key factors in successfully addressing weight problems. This month is National Chiropractic Health Month and we want to join with the American Chiropractic Association in helping to lower that statistic!

Why Weight? Get Healthy!

As natural, whole-body health care providers, doctors of chiropractic are uniquely equipped to treat the aches and pains that often accompany excess weight, and to give patients advice on proper nutrition, dieting and exercise. It is best to keep your spine in alignment so that joint pain will not keep you from being physically fit.

Beyond that, you should choose a diet with lots of vegetables, some fruit (1/2 as much as vegetables), lean meats and lots of water. In the typical American diet, we tend to reach for processed foods that provide very little nutritional value but are high in calories. That means that your body is not getting the building blocks it needs for healthy heart cells, brain cells, liver cells etc. We have to take time for our health now or later we will have to make time for our sickness or disease.

In the month of October, we challenge you to get on the road to weight loss and better health. How can you do that?

1) Cut out processed foods (i.e. boxed meals, frozen dinners), which is most anything that you’d buy down the aisles of the grocery store.

2) Add more fresh or frozen veggies and lean meat.

3) Ask for a brochure on our Purification Program. It’s a 3-week program using specific supplements and food that can help you begin to eat differently, initiating weight loss.

What's One Thing?.....

What’s one thing I can do to have a healthier body?

Asparagus is a vegetable that Grandma wanted you to eat. Most folks turn up their noses at the “paintbrush vegetable.” If it is steamed and seasoned well, it can be very tasty. Recipes available at

www.bettycrocker.com

Asparagus are good kidney detoxifiers. The kidneys themselves remove toxins from our bloodstream so it’s important to keep them healthy. With all the toxins in our environment and in the items that we consume, it is beneficial to eat asparagus. This is much like changing the oil filter in our cars. You would not fail to change the oil and the filter in your car, would you?

Oh, My Aching Feet!

During the summer, we get numerous complaints of foot pain, especially pain that is most severe when the patient gets up on her feet in the morning. The patient often wears sandals with little to no arch support and maybe even prefers to wear those fun, strappy shoes with a good-sized heel! Although the shoes are cute and trendy, these types of shoes do two things to the foot that set you up for a problem.

1) The shoes don’t have a good arch support so the arch of the foot falls, causing the fascia (connective tissue) of that arch to be pulled tight.

2) The shoes have a heel that maintains the calf muscles in a position which shortens them. This sets you up for inflammation at the heel and ultimately a heel spur.

The foot and ankle conditions that likely develop from wearing no shoes or unsupportive shoes are plantar fasciitis and heel spurs. These conditions can be treated conservatively in our office. In our office, we adjust the bones of the foot and ankle and may recommend electrical stimulation therapy to decrease inflammation in the area. Additionally, we will likely recommend some stretches and icing that should be done at home to have the maximum benefit to treatment. If you have questions about these conditions, please don’t hesitate to talk with one of our doctors. Walk your aching feet on in here and see if we can help!