Storms Affect Arthritis

How does weather affect pain levels?  Many people say that they can tell when a storm is coming on because their arthritis flares up. Studies show that a 10 degree drop in temperature creates a commensurate increase in pain levels. A drop in barometric pressure makes people more physically uncomfortable. When it rains or humidity levels are high people also experience more pain. Arthritis can feel worse around the time a storm is brewing because factors that disturb the weather outside also increase inflammation in your body. Cold constricts already damaged joint surfaces causing more friction, humidity causes more swelling of already swollen areas and decreased barometric pressure irritates joints and muscles.

Arthritis is defined as painful inflammation and stiffness of the joints. A rheumatic condition, arthritis is associated with many things:  heredity and genetics, viruses, wear and tear, diet, immune system function, and stress. Joints affected may be widespread or limited to specific areas such as the hands, hips, feet, or back. Blood test markers such as ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) or CRP (C reactive protein) to measure inflammation will be elevated in arthritis. While stormy weather may make you want to stay in bed and eat comfort food, this may not be the best approach to reduce pain and inflammation.

When pain intrudes it is important to remember to move your body to reduce stagnation of systems that heal you. Prepare in advance to include a bit of movement in your daily plan on stormy days. This can include walking around the house, attending to chores, or venturing outside if weather permits. Movement will mobilize tissues, detoxify, and warm the body.

If cold worsens pain, try to stay warm. Wear warm clothes and socks and shoes in cold environments. If you can get to one, an infrared sauna can be very healing. A warm Epsom salt bath can deep heat your muscles, joints, and bones to reduce arthritis pain. Warmth will reduce cold in the body and help to detoxify.

When the weather is bad, eating well can improve your mood and mental state and reduce pain. To reduce inflammation, try to eat more naturally occurring fruits and vegetables which will provide you with lots of fiber and vitamin C and A to heal your joints and reduce swelling. Drink warm tea to reduce inflammation and warm the interior.  Increase the consumption of healthy proteins and fats, especially Omega 3 rich fish and flax oil to help improve the inflammation fighting Omega3:Omega 6 ratio.

As always, it is a good idea to drink adequate water throughout the day. Drink water rather than sodas, fruit juices, or alcohol to keep arthritis pain levels down. Especially avoid artificially sweetened beverages using aspartame as these increase inflammation in the body. Stevia is a better choice for non-sugar sweetener.

Chiropractic adjustments to the spine and extremities can help reduce pain and inflammation and acupuncture treatments to the meridians and channels of the body are supportive therapies if you need additional help. These healing treatments can keep arthritis flare ups at bay for the long run.

While preparing for stormy weather keep these tips in mind to help you survive any weather related event. Arthritis may help you predict an oncoming storm, but it doesn’t have to incapacitate you.

 

5 Reasons to see a Chiropractor After a Car Accident

If you have been in a car accident and have sustained an injury as a result you may benefit from seeing a chiropractor. Chiropractic intervention is generally recommended to treat injury, reduce acute or chronic pain and increase mobility in joints and bones. Very often, the resulting injury after a car accident is pain in the neck, back and hips. In realigning these areas of the body, most people feel relief after one or more adjustments.

An auto accident lawyer Washington D.C. residents turn to can help put you on the right track on the legal side of things, but in the wake of a car accident, you may feel overwhelmed and concerned about your own health as well. In making the choice to see a chiropractor, you are taking care of your physical and mental health. A chiropractor will also be able to diagnose your injury which may be helpful should you need to pursue personal injury compensation in a court of law. Below are 5 reasons you are better off seeing a chiropractor after a car accident.

1. Diagnose injury- a chiropractor can determine the source of the pain you may be experiencing after your accident. There are some obvious car accident injuries that cause immediate pain and discomfort but other injuries, such as whiplash, may not present with obvious symptoms right away. A chiropractor will know the right questions to ask and can evaluate you to determine a diagnosis and course of treatment.

2. Documents for insurance company- in the event that you wish to pursue compensation for your personal injury, after a car accident, your insurance company and that of the other driver will request written proof of injury. In seeing a chiropractor right away, you are not only increasing your own health and well-being but you will also have your injury documented by a health professional. This will be useful in your case and you can provide the information to your insurance adjustor.

3. Short term relief- Immediately following a car accident, there is a lot to take care of. You will need to have your injuries evaluated and your car may not be operable. There will be many discussions with your insurance company regarding the details of your injury as well as the damage to your vehicle. Additionally, if you are without a vehicle, you will need to figure out transportation. In addition to all of that, you are injured and in pain. In seeking chiropractic treatment right away, you may expedite the healing process, find immediate relief and have better mental focus.

4. Long term relief- In treating any injury right away, you will likely reduce the long term symptoms and discomfort caused by the injury. In seeking the guidance of a professional chiropractor, you may reduce the need for surgery and pain medication. In doing so you will increase your overall health and well-being.

5. Peace of mind- Experiencing a car accident can be incredibly scary and traumatic especially if you sustain an injury as a result. In fact, it can be downright stressful. You are dealing with insurance companies and the medical bills are piling up. That stress not only affects your physical health but also your emotional well-being. In seeking chiropractic help, and dealing with your physical injury, you will also experience better overall health and peace of mind.

The field of chiropractic medicine is gaining momentum in the United States as a holistic form of treatment for injury and general discomfort or pain. The adjustments made by a chiropractor allow the body to better heal without the use of pharmaceutical pain management. The fundamental belief behind chiropractic intervention is that in realigning the body’s bones and joints the body will be able to heal faster from injury. Additionally, proper alignment of the musculoskeletal system enables improved functioning for all other systems as well. If you are in pain, contact a chiropractor today and start the healing process.

Thanks to our friends and contributors from Cohen & Cohen, P.C., for their insight into car accidents.

Burn fat, not sugar to improve your health and lose weight

Each of us has the ability to burn fat and sugar for energy–we need each capacity.  When we were infants, we burned fat very efficiently–this helped develop our brains, muscles, organs, skeletal, and nervous systems. According to the educational series “The Metabolic Factor” by Jonny Boden, PhD many of us have become extremely out of balance in our bodies’ abilities to burn fat. Instead we turn to using sugar as our primary energy source. As a result, we end up storing fat on our bodies and wreaking havoc on our digestive, endocrine, and healing systems.

In his highly readable book, the author explains that there are 5 major reasons why our metabolisms change from burning fat to burning sugar and storing fat.  These causes are:

1) diet: a diet high in sugar/processed carbs stimulates a metabolic cascade

2) mental stress: stress increases the hormone cortisol that inhibits the body’s ability to recognize other beneficial hormonal influences while at the same time causing us to store fat

3) movement: too much of the wrong type of exercise coupled with too little daytime movement can be harmful

4) sleep: inadequate and/or poor quality sleep negatively affects the thyroid and other hormones associated with health

5) toxins–toxins in the environment and our foods affect our cells’ abilities to recognize cellular messaging

Good health consists of many factors.  When a person is healthy, they look and feel good, are motivated and able to do the things that support their health. Nonetheless, we get mixed messages when it comes to how we should live our lives regarding food, exercise, stress, appearance, etc.  Sometimes we think there is a quick diet or easy life change we can make that will fix our health, our appearance, or our mental state. Most times we are disappointed.

By paying attention to the five categories listed above, you can start to make great improvements in your health and well-being. A few things you could try would be a low glycemic diet, a relaxation method such as meditation, walk a bit more throughout the day, get 8 hours of restful sleep a night, and try an epsom salt bath soak. You might just lose weight, improve your health and look and feel better with this approach.

If you have any questions, contact our office. Thanks!

Electro acupuncture shown to stimulate stem cell production and release in the body.

Stem cell therapy is a fairly new, but increasingly widely used medical treatment for many conditions. Promise using stem cell injections has been shown for rotator cuff repair, knee tendonitis, Parkinsonism and even Type 1 diabetes.  Stem cells derived from the recipient’s own body or another source are injected into specific regions to promote tissue regrowth and repair- stem cells then attach and rebuild missing or damaged tissue. While not FDA approved, the treatment holds promise and clinics are moving forward to provide such treatments. Nonethless, there are dangers and risks associated with this new treatment.

The human body utilizes stem cells naturally to heal itself in virtually every organ, muscle, ligament is contains. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could increase our own healing response internally using stem cells our body already makes?

In the NIH grant funded medical journal Stem Cells Journal (May 2017) (https://stemcellsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/stem.2613), its authors show that electro-acupuncture applied to specific points in the body stimulates significant release of stem cells by action of the hypothalamus. Release of stem cells may provide another reason why acupuncture treatment helps improve healing for such conditions as arthritis and asthma.  With the production of stem cells occuring in ones own body, this may obviate the need for harvesting and injection of stem cells back onto the body, a costly and potentially more dangerous route than allowing the body to use its own resources, stimulated by electroacupuncture.

People who receive acupuncture frequently experience healing on several levels. Stimulation of pluripotent stem cells may be one mechanism of action.

 

Chiropractic care is holistic care.

Most patients coming into a chiropractic office do so to reduce musculo-skeletal pain. Pain is a great motivator and educator; but the chiropractic adjustment does more than just reduce pain; used correctly, the spinal adjustment will improve health on many levels.  Since our nervous system  controls every aspect of the body- from muscles to organs to balance to mentation- the chiropractic adjustment has the potential to improve health, not just reduce pain.

A spinal adjustment is designed to mobilize subluxated spinal segments using specifically applied hands-on or mechanical means. The spine is an extension of the nervous system- bony vertebra protect the spinal cord while serving as attachments to muscles and ligaments to support the body. The healthy spine and nervous system support posture and daily activities without derangement- we normally don’t think about it much until something goes wrong.

The chiropractic examination involves the following procedures:  History, Inspection, Vitals, Palpation, Range of Motion active and passive, Orthopedic testing, Neurological exam, and Imaging. This complete exam provides insight into the condition of the spine- just like when you go to the dentist and have your teeth examined or go to the GP and have blood work performed, an annual chiropractic exam can alert you to the presence of spinal derangement early.  When a subluxation is detected, specific mobilization to that segment can be applied to correct it, thus reducing the local symptoms as well as the far-reaching implications of impaired nerve input to internal organs, muscles and ligaments.

When your spine and spinal cord are healthy, you are able to stand tall with improved strength and awareness. Schedule your annual exam today to take the next steps toward a healthier you- inside and out.

Holistic Care

Holistic care refers to healthcare that tries to integrate the whole person rather than symptom based `comprehensive` care that tends to look at one symptom at a time. Persons with chronic disease often experience an involvement of multiple body systems. A comprehensive care approach to patient care is often used with the belief that a health care team will ensure that a patient’s needs will be covered. Instead, this approach is reductionist in practice and leads to fragmentation of care, and the difficult patients often slip through the cracks of the health care system. However, a holistic theory-based approach puts a patient’s perceived needs first and offers care not only for the body but also for the human spirit.

“The RBG Workout” by Bryant Johnson shows you how to get strong so you can be your best.

After seeing the movie RBG at a local theatre, I was impressed with this dynamo RBG and wrote to her trainer. He sent me a t shirt and copy of his book. I have referred several of my chiropractic and acupuncture clients to the book, and bought more copies for the office. It is my contention that working out in the manner outlined in this compact book will heal most people remarkably well. When combined with other natural healing methods, exercise is a powerhouse- just like Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

In his book RBG Workout, trainer Bryant Johnson concisely describes how he came to work with the famous Justice RBG following her first bout with cancer 18 years ago. Her husband told her that she looked like an Auswitz survivor and suggested she get a trainer- the rest is history. She worked through that bout of cancer, all the while also working as a Supreme Court Justice; the training regimen Bryant created for her helped her to heal and gain strength, endurance and confidence. Several years later she was struck with pancreatic cancer and she survived this awful diagnosis as well. I have no doubt that her willingness to perform the workout exercises detailed in his book are at least partly responsible for her remarkable ability to heal from cancer as well as to maintain the mental clarity and agility she demonstrates on the Supreme Court.

The book starts out with a nice introduction from RBG herself. Following that, it describes easily performed stretches that work on preparing the body for a workout- the stretches are nicely described using basic home equipment. Next, the exercises are described, first demonstrated on gym equipment, then using basic weights and straps for people who can’t get to a gym or prefer to work at home. As always, timing and repetitions are detailed so that even a beginner can get some idea of how to do the exercises without overdoing them.

Many people would benefit from the workout described in nice detail in the book RBG Workout. It’s a full body exercise regimen that could be done a few times a week in total. If you have any questions,call my office. We are here to help.

Summer humidity affects us all

As summer approaches, humidity rises especially here in the south. For many people, high humidity makes it harder to breathe, to cool off, and to feel energetic. It is easy to get dehydrated when the humidity is high in the summer because body temperature is higher. Also, a person’s anxiety level can rise, and heart attack risks increase with high levels of humidity.

From the perspective of Chinese medicine, high humidity affects the body as dampness. Many illnesses are associated with dampness: fibromyalgia, a feeling of  heaviness and bloating, nodular masses, sore joints, dizziness, and other conditions.

When summer’s high humidity is here, we turn on the AC. We depend on air conditioning to not only cool off the air, but to also reduce the water level in the air. If we don’t have AC, we open windows or turn on fans to move air, reduce stagnation, and improve our bodies’ ability to evaporate sweat to cool us.

Certain herbal remedies and dietary changes can resolve dampness.  Herbs such as mint, fennel seed, coriander, saffron, dill, and small amounts of cumin or cardamom can be added to cooked dishes or tea to promote cooling and reduce the overheating effects of high humidity. Drinking adequate cool water and electrolyte rich beverages can reduce the risk of dehydration as well as cool the body.

Moderate exercise and yoga postures can help to improve movement of the organs, reducing stagnation, and improve elimination.

As humidity levels rise, take care of at-risk folks and yourself. If you feel high humidity levels negatively affect you, be sure to ask your healthcare provider for help.

 

Insurance helps pay for acupuncture care in Chapel Hill.

At Acupractic in Chapel Hill we help a lot of people with acupuncture care through our in-office Acupuncture at Eastowne clinic. Patients receive care for pain, stress, headaches, insomnia, digestive disorders, to name a few. Acupuncture involves the insertion of small sterile needles inserted along body meridians to release stagnation and improve energy flow so that the body can heal itself. Used in conjunction with massage techniques and/or adjustments, acupuncture is a powerful healing tool that helps people of all ages to improve their heal naturally on many levels.

A licensed acupuncturist, Dr. Oskardmay loves seeing people get well using acupuncture and other natural methods. Insurance coverage has improved over the years and many plans, including UHC, BCBS Student Health, Veterans Health Insurance, Cigna, Aetna and others support this type of care, making it more accessible for many people.

Call today to schedule an appointment or to get your questions answered; 24 hour online scheduling is available on our website: acudocnc.com

We look forward to working with you.

"Milk" in various forms compared

We are presented with a variety of milk-like beverage options at the supermarket. Have you ever compared these options? Posted below are side-carton images of various milk products:  rice dream, almond milk, cow milk, coconut milk, flax milk and soy milk. Per 8 ounce serving size for each, what do you notice regarding calories, protein, fat, calcium and other nutrient content? Why do you choose one milk beverage over another?

From the selected cartons above (taken from Whole Foods grocery):

Rice milk has the highest calorie count (120 kcal) mostly coming from 10 grams of sugar per serving; no fiber, virtually no protein (1 g) and low fat (2.5 g).

Almond milk has a low calorie content (60 kcal), is low fat (2.5 g), moderate sugar (7 g) and has virtually no protein (1 g).

Cow milk has the highest calorie content (160 kcal), highest fat (9 g) and highest saturated fat content (5 g), sugar content (12 g), and protein content (8 g).

Soy milk has a moderate 100 kcal content, moderate fat content (4 g), moderate sugar content (6 g), and high protein content (7 g).

Flax milk has the lowest calorie content (50 kcal), coming entirely from unsaturated fat (2.5 g) and sugar (7 g).

Coconut milk has a moderately low calorie content (7o kcal) coming largely from fat (4 grams saturated fat, 1/2 g unsaturated fat), and sugar (7 g). Coconut milk has no protein.

Many vegetarians and vegans choose non-cow milk for their milk beverages. Some people choose a milk based on taste of product or because they have allergies to one or another milk (cow milk and soy milk allergies are common, some people are allergic to almonds).

The environmental impact of milk production impacts some peoples’ choice. A gallon of cow milk utilizes many more gallons of water to make than a gallon of any other milk; many people choose non-cow milk for environmental reasons and/or concerns about animal welfare.

People choose a milk product based on its calorie content or based on that food’s ability to fit nutritional goals. Nonetheless, the `milk’ of a product may bear little resemblance to its parent nutritionally (for example- coconut, almond and flax milks have no fiber to speak of whereas coconuts and almonds and flax are fibrous; almond milk has virtually no protein whereas almonds are high protein snacks;  and rice milk is mostly sugar whereas rice has protein). Many milks are fortified, however, to contain extra vitamins and minerals so nutritional aspects have been enhanced, just not necessarily in ways you might expect.

Choose your milk thoughtfully and look at labels.

Serving the communities of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham, Hillsborough, and the rest of the NC Triangle