There are many reasons for the complaints of Vertigo. An inner ear affliction, known as Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, can occasionally arise as the consequences of a sustained head injury or intense cold. On occasion this particular vertigo can be the result of the aging process. The cause, nevertheless, frequently is not known. Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo is a wordy diagnosis, but it characterizes completely this non- progressive malady that is attributable to, as its name suggests, a sudden change in head posture. The symptoms are usually surprising and variable.

It can be beneficial to look at the function of the inner ear in an attempt grasp what leads to the commonly incapacitating symptoms of this type of vertigo. The brain takes in motion and keeps equilibrium employing the fluid found in the inner ear. Also in the inner ear are tiny calcium carbonate crystals, known as otoconia. The crystals likely will float in the inner ear fluid if dislodged. As the crystals strike against the sensitive nerve endings in the inner ear, they cause the problems of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo or BPPV.

The good news is that chiropractic therapy can remove the manifestation of BPPV very quickly and effectively using a technique known as the Epley maneuver. By means of the use of this process, a chiropractor rotates the head of a BPPV sufferer into several different positions, letting gravity carry the calcium carbonate crystals into a zone of the inner ear that is away from the nerve endings where they will stimulate no further dizziness.

Your chiropractor has aided numerous individuals for Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo employing the Epley Maneuver technique. Generally, with just one treatment the majority of patients no longer suffer from dizziness.  Call your Colorado Springs Chiropractor today!

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Knee X-ray

Men and Women over 65 years of age who suffer from knee osteoarthritis (OA), that practice Tai Chi, increase their physical capability and encounter a decrease pain, according to a new Tufts University School of Medicine study. Osteoarthritis is a general form of arthritis that causes a breakdown of joint cartilage. Chiropractors provide therapy for many individuals who have developed OA in a number of regions of the body, including the knee joints. Knee pain and disability is one of the most widespread conditions of the musculoskeletal system, second only to spinal dysfunctions. In fact, an extraordinary 4.3 million men and women in the US over age 60 have been diagnosed with knee OA, according to the CDC, and it conjectures that half of American adults may incur symptoms of OA in at least one knee by age 85. The consequences of knee osteoarthritis are pain, mobility limitations, dysfunction and disability, and a decreased quality of life.

Are you wondering why so many adults develop OA? As with nearly all of the musculoskeletal dysfunctions that we develop as we get older, inappropriate stress to a joint over time is a major determinant. Therefore, as people get older they are more likely to develop OA in their joints, including the knees. Incorrect mechanics of the knee, irregular gait, compensatory foot mechanics as the result of foot pain, and repetitive use of the knee joint all create excessive stress on the knees. Eventually arthritic changes in the knee joint develop. In combination with chiropractic therapies, chiropractors fully advocate natural, drug-free practices, such as Tai Chi (Chuan), that can mitigate knee pain. A traditional style of Chinese martial arts,Tai Chi features slow, rhythmic movements that generate peace of mind, as well as improved balance, an increase in strength, and improved flexibility.

The 40 participants in the Tufts study were, on average, 65 years of age, overweight, and with confirmed osteoarthritis of the knee. Otherwise they were healthy. Individuals were randomly picked to engage in 60-minute “Yang style” Tai Chi sessions twice weekly for 12 weeks. Each session included a 10-minute self-massage and a review of Tai Chi principles, 30 minutes of Tai Chi movement, 10 minutes of breathing technique, and 10 minutes of relaxation.

Tai Chi involves many of the contemporary exercise recommendations for OA, such as range of motion, flexibility, muscle conditioning, and aerobic workout. As an added benefit, researchers observed that the “mental component” of Tai Chi promoted a sense of well-being, life enjoyments, and personal concepts of health that assisted the participants in dealing differently with chronic pain. Significantly, the group practicing Tai Chi experienced a substantial decrease in knee pain compared with those in the control group.

Full findings of the study are published in the November 2009 issue of Arthritis Care & Research, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology.

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Researchers found that of the “least-fit” versus the “slightly more fit” of the nearly 4,400 healthy Americans in their recent study, roughly 20 percent with the lowest physical fitness levels were twice as likely to die over the next nine years as the 20 percent with the next-lowest fitness levels. (To put it another way, those 20 percent who were nearly at the lowest fitness levels.) This is the time-honored “bad news/good news” outcome. It is undoubtedly bad news if you are a resolute couch potato. However, it is genuinely good news for those who haven’t quite hit rock bottom in the sedentary lifestyle department but are not, by any stretch of the imagination, energetic. Apparently, those people who remain only moderately fit as they grow older may live longer than those who are completely out-of-shape, the study suggests.

The study included 4,384 middle-aged and older men and women whose fitness levels were assessed during exercise treadmill tests sometime between 1986 and 2006. The researchers then observed their progress for approximately nine years. Such factors as obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure were taken into consideration in the study. This, in and of itself, accentuates the significants of physical fitness itself. In an email to Reuters Health, Dr. Sandra Mandic, of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, and lead researcher of the study noted: “Our findings suggest that a sedentary lifestyle, rather than differences in cardiovascular risk factors or age, may explain the two-fold higher mortality rates in the least-fit versus slightly more fit individuals.”

Nearly two-thirds of the participants at the least-fit level failed to get at least 30 minutes of moderate activity, five or more days a week, which was the minimum recommended amount of exercise. “These results emphasize the importance of improving and maintaining high fitness levels by engaging in regular physical activity,” Mandic said, “particularly in poorly-fit individuals.”

Separating the participants into five groups based on fitness levels, the researchers discovered that 25 percent of the least-fit men and women had died during the study period, as opposed to 13 percent of those who were in slightly better shape. Only 6 percent of the most-fit group (i.e., the ones who “hit the bull’s eye,” so to speak) had died during the follow-up period.

The five fitness-level groups reported little difference, overall, in their reported exercise practices during most of their adult lives, but significantly, they varied in activity levels only in recent years. “Since it is recent physical activity that offers protection,” Mandic said, “it is important to maintain regular physical activity throughout life.”

In this particular study, regardless of weight and other health problems such as those mentioned above, fitness is decidedly linked to longevity. As such, exercise is vital to the extension of our lifespan. And, perhaps it goes without saying, imagine the health benefits we could all experience if we worked our way up into the higher levels of fitness.

SOURCE: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, August 2009.

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When it comes to conditions created by dehydration, athletes are distinctly at risk. Researcher, Susan Yeargin, assistant professor of athletic training in Indiana State’s College of Nursing, Health, and Human Services, said of athletes,”Physiologically, their core body temperature could be higher than it should have been if they were hydrated. Their heart rate will be higher, and they’re going to perceive that they’re working harder than they actually are.”  A high percentage of collegiate and professional athletes begin the season dehydrated, putting their health at risk even before they begin strenuous workouts, according to researchers at Indiana State University. In fact, Pre-season physical examinations, in fact, found that 80 percent of football players exhibited dehydration.

Confused about how much water is enough water? Chiropractors, like the majority of other health care professionals, recommend a minimum of eight, 8-ounce glasses of water per day for most patients, however for our athletic patients, or for patients who carry around excess weight or exercise or work where it’s hot, we recommend even more. How can you find out if you, personally, are drinking enough water? The color of your urine is a good indicator. If it comes out a light, pale yellow, it’s a good sign that you’re well-hydrated!

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Even though hip pain and related problems generally point to age-related degenerative conditions, particularly osteoarthritis of the hip joint, osteoarthritis isn’t always the “bad guy”. In fact, rather than being the original source of the problem, osteoarthritis of the hip joint can be the ultimate result of injury to your hips at a previous time.

Damage as the result of biomechanical issues, such as an ankle sprain or knee strain, can produce changes in your gait that create hip pain. Moreover, your gait may shift to counterbalance new body demands such as a job change, an alteration in the way you sit, a new sport or activity, or if you start driving for long periods of time on a regular basis..

In addition, gait imbalances can occur from carrying a baby or small child on your hip, leg length variances, or foot pronation problems. In other words, anything that generates an asymmetry or imbalance when you are moving can develop into painful hip problems.

Along with your adjustments, as part of the chiropractic management of your hip problem your chiropractor may determine that you require orthotics. Your chiropractor will also offer appropriate progressive rehabilitative exercises that include muscle stretching and strengthening.

hip pain won’t vanish on its own. Hip pain means that something needs to be corrected. Your chiropractor can help to get you out of pain, get back into balance, and get your life back!

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Even if kids don’t continue to be as active later in childhood, being active at age five assists them in avoiding excess fat as they age. “We call this effect ‘banking’ because the kids benefit later on, similar to having a savings account at a bank. The protective effect is independent of what happens in between,” Janz went on to say.

The UI team tested the body fat and activity level of 333 kids at ages five, eight and eleven using a special scanner that accurately measures bone, fat and muscle tissue, and an accelerometer that measures movement every minute. The kids wore accelerometers to record their activity level for up to five days, supplying much more dependable data than relying on kids or parents to track minutes of exercise.

Even when controlling for their accumulated level of activity, the study (published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine) indicated that kids who are active at age five end up with less fat at age eight and eleven.  The average five-year-old in the study got thirty minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per day. For every ten minutes on top of that, kids had one-third of a pound less fat tissue at ages eight and eleven.

Although further investigation is required to discover what happens to the active kids’ bodies that keeps them in better shape down the road, Janz said that it may be possible that the active 5-year-olds didn’t develop as many fat cells, improved their insulin response, or that something occurred metabolically that supplied some protection even as they became less active.

Weight moderation, however, isn’t the only benefit of early exercise. As a chiropractor I have discovered in my own practice that active kids have fewer of the usual childhood health challenges, like catching colds and the flu. chiropractic treatment is, naturally, particularly beneficial in helping kids to stay healthier. But, in addition, the stimulation to the brain that occurs during activities, especially those that necessitate “cross pattern” motor movements of the larger muscles, i.e., right hand/left leg and left hand/right leg, such as crawling, running, climbing, and skipping, also boosts the autoimmune system and keeps kids healthier.

A large number children nowadays are overweight and unhealthy. Though part of the problem is an inappropriate diet, lack of exercise is also a major contributing factor. If you have a five-year-old who prefers to watch television or play video games rather than to participate in more active play, help your child to get up and get moving into healthier activities. Moderate to vigorous exercise will not only benefit your child now, but will help to build a healthier future. You can bank on it!

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However, before you opt to add an extra cup of coffee to your morning routine, let me warn you that under “Related Stories” on the website were at least two articles regarding studies that showed the negative effects of caffeine, “Morning Jolt of Caffeine May Mask Serious Sleep Problems,” and “Coffee Consumption Linked To Increased Risk Of Heart Attack For Persons With Certain Gene Variation.”

Nearly any point of view, I’ve noticed, particularly when it comes to age-related health issues, can be confirmed, or at least bolstered, by other related studies. The “yin-yang” of caffeine benefits-deficits naturally aren’t, by any means, the only ones. Nonetheless, it did get me to pondering about the reasonableness that there will not ever be simply “one thing” that will with absolute certainty help we, humans, to live longer, healthier lives. Humans are dynamic, biological creatures. We are free to engage in life. We’re not confined to a cage! And, furthermore, though Alzheimer’s disease may be on the rise, obviously no one has been “singled out to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease,” therefore caffeine isn’t absolutely the “one thing” that is going to reverse or prevent it.

Our body is an elegant, involved system that is based on homeostasis, that is to say, balance. Consequently good health is about a healthy, balanced way of living, instead of our jumping on the bandwagon of the latest health study and “doing” or “overdoing” one particular thing in the hope that it will reverse all of the other over-indulgent and unhealthy things we do to our bodies.

I believe, as a chiropractor, that every single day we have an opportunity to choose healthfully for our body, to decide what will help us to live longer, healthier lives. We know what genuinely “feels” life enriching and what doesn’t when it comes to what is good for our body. So, the next time you reach for that extra cup of coffee or that second glass of red wine, I hope that you’ll keep this in mind. There is no “one thing” that will do “everything” for your age-related health issues.

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One of the most well known foot problems is Plantar Fascitis (heel pain), which is usually caused by inflammation of the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia is a wonderful, multi-tasking band of connective tissue that encircles the muscles on the bottom of the foot, adheres the heel bone to the ball of the foot, supports the arch, protects the foot, and absorbs shock.

There are many factors that contribute to the development of Plantar Fascitis. One such factor is short and tight calf muscles. When calf muscles get short and tight they exert a strong pull on the back of the heel bone, producing undue stress on the smaller and weaker plantar muscles and fascia. How do calf muscles get short and tight? In addition to running and jumping activities such as aerobics, volleyball, running, basketball, and tennis, the wearing of high heels can cause the problem.

Other factors that contribute to Plantar Fascitis include sudden strenuous activity after a period of prolonged inactivity, abnormal walking patterns (such as over-pronation), improper footwear, walking on hard or uneven surfaces (especially barefooted), and obesity.

Once an individual develops Plantar Fascitis, the condition is frequently not easy to manage and can become intensely painful and persistent. If you are suffering from heel pain, your chiropractor will be able to determine the cause of your problem and what chiropractic management is best suited. Such care might include ultrasound therapy, laser, joint manipulation, muscle stretching and strengthening exercises, special taping and, in some cases, orthotics.

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According to the US Consumer Products Safety Commission exercise-related injuries and injuries sustained through the use of exercise equipment sent more than 166,000 people in the 45-64 age group to the emergency room, clinic or doctor’s office in 2008. Though middle-aged people today are a lot more active than their parents were, and are basically more fit and athletic longer into their lives, older athletes need to take a few precautions to protect themselves from injuries like rotator cuff tears, tendonitis and stress fractures.

Though most of the injuries in the Consumer report appear to be due to people not giving themselves enough time to rest up after tough workouts, Monto and AAOS offer a number of helpful tips to avoid exercise injuries: Check with your physician before starting any type of exercise program (your doctor can make sure you’re healthy and offer advice on sports and activities that fit your fitness level). Don’t do the same workout day after day (this will help to avoid repetitive stress injuries and eliminate chronic injury patterns). Work on your flexibility (it’s crucial to stretch and warm up before a workout, and cool down and stretch again, the AAOS advises). And, be sure to schedule days off into your exercise regimen, especially after a particularly intense workout.

So, Baby Boomers, even though you may feel young, it’s wise to take extra precautions to protect your body when you’re active. After all, wisdom comes with aging.

Full article by Anne Harding (Reuters health)

ORIGINAL SOURCE: American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, June 22, 2009.

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Allergens or irritants that are inhaled into the lungs, and create inflammation that clogs and constricts airways, are generally the cause of asthma symptoms. Symptoms include laborious breathing, wheezing, coughing, and tightness in the chest. In extreme cases, asthma can be deadly. Pharmaceuticals may temporarily decrease the symptoms of asthma,however there is no medical cure.

Even though chiropractic is not a therapy for asthma, per se, current research published in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research recorded the results experienced by 81 children with asthma who received chiropractic care. The two-month study revealed that those under care experienced a 45% decrease in the number of “attacks” and that 31% of the subjects voluntarily chose to decrease their medication.

What is the method by which chiropractic care decreases the persistence and intensity of asthma attacks? How can an adjust of the spine affect respiration? Nervous system interference is removed through chiropractic adjustments. Most of nerves that regulate bodily functions are routed to their destinations after exiting between the spinal vertebrae. The nerves that affect the respiratory system are contained in this network. If impeded, nerves that control the diaphragm can have a profound effect on how vigorously the respiratory system functions. It isn’t puzzling, then, why so many men, women and children receiving chiropractic treatment report improved breathing and a decline in their asthmatic symptoms.

If you or someone you love has asthma, and it is produced by, or made worse as the result of spinal subluxations, chiropractic may be beneficial. Call your chiropractor today and see if chiropractic adjustments can help you to breathe a little easier.

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