Safe Snow Shoveling 12/07/2011
 * If you are inactive and have a history of heart trouble, talk to your doctor before you take on the task of shoveling snow. * Avoid caffeine or nicotine before beginning. These are stimulants, which may increase your heart rate and cause your blood vessels to constrict.This places extra stress on the heart. * Drink plenty of water. Dehydration is just as big an issue in cold winter months as it is in the summer. * Dress in several layers so you can remove a layer as needed. * Wear proper footwear: Shoes and boots with solid treads on the soles can help to minimize the risk of slips and falls. * Warm up your muscles before shoveling, by walking for a few minutes or marching in place. Stretch the muscles in your arms and legs, because warm muscles will work more efficiently and be less likely to be injured. * Pick the right shovel for you. A smaller blade will require you to lift less snow, putting less strain on your body. * Watch for ice: Course sand, ice salt, ice melter, or kitty litter can help give more traction, reducing the chance of a slip or fall. * Begin shoveling slowly to avoid placing a sudden demand on your heart. Pace yourself and take breaks as needed. * Push the snow to one side and avoid throwing. If you must throw, avoid twisting and turning. Position yourself to throw straight at the snow pile. * Most importantly — listen to your body. Stop if you feel pain! Add Comment Santa Pictures 12/05/2011
 Last Friday night was the 1st Annual Country Christmas Parade through historic old town Erie. It was a wonderful event, with lots of festivities, hosted by the Erie Chamber of Commerce. After the parade Santa joined us in our office for complimentary pictures taken by Heather Lilly. Over 100 children had their picture taken with Santa! It was a fun evening. Thank you to everyone who participated and everyone who came by to say hi. We had a wonderful time, and we're looking forward to doing it again next year! What is Forward Head Posture 11/30/2011
 Many of the people we see in our office, come in with neck pain, pain between the shoulder blades, numbness/tingling in the fingers, headaches/migraines, and tight muscles in the upper back and neck. These are often symptoms associated with forward head posture. According to Kapandji (Physiology of the Joints, Volume III), for every inch your head moves forward, it gains 10 pounds in weight as far as the muscles in your upper back and neck are concerned, because they have to work that much harder to keep the head from dropping onto your chest. This also forces the muscles at the base of your skull to remain in constant contraction, putting pressure on nerves, which may cause headaches. Pressure on these nerves can also mimic sinus (frontal) headaches. According to the Mayo Clinic Health Letter Vol. 18, #3, March 2000, the effects of long term forward neck posture leads to "long term muscle strain, disc herniations and pinched nerves." Rene Cailliet M.D., famous medical author and former director of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Southern California states: “Head in forward posture can add up to thirty pounds of abnormal leverage on the cervical spine. This can pull the entire spine out of alignment. Forward head posture (FHP) may result in the loss of 30% of vital lung capacity. These breath-related effects are primarily due to the loss of the cervical lordosis, which blocks the action of the hyoid muscles, especially the inferior hyoid responsible for helping lift the first rib during inhalation.” Persistent forward head posture (a.k.a “hyperkyphotic posture”) puts compressive loads upon the upper thoracic vertebra, and is also associated with the development of Upper Thoracic Hump, which can devolve into Dowager Hump when the vertebra develop compression fractures (anterior wedging). A recent study found this hyperkyphotic posture was associated with a 1.44 greater rate of mortality. It's not uncommon to observe 2" of anterior head placement in new patients. Would you be surprised that your neck and shoulders hurt if you had a 20-pound watermelon hanging around your neck? That's what forward head posture can do to you. Left uncorrected, Forward Head Posture will continue to decline. Chiropractic can be very corrective for this type of problem. Our specialty is in reversing the joint fixations (what we refer to as “subluxations”) and in re-invigorating the muscles that normally retract the head. At Great Day Chiropractic and Wellness Center we have helped lots of people with these issues. We create individualized stretching and core strengthening programs that help alleviate and correct the underlying issues causing pain and other symptoms. Give us a call today and learn how we can help. The Benefits of Massage 11/08/2011
 A Powerful Ally There’s no denying the power of bodywork. Regardless of the adjectives we assign to it (pampering, rejuvenating, therapeutic) or the reasons we seek it out (a luxurious treat, stress relief, pain management), massage therapy can be a powerful ally in your healthcare regimen. Experts estimate that upwards of ninety percent of disease is stress related. And perhaps nothing ages us faster, internally and externally, than high stress. While eliminating anxiety and pressure altogether in this fast-paced world may be idealistic, massage can, without a doubt, help manage stress. This translates into:
Profound Effects In response to massage, specific physiological and chemical changes cascade throughout the body, with profound effects. Research shows that with massage:
The Benefits Of Massage
Snowboarding Tips from Dr. Haley! 11/02/2011
 Throughout Colorado there is reason to rejoice this time of year — ski and snowboard season are beginning. When your playground happens to be the Rocky Mountains, you get treated to snow much earlier in the year. Dr. Haley has been skiing since her first visit to Beaver Creek, Colorado when she was six years old. She continued to ski in Colorado, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, until she decided to take up snowboarding her last year of high school. Here are some of the tips she has found useful for snowboarding: *Get in shape first. A regular general fitness program will make snowboarding easier and help protect you from injury. *Use the right equipment. Buy or rent good snowboarding boots, an all-purpose snowboard, a helmet and wrist guards. *Pick the right time and place to learn. Take lessons from a trained instructor in good weather (when there is good visibility and it's not too cold). Pick a skiing area that allows snowboarders. Use slopes that are not crowded and have packed snow. Avoid icy slopes. Make sure you get set up with the right board, boots, and bindings for your ability, the resort you'll be riding, and the conditions. *Protect your wrists. Most snowboard injuries are to the wrists. Wear wrist guards made for snowboarding or in-line skating. Don't break your fall with your open hands. Hold your hands in closed fists while you snowboard so you won't be tempted to break your fall with an open hand. Try to roll into a fall as a paratrooper would, spreading the force of the fall over your body instead of taking all the force in one place. *Protect your head. Though you probably won't hit your head first, the back of your head may hit the ground at the end of a fall if you land on your buttocks. These head injuries usually aren't serious, but you can end up with quite a headache. Wear a helmet when learning, racing and snowboarding on unmarked trails. (Collisions with trees cause some of the most serious injuries in this sport.) *Bend your knees! Even when you think you're bending them, bend them more! The lower your center of gravity the more aggressive you can be! 8 Drugs Doctors Wouldn't Take 10/20/2011
*Always consult your physician prior to changing your medication routine. With 3,480 pages of fine print, the Physicians' Desk Reference (a.k.a. PDR) is not a quick read. That's because it contains every iota of information on more than 4,000 prescription medications. Heck, the PDR is medication — a humongous sleeping pill. Doctors count on this compendium to help them make smart prescribing decisions — in other words, to choose drugs that will solve their patients' medical problems without creating new ones. Unfortunately, it seems some doctors rarely pull the PDR off the shelf. Or if they do crack it open, they don't stay versed on emerging research that may suddenly make a once-trusted treatment one to avoid. Worst case: You swallow something that has no business being inside your body. Of course, plenty of M.D.'s do know which prescription and over-the-counter drugs are duds, dangers, or both. So we asked them, "Which medications would you skip?" Their list is your second opinion. If you're on any of these meds, talk to your doctor. Maybe he or she will finally open that big red book with all the dust on it. Advair It's asthma medicine ... that could make your asthma deadly. Advair contains the long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) salmeterol. A 2006 analysis of 19 trials, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that regular use of LABAs can increase the severity of an asthma attack. Because salmeterol is more widely prescribed than other LABAs, the danger is greater — the researchers estimate that salmeterol may contribute to as many as 5,000 asthma-related deaths in the United States each year. In 2006, similarly disturbing findings from an earlier salmeterol study prompted the FDA to tag Advair with a "black box" warning — the agency's highest caution level. Your new strategy: No matter what you may have heard, a LABA, such as the one in Advair, is not the only option, says Philip Rodgers, Pharm.D., a clinical associate professor at the University of North Carolina school of pharmacy. For instance, if you have mild asthma, an inhaled corticosteroid such as Flovent is often all you need. Still wheezing? "Patients can also consider an inhaled corticosteroid paired with a leukotriene modifier," says Dr. Rodgers. This combo won't create dangerous inflammation, and according to a Scottish review, it's as effective as a corticosteroid-and-LABA combo. Avandia Diabetes is destructive enough on its own, but if you try to control it with rosiglitazone — better known by the brand name Avandia — you could be headed for a heart attack. Last September, a Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) study found that people who took rosiglitazone for at least a year increased their risk of heart failure or a heart attack by 109 percent and 42 percent, respectively, compared with those who took other oral diabetes medications or a placebo. The reason? While there have been some reports that Avandia use may cause dangerous fluid retention or raise artery-clogging LDL cholesterol, no one is sure if these are the culprits. That's because the results of similar large studies have been mixed. So the FDA has asked GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Avandia, to conduct a new long-term study assessing users' heart risks. There's only one problem: The study isn't expected to start until later this year. Your new strategy: Stick with a proven performer. "I prefer metformin, an older, cheaper, more dependable medication," says Sonal Singh, M.D., the lead author of the JAMA study. "Avandia is now a last resort." Dr. Singh recommends that you talk to your doctor about cholesterol-lowering medicines, such as statins or the B vitamin niacin. Swallowing high doses (1,000 milligrams) of niacin daily may raise your HDL (good) cholesterol by as much as 24 percent, while at the same time lowering your LDL and triglyceride levels. Celebrex Once nicknamed "super aspirin," Celebrex is now better known for its side effects than for its pain-relieving prowess. The drug has been linked to increased risks of stomach bleeding, kidney trouble, and liver damage. But according to a 2005 New England Journal of Medicine study, the biggest threat is to your heart: People taking 200 mg of Celebrex twice a day more than doubled their risk of dying of cardiovascular disease. Those on 400 mg twice a day more than tripled their risk, compared with people taking a placebo. And yet Celebrex, a COX-2 inhibitor, is still available, even though two other drugs of that class, Bextra and Vioxx, were pulled off the market due to a similar risk of heart damage. The caveat to the consumer? In 2004, the FDA advised doctors to consider alternatives to Celebrex. Your new strategy: What you don't want to do is stop swallowing Celebrex and begin knocking back ibuprofen, because regular use of high doses of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can lead to gastrointestinal bleeding. A safer swap would be for Chiropractic, Acupuncture, or Massage. In a Consumer Reports study, done in 2009, hands-on treatments were rated by lower-back-pain sufferers as very helpful. Survey respondents favored chiropractic treatments (58 percent), acupuncture(53 percent), massage (48 percent), and physical therapy (46 percent) (available to subscribers)—another testament to the healing power of touch. Ketek Most bacteria in the lungs and sinuses don't stand a chance against Ketek, but you might not either. This antibiotic, which has traditionally been prescribed for respiratory-tract infections, carries a higher risk of severe liver side effects than similar antibiotics do. "Ketek can cause heart-rhythm problems, can lead to liver disease, and could interact poorly with other medications you may be taking," says Dr. Rodgers. "Unfortunately, it's still available, and although many doctors are aware of the risks, some may still prescribe it without caution." In February 2007, the FDA limited the usage of Ketek to the treatment of pneumonia. Your new strategy: Can't imagine catching pneumonia? The last time the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calculated the top 10 killers of men, this deadly lung infection (along with the flu) came in seventh. Avoid backing yourself into a corner where you might need Ketek by always signing up for your annual flu shot — if you have pneumonia, it'll reduce your risk of dying of the infection by 40 percent. And if you still end up staring at a scrip for Ketek, Dr. Rodgers recommends asking to be treated with one of several safer alternatives, such as Augmentin or the antibiotics doxycycline or Zithromax. Prilosec and Nexium Heartburn can be uncomfortable, but heart attacks can be fatal, which is why the FDA has investigated a suspected link between cardiac trouble and the acid-reflux remedies Prilosec and Nexium. In December 2007, the agency concluded that there was no "likely" connection. Translation: The scientific jury is still out. In the meantime, there are other reasons to be concerned. Because Prilosec and Nexium are proton-pump inhibitors, they are both incredibly effective at stopping acid production in the stomach — perhaps too effective. A lack of acid may raise your risk of pneumonia, because the same stuff that makes your chest feel as if it's burning also kills incoming bacteria and viruses. You may also have an elevated risk of bone loss — in the less acidic environment, certain forms of calcium may not be absorbed effectively during digestion. "The risk of a fracture has been estimated to be over 40 percent higher in patients who use these drugs long-term, and the risk clearly increases with duration of therapy," says Dr. Rodgers. Your new strategy: When you feel the fire, first try to extinguish it with Zantac 150 or Pepcid AC. Both of these OTC products work by blocking histamine from stimulating the stomach cells that produce acid. Just know that neither drug is a long-term fix. "To really cure the problem, lose weight," says Michael Roizen, M.D., chief wellness officer at the Cleveland Clinic and co-author of "YOU: The Owner's Manual." That's because when you're overweight, excess belly fat puts pressure on and changes the angle of your esophagus, pulling open the valve that's supposed to prevent stomach-acid leaks. This in turn makes it easier for that burning sensation to travel up into your chest. At Great Day Chiropractic & Wellness Center, we offer several different weight-management options. Visine Original What possible harm to your peepers could come from these seemingly innocuous eyedrops? "Visine gets the red out, but it does so by shrinking blood vessels, just like Afrin shrinks the vessels in your nose," says Thomas Steinemann, M.D., a spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Overuse of the active ingredient tetrahydrozoline can perpetuate the vessel dilating-and-constricting cycle and may cause even more redness. Your new strategy: If you still want to rely on Visine, at least make sure you don't use too many drops per dose and you don't use the stuff for more than 3 or 4 days. But you'd really be better off figuring out the underlying cause of the redness and treating that instead. If it's dryness, use preservative-free artificial tears, recommends Dr. Steinemann. Visine Pure Tears Portables is a good choice for moisture minus side effects. On the other hand, if your eyes are itchy and red because of allergies, pick up OTC antiallergy drops, such as Zaditor. It contains an antihistamine to interrupt the allergic response but no vasoconstrictor to cause rebound redness. Pseudoephedrine Forget that this decongestant can be turned into methamphetamine. People with heart disease or hypertension should watch out for any legitimate drug that contains pseudoephedrine. See, pseudoephedrine doesn't just constrict the blood vessels in your nose and sinuses; it can also raise blood pressure and heart rate, setting the stage for vascular catastrophe. Over the years, pseudoephedrine has been linked to heart attacks and strokes. "Pseudoephedrine can also worsen symptoms of benign prostate disease and glaucoma," says Dr. Rodgers. Your new strategy: Other OTC oral nasal decongestants can contain phenylephrine, which has a safety profile similar to pseudoephedrine's. A 2007 review didn't find enough evidence that phenylephrine was effective. Our advice: Avoid meds altogether and clear your nasal passages with a neti pot, the strangely named system that allows you to flush your sinuses with saline ($15, sinucleanse.com). University of Wisconsin researchers found that people who used a neti pot felt their congestion and head pain improve by as much as 57 percent. Granted, the flushing sensation is odd at first, but give it a chance. Dr. Roizen did: "I do it every day after I brush my teeth," he says. By Morgan Lord Mens Health Sun., June. 22, 2008 Leonard's Indoor Golf 10/14/2011
Leonard's Golf is a great place to spend an afternoon. They offer a state-of-the-art facility for learning or improving on your golf game. Their 4800 square foot indoor facility includes:
Don't take our word on it though. Stop in and see for yourself! 710 Austin Avenue, located in Coal Creek Commons in Erie, Colorado  By reviewing data from 85,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Tennessee beneficiaries over a period of two years, it was discovered that when patients initiated treatment for low back pain with a doctor of chiropractic (DC) instead of a medical doctor (MD) costs were nearly 40% lower. The study performed by Richard L. Liliedahl, MD and colleagues will be formally published in the upcoming December 2010 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. Dollar-for-dollar the costs associated with treating back pain can go toe-to-toe with nearly any malady. $50 billion is spent annually on back pain related health care costs. Patients in this BCBS study did not have limits to the number of visits allowed nor were there any differences in co-pays between the MD and the DC group. The insured had open access to DC’s or MD’s without any gatekeeper referral required. Many insurance policies have limited or no chiropractic benefits. This study estimated that if patients who sought medical care first would have initiated care with chiropractors, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee would have saved nearly $2.3 million. American Chiropractic President Rick McMichael, DC commented on the findings, “As doctors of chiropractic, we know first hand that our care often helps patients avoid or reduce more costly interventions such as drugs and surgery. This study supports what we see in our practices every day.” “It also demonstrates the value of chiropractic care at a critical time, when our nation is attempting to reform it’s health care system and contain runaway costs.” Heart Healthy Foods #1 10/06/2011
 Wild Salmon is probably the world’s most heart healthy source of protein. It is rich in long-chain Omega-3 essential fatty acids—the most beneficial kind—which protect heart health, inhibit inflammation, act as natural anti-depressants, increase feelings of well-being, and help keep skin young, supple and radiant. Erie Harvest Festival 10/04/2011
 This past weekend was the Erie Harvest Festival. Harvest Fest is another family fun event hosted by the Erie Chamber. Over 1,000 pumpkins filled the man-made pumpkin patch, there were free hay rides at specified times, a car show, and Halloween and Christmas gifts available from the many participating craft vendors. Seasonal food vendors were also on-site throughout the day, men and women competed in the annual chili and pie contests, judged by Dr. Haley, and the newly formed Talent Contests afforded for much of the days entertainment showcasing Erie's very talented citizens! Dr. Rich was a Talent show judge, shown in the picture above, with Barrie Goettsche, owner of Chick-fil-a Larkridge, and local music producer Blair Ashby. If you weren't able to make it this year, then make a plan for it next year. It's a great event we enjoy and love being a part of. |  Drs. Rich & HaleyCurrent health issues, and things happening around our office and in our lives. ArchivesMay 2012 CategoriesAll |
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