Phillips Chiropractic

If you sit for extended periods at a computer, you may be experiencing lower back pain, upper back pain, and/or neck pain that also radiates down one or both of your arms generating additional pain, pins and needles, or numbness. Neck and shoulder pain are, in fact, the most common upper-extremity musculoskeletal problems among computer users. In a 2002 study tracking 632 computer users newly hired at major Atlanta companies, Dr. Fredric E. Gerr, an occupational medicine physician and ergonomics investigator at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and colleagues observed that roughly 60 percent developed neck or shoulder pain in the first year, though the study did not track how long symptoms persisted.

Younger generations growing up in the digital age are also joining the ranks of the “typing wounded.” Surveys at two universities found that 40 to 50 percent of undergraduates experienced upper-extremity pain from using their computers. Colleges do not build dormitory furniture to be ergonomically adjustable, said Dr. Benjamin Amick, scientific director of the Institute for Work and Health in Toronto, who was a co-author of those studies. “They build it to be indestructible.”

In addition to repetitive stress problems, sitting at your computer too long places your upper back in a sustained, stressful posture, especially if you tend to lean forward when you’re working. This also puts your neck at an unnatural and strained angle. Lower back pain, in addition to being generated by simply sitting for long periods of time without getting up and moving around, is aggravated by bad posture.

Problems caused by extended computer use can not only lead to an inability to perform your work duties, but can keep you from enjoying the rest of your life, too. Your Santa Barbara chiropractor can assist in eliminating the lower back pain, upper back pain, and/or neck pain that you are currently experiencing. After that, it is important for you to become mindful of your body as you sit at your computer, and to give your body what it naturally needs. You can cultivate the habit of both sitting straight in your chair (as opposed to slouching) and relaxing your shoulders. This will help to relieve tension in your lower and upper back and neck. Take time to stretch periodically to ease muscle tension and encourage healthy blood flow. If your work station permits, sitting on an exercise ball can not only aide in keeping you in a beneficial posture, but can help to strengthen your core muscles as well. (Make sure that the ball is the right size so that when you are seated on it your arms are at a ninety-degree angle to your keyboard.)

Good posture for ease of movement, variety in the motions that you do, and short breaks to relax and stretch will go a long way in keeping your computer work (or play) pain-free.

Partial source: The New York Times, Health Review, June 22, 2009

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You may have read on this website, or elsewhere, about recent studies that have shown that physical activity is requisite to getting and staying healthy, especially as we age. But, if you’ve been inactive for awhile, even the idea of exercise might seem “exhausting.” The best way, then, to approach this much-needed addition to your lifestyle is, literally and figuratively, to do it one step at a time. A smart “first step” is to see a health care professional, like your chiropractor, for a full physical examination. Once it is confirmed that you won’t make matters worse through movement, then the next step is simply to start moving a bit each day.

Any movement is a step towards better health and physical fitness. Walk a lap (or two) around your house or apartment. Put that TV remote away and get up to change the channels. As your body becomes accustomed to moving again, you will probably discover that you actually want to move more. Then you can slowly add additional movement to your daily routine. Increase the walk around your house to a walk around the block, a walk in the park, or even a walk through the shopping mall. Walking with a friend can often help to keep you on track(especially on those days when you’d rather sit and veg, then get your body moving). If you are physically able, take the stairs instead of using the elevator as often as you can. Park farther away from the entrance to the supermarket and make it a goal to put more and more parking spots between you and the entrance.

After a few weeks of regular physical activity, you will begin to feel the healthful benefits of movement. Then you’ll be ready for new ways to build flexibility, fitness, and muscle strength. Your Santa Barbara chiropractor can advise you on how to become more physically active and help you to development an individualized program.

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I just read about a recent Consumer Reports survey of its readers that I, as your chiropractor, found “highly satisfying.” The survey, which included 14,000 Consumer Reports subscribers, found that “hands-on” therapies, led by chiropractic care, were the top-rated treatments for people suffering from back pain. In fact, chiropractors were given the highest “satisfaction with care” ratings, well above those given to medical doctors who administered various forms of care to back pain sufferers

The survey, reported in the publication’s May 2009 issue, found that more than half of the respondents had “pain (that) severely limited their daily routine for a week or longer, and 88 percent said it recurred throughout the year.” The report stated that while many go to a primary care physician first for diagnosis and treatment, the majority were disappointed with the results.

On the other hand, 59 percent reported that they were “highly satisfied” with the care they received from chiropractors. The next highest rated practitioners were physical therapists (55 percent) and acupuncturists (53 percent), followed by “specialized” physicians (44 percent) and primary care physicians (34 percent).

Respondents were also asked to rate the types of treatments they received. Again, chiropractic/spinal manipulation got top honors, with 58 percent rating it as “helping a lot.” Spinal injections were next highest, rated at 51 percent, followed by massage (48 percent) and physical therapy (46 percent). Other highly rated treatments included prescription medications (45 percent), yoga (44 percent), movement therapy and acupuncture (both 41 percent).

According to a Dynamic Chiropractic article on that report, “Chiropractic ranked first out of 11 treatments, including massage, acupuncture, and exercise, in its ability to treat back pain. More readers said that chiropractic ‘helped me feel much better’ than any of the other therapies.” Prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs ranked eighth and 10th, respectively.

So, if you’ve been “highly satisfied” with your chiropractic care, you’re not alone! In fact, more and more people are turning to chiropractic treatment not only for back pain relief, but for a wide variety of painful conditions from sports and repetitive stress injuries to arthritis. If you live in the Santa Barbara area, feel free to call our office at 805-882-1956. Thanks for reading!

A public version of the report can be found on the Consumer Reports Web site

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Allergies can turn our everyday life into misery. Unwelcome symptoms such as itchy eyes, a runny nose, sneezing, or a skin rash can occur from a simple walk in the garden, a play date with Kitty, a seafood pasta, or even something as small as a nut. However, occasionally our allergic reactions can progress from just plain irritating to dangerous and life-threatening as our air passageway becomes constricted and we have a hard time breathing. If you have allergies, it may seem that, from time-to-time, your environment is a intensely antagonistic place and that the world around you is, truly, out to get you!

Why does your body react, or rather overreact, to the environment with such a severe allergic reaction while other people appear to be unaffected? It’s a great question. The answer is that some individuals, like you, have a hyperactive immune system that literally “freaks out” when they encounter common substances such as pollen, dander, shellfish, or nuts.

Have you been wondering if your chiropractor can help your allergies? The answer may surprise you. Quite a few people have noticed that they experience relief from their allergy symptoms after chiropractic treatment, even though chiropractic care doesn’t actually treat allergies. The reason for this is because chiropractic manipulation affects the entire nervous system, including the autoimmune system. When there’s a disruption in the nervous system, in addition to other problems, the autoimmune system, whose responsibility it is to help us adapt and respond appropriately to our environment, can become under-active or overactive. The dysfunction is the latter when it comes to your allergies. Because chiropractic adjustments decrease or remove disturbances in the nervous system and bring back balance and harmony to the body, the treatments bring that same balance and harmony to the auto-immune system as well. A strong immune system responds appropriately to so-called allergens in the environment.

So, as pointed out above, your chiropractor doesn’t directly treat allergies. You could say, instead, that a decrease in your allergies is simply a part of a well-adjusted nervous system. Make an appointment, today, to see your chiropractor and get back into harmony with your environment.

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Are you ready for this? For years (and years) chiropractors like me, plus nutritionists and other health-conscious professionals have been advising men, women, and children to lay off the fast foods. Everyone is aware already of the artery-clogging, fat-producing effects of a fast food diet. So, tell you something you don’t know, right? Well, here it is: It’s not just the fast food, itself, that can shorten your life span, but the wrapper it comes in that is a risk to your health and longevity, as well!

Add to the growing list of chemicals showing up in human blood, chemicals called diPAPs. They’re found in the compounds that make food wrappers grease-proof. These chemicals are fairly new and scientists don’t know yet if they are harmful to human health. But diPAPs break down into another worrisome chemical, called PFOA (perfuorooctanoic acid), which is in a class of compounds called perflurochemicals, and may be carcinogenic.

PFOA and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate, another perflurochemical) are resistant to oil and water, which makes them perfect for use as fast food wrappers, and as liners on nonstick pans, microwave popcorn bags, and pizza boxes, not to mention carpets clothes, and electronics among many other applications. The problem is that these compounds end up in the environment, our food and our bodies.

“The take-home message is that some chemicals that make our lives easier, better and more satisfying end up in our bloodstream with unknown toxicological consequences,” said Scott Mabury, a chemist at the University of Toronto. “We should be smart enough to design chemicals that do what we want them to do without causing a chemical pollution problem.” Imagine that — designing chemicals that wouldn’t harm our bodies or pollute the environment. I wonder why no one has thought about that until now?

For the complete article, go tohttp://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/05/15/food-wrapper-chemical.html?campaign=w01-101-ae-0001

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If you drive a big car and you’re in an accident it’s easy to assume that you haven’t been injured if your car doesn’t look “hurt.” After all, isn’t that the reason you’re driving a big vehicle? It’s for protection, right? Then you might find it a bit disturbing to learn that research has proved that occupants of vehicles, both large and compact, can be hurt considerably more than might be expected from a minor auto accident. In reality, as far as your body is concerned, there’s truly no such thing as a “minor fender bender.”

Let’s face it. There are going to be reverberations when your body is compelled to stop abruptly and unexpectedly. An emergency room attendant may offer you a clean bill of health because you haven’t sustained any broken bones, and you may be given a prescription for drugs to reduce the muscle spasms that you are surely experiencing due to the structural changes in your neck or lower back that you encountered from the impact. But, your condition could go from bad to much, much worse unless you’re treated for the injuries you’ve sustained. In fact, many individuals experience problems years after an auto accident as the consequence of their not getting the help that was necessary for them in the first place.

Your Santa Barbara Chiropractor absolutely knows what your body undergoes during an auto accident. Chiropractic techniques include treatment for soft tissue injuries and spinal bio-mechanics impairment. And your chiropractor is an expert in rehabilitation strategies.

If you’ve experienced a minor auto accident, even if your car may not require much repair, you probably do. Neck and back traumas are not only painful in the regions in which they take place, but they can also cause pain, tingling, and numbness in your arms and hands and cause headaches days, weeks, even months after an accident occurs.

You can get back on the road to feeling good again with drug-free, natural chiropractic care.  It will go a long way in putting the trauma of your accident where it belongs – in the past. Furthermore, because your chiropractor has experience communicating effectively with insurance companies and lawyers, not only will you undergo less physical stress, but less emotional stress, too!

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