Phillips Chiropractic

What does the word, “vertigo, ” indicate? Vertigo is the term for the dizzy disturbance a person suffers within a fixed location. The perception is that the outer world is tilting and even spinning. Vertigo may be quick and short- lived or constant. Regardless, no matter what, the specific root of vertigo needs to be diagnosed and the proper therapy carried out.

There are numerous causes for the problems of Vertigo. An inner ear condition, known as Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, will oftentimes take place as the aftermath of a sustained head injury or severe cold. In some cases this particular vertigo can be the result of the aging process. The root, though, generally is not known. Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo is a wordy diagnosis, but it characterizes completely this non- progressive condition that is attributable to, as its name tells us, a sudden change in head posture. The symptoms are often times unpredicted and varied.

It will be advantageous to look at the performance of the inner ear in an effort fathom what leads to this commonly incapacitating symptoms of this sort of vertigo. The brain takes in motion and sustains balance utilizing the fluid contained in the inner ear. Also in the inner ear are miniature calcium carbonate crystals, known as otoconia. These crystals usually float in the inner ear fluid if dislodged. As the crystals strike against the delicate nerve endings in the inner ear, they trigger the symptoms of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo or BPPV.

The good news is that chiropractic treatment can get rid of the problems of BPPV very quickly and effectively employing a technique known as the Epley maneuver. Through the use of this practice, a chiropractor turns the head of a BPPV sufferer into a number of the different positions, letting gravity move the calcium carbonate crystals into a local of the inner ear that is away from the nerve endings where they will bring about no subsequent dizziness.

Your chiropractor has assisted numerous people for Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo making use of the Epley Maneuver technique. Typically, with only one treatment the majority of patients no longer suffer from dizziness. Dr. Phillips can help. Call Phillips Chiropractic in Santa Barbara today!

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Knee X-ray

Individuals 65 years and older who’ve been diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis (OA), that practice Tai Chi, improve their physical function and encounter less 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 help a large number individuals who suffer with OA in a number of regions of the body, including the joints of the knee. Second only to spinal problems, knee pain and disability is one of the most prevalent afflictions of the musculoskeletal system. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) there are an astounding 4.3 million people in this country over age 60 diagnosed with knee OA, and the CDC anticipates that by age 85, half of American adults may suffer from symptoms of OA. Knee osteoarthritis results in pain, immobility, dysfunction and disability, and a diminished quality of life.

You may be wondering why so many adults develop OA. Inordinate stress over a period of time is a major element in the majority of musculoskeletal problems that develop as we age. Therefore, as people age they are more at risk for developing OA in their knees, as well as other joints. Abnormal function of the knee, improper gait, compensatory foot mechanics as the result of foot pain, and repetitive use of the knee joint all create excessive stress on the knees. Over time arthritic changes in the knee joint develop. As an adjunct to chiropractic treatment, chiropractors fully support natural, drug-free practices, such as Tai Chi (Chuan), that can mitigate knee pain. Tai Chi (Chuan) is a traditional style of Chinese martial arts that features slow, rhythmic movements that generate mental relaxation, as well as an enhancement of balance, an increase in strength, and more flexibility.

The 40 men and women selected for the Tufts study were on an average 65 years of age, overweight, and with confirmed OA, but in otherwise good health. Individuals were randomly selected to participate 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 prevailing exercise protocols for OA, such as range of motion, flexibility, muscle conditioning, and aerobic workout. Furthermore, researchers noted that the “mental aspect” of Tai Chi encouraged a sense of well-being, life satisfaction, and impressions of health that assisted the participants in dealing differently with chronic pain. Compared with the control group, the group practicing Tai Chi exhibited a significant decrease in knee pain.

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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Do you experience pain in one or both hips whenever you twist them or when you cross your legs?  Does the pain keep you awake at night and make it impossible to get a good night’s sleep? When you arise in the morning, or when you get out of your car, are you stiff and do you find it initially difficult to move your legs? If you answered “yes” to any or all of the previous questions it is likely that you have imbalances and alignment problems in your lower extremities that, in addition to creating hip pain, can eventually produce degenerative joint disease in your hips if not treated.

Even though hip pain and related problems are usually signs of age-related degenerative conditions, especially osteoarthritis of the hip joint, osteoarthritis isn’t always the culprit. 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.

Gait changes caused by biomechanical issues such as an ankle sprain or knee strain, can cause hip pain. Moreover, your gait may vary to compensate for 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 asymmetries can occur from carrying a baby or small child on your hip, leg length discrepancies, or foot pronation conditions. In other words, anything that produces an asymmetry or imbalance when you are in motion can develop into painful hip problems.

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

Hip pain won’t diminish on its own. Hip pain is a sign 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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Attempting to keep up with an active five-year-old can seem tiring at times. If you’ve been around an active child of this age, or if you have one of your own, you may have found yourself longing for the kid to just sit still for a little while. But, new research is recognizing the long-term health benefits of this whirlwind of activity. In fact, according to a new University of Iowa study, instead of making an effort to slow these little ones down, five-year-olds ought be aided in being as active as possible. Why? “Because it pays off as they grow older,” said Kathleen Janz, lead author of the study and professor of health and sport studies in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Being active at age five helps kids to stay lean as they get older even if they don’t remain as active later in childhood. “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.

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

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 inquiry is required to determine 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 happened metabolically that offered some protection even as they became less active.

Nonetheless, as impressive as this study is, weight moderation is not the only benefit of early exercise. As a chiropractor I have noticed in my own practice that active kids have far less of the usual childhood health challenges, like catching colds and the flu. Chiropractic treatment is, of course, extraordinarily beneficial in helping kids to stay healthier. But, in addition, the stimulation to the brain that occurs during activities, especially those that require “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.

Many children nowadays are overweight and unhealthy. Though part of the problem is an inappropriate diet, inactivity is also a major contributing factor. If you have a five-year-old who chooses 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 activity will not only benefit your child now, but will help to build a healthier future. You can bank on it!

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We all know that movement is good for the whole body, right? From our head to our toes, our good health is determined by how much physical activity we get on a regular basis. So, why do so many people suffer from aches and pains in their feet? After all, aren’t our feet made for walking? Yes, but they weren’t designed for abuse. The average, healthy person takes 3,000-5,000 steps each day, not including activities such as running and aerobic exercise. But, often those steps are made by people walking incorrectly, with poor gait patterns and bad posture. In addition, a large number of people wear badly-designed, poorly-fitting shoes. Moving the body through space incorrectly on feet that are inhibited from functioning correctly cannot help but to cause aches and pains not only in a number of places in our feet, but in other parts of our body. For example, if an individual over-pronates (walks like a duck) in a pair of poorly made or unevenly-worn shoes, or in a pair of high heels, that person is not only likely to develop foot and ankle problems, but will probably experience problems of the back, knees and legs.

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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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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At one time or another, Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) impacts and estimated 90% of women and nearly 20% of those women afflicted experience severe to debilitating symptoms. Telling a woman that her PMS is “just in her head” can be not only just plain hazardous, it’s also just plain non-factual! There are physiological causes of PMS in most cases, including one that you might find surprising — spinal misalignment. That’s right. Your back could actually be the culprit. Spinal misalignment, expressly in the lower back, can commonly generate a wide variety of female health conditions in addition to Premenstrual Syndrome, such as pelvic pain, sexual dysfunction, incontinence, and even infertility.

Are you wondering how chiropractic can ease the symptoms of PMS? Chiropractic treatments get rid of nerve disturbance in your body. Every cell, fiber, tissue, organ, and system in your body is instructed and regulated by your nervous system. This includes your reproductive system. If your reproductive system isn’t performing correctly due to nerve interference, it can cause a myriad of symptoms such as those connected with PMS. You would most likely experience agitation, pain, heavy bleeding, or severe cramping if your reproductive system were overactive. Missed periods or infertility can be caused by an under-activity reproductive system. The good news is that if nerve impedance is causing your PMS symptoms, then chiropractic care can assist because adjustments restore unimpeded activity to your nervous system and, therefore, assisting it in functioning more normally.

In conjunction with improved general health, many women experience an improvement in their reproductive health, as well, while under chiropractic care. So, if you’ve been thinking that your PMS is just in head, think again! And, make an appointment to see your Santa Barbara Chiropractor as soon as possible. Chiropractic management offers  an all natural answer for PMS that could assist you in avoiding periodic misery, without medication, and keep you symptom-free and energetic all month long.

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Have you heard that chiropractors treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)? Well, that’s not totally accurate. Although chiropractic care can absolutely help children, and adults too, who suffer from it, chiropractors don’t actually “treat” ADHD. The reason that chiropractic treatment is effectual is because ADHD is a neurological disorder. Chiropractic manipulations not only help to reduce nervous system disruptions in general, but an adjustment can be intentionally directed to stimulate under-active areas of the brain and calm over-active areas as well. Due to the fact that a chiropractic approach to ADHD is natural and drug-free, many parents choose chiropractic care over the common medical approach of giving children Class 2 psychotropic drugs that have dramatic side effects including personality changes and permanent alterations in the brain. The vast majority of parents who’ve chosen chiropractic treatment for their children have observed stunning behavioral changes as a result.

Because of the differences between the ways in which boys and girls use the left and right hemispheres of their brain, ADHD seems to afflict more boys than girls and, additionally, is commonly more conspicuous and easily observable in the behavior of boys rather than of girls. Some of the symptoms that are most pronounced include difficulty concentrating and sitting still, inability to control impulsive thoughts and behaviors, easily distracted by noises and activities, chronic movement of fingers, hands, arms, feet, or legs.

Many children who exhibit ADHD symptoms are hypersensitive to specific foods, such as dairy or gluten products, and sugars and artificial sweeteners. Furthermore, they commonly have a hypersensitive reaction to additives in foods, herbicides and pesticides used to grow non-organic fruits and vegetables, and laundry products such as detergents, fabric softeners, and other chemicals. As a general rules, the elimination of these environmental agencies can go a long way in decreasing ADHD symptoms.

Your Santa Barbara Chiropractor will give your child a comprehensive chiropractic examination, determining if there are spinal abnormalities and checking for express responses to specific neurological tests.

Natural, safe chiropractic care can help your child to get his or her life back in balance. If your child exhibits the symptoms of ADHD, before taking drastic pharmaceutical measures, call your chiropractor to make an appointment for a complete evaluation. For better health for your child, call today!

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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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