Posts Tagged ‘headaches’

It's Not Too Late to Hydrate!

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

Chiropractors, like Dr. Phillips, are committed to making sure their patients know the importance of drinking plenty of water daily. The chant is “Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate!” For humans to survive, they need air and water (in that order). So, it would seem that drinking enough water would be as visceral as breathing in enough air, but a surprising 75 percent of individuals in this country have mild, constant dehydration. (Most people are not breathing enough either, but one issue at a time.) You you cannot maintain or regain good health without drinking an adequate amount of water. Drinking plenty of water benefits every cell, tissue, and organ in your body and maintains the proper function of every system. Your saliva, and the fluids surrounding your joints, are primarily water. Water balances the temperature and metabolism of the body, and keeps the blood circulating. Drinking plenty of water daily has been shown to improve nutrient absorption and toxin removal, and to reduce heartburn, hypertension, exhaustion, headaches, and even back pain.

When it comes to conditions created by dehydration, athletes are especially 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.”  According to researchers at Indiana State University, a high percentage of collegiate and professional athletes begin the season dehydrated, putting their health at risk even before they begin strenuous workouts. 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 most health care professionals, advise no less than eight, 8-ounce glasses of water daily for quite a few of our patients, but for our patients who are athletes, or for individuals 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 an adequate amount of water? The color of your urine is a good gauge. If it is a light, pale yellow, it’s evidence that you’re well-hydrated!

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Minor Car Accidents Can Make a Big Impact on Your Health

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

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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