Pillow Talk
We tend to apply ergonomics when it comes to waking activities or sitting at a desk; utilizing the correct sleep posture is just as important as your waking posture as you spend 5-8 hours in that position every night. Our sleep posture often doesn’t get the attention it deserves and it is extremely important to pay more attention to our bodies when they’re not in motion. Whether you have felt every bone complaining or whether you are curious to see if you could be getting better sleep, make sure you know the correct sleeping posture.
The key to understanding sleeping posture is to think about where your body curves are. The two major ones that need to be supported throughout sleep are your neck and lower back.
What is the best position for sleeping?
The best lying or sleeping position may vary, depending on your symptoms or structure of your spine. No matter what position you lie in, the pillow should be under your head, but not your shoulders, and should be a thickness that allows your head to be in a normal position.
1. Try to sleep in a position which helps you maintain the curves in your neck and back. Sleeping on your back is the most ergonomically correct sleeping position, as long as you are using the right type of pillow. If you sleep on your back, you’ve won half the battle. Make sure to use a thinner but supportive pillow. If you use a think pillow or multiple pillows, they can stretch and strain your neck muscles. Your head needs to be in a neutral position for the 8 hours that you sleep, and multiple pillows under your head only bring your head forward and can cause a variety of problems.
2. If you are a side sleeper having a hard time switching to sleep on your back, all you have to do is use a few pillows to modify your sleeping posture for better and restful sleep, less aches, and more energy during the day. Use a thinker pillow for your head; since you sleep on your side, you want to create the most neutral position for your head with a thicker pillow to support your neck and head. Also add another pillow in between your knees to create symmetry and a better posture. This will help take any pressure off your lower back and hip
3. If you sleep on your stomach, do everything in your power not to. This is the worse sleeping posture and there’s not much to modify here. Keep in mind, it may take months to train your body to change and or modify your sleeping posture, but it is doable.
4. Finally, when standing up from the lying position, turn on your side, draw up both knees and swing your legs on the side of the bed. Sit up by pushing yourself up with your hands. Avoid bending forward at your waist.
Overcome your sinusitis today!
Forty million Americans suffer from sinusitis. You may have experienced acute sinusitis in which the nasal cavities of the nasal passages become inflamed, mucus is built up and it blocks drainage. This maybe following a cold, and you have symptoms such as painful pressure behind cheekbones, headaches, nasal congestion etc… For some people this is not a temporary problem. If you have chronic sinusitis, you spend majority of each year experiencing symptoms such as fatigue, facial pain, headaches, mucus secretion, bad breath, post nasal drip, and etc.
1. Get steamy
Take a hot shower or better yet try steam treatment to help rid you of the inflamed mucus. The steam you breathe can be enhanced with sinus-clearing essential oils. Try adding Eucalyptus, lavender, oregano or peppermint to a large bowl of steaming-hot water. Drape a towel over your head and the bowl, and breathe deeply for 10 minutes. You’ll feel relief within that time.
If you are short on time, apply a warm wash cloth over your eyes and cheekbones for relief.
1. Get fit
Aerobic exercises at least three times a week can help drain sinuses naturally, which then reduces inflammation and risk of an infection. Physical activity helps cleansing you of toxins and relieve accumulated stress. Dawn’s info or link?
1. Flush the sinuses
Make sure you use a saline solution that does not contain preservatives; they can impair your nasal function. To make your own preservative-free saline solution, add one table spoon of non-iodized salt to one pint of distilled water and rinse your sinuses, and nasal passages with it daily.
1. What to eat
Eating lots of fruits and vegetables and staying away from sugar, dairy products, wheat, alcohol, and foods that can increase mucus inflammation is key in staying healthy, and avoiding those sinusitis episodes all together. Take your natural anti-inflammatory (e.g. fish oil). Try adding garlic, onions, horseradish, hot pepper and ginger added to any soup broth to open up the sinuses. Drink lots of hot herbal tea.
1. Killer immune system
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you exercise, eat right and your nervous system is functioning properly, you shouldn’t be suffering from any aches, pains, tiredness etc…
Your brain controls everything and it communicates with all of your organs through the nervous system/spine. If you have an abnormal neck curve, you have a low resistance immune system which in majority of cases does not cause any symptoms. So get your immune system checked before it’s too late. Also check out this post about Immune System!
Is your sinusitis life-threatening?
In addition to being painful, a chronic sinusitis can be dangerous and in rare cases causes blindness or even death. You may have tried anti-biotics for your sinus infection; unfortunately antibiotics kill the helpful bacteria in your gastro-intestinal system and can cause a variety of other problems if taken frequently. Before your sinusitis becomes more than just a head and face pain, prevent it.
Call 949.387.1333 in order to avoid sinusitis being a detrement to your health! We serve Orange County, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, or Irvine.
How can Chiropractic Help with Blood Pressure?
Most people come to chiropractors in hopes of getting rid of the aches in their back and neck. In my office however, we educate patients on all other benefits of chiropractic. Your posture is a representative of your spine and your spine is extremely important; it holds and protects your nervous system. Your nervous system is THE MOST important organ system in your body because it controls EVERYTHING! one of the most VITAL things it controls is your heart. Sometimes due to the stresses that we have in our lives, some sudden, and some overtime, the spine will shift out of place and shuts down the nerve into a specific organ or musculoskeletal unit. Irregular heart beat, high blood pressure, or difficulty breathing often times are caused by these shifts in the spine. Most postural dysfunctions are asymptomatic, but often times patients who come in with high blood pressure with have an abnormal posture or misaligned spine in their neck and mid back area. Chiropractic care can help regulate blood pressure the natural way and without ANY medication! Check this video about natural ways of controlling blood pressure, and once you are ready to put your health first and help yourself to natural ways of lowering your blood pressure, give us a call at 949.387.1333 for a consultation.
6 natural ways to beat allergies
Here are top 6 ways to beat your allergies this spring:
1. Correct your ‘allergy posture’
Your brain communicates to every cell in your body through your nervous system. The information gets sent down into your neck and then the rest of your body. If you have a misalignment in your neck that is blocking life and energy into the rest of your body, the communication is stopped. The goal of chiropractic care is to located these blocks that are causing major stress on your body and thus enable the immune system to communicate more effectively with the nervous system.
2. Eat allergy-fighting food
Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids help fight inflammation and can be found in cold-water fish, walnuts and flaxseed oil. Garlic, onions, ginger, turmeric, citrus fruits like lemon and oranges also contain natural anti-histamines.
3. Aqua therapy
This natural allergy remedy simply involves drinking lots of liquids to help flush out mucus. However, when you hydrate, you also need minerals to hold onto the water.
Hot liquids can help rid your of congestion. Mint and Green tea work well and contain lots of anti-oxidants that will keep you young as a ‘side-effect’ too. Stay away from black tea, coffee, milk, alcohol and anything with preservatives and additives in it.
4. Beneficial Bugs
Healthy gut flora is essential for wellness of the immune system. Probiotics are the natural and beneficial bacteria in your gut that contribute to your overall health. Disturbed flora can deplete your gut of normal flow of good bacteria. Probiotics can replenenish your source of good bacteria in your gut, and stimulate your immune system in order to prevent you from developing allergies and treating them.
5. Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar contains many healing properties and is often used to ease the symptoms of sinus infection as well as to treat allergies developed from exposure to pets, foods, and various environmental agents. In addition to being rich in vitamins E, A, B1, B2 and B6, apple cider vinegar contains potassium, calcium, and magnesium. It reduces the amount of mucus in the sinus cavities, soothes sore throats, and will shorten the duration of colds.
6. Raw local honey
There are reports that eating honeycomb that comes from the area where you live can relieve symptoms of allergy. The theory is that by chewing a little honeycomb made by local bees you can desensitize yourself to local pollens. Try it daily before allergy season starts so that you build resistance against it. A spoonful a day will keep allergies away!
Call us if you have any questions 949.387.1333
Allergies and Immune System
Allergies are ‘abnormal’ responses of your immune system to substances that are typically harmless. Now why would your brain and nervous system send wrong information regarding these harmless substances to your immune system and most likely the rest of your body? The answer is miscommunication and interference with your nervous system.
Think of the immune system as a well-trained and disciplined bio-weapon that protects the body from harmful substances, with the help of a two-way communication from the brain/nervous system, it identifies and destroys foreign and trouble invaders. If your brain and nervous system are having a hiccup communicating which substances are harmful and which are not, you end up sneezing, coughing, and getting teary eyed every time a harmless substance enters your body.
There are many reasons why your immune system would not be functioning at its best. The main one is having a nervous system that is not functioning correcting. Your spine holds and protects your nervous system; thus make sure your spine is alligned and your immune system is communicating well with the rest of your body! At Wellness Choice Center, our Newport Beach office, we can determine if there is a lack of communication between your nervous system and immune system; and this is one of many ways we help patients with allergies on daily basis. Call us at 949.387.1333 if you have any questions.
Hot Flashes and Hot Natural Remedies… (Part 1 of 4)
Recently, at my Orange County, CA practice, I had a few patients ask me about Menopause symptoms, and natural remedies that are out there, whether they are safe and effective. Here is a summary of my research on three most common herbs that are out there. Red Clover is one of them.
Red Clover is very similar to Soy products as to their not-so-real fame to reduce hot flashes and more. Most studies show minimal effect in women with various symptoms vs. placebo individuals.
Similar to Soy, Red Clover is also shown to be beneficial with osteoporosis, lipid profiles, and possibly cognition, although once again the evidence is limited. Red Clover has a positive reputation as far as safety, and has the fewest number of adverse events in published literature. The side effects reported are mild and include headache, myalgia, and nausea.
If you are tired of your menopausal symptoms or side effects of the medication that you take, I may be able to help you. Call me at 949.922.3465 to get more information, or if you have any questions. You can also visit my website to learn more.
Hot Flashes and Hot Natural Remedies… (Part 2 or 4)
Recently, at my Orange County, CA practice, I had a few patients ask me about Menopause symptoms, and natural remedies that are out there, whether they are safe and effective. Here is a summary of my research on three most common herbs that are out there. Soy is one of them.
Isoflavones (Soy) and supplements are the most commonly used natural products to eliminate symptoms of menopause because of their high concentrations of phytoestrogens. In a study done in 2004, 50 women were randomly given soy protein or placebo for three months. The study showed no difference between the group that consumed soy supplements vs. the group that did nothing (placebo). Although soy is a popular one and is heavily studied, there are no clear data from clinical trials that show major reduction in women with menopausal symptoms (only minimal effects and that’s only on hot flashes).
Although Soy’s fame can not be associated with relieving symtoms of menopause, it has proven itself to have multiple other benefits. Positive effect on lipid profiles, cholestrol reduction, bone conserving effects, calcium retention, cardiovascular benefits and improving cognitive functions are a few of the reasons why Soy is so popular. There is also research available that suggest 15-50% less indidents of breast and endometrial tumors were found in animals that were fed Isoflavones.
Although positive research on elimination of menopausal symptoms with soy is questionable, considering all the other benefits, it would seem that soy in the diet of menopausal women, not withstanding a soy allergy, is beneficial.
Are you interested in learning more about what you are experiencing with Menopause? Are you tired of medication and their side effects? Are you ready to do something natural and holistic for your menopausal symptoms without compromising your health? Call me at 949.922.3465 or visit my website to learn more.
