Easter Chiropractic Service Project

Chiropractic care for the needy was a grand success with four chiropractors volunteering throughout the day. This service project of the Georgia Chiropractic Association District 1 began in 2010, and provides chiropractic care at four events each year in downtown Atlanta at Thanksgiving, Christmas, MLK Day and Easter. We were part of the Easter Day of Services at the Georgia Dome. The chiropractors involved were Drs. Winston and Chantaye Carhee, Dr. Bianca Kiovanni and myself. Men and women from the ages of 81-21 who came to the Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless Event received exams and chiropractic adjustments. There were folks with years of accumulated stress and strain, old injuries that were not properly treated and joints and muscles that bear the burden of poverty and ill health. We had a steady flow of people wanting to have their spines checked, and ask questions about their health concerns. I appreciate the opportunity to serve, and am thankful that I have a home and food on the table.

Chiropractic Care for the Needy

Chiropractic care is a wonderful healing art & science. The stress and strain of everyday life can accumulate and result in distortion of the vertebral column. Spinal nerves can become hyper-irritated and joints and disks compressed. Besides stiffness, numbness and pain, nerve flow to vital organs can become disrupted, and set the stage for illness and dis-ease. Chiropractic adjustments help to restore alignment of the spine, ease tension and stress on the nervous system and promote overall well-being.

The way our healthcare system operates in the US, many people in need never make it to a chiropractor's office. Chiropractors are seldom seen in public healthcare clinics or hospitals.

People without insurance or the means to pay for chiropractic care seldom receive the benefits that chiropractic care can provide. I believe that this is unfair, so I make a point of volunteering my chiropractic services at certain times of the year to help the needy.

This Easter Sunday I will be joining other chiropractors and scores of other volunteers at the Georgia Dome for Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless Day of Services. Sometimes people ask... "What can one adjustment do?" My answer is, "Always more than none".

Visit www.hoseafeedthehungry.com for more information and how you can provide support.

Keeping Young Athletes Fit & Healthy

In today’s age of health and fitness, more and more kids are involved in sporting activities. Although being part of a football, soccer or Little League team is an important rite of passage for many children, parents and their children could be overlooking the importance of proper nutrition and body-conditioning needed for preventing injuries on and off the playing field.

“The majority, if not all, sports are good, provided that the child prepares appropriately,” says Dr. Timothy Ray, a member of the American Chiropractic Association’s Council on Sports Injuries and Physical Fitness. “Without proper preparation, playing any sport can turn into a bad experience. There are structural and physical developmental issues that need to be taken into consideration before children undertake certain sports.”

Highly competitive sports such as football, gymnastics and wrestling follow rigorous training schedules that can be potentially dangerous to an adolescent or teenager. The best advice for parents who have young athletes in the family is to help them prepare their bodies and to learn to protect themselves from sports related injuries before they happen.

“Proper warm up, stretching and strength-training exercises are essential for kids involved in sports, but many kids learn improper stretching or weight-lifting techniques, making them more susceptible to injury,” says Dr. Steve Horwitz, an ACA member from Silver Spring, Md., and former member of the U.S. Summer Olympic medical team. “Parents need to work with their kids and make sure they receive the proper sports training.”

“Young athletes should begin with a slow jog as a general warm-up, followed by a sport-specific warm-up. They should then stretch all the major muscle groups,” says Dr. Horwitz. “Kids need to be instructed in appropriate exercises for each sport to prevent injuries.”

Proper nutrition and hydration are also extremely vital. “While an ordinary person may need to drink eight to 10 8-ounce glasses of water each day, athletes need to drink even more than that for proper absorption. Breakfast should be the most important meal of the day. Also, eating a healthy meal two to four hours before a practice or a game and another within one to two hours after a game or practice allows for proper replenishment and refuels the body,” adds Dr. Horwitz.

Young athletes today often think they are invincible. The following tips can help ensure your child does not miss a step when it comes to proper fitness, stretching, training and rest that the body needs to engage in sporting activities.

Encourage your child to:
•Wear the proper equipment. Certain contact sports, such as football and hockey, can be dangerous if the equipment is not properly fitted. Make sure all equipment, including helmets, pads and shoes fit your child or adolescent. Talk to your child’s coach or trainer if the equipment is damaged.

•Eat healthy meals. Make sure your young athlete is eating a well-balanced diet and does not skip meals. Avoid high-fat foods, such as candy bars and fast food. At home, provide fruit rather than cookies, and vegetables rather than potato chips.

•Maintain a healthy weight. Certain sports, such as gymnastics, wrestling and figure skating, may require your young athlete to follow strict dietary rules. Be sure your child does not feel pressured into being too thin and that he/she understands that proper nutrition and caloric intake is needed for optimal performance and endurance.

•Drink water. Hydration is a key element to optimal fitness. Teenage athletes should drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. Younger athletes should drink five to eight 8-ounce glasses of water.

•Drink milk. Make sure your child has enough calcium included in his/her diet. For children over 2 years of age, ACA recommends 1 percent or skim milk rather than whole milk. Milk is essential for healthy bones and reduces the risk of joint and muscle related injuries.

•Avoid sugar-loaded, caffeinated and carbonated drinks. Sports drinks are a good source of replenishment for those kids engaged in long duration sports, such as track and field.

•Follow a warm-up routine. Be sure your child or his/her coach includes a warm-up and stretching session before every practice, game or meet. A slow jog, jumping rope and/or lifting small weights reduces the risk of torn or ripped muscles. Flexibility is key when pushing to score that extra goal or make that critical play.

•Take vitamins daily. A multi-vitamin and Vitamin C are good choices for the young athlete. Vitamin B and amino acids may help reduce the pain from contact sports. Thiamine can help promote healing. Also consider Vitamin A to strengthen scar tissue.

•Avoid trendy supplements. Kids under the age of 18 should avoid the use of performance-enhancing supplements, such as creatine. Instead, they should ask their coach or trainer to include weekly weight training and body-conditioning sessions in their workout.

•Get plenty of rest. Eight hours of sleep is ideal for the young athlete. Lack of sleep and rest can decrease performance. Sluggishness, irritability and loss of interest could indicate that your child is fatigued.
Chiropractic Care Can Help
Doctors of chiropractic are trained and licensed to treat the entire neuromusculoskeletal system and can provide advice on sports training, nutrition and injury prevention to young athletes.-Courtesy of the American Chiropractic Association.

Why does it take more than one adjustment?

Patients often wonder, either to themselves, or out loud to me, why it takes more than one adjustment to move a subluxated bone back into the proper position. There are several factors that can influence how many adjustments it can take to properly align the spine.
Age-Young people generally take fewer adjustments that older people, because their spine is more flexible and they have less degenerative changes in their spine.
Gender- Woman tend to need more adjustments than men, because they tend to have less muscle mass to stabilize their spine.
Chronic vs. Acute Condition- The longer a subluxation has been present, the longer it takes to work out of the spine. Muscles, ligaments and nerve endings become accommodated to the misalignment, and must undergo changes to restore a healthy functioning spine.
Lifestyle-Patients that are deconditioned, sedentary and overweight tend to have a harder time staying in alignment, than patients who are active and fit.
Occupation-Jobs that make it difficult to maintain good posture, or tasks that demand repetitive or one-sided motion will usually have a negative effect on maintaining alignment.
Stress- Patients that are subject to high levels of mental or emotional stress will have a harder time holding their adjustments. Emotions can trigger neurochemicals that hamper tissue repair, and increase muscle spasm and tension.
Other Diseases-Spinal and non-spinal diseases can both effect alignment. Spinal arthritis, disk degeneration, facet arthrosis are examples of spinal diseases that can undermine the lasting effects of an adjustment. Diabetes, thyroid disease, connective tissue diseases are conditions that can slow down the healing process and make more adjustments necessary to achieve healthy alignment.

What can you do? Follow your chiropractor's recommendations on your schedule of care, so you get the right number of adjustments for your condition. Also make sure you do any exercises that have been prescribed for you. Get the right amount of rest, and make sure you are using proper body mechanics. These will help you maintain your alignment in between your visits.