Pages
- “So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen... http://t.co/5gl9fJZE 2011-12-24
- More updates...
Contact
Overland Chiropractic11791 W 112th St. Suite 101
Overland Park, KS 66210
(913) 345-9247
blogarama.com
OverlandChiro.com
YouTube
Categories
- Aging well
- Alternative Medicine
- Baby Boomer Health
- back pain
- Balance
- Cause of Headache
- Chiropractic Examination
- Cox Technic
- Diet, Nutrition and Well Being
- Digestion
- Emotional Balance
- Enzyme Replacement Nutrition Therapy
- Ergonomics
- Exercise
- Extremity Adjusting
- Fatigue
- Foot and gait mechanics
- headache treatment
- Healthy Aging
- Hypokinetic Disease
- Injury and Treatment following motor vehicle accidents
- Injury Prevention
- Mechanisms and Treatment of Low Back Pain
- Medical
- Migraines and Headaches
- Motion
- Motion Cycle
- Pain Cycle
- Rehabilitation Exercises and Protocols
- senior health
- Stress Reduction
- Uncategorized
- Women's Health
Blogroll
- Body in Balance
- Chirobase
- Chiropractic Economics
- Chiropractic Life Center
- Chiropractic News
- Cleveland Chiropractic College
- International Chiropractors Association
- Kansas City Chiropractic
- Overland Chiropractic
- The American Chiropractic Association (ACA)
- WebMD
Web Directory
Posts Tagged ‘chiro’
Food for Thought….Tips for a Healthier (and Happier) Thanksgiving
Thursday, November 17th, 2011
Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season, and, for many, the beginning of several weeks of over-eating, over-doing, over-spending, and overwhelming their bodies chemically, physically and emotionally. At Overland Chiropractic, we are committed to bringing wellness to our patients and community by being experts in the identification and treatment of stress. Thanksgiving is a time for reflection, traditions, and making good memories. With a little planning, you can have the healthy and happy holiday you deserve.
Since stress can affect your body in many different ways, here are some tips for reducing stress and staying healthier this season:
Chemical Stress:
- Decide ahead of time that you will only eat until you are satisfied, NOT until you are “stuffed”. Eat slowly, and enjoy the meal and the company.
- Drink plenty of water. It will help you feel fuller and will aid in the digestion of food. Limit your intake of sweetened, carbonated beverages, alcohol, and caffeine.
- Consider enzymes to help with digestive issues and the absorption of nutrients. We would be happy to discuss enzyme therapy with you.
Physical Stress:
- Take a walk after your Thanksgiving meal. If you have planned for a walk, you probably won’t be as apt to overeat, and the exercise will help fend off that post-turkey fatigue!
- Get plenty of rest. Listen to your body. Schedule a chiropractic treatment if needed.
- Make sure to delegate the cleaning, cooking and entertaining responsibilities – you don’t need to do it all by yourself.
Emotional Stress:
- Have grace for yourself and others. Family events may be marred by an undercurrent of past experiences or by expectations that are too high. Remember that no one is perfect, including you, and appreciate your time together.
- Choose just a few meaningful activities, and don’t be afraid to say “no” to everything else.
- Make room in your schedule for personal prayer or quiet time.
We are here to serve you and to meet you on the path to wellness. We wish you the best of health and a wonderful Thanksgiving.
October 12-20 is Bone and Joint National Action Week
Thursday, October 13th, 2011
Autumn is here! Although we usually think of Spring as the season for renewal, fall can be a great time to re-focus after the hot summer months.
October 12-20 is Bone and Joint National Action Week. This observance focuses on disorders including arthritis, back pain, osteoporosis, and trauma. Did you know that nearly half of the American population over the age of 18 -48% of us- are affected by bone and joint conditions? These conditions are the most common cause of severe long-term pain and physical disability worldwide. (Source: United States Bone and Joint Initiative website)
At Overland Chiropractic, we provide comprehensive care for many musculoskeletal conditions, including back and neck pain, headaches, and extremity and low back pain. In the September issue of Kansas City Health & Wellness Magazine, our office has been recognized for our Cox Technic chiropractic treatment, a natural, gentle, and safe method for alleviating nerve compression and spinal pain. We use a specialized flexion distraction table to traction areas of the spine, increase the size of nerve openings, and restore more freedom of movement. Flexion distraction is one of the most-researched techniques for treating low back pain.
Take time this autumn to rejuvenate your body…there is no better time than now to get relief. Call our office at 913-345-9247 to find out if you are a candidate for this specialized treatment. You can read more about Cox Flexion Distraction Technic by going to http://www.kchealthandwellness.com/ and clicking on “Past Issues”.
Dr. Robert E. Patterson, Jr. is now a Certified Chiropractic Posture Therapy Specialist (CCPTS)
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011
Overland Chiropractic, a Creating Wellness Center, is pleased to announce that Dr. Robert E. Patterson, Jr. is now a Certified Chiropractic Posture Therapy Specialist (CCPTS). Dr. Patterson completed a 36-hour certification course through Logan College of Chiropractic in Chesterfield, Missouri. “Our practice is focused on the patient as a whole,” explains Dr. Patterson. “Strong posture helps you move more effectively and reduces mechanical stress in nearly every part of your body. We are excited to offer an innovative Posture Program for our patients.” Currently, Dr. Patterson is the only Certified Chiropractic Posture Therapy Specialist in the State of Kansas.
Overland Chiropractic is located near College Blvd. and Quivira Rd. at 11791 W 112th St, Suite 101, Overland Park, Kansas 66210. The phone number 913-345-9247. For more information, visit overlandchiro.com.
Posture month continued: ADAPTATION
Thursday, June 2nd, 2011
ADAPTATION – The 5th Posture Principle
Over the last month, I have been blogging about the Posture Principles: Motion, Balance, Patterns, and Compensation. Now we have reached the 5th Principle: Adaptation. Adaptation is the body’s response to stressors. Our bodies are very efficient in coming up with strategies to avoid pain and stress. Unfortunately, while we may be able to avoid pain in the short-term, we have unconsciously entered the Pain Cycle. Remaining in the Pain Cycle by continuously adapting to pain leads to: (1) compromised movement, (2) “shifting” of the body’s loads, (3) repetitive stress, and (4) further injury. Once you have reached step (4), you are immediately thrown back into step (1)….and so on and so on.
The good news is this: MOTION breaks the pain cycle!
To move out of the Pain Cycle and into the Motion Cycle, a great first step is an Aligned Strong Posture. Posture training leads to balanced motion. Balanced motion means freely-moving joints, ligaments and muscles. It is “youthful” motion! With freer, more youthful motion comes the ability to effectively exercise. Exercising while maintaining a strong core maximizes the health benefits and helps prevent injuries. Training your core muscles helps to keep your body stabilized, and results in a stronger posture….leading to balanced motion, effective exercise, trained and coordinated core muscles…and so on and so on!
We often hear people say, “Use it or Lose it”. With posture training, you CAN “Use it to KEEP it”!
Because of the great response to Posture Month at Overland Chiropractic, we have extended it into the middle of June. We are offering our patients, their families, and their friends a Free Posture Photo Analysis. Please call our office at 913-345-9247 to claim this offer for yourself and a loved one. Why put off living better and aging well? Let’s begin, together, today!
Tips for Preventing Injury this Summer
Sunday, May 29th, 2011
With the unofficial arrival of summer tomorrow (Memorial Day), I thought I would re-post a blog from last year. Enjoy your holiday!
Healthy Summer Living Tips
Injury Prevention Take a few minutes to stretch before performing yard work or walking which can go a long way in preventing injury. Here are a few things that you can do while outside.
Hamstrings – Find a stair step or short stool to stretch the back of your leg. Keep your back straight and rotate from your hips. Bending out of your back can produce undo strain.
Quadriceps – Hold on to a chair or put your hand against a wall for balance. Keep your back straight – arching backwards will jam the joints.
Avoid strain on your knee by pulling your heel backwards, instead of up to the buttocks.
Psoas/Front of the hip- Step out with one foot and glide forward while keeping your back straight. You should feel stretch in the front of the hip that is straight.
Shoulders – Stretch your arm across the front of your body as well as overhead. This stretches your shoulders and middle back.
Side bends- While keeping your back straight, put one arm over your head and bend to the opposite side.
Squat- Squatting while holding onto a chair or table is a good way to stretch
your low back.
Calf – Stretching your calves can be done one of two ways. The first way is to lean against the wall and extend one hip backward. Push your heel on that side down to the ground to stretch the calf. Keep your back straight. The second way to stretch the calf is to stand with your toes on the edge of a step. Slowly lower your heels so that they are lower than your toes.
Inner thigh/Groin Stretch- Point your toes forward. Keep your back straight and your pelvis level as you glide to one side and hold.
Hamstring
Quadriceps
Psoas/Front of the hip
Shoulder
Shoulder
Side Bends
Squat
Calf
Calf
Inner Thigh
Start an Exercise Program – Too many people start programs in January as part of a New Year’s resolution. That’s great if you can stick with it, but I believe winter weather makes it difficult to form those new habits. The weather becomes an excuse to avoid walking outside or going to the gym.
Start simple. Begin walking several times per week. Walk for 15-20 minutes to begin with. You can gradually increase your time. You should walk at a pace at which you could still carry on a conversation with another person. If you have enough air that you could sing while you walk, then you need to step up the pace a little. If you can find a walking partner, that’s even better. It will give you accountability.
Wear good shoes. Good support will reduce strain on your feet, as well as your knees, hips and spine. If one of your arches appears flatter than the other when you are standing, you may need custom orthotics to compensate and reduce your risk of injury.
Stretch before you walk. Again, this will reduce your chances for injury.
Stay Hydrated. Be sure to drink plenty of water. Take a water bottle with you while you walk.
Posture Month Continued: COMPENSATION
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011
COMPENSATION – The 4th Posture Principle
You are probably sitting as you read this blog – at a computer desk, in an easy chair with your laptop, or enjoying the outdoors with your smart phone. And how you are sitting has most likely not crossed your mind. You are sitting the way you always sit…without thinking about your posture.
Your body has learned to move in the patterns it has been taught. Sitting, walking, crossing your legs or arms in your own unique pattern….it has all been learned over time. In fact, try this:
- Cross your arms
- Observe – is your left or right forearm on top?
- Now, cross your arms again, but this time put the OPPOSITE forearm on top. Doesn’t it feel awkward (if you can even do it at all)?
Dr. Steven Weiniger, founder of BodyZone, explains the above exercise this way: “The body moves in a pattern of motion which follows the path of least resistance. Reversing the top forearm moves your arms, shoulder girdle and neck in an unfamiliar pattern. Habits, old injuries and your unique body type cause muscles to strengthen and joints to stretch in your ‘normal’ pattern of motion.”
This is also known as Compensation. Compensation allows us to get better at creating the habits that shape our body. These habits can be good, or they can be bad. Bad habits begin taking hold when injury, then pain, cause us to compensate and avoid pain. As Dr. Weiniger puts it, “Over time, a vicious spiral of compensation and adaptation weakens posture, balance and joint stability and sets the stage for new injury, chronic pain, and joint degeneration (osteoarthritis.)”
A February article on the Center for Disease Control’s website states the following: “Research shows that pain or fear of pain, fear of worsening symptoms or damaging joints, and lack of information on how to exercise safely prevent people with arthritis from being physically active. Not being physically active is a risk factor for many other chronic diseases and interferes with management of these conditions.” Clearly, breaking the Pain Cycle is key to not only living better now, but also for preventing further serious illness.
Posture training can help break the pain cycle by reducing muscle and joint stress, and thereby preventing injury and further breakdown. Overland Chiropractic is offering our patients, their families, and their friends a Free Posture Photo Analysis. Please call our office at 913-345-9247 to take advantage of this offer for yourself and a loved one. Why put off living better and aging well? Let’s begin, together, today!
Posture Month continued: Patterns
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011
PATTERNS – The 3rd Posture Principle By Kelley Patterson
Just under a year ago, I made a commitment to leave my “couch potato” lifestyle and began exercising on a more regular basis. To age well, I knew that I needed to get moving. “Hypokinetic Disease” is a term drafted by Drs. Kraus and Raab in their 1961 book, and it means degeneration which occurs from a sedentary lifestyle. Hypokinetic Disease includes obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, low back pain, and Type 2 diabetes. Peggy Kraus (Examiner.com) writes, “70% of our population have some type of hypokinetic disease… In spite of the fact that exercise reduces body weight, lowers cholesterol level, lowers blood pressure, improves sleep, improves body image, improves mood and lifts depression, reduces risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke, and osteoporosis (among others), and reduces the need for many common medications in addition to countless of other benefits, more than one-third of Americans do not exercise.”
May is Posture Month at Overland Chiropractic, and Patterns is the 3rd Posture Principle. “Patterns”simply refers to the fact that your body’s chain of motion will follow the path of least resistance. When you are sedentary, when you have a job that requires you spend a lot of time seated, and when you do not exercise on a regular basis, your body will begin compensating for your weaker muscles. Your brain, spinal cord and nerves will learn to use your stronger muscles more than your weaker ones, and your core and posture will become weak as your body strives to maintain upright balance.
Try this: Take a piece of paper and fold it sharply.
Now, unfold the paper, and take out the crease.
Can’t do it? Here’s why: You can unfold the paper, but once creased, it is always creased. The paper fibers are distorted in a pattern which becomes the path of least resistance. Now, think about your body. Contracting muscles and connecting ligaments, tendons and fascia fold and distort along the creases we create in our body as we, too, move along the path of least resistance.
Posture distortions not only cause fatigue and pain, but set the stage for posture degeneration and premature aging.
So, what can you do? You must create a new pattern of motion by:
1) Restoring motion to areas of restriction; and
2) Focusing exercise to unused muscles.
Posture and core-strengthening exercises will result in pain-free, balanced motion. Balanced motion helps you move naturally and age well!
Overland Chiropractic is offering our patients, their families, and their friends a Free Posture Photo Analysis. Please call our office at 913-345-9247 to take advantage of this offer for yourself and a loved one. Why put off living better and aging well? Let’s begin, together, today!
Overland Park Chiropractor Discusses Muscle Imbalance
Thursday, August 12th, 2010
By: Dr. Patterson
Have you ever noticed that one leg stretches easier than the other or that one arm goes farther behind your back? If so, you may be experiencing muscle imbalance. Muscle imbalances can occur almost anywhere in our bodies. We can be imbalanced from side to side or from front to back.
You might ask, what is the big deal about one leg stretching more than the other? In this example, the problem lies in the increased stress that this puts on your pelvis, hips and spine. A tight hamstring creates torque in the pelvis and may lead to pain and early arthritis in your joints. Muscle imbalance impedes your performance and can eventually interfere with your daily and recreational activities. Similar problems occur in the neck and shoulders.
Muscle imbalances develop for a number of reasons. Right or left handiness cause us to use one side more than the other. Work postures or sporting activities may force us to perform one-sided activities over and over. One set of muscles will naturally become tighter than the others. Stuck or dysfunctional joints themselves also lead to imbalances and increased stress. Poor digestion and stress to our organs create muscle contraction. Left untreated, this will cause muscle imbalances such as leg length discrepancies and shoulder contractions.
Stretching some muscles and strengthening others can treat many muscle imbalances. Other times it requires manipulation of the joints or nutritional approaches to relieve muscle contraction. The keys to correction are proper evaluation as to the cause of the imbalance as well as the identification of the muscles to retrain.
Overland Park Chiropractor Reviews Tips to Prevent Lower Back Pain
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
By: Dr. Patterson
We are nearing the month of August, and for many of us, that means back-to-school shopping with our kids. Usually, these shopping trips include the purchase of a new backpack.
Children and adolescents often carry backpacks that are too heavy or are worn improperly. To help prevent injury, please consider the following suggestions from the ACA (American Chiropractic Association) when shopping for a backpack:
1. Make sure your child’s backpack weighs no more than 5 to 10 percent of his or her body weight. A heavier backpack will cause your child to bend forward in an attempt to support the weight on his or her back, rather than on the shoulders, by the straps.
2. The backpack should never hang more than four inches below the waistline. A backpack that hangs too low increases the weight on the shoulders, causing your child to lean forward when walking.
3. A backpack with individualized compartments helps in positioning the contents most effectively. Make sure that pointy or bulky objects are packed away from the area that will rest on your child’s back.
4. Bigger is not necessarily better. The more room there is in a backpack, the more your child will carry, and the heavier the backpack will be.
5. Urge your child to wear both shoulder straps. Lugging the backpack around by one strap can cause the disproportionate shift of weight to one side, leading to neck and muscle spasms, as well as low-back pain.
6. Wide, padded straps are very important. Non-padded straps are uncomfortable, and can dig into your child’s shoulders.
7. The shoulder straps should be adjustable so the backpack can be fitted to your child’s body. Straps that are too loose can cause the backpack to dangle uncomfortably and cause spinal misalignment and pain.
8. If the backpack is still too heavy, talk to your child’s teacher. Ask if your child could leave the heaviest books at school, and bring home only lighter hand-out materials or workbooks.
9. Although the use of rollerpacks – or backpacks on wheels – has become popular in recent years, the ACA is now recommending that they be used cautiously and on a limited basis by only those students who are not physically able to carry a backpack. Some school districts have begun banning the use of rollerpacks because they clutter hallways, resulting in dangerous trips and falls.
If your child experiences pain from his or her backpack use, please do not hesitate to call our office for an evaluation.
Antacids May Increase Your Risk of Osteoporosis
Friday, July 30th, 2010
By: Dr. Patterson
The importance of proper digestion cannot be overemphasized. Antacid medications are one of the leading over-the-counter drugs sold. In fact, in 2009, Nexium was the number two pharmaceutical drug sold in the United States.
Every day I see patients in my office who are taking these medications. Some patients have taken these medications for so long that they have become immune to the fact that they have a digestive disorder, or they feel because it may be an over-the-counter medication that there is no harm in it. I guarantee that it if you have symptoms of heartburn, indigestion, or reflux, it is not because you are suffering from a Nexium or other antacid deficiency. These medications are treating your symptoms, not the cause of your problems.
There are many potential problems with the long-term use of antacids. Today I want to focus on osteoporosis. Studies in recent years have indicated that use of these antacids, either for more than one year or in high doses, increases the risk of osteoporosis in people over 50. University of Pennsylvania researchers found a 44% increased risk of hip fracture in people taking proton pump inhibitor types of antacids. These are commonly known by names such as Nexium, Aciphex, Prevacid, Prilosec, Protonix and Zegerid.
In May 2010 , the FDA finally came out with a warning about the possible increased risk of spine, wrist and hip fractures with the use of antacid medications. They reviewed seven published studies. Six of the seven studies showed an increase risk of fracture.
As a Doctor of Chiropractic and Internal Health Specialist, these findings come as no surprise. Calcium can only be absorbed in an acidic environment. When you reduce the acidic environment of the stomach, calcium will have a more difficult time being absorbed into your system. The good news is that we can improve digestion with the use of enzyme replacement nutrition and diet modification. Specific testing can be performed to determine what your body is having trouble digesting, and we can treat the cause vs. treating the symptom.
If you would like information on how to be tested, please contact our office.