Staying Healthy with Chiropractic: All Germs are Not Created Equal

We’ve been taught by our mothers, and our mothers by their mothers, and so on, and so on, and so on: Wash your hands! But I remember, and it wasn’t too, too long ago, when as a kid, straight from the playground, dirt under the nails, I’d eat my lunch. We didn’t use hand sanitizers at every turn, and we seemed to do just fine. I’m not saying hand washing is not important–it is–but there can be a limit and we have to keep in mind that our bodies, when healthy, can put up quite a fight. The following article from Parenting really says it all:

 

It’s understandable that parents want to keep their children’s environments clean, especially when kids are young. Moms wash bottles in hot water, clean pacifiers that fall on the ground, and take dirty things out of their kids’ mouths. But overall, when it comes to germs, most people have it backward: With relatively few exceptions, they are good for our kids. Keeping things clean is smart, but going crazy using antibacterial hand soaps, buying antibacterial kids’ toys and other products, and overusing antibiotic medications is actually killing off the microbes that can help strengthen the immune system. Antibacterial products may help to reduce some infections, but they also promote the growth of drug-resistant organisms and weaken the good bacteria within us. Rather than focus on killing germs, we need to think about how to encourage their growth.

Supporting the “right” bacteria can have a huge health payoff for your kids: fewer ear infections, tummy aches, episodes of diarrhea, urinary-tract infections, and food allergies. It can even help kids fight off coughs, colds, and fevers. Here’s how to ensure your kids have enough of the good stuff:

Feed your kids right. Give them foods that naturally contain helpful organisms. These include yogurt, pickles, dark chocolate, and feta cheese. In some cases , it may be useful to give a probiotic supplement (available at most pharmacies and health-food stores) containing beneficial live bacteria. All of these foods and supplements are fine to give kids starting at around 6 months. There are other foods to include in their diet that don’t actually contain good germs but help to nurture them: garlic, onions, asparagus, whole oats, whole wheat, honey (for children over age 1), and bananas.

Make safe and smart choices. Keep your kids away from cigarette smoke; exposure can kill off favorable bacteria. As for antibiotic drugs, don’t insist that your pediatrician prescribe them when he says they’re not necessary. These drugs eliminate both good and bad bacteria. If your kids do have to take antibiotics, make sure they get probiotics, too, to restore the body’s supply of good bacteria.

Keeping the body’s bacteria in balance doesn’t take a lot of effort, but it can have big benefits. Starting these habits young can help keep kids healthy for life.

Between Chiropractic Visits: Avoiding Back Pain at Work

How to Work Without Back Pain

Is sitting at your desk making you feel stiff and creaky, like you’re 100 years old? You can’t ditch the job, but you can make some small changes so you can get through the day with less pain. You are definitely not alone; according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a whopping 34 percent of all lost-workday injuries and illnesses are work-related musculoskeletal disorder, including Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, tendonitis and lower back pain.

Dr. Jeff Manning, DC, owner of Manning Wellness Clinic in Dallas, TX,  offers the following tips to stop your workstation from giving you any undue stress.

Adjust your desk height:  “If you are raising your arm up just to reach your keyboard and mouse, it puts your body in an unnatural position and can easily contribute to neck, shoulder and arm pain, 3 of the most common symptoms my patients report,”  says Dr. Manning. The ideal position for sitting and typing is when your arms form a 90- to 110-degree angle. If you need to flex your wrists up to meet your keyboard, raise your chair height or sit on a pillow. Just be sure that your feet aren’t left dangling. “Buy or create a footrest–even a cardboard box will do– so that your feet can rest on something,” Dr. Manning says.

Get connected:  If you spend time typing or searching for information online, while talking on the phone, a headset is a must. Cradling a phone between your shoulder and chin can put serious strain in your neck. “Again, this is an unnatural position causing excessive muscle contractions and reduced blood flow to the muscles,” explains Dr. Manning. If a headset is not an option, at the very least, make sure to switch the phone from side to side to even things out.” There are devices you can attach to the phone to make cradling it more comfortable, but Dr. Manning warns, “These do not significantly change the position of the neck and can give a person a false sense of security. ”

Get up and move: While dancing around your desk is not the best option, any movement–even a short walk–will do your body good.  Sitting in one place for an extended period of time puts strain on your muscles. “When you’re sitting for a long time, your back muscles tend to deactivate, which leads to poor posture and in time, to back pain,” says Dr. Manning. And he adds, “The lack of muscle activation in your back can also lead to shoulder and neck pain, a common complaint of many people who sit at a desk all day. Sitting in a slumped position creates tension in your shoulders and can overstretch your spinal ligaments, causing strain on the discs.”  Try to note the time and stand or stretch hourly. You can add shoulder and wrist rolls to keep things properly moving. To do shoulder rolls, sit or stand comfortably erect, and slowly roll your shoulders forward in large circles three or four times. Then reverse direction. Simple move, but it works wonders.

Uncross your legs: “I see patients often times who have much tighter muscles on one side of their body, and the pain is especially evident in their lower backs. In some cases, I even see rotation of the pelvis as a result of the strained muscles,” says Dr. Manning. “When we go over their patient history, they’ll say that they can’t pinpoint anything that would cause the problems. But with questioning, they’ll’ admit to sitting at their desks for hours, favoring one leg crossed over the other. If it’s the same leg over and over, that side of the body will show the effects.” Dr. Manning says it’s best to sit with your legs on the floor or on a small box rather than crossed. He suggests, “Put a Post-it note on your computer to remind yourself….that’s how important it is to uncross.”

Dr. Jeff Manning, DC, is the owner of Manning Wellness Clinic,  a top-rated comprehensive chiropractic clinic located in the heart of Uptown/downtown Dallas. We also offer massage therapy, acupuncture, and hypnosis. 
Manning Wellness Clinic
2702 McKinney Avenue, suite 202
Dallas, TX 75204
214-720-2225