The Olympics & Kinesio Tape

By Dr. Marion Constantinides - 8/24/2012
As you watched the Olympics, you may have found yourself asking “What are those brightly colored lines on the athletes’ bodies?”
The answer is Kinesio Tape, which was developed by a Japanese chiropractor in 1979 to reduce pain and enhance performance on the area applied.  It is now used worldwide by physicians for pain management, physical therapy, and every day exercise activities.
When properly placed along injured muscles, the tape reduces pain and inflammation, relaxes overused or tired muscles, and supports muscles in movement on a 24-hour-a-day basis.  Its gentle tug also promotes circulation and facilitates the body’s natural healing process.
The super sticky tape is designed to last up to 6 days, and its water-resistant fabric allows patients to bathe or even swim as usual.

Using the Kinesio Tape and the Kinesio Taping Method, I have successfully treated patients with a range of issues, such as:
• Plantar fasciitis
• Shin splints
• Knee problems
• Ankle sprains
• Lower back pain
• Headaches
• And more

It’s not all in your head - Treat tension headaches at the source

Treat tension headaches at the source  - by Foot Levelers

Everyone experiences headaches, but did you know there are two main categories? Most people – in fact, 95 percent of people according to the American Chiropractic Association – suffer from primary headaches.[1]

 The most common form of primary headaches, tension headaches, can be triggered by poor posture, sedentary behavior, sleep patterns and work ergonomics. Add in other factors such as stress, fatigue, and malnutrition and a throbbing headache can surface abruptly – a painful way to carry out the day.

 Secondary headaches are typically more severe than primary headaches and are the result of an underlying disorder such as meningitis or a serious neck injury.

 Typical responses for a headache are to reach for the medicine cabinet, lie down for a short time, or simply try to ignore it. Unfortunately, most remedies do not address the issue where it starts, and relief is short-lived.

 Chiropractors across the world will agree – the solution is not to provide relief temporarily, but to find the source of pain, treat it, and let headaches be a thing of the past.

 One thing leads to another

Chiropractors have an extensive knowledge of joint, muscle, and bone functionality. Their expertise in the musculoskeletal system gives them an ability to identify pain at the source. They know that pain in one section of the body can be a response to a disturbance in a completely different area.

 When a tension headache occurs, we experience cranial and facial pain, even though there is not an injury to the face or the brain.

 According to a New York Times article, “The brain is insensitive to pain, so that is not what hurts when you have a headache. Rather, the pain occurs in the following areas:

• The tissues covering the brain
• The attaching structures at the base of the brain
•  Muscles and blood vessels around the scalp, face, and neck”[2]

Most tension headaches are a result of a disturbance in another part of the body. Multiple factors can intensify the issue such as light, work environments, food, and sleep patterns.

 How chiropractic can help

Throughout time, our bodies adapt to repetitive poor posture and work ergonomics.

As this happens, alignment in the neck, upper back and spine become compromised.

This stress and misalignment upon the musculoskeletal system can be a great causer of tension headaches.

 It is important to consult with a chiropractor to discover what is causing headaches, and how to treat them. People may be experiencing headaches but are unaware that their posture and musculoskeletal health can be the source.

 Chiropractors can help by restoring range of motion and correcting the body’s biomechanics through adjustments and spinal manipulation.

 A headache is a message from your body, telling you that something is out of order. If headaches are becoming a common problem, it is up to you to take control – visit with your chiropractor and fix the problem at the source.

[1] American Chiropractic Association. (Accessed: February 2012) Headaches & Chiropractic. http://www.acatoday.org/content_css.cfm?CID=2186

[2] New York Times. (Accessed: February 2012) Headache, Cluster In-Depth Report. http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/cluster-headaches/print.html

Sugar Makes Us Old!

By Linda Saether
CNN

 

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Before you grab that leftover piece of Halloween candy, you might want to rethink the decision. It could cost you, in wrinkles. It now appears the sweet stuff might make us happier and possibly more hyper, but also make us look older.

Foods that turn into glucose in the body also can make you look older, researchers say.

A study in the British Journal of Dermatology breaks down the science of how this works, putting the aging blame on a process called glycation. Glycation occurs when sugars -- not just refined sugar, but anything that turns into glucose in your body -- are eaten and the glucose hits your bloodstream. As they float along, they search out and latch on to proteins and form a new molecule called advanced glycation end products, or appropriately shorted to AGEs.
The more sugar you eat, the more AGEs you produce. As they multiply, these molecules wreak havoc with adjacent proteins. The most vulnerable of these proteins are just the ones we want to stay strong: collagen and elastin. They are the compounds responsible for keeping our skin firm and elastic.
The result is sagging, wrinkled skin. DRAT.
But before you throw in the towel and start saving for plastic surgery, there is some good news about this newly reported form of sugar blues. There are some things you can do to put the sticky sweet damage into rewind.

The first place to start is probably the most obvious: Limit the sugar in your diet. Kerry Neville, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, says, "The lower you can get the added sugar in your diet, because they aren't adding anything to your diet, the better."
But those added sugars can be hard to ferret out. "Eliminating them all is hard," Neville contends. "Often it is a matter of where you are getting the added sugar. Food labels don't spell out added sugars," so look for words such as corn sweetener, corn syrup, sucrose or sorghum, to name a few.
Overall, the latest finding about wrinkles sits well with the Seattle, Washington-based nutritionist, because, as Neville points out, "Americans eat too much sugar, and it appears that the threat of making them fat doesn't seem to discourage excess sugar eating. So this latest wrinkle scare might just do the trick. That is great.
But Dr. Darren Casey, a dermatologist and dermatological surgeon in Atlanta, Georgia, isn't so worried about potential skin damage from sugar. "Sun and smoking are the leading cause of wrinkles," he said. His best advice, aside from getting plenty of antioxidants in your diet, is to take "a chewable vitamin C."
And whether your skin is sugar damaged or just environmentally challenged, Casey says, you can't go wrong by using products that contain retinoids, which are a class of compounds related chemically to vitamin A. Those products, whether over the counter or prescription, are the best to help soften fine lines or wrinkles, which in turn will make you look younger and may just make you act sweeter, no sugar necessary.

Chiropractic Care for Children

Chiropractic care can have an immense impact on the wellness of a child. However, many parents are
 unaware of the benefits it can have on their children’s health. This unawareness can provoke apprehension, resulting in opinionated theories against the matter, such as:

• Children are fragile; chiropractic treatment is not the same for a child as it would be for an adult.
• Availability of medications that relieve pain and cover a vast array of diseases.
• Children are simply too young for treatment.
• Unawareness of chiropractic methodologies and practices. If parents are unsure about the benefits of chiropractic care themselves, why would they send their kids there? 

Encouragement is key for parents that are apprehensive. They should be fully informed of the benefits, the safety factors, and the positive outcomes that come from chiropractic care. It is important to explain how children can be highly vulnerable to long-term injuries from daily activity. As children are constantly growing and adapting to the natural transformations, they become prone to long-term injuries, or developing musculoskeletal disorders that can last for many years.

According to Dynamic Chiropractic, “children's bones and muscles are more elastic and heal faster. At the peak period of adolescent linear growth, the musculoskeletal system is most vulnerable because of imbalances in strength and flexibility and changes in the biomechanical properties of bone.”[1]

D.Cs should encourage patients to have their children receive treatment. Chiropractic care can help prevent children from developing:

• Long-term musculoskeletal dysfunctions
• Imbalances in the body
• Dependencies on medications

In a To Your Health article, “The same treatments we administer to adults are just as safe for children. Ailments that adults commonly come into our offices with happen to children as well. Chiropractic techniques performed on children are modified so the procedures are gentler for the child's particular body type.”[2]

Another way a chiropractor can help prevent children from the development of postural and musculoskeletal disorders is by ordering them Stabilizing Orthotics. Many children suffer from pronation and the low arches in their feet can disrupt normal gait patterns and create postural imbalances later in life.

In an article concerning children’s foot health, Dr. Brian Jensen states, “Foot problems from childhood can interfere with adolescent (or adult) spinal function, which can result in poor biomechanics and accelerated degenerative changes in the knees, hips, and spine.”[3]

Children that are monitored and treated by a chiropractor can reduce the risk of developing postural disorders and other ailments that typically go unseen. Parents should be encouraged to have their children routinely examined. A few steps towards prevention can make a great difference in long-term postural stability in a child.


  

[1] Pate, Deborah. (October 21, 2010). Musculoskeletal Development and Sports Injuries in Pediatric Patients. http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?t=34&id=54950
[2] Wong, Kevin M. (August, 2007). Chiropractic for Growing Bodies. http://www.toyourhealth.com/mpacms/tyh/article.php?id=932
[3] Jensen, Brian. (Nov/Dec 2006). Can Orthotics Help Kids?  Transitions, NYCC

NFL Players Support Chiropractic Care

After working with a few football players last week I am reminded that few people realize that all NFL teams have their own staff chiropractor. The best teams have a chiropractor that specialize in Applied Kinesiology - just like me! Even though the football players I treated are so much bigger than I am I can still effectively treat them with AK.
I love those Saturday night texts from them saying how "AMAZING" they feel. Thank you guys, have fun at your training camp this week.

The point is you don't have to play professional sports to work with me. We are all althetes in our own right. Teachers: stand all day, Data Entry Specialist: marathon typers, you get the picture.