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4 Nutritional Tips Every Chiropractic Patient Should Follow

4 Nutritional Tips Every Chiropractic Patient Should Follow

Let’s look at four nutritional tips every chiropractic patient should follow:

Watch your calories

Individuals recovering from spinal or other injuries heal quicker when they avoid carrying excess weight. This is especially true if the injury has sidelined them from normal physical exercise.

Choose lean cuts of meat and fresh fruits and vegetables, and practice portion control. A diet with few excess calories offers the dual benefit of helping you avoid packing on the pounds, and helping you heal faster.

Pay attention to calcium intake

Bones need calcium for strength, so it should be a priority to consume foods that are rich with it. According to healthconsciousness.com, the four most calcium-rich foods are dark leafy greens, low-fat cheese, milk, and yogurt.

If you are visiting a chiropractor for issues or conditions concerning your bones or nerves, he or she may recommend that you introduce these foods into your diet as soon as possible.

Make protein a priority

Muscle injuries are one of the most popular reasons for chiropractic visits. Protein helps build and heal muscle tissue, helping it to renew itself back to a pre-injury state.

If your daily intake of protein is low, it can hinder the healing process and stand in the way of chiropractic visits giving you the maximum results. Fish and lean meats are the foods that offer the highest protein.

Other vegetarian options are tofu, soy beans, eggs, milk, and nuts. Help your muscles rebuild and heal by adding high protein foods into every meal menu.

Stay hydrated

Why do most of us view water drinking with dread? Its not that bad! If you wish to promote healing, it’s imperative to drink enough water every day.

Water provides an entire slew of benefits, from transporting those important nutrients to where they need to be, to flushing harmful toxins out of the body. Aim for eight glasses of water a day, and try to drink it throughout the day.

Getting into this habit will boost overall health, and promote healing of injuries and other medical conditions.

While it’s a smart goal to try to ingest all the nutrients you need through food and drink, supplements are available to bridge the gap. Before beginning a supplement regimen, talk to you chiropractor for recommendations on the type and dosage that will aid and improve your unique situation.

You may also want to download a smartphone app to track your daily intake of calories, calcium, protein and liquid. There are many available, one being My Fitness Pal.

Easy and free to use, this is a powerful tool to keep you on the right nutritional track.

Making the commitment to chiropractic treatment is a big step in the right direction for your overall health and well-being. Incorporate these nutritional tips to your daily routine in order to get the most out of your chiropractic care.

How Runners Can Benefit from Chiropractic Care

Step. Ouch. Step. Ouch. Step. Ouch.

Running is one of the most popular forms of exercise, and offers many benefits. It can be done anywhere, it tones the lower body, and it burns a ton of calories. Pounding the pavement over time, however, can result in injuries to the knees, ankles, and hips.

Whether you run a few miles a week to keep the extra pounds off, or hoof it in several marathons a year, there is unfortunately a good chance you will get hurt at some point.

The first step to recovery if you injure yourself running is to give your body time to heal. A visit to the doctor, ice packs, and over the counter pain medication are all ways to treat an injury. However, one of the best ways runners can treat their injuries is by visiting a chiropractor.

If you are dealing with a running injury and think a chiropractor may be able to help you get back on your feet with less pain, you are most likely correct. Here are four important things to know about chiropractors and how runners can benefit from chiropractic care:

Chiropractors work on more than necks and backs

It’s a common misconception that a chiropractor’s sole purpose is to adjust their patients’ necks and backs. The entire body can benefit from a chiropractic manipulation. For example, the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) states that knee pain is the most common running injury.

Chiropractors are often able to work with an injured knee and bring about a positive outcome. Strains, sprains, and other trauma to your body’s joints can be treated by a chiropractor. Soft tissue around the joints benefit from chiropractic treatment, which can greatly ease an injury to the ankle, knee, or hip.

Chiropractic promotes quicker healing of the injured area

From increasing blood flow to the hurt area to breaking up restrictions with manual manipulation, chiropractic treatment helps the body heal itself. Chiropractors view the body in its entirety, and may use manipulations and adjustments on other parts of the body to stimulate healing of the afflicted area.

Chiropractors assist in pain management

Running injuries can often cause great pain that lasts for weeks. Visiting a chiropractor can help reduce the severity of the pain and shorten the amount of time you experience pain. This is an especially attractive benefit for those who avoid taking medicine. Chiropractic care helps manage the discomfort and soreness associated with the injury, allowing the patient to rely less on drugs.

Chiropractic reduces the risk of getting re-injured

A common reason runners end up hurt is their bodies had something “out of whack” in the first place. Since chiropractors take the wellness of the body as a whole into consideration, they often work with runners to minimize the chance of re-injuring themselves or suffering a different injury. By making certain an individual’s body is in alignment and functioning properly, a chiropractor can help the runner feel comfortable moving back into the routine of running.

Running is a great form of exercise and stress relief, and many people run for years without incident. However, it’s vital to take steps up front to minimize the chances of getting hurt, including choosing proper shoes, stretching beforehand, and avoiding overexertion.

If, however, you feel a twist, pop, or crack as you are out for your morning run or finishing your half marathon, know there are chiropractic treatment options available to you that will decrease pain, healing time, and the risk of re-injury. Just pick up the phone and give us a call. We’re here to help!

How Fibromyalgia Sufferers Can Benefit From Chiropractic Care

Fibromyalgia is one of today’s most common chronic pain conditions. According to the American College of Rheumatology, around 1 in 50 Americans currently suffer from fibromyalgia. Unfortunately, the condition is difficult to diagnose, and, being chronic in nature, can linger for several months or even years. Fibromyalgia typically causes pain throughout the body and creates areas so tender that the slightest pressure hurts. 

Patients diagnosed with the condition have both traditional and alternative treatment options available to them. Traditional approaches to managing the pain and treating fibromyalgia are anti-inflammatory prescriptions, sleep medications, and muscle relaxers. Patients frequently choose natural remedies instead of or in addition to traditional medication, such as vitamin therapy, acupuncture, and meditation. One of the most common treatments is chiropractic care.

The main ways chiropractic care benefits those who suffer from fibromyalgia are:

Reduces pain levels

The most difficult issue to deal with for fibromyalgia sufferers is the constant pain, which often affects the entire body for weeks or months at a stretch. Although these patients initially seek care for the pain they’re experiencing, they soon realize that chiropractic also helps restore overall health and aids the body in self-healing.

By adjusting the spine to improve alignment, as well as incorporating some form of soft tissue work, chiropractors can assist fibromyalgia patients in minimizing their painful pressure points. Many who suffer with this condition look for relief with chiropractic treatment options, and experience a decrease in the tender spots.

Increases range of motion

Chiropractors are also able to adjust the body’s joints and help loosen them. For fibromyalgia patients, this can sometimes increase their range of motion and allow them to move more easily.

Sometimes it takes several treatments to see significant results, so it’s important to note that chiropractic treatment of fibromyalgia takes a commitment from the patient. The effects, however, are well worth the time invested.

Boosts sleep quality

A common by-product of the pain associated from fibromyalgia is lack of sleep. As anyone knows, being unable to snag several hours sleep can leave you feeling tired, foggy, and irritable.

By working with a chiropractor to loosen their joints and manage their tender points, patients suffering from this condition can enjoy a deeper sleep, and stay asleep longer.

Complements other treatments

Sometimes medicines counteract with each other, or mix together and cause side effects. A big advantage of chiropractic care is it can be utilized in tandem with medications or other remedies, whether traditional or natural.

An individual who is diagnosed with this condition should speak to his or her chiropractor about the various ways to treat it, and remember that there is not a one-stop solution. A treatment regimen should be built on a case-by-case basis tailored to the specific needs of that patient.

Empowers the patient

Individuals who must cope with painful, chronic illnesses can become exasperated with treatment options, and feel as if they have no control over their situations. Unfortunately, these feelings can bring on stress and depression, which only works against getting better. By working with a chiropractor, patients can feel more in charge of their pain management and more optimistic in their recovery.

People who are diagnosed with fibromyalgia need to understand that there are options available to them for pain management, and they may decide to try more than one at a time. Chiropractic care is a valuable tool to treat the symptoms of fibromyalgia, and patients who will commit will see the benefits of less pain, greater mobility, and better sleep. And, perhaps the best benefit of all, they can take control of their circumstances and be a vital part of managing their personal well-being.

If you or a loved one are suffering from fibromyalgia, don’t do it alone. Our chiropractor has a passion for helping sick people get well. So contact us today to schedule an appointment.