Be Smart When Using Dumbbells
Jun 16th
As a chiropractor I laud that benefits of exercise to all my patients. In fact, I offer community lectures on the subject because I believe that a regular routine of both aerobic and weight-bearing exercises is important for overall health and longevity. Many of my patients use lightweight dumbbells in their workouts and that’s great. But, it’s important to use them correctly in order to avoid injury. So, I’m happy to pass along an exercise that outlines the proper use of dumbbells, offered by Karen Voight, the creator of a line of fitness DVDs, including “Sleek Essentials.”
- Grasp a 3- to 5-pound dumbbell in each hand and stand with your feet hip-width apart, toes facing forward. Bend your knees and sit back on your heels to avoid putting stress on your lower back. Begin with your elbows bent and tucked in to the sides of your body, palms facing forward.
- Use your abdominal muscles to support and brace your spine as you simultaneously bring your left arm in front of you and your right arm behind you.
- Pause when your dumbbells are at shoulder level and make sure your elbows do not “lock out.”
- Bend your arms and return to the start position. Repeat the exercise, this time extending your right arm to the front and your left arm to the back.
- Continue to alternate arms for a total of 16 repetitions. Rest for 30 seconds and repeat for a second set.
For more information, write Karen Voight
Chiropractic Internet Marketing Strategy: Do it Yourself or Outsource?
May 16th
Here’s an interesting question for you to consider: Do you want to keep your chiropractic internet marketing in-house or do you want to hire a professional? There are pros and cons to both, and the answer lies in your particular situation. Let’s check out the advantages and disadvantages of both.
Advantages of in-house chiropractic internet marketing
- There is a lower monthly cost involved in using someone already employed by you.
- The staff knows your practice intimately. Your staff has a good understanding of your clinic’s particular services and, therefore, is able to describe your specialties easier than those who don’t know the specifics of your particular practice.
- You can communicate anytime. Being in-house it is easier to set up times to have meetings or just to chat about situations on the fly.
Disadvantages of in-house chiropractic website marketing
- The staff may not be fully aware of what SEO (search engine optimization) is, let alone how to accomplish it. In that case, a lot of education and training will be needed to make sure SEO gets done right.
- The staff may be overworked. Sometimes the time it takes to do SEO can be underestimated. It is an ongoing process that can actually be a full-time job. If a marketing manager has been told to do SEO as well as his or her full time job, obviously that person will be overworked and feel overwhelmed.
- Attention needs to be paid to detail. This goes together with Point #2. If the staff is overworked, they have no time to check out search engine news and keep up-to-date on how the search engines have changed the game each week and what needs to be done to implement those changes to keep your clinic internet presence up in the rankings.
Advantages of using an outside professional
- Chiropractic marketing companies are specialists in the field. They have experience in working on numerous clinics and their websites and optimizing them for SEO. They know, first hand, what works effectively and what doesn’t.
- There is a dedicated team at the company who will be working on your site and can give it the attention it requires.
- The company has a specific plan and won’t be just jumping around, going from short term tactic to short term tactic with no organized strategy and no clear way to reach your desired goals. In other words, they have an “integrated” internet marketing strategy.
Disadvantages of a chiropractic internet marketing company
- Let’s face it, it can get expensive, but costs vary widely from company to company. Some companies out there are charging $600-$700 a month for their services. It is definitely worth your while to shop around and research before you buy.
- There is usually a commitment. Most chiropractic internet marketing companies will want you to sign up for at least six months to a year.
- Account management can be a problem. With high turnover rates at many companies, especially the big ones, there may be a chance that you’ll get handed from account manager to account manager just when you were building a relationship of trust. You may have to start over again, maybe even have to redesign and reiterate your strategy with the new manager.
Now that you’ve taken a moment to look at the pros and cons of both keeping your internet marketing in-house or hiring a professional, the solution to SEO and your internet marketing strategy will depend on the size of your practice, the time and staffing you can devote to it, and your overall long-term goals.
Now, of course, we are a chiropractic internet marketing company that specializes in helping chiropractors with their internet presence. So, I will admit that I am a bit biased on the side of your hiring an expert to do it right. If you are thinking of hiring a company to develop and implement your internet marketing strategy, it is tremendously important for you to hire one that specializes in chiropractic clinics. Why? Because we understand the chiropractic profession intimately. Therefore, in the long run it will save you both time and money not having to explain what chiropractic is about to some general SEO company. There are several of us out there.
If you are going to go with an outside company, be sure to read the fine print. Look at the bottom of their page for a disclaimer. If they have one, read about their “typical” results. You don’t want to be fooled by outrageous claims even though such hype can be enticing. Remember, your internet marketing strategy is just one stream of new patient leads. Even though chiropractic internet marketing is fast becoming a great source for new patient leads, and even though internet marketing gets more important with every passing day, and even though it is a crucial area in which to generate new patient leads, it is still not the only source of marketing you will need to succeed in your practice.
Whether you choose to keep your internet marketing in-house or to hire a professional, you want to be sure that the time and money you spend on SEO gets you where you want to go. A member of your staff that does your internet marketing for “free,” while squeezing those efforts in-between other tasks, may “cost” you in the long run. A professional whose sole focus is internet marketing, won’t lose sight of your goals. Internet marketing is essential to your practice, so choose your chiropractic internet path wisely.
If You Suffer From Hip Pain, Your Corona Chiropractor Offers Chiropractic Treatment That Can Help You Get Out Of Pain Now!
May 14th
Your Corona Chiropractor offers a highly successful non-invasive, drug-free approach to decreasing hip pain and often eliminating it altogether. As most of us know, surgery should be a last resort whenever possible. Therefore, before you schedule a surgery to replace that hip, think about the following questions: Does hip pain keep you up in the night and make it impossible for you to get a good night’s sleep? When you get up in the morning, and/or when you step out of your car, are you stiff and do you find it difficult at first to get your legs moving properly? Do you feel pain in one or both hips when you cross your legs or rotate or twist your hips? If so, you may have imbalances and alignment problems in your lower extremities that, in addition to causing your hip pain, can lead to osteoarthritis in your hips in the future if not treated. The good news is that whether or not degenerative changes have already started, chiropractic treatment can help!
You may be getting older and it may be true that your hip joints aren’t what they used to be. But, are you aware that your hip pain and related problems, which are thought to be age-related degenerative conditions, may not actually be produced by osteoarthritis? That’s right. In fact, rather than being the original source of your condition, osteoarthritis of the hip joint is typically the result of a earlier injury (or injuries) to your hips.
More often than not, hip problems have to do with asymmetry or imbalance when you are in motion, as when you are walking. If you “pronate” when you walk, like a duck, with your toes pointing away from your body, sooner or later you will develop pain in your hips as a result of the asymmetrical pressure on your hip joints and your body’s efforts to compensate. Fortunately, you can make changes in your gait pattern at any age, and your chiropractor in Corona can help you to do it.
Furthermore, you may have undergone gait changes due to an ankle sprain or knee strain, and since “the knee bone’s connected to the hip bone,” these biomechanical alterations cause pain in the hip(s). Of course, if not corrected, your hip joints will suffer further consequences, i.e, wear and tear that creates degenerative changes.
Other circumstances that can occasionally injure the hip joints are starting a new job or beginning a new sport that requires you to move your body in uncommon ways. Also, carrying a child (or grandchild) on one hip can cause hip pain. Even your sitting position or driving for prolonged periods of time on a regular basis can cause hip injury and pain.
See? Not every pain is caused by “old age,” even though we may start to feel more pain as a consequence of the progressive nature of untreated injuries.
Your chiropractor in Corona will treat our hip problem directly, and as part of your chiropractic management will offer individualized rehabilitative exercises that include gentle muscle stretching and strengthening, and will also evaluate your gait and may recommend simple pattern changes.
Your hip pain won’t vanish on its own. Hip pain is a signal that something needs correcting. If neglected, more than likely that you will eventually require that hip replacement surgery. So, don’t put off until tomorrow, what truly needs to be done today. Your Corona Chiropractor can relieve your hip pain, get your body back into balance, and help you get to back to enjoying your life again!
You Say Tomato and I Say…Sunscreen
May 14th
Aah, summertime. Time to head for the beach or a nice sunny park. So, bring out the picnic basket and blanket, the toys and swimsuits, and the sunscreen and tomatoes. Tomatoes!? Yep, that’s what I said. Tomatoes are high in lycopene, an antioxidant, which not only increases collagen in the skin and adds up to fewer lines and furrows, but actually helps to protect the skin again sunburn. According to Prevention Magazine, a recent study found that volunteers that consumed five tablespoons of tomato paste daily for three months had 25 percent more protection against sunburn.
Surgery As a Last Resort at Any Age
May 6th
As a chiropractor, it is my professional point of view that surgery should be the last resort for conditions of the back, hips, and knees. Chiropractic treatment is a conservative, non-invasive and drug-free approach to problems relating to the musculoskeletal system. That said, I am also of the persuasion that surgery for most health problems should be a last resort as well. As I’ve said before, there is no such thing as a “minor” surgery. All surgeries, no matter how small, carry big risks. But, not only is surgery risky, there is no “undoing” this permanent attempt at correcting a problem. However, until just a few years ago, I would not have imagined that weigh loss would fall under the “only have surgery as a last resort” category. But, more and more adults are having bariatric surgery or other weight-loss surgery as an attempt to remedy their obesity. Again, surgery is surgery, and this type of surgery has high risks for already “at risk” obese adults. What has been even more disturbing to me is the fact that some parents are opting for surgery for their obese children, even though the risks of bariatric surgery are not only substantial in general, but the long-term safety and effectiveness in children remain largely unknown.
Now, what I am about to pass along will probably fall into the “duh, you think” category for most of us, but in reviewing studies on the “obesity epidemic,” scientists from Britain and the United States lifestyle changes such as better diet and more exercise should always be the first option, and treatment with drugs should be used rarely. In other words, bariatric surgery, or weight-loss surgery, such as operations to apply gastric bands to limit the stomach size of severely overweight people, should be a last resort.
Yes, it is true that childhood obesity can adversely affect almost every organ in the body and often has serious consequences, including high blood pressure, abnormal blood fats, insulin resistance or diabetes, fatty liver disease, and psychosocial complications, it is also true that parents need education (and perhaps intervention) and schools need to provide better food options and more daily exercise for children, and communities need to support parental efforts as well. No “toys” as a prize for buying high caloric kids meals is just the beginning. In my opinion as a healthcare provider, without education and support, even children who undergo bariatric surgery will continue to crave high caloric foods and still not get the healthy exercise they need.
Wichita Chiropractor Reveals How Chiropractic Treatment Can End The Pain of Sciatica
May 1st
I know from over twenty years experience as a Chiropractor in Wichita helping individuals suffering from the pain of sciatica that the condition can be extremely disabling. Those who suffer from sciatica are regrettably all too familiar with the type of deep pain that often radiates through the lower part of their body, persists during the day and interferes with almost all of their daily activities.
Could your low back pain be caused by sciatica? You are more than likely experiencing sciatica if your pain radiates from your low back, through one or both sides of your buttocks, down the large sciatic nerve in the back of your leg(s), and possibly shoots into your knee(s). Also, sitting, as well as activity, can be painful. Frequently lying down will reduce, or perhaps even temporarily eliminate the pain. But, you should be alerted to the fact that sciatica cannot be corrected without proper management.
Radiculopathy
A radiculopathy is a medical term that describes a condition where a disc has protruded from its natural position in the vertebral column and is creating pressure on the radicular nerve, or nerve root, that forms part of the sciatic nerve in the lower back. Such pressure can generate excruciating pain.
Prolonged sitting, particularly in an improper position, can create imbalances in the muscles encircling the spine and added pressure on the intervertebral discs. A particular event or injury isn’t usually the cause of sciatica, but rather sciatica is likely to progress over time as a consequence of everyday wear and tear on the structures of the lower spine. Over the course of time the lower spine can lose its normal functioning capabilities during common stresses.
Ultimately, the intervertebral disc undergoes small fissures or cracks, which then allow the soft nucleus to protrude the disc outward. Pain is generated as the disc pushes on sensitive tissues. This occurrence is frequently referred to as a ruptured, or slipped, disc. Sciatica is the result of the disc pressing on the spinal nerve. With chiropractic treatment and management, which frequently includes postural exercises, the majority of disc problems, including sciatica, can be completely relieved.
Periformis Syndrome
Another condition that creates sciatic pain is periformis syndrome. Periformis syndrome develops when the periformis muscle, which is superficial to the sciatic nerve, goes into spasm and irritates the nerve. In addition to chiropractic adjustments, this particular sciatica can be significantly relieved by sciatica stretches that your chiropractor will advise you on.
If you are experiencing sciatic pain, it is crucial for you to see your chiropractor for treatment. If you are in the Wichita area, as your Chiropractor in Wichita, I look forward to helping you to get out of pain and get your life back!
Where Your Health is Concerned, It All Adds Up
Apr 28th
There is just no getting around it, if you want to get healthy and stay healthy, you must commit to a healthy lifestyle. Though it may not seem like it, every little thing you do each day from eating a banana to walking around the block makes a big difference in helping you to maintain your overall health and longevity potential. And, in just the same way, every little thing you don’t do makes a big difference as well. In fact, according to a new study published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the cumulative impact of smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, and excess alcohol consumption can add up to increased risk of death. Or to put it another way, these four bad habits can shorten your life by as much as 12 years. Not to mention, of course, the low quality of life enjoyment you’ll experience right up until “the end” prematurely comes along! In fact, the study authors say that, when compared to a healthy lifestyle that includes none of the above (or excludes all of the above), the combined effect of all four behaviors tripled or even quadrupled the risk of death.
So, yet another wake up for you procrastinators out there. The bad habits you eliminate and the good habits you develop will tip the scales significantly in your favor. Don’t put healthy changes off one more day. A healthy lifestyle can profoundly affect your chances of living to a happy old age.Social Media Marketing, Your Clinic, and You
Apr 27th
The “hottest” buzz word on the internet today is Social Media. For those of you who would like to delve into Social Media marketing as an adjunct to your overall chiropractic internet marketing strategy, but aren’t quite sure what all the buzz is about, let’s take a minute to talk about the “Who, What, When, Where, and How” of social media and you, that’s “Who.”
Social media marketing may seem familiar in some ways to other chiropractic marketing strategies you’ve considered in the past, but still unfamiliar at the same time. In the “familiar” category, you wouldn’t consider any kind of marketing plan without making an effort to understand what it is and what you want to get from it. It’s important to ask yourself, “What are my goals?” Once you know what you want, it’ll be easier for you to use social media to your biggest advantage.
When you are ready to begin your social media endeavor, but before you start, it will be highly important for you to make certain that you “own your name” on all the social media outlets, that is to say, make sure that your name or the name of your clinic is attainable so that you can use precisely same name on every one of the social channels you want to use. There is a service that is free and will help you with your search when you’re ready. Knowem.com is the who to go to. Knowem.com will check where your name is and/or if it’s available or not on a substantial number of social media sites.
When you have secured all of your social media accounts, the next step is to make a decision as to where you ought to be active. Initially only a limited number of social media sites is preferable because, let’s face it, you have a clinic to run and patients to see. You won’t want to get involved in too many social media sites. How do decide which sites are best for you? The big ones (where most of the action is) are facebook, twitter, linkedin, and Youtube.
What your social media activity mission should be is to build a real presence in your community. What is definitely ill-advised is for you to try to “sell” on your social media sites, which is to say don’t sell your clinic, don’t sell services or products, don’t sell anything! The benefit of social media is for you to go out and network with the community. By all means, inform them about what you do, but do it by becoming a participant. There is truly no difference between the way social networking works and the way you normally network offline. People on social media sites don’t want to be sold to, plain and simply. Social media sites are very much like a neighborhood backyard barbecue. People are standing around talking about who they are and what they do, and then someone asks you what you do. Or, perhaps you begin the conversation by simply stating, “Hi, I’m Dr. ____. The same kind of interaction applies with social media. Social media sites should be handled the same way you’d “work” offline networking opportunities to promote yourself, i.e., answer the questions and concerns that let people know who you are and gets them interested in the who that’s you!
Cincinnati Chiropractor Advises: Get Your Balance Checked to Avoid Work Injuries
Apr 22nd
At my Cincinnati Chiropractic Clinic I treat a lot of elders who are challenged by balance problems. In fact, nine percent of adults, aged 65 and older, are affected by dizziness, “wooziness,” and other balance-related problems. Good balance is crucial, of course, in aiding older adults to stay independent and to avoid falling down and incurring injuries that are commonly very serious or even fatal. But, would you be surprised to hear that falls are the cause of a large portion of work injuries for individuals under 65 years of age, including individuals in their twenties and thirties? That’s right! Balance challenges can occur at any age. In fact, those who work in “high places” like construction workers, roofers, oil platform employees, windows cleaners, or any other place where a ladder is required are in danger of serious injury if their balance is “off.”
The essential action of good balance is to aid us in managing and maintaining our body position, whether standing still or moving, and whether on the ground or high up on a platform. Good balance aids us in walking without faltering, arising from a sitting position without swaying, and in climbing stairs without missing a step. To sum it up, then, good balance is vital to our health and well-being.
What come as a surprise to you is that you could have a balance dysfunction without realizing how significant it may be. On occasion an individual may be able to “shake off” a dizzy sensation and the feeling may not reoccur for a while. However when unexpected dizziness occurs at a critical time, it is too late to shake it off and a fall is most likely unpreventable.
The sensation by some individuals that they, themselves, are spinning or that objects around them are moving is called “vertigo.” Nearly forty percent of individuals in the U.S. will have at least one experience of dizziness that is serious enough to seek out help from a health professional, like your Chiropractor at Cincinnati Chiropractic. But, if you work at any of the jobs listed above, having a chiropractor check your balance before an episode of dizziness, make adjustments if needed, and then aid you in maintaining good balance, may save you from serious injury or worse.
Balance disorders are dangerous at any age. It is crucial for you to be examined and treated without delay if you think that you may have a possible balance disorder. Often guidelines are helpful. Therefore, if you can answer “yes” to any of the following questions, even if the experience is seldom or infrequent, you should discuss the symptom(s) with a chiropractor as soon as possible:
• Have you experienced a feeling of being “unsteady?”
• Has the room seemed to spin around you?
• Has there ever a time when you felt as if you were moving when you knew you were standing still?
• Have you lost your balance and/or fallen down?
• Have you ever felt as if you were falling?
• Has your vision ever become “blurred?”
• Have you ever felt disoriented, or lost a sense of time, place or identity?
As discussed above, balance problems are not confined to a particular age group. From the time we learn to walk until we take our final step, our falling down is possible. If you work in a job that makes your falling down a “critical” event, you need to have your balance checked. Don’t wait until it’s too late! If you’re in the Cincinnati area, give Cincinnati Chiropractic a call today!