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WELLNESS TIPS
The motions of daily life, if done incorrectly, can result in injury to the spine. Subsequently, these injuries lead to subluxations and the misaligned vertebra creates pressure and stress on the spinal nerves, blood vessels, and surrounding muscles. This pressure and stress can cause an imbalance in the body's normal processes as the nerves in the spinal column extend to the entire body and its organs. As time goes on and the uncorrected subluxation settles, the damage to the nerve gets progressively worse different stages of subluxation degeneration set in. The following tips can help you steer clear of that kind of pain and inconvenience and keep you feeling your best.
Sitting
Choose a chair that is firm enough to support you comfortably, and don't slouch! Sit with your feet flat on the floor or on a low footstool so that your knees are slightly higher than your hips. Sit firmly against the back of the chair. La-z-boy chairs don't bend where you do; choose a rocker instead. Avoid crossing your legs at the knees, which can aggravate existing back conditions and interfere with circulation to your lower limbs.
Standing
Stand with your head level. When you have to stand in one place for long periods of time, put one foot on a 4-6-inch stool to help keep pressure off your spine. Avoid wearing high heels if you are going to be on your feet for long periods of time.
Working at a Desk
Take frequent stretch breaks if you have to sit for a long time. Sit with your knees at a 90-120-degree angle. An angled footrest may help you feel more comfortable. Make sure your chair fits correctly. Allow for two inches between the front edge of the seat and the back of your knees. Choose a chair that tilts back so you can rest while you're reading what is on your computer screen. Elevate materials or your computer screen to avoid neck fatigue.
Lifting
Avoid twisting and turning motions when you lift. If you have to turn to place the object, step in the direction of the turn, don't just twist at the waist. Always bend at your knees, not your waist, when lifting anything heavier than 10 percent of your body weight (e.g., a child or heavy box). When lifting an object, plant your feet about 12-18 inches apart, kneel or squat in front of the object, and lift as you straighten up. Be sure to lift with the big muscles of your thighs, arms, and shoulders, not with your back. In some situations, it is difficult to lift correctly. Getting grocery bags out of the car is one such situation. The car bumper doesn't allow you to bend your knees. Bring the bag to you first and then lift carefully. When engaging in repetitive lifting, use good lifting form, take frequent breaks, and use equipment to help whenever possible.
To avoid tripping, be sure your path is clear before you lift the item.
Physical Activity / Household Chores
Warm up and cool down before and after physical activity like playing sports, raking, gardening, and shoveling snow.
When working with hand-held yard equipment, make sure that the machine you are using has a strap. Place the strap over your head and shoulder on the opposite side of your body from the machine and switch the machine from one side of your body to the other as often as possible. Use electric rather than gas-powered machines whenever possible; they are much lighter. When washing dishes, open the cabinet beneath the sink, bend one knee, and put your foot on the shelf under the sink. Lean against the counter for support. When ironing, place one foot on a small stool or a book. When vacuuming, put all your weight on one foot, then step forward and back with the other foot as you push the vacuum. Use your back foot as a pivot when you turn.
Using the Telephone
When using the telephone, avoid cradling the receiver between your neck and shoulder. Hold the phone in your hand or use speakerphone instead. If you use the phone a lot, use a lightweight headset. Switch hands frequently when on the phone.
Resting/Sleeping
Don't use a sofa arm as a pillow or watch TV in bed with your head supported only by pillows; this strains your neck. Avoid sleeping on a soft mattress or sofa.
Lie down in bed when it is time to sleep. Don't sleep in a chair or in cramped quarters.
Sleep on your side with your knees bent or on your back with a pillow under your knees. Avoid sleeping on your stomach.
Use a pillow that supports your head so that your neck and vertebrae are level with the rest of your spine as you sleep. Avoid sleeping on two pillows. Ideally, the best sleep time is between 10pm to 6am. Research has shown that between 11pm-2am, the body releases hormones that promote healing and rejuvenation, therefore being in a deep sleep during those hours becomes increasingly important.
DAILY LIVING WELLNESS TIPS
Go Organic. This significantly reduces your exposure to herbicides and pesticides on fruit and vegetables.
Try to eat free-range, grass-fed meats. This will limit your ingestion of hormones and antibiotics.
Watch the fish you eat. Do NOT buy farm raised fish, as these fish show the highest content of mercury and the highly toxic industrial compounds known as PCBs.
Boost your immune system. A good whole food muli vitamin and immune enhancers are recommended to ward off infection.
Walk daily. Walking stimulates muscle movement, increases oxygen intake, improves circulation and opens the pores of the skin as you sweat, each of which aid in the bodys removal of toxins.
Switch to natural. Household cleansers, laundry detergents and dish soaps are laden with synthetic chemicals. When these products are used, the chemicals are absorbed in our skin, through the fumes we breathe, and the clothes we wear.
Get as many massages as you can. Massage stimulates the release of toxins from the muscles, skin and lymphatic systems.
Take whole food vitamins. A good whole food vitamin comes from organically farmed food sources.
Eliminate artificial sweeteners, refined sugar, soda, alcohol, preservatives and additives from your daily diet.
Do not drink tap water. Pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, chemicals and second-hand drugs such as birth-control pills, beta-blockers, and contrast agents for x-rays were found in treated water, rivers and sewage ten years ago.
Sweat in an infrared sauna. Infrared saunas are becoming increasingly popular as a source of detoxification. Infrared saunas heat the body at a steady rate, penetrating deeper through the skins surface where toxins are stored, thus through the sweating process, the toxins are then released from the body.
No fast food or chain restaurants. These foods are laden with preservatives, chemicals, and high processed sugars, artificial sweeteners, MSG, nitrates/nitrites, hormones, antibiotics and trans-fats.
Do not use the microwave. Research has shown that any food that has been micro waved has been chemically altered into an unnatural state, thus leading to abnormal blood cell counts, depression and hormonal imbalances.
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