The Wellness Blog

Busy Holiday Season

Absolute Health Chiropractic — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:32:20 +0000

This time of year we often hear, I’m just too busy! I can’t make it in today; I have too much to do. I have family in town; I just won’t be able to make it. These are all valid reasons to feel like you can’t make it, but even more, they are reasons why you need to make it in! This time of year people tend to put others first, which is very generous; however, if you aren’t taking care of yourself, you will get worn down and end up either hurting yourself, losing progress that you’ve made by getting adjusted regularly, or taxing your immune system. Did you know that by getting adjusted you are increasing your immune system and you are giving your body the power to heal itself naturally? How great would it be if you and your family didn’t get sick throughout the holidays like so many of us have in the past? So this year, instead of skipping an adjustment, come get an extra one here and there to prevent getting that cold and flu that your co-workers and children’s classmates have! Ask us what else you can do to help prevent getting sick or hurting yourself while moving all those boxes of decorations out of storage. Your body is an amazing system and it can be strong enough to get you through the holiday season unscathed, but only if you give it the right tools!

‘Tis the season for…back pain?

mwitham — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:11:22 +0000

It’s that time of year again. Whether it’s raking, shoveling, lugging Holiday decorations down from the attic or sitting in the car for long periods of time, back pain season is here. I’ve recently had a large influx of patients with acute low back pain. It seems like every new patient with low back pain has a different story, different time frame and different history, however, there are a couple of things that I did notice.

One of the patients has been a patient for a couple of years. She was originally treated for low back pain and now rarely has an issue. She is diligent about coming in monthly for a maintenance adjustment even if there is no pain. On this particular day, she woke up with some serious back pain that she could attribute to wearing uncomfortable shoes and being on her feet for a lot of hours (sound familiar ladies?). She called as soon as she woke up with the pain and was in our office as soon as she could get here. A short time later and after a couple of treatments, she said yesterday that she’s 95% pain free. Coming in as close to when the pain starts as possible is something that many of my patients have proven to themselves to be hugely effective in getting them back on their feet sooner.

A couple of the other low back patients had waited up to 2 weeks to come see us, using the “I’m sure it will just go away” theory. They’re still having some pain and are progressing at a slightly slower rate. The ideal time to get in to a Chiropractor is as close to the incident as possible. By the time that you are feeling the pain, the pattern as already started. By waiting, we are now dealing with an increase in muscle spasm and inflammation. The soonest that I’ve ever seen a patient get here was a fellow chiropractor who “threw his back out” on the gym floor and immediately walked into our office. Granted that’s the ideal situation, however, getting in as soon as possible makes all the difference in the world!

Here’s a great article on low back pain and how going to a chiropractor first can decrease the overall cost by 40%!!

http://www.chiroaccess.com/News/Study-Finds-that-Starting-with-Chiropractic-Saves-40-on-Low-Back-Pain-Care.aspx?id=0000263

Emotional Response to Opening by Meghan

mwitham — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:54:28 +0000

If you’ve been through a session or two of Active Care it is quite possible that you have experienced an emotional response brought about by the foam rolling or stretches. When our body has been tight for so long, the initial opening can feel very intense, maybe even slightly painful. It is not uncommon to have feelings of stress, anxiety, pain, or irritations arise as you are working through the foam rolling and stretching in Active Care. This is simply the body’s way of releasing locked up energy and trying to bring you to a higher level of relaxation. Past injuries, traumas, illness, these may all trigger an emotional response when you are being adjusted or doing Active Care. The most important thing is to understand that all emotions are just a feeling and only by continued stretching and continued foam rolling along with your regular adjustments, will you be able to let go of the past and move into the future of flexibility, openness and pain free living. Instead of turning away from the uncomfortable feelings that may be an emotional response, it is better to work through it. So hang in there and keep up the good work! As always, we welcome anyone who wants to share their thoughts or emotions as they are going through them. We are here to talk and listen! Continue to do your stretches and exercises from Active Care at home. Continue to come in for your maintenance care with regular adjustments and Active Care sessions. The road to wellness is worth every bit of work!

Where have our choices gone? Dr. Cait’s Blog

mwitham — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:31:48 +0000

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend an amazing seminar put on my Jeanne Ohm. She is the head of the ICPA, International Chiropractic Pediatrics Association. I have decided to do a fellowship in Pediatrics and between now and next December 2012, will have 15 weekends of seminars filled with information from conception to age 12.

This first weekend I was certified in the Webster Technique. A lot of people mistakenly talk about this technique as a way to turn breech babies. While it can be an asset to that situation, what we are really doing is restoring neuro and biomechanical balance to the pelvis and body. This then allows the baby to move into optimal labor position. This position, however, can be done on anyone, men, children, non pregnant women, etc. It’s an amazing adjustment that supports the premise of chiropractic – restoring normal function to the body so that it can reach its highest potential.

One thing that really stood out to me this weekend is how many choices the mother actually has during the birth process. There are midwives, doulas and ob/gyns that can help through this process. It can be natural, on their back, on all fours or squatting. There can be medication, or no medication, acupuncture, adjustments, massage, or electrical stimulation. There can be c sections or not, ultrasounds or not and circumcision or not. The bottom line is that there are many choices that aren’t always offered. We are led to believe that the “normal” way is the correct way.

I feel like I have a bit of an advantageous position because of the field that I am in. I receive a lot of information on alternatives to the medical world. This weekend made me realize how many times we make a choice because it’s the popular one as opposed to the one that makes the most sense to us. We’ve had a lot of interesting discussions on vaccines and the flu shot recently in the office and I feel that this also falls into that category.

It’s not my place to make the decision for you, but I am making it my place to make sure that you have access to all of the options and the research supporting that. I’m looking forward to sharing all of the information that I am exposed to over the next year and beyond. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what option you choose as long as you feel that you were able to have all sides available to make the best choice for you!

Where are you on the Illness-Wellness Continuum? by Erica

mwitham — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:02:58 +0000

Where are you on the Illness-Wellness Continuum? Everything you do shifts you towards the left or to the right, illness or wellness, function or dysfunction. As you think about where you are on this continuum think also about where you’d like to be and how you can get there. Now we all know that making quick, drastic changes is not a way to change a habit. Deciding that you want to move towards the healthier side of the continuum is the first step in the right direction! Awareness is key. Becoming aware that each of the things you do every day such as, reaching for your morning cup of coffee, taking the elevator to up to your office, grabbing a bag of chips to go with your sandwich, watching YouTube on your lunch break, having dessert after dinner, or sleeping on your stomach. Each of these parts of your day affects your overall level of wellness. Slowly, the goal is to move towards making choices such as having a smoothie in the morning, taking the stairs, having an apple with lunch, going for a walk on your lunch break, having fruit after dinner, and sleeping on your back. As you become aware of the small moments of your life and slowly move towards a healthier lifestyle, you will be amazed by the changes your body will go through.

The IT Band: Why is it so tight?

mwitham — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:19:51 +0000

If you’ve ever joined us in Active Care, chances are you are very familiar with the iliotibial band (IT Band) and the feeling of foam rolling on it. I try to warn people the first time, it’s going to feel like you are rolling over bruises. Although it does get better with time, why is this area is so sensitive and so tight much of the time? The IT band is a thickening of connective tissue on the outer part of the thigh running from the hip to the knee. It holds our leg straight, allowing the bigger muscles in the thigh a chance to relax as we are standing. But the down side is that as a result, the IT band remains tense even as we are just standing still. You may not feel the tightness of the IT band as you are going about your day, but I want to remind you that it is probably still tight! Spend some time rolling the IT bands on the foam roller and you will know. It only takes a few minutes but it will be very beneficial to preventing hip, knee and other aches and pains associated with a tight IT band. Use the photos below to locate the location of the iliotibial band as well as the proper form for foam rolling this targeted area.

Insurance Deductibles written by Erica

mwitham — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:43:27 +0000

Many people are confused about what it means to have an insurance policy with a deductible. The deductible refers to the amount of money that the insured would need to pay before any benefits from the health insurance policy can be used. This is typically a yearly amount so when the policy starts again, usually after a year, the deductible would be in effect again. Some services, like annual doctor visits, may be available without meeting the deductible first. However for most other healthcare services the deductible must be met first.

If you have a high deductible plan, there are options to help make healthcare treatments affordable prior to meeting your deductible. At Absolute Health Chiropractic, we offer Care Credit to patients, which enables you to finance a portion or all of your deductible interest free. This way you are still able to get the treatment you need without having to pay the entire deductible up front. This allows you to spread your payments out over a longer period of time and decrease the stress of finances. There is also an option to open a Healthcare Savings Account which is a pre-tax account that will help you maximize your savings when using it toward healthcare services.

Why am I a Chiropractor written by Dr. Cait

mwitham — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:49:18 +0000

Growing up, I had never been to a Chiropractor. I didn’t know what one was, didn’t have one in the family and had never thought I had the need to see one. When I was 15 years old, I had a severe back injury while Cheerleading. At the time, I was told that I would need surgery and that I had about an 85% chance of full recovery. Well, those weren’t great odds and I’m deathly afraid of surgery, so I just dealt with the pain. Shortly thereafter, my father met a Chiropractor, Dr. Gary, at the Health Club and they got to talking about my condition. Long story short, I became a chiropractic patient and avoided the surgery all together.

Now, up until this point….and actually for awhile after….I was dead set on being a doctor, which to me meant M.D. Since I was 4, I always told my parents that I was going to be a Doctor and Lawyer at the same time. I went to Undergrad and majored in Pre-Med, keeping that dream alive. I took a year off after undergrad to do Molecular Biology Research on Breast Cancer and luckily for me, lived with a Medical student. After a lot of conversations about where health care was going, I realized that my dream at 4 years old wasn’t going to be the same as I had envisioned.

I had always wanted to have a private practice and treat whole families. At the time I was applying, more and more private practices were being absorbed into hospitals and groups because of cost and insurance restrictions. I had a wonderful mentor who guided me into looking at other options. I remembered how great I was treated at Dr. Gary’s (in his private practice), so I did some research and the rest, as they say, is history.

I chose National University of Health Sciences, outside of Chicago, as it had the reputation for graduating “Medipractors”. Basically that meant that we were trained as primary care physicians that were doing Chiropractic. In order to get in, I had to have a Bachelors degree and while there, I obtained a second Bachelors and a Doctorate in Chiropractic. It’s 5 years of schooling that is condensed into an accelerated 3.5 years. During my last year, I also did a Masters Degree in Clinical Nutrition.

I am so lucky to absolutely love my job. I get to help people reach their goals everyday and genuinely enjoy coming to work. Thank you all for being a part of that!

Achooo!!!

mwitham — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:17:56 +0000

Achooo!!! by Erica

Sound like you? It doesn’t have to! Allergies were actually the reason I started seeing a chiropractor 3 years ago. At the time I was working at a school for children with Autism ages 2.5 to 5 years old. I was always outside and my allergies were out of control! Not only that, but I had started spending a lot of time at a friend’s house who had cats, my arch enemy next to pollen! I met a chiropractor through a friend and she said I should become a patient and that it would help my allergies and immune system. When I started going to the chiropractor I was on a lot of allergy medications. I took a pill in the morning, in the afternoon, and then I had one to take as needed when my allergies started making me dizzy as they often did. In addition, I had an inhaler that I used as needed when the allergies made breathing difficult. After getting regular adjustments (three times a week at first) for about 6 weeks, I was able to get off all of my medications. I fell in love with chiropractic from that point on! I couldn’t believe that all of the doctors I had seen, the allergists, the ears-nose-throat doctors, my PCP’s over the years, my pediatrician when I was a child, not a single one of them had ever told me that chiropractic would help! About a year and a half after starting chiropractic treatment I decided that I needed a career change and started applying to chiropractic offices so that I could spread the word to patients and educate the community on how many things chiropractic can help with. Since I started seeing a chiropractor, getting regular adjustments, taking supplements and eating the foods that my body needs to heal itself, I have boosted my immune system so much that I am not on any medications, I live with three cats, and have not been to a medical doctor in three years. In fact, my PCP is now Dr. Cait! What’s the moral of my chiropractic success story? When you come in, tell Dr. Cait what ails you, not just about your back pain! She can help you through chiropractic adjustments, but can also guide you in lifestyle choices such as nutrition and supplement choices that could help you become medication free and live a healthier, happier, pain-free life!

Happy Feet

mwitham — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:22:23 +0000

You may have noticed recently the container of golf balls sitting in our office. These golf balls make an excellent foot roller to use at home or even in the office. Foot rolling has huge health benefits that can often be overlooked. Our feet are our foundation any time we are standing. So our foot health is directly correlated to the rest of our body’s health. Tight or tired feet will lead to tight and tired muscles of legs and hips. Our whole alignment can be off if the feet are in pain or unsupported. Just spending a few minutes each day rolling the golf ball under the feet will make a huge difference. And unlike some exercises, this one feels great! You will notice an increase in the range of motion of the leg muscles after a short amount of time with the foot roller. Another great benefit to note is the release of stress because as we are rolling our feet, the circulation is increased which releases our body’s natural endorphins (those feel good ones). So be sure to pick up a golf ball at your next appointment so you can find the relief and healing of foot rolling at home!