Mini Workouts While You Work

This is a repost from Millar Chiropractic Clinic

Mini Workouts While You Work

What Do You Eat at Work?

The vast majority of us sit throughout the day at work. Exercising regularly - even if it's just a few minutes at a time throughout the day - helps to keep a person's metabolic rate, at an optimal level and therefore the muscles continue to burn calories even while sitting. Conversely, when we sit for hours at a time without getting up to move around, our metabolic rates drop.  That is why taking short exercise breaks often throughout the day may be even more beneficial than performing a longer workout once a day - if it means you barely move for hours at a time during the rest of the day. You can help keep your metabolism revved up and your blood sugar and energy levels balanced by making an effort to bring your own healthy lunch and snacks to work. It takes some effort to prepare your own food in advance, but the benefits are well worth it. If you prepare a healthy dinner, try making a bit extra and bring the leftovers with you to work for an easy lunch.  A salad can be a simple solution, adding some grilled chicken or turkey for protein. Whole milk organic yogurt is a good choice for a snack that will satisfy your hunger longer than anything out of the vending machine. Bring zippered plastic bags containing organic cheddar or other cheese, and an organic apple, banana, or other fresh fruit - preferably something in season. Energy bars can also be a good choice for a snack at work, but make sure to read the ingredients and avoid anything with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame or sucralose (Splenda).  Ideally they should have at least 30% protein to keep your blood sugar level.

Are you like most typical office workers who sit for hours on end in front of a computer screen?  If so, probably one of the most important things you can do for your health is get up and move around every 30-60 minutes, even if your exercise break is very brief.  Fitting in exercise doesn't have to be a big interruption during your day.  Just walk around your home or office for a few minutes, or even just march in place or do a quick stretching routine.

This is also a good time to give your eyes a break.  Your eyes become fatigued when you look at something at a static distance for too long.  Make a point to look out a window if you can and focus on the details you see.  Look around your house or office and focus on items at varying distances to exercise the lens in your eyes.  Looking at trees outside and other natural surroundings are not only pleasant and relaxing, but can also help your mind be refreshed and energized.

Stand up straight, making sure your knees and shoulders are relaxed, and tighten your abdominal muscles for a strong core while you do the following stretches:

• Inhale while you sweep your arms out to your sides and then up over your head, and exhale while you bring them back down to your sides.
• Inhale while you reach one arm over your head and gently lean to the opposite side to stretch, and exhale while you return to center bringing your arm back to your side.  Repeat on the other side.
• Inhale while you sweep your arms in front of you, and exhale while you bring them back, stretching the chest muscles. 
• Keeping your arms straight out at your sides and your breathing relaxed, gently rotate your torso to one side and then to the other.
• Continue taking nice deep breaths while you roll your shoulders forward and then backward.  Then place your hands on your shoulders and circle your elbows around very slowly - as if you are drawing the biggest circles possible with your elbows - stretching out the muscles of your upper back and shoulders.
• Stretch your neck by gently tilting your head forward and back, then gently tilt your ear toward each shoulder, and finally gently turn your head from side to side.  Make your movements slow and relaxed and be careful not to push too far.  Just stretch to the point where it feels comfortable.
• Warm up your legs a bit by bending your knees into a partial squat, and then come back to standing, then up on your toes.  You can add in the arm lifts we started with, lifting your arms above your head while you raise up on your toes, and lowering your arms as you lower your body.

You don't have to do all of these during each break, unless you would like to.  Pay attention to which exercises feel good to you and which areas of your body have the most tension.  Usually just a few repetitions will be sufficient, and taking regular mini-breaks throughout the day can make a big difference. It only takes a few minutes to get your circulation going and your joints and muscles loosened up. 

Mini-exercise breaks also give your mind a rest, and you will probably find that you have renewed mental vigor and greater clarity when you get back to work.  Exercise breaks are especially helpful when you are struggling with a problem.  You may notice that giving your mind a break while you perform a short bout of exercise is just what you need to come up with a solution.

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The Wide-Ranging Effects of Anxiety

This is a repost from Millar Chiropractic Clinic website

The Wide-Ranging Effects of Anxiety

Holistic Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic care is about much more than bones, joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. The focus of chiropractic is on the musculoskeletal system, and yet the benefits of chiropractic care extend far beyond these connective tissue structures. Chronic musculoskeletal tension results in various biochemical changes such as excessive and prolonged build-up of lactic acid in the muscles - a metabolic end-product of muscular contraction. These metabolites, which are accumulating wastefully and unnecessarily, irritate local nerve endings. This nerve irritation leads to increases in local muscle tension, setting-up a vicious circle of muscle tension, nerve irritation, more muscle tension, and more nerve irritation. It is important to realize that these irritated nerves send signals to all the other parts of the body, causing increased levels of activity and unnecessary use of precious resources. When this happens, the person may become irritable, gets tired more easily, has sleep disturbances, and may even develop various diseases. Chiropractic care is a powerful healing method that positively affects many body systems as a result of addressing stresses in the musculoskeletal system.

We humans seem to be wired for modest levels of anxiety to act as a fear-arousal warning system. Anxiety can be characterized as fear, worry,  apprehension or uneasiness. Anxiety is a common psychological state in which the basic message is an internal urging to "get away from this situation". The state of anxiety is commonly accompanied by various physiologic symptoms triggered by a surge in adrenaline - including increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and increased blood flow to the major muscle groups as the body prepares to "fight or flee".

These are all typical responses to environmental threats. The overall process is controlled by the amygdala and hippocampus, two regions of the brain's limbic system which process memory, emotional response, and spatial navigation. With frequent and prolonged anxiety states, a person may begin to respond to perceived threats as strongly as they respond to real threats. This anxiety state may persist and even become the default condition for the individual.

Those with chronic anxiety may experience chronic back pain,^1,2 chronic muscular tension, fibromyalgia,³ headaches, chest pain, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations. Chronic anxiety may cause a person to anticipate the worst, to have ongoing feelings of dread, to be constantly irritable and tense, and some may experience frightening and debilitating panic attacks. Eventually the person may become worn out from the constant drain on their inner resources and a likely outcome is depression. The person simply cannot take any more stress.

Chronic anxiety has a specific impact on the musculoskeletal system. Persistently elevated levels of adrenaline create ongoing tension in the postural muscles of the lower back and the weight-bearing gluteal muscles, pelvic musculature, and hamstrings. The long-term effects of chronic anxiety can include chronic lower back pain, sciatica caused by inflammation of the sciatic nerve, and lumbar disc disease. Of course, any of these health problems create even more anxiety for the person, creating a vicious circle of anxiety, pain, more anxiety, and more pain.

Solutions for chronic anxiety usually require a multidisciplinary holsitic approaches. Nutrition, for example, is an important factor in restoring a person's homeostatic mechanisms. Significantly reducing one's intake of simple carbohydrates - soda, muffins, cookies, cake, fast food, and even juice - will often have a substantial impact. Making sure to have five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables every day will also provide great benefit.

Magnesium deficiency is extremely common in the US and can cause or worsen anxiety.  Magnesium supplementation can be especially useful taken at bedtime, because it helps relax the muscles and can help a person feel more calm and fall asleep easier.  Magnesium can also help regulate blood pressure and cardiac function.  Good food sources of magnesium include pumpkin seeds, almonds, cashews, whole grains, and leafy green vegetables such as spinach and swiss chard.

Chiropractic care can frequently provide considerable assistance to those with chronic anxiety. By normalizing activity within the musculoskeletal system and reducing muscular stress and tension, chiropractic care helps eliminate an unnecessary source of biochemical and physiologic stress.

¹Newcomer KL, et al: Anxiety levels, fear-avoidance beliefs, and disability levels at baseline and at 1 year among subjects with acute and chronic low back pain. Phys Med Rehabil 2(6):514-520, 2010

²Hurley DA, et al: Physiotherapy for sleep disturbance in chronic low back pain: a feasibility randomised controlled trial. BMC Musculoskeletal Disord 11:70, 2010 [11 pages]

³Silverman S, et al: Toward characterization and definition of fibromyalgia severity. BMC Musculoskeletal Disord 11:66, 2010 [9 pages]

Gluten Intolerance?

This is a repost from Millar Chiropractic Clinic website

Gluten Intolerance

Starting a Gluten-Free Diet

A strict gluten-free diet is the first one step in treatment of gluten intolerance and celiac disease.  It is critically necessary to treat the disease, as symptoms of these disorders will only resolve when gluten is removed from the diet. Even minuscule amounts of gluten can reactivate the disease-causing immune reaction mechanism. As little as 20 parts per million (ppm; a standard measure of concentration) can cause symptoms in a person who is gluten intolerant. The very good news is that gluten intolerance and celiac disease are receiving a much higher media profile. The Media are now focusing on these disorders, with featured content appearing frequently in the national press. The result is that gluten-free foods and household products are becoming much more widely available.  It has never been easier to avoid gluten.  Most health food stores and quality grocery stores have created a gluten-free section and continue to expand their offerings.  Many gluten-free foods can also be ordered online. Tinkyada is a brand that offers gluten-free pastas, made from rice, that are a great substitute for wheat pasta. You can even enjoy fresh made pizza at local restaurants, such as Pane e Vino and Mellow Mushroom, which provide the option of choosing gluten-free crusts.

About 40% of Americans are genetically predisposed to become intolerant to gluten. At least 1% of Americans (about 315,000 Americans) have the very severe form of gluten sensitivity, called celiac disease.  It is possible that the percentage of Americans suffering from celiac disease may actually be much higher reports the NCHS the National Conference on Health Statistics, because most physicians simply do not recognize the signs and symptoms of celiac disease when presented. Celiac disease has been nicknamed the "great masquerader" as the disease often presents with a variety of signs and symptoms.  A person who is gluten intolerant may develop celiac disease after repeated exposure to gluten.

So what exactly is gluten?  It's a complex of proteins that are found in wheat, rye, and barley. When eaten, the human digestive tract is unable break down the gluten proteins into its component amino acids, so the gluten proteins remain  undigested in the gastrointestinal tract until they are excreted. 

The body tags proteins as "self: or "Foreign." In those persons who develop celiac disease, the gluten proteins are identified as "foreign" and their immune systems launch a reaction against these proteins trying to kill them. Infants, children, teenagers, and adults, may have this reaction, and continued exposure to gluten may cause development of celiac disease.^1-2

The Western Diet is made up of significant amounts of Wheat, rye, and barley. Think about the last time you went to a restaurant. They served bread. Almost all breads are made from one or more of these three grains. Then think of our daily consumption of Cerials, cookies, cakes, pizza, bagels, muffins, and don't forget all pasta are just a few of the foods that contain gluten. Additionally, gluten is found in nearly everything we consume from vitamins,  to shampoo, to toothpaste, household cleansers, and even prescription drugs. Wheat-based binders are often used in the manufacturing process of many food and non food items. 

A susceptible person's initial immune reaction to gluten will often worsen with continued exposure. Eventually the immune reaction may damage the lining of the person's small intestine, leading to the classic symptoms of Irritable Bowel - abdominal pain, constipation and/or diarrhea, and abdominal bloating.  Intestinal damage causes these very unpleasant and debilitating symptoms to get worse and leads to Celiac Disease and other serious diseases. One of the major consequences of celiac disease can be malnutrition because the damaged intestinal lining is unable to properly absorb needed nutrients.

Gluten intolerance may be related to a variety of serious disorders. Perhaps surprisingly, research has pointed to neuropsychiatric conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, and schizophrenia may be associated with underlying gluten intolerance and celiac disease. Evidence suggests that arthritic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus), and psoriatic arthritis may also be related to gluten intolerance. Endocrine conditions, which are so prevalent today, including diabetes, hyper- and hypothryroidism, and Addison's disease are often related to gluten intolerance and celiac disease. Infertility and frequent miscarriages may also be related to an underlying condition of gluten intolerance. What did the Greeks say, "So goes the gut so goes the body."

It is important to realize that gluten intolerance and celiac disease may be an underlying cause of many of these serious medical conditions that have not been treated successfully. It may be critical to consider gluten intolerance as an underlying cause of these various disorders and to take appropriate action. Patient knowledge and increased physician knowledge and awareness are crucial to correctly identifying a hidden problem.³

Your Millar Chiropractor is an expert in nutrition and is trained to identify underlying causes of health problems. Additionally, chiropractic treatment may help restore more normal and more effective immune system functioning. In cases requiring a holistic, multidisciplinary approach, chiropractic treatment is a crucial component.

¹Selimolu MA, Karabiber H: Celiac disease. Prevention and treatment. J Clin Gastroenterol 44(1):4-8, 2010
²Setty M, et al: Celiac disease: risk assessment, diagnosis, and monitoring. Mol Diagn Ther 12(5):289-298, 2008
³Schuppan D, et al: Celiac disease: from pathogenesis to novel therapies. Gastroenterology 137(6):1912-1933, 2009