Weekly News & Insights

Scared of an Adjustment?

on October 18, 2018

Sometimes, first-time patients are a little nervous about getting an adjustment. They soon discover that it rarely causes any discomfort at all. In fact, it makes them feel much better almost immediately – at least for the majority of patients. On rare occasions, they might feel a mild sense of soreness, like an aching, following treatment. This is similar to how someone feels after an intense workout and this feeling usually fades within 12 hours or so.

At my clinic, I have a number of patients who come in with lower-back pain. Chiropractic care often becomes their primary method of treatment due to the immediate and positive results they get. We also treat patients with other conditions. In these cases, I use chiropractic adjustments to enhance or support medical treatment by relieving the musculoskeletal aspects associated with their particular condition.

EVALUATING THE PATIENT

I find the most effective method to begin a treatment protocol is to evaluate patients through clinical examination, laboratory testing, diagnostic imaging, and other diagnostic interventions to determine whether chiropractic treatment is right for the patient’s condition. Sometimes, I refer patients to the appropriate health care provider when I determine that chiropractic care is not suitable for their condition. Other times, the condition warrants co- management in conjunction with other members of our health care team and we manage all necessary services within our clinic.

The primary focus of my chiropractic treatment, and any other procedures that we perform in our clinic, is to use the right approach to alleviate the health issue. That’s it!

Getting healthier is definitely about lifestyle improvement and the chiropractic adjustment is a powerful tool, but just one of many. The practice of chiropractic manipulative therapy is the most powerful tool that can be applied to physical conditions and does a lot of great things. However, it is not the end all/be all of healthcare. It has to be incorporated and used appropriately when needed, the same way nutrition, rehabilitation, Kinesio® Taping, and anything else must be used to help a patient improve their health and well-being.

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B.E. H.E.A.L.T.H.Y. – Simple Steps to a Healthier You!

on October 11, 2018

 

Be Engaged: Pay attention to your body and to the world around you.

Eating: Certain Foods are inflammatory: Stay away from Wheat, Dairy, Eggs, Corn, Sugar, Sugar Substitutes, processed foods, caffeine, NO SODA Try this for a two weeks and see how you feel. You may not notice in the first couple of days but you would be amazed at the difference in the way you feel in two weeks. Give it time and you will feel a night and day difference.

Habits: Set your routine: We are creatures of habit, so make them good ones.

Elimination: This pertains to metabolic waste as well as toxic aspects of your life, such as relationships, work environments, and excuses: There are a million excuses for why we can’t do something, but none of them are as good as the reason to do it.

Activity: Stay in motion: We are not meant to be sedentary so get your butt moving! It doesn’t have to be 30 min 3X per week but it is about the discipline to stay in motion; conditioning will come with this habit.

Liquids: This means water: Caffeine, juice, soda, alcohol do not count. Stay Hydrated:

Thinking: Link your thinking to your actions and your actions to your thinking:

  • a. Your body’s patterns of behavior are linked to the way you think and the opposite is also true.
  • b. If you’re not feeling great that day, go do something that makes you feel great, i.e.: hobbies, exercise or reading read a fun book

Heal: Let your body heal and rest. Take the necessary time off and take the time to rehab an injury correctly. Jumping back in too soon only leads to further injuries and less productive performance. Don't forget to get enough sleep: Sleep is the time when your body heals

Y: “Why” & Comply

1. Don’t just accept that you have an issue; ask yourself and your doctor why is this happening and what are we doing that is causing/has caused health issues to occur.

2. If you don’t get a satisfactory answer, fire your doctor! “Satisfactory” does not mean the answer you want to hear, by the way.

3. Comply! Once you have received your answers, follow through with the prescribed treatment plan. That is your obligation as the patient.

 

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How Can Hormone Testing Help?

on October 4, 2018

Hormone levels affect many aspects of our bodies, both emotionally and physically. Included in these aspects are irritability, weight gain, memory lapses, insomnia, depression and fatigue.

Women in particular need to be aware of how hormones affect their everyday lives. Our hormone levels change as we age and they can change significantly, even in the course of a single day. Some are higher in the morning, some at night. These fluctuations may lead to deeper issues that need to be addressed. I say this because many of my female patients have suffered for years with their symptoms prior to being seen only to find a simple hormone test uncovered easily treatable imbalances.

My office offers several different hormone tests, but I am partial to saliva testing as it measures your hormones throughout the day. It also measures the metabolites of hormones or more plainly, how much of the hormone is used by our bodies. A blood test on the other hand, is a snap shot of a single point in time. It measures the amount of a certain hormone and not what our body is actually using. To better explain, I’ll use the analogy of money. You can determine how much money you have overall, which is like what the blood test would measure for hormones, but it is not about how much money you have when the bills come due, it is how much you are spending. The saliva test, in comparison, is equated to how much your spending. That way we can determine the hormone demand on your body and fill in the gaps or overages.

A deeper dive would be a Comprehensive Female Panel that will determine if your hormones are functioning properly. In addition to what is in the Basic Check–Up panel, we include Estradiol, LH, Progesterone, FSH, and DHEA–S tests. A reliable practitioner should always have comprehensive testing like the ones I described to get an in depth view to your hormonal health.

As I stated earlier, hormones affect many aspects of our lives so knowing where you stand is a good step in getting better. Visit our office or talk to your health care provider to get more information on the link between your symptoms and hormonal health – it’s an important piece of your healthcare puzzle.

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Nutrient Demands On The Body If It Gets Injured

on September 27, 2018

The nutrient demand on a simple musculoskeletal injury increases by at least 20 to 25 percent. An injured person will need to increase their proteins as they synthesize proteins to make immunoglobulins. With the correct type and quantity of nutrients, your immune system can actually work properly to break down the damaged tissue and/or repair tissue to a normal, healthy state.

Improper healing and remodeling of tissue would be considered scar tissue. Scar tissue does not have the same physical properties as normal tissue and, therefore, does not let the body perform in the same manner.

Trauma, whether it’s skeletal or otherwise, such as a sprained ankle, an injured back, a broken arm, or whatever it may be, imposes one of the highest load demands on energy utilization. So, without a doubt, you must increase energy production in all ways possible when you are injured.

During times of injury or trauma, our energy demands go up, and our need for cellular synthesis goes up as well. We must remove damaged tissue through waste elimination and replace it with new, healthy tissue.

THE TWO TO FOUR WEEK WINDOW

There is a two to four-week window, known as the acute/sub-acute phases. The acute phase (1st and 2nd week) is critical for removal of some injured tissue and for beginning of repair work for damaged tissue. During the sub- acute phase (3rd and 4th week), the body is repairing and remodeling new tissue that is to be used by the body for healing. If the injury is muscular in nature, the body remodels muscle tissue in this phase.

These first four weeks are clearly the most critical to the long-term injury outcome. This is why you should seek treatment immediately if you are injured. If you start to remodel muscle using scar tissue, your performance will decrease.

We’ve mentioned this earlier; scar tissue doesn’t have the same contractile force as muscle tissue. It doesn’t have the same stretch-ability or pliability, and you are liable to experience another injury while your performance continues to decline. This is why it is so important to address nutritional demands directly after injury. This acute/sub-acute phase is a critical time when the immune system clearly needs to be supported. The injury also needs to be treated properly and promptly to reduce the risk of the acute injury becoming chronic.

by Dr. Thomas M. Mitchell, D.C., CCSP | Owner, Clinic Director Chicago Institute for Health and Wellness Copyright ©

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Successful Athletes Feed Their Brains Well

on September 20, 2018

The brain is the organ in the body that is most nutrient and energy dependent; it is also the organ most vulnerable to toxins in our system. The higher the quality of fuel you give it to work the greater capacity the brain has to perform at its best. Considering your brain controls all voluntary and involuntary coordination throughout your entire body processes, your body can’t be at peak performance if your brain is in a nutrient-poor environment.

Because the brain is so energy-dependent (or glucose-dependent, as I mentioned earlier), it’s also vulnerable to the poisons in our body’s waste elimination system. This is related to the toxic overload previously discussed.

Most athletes have the drive to succeed because they feed their brains well. If you give your brain high- quality fuel it can better control and coordinate the body’s movement at a much higher capacity than if you’re feeding it junk.

You want your brain to consume the highest quality fuel possible, so the higher quality nutrition you eat the better you perform.

What follows next are two lists of foods – the do’s and don’ts. These are very important to understand and follow as you build your strength and vitality through proper nutrition.

Do Not Eat

Ingredients:

Artificial Colors

Artificial Flavorings

Artificial Sweeteners: YES, I mean all of them!!!!!!!!

Benzoate Preservatives (BHT, BHA, TBHQ)

Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO)

Carrageenan

Enriched Flours

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

Maltodextrin

MSG (Monosodium Glutamate)

Olestra

Polysorbate 60

Propylene Glycol Alginate

Shortening, Hydrogenated and Partially Hydrogenated Oils: (Palm, Soy bean and others)

Textured Soy Protein

These ingredients in their own way have been linked to dysfunction Some examples are:

Allergies, Asthma, Dermatitis, Eczema, Hyperactivity, Headaches, Cancer, Autoimmune Disorders, Digestive Disorders, Inflammatory Disorders, Liver Disease, Kidney Disease, Fatigue, Obesity, Heart Disease, Stroke, and many, many more.

Good To Eat

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by Dr. Thomas M. Mitchell, D.C., CCSP | Owner, Clinic Director Chicago Institute for Health and Wellness Copyright ©

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Food Fortification - What Does It Really Mean?

on September 13, 2018

Suppose I am a dairy producer and I have to add fortifications of Calcium to my milk; the first question any wise milk drinker should ask is, “Why would you have to fortify milk with Calcium. Doesn’t milk already contain Calcium?” As the producer, I’m not required to put on the carton packaging what chemical compound of Calcium is being used to bolster the milk.

The next question should be “What chemical form of Calcium do you use to fortify the milk?”

From a financial perspective, the dairy producer is going to use the cheapest form of Calcium that he can legally get away with using.

Last question, “Is the chemical make-up of the Calcium used the most efficient and effective for the absorption and utilization of Calcium in my body?”

And, of course that last question is the big one; usually the chemical is not that efficiently absorbed and utilized by the body.

Now, this scenario may not be 100% accurate, but it’s worth thinking about, and it gives us an easy example of what fortified means when you see it on food packaging.

WHAT ENRICHED AND FORTIFIED REALLY MEAN

The terms enriched and fortified in the food world are a gold mine to the industry and a curse for the consumer.

You believe that you’re eating something nutritious and actually you are unwittingly increasing the toxic load on your body.

What the food industry is doing is removing the high-quality nutrients, adding poor, lower-quality, cheaper nutrients, and your body doesn’t utilize them properly.

The same is true for supplements. Since they are not regulated, the quality standard for supplements isn’t about quality at all. What the supplement company claims is in the bottle may not be in there at all, or the formulation of the compound may be cheap and non-absorbable. Unfortunately, it’s more about their bottom line than your health.

For example, there are different compounds that are all considered Vitamin C, but they are not all equally absorbed and utilized by the body.

This is another reason working with a professional, with access to known reputable “nutraceutical” companies, is essential. That doesn’t mean that you can only get high quality supplements by going to a professional, but it makes it easier. Do the research on the companies; make sure they are at least GMP certified and don’t go by marketing testimonials.

Price is not always the determining factor for quality. Many of the cheaper supplements manufactured by the leading chain brands, are exactly what they advertise … cheap. And some of the more expensive supplements are just that … more expensive. They don’t necessarily work either, so it’s absolutely crucial that you’re working with a professional, a health coach or someone who thoroughly understands nutrition and can teach you as you develop, grow and perform.

by Dr. Thomas M. Mitchell, D.C., CCSP | Owner, Clinic Director Chicago Institute for Health and Wellness Copyright ©

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Your Eating Schedule

on September 6, 2018

The best time of the day for you to eat, should be based upon eating unusually small frequent meals, containing only high-quality foods. In terms of sports performance, priming comes anywhere between four hours to a half-hour before an event, training or practice. Be sure you’re taking in higher carbohydrate-rich meals all the way up to 30 to 60 minutes before your athletic performance.

During training and exercise, your body requires an intake of carbs and protein at about a 4 to 1 ratio by weight consumption. During recovery after exercise, training, or an event, a carbohydrate to protein ratio of about 2 to 1 is more appropriate.

EATING FOR RECOVERY

Optimal recovery requires that you are eating the right recovery foods within that 45 to 60-minute window of opportunity. Make sure the carbohydrates to protein ratio is correct – 2:1. Some research indicates that you have about two hours of time to take in the right nutrients for recovery, but my recommendation is that it would be best for you to keep it to under 1-hour, post exercise.

It is recommended that you develop the desire for and a lifestyle that includes mostly complex carbohydrates, high quality fats and lean high- quality proteins. You can easily achieve this by getting added supplements through a protein shake or a high-quality medical food.

Included in optimal recovery is rest in-between training sessions. Then high-quality sleep (a deep, sound sleep on a bed with a good firm mattress for 7-9 hours every night). During your sleep cycle, your body gets the opportunity to heal and repair without disruption from activities.

The result is the next day you can perform at your best once again.

NUTRITIONAL TIMING

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Nutrition timing varies between athletes and between sports. One key underlying factor is your fluid intake. Water is your primary liquid in sports and in life. I recommend 64 oz. for children and 96 oz. for adults per day. Sports drinks are added to the 64-96 oz. requirement. Consumption of water during exercise or event is also essential.

by Dr. Thomas M. Mitchell, D.C., CCSP | Owner, Clinic Director Chicago Institute for Health and Wellness Copyright ©

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Injury Prevention: Don't neglect your nutrition

on July 26, 2018

INJURY PREVENTION: Don't neglect your nutrition

In general, food is often neglected or overlooked when, in fact, it should be the cornerstone of your routine. As an athlete, your body requires certain nutrients so that it can be prepared to perform at its best. That being said, don’t ever go out and grab the first diet/nutrition plan you see.

Everybody is different and so are athletes. What works for one may not work for another. I believe that having a customized nutritional program is your best bet to ensure that it’s tailored to your specific needs and your particular sport involvement.

Often poor nutrition is the cause of injury, and this type of injury doesn’t go away all by itself. These are the injuries that linger and you may never feel the same again if you don’t take proper action. Injury can also lead to chronic inflammation, which results in further injuries that your body can’t repair properly.

Its far more critical than you know

In short - make sure that you eat the right foods. It’s far more critical than you know. If you don’t have the right nutrients to perform your energy levels will be low, and you may sustain an injury. If you don’t have the proper nutrition, it will be more difficult for you to recover after exercise or injury. If you get hurt and your nutrition doesn’t feed your cellular structure, the tissue can’t be repaired and that may lead to a whole slew of other problems. If the tissue doesn’t heal properly, it can’t perform at its optimum, and optimum performance is what you strive for in your sports involvement.

Then, when you try to push yourself through your routine exercises, like you always would, you might end up hurting yourself. Damaged tissue is an injury. When it comes to food, getting what you need, and getting it at the right time, in the right form, can help you avoid injury. If you do get hurt, the right food can help in the reparation of damaged tissues.

by Dr. Thomas M. Mitchell, D.C., CCSP | Owner, Clinic Director Chicago Institute for Health and Wellness Copyright © 2013

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Using Sports and Exercise to Build Stamina

on July 19, 2018

If you are a newbie, planning to use sports to build stamina, or participating in a rigorous exercise program to build up your body strength, no matter what your age, here is some information you need to know. These are basic preventive measures to help you avoid injuries through warm ups, routine fitness check-ups and stamina-building exercises.

To begin with you need:

1. A Routine Physical Fitness Test.

Before beginning any new program, you should always consult your functional sports medicine doctor first and foremost. Usually, the human body tends to react negatively to any new activity, and when the activity is forced, it creates a stress on the body and sometimes results in injury. In talking with your doctor, you can go into your own personal health history to hopefully reduce the risk of injury. Depending on your age and physical condition, a stress test may be required. Have a “True” athletic physical assessment to assess any risk of potential injury. This is required because you must modify your sports exercise and body building programs according to your current health condition. Your doctor will advise you on how to set your limits and suggest not only the right exercise for you, but also tell you the stress level that your body can endure under your particular fitness regimen.

2. Increase your physical activity in phases.

After you’ve been cleared by your doctor, this is the second most important concept to understand. All too often many beginning athletes, with lots of enthusiasm, overexert themselves with vigorous exercising and develop fatigue from over exertion that they aren’t yet ready for. You wouldn’t ask a small child to carry something too heavy for them, would you? Then why push yourself into physical activity you’re not yet ready for? Participation in sports is not a one-day camp event nor is it the buzzer round of a quiz competition. You’re not going to walk on to a field or into a gym the first day and work like a pro. You must build to that strength level. When people participate in this mad rush and over-enthusiastic approach they often seriously hurt themselves. The wise approach is to start with warm-ups and stretches, as mentioned earlier, and start with moderate exercises for 20 minutes at the beginning, then work out three times a week and gradually build the tempo based on this initial, slow momentum.

3. Never work out on an empty stomach.

It’s a really bad practice to exercise or participate in vigorous sports immediately after having a heavy or moderately heavy meal. Just as they told you not to go swimming after eating when you were a child, similarly no sports or exercises should be undertaken on an empty stomach. You must eat at least two hours before playing the sport or working out. This will help you maintain the adequate energy levels that are required to exercise and avoid fatigue during the workout and during sports performance.

4. Drink Water Before You Exercise.

Dehydration is a great killer of personal enthusiasm and performance. Therefore, keep your body well hydrated. Drink at least 16 oz. of purified water two hours before you start your workout or your game, and drink water during your exercise or sports and performance to replenish the fluids lost during the exertion.

5. Listen to Your Body as It Speaks to You.

If you experience any weakness, sharp pain or light-headedness while exercising or playing, do not ignore these symptoms. Pay proper attention to them. These signals are your body’s way of telling you that something is going wrong and you should take action immediately. If you ignore these warnings, that’s a sure way to develop severe and chronic problems and injuries. When you do not feel well, you should rest until your body recovers. If the body sends these signals repeatedly, get to your doctor right away.

6. Rest and Recover.

It is important to rest. Sleep is one of the best ways to recover your body’s energy level, but sleep alone might not be enough for some people with less stamina. If they work out too much for too long, it can lead to overtraining syndrome and possibly harm the body, by reducing the body’s immunity, instead of benefiting it.

7. Cross Train with Neuro-stabilization.

Human beings have a creative mindset. If they are asked to do the same work every day, they ultimately get bored. Similarly, people who perform the same exercises every day are prone to develop ‘workout boredom’. The best remedy for this is cross-training. It provides a complete workout for your body without overstressing certain muscle groups.

8. Wear the right gear for the specific sport.

You don’t wear workout sweats while going to a black-tie party, do you? No way! People would think you were nuts if you did! In the same way, wearing the proper sports gear and footwear is essential to prevent injuries as well as wearing the appropriate safety equipment, as advised by your coach or trainer. The proper gear is designed to protect from you from accidental injuries.

by Dr. Thomas M. Mitchell, D.C., CCSP | Owner, Clinic Director Chicago Institute for Health and Wellness Copyright © 2013

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Injury vs. Soreness - Know the difference

on July 12, 2018

The first thing that you must understand is that there is a significant difference between an injury and physical soreness. As soreness is common, usually something you will feel directly after exercising, being in a game, or some other strenuous activity, you must become aware of what soreness feels like. It’s very different from an injury.

Injuries, on the other hand, are usually felt during an event and can hinder you from doing whatever you are doing, even after the event. If you are injured, when you try to resume normal workouts or game play, the damaged tissue continues to stress during any activity and you typically feel it at that time. The muscle or tissue becomes inflamed and that is something that you will notice as swelling in that part of your body. You will probably feel tenderness or a feeling of warmth to the touch.

You’re not expected to be an expert

Obviously, you’re not expected to be an expert on injury, but to know the difference between being sore and getting injured is something you must be able to determine. If you determine that you are injured, you must go to an expert for help. In the meantime, be extremely cautious! If you can’t recognize the difference between soreness and injury get yourself to an expert quickly to determine if you are sore or injured.

Please hear me clearly

I’m not saying that all nicks and dings that can occur whenever you are practicing or playing any particular sport need “medical” attention. But, injuries that go untreated can become lifelong issues. Rather than take chances with a lingering pain or discomfort from an injury, go see an expert.

by Dr. Thomas M. Mitchell, D.C., CCSP | Owner, Clinic Director Chicago Institute for Health and Wellness Copyright © 2013

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