Washington Park Chiropractic

By: Dr. Jake Simpson, DC

Chiropractic care during pregnancy should be an essential part of women’s pre-natal care.  Currently, chiropractic care is not traditionally thought of being included in most women’s pre-natal care plan.  However, we have begun to see an increase in the medical community referring to chiropractors for the management of not only back pain but to ensure an easier birthing process.  Here’s why…

There are an overwhelming number of women that have gone through or going through pregnancy that experience low back pain.  Pre-existing postural and mechanical imbalances that you had before pregnancy are likely to be overtaxed and heightened during the pregnancy process.  This is mostly due to the rapid growth of the baby and your body’s normal structural adaptations not keeping up, not to mention the biochemical changes that occur that cause ligament laxity.  Chiropractic care before and during pregnancy can help to relieve and prevent the common musculoskeletal disorders associated with pregnancy.  With proper spinal and pelvic alignment through chiropractic care you will be able to experience greater comforts and lifestyle improvements. 

Pre-Natal Care For The Baby

Regular pre-natal chiropractic care appointments can help increase comfort for the baby as well!  As your baby develops, greater stress is placed on the uterus and the ligaments suspending the uterus, this is known as uterine constraint.  If your pelvis and sacrum are out of balance in any way, the ligaments suspending the uterus are torqued and twisted in a way that puts constraint in the uterus thus preventing the developing baby from getting into the optimal position for an easier birth.  Read the rest of this entry →

By: Amanda Miller, LMT

This summer, I made the decision to get myself in a regular workout routine, doing cardio five days a week and strength training the other two.  I was feeling good and enjoying exercise for the first time in years.  Unfortunately, I broke my shoulder in August, which brought my workouts to a quick stop.  As I began to heal, I replaced my workout sessions with physical therapy sessions and quickly realized how much strength and mobility I lost in such a short amount of time.  I recently read an article about flexibility and stretching and how it relates to overall health, and I’d like to share some of the things I found so interesting.

Why does flexibility matter?

Although countless studies have shown how beneficial exercise is for the body and mind (it can do everything from reducing the risk of some cancers to helping to improve memory), less attention has been paid to flexibility.  But doctors and physical therapists agree that it’s a vital part of keeping your body fit and able.  Flexibility can help your body reach its optimum fitness level, may play a role in injury prevention, and can even help stave off conditions like arthritis and more serious illness.

How does it all work?

When you stretch a muscle, you lengthen the tendons, or muscle fibers, that attach it to the bone.  The longer these fibers are, the more you can increase the muscle in size when you do strength training.  Read the rest of this entry →

By: Dr. Jake Simpson, DC

Purpose:

            The purpose of your adjustment(s) is to add mobility and energy back into your spine where it otherwise has been absent due to vertebral restriction and/or muscle tension and imbalances.  As spinal integrity improves, nerve tension is reduced, your body will begin to function better and performance is enhanced.     

Day One:

Day one, we take a comprehensive health history in effort to determine the cause of your pain and dysfunction. This often includes a case history, as well as orthopedic and neurological exams.  Based on the severity of your symptoms and/or mechanism is which you were injured X-Rays or possibly an MRI will be recommended and you will be referred out to get these tests.

After your examination and we have determined the cause of your problem, the treatment is performed.  The treatment often includes the chiropractic adjustment, soft-tissue treatments and possibly low-level laser therapy.  The key to your treatments will always be the chiropractic adjustment(s).  With malposition and loss of motion in one or more of your vertebrae a specific manual thrust is administered.  The direction, speed, depth and angle that we use are the result of experience, practice and thorough understanding of spinal mechanics.  Sometimes, the energy delivered during the thrust produces a “popping” sound.  This “pop” is simply shifting gas and fluids in and around the joint.  The sound is in no way an indicator of the quality of adjustment. 

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By: Ashley Bennett, LMT

Massage Therapy during injuries can help speed up the healing process.  A great example of an injury that is at a higher potential during the winter season is a lift and twist strain.  This is when you have been lifting or shoveling and your back goes out or is limiting your range of motion.  The muscles in your back are in a spasm and the surrounding tissue is compensating for the injure area.  This is a great opportunity to come in and get it checked out by your chiropractor and add in a massage to help calm down the area so that range of motion can be restored.  Massage can help decrease swelling, pain and loss of range of motion in any area that is related to soft tissue.  If there is a more severe injury where there is scar tissue involved, massage can help break up the adhesions and create a more functional and potentially less visible scar.  I am not saying massage should replace your physical therapy or doctor, I am saying that it can help the process move faster so you can get back to your healthy lifestyle!!

By: Dr. Jake Simpson

Just about everyone on the road knows about or has heard about “whiplash.”  But what is it exactly?  What happens to our bodies during whiplash?  What are the short and long term effects of whiplash?  And what can a chiropractor do to help with whiplash? 

What Is Whiplash and What is Happening to Our Bodies?

Upon impact, your body pushes deeply into your seat.  Your head, momentarily isolated by your neck, delays its reaction while your body quickly reaches the limits of your seat.  The, your body instantly and violently changes direction, moving forward as your seat belt works to keep you stationary.  As your seatbelt engages your head then starts to move backward in the opposite direction of your body.  Unlike your body being restrained by the seat belt, your head is free to move being jerked back and forth…most of the time beyond its normal limitations anatomically. 

Outside of our normal anatomical limitation is when injury occurs.  In the case of whiplash, we are tearing muscles, tendons, ligaments, other connective tissues and in some cases breaking bones or causing brain damage. 

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For years, I have struggled with the application of health care in the United States.  I think of it more as a “sick care” system, only going to see my doctor when I’m really ill (or more recently when I broke my shoulder).  I usually spend more time in the waiting room reading magazines than I do with my physician – and when I am talking with my doctor, I often feel like he’s only half-listening because he knows he has a full day of sick patients ahead of him.  I try to limit the amount of pills I consume and I avoid surgery whenever possible, but I understand and truly appreciate the benefits of Western medicine.  I recently read an article about Integrative Medicine that really struck a chord with me.  I liked the concept of using Western medicine when necessary, but combining it with Eastern medicine and complimentary therapies when applicable.

What is Integrative Medicine (IM)?

Integrative medicine combines conventional Western medicine with nontraditional practices – including chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, herbal treatments, mind-body approaches, nutrition, and stress management – to keep patients in good health.  An integrative doctor – whether a primary-care physician, an ob-gyn, or an oncologist – enlists Western approaches when appropriate and then complements them with other treatments. Read the rest of this entry →

There are valid reasons for putting your kids to bed at a reasonable hour, not the least of which is that it guarantees them adequate sleep.

It also conditions them to stick to a schedule and gives you a little much-needed time for yourself after tending to their needs all day.

 Here’s another important reason to get the kids off to bed: Too little sleep can lead to a bad habit: overeating. According to a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, reduced sleep time (less than six hours compared with more than eight) is associated with an increase in energy consumption – often in the form of snacks – without any increase in energy expenditure. In other words, if kids sleep less, they tend to eat more, but don’t expend energy during the extra time they’re awake.

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By: Amanda Miller, LMT

Growing up, we’ve all been told how important it is to eat our vegetables.  If we take a closer look at the food we’re eating, we see that nature has left us some clues as to what foods help which part of the body.

A sliced carrot looks like the human eye – the pupil, iris and radiating lines look very similar to the cross-section of a carrot.  Science shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to, and improve function of the eyes.

A tomato has chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red.  Research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and research shows grapes are also heart and blood vitalizing food.

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