Degenerative Disc Disease Archives - Page 5 of 6 - Hometown Family Wellness Center

May 11 2020

What Is Your Health Worth?

What is your health worth? So many times we hear people say they don’t have the money for care, vitamins, eating healthy but every day those same people are going out buying things that destroy their health or aren’t needed: coffee, cigarettes, soda, candy, processed foods, cosmetics, the newest technology, etc.

People also complain they don’t have the time for their health: exercise, stretching, treatment. Yet most will find time to watch 3 hours of tv per day, spending 2 hours at a beauty parlor or nail salon, etc.

Investing in your health should be a priority. Without your health, it is hard to live a long life and enjoy it all. Getting healthy isn’t a quick fix.

Most patients come into our office because they are in pain. To get better, one has to follow a proper treatment plan. The body also needs optimal nutrition, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and omegas for the tissues to heal. Proper spinal hygiene exercises need to be done to expedite recovery but also prevent future problems. It’s like brushing teeth: you don’t just brush your teeth to get better or until the dentist says your teeth look great, you keep brushing to help prevent teeth from decaying.

I just recently had a person respond to a post on facebook asking about our multi vitamin, then said it was too much money. I created a video discussing this topic:

So, what is your health worth? Is it worth the investment so you can finally feel better, get off the medications, avoid surgery, stay healthy and enjoy life once again? Shorting yourself on nutrition, corrective and preventative chiropractic care, exercise and stretching will slow down your recovery and cause deterioration of health. It’s usually as simple as reallocating money you spend on things that destroy your health into things that make you more healthy!

May 11 2020

Heal Better Not Just Feel Better!

Is your health important to you? Do you prefer to heal better or just feel better?

Many people suffer with pain, high blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid symptoms, etc but just pop pills that mask the symptoms. Others seek chiropractic, massage, acupuncture and Physical Therapy for natural relief. BUT and this is a HUGE BUT, just because you might get pain relief or the symptoms decrease doesn’t mean the problem is fixed. Pain is the last thing to show up when you develop a problem and it’s the first thing to go away. Many times the body just adapts to the pain while the underlying problems still exists and progressively gets worse.

When you take Aspirin, Ibuprofen and NSAID’s you are masking your symptoms with the risks of many side effects including death. Chiropractic and other natural treatments help the body to start getting better but there are other aspects you have to take care of so the body can actually heal, not just feel better.

Recently I wrote an important article I hope you take a couple minutes to read by clicking here: Natural Relief of Pain and Inflammation. We have to take active steps to help the body heal.

I started a program recommended by a colleague who has nutritional formulas to help the body heal from the inside

Heal Better Not Just Feel Better — It’s so important to heal the body, not just relieve symptoms

by providing the body with enzymes, antioxidants, collagen, CBD and pre/probiotics that it needs. After just one week using these formulas I couldn’t believe the difference. I just completed my first month and I know my body doesn’t just feel better but it’s actually finally healing. Dr. Tim has allowed me to share his formulas with you, so if you are interested let me know. Before I ever recommend supplements to patients I always try them myself to see the results. This is the first time in over 10 years I actually found some new ones I want to share with you. I want you to heal better and get the most of our treatment so you feel the best and heal the best. I am enjoying working out and running more without the pains in my joints from years of abuse playing competitive soccer. I am sleeping better at night which also helps the body heal. My shoulder that hurt all the time while adjusting patients is literally pain free for the first time in years. Not that I need to lose weight but I shed 5lbs while utilizing these synergistic health formulas.

Other important steps to help the body heal better include drinking more water, less caffeine, improved nutrition (some of these formulas help with your gut health to improve break down of your food), exercise, better sleep, mental well being and optimizing your nervous system with chiropractic adjustments.

We are halfway through 2019 and I want to help you, your family and friends be a healthier you! Tell me what your health goals are for the rest of the year! Also, please follow us on our facebook page by liking Chiropractor Freehold NJ – Russell Brokstein and make sure you “check in” on the page when you come in for your visits. I share a lot of health related posts that I hope you “Like” and share with your friends on facebook. Also subscribe to our youtube channel: Dr. Russell Brokstein Many patients have been enjoying our video tips and patient testimonials.

To Your Health and Wellness
Dr. Russell, Princess and Morgan
Hometown Family Wellness Center Where Health is a Lifestyle!

May 11 2020

4 Simple Low Back Exercises to Help Relieve and Prevent Pain

Over 80% of the population suffers with low back pain at some point. It is important to incorporate low back exercises into every treatment plan. These exercises are also very important for everybody to do to help prevent back pain.

The first part of treatment for back pain is getting an exam to find the underlying cause. There can be many sources of lower back pain. Sciatica, sprains and strains, pain, disc problems, muscle spasms are just symptoms. We have to

4 Simple Low Back Core Exercises to Help Relieve and Prevent Back Pain

find the mechanical source:

Are there subluxations of the lumbar or pelvic regions? If so, we have to adjust those joints to make sure they have optimal range of motion.
Are there tight hamstrings, quadriceps and piriformis muscles? If so, we have to therapeutically stretch them and make sure they are balanced on each side.
Do you have structural problems in your feet? If so, we need to adjust the feet and stabilize them with custom fitted orthotics. We use pelvic spinal stabilizers for optimal support.
Do you have weak spinal stabilizing muscles? If so, we have to work on them to strength and stabilize.

Each area has to be worked on properly and in order. If not done this way, you can build up further imbalances. Many times low back exercises are done too early. When you do this, you are strengthening muscles to just splint an area. Unfortunately many physical therapists take this approach.

We want to strengthen the muscles to provide optimal support, motion, strength and prevent future problems.

With a treatment plan, our goal is to first get all of your joints moving at a full range. This also helps remove pressure from the muscles, discs and nerves. Then we want to make sure you have full flexibility. (please check out our 2 videos on home stretching by clicking either title: Low Back and sciatica stretching and Low Back, Hip and leg Stretching.) We also check to make sure the ankles, feet, knees and hips are aligned with optimal strength. Once this is done, it’s the best time to start incorporating low back exercises to build your core muscles.

Now that you are ready to work on exercising, we have put together a video of 4 simple low back exercises to help relieve and prevent pain:

I provide full instruction in the video. It’s very important that if you experience pain doing these low back exercises that you stop immediately. Please talk to me or your doctor if you are experiencing back pain. Otherwise, enjoy doing these exercises 2 to 3 days per week and see how much stronger your back is in just a short month. Then you can enjoy your normal daily activities and prevent future problems.

Please share this post with others. We can help so many people with such a simple exercise program.

May 11 2020

What 1 Simple Thing Can You Do To Reduce Pain and Stiffness?

Like most people, you suffer with aches, pain and stiffness. You might be lacking energy. Your skin might be dry. You notice your digestion isn’t as well as you would like it. You find it difficult to lose weight.

There is one thing many people are deficient in that can affect all of this and many other health conditions. Our top rated Freehold NJ Chiropractor talks about this one simple thing you can do to reduce pain and stiffness as well as improve your overall health and wellness. Watch this short video:

Take our water challenge by drinking half of your body weight in water for the next 30 days and let us know how you feel after one month. Dehydration simply is not good for your body. Try drinking more water to help reduce your pain and stiffness.

May 11 2020

Spinal Degeneration Risk Factors

Spinal degeneration occurs naturally as we age with the normal grind of daily living. The discs naturally break down forming arthritic type changes. The joints start to decay, calcification builds up, and the discs lose their ability to absorb shock. Sounds very similar to tooth decay right? Well you know if you don’t continually take care of your teeth with brushing, flossing, rinsing and periodically seeing a dentist, the process occurs more rapidly.

Spinal Degeneration progresses unless you address the risk factors

Spinal degeneration can occur at every level of the spine: the neck or cervical spine, mid back and lower or lumbar spine. You might not notice the pain at first but as it progresses more pain is felt. You can also notice restricted motion and reduced ability to perform normal activities. Almost half of the population aged 40 years or older experiences pain from spinal degeneration. After 80 years old about 80 percent of the population suffers with this condition.

Studies have shown risk factors of spinal degeneration. By limiting these factors and promoting spinal hygiene, we can reduce degeneration and improve quality of life, especially as we age.

From 1997 to 2007, 197 individuals were studied every 2 years using xrays to measure disc heights in the lumbar spine. It was found disc heights decreased at each level gradually over the years on average of 5.8%. The likelihood of disc degeneration increased more in females, those who had knee osteoarthritis and those who had back pain at the start of the study.

Another study shows that smoking cigarettes increases disc degeneration, weakening of spinal ligaments and spinal instability. Evidence suggests that the severity of degeneration is worse in smokers than non smokers. Smoking causes physiological changes that increases the spinal decay.

A study in the Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association shows the benefit of manual therapy on osteoarthritic knee pain. After just 2 weeks, those receiving manual therapy for 3 times per week for 2 weeks experienced less pain, improved movement and ability to perform general activities which were previously more difficult.

Other risk factors that increase spinal degeneration and back pain are:

Occupation hazards: If you do a lot of bending, lifting or long periods of sitting and standing without breaks.
Genetics: There is some evidence that there is some inherited component
Sedentary lifestyle: Those not active without regular exercise have higher risk of back pain and severity of pain.
Excessive weight: Weight increases stress on the joints, ligaments, tendons and discs
Poor posture: Slouching, sitting at a computer, texting and other modern technology, driving hunched, bad sleeping positions and lifting things improperly or just some things that increase stress to the spinal segments.
Hydration: 80% of your body is water. Most people are dehydrated which leads to tissues being “dried out”. Think of a sponge that you leave on the counter for an extended period without putting water on it, it will dry out and becomes brittle. Your muscles, tendons, ligaments and discs are similiar and become more fragile.

Spinal degeneration can be reduced and prevented with spinal hygiene. I describe it like dental hygiene as previously mentioned in this article. It’s very important to limit the risks listed above. Work on your posture, keep active with exercise, maintain a healthy weight, stop smoking, stretch regularly while at work, use proper form lifting and bending, and keep properly hydrated (drink half your body weight in water) and limit products that contain caffeine like coffee or energy drinks as caffeine leads to dehydration.

Most importantly go to a Chiropractor to help keep your joints moving and aligned. Chiropractic adjustments remove back pain and help reduce risk factors of spinal degeneration. Unlike tooth decay where you can replace your teeth, you are born with one spine that cannot be replaced!

In our Freehold chiropractic office, we use a combination of adjustments, therapeutic stretching and exercises to get you the full benefits of care in preventing spinal degeneration. Let us help you live a long, healthy, active lifestyle!

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