natural health Archives - Page 8 of 8 - Hometown Family Wellness Center

May 11 2020

Freehold Chiropractor Educates Your Posture is Important to Maintain Your Health!

My name is Dr. Russell Brokstein, chiropractor and owner of Hometown Family Wellness Center in Freehold, NJ and today I am continuing the blog on Be Health Naturally without Drugs or Surgery.

The previous posts talked about sleep, stress reduction and dietary recommendations. You can read the other blogs by clicking: Chiropractor Freehold Blog

Today we are going to discuss your posture. Your spine is the central support structure of your body. Your spine carries the neurological lifeline from your brain to all the other parts of your body. Your health really depends on the flow of energy through an unrestricted nervous system. When your spine suffers, your overall health can suffer too. When you respect your spine by taking good care of it, your spine will serve you well by offering its strength and flexibility for a long time to come.

When your posture and spinal alignment are off, it can also lead to pain, back pain, neck pain, headaches and migraines, numbness and tingling, stress, fibromyalgia, sciatica, arthritis, herniations and disc degeneration.

Here are my two top recommendations for taking care of your spine:

Be ergonomically correct when you sit at a desk, stand, bend or reach. “Ergonomically correct” is a fancy term for body posture that doesn’t cause stress to your body.

For example, which three of these postures do you think would be ergonomically correct:

Sitting with your legs crossed at the knees.
Sitting with your legs crossed at the ankles.
Bending straight over to pick up a box with knees locked for support.
Bending over to pick up a box with knees bent.
Standing in a crowd with your weight centered on one leg for a long time.
Standing in a crowd with your weight centered over both feet with your shoulder, back and head centered over your spine.

The answer is 2. 4 and 6.

Ask me to check out your posture. I’ll be looking at you from the side to see if the center of your ear, the center of your neck, shoulder, hips, knees and ankle all form a straight line. If they don’t, then we need to work more on your posture.

Here’s how I remember how to stand correctly while lifting something heavy or just standing for long periods of time: I think to myself, “Brace yourself!” What I mean by this is that if I’m reaching down into the crib to pick up a baby, I must get ready for the act of lifting by bracing myself. I brace myself by bending at the knees and keeping the weight as close to my body as I can. The farther the baby is from my body, the more I’m at risk of injury.

Reaching for things far away from you is not a good habit if you want a strong spine. Instead of reaching out to push or pull something, get as close to the item as you can, then lift it after bracing yourself.

If you have to stand on your feet for a long period of time, don’t get in the habit of putting most of your weight over one foot or on one leg. Brace yourself by spreading your feet about shoulder distance apart, then stand solidly. You’ll feel better and look more confident as well.

Which of these are ergonomically correct?

a. Loading up grocery bags in your arms, then trying to open your door with a key while holding all those grocery bags

b. Sitting at a desk with the computer keyboard more than a foot away from the edge of the desk

c. Looking at your computer screen that is 2-1/2 feet away by moving your head forward

d. Sitting hunched in a chair or recliner

e. Looking down at your computer screen or TV

f. Doing dishes at the sink on top of a small rug or carpet strip

The answer here is f. Standing on a carpet decreases stress on the spine more than standing on a hard floor. That’s why a lot of the multimillion-dollar companies that set up booths at trade shows have carpeting in their booth on the floor. They want to make you feel more comfortable and reduce the stress on your body that you’ve been feeling by walking for long periods of time. It also helps their staff at the booth.

2. While I’m treating you, it’s important to NOT do any excessive lifting (over 15-20 lbs.) during the first 4-6 weeks of treatment. In some cases, vacuuming and other household chores like laundry may be limited as well. Ask me for specific instructions for your individual case.

So, now that we covered posture, next time we will be discussing your joints and nutritional support, so stay tuned.

Until then, have a chiropractor check your spine, as we are the ONLY health professionals properly trained to analyze, detect and correct subluxations which are misalignments of the vertebra that put pressure on the nerves and spinal cord and will decrease your over health and function. Give your body the chance to be healthy naturally without drugs and surgery!

May 11 2020

Chiropractor Freehold shares intermediate level abdominal exercise.

Involves no equipment.

This exercise works the abdominal, oblique internal/external, iliopsoa muscles.

The purpose is to increase abdominal strength and muscular endurance.

The benefits include improved stability, functional strength and injury prevention.

Begin lying on floor.

Lift knees so that a 90º position is attained at hip and knees. Place hands beside ears. Activate core.

Lift shoulder off floor approximately 6 inches attempting to bring elbow toward opposite opposite knee so that both simultaneously meet.

Return to start position and repeat on opposite side. Continue alternating sides until recommended repetitions are complete.

May 11 2020

Freehold Chiropractor Shares Why Your Body Needs Water

There is no better time than now to discuss why your body needs water, than while we are experiencing one of the worst heat waves in decades in the United States. Today in Freehold, NJ we are expecting a high of around 103 and boy what I would do to be sitting on the edge of the water at the beach right now, but I will be doing what I love the most today.. helping patients be healthy without the use of drugs or surgery.

Freehold Chiropractor Shares Why It's Important to Drink Water — Freehold Chiropractor Shares Why It’s Important to Drink Water

Water is of major importance for our body to function and be healthy. Roughly 70% of our body is made up of water. The lungs are nearly 90% water. Lean muscle tissue contains about 75% water by weight, as is the brain; body fat contains 10% water and bone has 22% water, and about 83% of our blood is water.

Water is so important and basic to life and health. All the cells in our body are composed of water. Water is vital to dissolve so many substances by allowing our cells to use valuable nutrients, minerals, and chemicals.

Water in the blood stream is used to metabolize and transport carbohydrates and proteins our body gets from food. Equally important is the use of water to transport waste material out of our bodies to detoxify. Water also helps to protect and keep our joints moist.

Every single muscle, organ, tissue and cell in your body needs water!

Do you think it’s a coincidence that the planet also around 70% water? What happens to the planet if there is a lack of water? Look at areas that go through extended drought: The ground cracks, plants die, animal life dies.. nothing can exist.

As a freehold chiropractor, another analogy I use is that your body is like a sponge. Normally, a wet sponge is soft, bends and is elastic. It is hard to make it lose it’s shape. If you don’t use the sponge for a long time and just leave it on the counter top, it dries out and gets brittle. Try to bend that dried out sponge and it starts to tear and break. The tissues of your body are the same way. If your body gets dehydrated, the muscles, tendons and ligaments will tear, strain and sprain much more easily resulting in more aches and pains.

Reading a Tri-County Clinic of Chiropractic‘s blog today, the chiropractor stated a great point: “Think about this, the brain consists of 90% water right? If you do not get enough water to your body, your brain could not function well and that could result in a headache or migraine. So, the next time you feel fatigue and a headache, it may be a sign of dehydration so try drinking some water to relieve it.”

Unfortunately, most people DO NOT drink enough water. Your body is dehydrated, and you wonder why you feel sluggish, weak, have aches and pain, or sick all the time.

Coffee does not equal water, neither does juice, soda, alcohol, energy drinks, seltzer or other products you are consuming. Actually in many instances, these products are dehydrating you! Coffee has 70 to 80 mg of caffeine. Caffeine dehydrates your body! I have read articles that say for each cup of coffee you drink you need to drink an extra glass of water. But many of the research articles I have read say for each cup of coffee, it pulls out 4 to 8 glasses of water…. so you would have to drink 4 to 8 glasses of water to make up for EACH cup of coffee you drink.

I see many patients in Monmouth County, New Jersey from the towns of Freehold, Marlboro, Morganville, Howell, Jackson, Millstone, Colts Neck and Manalapan, NJ. One of the first things I tell patients to help improve their health is start drinking water to hydrate the body, and cut out products like coffee and other dehydrating substances. It’s amazing what one little simple thing can do to transform the health of patients.

To find out more about freehold chiropractor and other ways to improve your health and well being, give our Freehold, NJ office, Hometown Family Wellness Center, a call for a complimentary consultation.

May 11 2020

A Natural Edge in Athletic Performance Provided by Chiropractic Explains Freehold Chiropractor

Athletes at all levels are using chiropractic for sports injuries and to recover from the demanding workouts. Many college and professional teams even have chiropractors on their medical staff to treat patients. Just this past football season, athletes were seen being treated by the team chiropractor right on the sidelines. To the left you can see the Denver team chiropractor adjusting one of the players.

Now, a new award-winning study further confirmed previous studies that chiropractic can also improve athletic performance. Chiropractic is giving a natural edge to the athletes.

Researchers examined 18 professional Brazilian judo competitors while under chiropractic care. Half of the athletes received chiropractic adjustments while the other received sham treatment. Researchers then evaluated athletes’ grip strength using a device that measures muscle force.

Throughout the study both groups maintained their regular workout schedule, but the chiropractic group had substantial improvements in their scores. After just three treatments, the chiropractic group improved their grip strength by 11% on the left side and 17% on their right, while athletes in the sham treatment group had only improved by 4-6%.

This study is more evidence that chiropractic improves nervous system functioning, which in turn strengthens muscles. Other studies and researchers report improved reflexes, flexibility, range of motion, breathing capacity, postural strength and coordination.

Chiropractic keeps your nervous system working efficiently and that is what plays the vital role in all the edges it provides the athletes in improving peak performance, injury prevention and facilitating recovery.

Many pro athletes are speaking about the benefits of chiropractic:

Lance Armstrong said “The Chiropractor is the most important person on the team staff.”

One of the greatest boxers of all time, Holyfield remarks, “I have to have an adjustment before I go into the ring. The majority of boxers go to get that edge.”

Recently NBA MVP Derrick Rose credited chiropractic for getting him back on the court after suffering with back spasms.

From the worlds fastest man, Usain Bolt, to Roger Craig, Jerry Rice, Emmit Smith, Tiger Woods, Aaron Rodgers, Olympian Dan O’Brien, Mark McGwire, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones Jr, Wayne Gretzky, Billy Jean King, John McEnroe, Mary Lou Retton, Bruce Jennor, Jimmy Connors, Dan Marino, Warren Moon, Jack Dempsey to Michael Jordan just to name a few have all been under regular chiropractic care.

You do not have to be a professional athlete to benefit from the edge it can provide you too. Chiropractic is great to improve your work outs, athletic performance, injury recovery and promoting healthy lifestyles and habits. If you are ready to receive the best care that pro athletes utilize, contact a local chiropractor.

Dr. Russell Brokstein, DC is owner of Hometown Family Wellness Center in Freehold, NJ. He has been in practice for 13 years and has worked on all levels of athletes from grade school to professional level and retirees who still get to enjoy their recreational sports while under chiropractic care. Call our office today to see how we can help you at 732-780-0044. Find out more information about chiropractic by clicking here: www.chiropractorfreehold.com

Botelho MB, Andrade BB. Effect of cervical spine manipulative therapy on judo athletes’ grip strength. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2012;35(11):38-44.

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