One of the simplest and most effective types of exercise we at Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic recommend is walking. Walking fits ideally into the chiropractic philosophy of holistic, natural remedies for pain.

How Lack of Exercise Hurts Your Spine

When you don’t get regular exercise, your spine suffers.  Back pain is often caused and aggravated by spinal misalignments and weak muscles in your core.

Lack of exercise also causes spinal discs to degenerate. Normal healthy discs hold fluids and act as cushions between your vertebrae. Walking promotes the good circulation and healing you need for a healthy spine.

Anxiety about pain can also inhibit you from exercising, making you even more prone to injury.

The Many Benefits of Taking a Walk

Regular walks improve your health in multiple ways, such as:

• Improved circulation throughout your body. This helps to rehydrate the discs of your spine to prevent mobility problems and pain.
• Increased immunity that lowers your risk of illnesses such as heart disease and osteoporosis.
• More strength in your core, hips, legs, and feet. Walking strengthens back and abdominal muscles, allowing them to support joints, ligaments, and spinal discs properly.
• Improved mobility, flexibility, and balance. A stiff back is more prone to pain and injury. Exercise helps to prevent pain and injury by maintaining flexibility in the connective fibers that help to support the spine.
• Better sleep and weight control.
• Psychological benefits.  Walking and other types of exercise naturally cause your body to release endorphins. These chemicals affect receptors in your brain that reduce pain and give you a feeling of well-being.

Tips for a Productive Walking Program

Regular walking can help heal many back problems, minimizing pain or preventing it from returning. It’s a great therapy that you can begin doing immediately and with minimal equipment.

If you’re out of practice, start gradually. Walk around the block to start. Add one minute to your time each day.

Walk fast enough that you raise your heart rate but can still talk.

Commit to exercise daily regardless of bad weather. Even marching in place in front of the TV gets you moving.

Listen to your body—if the pain is severe or increases during or after the walk, see your healthcare provider for an exam to determine the cause before resuming your walking program.

Exercise as Part of Your Chiropractic Care 

Your chiropractor diagnoses joint and spinal issues that cause pain and serves as a great source of information about increasing your mobility and strength.

Walking complements your chiropractic treatments. Both make your spine stronger and healthier, using natural, safe, non-drug methods.

Regular chiropractic adjustments align your spine and strengthen back muscles. Your chiropractic treatments and daily walks help to retain that alignment. Then you can walk for longer periods of time, build up your strength and reap all the benefits of a healthy spine!

Contact Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic for Your Complimentary Consultation

Call our Broken Arrow office at 918-940-4630 today.

The post Walking Your Way to a Healthier Back first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

Every person’s body comes equipped with an amazing immune system comprised of little soldiers created with the specific purpose of being vigilant against foreign invaders in the form of germs and disease. The location of an invader triggers a set of hormones to call specific white blood cell fighters to crash the scene and destroy the unwelcome presence. The process occurs without the conscious awareness of the human body. The immune system operates through a series of constant ongoing procedures that take place without thought or human instruction. The entire fascinating process of health, healing, and restoration occurs under the guidance and direction of the autonomic nervous system.

Evidence proves that Chiropractic care improves the function of the autonomic nervous system through gentle adjustments which increase movement in the spine and balance communication between the brain and nervous system. The adjustments empower the autonomic processes by reducing stress in the nervous system. The outcome leads to improved hormone balance that guides immune function and results in better health.

Research from 2010 showed that patients receiving Chiropractic adjustments increased a specific signaling molecule in the body called Interleukin-2. Interleukin-2 regulates the activities of white blood cells responsible for immunity, a key component of the body’s natural response to microbial infection. Interleukin-2 also helps the body recognize and create specific responses that neutralize foreign invaders. This protein molecule existed at higher rates in people who received a chiropractic spinal adjustment in comparison to people who did not.

The primary focus of a Chiropractic adjustment does not target the immune system or a specific symptom or condition. The increased health function from an adjustment simply serves as an example of an outcome that takes place after removing interference from the nervous system. The static in the nervous system lines decreases when the spine becomes better aligned and mobile. While other health professions attempt to change the environment to suit a weakened body, Chiropractic focuses on strengthening the body to suit all naturally occurring environments.

Four methods of improving long term immunity include:

1) Staying on track with adjustments to keep the autonomic nervous system balanced

2) Making sure to get adequate amounts of Vitamin D (a major immune booster)

3) Adding 30-60 minutes of sleep to a normal routine (inadequate sleep plummets immunity)

4) Replacing sugary drinks and snacks with more nutritious choices (sugar drains immunity)

The post CHIROPRACTIC: The Ultimate Remedy During Cold and Flu Season first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

The very first Chiropractic patient did not receive adjustments for neck or back pain. His pursuit was health and restoration. Approximately 93% of current Chiropractic patients visit a Chiropractor for the first-time seeking relief from back or neck pain but soon discover benefits which extend far beyond the scope of pain relief. Evidence based research like the initial case of Harvey Lillard continues to grow and educate more people about the science, unique process, and healing philosophy surrounding Chiropractic care. Chiropractic gained an initial following in the early 1900s. The flu pandemic of 1918 served as the major watershed moment in time which earned Chiropractic worldwide acclaim. The Spanish flu epidemic claimed the lives of 500,000 Americans and millions of others around the world. Historical health documents and statistics reveal that people receiving spinal adjustments for nervous system health experienced a much lower casualty rate than those not under chiropractic care. The global fear of flu and sickness led many people to begin utilizing Chiropractic care to strengthen their immunity and better prepare their bodies to combat sickness and disease.

Scientists and researchers struggled at the time to understand why such incredible health improvements occurred through the spine that seemed unrelated to spinal health. Better anatomical research and scientific methods evolved with time and helped better explain the function of the central nervous system as it relates to both spinal care and overall health. An intimate connection exists between the spine and nervous system. Better mobility and communication through the spinal cord and nervous system allow the body to better regulate immunity, hormones, and healing. These reasons alone provide ample reason for children, adults, and seniors to investigate and experience Chiropractic care without any presence of back or neck pain.

Chiropractors do not claim to heal or cure diseases. Chiropractic adjustments focus on removing interference and immobility from the brain to body communication system. Over 90% of people initially go to a Chiropractor to address an issue of pain but evidence of improvement in energy, immunity, athletic performance, memory, and concentration circulate as testimonies that continue to increase the number of people who seek nervous system care for optimal health and overall wellness.

Side effects of Chiropractic care provide a litany of reasons to pursue nervous system health. Patients report better sleep, lower stress, and hormonal balance as proactive improvements which lead to healthier relationships, better school/job attendance, and an overall improvement in quality of life. Recent research determined that over 55 million American adults visited a Chiropractor in their lifetime and approximately 19 million people consulted with a Chiropractor in the past 12 months. These growing numbers represent a health care option trusted by more and more people in all fifty states and around the world as nearly 100,000 Chiropractors pursue better health care for millions of people worldwide every single day.

The post From Iowa to Corners of the Globe… Chiropractic Provides Better Healthcare for Millions first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

A recent study published by the Gallup poll shows that a overwhelming number of Americans (79%) feel stress sometimes or frequently throughout each day. The anticipation and expectation of stress impacts people just as much as the stress itself. Stress also plays a significant role in chronic disease. Stress serves as the single largest determining factor in heart disease and heart attacks. Stress manifests throughout the year through multiple avenues and individual health requires that people maintain a plan to remove, minimize, and cope with holiday stress.

Many proven options helps reduce or remove stress

Rhythmic breathing, consistent exercise, and good nutrition offer excellent choices to help counteract the impact of stress. One of the greatest stress-relieving tools a person can utilize to deal with the weight of stress comes from utilizing Chiropractic spinal adjustments. The spine maintains a unique and intimate relationship with the central nervous system. The central nervous system filters stress and determines whether or not stressors will cause harm. Some people possess the capability to withstand high amounts of stress without experiencing any significant health challenges or symptoms. Other people encounter lower amounts of stress but exhibit greater levels of symptoms, dysfunction, and disease. The filter which screens all stress lives in the central nervous system. The intimate connection between the spine and central nervous system results in stress-relief being one of the greatest benefits achieved through Chiropractic spinal adjustments.

According to the American Institute of Stress, 44% of Americans feel more stressed than they did just five years ago

Many professions focus on changing a person’s environment to suit the weakened body, but Chiropractors concentrate on strengthening the body to suit the environment. Nervous system capability weakens as the spine loses function in both alignment and movement. Operate below maximum potential causes the body to reduce efficiency when it comes to filtering out the effects of stress. Chiropractic focuses on helping a person’s body better adapt and maintain resiliency against stress. Research from 2014 proved a direct link between a spinal adjustment and the reduction of stress hormones. Chiropractic reduces unwanted stress build up in the spine and nervous system, thus balancing hormones and restoring optimal function to the entire body.

Four specific strategies to become more resilient to stressors over the holiday season:

• Regular Chiropractic Adjustments

• 7-8 Hours of Sleep

• More Vegetables (anti-oxidants)

• Increased Heart Rate 3-5x/week (exercise or brisk walk)

The holidays come hand in hand with the most potent stress of the year. Consistent Chiropractic care throughout this time of year equips the entire family with the capability to combat stress and enjoy festivities and time together. The benefits of Chiropractic care come in many forms ranging from improved sleep, immunity, digestion, mobility, and whole-body health. No holiday gift means more than time well spent in good health and good cheer. Chiropractic helps the whole family better adapt to the stress of the season.

The post Chiropractic Provides the Ultimate Holiday Stress Reliever… Enjoy the holiday season with less stress and better health. first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

The amazing and unique part of their health history focuses on their nervous systems. Although the same blood circulated through their bodies, each twin possessed a separate and different brain and spinal cord. The separate nervous systems created fascinating instances where one twin would become ill while the other did not. The germs of the sick twin would flow through the shared blood of both twins but only one would experience symptoms from viruses. Amazingly, the other twin would be symptom-free.

Medical schools continue to teach that germs cause disease.

The simple philosophy implies that people become sick when they encounter germs. The case study of Masha and Dasha countered that hypothesis when germs circulating through the same body did not create a simultaneous effect on both twins. Scientific research proves that immunity works under the direct control of the brain and nervous system. A 2013 book titled “Autonomic Failure” published scientific proof that specific immune-fighting white blood cells (macrophage) operate under the direct control of the sympathetic nervous system. Such evidence proves revolutionary to health, medicine and immunity.

Any interference to the nervous system lessens immunity and makes a person more susceptible to illness.

The spine is designed to be in a specific position which allows for appropriate movement. These factors enable the brain and nervous system to communicate effectively with organs and systems throughout the body. A misaligned or impinged vertebra will alter the body’s potential to heal at full capacity.

Chiropractors do not seek to treat, cure, or heal symptoms or diseases. However, chiropractic adjustments gently improve position and movement in the spine.  This allows the brain and nervous system to become balanced. Research proves that Chiropractic adjustments improve immune function by removing interference from the nervous system.

Case studies like the story of Masha and Dasha helped lay a deeper foundation of understanding into the power and potential which exists within the body. Nervous system care continues to compile evidence of healing and restoration as people recognize that true health begins with caring for the function of the body. Research compiled in 2011 showed a 139% increase in specific immune-boosting hormones following a spinal adjustment. The future of health care begins with understanding the past. Expensive pills and medicines pale in comparison to the powerful healing capacity present in a healthy nervous system. The evolving science of Chiropractic continues to educate communities about the long-term benefits of nervous system care for the entire family.

The post Conjoined Twins Help Explain the Influence of Chiropractic on Immunity first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.