Diamond Chiropractic

Quick guide to proper snow shoveling. Snow Shoveling Tips Amplifeied

Are Growing Pains Real? Interestingly, growing pains, like scoliosis, seem to affect girls more frequently than boys. “Mom, my legs really hurt!” How often have you heard that from your child? And, how often have you been quick to dismiss it as, “It’s just growing pains,” without really understanding if there even is such a condition? Actually there is! Growing pains generally affect young children and adolescents. The child usually feels pain in the calves, thighs, and behind the knees of both legs. Sometimes the pain can even wake a sleeping child. Studies indicate 20 – 40% of all children experience growing pains and the condition is typically seen more often in girls than in boys. Before the diagnosis of “growing pains” can be made with any relative certainty, other conditions or symptoms might need to be addressed, especially if the pain is accompanied by fever, inflammation, limping, fatigue or loss of appetite. If no other cause for the pain is f

From Kristina Held, principle at Grun-Sustainable Architecture and assistant professor at the Art Institute of Charlotte: YES: 1. Invest in a hypoallergenic mattress. They're covered with material that lets air in but won't allow microscopic animal hair or dandruff to get through. 2. If you use wallpaper- choose a pattern that incorporates horizontal lines, which tend to settle you and make you calmer. 3. Layer your lights. It's good to have one overall light so you can see, then some accent lights that are task oriented, like a reading lamp. 4. Keep an air purifier or humidifier in your room. There are machines that do both, and sometimes they make white noise, which experts say is good because it covers sounds that could threaten your sleep. NO: 1. Avoid sleeping with your pet. It's dangerous, and the hair can make you sick and accumulate in your lungs. Be sure to wash your bedding every two weeks. 2. Don't paint your room red, as it can make

From the time you’re a little girl, you’ve dreamed of being a mommy. You’ve always loved the smell and feel of babies, and you’ve waited for the day that you could bring your own little bundle of joy home…but that day hasn’t yet arrived. Fertility is normal. Infertility suggests something is interfering with your body's natural processes. Consider a natural solution. Infertility, the inability to conceive a child, often hits you right between the eyes after you've professed your readiness to become a mother and although you've tried, nothing has happened. You believe you've tried everything...but have you? Many women who have been unable to get pregnant have turned to non-medical, alternative approaches to infertility, and often they meet with success. For example, have you tried: Dietary changes? Avoid heavy metals like lead, mercury and cadmium that can affect hormone and sperm production. A simple test can determine the heavy metal content in your

Someone you know may have complained about a condition known as sciatica, but what is it? To understand the condition, it’s helpful to know a bit about the anatomy of the sciatic nerve . The sciatic nerve is the largest and longest nerve in the body. It begins at the base of the spinal cord and extends down the length of each leg to the toes on each foot. The sciatic nerve is really made up of five separate nerves that come together to form one large nerve that is as big around at one point as your thumb! The sciatic nerves provide sensation and strength to the leg and connect the spinal cord with muscles in the thigh, lower leg, and feet. Muscle weakness or a tingling sensation in the legs can result when the sciatic nerve is compromised or compressed in some way. An inflammation of the sciatic nerve or compression on the nerve can cause profound pain. This is the condition known as sciatica; symptoms of sciatica include a dull ache to moderate or even severe p

You may have seen commercials that advertise enzymes in laundry detergent , but enzymes are at work in every living thing, including humans. In the simplest of terms, enzymes break things down. So let’s talk human beings… The human body engages in an infinite number of chemical reactions that are essential for survival. None of these reactions could take place without enzymes; in fact, there are more than 75,000 different types of enzymes at work in your body. As catalysts, enzymes either initiate some type of reaction in the body or they work to make it faster. As proteins, enzymes convert the foods we eat into simpler compounds that your body can use for energy and to generate new cells. Most enzymes can be found in the digestive track – enzymes such as amylases that break down starches into simple sugars. The lack of certain enzymes is responsible for a number of diseases; phenylketonuria or PKU can cause severe mental retardat

Just a quick update on the exciting new changes happening in the Diamond Chiropractic office. The showroom is now up and running, featuring the latest in height adjustable furniture. We also have a full line of ergonomic products to help support a healthy work environment. Dr. Diamond performs workstation assessments and provides custom-tailored recommendations for improved ergonomic design in the workplace and home environments. As a patient of Dr. Diamond, you are entitled to a complimentary consultation with Dr. Diamond to discuss the many benefits of using height adjustable furniture. There’s been a strong demand so far so be sure to call or e-mail to set up your appointment asap! Also, check out our website for more info: http://www.diamondchiropractic.com/doctor/chiropractor/72L/boston-chiropractor/ergonomics.htm

Advances in technology have been hugely beneficial to our society. But some of them have come at a very physical cost. For example, often when I walk into my consultation room to meet new patients, I see them sitting twisted in their chair, legs crossed, hunched forward, chin to chest, heads protruding forward as they look at their smart phones . Our whole bodies are involved with the use of any form of technology, and we pay the price in aches, pains, and worse. Here are some easy tips for improving our health throughout the work day. 1. Most important is the 30-30 or 1-2 rule. Sit 30 minutes, up 30 seconds; sit for an hour, up for two minutes. 2. Instead of sitting down for a meeting, take a little stroll around the office and have a walking meeting. When you walk and move, you bring 5-15 percent more oxygen to your brain, so your meetings are more clear and productive. Meetings also tend to be shorter when you’re walking around. And of course, you’re going to bur

By now, you’ve probably heard of presenteeism: the practice of workers reporting to work when ill. It’s a trend that’s been increasing in recent years, and it’s having very real impacts on employee productivity. In fact, some data puts on-the-job productivity losses as high as 60 percent of the total cost of workers’ illness- actually exceeding the cost of absenteeism and medical disability . But employees don’t just show up to work with coughs and fevers. As a chiropractor, I see a different form of presenteeism: people working through pain caused by bad ergonomics. You’re probably guilty of it yourself. You sit too long at your desk and your back starts hurting, which forces you to shift more, draws tension to the affected area, and ultimately distracts you from your work, or causes you to work more slowly than you would otherwise. And yet you still show up at the office, day after day. In today’s economic environment, people are scared not to. And with companies c

We’ll often ask our newest practice members, “What if the sensation of pain didn’t exist?” If you have back pain or headaches or know someone who does, making the pain go away is a major goal. But what is the purpose of pain? It turns out there are some very important reasons why we’re equipped to sense pain. Dorland’s Medical Dictionary used by health professionals around the world list over 34 different types! Pain causes you to pay attention to something that’s not working right. It’s a warning that a limit of some type has been reached that the body is not equipped to handle or cannot adapt further. In many ways, pain is a good thing. It’s only when we misinterpret the pain or think that by making it go away without tending to its underlying cause that we get into trouble. Many Boston-area folks begin care in our office because of a painful symptom or obvious health problem. And while we always show our compassion, our primary interest is in the under

How to Take Care of You! There you go again, always taking care of someone else – your children, your aging parents, a sick relative or friend, an out-of-work sibling. But, what have you done for you lately? While it’s commendable to want to help others, charity begins at home they say. “At home” here means taking care of you, because if you don’t do that, you certainly can’t help any one else. A holistic approach to taking care of yourself incorporates caring for your body, mind and spirit. Here are some suggestions for taking care of all three to help you be the best you can be! • Taking care of yourself physically means getting enough rest, eating well balanced and nutritious meals three times a day, exercising on a regular basis, drinking plenty of water, giving up bad habits such as smoking or drinking too much alcohol or caffeine-laden drinks and avoiding all recreational drugs. • Taking care of yourself mentally means engaging in activities th

It used to be, you’d visit a doctor, wave your insurance card and the bill was taken care of. Times have changed. Sick Care The truth is, so-called “health” care is actually “sick” care. It has little to do with promoting health. It’s mostly about reducing symptoms with drugs or surgically removing body parts when they fail. Most policies help cover some sick care costs. But, will they pay for bottled water, nutritional supplements , gym memberships, jogging shoes and other wellness activities? Probably not. Repeated Relapses Most policies will help pay for chiropractic care when you have obvious symptoms. Benefits run out when you’re feeling better, but before muscles and ligaments fully heal. This invites a relapse of your original problem. Lasting healing occurs after symptoms clear up. If you rely on your carrier, you’re likely to suffer a roller coaster series of relapses without correcting the underlying problem! Catastrophic Problems! That’s becaus

You sleep eight hours a night and wake up with a sore neck, feeling like your get-up-and-go, got up and went! Did you ever think that your pillow might have something to do with it? Does your pillow support the natural forward curve of your neck? While a good night’s sleep starts with a quiet dark room and a comfortable mattress, how you sleep on that mattress really does matter. The muscles that support your neck and back during your waking hours need to get the proper rest to be able to do their job each day. And your pillow can play an important role. As you might expect, the best position for sleep is lying on your side or in the fetal position because it helps maintain the natural S-curve in your spine. Sleeping on your stomach arches the spine and makes the back and neck muscles work overtime, forcing your head to one side or the other all night long. Imagine walking around all day, only looking to your left! Not good. If you’re a “stomach sleeper” and find it

  We all experience highs and lows. But when the lows become increasingly often and begin to interfere with the functions of daily living, then it’s a cause for concern. Depression affects twice as many women as men and most people fail to seek the help they need. Those that do, usually receive some type of drug therapy.  Since our mind affects our body, and our body affects our mind, changing your physiology can change your psychology. Get moving! Common symptoms of depression include: Chronic fatigue Sleep problems Overwhelming sadness Hyper-irritability Poor concentration Changes in appetite Withdrawal Chronic physical symptoms Thoughts of suicide Depression is really a whole body condition that affects body, mind, emotions and spirit. It is not something to be ashamed of, nor is it something you can simply wish away. You can’t just “snap out of it” or put on a happy face and think it away. A recent study, conducted by Duke University Medical Cen

Consider this…you spend nine months in a perfect environment designed especially for you, feeling safe, secure and loved. Then, you’re squeezed out through a narrow opening into a cold, noisy, brightly lit room. No wonder you cry! Most women give birth lying down, rather than squatting, a position that could use the force of gravity to assist in the birthing process. Drugs used to manage pain during labor hinder the mother’s ability to push. Deliveries using mechanical intervention, such as forceps or vacuum extraction, may cause a newborn’s first vertebral subluxation. The pulling and twisting can create an overlooked injury to the spine. The resulting nerve compromise can disrupt normal communication between the brain and body.   Left undetected, vertebral subluxation may significantly affect the newborn’s ability to adapt to his or her environment, increasing an infant’s susceptibility to infection and illness. Dr. Abraham Towbin, a prominent medical researcher on

Fevers in Children Your child wakes up in the middle of the night crying. You rush into her room and pick her up to soothe her. You start to panic because she literally appears to be on fire with fever. How serious is this and what should you do? Many parents needlessly worry about their children’s fevers. What few realize is that a fever is the body’s natural response to an infection. A fever in and of itself is not a disease; it’s the body’s defense mechanism in response to an illness. A fever lets the immune system know to produce antibodies to fight the infection. Interfering with this process may prevent the immune system from doing its job. Many parents, fearful that a fever can cause seizures, brain damage or worse, over-medicate their children with ibuprofen and acetaminophen products. Seizures are rare in fevers less than 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius). What can a parent do for a child with a fever? Give your child plenty of fluids t

Many new patients ask us why we examine their lower back, when their problem is in their neck and shoulders. Two words: compensation reactions. While it's tempting to think of regional parts of the spine, it must be viewed in its entirety. Your body is constantly adapting to the force of gravity. Just as a house foundation that settles produces ceiling cracks and doors and windows that don’t open and close properly, your spine does the same thing. Problems in the pelvis, knees, ankles and feet can often show up as problems in the neck. But the actual problem occurs with the foundation of the spine. This is based on the principle of equilibrium. If you were to tilt your head to the right, you could only maintain your head this way for a while before your body would curve some other area of your spine to support your head. We refer to this as the barking dog syndrome. If you accidentally step on a dog's tail, it will bark. The symptom (the bark) comes out of its mouth, b