That headache that lasts all day and is just getting worse. You know the feeling. To top it all off, you have a million things to do, and no desire to do any of them. This article will explain all about headaches and how to deal with them naturally.

Most people with headaches reach straight for over the counter (OTC) pain medications such as aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) and naproxen (Aleve). These medications provide short-term relief of the symptoms. If your headaches are becoming more frequent and/or severe, that is your body’s way of telling you that there is something wrong. Here are some of the top ways to help alleviate your headache without drugs.

Chiropractic

I have yet to find a headache patient without a misalignment of the bones in the neck. These misalignments of the vertebrae cause the nervous system to become overwhelmingly stressed. What happens next? The muscles tense up and spasms may occur. These people will have likely started the inflammatory process which leads to swelling and more pain. All of this because the nervous system wasn’t communicating properly.

When your chiropractor performs an adjustment, he/she is resetting the pain cycle by moving the bones and restoring proper biomechanics. This sends a signal through the nervous system, to the brain and back out to the body, telling the tissues to relax.

Ergonomics

It’s important to maintain proper body positioning when it comes to preventing headaches. Many times it starts with sleeping habits. As a rule of thumb, sleeping on your back is the best position for your whole spine. Sleeping on your stomach is the worst. Try to sleep with only one pillow to keep the neck in a more neutral position.

Your desk or workstation needs to be evaluated as well. The biggest contributing factor to headaches in the workplace is an improperly positioned computer screen. Your screen should be at eye-level so that you are not straining the neck by looking down or up for extended periods of time. Sitting upright in a supportive chair will help to maintain spinal alignment. Keeping the arms at 90 degrees and supported will cause less stress to the upper shoulders (trapezius).

Exercise

When performed correctly, posture based corrective exercises will help to stabilize the spine and reduce the risk of recurring headaches. Exercise also reduces emotional stress which often times accompanies headaches. As a rule of thumb, if there is a muscle in your body that is already too tight (most commonly the muscles in the back of the neck, upper traps), do not attempt to strengthen these muscles as you are making the problem worse.

Nutrition and Diet

We’ve all heard of allergies before. But what I’m about to explain is not just the kind you get when the seasons change or when it rains. We’re talking about sensitivities. This is an allergy, but only on a smaller scale. For example, the feeling you might get after eating a meal with a lot of gluten, dairy, or artificial ingredients in it (bloating, headaches..etc). This is very common in today’s age and by choosing meals that are not processed and by staying away from sensitivities, we can avoid many of these symptoms.

If you are experiencing headaches and would like to know how to deal with them naturally, all our office and Dr. Ezell will be happy to help.

Yours in health,

Dr. Glenn Ezell

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8 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Chiropractor

Your chiropractor needs to be someone who you can trust. Someone who has your best intentions in mind and will give his or her best recommendations to you, at all times. Here are 8 important questions you should ask before choosing a chiropractor as a new patient.

1. Can the chiropractor help me with my goals?

What health goals are you searching for? Are you looking for help with a sports injury, pain relief, or wellness care? Does the chiropractor treat babies, adults, or people with medicare? Are you seeking treatment following a motor vehicle accident or a work injury (these will often require different forms of paperwork than normal new patients to the office)? Are you seeking nutritional advice, acupuncture or rehabilitation? Do you prefer a certain type of chiropractic adjustment? Be sure to find a chiropractor that can meet your specific health goals.

2. Does the doctor have positive and satisfied patient testimonials?

One of the best ways to check on the chiropractor’s credibility is to read reviews and testimonials from people who have been seen by the doctor before. A great source of reviews are found online. Google Places, Facebook, Yelp and others are among great places to check for.

3. What types of examinations does the doctor take?

Granted that all chiropractors are required to examine a patient before initiating any type of treatment, some are better than others. Depending on what type of problem that you have also dictates where the direction of the examination should go. So where I am going with this? You want your doctor be very specific in deciphering your complaint and determining the cause of the problem. Some questions include: Does the doctor take x-rays? Does the doctor have enough time to discuss and examine all of your complaints? Does he utilize any other instruments to make his recommendations?

4. Does the doctor network with other doctors of specialty?

While chiropractic treatment is beneficial to most people, some require treatment from other providers. This is usually done collaboratively to reach a common goal. Your chiropractor should not be afraid to send you to someone who can more appropriately handle your problem, if need be.

5. How does the chiropractor track my progress?

Both you and the doctor need to be on the same page regarding how treatments are coming along and what lies ahead. Your chiropractor should be notating how you are feeling each visit by asking you directly and using clinical skills to determine the future care schedule. Some chiropractors do re-exams at a certain point to check for improvements, some will utilize objective findings on x-rays, and some will use tools and instruments. Your chiropractor should be able to gather enough information to add to clinical experience for progress analysis. In the case that you are regressing, your doctor should have a plan to figure out if he needs to change his treatments with you or refer back to question 4 and refer you to someone else who can help.

6. Is the doctor in good standing with the state boards?

A quick search online to any chiropractic state board should be able to tell you if the chiropractor has any complaints filed against him.

7. Does the office have a no (or minimal) wait policy?

Who likes to go into a doctor’s office, on time, and still have to wait an hour to finally get in to see the doctor? People these days are busy. You have things to do and places to go. Your chiropractor should be on time and respectful of yours.

8. Does the chiropractor offer preventative solutions/exercises for at home?

Speeding the healing process is often achieved with home care recommendations. Preventative recommendations present a way to minimize the chances of these problems reoccurring in the future.

These questions are some of the best questions to ask before choosing a chiropractor. There are also many others. Here in our office we love questions as they are part of the education process!

Learn more about the types of chiropractic care we provide here→ Types of Care

Yours in health,

Dr. Glenn Ezell

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What Happens When You Crack Your Own Spine?

You’ve seen people do it, maybe you even do it yourself. Cracking your own spine. Grandmothers everywhere will tell you that it gives you arthritis. Some of you are what we would call, “addicted to crack”. Bending yourself over the back of a chair or twisting your own neck. All of these may help you feel better, but ask the majority of people who do this and they will tell you that it feels like it needs to “pop” again within a short period of time. So what actually happens when you crack your own spine?

This is likely the case because the joints that are actually making the popping noise are the ones above and below the main restriction, which are what we call “hyper” mobile joints. They are actually moving too much in order to compensate for the restricted joint in between. It may feel good temporarily but will usually not last long.

You see, there are 24 moving vertebrae in your spine (7 neck, 12 mid back, 5 low back). You can consider a group of 2 or more of these vertebrae to be a “motion segment”. Cracking your own spine helps the “motion segment” move a bit more, but the original restriction likely will remain, causing relapse of symptoms and allowing future problems to occur.

The other reason for this short term relief is that we are not able to impart the right forces at the right angles on ourselves to fully clear the joints of the restriction, you might get a pop releasing some of the gas in the joint but it did not fully move.

Are there any potential risks involved with cracking your own spine?

Yes there are. Let’s start with the obvious being that chiropractors have studied and practiced for years the art, science, and philosophy of the spinal adjustment and is at the heart of what most of us do, making us the experts in this field. Knowing when, how, where, and why to adjust is extremely important.

Given years and years of cracking your own spine, there is a potential to create ligamentous instability which would allow for your spine to be susceptible to a multitude of more serious injuries and permanent damage.

Yours in optimal health,

Dr. Glenn Ezell

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