Monday, February 28, 2011

Can You Get Addicted To Chiropractic Adjustments?

Addicted to Adjustments?

Addicted to coffee.
We’ve all heard the cliché that once you go to a chiropractor, you have to go for the rest of your life. Fearing that they’ll get “addicted” to adjustments or become dependent upon them has stopped many people from benefiting from chiropractic. But it all depends upon what you want.
Temporary Relief
Depending upon your problem, how long you’ve had it and countless other factors, we’ve seen patients enjoy relief in as little as a visit or two. Yet, without continued care they're inviting a relapse of their original problem since healing supporting muscles and ligaments happens with continued care after symptoms subside.
Patch or Fix
After enjoying a reduction in your original symptoms, it’s wise to continue your care so more lasting changes can be made. Some find that it can take months of care to see a lasting resolution of their problem. Again, it varies from person to person.
Prevention and Wellness
Many of us choose to continue our chiropractic care on a periodic basis—even when we’re feeling great. Our objective is to stay well after we get well. This way we can better deal with life’s stresses before they become full blown problems. It’s based on the same wisdom of having periodic eye or dental exams.
We offer choices so you can benefit from chiropractic care for as long as you wish. After all it’s your health. You should be the one to decide.

What Do Chiropractic Adjustments Do?

Bones are static structures. They only move when acted upon by a muscle. And muscles only contract when commanded by your nervous system.

What Do Adjustments Do?

Probably the biggest chiropractic misconception revolves around the adjustment. Naturally, we chiropractors think the adjustment is pretty special.
Chiropractors understand that the underlying cause of many health problems is from nervous system disturbances along the spine. This often shows up as one or more spinal bones that are stuck and not moving correctly. Many think that a chiropractic adjustment puts the wayward bone back into its proper position with the bones above and below it.
Actually, bones are static structures. They move when acted upon by a muscle. And muscles only contract when commanded by your nervous system. That’s why chiropractic is actually about the quality of your nervous system, not the condition of your spinal column.
Your body does the actual healing. The energy I supply with the adjustment just helps things along. I use everything I know about anatomy, physiology and spinal biomechanics to partner with your body’s wisdom. Repeated visits help retrain muscles and with time, your body can “right” itself.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Top 10 Reasons NOT to Eat Sugar

Top 10 Reasons NOT to Eat Sugar


According to a recent study, many of us eat the equivalent of 53 heaping teaspoons of white refined sugar every day. It finds its way into a wide variety of processed foods these days. A typical 12 ounce soda contains the equivalent of 9 heaping teaspoons of sugar!
Here are ten reasons to avoid refined (white) sugar in your diet:
  1. Sugar contributes to tooth decay because it decreases the effectiveness of a particular type of white blood cell that “eats” bacteria.

  2. Sugar causes the body to release more adrenalin, which may explain hyperactivity in young children.

  3. Calcium loss in urine occurs when a person consumes a soft drink containing sugar.

  4. Ingesting sugar makes the pancreas work harder to produce insulin. Diabetes results when the overworked pancreas’ can no longer eliminate sugar from the blood stream.

  5. White refined sugar is bleached with chlorine, which, when it comes into contact with certain organic compounds, converts to dioxin, a lethal compound.

  6. Sugar can hinder weight loss because high insulin levels (see # 5 above) cause the body to store excess carbohydrates as fat.

  7. Sugar increases the likelihood of chronic fatigue.

  8. Sugar increases mood swings, irritability and anxiety.

  9. Sugar compromises the immune system because it lowers the efficiency of white blood cells for a minimum of five hours.

  10. Eating sugar can decrease helpful high-density cholesterol (HDLs) and result in an increase in harmful cholesterol (LDLs).
Sweeter than Sugar!
Dr. Yost suggests an herb called stevia as a sweet and safer alternative to white refined sugar. It’s available in several forms. It has no calories, is sweeter than sugar and does not raise blood sugar levels. Clearly, a better choice to satisfy any sweet tooth!

Shoreview Back Pain Specialist

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Shoreview, MN Chiropractor Provides Natural Pain Relief For Auto Injuries


Dr. Douglas Yost of Advanced Chiropractic & Wellness Clinic in Shoreview, MN provides natural and effective solutions to the pain and suffering from auto injuries.
(I-Newswire) Shoreview, MN, February 14, 2011 - Across the United States in 2008, there were 37,261 auto accident fatalities. Someone is injured in an auto accident every 14 seconds, with about 2 million people sustaining permanent injury every year. Injuries in auto accidents include whiplash and soft tissue injuries. Approximately 60-90% of auto injuries, where there are no broken bones, complain of neck pain and upper back pain. The forces from the accident cause tightened muscles either from muscle tears or excessive joint and ligament movement. The biggest danger with whiplash is that the symptoms can take years to develop without proper treatment.

Dr Douglas Yost will find the location and nature of the injury and recommend natural solutions, such as chiropractic adjustments, ultrasound, kinesio taping, and proper stretching, to relief pain, discomfort, and lack of mobility. After reduction of the pain, muscle strength and balance must be regained in order to prevent the injured area from become weak and vulnerable to future injury.

“Getting treatment immediately after an auto accident is paramount and can have a major impact on not only their health, but their overall well-being,” says Dr. Doug.

Dr Douglas Yost Shoreview, MN Chiropractor

Auto Injuries Shoreview

Friday, February 11, 2011

"How Do I Motivate My Spouse?"

How Can I Get My Spouse To Come In?

It's a question we hear all the time. If you’ve experienced great results from care in our office, it’s only natural to want someone you love to benefit too. Here are some approaches you may find helpful.

Ask questions. Rather than judge their unwillingness to try chiropractic, become curious. Since our behaviors are the result of our beliefs (conscious and unconscious), try to find out what belief(s) are standing in the way. Often it’s some unfounded fear or misconception. Find out what the real issue is.

Supply information. One of the best ways to defuse irrational fears that people have is by sharing information. By now you know that our office is committed to patient education. Let us know how we can help. What could we do to equip you with the information you need to make a difference?

Offer an invitation. I’d like to think our office is especially open and welcoming to skeptics, doubters and cynics. We stand ready to field phone calls—even anonymous ones. Or bring your loved one with you to take an office tour on your next visit.

Give it time. Change takes time. Whether it’s making changes to the spine or changing someone’s beliefs. Be patient. Trust that your friend or family member will choose chiropractic if and when the time is right. Each of us gets but one body. Some say if properly looked after our bodies could function nicely for over 100 years.

Every bodily function, controlled by our nervous system, is the key idea behind chiropractic. And since we experience our lives through our nervous systems, the decision to use chiropractic has huge implications. When you tell others, you’re changing the world. Congratulations!

Chiropractor St Paul Mn

Monday, February 7, 2011

What is normal blood pressure? Normal temperature? Normal pulse?

Doctors can measure everything about you. But average doesn't necessarily mean normal.

Normal vs. Average

You weigh yourself on the scales. You take the temperature of your child. A doctor takes your pulse and measures your blood pressure. These measurements are compared with hundreds of other people from which averages are obtained. Which begs the question, is average normal?

Averages have a place, but they can distort reality and treat us as if we were mechanisms, like a wristwatch. Most watches don’t know when you’ve changed time zones. Or that daylight savings time has ended. In other words, your wristwatch doesn’t have the intelligence to adapt to the environment. But your body does.

That’s why we don’t see fevers, elevated blood pressure or other such findings as the problem. They’re just signs that the body is adapting to something. What’s really going on? Is this a recent problem? A lifestyle issue? The result of a new stress in your life?

We’re interested in you, not just your symptoms. Because what’s normal for you may not be normal for me.



Wednesday, February 2, 2011

What Does the Pain Feel Like?

What Does the Pain Feel Like?

There are many different types of pain. Sharp. Stabbing. Throbbing. This Shoreview chiropractor has heard it all and can be quite helpful when it comes to detecting and correcting its cause.

Backaches and sciatica
Saying, 'It hurts,' really isn’t very descriptive. Knowing how to describe your pain can be helpful in receiving the proper treatment!
Many times, when you seek the care and advice of a health care professional for pain, their first question will be, “So… what does the pain feel like?” And how often do you have a tough time answering what appears, at least on the surface, to be a very simple question?
Feelings of physical pain can vary greatly not only from one condition to the next, but for the same condition in different patients. Pain is often described as mild, sharp, severe, dull, intermittent, chronic, or tingly. These are adjectives that describe the sensation of the pain, but there are three different types of pain, based on where it occurs in your body:
Somatic Pain
You feel somatic pain when there is an injury to the skin or underlying tissue. This pain is usually sharp and of short duration, the kind of pain that occurs when you burn your hand on a hot pan or cut your finger with a knife.
Sometimes, somatic pain begins deeper under the skin in ligaments, tendons or bones. This type of pain tends to be a longer lasting, duller ache – the type of pain you might experience when you sprain your ankle or break a bone.
Visceral Pain
You feel visceral pain when there is something wrong with one of your internal organs (i.e. heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, spleen, bladder, uterus, and ovaries). This pain is often described as an “aching” or “cramping,” such as the pain many women feel as part of pre-menstrual syndrome.
One of the problems with internal organs is that many do not have sensitive pain receptors. In fact, diseases of the lungs, liver and kidneys may not produce any pain and may be fairly advanced before you even notice that something is wrong. On the other hand, relatively minor problems with the stomach or bladder can produce severe pain!
Neuropathic Pain
Also called nerve pain, neuropathic pain is often described as a sensation of numbness, pressure, tingling, pins and needles, tightness, throbbing, burning, or aching. Nerve pain can result from nerve compression (i.e. a cancerous growth pushing on a nerve), nerve damage from a disease (such as diabetes, fibromyalgia or multiple sclerosis), or abnormal brain processing, such as the phantom limb pain that a person may feel from an amputated limb.
Sciatica and other types of back pain can result when spinal bones press on nerves. The goal of chiropractic adjustments is to free those nerves to function as they should, allowing the area affected by the “pinched” nerve to heal.
Many of our patients who once suffered from some type of neuropathic pain are now pain-free because of regular chiropractic adjustments! If you are experiencing any type of pain, be sure to mention it the next time you come in to see us.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Drug-Free Stress Busters

Stress management
Something simple and inexpensive – and fun! – like game night with your family can do wonders for your stress levels.
Seems as though everyone is affected by stress to some extent these days.  The world can be a pretty scary place when you factor in fear of losing your job, diminished equity in retirement accounts, investments and real estate, businesses closing their doors… So it’s really no wonder stress levels are at an all-time high!
So what do you do when you feel stressed? Do you reach for a pill or a glass of wine to calm you down? Do you escape into sleep in the confines of your room? Do you call a friend, attend a support group meeting or schedule a therapy session? Are some choices better than others? Of course they are…
If you’re looking for an all-natural stress buster, try one of these:
    • Prayer – Many people find that prayer helps in times of emotional stress. The very act of praying for stress relief can lower blood pressure. Many find additional peace and comfort in prayer, meditation and religous services.
    • Sleep – No, not crawling under the covers and hibernating – a regular sleep schedule with soothing, restful sleep. Can’t fall asleep? Many find that a warm shower and a good book do the trick!
    • Massage – You don’t have to splurge on an expensive spa massage – have your partner or a family member give you one to ease the stress in those tight muscles – and then reciprocate!
    • Ask forgiveness from someone you’ve hurt or forgive someone who has hurt you – Either way, you release pent up anger, resentment or guilt that is only hurting you. Get that heavy weight off your shoulders!
    • Enjoy the simple pleasures – Take your children for an ice cream cone, get a free makeover in a department store, curl up with your cat or dog, snuggle with your special someone, brew a cup of chai or camomile tea and sip it with your feet up, watch a funny movie and laugh to release those endorphins, play a family board game, go to a bookstore and just meander, buy yourself a bouquet of flowers, watch the sunset at the beach – you get the idea – something simple, relaxing and inexpensive.
    • Keep to your chiropractic adjustment schedule – Stress can really take a toll on your body. In fact, it can make you downright sick. The effects of too much stress (physical, emotional and/or chemical) can actually kill you. Chiropractic adjustments help your body stay healthy no matter what’s stressing you. And it’s far healthier than reaching for that pill or potion!
Let’s face it… stress is inevitable – but it doesn’t have to make you sick. Got stress? Get adjusted!