The Last Man Standing

By Dr. Dave Edenfield

Anyone who has ever suffered through the debilitating pain of a lower back injury understands the importance of maintaining a healthy back.  The problem is that automobile accidents and unexpected falls are not the only way in which to injure your lower back.  Sad to say it but the biggest cause of back injury has to do with an occupational hazard that is all too common: Sitting. 

Many of us work in offices or from home where our nine-to-five jobs require us to sit for eight or more hours at a time.  Especially if your business consists of working at a desk for most of the day, this can cause a great deal of strain on your lower back. The human body was never designed for extended sitting.  It was designed for bipedal motion required to hunt and gather food and flee from predators.  It was not created for being a couch potato. 

Worse still is the fact that many people go straight home after sitting for eight hours only to resume the position in front of a TV for another four hours.  It’s a wonder most people can walk at all.  The spine has a hard time dealing with the unnatural position that being seated creates.  Other than the added pressure to your disks and strain to e muscles created by forcibly bending your back when you sit, the electrical activity in your muscles also slows substantially.  What this leads to is a reduction in the muscles ability to burn fat and process blood sugar.  Over time this will affect your body’s ability to do simple things like walk and climb stairs. 

Because of these factors, sitting for long periods of time can lead to weight gain and bone loss, neither of which is going to help your back.  According to a report by the Surgeon General, up to one percent of bone mass can occur by sitting for as little as six hours per day. 

Adults can benefit from exercise as well. Studies show that spine loading exercise (e.g., rowing, upper-body lifting) increases bone density by 2% to 3%; use of a weighted vest combined with impact exercise increases hip BMD by 2% to 3% and also improves lower body strength, balance, and power; controlled impact exercises such as jumping increase hip BMD by 3%; and step aerobics and jumping increase spine and hip BMD by 1% to 2%. In some cases, these benefits can accrue with as little as 5 to 10 minutes of exercise, 5 days a week. That said, adults must continue exercising if they want to maintain these benefits. Studies show that adults lose 1% to 3% of bone mass within three to six months of ending an exercise regimen. As Dr. Snow noted, “if adults don’t use it (bone mass), they lose it.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44683/

These Boots Were Made for Walking

When it comes to exercise, you don’t have to enroll in a gm.  Actually one of the best exercises for spine health is walking.  The spine is naturally designed for walking. This is where it is at its best. Simply going for a walk every day in the morning or after work can have tremendous benefits for your back.  Plus it can pay BIG dividends for your heart and weight as well.  This is one of the reasons that dog owners have fewer back issues.  They are forced to walk their pets several times each day.  As a result not only does Fido get a chance to answer nature’s call, but his or her owner also gets a chance to stretch their legs as well.

Speaking of stretching, another important factor in maintaining a healthy back is to stretch every day.  While some people are into Yoga and Tai Chi, both of which are excellent stretching routines, simple stretching of the calves, backs of the thighs and front of the legs can help to keep the back strong and flexible.  Stretching also helps your muscles avoid the shock of stressful activity.  (This is the main reason that athletes stretch before they engage in sports.)

 While chiropractic care can help you recover from back injuries, the best way to avoid going to the doctor’s office is the make subtle changes in your lifestyle that will help you keep your back happy and healthy.  This way when those around you succumb to the stresses of modern life, you can be the last man (or woman) standing.

Dr. Dave Edenfield  and Dr. Steven Warfield are part of the team of doctors and therapists at http://chiropractic-jacksonville-fl.com and http://endyourpain.org who are dedicated to helping you and your family lead  healthier, happier and pain-free lives. 

The Human Body: A Structure That Would Make Any Architect Proud

By Dr. Dave Edenfield

When people discuss world famous architecture, the names of Frank Lloyd Wright, Antonio Gaudi and IM Pei come to mind since they are responsible for creating some of the most iconic buildings ever constructed.  Yet even these rock stars of the world of architecture would admit that when it comes to spectacular structures, nothing can compare to the human body.

Perhaps it’s due to the fact that we inhabit them that most people do not realize how truly incredible the human body really is.  So in order to provide you with a few benchmarks from which to compare, allow me to point out the following:

1.      If you measured all the paved and unpaved roads in the US you would discover that they total 4,058,347 miles.  That’s a pretty impressive number.  But that’s nothing compared to the number of neurons (100 billion) and synapses (100 trillion) in the brain. (Even more incredible is the fact that the supercomputer in your head operates on only 10-watts of power.)

2.      Speaking of highways, while the speed limit on most interstates is 80 mph, that is nothing compared to the speed at which nerve impulses travel through the brain.  (They move as fast as 170 MPH.)  If we could all travel that fast just think of how short that would make the typical morning commute.

3.      Just like the reciprocal engine in your car, the human heart fires on average 100,000 times per day while pumping 1,900 gallons of blood.  Best of all, you never have to change the oil or rotate the tires.

4.      Stomach acid is not only strong enough to digest food, its strong enough to dissolve razor blades. (Don’t try this at home kids.) Relying on hydrochloric acid to do the dirty work, what’s even more incredible is the fact that the stomach doesn’t digest itself.

5.      Your nose can remember 50,000 scents.  Don’t gloat, because a dog’s nose is close to a million times more sensitive than a human’s. Smells are also associated with everything from taste to memories.

6.      It takes 200 muscles to take a single step.  Pound for pound the strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue.  

7.      Your body gives off enough heat to bring a half gallon of water to boil in 30 minutes. This is chiefly due to the fact that it takes a considerable amount of calories to maintain our 98.6 degree body temperatures.  (It also gives a whole new meaning to the term hot-blooded.)

8.      Other than primates, koalas are the only other creatures on the planet with fingerprints.  While fingerprints are used in modern society as a form of identification, their true purposes are to improve both grip and tactile sensation. 

While I could go on and on about the incredible properties inherent in the human body, I think you get the point.  Although the majority of the body has the ability to heal itself (with the exception of the 

teeth), that doesn’t mean that any of us should neglect to keep it well fueled and maintained.  In fact, it’s the body’s innate propensity to adjust to its environment that can cause us to experience problems from time to time.  For instance, astronauts in orbit experience weightlessness.  This causes the body to begin to decalcify the bones, since they are not needed in orbit.  As a result, astronauts who remain in orbit for extended periods of time are forced to exercise for several hours daily.  Even then virtually all astronauts wind up with bone structures that take on the appearance of those of 70 year olds.

Of course, you don’ have to ride a booster into outer space to have the body begin to reconfigure itself.  All it takes is a bit of stress here and an imbalance or injury there to cause real problems.  Many people who spend their days toiling in front of a computer can experience the phenomenon known as head forward syndrome, which causes the head and shoulders to slump and the posture to appear decades older. This syndrome is caused by the muscles and other soft tissue attempting to adapt to a changing center of gravity caused by the unnatural head down position that many people assume when they read from a computer, laptop or tablet.

  

Likewise, many forms of neck and back pain are caused by the body making gradual adjustments over time to spinal column that while subtle can over time produce chronic and even debilitating conditions.  The architecture of the lower back is much more complicated than most people realize.  Spinal vertebrae along with their associated discs form a framework over which are attached the tendons, muscles and soft tissue.  All of these structures are controlled and monitored by a series of highly sensitive nerves that travel from the lower back down the legs and into the feet.  Damage to any of these structures can cause pain not only in the damaged areas, but this pain can also radiate to other parts of the body.  

If you or anyone you know is experiencing back or neck pain, have them talk to a doctor of chiropractic to discuss treatment options.  Like any building, a structure such as the human body  is only as strong as its foundation.

Dr. Dave Edenfield  and Dr. Steven Warfield are part of the team of doctors and therapists at http://chiropractic-jacksonville-fl.com and http://endyourpain.org who are dedicated to helping you and your family lead  healthier, happier and pain-free lives. 

Crossfit and Chiro

By Dr. Dave Edenfield

CrossFit is the sport discipline that is designed to train the body to function optimally. Chiropractic is the medical discipline that is designed to optimize the functioning of the spinal column along with its interrelated nerves, muscles, and soft tissues.  Together these two disciplines can revolutionize the way in which people approach fitness.

Not Just for Jocks

Athletes know the value of daily workouts as well as how to maximize their use of various forms of fitness equipment.  Many non-athletes sign up for gyms and other physical fitness programs.  Unlike athletes, most of these people have limited experience with workout routines and equipment.   As a result, the dropout rate for people who enroll in gyms and other fitness membership programs is high.

According to theexaminer.com – “Of the 50.2 million people who belong to a health club in the U.S., about 62% visited fewer than 100 times a year, according to data compiled in January 2011 by the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), a Boston-based trade group that represents nearly 9,000 clubs. Last January, approximately 30% of total gym members were new; this suggests that initial strong attendance is followed by health club truancy and cancelled memberships. Research has found that these dropouts often come in with unrealistic expectations and get discouraged because they do not know how to use the equipment or just get bored.”

What makes crossfit unique is that workouts are completely supervised.  Add to this the fact that it isn’t centered exclusively on the use of weight training and other forms of workout equipment.  In crossfit, your body is the workout equipment.  A typical session starts with a warm up followed by highly focused skill sessions that are usually last only a few minutes.  The remainder of the class is dedicated to a number of other routines that are designed to work out various parts of the body.  This philosophy not only keeps participants from becoming bored, but it also works out the entire body in as little as 30 minutes.

 You’ve done more in 10 to 25 minutes in CrossFit than three hours in the gym doing circuits. I’ve done that. It’s nothing like this,” said Jason Umberger, deputy chief of police, Swatara Township.

  http://www.pennlive.com/bodyandmind/index.ssf/2011/01/a_typical_crossfit_workout.html

No Pain No Gain

Just like seasoned athletes, crossfit training doesn’t come without a certain amount of soreness as an 

after effect.  Especially to those new to the training regimen, your muscles will feel it on the following day.  This is where chiropractic care comes in.  When it comes to taking the hurt away without resorting to pain killers nothing beats chiropractic.  Offering everything from manual adjustments to massage, ultrasound, laser treatment and other deep tissue treatments, chiropractic is used and recommended by a number of top athletes including Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.

Face it, hard workouts put a number of stresses on the body.  Checking in with your chiropractor after a workout will not only help you overcome any aches or pains, but it will also ensure that your spine is properly aligned, your frame is balanced and your nerves are better able to communicate.  This means quicker recovery times between workouts and better overall results.

You Are what You Eat

Another benefit of both crossfit and chiro is that both disciplines stress nutrition.    When it comes to maintaining peek fitness, diet plays a big part.  While crossfit is an excellent way to lose fat and tone muscles, it also requires proper nutrition to maximize results and increase muscle mass.  Food such as leafy greens, garden vegetables, nuts and seeds, along with lean meats and fish are good.  Starchy foods and sugars, including bread, rice, candy, potatoes, sodas and candy should be kept to a minimum.  Vitamins and other nutrients are also vital to peek performance.  Both your trainer and your chiropractor can help you answer any nutrition-related questions. 

If you are looking to improve your health, shed pounds and improve your muscle tone and cardiovascular condition, crossfit and chiropractic fit together like two peas in a pod.  If you are thinking about starting a workout or crossfit program, consult your chiropractor today.  Your body will thank you.

Dr. Dave Edenfield  and Dr. Steven Warfield are part of the team of doctors and therapists at http://chiropractor-jacksonville-fl.com and http://endyourpain.orgwho are dedicated to helping you and your family lead  healthier, happier and pain-free lives.