Some of us feel that sleep is a luxury. Demanding jobs mean getting up early, and for some of us going to bed early feels like you’ve lost the day, so we compensate by sleeping less. But is that good enough? The oft-cited optimal level of sleep for an adult is the magic eight hours. However, individuals vary in their sleep needs from as little as five hours to as much as ten hours per night. Feeling drowsy during the day might mean you’re not getting enough winks, so how can you tell if you’re sleeping too much or too little?

A recent study conducted at the University of Westminster has concluded that there are people who are at their best and who are ready for action first thing in the morning, and another group who just cannot do mornings well. This may seem obvious, but why are some people early birds, and others night owls? The group who were awake early in the morning was found to have higher levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, than those who prefer to sleep in. The results of this study indicate that there may be a physiological difference between early risers and late sleepers. The difference in cortisol levels may also contribute to different temperaments between the different sleep groups. Those who awaken early in the morning, tend to be busier and more concentrated, but are also angrier and have less energy at the end of the day than their late-rising counterparts. In late-riser group, people are more likely to be relaxed and less busy. Cortisol is a hormone known to affect both mood and concentration. While it’s hard to specify an ideal time to get up in the morning, if you’re feeling stressed there is an increased chance you’ll feel better if you add an extra half an hour of sleep to your night.

What about the effects of sleep deprivation? It is well known that sleep deprivation can be dangerous, especially if you are driving or using heavy machinery. The effect on driving may be as dangerous as driving under the influence. Not sleeping enough can also suppress your immune system and increases your perception of pain.

Most scientists believe eight hours of sleep is a safe amount and is enough to function comfortably. If you’re alert during the day, then chances are you’re sleeping enough. However if you feel a dip during the day, then even a 10- or 15-minute nap can make a big difference in your concentration and performance. If you can’t get enough sleep on a certain day, you can always make it up afterwards. Sleep longer by going to bed earlier, sleep in on the weekend or even take a nap to help to replenish the sleep debt left. In general, however, try to have a regular sleep schedule to keep your body as rested and ready-to-go as possible.

For More Information

How We Are Different

Areas We Serve

Your Initial Consultation is Free

Good Health Naturally 3606 Main St., Suite 205 Vancouver, WA 98663 (360) 693-7781 Good Health Naturally

Sprains and strains are not only the result of sports injuries, they can occur when you bend or turn the wrong way when carrying heavy groceries, from gardening or putting more pressure than usual on your joints, particularly the ankles and knees. A sprain refers to torn ligaments, while a strain is the tearing of tendons or muscle tissue.

When a muscle, tendon or ligament is made to perform a task it is unaccustomed to doing, or is subject to repetitive stress, it can overstretch, causing the tearing of its fibers. The first symptom of a sprain or strain is pain, though the pain may not appear until a day or two after the injury. For instance, if you spent an afternoon trimming the hedges around your house, the inflammation and swelling that results from raising your arms overhead for an extended period of time, along with the muscle spasms that cause the strain, could show up a day or two later.

A severe sprain or strain may require surgery to repair the torn tissue. However, despite taking a number of weeks to fully heal, if the sprain or strain is relatively mild it can easily be treated at home. There is a simple formula for treating both these types of injuries, called RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation).

Rest – Allow the affected joint to rest, try to keep it immobile and don’t put any pressure on it if possible. A sling may be useful to provide support while the damaged tissue heals.

Ice – Apply ice to the affected area as soon as possible after the injury to help reduce swelling, and continue to do so frequently during the first 24 hours. After that time, either heat or ice may be used in order to alleviate pain.

Compression – An Ace bandage wrapped around the injury can help reduce pain and swelling. Wrap the bandage snugly, but be sure not to wrap it so tight as to overly restrict blood flow.

Elevation – Elevate the injured area to keep the swelling down.

After a few days, when the pain has somewhat subsided, the affected area should be gently moved and the movement gradually increased to help begin to restore flexibility and strength to the muscles, ligaments and tendons.

A sprain or strain can take up to 6 months to heal. But with proper care and conditioning, healing time can be reduced somewhat. Future injuries may be prevented by performing some light stretching on a daily basis or practicing yoga, which gently stretches and strengthens muscles, tendons and ligaments.

Though anti-inflammatory medications may be taken to reduce pain and swelling, chiropractic treatment has also proven to be helpful in reducing pain and increasing joint mobility.

For More Information

How We Are Different

Areas We Serve

Your Initial Consultation is Free

Good Health Naturally 3606 Main St., Suite 205 Vancouver, WA 98663 (360) 693-7781 Good Health Naturally

Gardening is hard work! It can put quite a strain on your muscles, especially those in your back. If you don’t garden regularly, be sure to start slowly and work your way up to longer gardening sessions. Here are some suggestions for making the most of your garden while treating your back with care.

First, be sure to warm up your back muscles with some stretching before you go out, particularly in colder weather. Gardening may involve significant reaching and twisting, so perform some of those moves gently indoors before heading out. Be sure to keep water nearby and to take breaks often. If you start to feel any pain, stop and rest. Otherwise, you risk injuring your back and making it impossible for you to do anything at all in your garden.

Garden Layout

• Use mulch on the surface of your garden and avoid leaving bare spots. This will reduce weeds and help the soil retain moisture, so you don’t have to water as often.
• Use raised flowerbeds, which are both attractive and help reduce the need to bend down. You can grow vines and other trailing plants around the edges.
• Make sure your flowerbeds are narrow enough that you don’t have to reach too far over them.

Plants

• Remember that slow-growing shrubs are less trouble to maintain than perennials or annuals.
• Use fruit trees grown on dwarf rootstocks. This will allow you to pick fruit at a reasonable height.
• Consider ground-covering plants to keep weeds under control. Weeding is hard on the back due to all the bending over.

Tools

• Use forks and trowels with long handles, and other tools with extenders to reduce your need to reach.
• Make sure your pruners and loppers are sharp and have ratchet systems. Cutting will be easier and there will be less strain on your back and shoulders.
• Get a holster for secateurs and attach it to your belt, so you don’t have to keep reaching down to pick them up.
• Avoid heavy watering cans for irrigation. If you use a can, only fill it half way.

How to reduce digging
If you spread compost and fertilizer or manure over a flowerbed surface in the late autumn, the soil has time to settle before spring planting. Worms will take organic matter into the soil and you won’t have to dig so much. This approach requires initial digging to level the soil and remove weeds, but over time you will be able to dig less and less. Many gardeners feel that this method is better than traditional “double digging” because it leaves the soil structure intact. Contact a specialist at your local gardening center for more details on this back-saving approach to gardening.

For More Information

How We Are Different

Areas We Serve

Your Initial Consultation is Free

Good Health Naturally 3606 Main St., Suite 205 Vancouver, WA 98663 (360) 693-7781 Good Health Naturally

About a third of the millions of people who make appointments with chiropractors every year seek relief from back pain. Back pain can be acute, meaning it happens suddenly, lasts 6 weeks or less and often clears up on its own; or back pain can be chronic, meaning it comes on gradually and lasts 3 months or more. Chronic back pain can be particularly debilitating and can limit movement and mobility.

Traditional treatments for back pain include medication, physical therapy, surgery or steroid injections. While these treatments may provide symptomatic relief, they do not address the root cause of the pain. They can also be painful and expensive to carry out.

The foundation of chiropractic care for chronic back pain is the understanding that misaligned vertebrae can cause the pain. This misalignment can result in many additional problems, such as headaches, body pains and impaired joint mobility. Chiropractic treatment aims to restore alignment to the vertebrae, returning natural health to the spine and all the body parts the spinal nerves serve.

Chiropractors believe in the body’s natural ability to heal itself. Chiropractic care avoids medications and their possible side effects, and it also avoids surgery. As an example of the differences in treatment, surgeons may remove a herniated disk from the spine in order to relieve pressure on the nerves, while chiropractors use non-invasive spinal manipulation to achieve the same result.

Your chiropractor will treat your chronic pain based on the vertebral misalignments found in your body. A quick, sudden force is applied to the appropriate vertebrae in order to restore the motion of the joint. Another common treatment for chronic pain is known as the flexion-distraction technique. This treatment involves a special table that stretches the spine. It is particularly effective in treating injuries to the discs that have been the cause of long-term back pain.

Chronic back pain will probably also require additional treatments such as massage, exercise, and perhaps physical therapy. A good chiropractor will work with other health professionals as needed to ensure you get the best possible treatment for your pain. He or she will also look at the entire picture of your life, including your diet, health habits, medical history, family history, and other conditions you may have. This approach is holistic and has a better chance of eliminating the root cause of your chronic back pain than traditional treatments that only work on the symptoms.

For More Information

How We Are Different

Areas We Serve

Your Initial Consultation is Free

Good Health Naturally 3606 Main St., Suite 205 Vancouver, WA 98663 (360) 693-7781 Good Health Naturally

Formerly on the Home page.

Good Health Naturally 3606 Main St., Suite 205 Vancouver, WA 98663 (360) 693-7781 Good Health Naturally

For the majority of us who work in office and at desk jobs, we spend a great deal of time sitting down. While sitting for most of the day seems pretty low risk compared to other occupational hazards, sitting in the same position all the time can stress the structures of the spine, and may result in injuries to the back, neck and even the wrist. It is important to find an office chair that is ergonomically designed to support the lower back and promote good posture. An ergonomic chair cannot only prevent injury and pain in the back, but it also maximizes your function at work.

When looking for the right ergonomic chair for you, it is important to find one suited to your needs. With so many ergonomic office chairs on the market, it’s important to research them, since there is no single chair that could be labeled the “best.” There are specific features that should be considered when looking for a desk chair, such as adjustable seat height. Your feet should be flat on the floor with your thighs at a horizontal position, and your arms should be even with the height of the desk. Having an adjustable armrest is also beneficial, since users can rest their arms and relax their shoulders, which can eliminate significant tension while working. You should also look for a chair with a seat that has sufficient width and depth to support any user. While working, you should be able to sit with your back resting against the back of the chair. In addition, the back should also be adjustable in its tilt forward and backwards.

One big issue about working at a desk all day is that many chairs are not designed to support the lower back. Support for our lumbar spine, or our lower back, is very important. Our spinal curvature has an inward curve in the lumber spine, and sitting for too long without supporting it will lead to slouching and straining the structures of the lower spine. An ergonomic chair must offer lumber support and adjustment, so the user can fit the chair to the inward curve of the lower back.

Additional things to also consider are the seat material: is it comfy? An ergonomic chair with a swivel on the chair can help you reach different areas of your desk without strain.

After researching the properties of the ergonomic chairs on the market, you need to consider your specific job and what functions you need to perform. Consider your priorities and properties you need for your ergonomic chair. Once you’ve decided on the chair for you, explore stores to try the chairs out. See if they’re comfortable and meet your needs. Shop around, both online and off to make sure you get the best price and quality out there. You might also want to consider alternative ergonomic chairs, such as kneeling or saddle chairs and even the exercise ball chair.

For More Information

How We Are Different

Areas We Serve

Your Initial Consultation is Free

Good Health Naturally 3606 Main St., Suite 205 Vancouver, WA 98663 (360) 693-7781 Good Health Naturally

When it comes to making important choices about treatment options for back pain, it’s worth looking at the experiences of others who have found something that works. In recent years, the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center has surveyed the magazine’s subscribers to do just that. In April and May 2009, Consumer Reports released some of its findings publicly. A summary appears below.

About the Survey Participants

• More than 14,000 participants who had suffered from lower-back pain in the prior year but had never had back surgery.
• More than half reported that pain severely limited their daily routine for a week or longer.
• Many reported that pain interfered with sleep, sex and efforts to maintain a healthy weight.
• 88% reported that the pain recurred through the year.
• Most had tried five or six different treatments.

How Respondents Ranked the Healthcare Providers Who Had Treated Them

*Defined as either Completely Satisfied or Very Satisfied.
+Difference in ranking for Physical Therapist and Acupuncturist were not statistically significant.

How Respondents Ranked Selected Back Pain Therapies

In July 2011, Consumer Reports published an updated report describing how Americans use alternative approaches to healthcare as well as their experience with various therapies and their providers. Chiropractic care once again was reported to be the most popular approach to back pain relief and was ranked most highly in terms of patient satisfaction.

Your Doctor of Chiropractic can help relieve back pain and restore mobility by using a drug-free, hands-on technique called “spinal manipulation” or “chiropractic adjustment”. He or she may also use other manual therapies, such as massage, to complement this primary treatment. In addition, many chiropractors are skilled in designing exercise and nutrition programs for their patients that will help their bodies resist injury and function properly. By focusing on both immediate pain relief and the underlying causes of back pain, your chiropractor can help you achieve a healthier overall lifestyle.

For More Information

How We Are Different

Areas We Serve

Your Initial Consultation is Free

Good Health Naturally 3606 Main St., Suite 205 Vancouver, WA 98663 (360) 693-7781 Good Health Naturally

Approximately 65% of the 15 million tennis players in the United States sustain at least one injury per year. Tennis is a sport that involves repetitive motions and ballistic movements. As such, the sport can create both local and systemic stresses on the body. For example, hard foot plants are associated with foot, ankle, and knee stress, but can also affect one entire side of the body, because of side-to-side forces and twisting motions. Continuous start and stop motions, accelerating and decelerating, overhead serves, and ground strokes can put significant stress on the knees, back, ankles, elbows and shoulders.

As you can imagine, injuries are common, even with highly-trained players. The most common injuries in tennis players occur in the lower extremities, such as twisted ankles, Achilles tendonitis, “tennis leg”, which affects the gastrocnemius or calf muscle, and infrapatellar tendonitis, or “jumper’s knee”. One of the greatest causes of these injuries is rapid deceleration during the game. Tennis players put great force in one direction, and they suddenly have to stop it. That effort can lead to injury, in part because most tennis training techniques focus on acceleration, not deceleration. Tennis elbow is another common tennis injury, as well as injuries to the rotator cuff of the shoulder, and lower back pain. The tennis racquet can travel at up to 300 miles per hour over a very short distance. Throwing the racquet overhead extends and stretches the shoulder muscles excessively over time, causing an imbalance in the shoulders.

Chiropractic treatment for tennis players focuses on both prevention and treatment of these injuries. Chiropractic care is an excellent choice for tennis players. Adjustments can be made regularly to prevent injury and are effective in treating problems as well. These adjustments may include manipulations of the neck, knee, spine, shoulder, ankle, and elbow. Additional treatments might include stretching exercises, laser therapy, massage, ultrasound, hot/cold treatments, and light therapy.

A chiropractor can also provide advice on proper shoes, movement mechanics, racquet size and selection, playing surfaces and support braces. A qualified practitioner can help tennis players play the game better, prevent injury, rehabilitate an existing injury, and get back on the court again.

For More Information

How We Are Different

Areas We Serve

Your Initial Consultation is Free

Good Health Naturally 3606 Main St., Suite 205 Vancouver, WA 98663 (360) 693-7781 Good Health Naturally

The parasympathetic nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system, and the enteric nervous system comprise the autonomic nervous system in the body. The autonomic nervous system is continuously active and is responsible for unconscious regulation of our glands and organs. The parasympathetic nervous system takes care of “rest and repair” activities, such as salivation, tears, sexual arousal, urination, digestion and defecation. These activities are complementary to those of the sympathetic nervous system, which activates processes associated with the “fight or flight” response.

The natural opposition of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems provides both quick responses when needed, and slower responses for less urgent needs. These systems act something like an accelerator and a brake for our body, and help maintain balance, or “homeostasis”. The parasympathetic system is like a brake and helps you save energy, lower blood pressure, decrease heart rate, and it allows digestion to start. It helps return the body to a state of balance after a period of higher sympathetic nervous system activity. Unlike the sympathetic nervous system, these responses are carried out as needed, rather than all at once.

Chiropractic adjustments have been known to affect the autonomic nervous system by promoting parasympathetic system activity and down regulating the sympathetic nervous system. For example, pain receptors are part of the sympathetic nervous system. A chiropractic adjustment may be able reduce the firing of the pain receptor by decreasing input to the spinal cord, thus reducing the sensation of pain.

The parasympathetic nerves originate in spinal cord and in the medulla, part of the brain. The main parasympathetic nerve is the vagus nerve, which is also known as cranial nerve X. The vagus nerve sends information between the brain stem, hypothalamus, and primary organs and glands.

The main functions of the parasympathetic nerves are to conserve energy, so it promotes passive activities such as dissociation, withdrawal, disengagement, and the immobility response. Physical and emotional withdrawal, as well as the negative emotions of shame, hopelessness, disgust, and despair, is also associated with the parasympathetic system. Interestingly, these functions develop later in life than those of the sympathetic nervous system. This is because the inhibitory responses of the parasympathetic system are not conducive to exploring, which is necessary for young mammals in order to be able to grow and learn effectively.

For More Information

How We Are Different

Areas We Serve

Your Initial Consultation is Free

Good Health Naturally 3606 Main St., Suite 205 Vancouver, WA 98663 (360) 693-7781 Good Health Naturally

Lumbar back support products are designed to help prevent neck and back pain, which can lead to pain in other parts of the body as well. Many of these products are pillows or cushions that offer additional support when you are seated for long periods of time.

The lumbar region of the spine is usually referred to as the lower back. It is the area just above your tailbone and below the thoracic (middle back) region. The lumbar area includes your spine and all the muscles, ligaments and tendons surrounding your spine. If your ligaments are pulled or torn, you will experience a lumbar sprain or strain, which can lead to muscle spasms and significant pain in your lower back.

What can cause lumbar sprains and strains? Poor posture, poor lifting technique, obesity, and other health-related factors can contribute. In fact, sitting for long periods without lumbar support can itself aggravate lumbar pain. Finally, one of the greatest contributors to back pain is using the wrong type of chair for your body. Surfaces that are too hard or too soft do not encourage proper posture and do not provide adequate support for your back.

Usually all that is required to relieve lower back pain is sufficient rest, but most of us are unable to rest for long enough to overcome lumbar problems. So preventing these problems with a good lumbar support is essential, especially if you spend significant amounts of time sitting down.

The first step to choosing the right lumbar support is to ensure that it fits perfectly in the chair you spend the most time in. An even better option is to choose an ergonomically designed chair that includes a built-in lumbar support, or an individual lumbar support that is specifically designed to be used with your chair. “One size fits all” lumbar support products rarely provide any benefits and should be avoided.

Make sure you test the product in the store before you buy it. If you can, sit with the lumbar support for at least 15 minutes to see if it feels good or aggravates back pain. The best lumbar supports are adjustable, so you can fit it to the chair’s height. Ergonomic chairs with lumbar supports included usually allow you to adjust the height and width of the support. Adjustable separate supports are particularly useful if you use more than one chair throughout the day.

For More Information

How We Are Different

Areas We Serve

Your Initial Consultation is Free

Good Health Naturally 3606 Main St., Suite 205 Vancouver, WA 98663 (360) 693-7781 Good Health Naturally