 Hello, everyone! This is Dr. Bob Salamon with Lowcountry Chiropractic. As always, I hope you’re doing well and staying healthy! Welcome back to my blog, where I discuss anything and everything related to chiropractic care and healthy living! I aim to provide you with the information you need to make informed decisions about your health. In my last post, we continued a discussion about the best foods for bone and joint health. Be sure to check out part one, as well! Today, we’ll be talking about how to take care of your spine. We get regular checkups for our overall health, and for our teeth, so why don’t we do the same for our spines? The spine is an important part of the human body, and it is vital to keep it in the best shape possible. If you are interested in learning more about the spine and ways you can take care of it, you’re in the right place! Let’s get started.
What is the spine? To begin, let’s take a closer look at what the spine actually is. Also referred to as the backbone, the spine is your body’s central support structure. It connects different parts of the musculoskeletal system, which is made up of your bones and joints and helps you move. The spine helps you do many things that you probably don’t think much about on a daily basis: Sitting, standing, twisting, walking, and bending. A healthy spine has four natural curves that make an “S” shape. These curves are known as the cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral curvature. Together, these natural curves absorb shock to your body and protect your spine from injury, while also helping you stay balanced and flexible. Additionally, the spine is made up of a few different parts:
Approximately 80% of Americans experience back pain at some point, often due to an issue in the spine. Vertebrae and discs can age and wear down over time, which can cause pain. So how can you keep your spine functioning at its optimal best? How can you care for your spine? Just as we should keep other parts of our body in shape, we should do the same for our spine. Here are some ways that you can take care of your spine. 1. Exercise We have all heard about the importance of exercising to maintain our overall health. Exercise is also great for your back muscles and spine! Your core muscles, located in your lower back and abdomen, must be strong in order to support your spine. For most people, these core muscles are rarely used during everyday activities, and should be toned through targeted exercises. Strengthening these muscles can help manage or prevent back pain and improve range of motion. There are plenty of exercises out there, so if you are not sure which ones are appropriate for you, speak with your chiropractor, personal trainer, physical therapist, or other health professional. Some of the best exercises for strengthening your core muscles include using an exercise ball or a resistance band, but there are also exercises that can be done without any equipment. 2. Proper sleep posture You may not realize it, but the position in which you sleep can do a number on your spine. Just as there is good posture when it comes to standing, there is good posture when it comes to sleep, too! (Check out my previous blog about sleep and chiropractic care!) When you lay down at the end of a long day, all of the structures that make up your spine finally have a chance to relax. An ideal sleeping position supports the natural curve of your neck and spine, keeping them in proper alignment. Some of the best sleeping postures include laying flat on your back, sleeping on your side, and the fetal position. The type of mattress you use can also play a role in your spine health. For example, firmer mattresses are best because they adequately support the spine, whereas old or soft mattresses can cause the spine to sag. 3. Eat a healthy diet While a healthy diet is important for your overall health, it is also important for your bones, including your spine. Often, inflammation can cause back pain, and this inflammation can be due to certain foods. For example, processed meats, fried foods, foods high in sugar, and refined grains are known to increase inflammation. Additionally, these unhealthy foods can also contribute to weight gain, which can increase your risk of inflammation. Therefore, reducing your intake of these foods, or eliminating them completely, can help reduce or prevent inflammation. The good news is that there are plenty of healthy and anti-inflammatory foods out there that you can incorporate into your diet. For example, tomatoes, green leafy vegetables, fatty fish such as salmon or tuna, and fruits such as strawberries and oranges are all anti-inflammatory foods. 4. Wear the right shoes Did you know that the shoes you wear play an important role in supporting your lower back? Your feet support the weight of your entire body and help keep your spine aligned properly. Shoes that offer inadequate support can cause vertebrae in the spine to become misaligned. Some shoes are more likely than others to cause back pain. For example, high heels place extreme pressure on the front of the foot, changing your posture and disrupting the natural curve of the spine. Additionally, flip flops lack the proper support for your feet and lower back, which affects the way your hips move. When shoe shopping, choose well-cushioned shoes with arch support. Ideally, ditching high heels is best. But if you cannot, opt for lower heels instead. It is also best to avoid tight-fitting shoes, as these can affect alignment and gait. 5. See a chiropractor Seeing a chiropractor regularly is one of the best ways to take care of your spine! The body has an amazing natural ability to heal itself, and chiropractic care ensures that there are no interferences in that process. Chiropractic adjustments can remove any interferences, known as subluxations, so that the spine stays properly aligned and can function properly. If you visit a chiropractor regularly, routine adjustments can prevent other subluxations from occurring. Making an appointment with a chiropractor is just the first step towards a happy, healthy, and pain-free life! These are just a few ways that you can take good care of your spine! If you have any further questions or concerns, I encourage you to reach out to us. As a chiropractor, I can also provide you with nutritional advice and other recommendations for lifestyle changes that can help you keep your spine functioning at its best. I hope you found this article informative. If you have any concerns about your bone health, consider reaching out to Lowcountry Chiropractic! We specialize in different chiropractic techniques, as well as both therapeutic and Swedish massage. Send us an email or give us a call and we’ll assess the situation and develop a treatment plan to address your needs. We want to help you live a healthy and pain-free life– it’s what you deserve. As always, this is Dr. Bob and I have your back covered!
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 Hello, everyone! This is Dr. Bob Salamon with Lowcountry Chiropractic. As always, I hope you’re doing well and staying healthy! In my last blog, we discussed the benefits of prenatal chiropractic care. Pregnancy puts the body through drastic changes and puts strain on many parts of the body, but chiropractic care can offer relief during and after pregnancy. Today, we’ll be discussing scoliosis and how chiropractic care can help. Scoliosis is an abnormal sideways curvature of the spine. It is often diagnosed in early adolescence, but is seen in adults as well. Chiropractic care can relieve pain caused by scoliosis and can prevent it from worsening if caught early enough. If you’re interested in learning more about this condition and how chiropractic can offer relief, you’re in the right place. Let’s get started!
A healthy spine has natural curves that form an “S” shape when viewed from the side. This includes the cervical curve, thoracic curve, lumbar curve, and the sacral curve. These curves help to give the spine more flexibility, and the way they are distributed helps us keep our balance. The vertebrae are stacked neatly on top of each other with a disc of cartilage in between them. This disc provides cushioning as you move. However, if the curvature of the spine is greater than 10 degrees, it is considered scoliosis. The curvature is measured using the Cobb Angle, a standard measurement used to determine and track the progression of scoliosis. This causes vertebrae to be tilted, compressing the discs on one side. The greater the curve, the greater the chance of scoliosis progressing and getting worse over time. Scoliosis affects 2-3% of the population in the United States– That’s an estimated 6 to 9 million people. This condition can develop in infancy or early childhood, with the primary onset at around 10 to 15 years old. Most cases occur during the growth spurt prior to puberty. This is why many children get checked periodically for scoliosis by their primary care physicians or by a school nurse. This examination is often done by having the child bend forward at the waist so that the nurse or physician can check the outline of the spine for abnormal curvature. Adults can also be diagnosed with scoliosis if they were not treated as adolescents, or if they have degenerative scoliosis, which is caused by aging. Some symptoms of scoliosis include:
Symptoms can range from mild to severe, and sometimes scoliosis even goes unnoticed. Sometimes, scoliosis is not diagnosed until there is a significant curvature of the spine or the patient is in pain. However, even with mild cases, it can make everyday life painful and range of motion may be limited. Routine checkups by a primary care physician or chiropractor are a great form of preventative care. There are generally two categories of scoliosis: structural and nonstructural. With structural scoliosis, the curve of the spine is rigid and is more complex to treat. Nonstructural, or functional, scoliosis is when the spine works normally, but appears curved. When the root cause of nonstructural scoliosis is treated, the scoliosis often goes away. Nonstructural scoliosis can be caused by chronic bad posture or irregularities such as one leg being longer than the other. There are also subtypes of scoliosis, including idiopathic, neuromuscular, and congenital scoliosis.
As the curvature worsens, it can cause other health problems, such as difficulty breathing and reduced lung capacity because of a reduced amount of space in the chest for the lungs to expand. In severe cases, it could cause spinal or nerve damage and spinal fluid leakage. The most common treatments for scoliosis include the use of back braces and spinal fusion surgery in extreme cases. Surgery should be a last resort, as it can permanently reduce your range of motion and put additional stress on the spine. Unfortunately, a common approach to scoliosis is to wait and see how bad it gets. This causes unnecessary pain, discomfort, and suffering. Scoliosis can be treated and managed, much like other chronic health conditions. There is a safe, effective, and non-invasive treatment for scoliosis: Chiropractic care! Chiropractic is proven to help reduce back pain caused by scoliosis, and in some cases can even improve the curvature of the spine when diagnosed early enough. Chiropractors have extensive knowledge of musculoskeletal issues, conditions, and disorders. Additionally, the aim of chiropractic care is to help the body heal itself naturally by restoring proper alignment to the spine and joints. Chiropractic care may not straighten the spine completely, but studies have shown that it can make a significant improvement in curvature and pain. A 2011 study showed that 28 adult scoliosis patients who received chiropractic care for 24 months reported improvements in pain, Cobb angle, and disability. Chiropractic treatment for scoliosis can include spinal adjustments, which correct misalignments. The spine carries messages and signals from the brain to the body, so any interference or subluxation can block these signals and prevent your body from functioning at its best. (I discussed subluxations in a previous blog!) Correcting misalignments in the spine can reduce inflammation and improve the function of the spine, thus improving the function of the overall nervous system. A chiropractor may also use a technique called flexion distraction, which is often performed on a segmented table. The table moves your body up and down slowly to gently stretch the spine. This helps maintain the mobility of the natural curve of the spine while alleviating pain. Chiropractic care can be even more effective when combined with other treatments like muscle-strengthening exercise and stretches, including postural and rehabilitative exercises. A chiropractor can teach patients what proper posture looks and feels like, so they can practice adopting that posture at home. Simply being aware of your posture when standing or sitting can help correct a spinal issue and prevent further damage from occurring. Sometimes, a chiropractor may recommend routine chiropractic care along with other treatments prescribed by doctors, such as the use of a brace. Additionally, massage therapy is effective in reducing pain associated with scoliosis. Some of the best types of massage for scoliosis pain include deep tissue massage and Swedish massage. Both of these techniques reduce back pain and increase blood flow to the back, elongating tightened muscles. Not only can massage help reduce pain, but it also helps improve mobility. Therefore, a chiropractor might prescribe a treatment consisting of both adjustments and massage therapy to help alleviate pain and other symptoms caused by scoliosis. If you have not already been diagnosed with scoliosis, a chiropractor can do a postural exam and take diagnostic images such as X-rays to diagnose and determine the severity of scoliosis. This is also a good reason why children should see a chiropractor– Routine care and maintenance can help detect signs of scoliosis early on, before it starts to become an issue. Early detection of scoliosis can prevent curve progression. As you can see, chiropractic care is an effective and safe way to help treat and manage scoliosis. Although chiropractic care alone may not straighten the spine completely, it can help alleviate pain and reduce some of the abnormal curvature. A chiropractor can develop a non-invasive, drug-free treatment plan that addresses multiple symptoms. This is a far better solution than sitting back and waiting to see if scoliosis gets worse. I hope you found this article informative. If you think you or a loved one may benefit from any kind of chiropractic care, consider reaching out to Lowcountry Chiropractic. Send us an email or give us a call and we’ll assess the situation and develop a long-term treatment plan to address your needs. We want to help you live a pain-free life– It’s what you deserve. As always, this is Dr. Bob and I have your back covered!  Hello, everyone! This is Dr. Bob Salamon with Lowcountry Chiropractic. As always, I hope you’re doing well and staying healthy! On my last blog, we discussed how office workers can minimize back pain. Today, we’ll be talking about subluxations. The term subluxation is used by chiropractors to refer to a partial dislocation or slight misalignment of the vertebrae. This differs from a luxation, which is the complete dislocation of a joint. Subluxations block signals within the spinal nerves. This typically occurs in a joint and can be the cause of a variety of health problems. There are moderate and advanced subluxations. These can be caused by an injury, repetitive movement, or a medical condition. Sometimes, poor posture or heavy lifting can lead to subluxations. Subluxations can also be caused by chemical or emotional stress in the body in addition to physical stress. If you are interested in learning more about subluxations and how they are treated, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s begin!
Common symptoms of a subluxation include pain and swelling around the joint, limited mobility or loss of range of motion, bruising, a sensation of joint instability, or a loss of feeling or numbness that is usually temporary. You may also experience balance issues, stiffness, or headaches. Sometimes, people experience low energy in addition to one or more of these symptoms. Because the vertebrae are in close proximity to spinal nerves, subluxations can lead to neurological conditions due to the pressure placed on these nerves. Subluxations can disrupt the entire nervous system, and if left untreated for too long, they can cause irreversible damage. There are different types of subluxations, and some joints are more likely to be affected than others. Commonly affected joints include those in the spine, shoulder, kneecap, and elbow. Here is a quick breakdown of these types of subluxations:
Subluxations can be caused by a variety of things, such as car accidents or falls, or can happen spontaneously due to joint weakness. Subluxations can appear even when no fractures or breaks are present, so it is important not to write off any pain or discomfort you may be feeling. Subluxations can be more common in people with overly flexible joints, such as those diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Pregnancy can cause the overproduction of certain hormones which, in turn, loosen the joints and make them more susceptible to subluxations. Poor dietary and nutritional practices can also increase one’s risk of subluxations, because this reduces the body’s ability to function at its best. Children are also very susceptible to subluxations because they are still growing and exploring, which often leads to many bumps and falls. Even a gentle tug on the arm by a caregiver can cause a subluxation. Unfortunately, children will not outgrow subluxations– They will actually worsen with age, since their bodies are still developing. It is also possible for a subluxation to occur during birth. During the intensity of childbirth, it is easy for the baby’s neck and spine to sustain injuries due to their fragility. This can happen when newborns are compressed in the birth canal, and sometimes if they are pulled by the doctor with forceps. Sometimes, parents assume that their child was born with a particular condition, but in reality, it was a subluxation caused during birth. Having your newborn checked by a chiropractor soon after birth will help identify possible subluxations. Identifying a subluxation early increases the chances of eliminating neurological defects. To diagnose a subluxation, your chiropractor will conduct a physical exam and may order imaging tests such as X-rays, CT scans, or an MRI. These imaging tests can rule out fractures, hematomas, ruptures, or the accumulation of fluids known as joint effusions. Once a subluxation has been diagnosed, your chiropractor may reset the joint using manual manipulation.. In chiropractic theory, vertebral subluxations are interferences that prevent someone from being as healthy as they could be, and can cause a variety of health conditions and pain such as lower back pain, sciatica, fibromyalgia, and more. They do not necessarily need to show up on an imaging test and they may not produce pain. Because of this, chiropractors sometimes refer to vertebral subluxations as the “silent killer”. Chiropractors view subluxation as a process rather than a condition. In the eyes of a chiropractor, subluxations can cause the following conditions:
There is no medication to correct a subluxation. Chiropractic treatment for a subluxation is customized to fit the location of the injury. Targeted adjustments tend to be the most effective treatment. Adjustments involve a chiropractor applying adjustments to the vertebrae or wherever the subluxation is present. They help the body function more optimally and restore it to better health. Joint and spine manipulation help ease body pain and correct the body’s alignment. Chiropractors may use different techniques such as the toggle, drop table, or adjustments with an instrument. After an adjustment, a chiropractor might give nutritional advice and suggest other therapies such as ice or heat therapy, massage, exercise, and stretches. It is important to note that stretching and exercise alone cannot correct a subluxation. Most health problems or pains are related to subluxations, so chiropractic care is necessary to make the proper corrections and begin the healing process. As mentioned above, subluxations can be present for quite some time without the appearance of symptoms such as pain. Because of this, it is recommended that you see a chiropractor before symptoms appear. Seeking regular spinal evaluations can prevent and identify subluxations. Just like you visit the dentist for a routine checkup, you should visit a chiropractor, too! As you can see, subluxations can lead to poor overall health. People of all ages and walks of life can suffer from subluxations, including infants and children. If you think you or a loved one may have a subluxation, or you want to prevent one, consider reaching out to Lowcountry Chiropractic. Send us an email or give us a call and we’ll assess the situation and develop a long-term treatment plan to address your needs. We want to help you live a pain-free life– It’s what you deserve. As always, this is Dr. Bob and I have your back covered!  A brand new year is here! I want to share some of the best tips you can do for your body to keep healthy and happy in 2021!
Hello everyone! It's Dr. Bob Salamon with Lowcountry Chiropractic. Welcome back to the blog and a very Happy New Year to you! I hope you're staying safe and well out there, and I hope you're taking care of yourselves! Welcome to 2021! I think we are all very happy to see it here, and we are all happy to get out of last year and all of its craziness. With a new year comes resolutions to work out, eat better, and be healthier overall, right? Sadly, these resolutions usually only last for a short time. In honor of that and in honor of 2021, I want to help you achieve your goals. So, I wanted to share a list of things with you that you'll be able to stick with and make part of your everyday life, to make sure this year and beyond are the healthiest they can be. If you do everything on this list that you're about to read, you will get healthier without question. It's a simple list, but I won't lie to you; it won't be easy. Each of the listed items takes effort on your part to incorporate them into your lifestyle. I personally have nothing to do with this list, outside of providing it for you, except for the last point we will talk about today. Let's kick off this new year and jump into this list to start on a healthier and happier you! #1 Go Green! I'm not talking about saving the earth, I'm not talking about saving trees from getting cut down, and I'm not talking about global warming. I am talking about eating healthy and eating green things. Some of the best ways to eat green are by eating things like salads, fruits, and vegetables. It's not only about eating green things but also about eating multicolored things. They call this kind of diet "eating the rainbow" because those are the things that have a lot of phytonutrients and antioxidants in them like berries, nuts, peppers, romaine lettuce, and much more. I eat a lot of my green food raw. I eat salads a lot, but at night I'll have a piece of fish with green beans and the green beans will be raw, because when you cook food it tends to remove the nutrients from it. When I say "go green" I really mean that you need to get away from eating food that's white or brown, and you need to eat colorful things that come out of the ground or grow on trees. Eating this way will help you become much healthier! Another reason to eat green is that they are alkaline in nature and not acidic. You'll find acidic elements in starches, bread, pasta, candy, and sweets. Fruits and veggies will make your body more alkaline. This is so important because diseases like cancer thrive in an acidic environment, and you don't want that! #2 Refine Your Life! What do I mean by this? I'm talking about refined sugars. You want to try to eliminate eating foods that have unnaturally occurring sugars in them and replace them with foods that only have natural sugars. Unfortunately, almost all the products you see on the shelves of a grocery store have a ton of refined sugars in them. Why do we want to avoid refined sugars? There are a lot of reasons, but the two most important are as follows:
#3 Get a Supplemental Plan! I'm not talking about a medicare supplement for insurance. I'm talking about health supplements to the foods that you eat. We are not going to get 100% of everything we need from the food that we eat every day. To help with this, you want to try and supplement your intake with various items. I take Juice Plus+, which is whole foods in capsules. If I'm not getting 100% of all my fruits, vegetables, and berries every day this supplement helps to bridge the gap between what I am eating and what I should be eating for a healthy body. In terms of supplementation, I take fish oil and coconut oil which are huge anti-inflammatories. You might want to consider adding one or more into your diet. Another supplement you should look into adding that I always talk about is vitamin D3. It is an extremely great and inexpensive supplement to boost your immune system. Boosting your immune system is so important when we are already dealing with COVID, the flu season, and more. You want your immune system to be working at 100% so it can defend itself against some of these dangerous things that are out there. I recommend most people take between 3000 to 5000 IUs of D3. I'm taking 10,000 right now during the pandemic. I will say that I haven't felt anything in terms of a sniffle or a sore throat since this pandemic has started, so I know it's doing something good for me! #4 Don't Be a Couch Potato! We've had a lot of couch potatoes in 2020 and so far into 2021 because a lot more people are working from home and they're not as active as they should be! You need to incorporate exercise into your routine. You need to add not only cardiovascular exercises like running, walking, swimming, or biking, but you also need to add in cross-training with weights, high-intensity interval training, and more to trick your body (in a good way!) to keep improving. If you do the same workout every time, your body gets lazy. You have to mix it up, which is why I do Crossfit. Every class is different, incorporating different body parts every session. Don't be a couch potato! You have to get up and start a habit. It takes three weeks to make or break a habit, so let's do this! #5 Rest and Relax! This means getting enough sleep every night, and that means at least 7-8 hours, which is recommended by the experts. The primary reason to get enough sleep is that during your REM stage of sleeping, your body is taking the time to repair itself from all the work you've done throughout the day. The neurons, synapses, the coverings and linings of your organs, your blood vessels, and your whole body heals and repairs itself when you're sleeping. #6 Don't Worry - Be Happy! What does this mean? Experts say about 95% of what we worry about is either really not important or is never going to happen, so we really shouldn't be worrying about them. We spend too much time worrying about things that aren't going to occur or even impact us. What I would challenge you to do this year is to take a more positive approach to life if you're not already. Try to look at the glass as being half full instead of half empty, and look at the blessings you have in your life instead of the negative things. Put a list together if you have to, but we all have many things we can be grateful for in life. This can give you a little joy and optimism as you go through this year. #7 Get Connected This is the one thing on the list that you need me for! I'm not talking about getting connected on social media (shoutout to Creative Consulting for doing an amazing job!). No, this is getting your brain and body to talk to one another. This is the only way your body is going to stay optimally healthy. There is a little thing called the spinal cord that connects the brain to all of your body parts, along with the nerves that go out from your spinal cord. If you don't take care of your spinal cord and the spinal nerves, your brain (which makes all of your body's decisions and sends out all the messages out to your body) will be sending those messages out, but they will reach their destinations improperly. So, the body is not going to be effectively doing the work that the brain wants it to. Also, if those nerves aren't working properly, the body can't communicate back to the brain. The brain will then not know what decisions it should really be making. How do you keep this connection working properly between your brain and your body? Go to a chiropractor! I am trained to remove subluxations of the spine, which are conditions where the vertebrae are irritating a spinal nerve and interfering up the conduction of mental, electrical and chemical impulses from the brain to the body. I and my fellow chiropractors are trained to remove those subluxations from your body and allow your brain and body to communicate as they should! It's amazing what benefits you'll see when your body is free from subluxations. By removing subluxations, your body can experience:
I don't want you to stress out and think that you have to do this list perfectly. You just need to follow it fairly well, because if you're not doing any of them and you implement even some of them into your life, you'll see a huge improvement in your health this year. You'll lose the weight that you want to lose, you'll build muscle mass, you'll sleep better, you'll have more energy, you'll have better focus, and you won't get sick as often. The real important thing on this list, outside of the essential chiropractic care, is nutrition. Nutrition is the most important thing you can do for yourself in 2021, but of course, I want you to do this whole list! I hope this helps and gives you a little encouragement for the new year. This is going to be a better year for you but you have to want to make it better! ! If you need any help with the items on this list, we do offer consultation on each of these topics. Come see me, call me, or email me to get started. Remember, I am Dr. Bob and I've got your back covered. See you next time, readers. Stay safe out there and Happy New Year!  As we are all preparing for a happy holiday, I wanted to share with you a few tips and ideas on how to stay healthy and safe through all of your holiday events and plans!
Hello everyone, and welcome back to the blog! It's Dr. Bob Salamon here with Lowcountry Chiropractic! I hope you all are doing well out there, and hope that you're staying healthy and well. I know it doesn't really feel like winter yet here in Charleston, but during these last few weeks of 2020 make sure to prepare yourself for cold and flu season, for the seasons to drastically change at the drop of a hat, and make plans to keep yourself healthy! Remember that your health is in your hands; why not improve your health journey now as we embark on a new year? Make time for chiropractic care, make time for exercising, getting plenty of sleep, eat well, and drink plenty of water. The holidays can make it easy to forget all about these important things, but give yourself the gift of your best health yet. You deserve it after 2020 and all of its challenges, so go ahead and give yourself this gift! I am here to help you along the way, so please don't hesitate to reach out and give us a call. I am always excited to be a part of your health journey and to help you feel your best. I do want to take the time to thank everyone who was a part of this year's holiday promotion! From all of us at Lowcountry Chiropractic, thank you so much for participating and helping us give back to our community. Thank you for donating all of your nonperishable food items to the Lowcountry Food Bank, and ensuring that Christmas and the holidays for so many of our neighbors will be happy. You helped so many families have plenty of food this time of year, and you helped them stay healthy and safe. That is truly an incredible gift. It was also wonderful to see so many returning patients, meet new patients, and to experience the holiday season with our holiday promotion with you! Congratulations to all of the winners of our contest, I hope you enjoy your prizes! Thank you again for joining us in giving back this year. Every little bit always helps! As a little gift from me to all of you, I wanted to give you a little checklist of things to help keep you healthy, safe and feeling your best during the holiday season. You might not even realize it, but the holidays can do more damage to your body than you think possible. It can be the most wonderful time of the year to spend with your loved ones and celebrate, but it can leave your body tired, sore, and with new painful, difficult subluxations. Remember too that this holiday season will be different than the rest. Please make safe decisions when gathering, celebrating, and having holiday parties. Be safe, be happy, and be merry! Also, make sure to take this checklist to heart. You are giving so much to others this holiday season, so make sure to take these few extra steps to give back to your body. Your back will really appreciate not going into 2021 with new subluxations! ● Eat well during the holidays! Don't forget the rainbow this time of year! While all of our favorite salty and sugary treats will be constantly around us, (safe) gatherings with your loved ones will mean all kinds of fun dishes, and the draw of eating out or getting takeout will be plentiful. Try and remember to eat the rainbow and maintain your healthy diet as much as possible. Eat your green leafy veggies, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Remember to keep up with eating all the foods I've talked about in the past that help prevent and eliminate inflammation. ● Make sure to stay active this holiday season, and include the whole family in your activities. Chilly weather can cause muscles and tendons to get cold when you're working out, so please make sure to properly warm-up and cool down, stretch, and drink plenty of water. Make sure to keep up with getting plenty of rest. Take advantage of any time off and get caught up on your rest and relaxation. Remember, even though rest is important, moderation is still key. Make sure you keep up with your chiropractic visits too. If you haven't added chiropractic care into your healthy lifestyle, make sure to do so! Right now is the perfect time to get started with us to kick off a bright and healthy new year. ● Be very cautious when decorating! While we all want to be the Griswold's, heavy lifting and time spent in awkward angles on a ladder can do some serious damage to your back! Make sure to lift your Christmas trees, boxes of decorations, and lights properly. When lifting these items, make sure to lift with your legs and knees and not your back. If you feel a little bentout of shape after you decorate, come see me to make sure everything is properly aligned and that there are no new subluxations that have appeared! ● Even before the 2020 pandemic, I would stress to my patients to continue to wash their hands frequently. Now I encourage it more than ever. I know you've been asked to wash your hands a lot this year, but please keep it up! Don't forget to add vitamin D3 to your healthy regimen too. This important supplement can help strengthen your immune system and help fight off any sickness trying to get into your body! ● Remember to enjoy all of your favorite holiday drinks, dishes, snacks, and goodies in moderation. This includes long movie days, Netflix binges, long afternoons spent reading, and long days shopping out at the malls or on your couch online. Make sure to take a moment to rest, moments to get up and stretch and moments to stay active with each of these activities. ● Give yourself breaks from long drives if you are planning on traveling, and plan ways to avoid eating tons of fast food while out and about. ● Just like you prepare for guests, try and stay ahead with everything in your life during the holidays! Prepare healthy meals to enjoy ahead of time so you aren't tempted to eat out. ● Plan activities with your loved ones that don't center around food. Planning a walk with your guests is a great way to get started with this! ● If you are traveling this year and you have a long drive ahead of you, take a lower lumbar pillow with you to relieve some of the stress and pressure that can build up on your lower back. ● Don't drive straight through to your holiday destination. Make plans to stop and stretch and walk around a little bit every couple of hours. ● While it might be tempting to lounge during these long drives, make sure to maintain the best posture that you can while you're driving. ● If you're a passenger during these long holiday trips, make sure to give yourself a break from scrolling through your phone and reading. Looking down for long periods can put a lot of pressure on your neck, leading to headaches or shoulder aches. Make sure to give yourself some device-free time! I want your holidays to be as wonderful as you are planning them to be. What will help this become a reality is considering this list and taking control of your health. Let this holiday be the reason for the season, a time to give back to others, a time spent with your loved ones, and the time you take control of your health. Thank you, again for being a part of our holiday promotion everyone! I also want to take a moment and thank all of you for helping all of us at Lowcountry Chiropractic have a great year. Thank you for working with us when our schedules changed, as we navigated through the pandemic together, and for supporting what we love to do and love to offer our patients. This couldn't have been possible without you, and we are forever thankful for your support and love. From all of us at Lowcountry Chiropractic, we hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful holiday and a fantastic new year. Until next time and next year, I'm Dr. Bob and I've got your back covered!  Many people only search out their chiropractors when they're in pain. Today we are going to be talking about why you should give continued care a second thought.
Hi everybody! It's Dr. Bob Salamon here with Lowcountry Chiropractic. I hope that wherever you are that you are continuing to stay safe and healthy. Flu and cold season has arrived, and it's time to stay on top of your health as best you can. In many of my recent blogs, I have talked about that more often than not, your health is in your hands. Make sure that you're getting plenty of rest, drinking plenty of water, eating well, staying active, and adding vitamin D3 to your diet. Each of these steps can help you feel better, fight off sickness faster, and prevent you from getting sick. What would also be even more beneficial to staying healthy during this time of year and promote a strong immune system, is to come and see me or to visit your chiropractor consistently. While many people think the only time to go to the chiropractor is when they're in pain, I am here to implore you to think otherwise. I often hear from my patients that they have put off coming to see me because they just weren't in pain and they didn't see a reason to come until they were. Why wait to be in pain or when your body isn't working as it should to come see me? Instead of waiting for the pain, how about coming to see me to avoid any pain or discomfort at all? With this idea in mind, I wanted to talk about some of the top reasons why you should consistently be going to your chiropractor even when you're not in pain!
Many of my patients have spent the last 8 months hunched over their desks employing very bad posture. This also hasn't been great for their hips or lower backs either. This pandemic posture and lack of movement can lead to increased pressure in your neck, shoulders, upper back, hips, and more. It can also cause some pretty serious pain or even lead to a slipped or herniated disc. Coming to see me consistently or visiting your chiropractor on a regular basis can help strengthen your back and fight against your pandemic posture and pandemic lifestyle. I can keep you aligned and make sure that while you have to sit still much longer throughout the day, the messages in your brain are still firing without interruption and without causing you any pain.
If you're still unsure about the benefits of consistent chiropractic care, come and see me. Give us a call or shoot us an email, and we will be more than happy to get you in for an appointment. We will chat about your medical history, give you a thorough examination, and I will get right to work on helping you feel and function at your best at all times. Stay safe out there, everyone! Until next time, I'm Dr. Bob and I've got your back covered!  Dr. Bob is here to talk about a very common situation people find themselves in at some point in their lives - car accidents! Have you been in a car accident recently? Continue reading to learn why you may want to stop by and see us!
Hey everybody! It's Dr. Bob Salamon with Lowcountry Chiropractic! I hope you're all well out there and staying safe! Today we are going to talk about something pretty common on the roads here in South Carolina; car accidents! Since so many of us deal with car accidents, it is very important to talk about their effects on your body and what you can do to help yourself. Today we are going to be talking about the injuries that affect your spine after a car accident. The most common type of injury you'll find from a car accident is a whiplash injury. This injury can happen when you're stopped at a red light and someone comes plowing into the back of your car. Your head will flex back and forward very quickly, causing a shock to your neck and spine. What commonly happens is that this will create tension and stress on the muscles around the base of your neck, the top of your shoulders, and your upper back. When you are in a car accident, the damage done to the car does not necessarily correlate to the damage done to your body. Many insurance companies will try and reason that since your car wasn't damaged very badly you must not have been either. In these situations, medical bills might not be covered or taken care of, which can be very frustrating. The bottom line is that you were inside the damaged vehicle and subjected to rapid damaging motion from the impact of another car. This was not your fault, and you are now left with the pain in your back to show for someone else's mistake. When an accident occurs, what typically happens is that police will be called, papers and information are traded, and you may or may not take a trip to the hospital to get a CT Scan, some x-rays, and other procedures to see if you have any serious damage. A lot of patients come and pay us a visit after their trip to the emergency room. This comforts me to see them after an ER visit because I know they have already been checked out and they don't have a brain injury, fracture or other serious issues. Of course, we are still going to take our own set of x-rays when you come to get checked out at our offices after an accident. We do this because what we are looking for is not what your ER doctor was looking for. We are looking at whether the accident negatively affected the spine to cause the pain you could be feeling. We are looking to see if the accident caused your spine to get misaligned thus affecting spinal nerves. It is my job as a chiropractor to restore alignment to your misaligned vertebrae and to take the pressure off of the nerves coming out of those vertebrae. Irritated nerves from misaligned vertebrae can cause back pain, headaches, radiating pain down your arms and into your hands, sciatica and many other issues. Inflammation is going to be a big problem when you get into a car accident, and as we know, inflation causes pain. My job is to get you realigned (adjusted) and out of pain as quickly as possible. My advice is to visit your chiropractor as quickly as possible, to avoid being in pain for long periods. For those dealing with the effects of car accidents, therapeutic massage therapy is a wonderful service. The massage therapist will relax your affected muscles and remove toxins.. I will almost always have my personal injury patients see a massage therapist before an adjustment. This will allow me to do a more effective job adjusting your spine. I did want to make it very clear that even if you feel fine after an accident and have no symptoms, you should get checked by a chiropractor anyway. Symptoms can occur days, weeks, or even months after an accident, and you don’t want a car accident to leave you with chronic issues. I hope this has helped all of my readers out there. If you have unfortunately been in a car accident, please give us a call or send us an email. We would love to help you. We've helped lots of people with these issues and have a lot of experience in the area of personal injury. Until next time, I'm Dr. Bob and I've got your back covered!  Something is lurking in the joints of millions of Americans every year: the very real pain of arthritis.
Hi everyone! It's Dr. Bob Salamon here with Lowcountry Chiropractic. I hope everyone is doing well. Today we are going to be discussing a topic that is very prevalent in our country, and that is arthritis. A lot of people have it and suffer from its pain every day. In this blog, I want to put arthritis into perspective. I want to explain what arthritis is and some of the many ways you can treat it. There are many different types of arthritis; there is rheumatoid arthritis, which is an autoimmune problem, psoriatic arthritis, enteropathic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, gout and many more. In this blog though, we are going to be discussing the most common type of arthritis, and that is osteoarthritis. It is also called DJD or DDD, which stands for degenerative joint disease or degenerative disc disease. Why is it important to get a grip on your arthritis? The main reason is that it is a degenerative condition. If you don't take care of it, it will more than likely get worse as you get older. Why is that important? Osteoarthritis will and can destroy or at a minimum cause a lot of pain in your joints. It can appear in your hands, your spine, your knees, hips, shoulders, and almost everywhere else in your body. This type of arthritis causes pain because of the inflammation surrounding the joint it is affecting. Let's talk about osteoarthritis. Our bodies get out of symmetry as we go through our daily lives. Typically, this type of arthritis is caused by asymmetry, and your joints start to work improperly because they are not working symmetrically. This can happen in your spine as well. You'll find that if you have a vertebra or two that is locked or misaligned, it's going to put a lot of stress on that joint. What the body does in reaction to this misalignment is it takes calcium out of the bloodstream, and sends it to that affected area to strengthen it. In theory, that sounds like it would make total sense, but what happens is that calcium deposits can form which leads to spurring. In addition, asymmetry causes the discs in your spine or cartilage in your peripheral joints to wear thin. You don't want spurs in a joint that aren't supposed to be there; they're going to get in the way of your ligaments, tendons, and the space the joint uses to properly move. These spurs are going to cause you a lot of pain because of the inflammation they cause. As we know, inflammation leads to serious pain. This is what is happening to your body when you have osteoarthritis. The next question then becomes, how do you manage this condition? As I mentioned before, if you don't do something about your osteoarthritis, it is going to get worse. The medical approach is usually some kind of steroidal anti-inflammatory product or injection to the affected joint. These products are created to take out some of the inflammation so you feel better. These remedies don't do much for correcting the cause of your arthritis, and steroids carry their own set of pretty nasty symptoms that might not appear until much later. How can chiropractic help? Chiropractic looks at a particular joint (in your spine, shoulder, hands, etc.) and figures out whether or not the bones in that joint are moving properly. What chiropractors do is adjust or treat that bone or bones to restore the proper motion to that joint. Once this happens, your body can work symmetrically and the degenerative process can be stopped. If the degenerative process is slowed down or stopped the inflammation will decrease, and the pain will get better. If you have arthritis, chiropractic care is something that you need to seriously think about incorporating into your health protocol. I also recommend a few supplements to my patients that help with inflammation connected to osteoarthritis that help with the pain in a natural way. 1. Fish oil! If you're going to use this, please use high-quality fish oil. 2. Coconut Oil! Most people don't know much about the benefits of this oil, but just like fish oil, it can do wonders for inflammation. If you want to add this oil to your diet, take a couple tablespoons preferably after a meal. Always make sure you use high-quality coconut oil. I recommend virgin, organic cold-pressed brands. 3. Turmeric is a great spice that you can put in your food or take in pill form that also helps with inflammation and the effects of osteoarthritis. Exercise can also help, but if the joint is damaged you want to be careful about doing too much repetitive exercise to the affected joint. Also, be very careful when doing too much weight-bearing or load-bearing exercises with that joint. Getting in a pool and swimming and some lightweight workouts are good to keep your affected joints moving. I hope this helps! If you're suffering from osteoarthritis or think you might be, please make an appointment to come to the office. We will do a very thorough exam (including x-rays), show you exactly what's going on and what is causing your problems. We will then get to work on fixing those problems so you can get healthy, out of pain and prevent that degenerative process from getting worse. I am Dr. Bob Salamon, and I have your back covered! Stay well!  As you've read in many of my blogs, chiropractic care is the key to helping with many common and dangerous ailments. Did you know that blood pressure is one of the many conditions that chiropractic care can help manage naturally?
Hey everybody! Dr. Bob here with Lowcountry Chiropractic. I hope you're staying healthy and well out there. In this week's blog, I am going to be talking about blood pressure. We are going to cover what high blood pressure is, how it's measured, and what you can do to help control it. Since I am a chiropractor, I am of course going to talk about the natural ways of going about doing that. I am also going to mention some of the medications that are available out there to help control blood pressure as well. We don't personally recommend these prescriptions, but we are going to mention them today. Your blood pressure is the pressure on the walls of your blood vessels. There are two numbers you'll get when you get your blood pressure taken. The systolic number is the top number and the diastolic number is the bottom number. Say your top number is 120 and your bottom number is 80, that's normal! What that systolic number measures is the pressure that is placed on your artery walls when the heart is contracting and pushing blood through the blood vessels. When the heart is at rest and not contracting that is the diastolic or lower number. If your systolic number is 120-129 you are considered pre-hypertensive; most medical doctors won't do much more than give suggestions to change your lifestyle, exercise more, and eat better. Stage one hypertension is when you're 130-139 systolic and 80-89 diastolic. Doctors will typically start to give you medication in this phase. If you're 140/90 or higher that is considered Stage 2 hypertension. You will usually be put on multiple medications at that point. Anything over 180/120 is considered a medical emergency. Medications that are available for high blood pressure do one of three things:
We as chiropractors are not big proponents, as you know, of medication. We think that things can be done naturally, with fewer side effects, and we work with the body and not against it. I did some research on some foods that can naturally help your blood pressure that I wanted to share with you today. These delicious foods include:
You might be asking yourself how chiropractic care fits into helping take care of high blood pressure. We all should know that the brain, spinal cord, and nerves control every function in your body. So, if there is pressure on the nerves in your body, your body is not going to work as it should. Nerve impulses help control the size of your blood vessels. When you have a subluxation (a bone that is out of place irritating a nerve) the blood vessel connected to that nerve can either dilate or constrict. If it constricts, there is less space for the blood to flow, which puts extra pressure on the vessel walls, thus increasing blood pressure. If the blood vessel dilates, the extra volume can create inflammation that can also increase blood pressure. Chiropractic care corrects the subluxation, allowing the nerves to communicate with the blood vessels, thus normalizing the diameter of the vessels and therefore regulating blood pressure. These are just some thoughts that I wanted to share with you on how you can realistically manage high blood pressure. Chiropractic care, good nutrition and exercise are excellent ways to naturally manage your blood pressure over your lifetime. Hopefully, this helps! Remember, I'm Dr. Bob and I've got your back covered!  Your brain controls your entire body. Did you know that taking care of your body can help give back to your brain and improve its function and health every day?
Hey everybody! It's Dr. Bob Salamon here with Lowcountry Chiropractic! Today, we are going to be talking about brain function, which is so important! We're going to be talking about some natural things, foods you can eat, and things you can do, all of which can improve your brain function and health. Why is this important? Your brain is the master controller of your body. Your brain controls and regulates every function and system in your body. This includes your immune system, which is so important right now! If your brain is not being nourished and it's not as healthy as it should be, it's not going to work properly. The rest of your body won't function as it should either, including that important immune system! What CAN we do? Let's talk about some very simple things that we can do to help keep our brain and brain function healthy! Resting! We need to get enough sleep at night. The time spent during our REM (rapid eye movement) cycle is when all of our protein bridges and synapses in the brain repair and heal themselves. If we are not getting enough rest, your brain and other parts of your body do not have that time to repair and heal. This will cause them to break down a lot quicker. Everyone is different; some people can get by with less than the recommended 7 to 8 hours of sleep, while others need more. But, I would recommend that you try and get as much sleep as possible, not just what you can get by on. Go to bed sooner, put down your phone, turn off Netflix, and force yourself to get that extra rest. Your brain and body will thank you for it! Nutrition! The second piece of the puzzle that you can do for yourself is having good nutrition. There are at least 10 food items that will increase brain function and brain health. The common theme with these products is that they are antioxidants; they take oxidative stress off your brain and allow it to stay healthier and to heal quicker. These foods are also anti-inflammatory agents. We know that inflammation on your joints is bad, and creates pain. Inflammation on your brain is much worse. Over time, this pressure dulls the senses and can lead to the development of dementia or Alzheimer's down the road. These ten items can help you prevent these issues down the line and keep your brain healthy now!
Chiropractic Care I'm a chiropractor, so of course, I want to talk about chiropractic care and how it affects brain function. Many studies have been done on the effects of chiropractic adjustments on brain function. There have been brain scans that have been performed pre and post chiropractic adjustments on the same day. The pre-adjustment brain is muted, the colors don't pop and it is just sort of existing. That post adjustment brain is lit up and thriving. We know definitively that chiropractic adjustments improve and increase brain function and communication. I do want to reference the Journal of Neural Plasticity from January 2016 here as well. This study and journal is a medical one, not a chiropractic one. This study shows that chiropractic spinal adjustments significantly increase activity in the brain's prefrontal cortex. This is the area where higher learning and cognition happens. The journal goes on to say that the prefrontal cortex is also responsible for behavior, goal-directed tasks, decision making, memory and attention, intelligence, processing of pain and the emotional response to it, autonomic function, motor control, eye movement, and spatial movements. All of these are pretty important! In my opinion, if you're not under chiropractic care because you don't think you need it (because you're not in pain) please remember this journal and this blog! Chiropractic care will improve your brain function now and later down the road. I hope this information is helpful. I hope you will use it and apply it to your life. If any of you out there needs some stimulus to the brain, which we all do, look us up! Give us a call, send us an email, we'd love to examine you and take a look. We'd love to take some X-rays to see what we can do to help you get healthier. Until next time, I'm Dr. Bob and I have your back covered. Take care! To read more about the study I mentioned in today's blog, please follow the link below: https://waldronchiropractic.com/study-chiropractic-adjustments-change-brain-function/ |
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