sacramento chiropractic

Mar 20 2014

Dare to Compare

Dare to CompareChiropractic has always seen things differently than the medical profession. I will never try to convince or argue with anyone that chiropractic is better, never. Rather I will simply explain the chiropractic viewpoint vs the medical viewpoint and let you decide. In any situation it is a mistake to pass judgment on a situation without all the information. All too often people will have a general opinion on something without basing it on anything. I think that happens with chiropractic. The survey to the left of 1009 US adults in 2006 by Gallup supports this idea.

Why are we rated so low? There may be several reasons, but in my mind it is likely due to the unknown. Chiropractors are interested in keeping their patients healthy and preventing illness. This is typically not what medical doctors focus on. They will manage illness and disease. Since it is uncommon to find a doctor of any discipline promoting wellness, the public finds this as odd or suspicious.

Thus the lack of trust. Remember it is far easier to STAY healthy than to battle disease. Below I have included a table which shows the major differences between medical doctors and chiropractors. Something to think about and consider. If you have more questions about this topic and how chiropractic care can help keep you healthy, talk to Dr. Lance Casazza.

Health Topic Chiropractic Western Medicine
Base Strategy Proactive: stay healthy. Reactive: symptom, pain based.
Care Strategy Whole body approach. Focal illness approach.
Philosophy Body is self-healing with innate intelligence. Body is machine, needs help to be fixed.
Flu Vaccine No. Build natural healthy immunity to fight flu bug. Yes. Use vaccine to build anti-bodies to fight flu bug.
Pharmaceuticals No. Find natural ways to get healthy and stay healthy. Against toxins in the body. Yes. Use chemistry to aid body function. Systems are weakened need assistance.
Drug Side Effects Concerned, find alternative. Minimizes. Feel reward over rides risk of side effects.
Surgery No. Explore chiropractic option first. Yes. Often seen as best option.

 

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Mar 25 2013

The Importance of Good Posture

English: Bad posture

We always hear about the importance of posture. Your mom or a teacher constantly reminded you when you were young to “sit-up straight”! So let’s take a closer look and see if they were onto something.

First a study and the importance of posture?

Posture affects and moderates: spinal pain, headache, mood, blood pressure, pulse, respiration, sympathetic function, homeostasis, autonomic regulation, breathing and hormone production. Sound pretty important!

American Journal of Pain Management, 1994

Dramatic respiratory changes.

Did you know that after age 20 that your vital capacity, (maximum volume of air that a person can exhale after maximum inhalation), decreases 5-20% per decade! Mostly due to postural changes! Brian K Ross MD, University of Washington

A quote from someone in the know:

“Better than 90% of the energy output of the brain is used in relating to the physical body in its gravitational field. The more mechanically distorted a person is (bad posture), the less energy available for thinking, metabolism and healing.” – Dr. Roger Sperry, Nobel Laureate

Sit-up Straight! Loss of proper joint structure and function (due to poor posture) increases adhesion formation in the soft tissue in and around the spine. Grieve, Common Vertebral Joint Problems, 1988

Now go take a look. Next time you are out, start observing people over 50. First ask yourself; do they have good or bad posture. Then ask yourself if they look healthy or not. You will discover that almost always people with good posture look younger and healthier than those with bad posture. Very interesting indeed.

How about a couple of demonstrations? Try this.

First sit-up straight and take a big breath in and out. Notice how full a breath you can take.  Now hunch over and breathe again. The difference is obvious. With chiropractic adjustments and proper stretching you can maintain or improve your ability to breathe.

Here is another demonstration. Try this.

Stand up straight with good posture, (head directly over shoulders, no tilted head) and put your arm out at 90° to your side. Have someone behind you push down on your arm as you resist their effort. Your shoulder should hold strong. Now slump over (anterior head translation and flexion) with bad posture and have your partner push down again, your shoulder should be weak and you should have some difficulty holding it up. That does seem odd, it is as if your muscle was shut off. Try this on your family and friends.

Explanation. With good posture your brain can communicate through your spinal cord to all your muscles and vital organs. In turn your muscles and vital organs can communicate back to your brain. This is your autonomic nervous system at work. There is a constant two-way flow of information that helps run all your systems and keeps you alive. With poor posture you can see that information is slowed and the systems do not work at 100%. With proper posture you can maintain proper nervous system function.

Big benefit! Maintaining your autonomic nervous system function is one of many benefits of chiropractic care that has nothing to do with pain. All too often the public thinks that chiropractic care is only useful for low back pain. Not so, in future blogs we will continue to discuss other benefits of care that are not pain related.

Chiropractic adjustments: Routine care is the best way to maintain proper posture. If you have more questions about the importance of posture and how chiropractic care can help, talk to Dr. Lance Casazza.

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Mar 11 2013

Weak, Thin Bones (Osteoporosis)?

10 million Americans have osteoporosis and 34 million more have low bone mass, called osteopenia, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. Bones are NOT dead sticks holding you up. Bones continually change throughout your life, with some bone cells dissolving and new bone cells growing back in a process called remodeling. With this lifelong turnover of bone cells, you replace most of your skeleton every 10 years!

bones with osteoporosisspine_2spine_1

Some pictures! For people with osteoporosis, bone loss outpaces the growth of new bone. Remember Wolff’s law? (please review December 2012 blog on bone spurs). The idea of “if you don’t use it, you lose it” applies to bone! If the loading on a bone decreases, the bone will become weaker due to lack of proper turnover, with decreased bony stimulus the remodeling of bone slows and new bone is not formed at the proper rate, so there is a net loss of bone mass.

Consequently bones become porous, brittle, and prone to fracture, (see picture comparison on upper left). Now look at an X-ray of the spine with normal bone density, (x-ray on left), and you see a dense matrix of bone cells or a whiter vertebral body. The arrow in the x-ray on the left is pointing to a degenerated disc, notice the decreased disc height and signs of degeneration (please review December 2012 blog on bone spurs).

Now look at the spinal x-ray on the right with osteoporosis, and you see mostly air (blackness or darkening). The bony matrix has mostly dissolved, you only see a thin white outline of each vertebra.

spine_3

With the bone thinning you are at a higher risk of a compression fracture, (see below).

Why does the bone thin? There are many reasons this can occur. Here is a list the primary culprits: low estrogen levels in women, low testosterone in men, lack of calcium, lack of Vitamin D, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and medications.

What to do?

Bone density: First get your bone density checked. Always think of prevention versus waiting for this to happen and then trying to correct the problem.

Stretching/exercise: Bones demand to be stressed to stay healthy. So daily activity, weight lifting, stretching, outdoor activities, all will help decrease your risk.

Proper nutrition: Make sure you get your proper amount of Vitamin D and Calcium.

Chiropractic adjustments: Again routine care is the best way to maintain proper joint motion allowing. Proper joint motion will increase the effectiveness of the exercise and nutrition.

If you have more questions about osteoporosis, chiropractic adjustments, exercise, or diet talk to Dr. Lance Casazza.

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Mar 6 2013

What Is the “Popping” Sound from a Chiropractic Adjustment?

English: Technic and Practice of Chiropractic ...
English: Technic and Practice of Chiropractic published in 1920 by Joy Loban, D.C. Chiropractic spinal adjustment of the back. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What is that “popping” sound? Many people are unfamiliar with the mechanism of the popping sound that occurs during a chiropractic adjustment. Some people are actually scared or nervous thinking that it is causing harm or that it well hurt or it is just “gross”. I have actually had people ask if the bone was breaking. The answer of course is a resounding no! Otherwise I wouldn’t have any patients.

Here is the mechanism: synovial fluid in your joints contains oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide gases, approximately 80% is carbon dioxide. When a chiropractor adjusts, the joint capsule is rapidly stretched, which in turn increases the volume of the joint by 15-20%. This creates a sudden and rapid partial vacuum which causes the internal joint pressure to decrease. With this decreased pressure the gases rapidly release from the synovial fluid. As they reverberate through the fluid it causes the “popping sound”.

For you physic buffs this is Robert Boyle’s Law from 1662.

This is the exact same phenomenon that occurs when you open up a bottle of soda or champagne, except with the joint it is a closed system (gases do not escape into the atmosphere) and with the soda or champagne it is considered an open system as the gases do go into the atmosphere.

Once a joint “pops” it takes the gases about 20 minutes to return into the synovial fluid.

Try this: Crack a knuckle in one of your finger joints. Now immediately try it again at the same angle. It doesn’t pop. Wait 10-20 minutes and try again, this time it will pop.

What if the joint doesn’t “pop”?

Some patients think this means that the joint didn’t need to be adjusted, or that the joint didn’t move at all.

Imagine this:

A joint normally moves an inch when perfectly healthy.

Due to muscle tightness, adhesions and inflammation the joint only opens 1/4 of an inch.

To have the joint “pop” it must open 3/4 of an inch.

The chiropractor adjusts and opens the joint 1/2 an inch. No “pop”. But the joint still moved.

The result:

There is still benefit as the muscles will relax, adhesions will be broken and inflammatory chemicals will move out of the surrounding tissues, just not as efficiently as if the joint had been opened more. The more a joint is adjusted the more likely it will “pop” and thus increase the benefits of joint motion.

By the way:

Currently there are no studies that suggest “cracking” your knuckles or joint “popping” will cause arthritis.

Ask Dr. Lance Casazza about all the benefits of the proper joint motion and chiropractic care.

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Jan 3 2013

New Year’s Resolution?

First off, Happy New Year!!! Hoping your 2013 is healthy and happy.

Now how about those New Year’s resolutions?

I know, I know we all have the same one every year: lose weight. And every year it seems as if we drop the ball. This year let’s try a different approach and see if we can lose some of those unwanted pounds.

You’re not alone!

Shocking: only 1% keep their New Year’s Resolutions for the entire year and 93% blow it by January 12th!

Dieting does not work!

Fad diets typically are impossible, so we quickly return to our usual bad eating habits and add back those lost pounds. So this year let’s try making a few subtle changes instead of extreme ones.

  1. Eat less. That’s it just eat less, no changes in dietary choices just less. Since 1970 American’s caloric intake has increased 23%, from 2168 calories/day in 1970, to 2673 calories/day in 2008.  CDC National Center for Health Statistics, 2010 Example: instead of eating 4 pieces of pizza eat 3, that equates to 25% less calories!
  2. Eat breakfast. People who eat breakfast every morning are half as likely to be overweight or show signs of diabetes. Children’s Hospital, Boston, 2003.  Skipping breakfast can decrease your metabolic rate by 5%, adding up to 10 lbs to your body in a year.  Medical College of Cornell University, 2005.
  3. Eat more often. Usually we skip breakfast, eat a super fast lunch and a huge dinner right before bed. All will add to your weight. The ideal diet is 4-6 small meals. Not eating for long periods can actually lower your metabolic rate 10-20% preventing the use of 250-300 calories a day! Dr. Sears, The Zone
  4. Less soda. One soda a day can add 15 lbs to your weight in a year. CDC, 2006
  5. Of course eat better foods as well: lean protein, fruits and vegetables.

 Exercise, you thought I forgot!

  1.  This year think baby steps. So many people dive into an extreme exercise program that they just will not continue for a long period of time. It is too demanding so we stop all together. As with diet we have to make changes we can stick with. Start slow!
  2. Time. We are all so busy that we always feel there is no time, so exercise is left out. Did you know that there are 1440 minutes in a day? That’s right and a beginning exercise program should be maybe 10-20 minutes per day, 3-4 times per week. So what will you do with the other 1420 minutes a day?
  3. Strengthen your muscles. Most people when they try to lose weight only diet. If they exercise they often focus on aerobic exercise and do not strengthen muscles. Big mistake! Strengthening your muscles requires fuel to help the muscle build. This process of muscle building will actually help you burn fat, even while you sleep. Just a few minutes a day, push-ups, sit-ups etc will do the job.
  4. Check out the top 100 reasons to exercise from the Surgeon General.

If you have more questions about diet and exercise, and the benefit of chiropractic adjustments, talk to Dr. Lance Casazza. From all of us have a very Happy New Year!

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Nov 19 2012

Oxygen, Beautiful Oxygen

Everyone is looking for the latest newest thing to optimize their health. I would like to reintroduce you to the simplest of all things oxygen.

How important is it? Oxygen helps:

  • Creates energy (defeats fatigue)
  • Aids in digestion
  • Cleans & detoxifies the system
  • Metabolizes fats & carbohydrates
  • Transports gases across cell membranes
  • Makes hormones & proteins
  • Regulates pH
  • Maintains a strong immune system

Here are a few quotes from experts:

“Cancer has one prime cause. The replacement of normal oxygen respiration of the body’s cells by an anaerobic (oxygen-deficient) respiration.”

–Dr. Otto Warburg ~ 1883-1970, Winner Nobel Prize 1931

“Starved of oxygen the body will become ill & if this persists it will die.” -Dr. John Muntz

“In all serious disease we find a low oxygen state. Hypoxia in the tissues is the fundamental cause for all degenerative disease.”

-Dr. Stephen Levine, Oxygen Deficiency: A Concomitant to All Degenerative Illness

Try this:

Sit-up straight and breathe. Now hunch over and breathe. The difference is obvious. Proper posture is the best way to maintain proper breathing.

Wow study:

Did you know that your ability to take a full breath after age 20 decreases 5-20% per decade.

So how does Chiropractic help?

With chiropractic adjustments the ribcage can open and close efficiently as tight intercostal muscles are relaxed. Next time you get adjusted pay close attention to how much easier you can breathe afterwards. Also if you get a chance to watch someone get adjusted, watch for the huge change in the motion of their rib cage. Also with chiropractic care you can improve your posture which in turn allows for better breathing.

Talk to Dr. Lance Casazza about all the benefits of the chiropractic adjustment, and other simple exercises to maintain and increase your breathing.

Dr. Casazza has been a practicing chiropractor in Sacramento for the past 10 years. His practice has been votes “Best Chiropractor” By the readers of News and Review for 3 straight years. His practice is also one of the top on Yelp in the Sacramento Area. His office specializes in spinal care, with an emphasis on: Neck pain, Low Back Pain, Headaches, Migraines, Personal Injury, Accidents and Sciatica. He is also the author of “Be the Hammer Not the Nail” and is a motivational speaker available for hire.

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Nov 14 2012

Direct Effects

“Side effects of pharmaceutical drugs are actually direct effects that we don’t want!”

Your back is hurting and you do not know what to do so you take a couple ibuprofen. ī′byo̅o̅′prōfin. Everyone does it so it should work or at least help a little. Right?

First off just because everyone does it, (think lemmings), does NOT mean it is the right decision.

Direct Effects:

Ibuprofen is known to have an antiplatelet effect, though it is relatively mild and somewhat short-lived. In general, ibuprofen also acts as a vasoconstrictor, having been shown to constrict coronary arteries and other blood vessels, acting as an anti-inflammatory agent.

Unwanted Direct Effects:

50% of patients with NSAID ulcers are asymptomatic! Centers for Disease Control

35% of NSAID and aspirin users will get GI ulcers! Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology

50% of patients taking NSAIDs have sustained damage to their small intestine.

Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology

So now you decide, are you willing to risk the above? I certainly am not. I would prefer to decrease and control inflammation by applying ice.

One more thing:

Taking ibuprofen after the initial inflammatory period is actually contraindicated. Once the inflammation has stopped we want to open up the blood vessels, (vasodilation), not constrict them. Soft tissue: muscles, ligaments, tendons and fascia heal from a free flow of fluids into the tissue and the congested inflammatory chemicals flowing out, ibuprofen simply slows this process down.

Chiropractic benefit:

One of the primary reasons the chiropractic adjustment is so effective is due to increased motion and increasing the critical flow of new fluid in and old fluid out.

One last thing:

Remember inflammation itself is not bad, it is excessive inflammation that can cause problems, specifically decreasing motion thus slowing the healing process. The chemicals in the inflammation are actually necessary for the healing process to occur and we are simply trying to control how much fluid enters the injured sight.

Talk to Dr. Lance Casazza about all the benefits of the chiropractic adjustment, and other simple methods of dealing with pain and inflammation.

Dr. Casazza has been a practicing chiropractor in Sacramento for the past 10 years. His practice has been votes “Best Chiropractor” By the readers of News and Review for 3 straight years. His practice is also one of the top on Yelp in the Sacramento Area. His office specializes in spinal care, with an emphasis on: Neck pain, Low Back Pain, Headaches, Migraines, Personal Injury, Accidents and Sciatica. He is also the author of “Be the Hammer Not the Nail” and is a motivational speaker available for hire.

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Aug 1 2012

Say No to Migraine Medication and Yes to Natural Care

If you’ve ever experienced a migraine headache, you know how debilitating it can be. According to the Mayo Clinic, “a migraine headache can cause intense throbbing or pulsing in one area of the head and is commonly accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound.

Migraine attacks can cause significant pain for hours to days and be so severe that all you can think about is finding a dark, quiet place to lie down.”

Nearly 30 million American suffer migraine headaches, with women more than three times as likely as men to be victims. Too often, medication is the first-line treatment strategy to control symptoms – particularly the pain – despite the fact that natural options are being shown to be just as, if not more, effective.

Case in point: a recent study that divided 91 adult migraine sufferers into three groups for comparison. One group received topiramate (brand name: Topamax), an anti-convulsant also approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment and prevention of migraines; a second group exercised 40 minutes a day, three times a week; and the third group performed relaxation exercises over the course of the study period. After three months, results showed no significant differences between the three groups: all three interventions reduced the frequency of migraine occurrence.

If you suffer from migraines, your doctor of chiropractic may recommend exercise or relaxation techniques to help treat your problem without having to resort to drugs, all of which come with a substantial list of side effects that can make you feel even worse. For example, among the potential side effects of topiramate are nausea, diarrhea and fatigue – just what you don’t need when you’re dealing with a debilitating migraine.

Of course, your chiropractor may also perform chiropractic adjustments, which have been shown to be effective for headache symptoms. One study showed spinal manipulation to be as effective as amitriptyline for migraine symptoms; another study showed a significant reduction in frequency, duration and severity of migraines, as well as need for medication, following chiropractic manipulation. And nutritional support, such as magnesium supplementation, has also proven to be effective.

If you suffer from migraines, talk to your doctor of chiropractic about the drug-free options. Say no to medication and yes to natural care.

 

Editorial Staff, MPA Media

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Casazza Chiropractic
2716 V Street, Sacramento CA 95818
Office: (916) 447-2200 – Fax (916) 447-7930
Email Dr. Casazza: [email protected]

Hours
Mon. 8-1 and 3-5;
Tues.-Thurs. 8-1  and 3-6;
Fri. 8-1 and 3-5; Sat. 8-12

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