My hip hurts... No my butt hurts... SI? What is my SI?

Patients come into my office for a variety of issues; however the most common is the hip… I mean butt…I mean SI.  So what is the SI?  The sacroiliac joint (SI joint) is the joint that connects your sacrum (tailbone) and ilium (hip bone).  It can be a source of many pain symptoms in the low back, buttocks, and upper legs.  My patients describe it as a toothache sensation, sharp pain or dull ache, and affect many activities of daily life such as sitting or standing extended periods of time. 

When the SI joint becomes damaged, or its support muscles and ligaments become loose or injured, such as an injury or pregnancy, the chronic pain can become exhausting and debilitating if severe enough.   So what can be done about it?

Chiropractic care to restore normal joint motion is essential in decreasing the inflammation and muscle spasm that is causing the pain.  Incorrect muscle memory from years of improper posture, excess sitting, and lack of exercise limit the long-term effectiveness of adjustments though.  Proper exercises to strengthen core muscles and hip stabilizers can give long relief resulting from muscle imbalance, and these exercises should begin shortly after restoring normal joint motion through adjustments.  And the more exercises you do at home, the faster you recover and the less you have to come to the office.

 

My goal is to have my patients feeling relief within two weeks, and to have them recovered and enjoying life again in less than 30 days.  That is possible with adhering to recommended office treatments and active participation at home.  Then, after education and learning how to listen to the body, they will know when their body is out of alignment long before the pain, the last sign of dysfunction, prevents them from enjoying life.

Electro-Acupressure for weight loss

Cutting the Cravings and weight loss with Electro-Acupressure



If you’re reading this, I bet you have tried just about everything out there to get the weight off. You’ve tried all the fad diets and had some success… but the pounds came back within a few months and an extra few were added on. Why not try a different approach then.
For over 5000 years, the Chinese have known that acupuncture has the power to heal and can offer an alternative care for a variety of health-related challenges. It is well known for effectively treating a long list of conditions and can work wonders on pain-related ailments. The problem lies in that there are many people who cannot stand the thought of needles penetrating their skin, even if they are tiny usually cannot be felt. For those patients, this is a less invasive form of the same treatment. And yes, it can help with weight loss.

What is Electro – Acupressure? How can it help with weight loss? 
Electro-acupressure is very similar to acupuncture, except that hands, fingers and an electrical stimulation device are used in place of needles. The principles are the same in that the goal is still to unblock certain pressure points (acupoints) along the 14 meridian lines of the body; there are about 365 meridian points. This restores the natural flow of blood, fluids and energy that runs through a person and in turn promotes healing and wellbeing. Acupressure works on multiple levels. Along with relieving physical symptoms and ailments this treatment also promotes mental and emotional health. With electro-acupressure, endorphins, mood elevating chemicals) are released into the bloodstream. This affects the hormonal and digestive systems; this helps to increase and re-balance the body metabolism. Emotional eaters tend to get cravings when stressed, so when the anxieties and frustrations are removed, people do not feel compelled to eat. That’s what electro-acupressure essentially does: it speeds up your metabolism and eliminates the anxious feelings that trigger your food cravings, which result in weight loss.

Are there acupressure points that I can do at home to accelerate the electro-acupressure treatments? 
Yes, there are 6 points that can be beneficial to do at home, especially in decreasing cravings.
1. Earlobe - just beneath your earlobe, where the skin of the ear is connected to the jaw. Massaging this point for several minutes before eating can reduce appetite and hunger.
2. Knee - Sit with one knee crossed over the other. Place four fingers of your right hand on the upper leg, just beneath the kneecap. With the index finger of the other hand, locate the stomach pressure point on the shin, just below the small fingernail of your right hand. This point represents the stomach, and by pressing it you can decrease your appetite.
3. Upper Lip - located between the upper lip and the nose. Place your thumb under your upper lip, and your index finger on the outside. Massage for a few minutes to decrease your appetite.
4. Calf – Found in the fattest part of your calf. Massaging this point and applying pressure by pressing the point with your middle finger can decrease appetite.
5. Inner Knee - At the center of the crease behind your knee is another appetite control point that can be manipulated discreetly for those times when massaging your ears or face is not appropriate.
6. Palm:
    a. Fleshy part of your palm for appetite suppression and weight control
    b. Area just below your thumb for thyroid health; this will stimulate the thyroid and increase your  metabolism
    c. Fleshy pad, toward the wrist, and continue massaging to stimulate the pancreas. This will help regulate insulin production and keep your blood-sugar levels steady.

Is it Safe? Yes, it is generally safe. People with heart conditions should avoid it, though. Side-effects are very rarely experienced but can include dizziness, soreness, and slight bruising. Overall, electro – acupressure is very effective for craving control and weight loss, and offers many health benefits.

Hot flashes wiping you out?

Achieving the best female hormone balance is essential as women age. As the baby-boomer generation ages, I have found there is a great demand for natural treatments for symptoms such as hot flashes, so let’s talk a little bit about that. Traditionally coinciding with menopause, hot flashes can last 6 months to 5 years, however they may persist as long as 15 years. About 70% of women experience these during menopause. Hot flashes are postulated to be caused by a disordered hypothalamic function in response to a low estrogen environment. It has been suggested that they tend to be worse in individuals with compromised cardiovascular systems. Also, it has been found that traditional hormone replacement therapy can increase the duration of hot flashes and decrease the effectiveness of herbal remedies.

Herbal support is designed to assist the adjustment of the body during the menopause change. It also provides symptomatic alleviation of the effects of estrogen withdrawl. What kind of herbal remedies can be beneficial in decreasing hot flashes? The important herb is Sage, however Hawthorn and Motherwort can also be useful. Sage is traditionally found in tonic with Wild Yam Complex. Black Cohosh can be used as well, however special care must be taken as the contraindications with Black Cohosh can be extensive.

If hot flashes are aggravated by stress, Adrenal Complex should be added, and if hot flashes are a continued problem without stress, then Tribulus can be included in the treatment. In addition to hot flashes, menopause women can suffer from mood and stress imbalances, depression, sweating, fatigue, headaches, joint pain, poor memory and loss of confidence. Many of these can be linked to the fall in estrogen, however this is controversial at best. There are additional herbal remedies that can alleviate severity of these symptoms such as St. John Wart, False Unicorn, and Shatavari. Every woman is different, therefore these herbal recommendations could be more or less effective in different women, and prior to starting an herbal regiment, every woman should consult their primary care provider.

Migraines and food, what's the link?

Migraine:  A chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent   moderate to severe headaches often in association with a number of autonomic nervous system symptoms.

Statistics:

• Every 10 seconds, someone goes to the ER with a headache or migraine.
• Greater than 10% of the population, including children, suffers from migraines.
• More than 90% of sufferers are unable to work or function normally during their migraine attacks.
• American employers lose more than $13 billion each year as a result of 113 million lost work days from migraines.
• About 10% of school-age children suffer from migraines.  Half have their first attack before the age of 12.
• Children with migraines are absent from school twice as often as children without migraines.

  

It has long been known that there are food triggers for migraines, but do you know why? 
Food is a necessity in life, good food in… good functioning body results.  As a migraine sufferer, however, good food does not always give you that good functioning that you should expect.  Food, like anything you put in your body, is broken down into its most basic elements for the body to be able to turn it into new cells, energy, and essential things like hormones.  If your body has an allergy to something you consume, like wine for example, it will produce an immune reaction to protect itself instead.  Immune reactions can range from rashes to irritable bowel issues, to headaches.  

It is estimated that more than 85% of all headaches have an allergy as the origin, which can result in muscle spasms, chemical imbalances, and decreased overall functional ability.  And food, like anything else, can cause these changes in the body. 

So what are some of the worst foods for those that suffer from migraines?  Here’s a great list in no particular order of severity:

Cheese, sour cream, yogurt, chicken livers, smoked or pickled fish, raisins, chocolate, nuts, soy sauce (anything with MSG really), coffee, tea, soda, alcohol such as beer and wine.

If you suffer from migraines it is highly possible that there is one or more food allergens that are to blame.  To find out, begin by removing all these from your diet for 2 weeks.  Then add one item at a time back in with a minimum of three days in between new diet additions.  This will help to isolate which food offenders are to blame so you can avoid them or get treated for them with N.A.E.T. to resolve food allergies.

Electro-Acupressure, What is it?

Electro-Acupressure, what is it?

Well, before you can answer that question, you need a basic understanding of Acupuncture theory. 

Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese system of treatment.  The theory behind it is that energy circulates in the body thru specific channels, called meridians.  It is of great importance that this energy be balanced, side to side, top to bottom, and inside to the outside.   

Balancing is based on the doctrine of Yin and Yang… that everything is amalgam of opposites and is to be in dynamic or ever-changing balance.  Yang is associated with activity, fire, the sunny side of the hill or male principle.  The Yin is associated with physical substance, water, the dark side of the hill or female principle.

Within these meridians is the flow of energy, also known as “Chi”.  If a blockage in the flow of energy occurs, then illness will result.   An example would be pain in the neck and upper arm, in Chinese medicine this would indicate a blockage in the small intestine meridian (this runs over the upper back and arm region).  The remedy for this would be, according to traditional Acupuncture, to insert a needle at the point of discomfort, encouraging flow to re-establish itself. 

The remedy for this same ailment with Electro-Acupressure with the exception that instead of needle uses to stimulate an acupuncture point, a small electrical impulse is used instead.  In Chinese medicine these points are called “Ah-Shi” (“ouch” points), in Electro-Acupressure the same points are referred to as “trigger points”.

Treatment traditionally includes a series of sessions, depending on the acute or chronic nature of pain, is comfortable and lasts less than 30 minutes.  For extreme conditions, acute sessions can be multiple times a day until the pain is gone and chronic conditions can be daily for up to 30 days.  However the speed of recovery is truly based on the desires of recovery requested by the patient.

Being the first to ask

I remember when David and I got married, we made these books of photos.  There was a book of David and his 2 best men, me and my 2 maids of honor, a book of us and Layla, and our final book was pictures of the two of us.  At the time I didn't think much of it... but as people viewed the photo books at our arrival dinner, multiple people asked me 'How did you get so many pictures of David and you?'  My answer was always... 'Well, we asked people to take them.' 

So now I am reading this book Women Don't Ask, and with every page I turn I am brought back to times like this and I can't help but to think, those people that asked me how we got so many pictures... I bet they never ask.  Never ask that random stranger in front of the Washington Monument, never task their server at the restaurant... they never ask anyone.

So blowing this up into global perspective, which is what the book does, not asking can have huge long-term effects on how far a person progresses in life.  And even though I do ask for someone to snap a shot of us in random places, how many times have I not asked... not asked for that increase in time-off, not asked for that raise, not asked for a refund on a horrible burger, and not asked for help with picking weeds.

Why is it so hard to ask?  It shouldn't be. 

I recommend... even if you ask... to read this book and see how you can improve your future.

Women Don't Ask Book

Allies In Biz Prime Time Event Testimonial

Good Morning lovely ladies!  I wanted to thank you for the opportunity to host a Prime Time event for Allies in Biz, it was such a great experience.  You both were a wonderful resource for marketing the event and following through with the needs of the event. 

In my past experiences of hosting events at my office, the results and success have been intermittent and limited to say the least.  By no means do I strive in the promotion department.  Now with my office seeing a good amount of patients, events such as these have become even more important and more difficult to find the time for all the planning and promotion, not to mention the stress of the actual event.  It has been vital having Allies in Biz as a resource. 

Looking at it from a Time-Investment viewpoint, I was thrilled with it.  The majority of my time was centered around getting the refreshments and coordinating all the staff that I needed at the office for the event.  Beyond that I had no time at all to dedicate to the event.  Having Phyllis and Celeste spearheading the promotion, marketing, and flow of the event was essential. 
Analyzing it from a Financial-Investment viewpoint, I also am very happy with the success.  The annual membership to Allies in Biz was more than I invested in the event, of course with the wine being the most costly and only costing $40, that was money well worth it.  I honestly don't know where else you could get this event for a lesser investment and such a huge return.

Since the event I have had 5 New Patients schedule for services at my office, 2 additional appointments for our HCG weight loss plan, and I am confident that these are just the tip of the iceberg regarding how many people I will be able to help from this Prime Time event.

I look forward to other business Prime Time events and I am confident that EVERY business should have Allies in Biz as a resource and part of their marketing plan.

Thanks wonderful Allies In Biz!!
www.alliesinbiz.com