Hungry for Health
Eating healthfully can be as convenient as eating conveniently. Understanding vitamins, minerals, fats and sugars is one of the greatest ways to arm yourself against the degeneration that comes with injury or age. Nutrition is of great value to the chiropractor because it only enhances the adjustment and joint treatment aspects of our practice.
A microcosmic example: eating food that fights inflammation. This is a way that chiropractic and diet synergize to reduce pain and stiffness for the chronic inflammation sufferer. Chiropractic adjustments have been shown to block the body’s production of key inflammatory cytokines. Likewise, omega-3 fatty acids are also known for being rich with anti-inflammatory properties. They are an essential fat that the body cannot produce by itself, and they have been shown to have a collaborative effect with aspirin that is normally prescribed for pain management.
This was not a story about arthritis, but rather, an example of how nutrition can be used to greatly enhance the efficacy of any health plan. At Holmes Chiropractic, we offer a natural method of dealing with chronic inflammation and we can help you institute small lifestyle changes that will get you the ingredients you need to help your body fight back. We look forward to hearing from and helping you accomplish any health objective that you set.
Dr. Randall Holmes, D.C.
The Story of Subluxation
Subluxation is a complicated sounding word for a relatively simple concept. We start by imagining the spine as 24 separate vertebrae rather than one long bone. Accentuating each vertebrae, to ensure they don’t grind on eachother outright, are intervertebral discs made up of cartilaginous material. Diverging from the spinal cord, which is the nervous system’s super highway, are nerve roots that supply energy to the organs, tissues and glands of our bodies. Over time, due to repetitive trauma, acute injury, or a host of other factors, the intervertebral disc can be compromised, allowing for compression of the nerve roots. Up to this point, you may have been unaware that any deterioration was occurring, but now you can distinctly feel the pain and swelling that restricts movement.
At Holmes Chiropractic, we are more than familiar with this story. We correct subluxation with chiropractic adjustment, restoring balance to the back and removing compression from the nerves. By focusing our attention on massaging injured tissues, we speed the healing process and reduce inflammation. Before you know it, your are back on your feet feeling freer than ever: chiropractic is particularly good at restoring lost range of motion and flexibility.
Our goal is to determine the true cause of your health problems and, if possible, correct it so that you can live your greatest life possible. Call our office in Houston and find out what we can do for you today.
Dr. Randall Holmes, D.C.
Sleep and Stay Happy
How can we define healthy sleep? A period of rest, recovery and reprieve. The stresses of the day melt away into a dreamscape that brings serenity and rejuvenation to minds that are often caught up in the fast pace of the daytime. For too many people, this is not their reality: sleep is a struggle, to fall and to stay asleep, to switch the mind off and forget about the day gone by and the one to come, is an impossibility. There are myriad factors, some physical, some mental, some emotional and some completely intangible, that contribute to a good night’s sleep. What is known is that a healthy sleep life means a happy waking life.
Benefits of regular, restful sleep:
- Better cognitive function
- Less stress
- Longer life
- Improved immunity
- Improved memory
- Better athletic performance
- Healthier weight with less fluctuation
As rates of sleeplessness soar, so to does the rate of prescription and over-the-counter remedies which propound themselves as a cure all that delivers the above benefits, while the side-effects are kept in small print and rarely discussed. At Holmes Chiropractic, we want to offer you a natural, alternative path: to focus on fixing pre-existing physical limitations and changing your lifestyle to create a more healthy sleep program.
Chiropractic works to help you by regulating blood circulation and correcting misaligned vertebrae. Essentially, we ensure that your body is in conducive shape for sleeping by regulating the nervous system, the network for communication between brain and body. From here, we help you evaluate your lifestyle and find things that may be holding you back from a good night’s sleep such as too much of the wrong food before bed or too much electronic exposure in the pre-sleep hours.
Everyone deserves a good night’s sleep; let’s start changing your sleep health for the better today. Call our office in Houston at (713) 862-2440.
Dr. Randall Holmes, D.C.
Back to School Tips
It may be hard to believe that summer is going by so fast, but it quickly becomes a reality when the first week of school rolls around. Whether your child is returning for another year, or leaving the nest and moving into a dorm for the first time, it is important to remember that keeping your spine healthy will make the brain function better! Here are some natural health tips for back-to-school week:
- Find a good back pack: we covered some backpack etiquette in the last post, but finding a well-fitting backpack is key. We can evaluate the child’s body type and help you make an economical and healthy decision on which pack to buy for your child.
- Create an ergonomic study zone: while the classroom furniture may be out of your control, help your child by creating a healthy work zone at home. Not only will it help their spine, it will also make them more motivated and excited to learn if their study room is cool and comfortable.
- Teach, or let us teach, your child the importance of good posture. School requires a lot of sitting and more and more computer time: this means more hours that can make or break the spinal health of a young body. Using good seated posture is rewarding: make your child appreciate it and they can be a trend setter for the rest of the school.
- Pay attention to hydration and nutrition: do you know what your child eats at school? It could be affecting their physical and mental performance. Start the school year off right by making sure their immune system is boosted!
Finally, keep your child well adjusted (the chiropractic way). At Holmes Chiropractic, we believe every child is capable of great things. We want to help them by removing nerve interference and optimizing the nervous system so that brain and body can grow unencumbered. Give our office a Houston a call and set up an appointment to make sure your child is entering the school year with an advantage.
Dr. Randall Holmes, D.C.
A Well-Adjusted Backpack…
…makes all the difference in your child’s spinal health during the school year. Day after day of schlepping a heavy backpack around will take its toll, especially on small backs and cores that have not developed the muscles necessary to cope with such heavy loads. In fact, many adults are also suffering from the burden brought on by over-stuffed backpacks and poor posture. During the school year, it may be impossible to avoid bringing a heavy backpack to school; however, observing a few simple tips can help us minimize the damage that this could be doing to our backs.
- Minimize the load: please carry only the bare essentials. Ideally, the bag should weigh, at most, only 15 percent of the carrier’s bodyweight.
- Keep the bag adjusted properly: many kids will fall victim to the trend of loosening the shoulder straps and letting the bag hang low, pulling on the muscles of the shoulders and neck.
- Always use both straps: This will distribute the weight evenly, encourage a healthier posture and reduce the burden on the neck.
- Put the bag on at table height: avoid bending over to pick up the bag, or slinging it on your shoulder.
The best bag is an empty bag. For parents concerned with the toll that heavy backpacks may be taking on their child’s spine, give our office in Houston a call. We offer the ergonomic advice that will help you find a properly-suited bag and help you wear it properly and proudly. We can be reached at (713) 862-2440.
Dr. Randall Holmes, D.C.
Losing Weight for your Back’s Sake
When it comes to leading a life with less back-pain, losing weight is one of the most lasting ways you can effect improvement. I say lasting because nothing about weight loss is immediate: the process of shedding excess poundage is gradual and it requires a commitment to nutrition, exercise and lifestyle modification. At Holmes Chiropractic, we know that the best way to achieve any health goal is teamwork and to this end, we offer you our services as both moral support, teammate and coach.
How we help:
- Chiropractic adjustment ensures that spinal imbalance is not holding you back. Keeping the nervous system regulated goes a long way toward weight loss, and you will feel more flexible and motivated to get moving if your body is in a state of balance.
- Nutrition…let’s take this slow. While there is no need to completely overhaul your diet, there may be a need to do simple things like drinking more water or replacing processed fats and sugars with healthy ones.
- Reducing stress…releasing tension and boosting your mental well-being makes you more likely and able to take the initiative of losing weight.
- When it comes to exercise, every body is different. This means that depending on your overall condition, including considerations for pain and beginning weight, we tailor a specific set of exercises that will ease you back into the world of activity.
Yes, weight loss is, by nature, a gradual process: it surely helps to have someone there to keep you accountable every step of the way. Give our office in Houston a call and find out how we can start making the small changes that will lead to a new you.
Dr. Randall Holmes, D.C.
Getting Wet
Swimming is a highly effective, low stress exercise. As aerobic workouts go, it is one of the best because it builds and tones muscle without dealing stress to joints, as is the case with running. It is a whole-body exercise that can benefit anyone from the fittest athlete to someone suffering a musculoskeletal limitation. With the weather continually hovering high, it also feels great to take a dip. Here is how swimming helps improve your overall wellness:
- Respiratory health: swimming increases your lung capacity because it is denser than air, forcing your body to work harder in order to supply oxygen to its vital processes. As you swim more and more, your body will acclimatize to this higher work rate and you will see a noticeable uptick in respiratory health.
- Flexibility: improve range-of-motion and lengthening muscles, being in the water is one of the best ways to become more flexible.
- Encouraging weight loss: you are burning calories without feeling it the way you would during a run. A swim is a total-body workout that contains none of the strains inherent in running.
- Promoting happiness and mental health: being in the water can improve your mood. When you first step in the pool, just let yourself float for a few seconds and feel the tension and gravity melt away.
The resistance of the water provides a natural muscle-builder. From a chiropractor’s perspective, swimming is a no-brainer activity because it provides maximum reward while containing the lowest amount of impact inherent in any sport. If you are comfortable in the water, we urge you to take advantage of the pool, lake or ocean and swim a few laps for your health. For help on optimizing your health this summer, give our office a call.
Dr. Randall Holmes, D.C.
Chiropractic: the Natural Way to Improve Athletic Performance
When it comes to increasing performance to a higher standard, few options are as potent as chiropractic. There are innumerable ways that chiropractic helps the serious athlete, and its efficacy is proven by the growing ranks of professional athletes who use chiropractic as a part of their repertoire.
Here are some of the ways that chiropractic helps the athlete within you:
- Improved mobility: range of motion is immediately improved, allowing you to move as you were intended. By releasing accumulated tension, mobility is improved.
- Treats sport-specific injuries: have you suffered from tennis elbow? sports hernia? Different injuries correspond to different sports, but both high and low-impact sports come with their own set of risks. Chiropractic lowers the risk of injury for both while reversing the strains that are inherent in athletic endeavor.
- Injury prevention: misalignment in the spine is a key retardant to successful rehabilitation. We focus on reducing inflammation and improving blood circulation, to bring nutrients and oxygen to areas that are in dire need.
- Decrease pain in the ligaments, joints and muscles. Chiropractic adjustment alleviates pressure on spinal nerves which can cause pain and also combats the severity and frequency of acute back pain.
One of the biggest reasons athletes suffer injury is because of asymmetry in the body: if one side of the body is weaker than the other, then limitations will obviously ensue. Often times prolonged periods of tension in one side of the body can cause misalignment. At Holmes Chiropractic, we are well versed in the biomechanics of an athlete’s body. Call our office in Houston and let us start helping you optimize your athletic performance today.
Dr. Randall Holmes, D.C.
Headaches
Headache is among the most common reasons for doctor visits in America. People are quick to reach for pain-numbing over-the-counter medicine, which is a short term solution that will only cause the pain to dissolve temporarily. A one-off headache is something that we all experience at different points in life; however, if you are suffering from chronic (defined as recurring regularly or persisting for a long period of time) headaches, it is worth searching for an underlying cause.
The Doctor of Chiropractic is concerned with the type of headache that is derived from musculoskeletal imbalance. At Holmes Chiropractic, we offer the chronic headache sufferer a thorough examination to determine whether their condition may be partially or fully related to spinal misalignment, muscular tension or joint malfunction. Subluxation, in particular, causes headache because the pressure on the nerve creates pain that can be referred, and therefore felt, in the head. Our treatment corrects subluxation and releases accumulated tension that may be causing you pain. Furthermore, we focus on enhancing blood circulation to ensure that the brain (as well as all the functioning systems in your body) is receiving an adequate flow of oxygen and nutrients.
We are not naive enough to proclaim that our treatment will solve every headache. We can offer you an honest evaluation that will determine whether your headaching could benefit from an adjustment or attention to a problematic region in the back. Give our office in Houston a call and let us help you reduce the grip that headaches have over your life.
Dr. Randall Holmes, D.C.
Stretching to Impact Flexibility
Improving flexibility will increase your agility, improve athletic performance and prevent injury. But how does stretching actually “create” or improve flexibility? Human flexibility is determined by the mobility of ligaments, joints, tendons and muscle. To understand stretching it is important to understand the function of each. Ligaments connect bone to bone and tendons connect muscle to bone.
Many modern lifestyles introduce people to hours of sitting in which the body becomes used to a limited range motion and muscles become short and wide. When we stretch, we focus on stretching the muscle, and the point where tendons and muscles meet. A stretch that targets a specific muscle will start in the middle of the muscle and move out to where muscle and tendon meets. The muscle fibers and tendons elongate during a stretch, reducing tension and improving range of motion.
At Holmes Chiropractic, we aim to change this trend: by getting you out of your chair, casually stretching and, most importantly, warming up and cooling down before and after physical activity, we can affect a change in your body’s standard level of flexibility.
Dr. Randall Holmes, D.C.