Posts Tagged ‘chiropractic’
Restless Leg Syndrome
Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is a neurological disorder related to the nervous system, causing involuntary twitching or movement of one or both of the legs. It is also classified as a sleep disorder because the incessant movement interferes with the sufferer’s ability to sleep, leading to insomnia and elevated stress levels.
Symptoms of RLS are variable and specific to the individual but usually include at least one of the following:
- Aching to outright pain
- Tingling
- Numbness
- Burning/stinging/itching
It has also been described as a creepy-crawly type feeling. Regardless, of how you characterize it, RLS is downright unpleasant. Symptoms are often prevalent during the daytime but become most pronounced when a person lies prostrate, or tries to rest. Because it is a disorder of the nervous system, chiropractic is a particularly effective treatment.
Muscle twitching is caused by a nervous system signal, whereby motor neurons signal to a particular muscle to contract: muscle builders utilize this signaling to build muscle. Because nerves control this muscle movement, it makes sense that if your muscles are twitching involuntarily, it could be a nervous system malfunction.
We provide the following benefits to RLS sufferers:
- Chiropractic adjustment to normalize nerve functioning in the lumbo-sacral region, where nerves communicate to the legs.
- Exercises and stretches that support and balance the pelvic region.
- Focusing on establishing balance in the lower body.
Do not let structural causes be the reason for your RLS. Call our office in Houston at 713-862-2440 to schedule an appointment today.
Dr. Randall Holmes, D.C.
Restless Sleep
Successful sleep means falling and staying asleep and, while asleep, deriving the restorative benefits that sleep has to offer: a productive period of rest and recovery that boosts everything from physical and mental fitness to well-being and mood.
When we treat people who are suffering from sleep problems, it is easy to diagnose a systemic pattern of external and internal causatives that have led to their sleepless condition. So we begin with the basics: a conversation to determine what kind of life you lead and how it may impact your sleeping ability.
Here is a standard daily itinerary that precipitates a sleepless night:
- Wake up from a restless night with a stiff neck.
- Preparation for a busy day begins with coffee, your morning stimulant.
- Blaze through a day of work, balancing the ups and downs, exerting your brain and accumulating stress.
- Eating is a secondary consideration to work, so your body does not receive anything close to the full nutrition it needs.
- A couple of hours of television before bed keeps the brain buzzing and active.
- Falling asleep on an ill-fitting pillow, perpetuating the neck pain.
As you can see, restless sleep is viciously cyclical. If your life involves even one of the factors mentioned above, it could be perpetuating a pattern of sleeplessness that is harming your quality of life. If you are trapped in this cycle, do not despair: better sleep is possible.
From a chiropractic angle, the upper neck region is the most coalescent with the sleep center of the brain. Keeping this region free of subluxation allows the nervous system to contribute to a healthy night’s sleep. We offer lifestyle counseling to help you identify counterproductive activities and reduce stress.
Call our office in Houston at 713-862-2440 to schedule an appointment today.
Dr. Randall Holmes, D.C.
In Pursuit of a Good Night’s Sleep
At Holmes Chiropractic we believe that sleep is integral to immunity.
A good night’s sleep is priceless: the influence of sleep on mood, attitude, cognition and health is something you have to feel to believe. Unfortunately for many, they don’t know what they have until it’s gone: lack of sleep is a leading contributor to stress and depression, symptoms that are all too real. Lack of sleep can also leave weaken your biological systems and contribute to elevated stress levels. Adult insomnia, the condition whereby people find it difficult to fall or stay asleep, is on the rise, and although there are many sleep medications on the market, most only treat the symptoms and not the cause.
To this end, we pledge to dive deep to derive the underlying cause of your sleeplessness. Sometimes, all it takes is a conversation to discover that unhealthy habits are obstructing your sleep patterns. We help you to institute healthy practices that reduce stress such as monitoring and limiting caffeine, alcohol and tobacco intake, increasing exercise and creating routines that give your brain a semblance of order.
If back pain is making it impossible to find a comfortable position to fall asleep in, we diagnose and correct the cause of the pain through adjustment and massage.
Massage also helps to increase blood flow and heal injuries, and reduce muscle tension that may have accrued due to stress or poor posture.
For sufferers of insomnia in the Houston area, we offer a composite strategy for wellness. Call us today at 713-862-2440 to schedule an appointment.
Dr. Randall Holmes, D.C.
Asthma
Another respiratory condition that is on the rise in the U.S. is asthma, a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways in the lungs.
The pathways that carry air into and out of the lungs become inflamed and full of thick mucus while the muscles surrounding these airways tighten, narrowing the lungs further. This causes symptoms including coughing, shortness of breath and wheezing. Asthmatic symptoms are intermittent, but sufferers know that the next attack could be just around the corner.
Chiropractic is not a direct treatment for asthma; that is, we do not proclaim to offer a cure for such a complex condition. However, because the causes of asthma are so wide ranging, it is worth considering treatments that offer a chance of reducing the severity and frequency of attacks. Here’s how chiropractic helps asthma sufferers:
- Realignment of the spine, particularly the C3-C5 vertebrae which when misaligned can impinge on the nerves that compose the phrenic nerve. The phrenic nerve is the power source for the diaphragm, the main muscle used in breathing.
- Improving nerve function to the accessory muscles used in the breathing process. This means more air brought in and fluidly expelled, without the interference of inflamed airways.
- Realigning the thoracic spine, allowing the chest cavity to acquire and expel air properly.
Call our office at Holmes Chiropractic at 713-862-2440 to find out how we can make great improvements on the severity of your asthma symptoms.
Dr. Randall Holmes, D.C.
Upper Respiratory Infections
Upper respiratory infections are of a group that includes sinusitis, bronchitis, influenza and the common cold. Though rarely life threatening, these conditions make breathing, one of our most critical biological processes, difficult. There are many lifestyle factors within your control: choosing not to smoke, exercising and eating a healthy diet, and staying hydrated. There are also lifestyle choices at your disposal: using an air purifier, using appropriate herbs and inhalation/vaporization to clear the airways. However, to balance this equation, there are equally as many external aggravators: second-hand smoke, mold and exposure to pollution and allergens are among the most common. Sometimes it may feel like the environment is undoing all your good work.
At Holmes Chiropractic, we treat chronic respiratory infections by looking at their underlying cause. The logic relies on a core chiropractic principle: that subluxations are a hindrance to the immune system. As an integral member of the immune system, the lymphatic system is responsible for a process known as phagocytosis in which harmful antigens are detected, destroyed, and disposed of through lymph drainage. Anything preventing the lymphatic system from achieving this heroic process would be providing harmful bacteria and viruses a reprieve to linger in the affected person’s airways. Subluxation could be impeding your lymphatic system from disposing of the agents that are causing your respiratory infection.
At our office in Houston, we look at the cervical spine as a particular region of interest when treating sufferers of respiratory infection. Subluxations in the neck create spasms, which restrict muscular movement and create a counterproductive situation in which it is difficult for the body to remove infection-causing agents from the respiratory network. Correct subluxation and let your lymph flow by calling our office at 713-862-2440 to schedule an appointment.
Dr. Randall Holmes, D.C.
Respiratory Health and Chiropractic
At Holmes Chiropractic, we view the spine as the key to overall well being. As the pathway for nerve signaling throughout the body, maintaining its health is imperative: when the spine is allowed to remain out of alignment, the brain and body experience communication breakdown. By ensuring that the nervous system is working at full capacity, we can positively impact a number of health issues. One issue that responds well to chiropractic treatment is asthma, a respiratory condition that affects the airways. Asthma is paroxysmal in nature: it comes on in torrents and common symptoms include: wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing and a tight chest.
Can texting create a pain in your neck?
Text messaging has emerged as one of America’s primary forms of communication, especially among younger generations. This is unfortunate for the spine, a structure which was not designed to engage with a pocket computer for prolonged periods of time. At Holmes Chiropractic, we are watching the text message take its toll on the 21st century’s most avid communicators. Overuse of a cell phone poses a postural problem: the severe angle that the head takes in order to send and receive messages is putting excess stress on the neck and shoulder muscles.
Chiropractic for Kids
Why do we set such store by keeping up the health of our children’s teeth but not their musculoskeletal health? It is an interesting paradox when you consider that many spinal problems begin in childhood and intensify with age. As a child grows and learns to participate in the human experience, their spine begins its navigation through the daily wears and tears of life. A structure that is used for every movement and action should be maintained with regular check ups.