Posts Tagged ‘health’
Stress, both Physical and Mental
Stress and back pain exist in a state of symbiosis: each fuels the other. In a malicious cycle, stress leads to pain which, in turn, leads to more stress. We know that leading a life of high mental stress encourages your muscles to rest in a state of tension rather than relaxation. Prolonged muscle tension leads to a grab-bag of problems including subluxation, back pain, headaches and high blood pressure.
Chiropractic is a reasonable consideration for people suffering from stress. We focus on correcting misalignment; ensuring that spinal nerves are free of the interference which causes pain and dysfunction. Furthermore, our treatment focuses on releasing the accumulated muscle tension and improving circulation of oxygen and nutrients through the body. Removing pain from the equation makes combating mental stress easier.
At Holmes Chiropractic, we do not proffer a cure all for stress. For example: there is no way we can make your job less stressful. However, our treatment will help you overcome the physical pain caused by stress. We also offer counseling on nutrition and lifestyle adjustments which can make it easier to effectively manage your stress. We want to show you how a balanced spine is an integral part of a stress-free life. Call our office in Houston at (713) 862-2440.
Dr. Randall Holmes, D.C.
Return to a Moving Lifestyle
Ditch the car; take a bike to work! But wait, life is never as simple as that. For many people, ditching the car is simply an impossible consideration. However, the essential idea behind this statement is that we need to return movement to our lives. Too many activities are being automated, too much time spent in front of screens and not enough attention to the little movements of life are leaving backs in a state of premature degradation. At Holmes Chiropractic, we want to see this trend reversed to prevent a future of back pain.
A program for movement is all about the individual: it depends on the idiosyncrasies of your daily schedule and your commitment to a healthier back care lifestyle. We can help you to reclaim wasted minutes of the day and put them to work for you. It does not have to be a drastic lifestyle upheaval: simply adding in a 10 minute walk after dinner can lay the foundation for greater health because every little movement counts.
Fitness blogs and exercise magazines are chock-full of ways to ambiguously improve your life. There is simply too much information and almost none of it is personalized to the individual: it often leaves people feeling slightly turned off. If you are one of these people, or someone who can see the benefit of moving more, give our office in Houston a call. We evaluate the condition of your spine and come up with a succinct fitness package that takes into account your level of fitness, the condition of your body and your personal fitness goals.
Dr. Randall Holmes, D.C.
Headaches and Sleeping
For many people, getting to sleep, or staying asleep is difficult because of headaches and, by the opposite token, lack of sleep creates headaches during the day time. Sleep is a key ingredient to overall wellness, and as such, the pursuit of restful, restorative sleep is a primary pursuit at Holmes Chiropractic. How can you begin to function for a day when your restorative hours were racked by headache and stress? It sets a tone for your life that becomes hard to manage.
As we see it, nerves exiting from the cervical spine are involved in regulating the limbic system, which is responsible for mood. A nerve interference at this level could cause fluctuations in happiness, and lead to stress, anxiety and depression. Furthermore, a nerve that is being pressed by a misaligned vertebrae could be causing pain that is referring to your head. As muscle spasms begin to accrue in the shoulders and neck, the problem becomes muddled. It is not unbelievable that a cervical subluxation could be causing your headaches that stop you from sleeping. And it is proven that not sleeping causes headaches, whether from anxiety or exhaustion.
At our office in Houston, we believe that together we can make positive impacts on your sleep health. We take everything into consideration: sleep hygiene, nutrition, ergonomics and posture, as well as chiropractic considerations that treat the spine to ensure your nerves are functioning properly. Call our office to schedule an appointment today and start sleeping right to reduce headaches.
Dr. Randall Holmes, D.C.
Posture Headache
If someone were to take a picture of you right now, as you sat at the computer, how would you look? Would you be upright in your chair, with a healthy lordotic curve, shoulders back and face straight forward. Or would you be slumped forward, neck cricked downward, with tight shoulders and a rounded back? For many people, it is option two, and it’s not doing their head any favors. For people who come home from a grueling day at the office with a pounding headache, posture could be your downfall.
Here’s how it works: after hours of mental exertion, any awareness of posture has gone out the window. We have succumbed to the malaise of work and our muscles are now suffering. The chin starts moving toward the screen, as though by magnetization, and the head follows, rounding the back and scrunching shoulders in the process. Now the weight of your head, no longer at the top of a straight spine, is magnified, creating an imbalance that requires shoulder and neck muscles to compensate. This is how these muscles feel tight or strained. Often times, muscle spasms will accompany this position, and the pain is referred to the head, leaving you with a headache.
Clearly, this is not something you want to do to yourself. There are many intangible factors which create headaches. It is in all of our best interest to exercise the powers in our control to limit headache symptoms. Posture is one of the most effective, least used ways to influence your health: unlock its power by calling our office in Houston today at (713) 862-2440.
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.
Chronic Bronchitis
Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchi, the major air passages of the lungs.
While asthma is a chronic condition, causing repeated episodes of airway narrowing, bronchitis involves the irritation of mucus membranes lining the airways. It can be acute and short lived, or chronic, especially for those who smoke cigarettes. Acute bronchitis is a viral affliction that lasts for a short period of time defined by an unproductive cough and will usually resolve itself in a matter of weeks. Chronic bronchitis is often called smoker’s cough and is more serious, causing permanent airway damage.
As with asthma, chiropractic is not a direct treatment for bronchitis. However there are some key links between the spine and respiratory system:
- Vertebral subluxation interferes with nerves that control both the diaphragm and accessory muscles.
- Muscle spasms occur which cause inflammation of the lung tissue
- Subluxation prevents the lymphatic system from draining harmful material which could be contributing to your condition.
Adjustments correct the subluxation, allowing the nerves to function unhindered, the lymphatic system to drain properly and breathing muscles to do what they do best.
Chiropractic’s role in fighting bronchitis is focused on boosting your nervous system and strengthening your body against viruses that may exacerbate your condition. With the cessation of inhaling harmful substances, the body will begin its recovery process. Our role for sufferers of bronchitis in Houston is to give the body its best chances of a speedy recovery.
Call our office at 713-862-2440.
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.
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.