At Midwest Chiropractic, we strive to provide our patients with the best care. By enlightening them on ways to improve health and manage stress, they can enjoy their daily lives to a greater capacity and live a longer life. Helping patients learn about the Vagus nerve can teach them more about controlling the body and the organs that reside inside of it.
What is Vagus Nerve?
The vagus nerve is actually two cranial nerves that extend from the brain stem and connect down to the viscera. Sometimes this nerve is referred to as cranial nerve X, the 10th cranial nerve or the wandering nerve. These nerves are used to send a variety of signals throughout the body, but will also transfer signals back to the brain. The vagus nerve is also known for wandering through the body, weaving through the abdomen and branching into other nerves that extend through the limbs and organs.
The vagus nerve is used to regulate a variety of body functions including the heartbeat and the muscle movement necessary to keep you breathing. This nerve also regulates the chemical levels in the digestive system so that the intestines can process food and keep track of what types of nutrients are being gained from the food that is taken in.
By learning more about the body and how to regulate it, we can expend less energy and feel better each day. Stop by Midwest Chiropractic today if you’re interested in receiving a health assessment and understanding how the body works.
Did you know it was this easy to trim your waistline and improve your health? By walking for 30 minutes a day, three days a week, your body will thank you as overall health improves.
You don’t have to travel far to get exercise. However, hiking long distances can improve your mental health, strength and stamina.
Basic Benefits
Physical activity doesn’t need to be complicated. Something as simple as a daily brisk walk can help you live a healthier life.
For example, regular brisk walking can help you:
Maintain a healthy weight
Prevent or manage various conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes
Strengthen your bones
Lift your mood
Improve your balance and coordination
The faster, farther and more frequently you walk, the greater the benefits.
By walking for 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week, your overall mental and physical health will improve.
Developing a Routine
As you start your walking routine, remember to:
Get the right gear. Choose shoes with proper arch support, a firm heel and thick flexible soles to cushion your feet and absorb shock. If you walk outdoors when it’s dark, wear bright colors or reflective tape for visibility.
Choose your course carefully. If you’ll be walking outdoors, avoid paths with cracked sidewalks, potholes, low-hanging limbs or uneven turf.
Warm up. Walk slowly for five to 10 minutes to warm up your muscles and prepare your body for exercise.
Cool down. At the end of your walk, walk slowly for five to 10 minutes to help your muscles cool down.
Stretch. After you cool down, gently stretch your muscles. If you’d rather stretch before you walk, remember to warm up first.
Staying Motivated
Starting a walking program takes initiative. Sticking with it takes commitment. To stay motivated:
Set yourself up for success. Start with a simple goal, such as, “I’ll take a 10-minute walk during my lunch break.” When your 10-minute walk becomes a habit, set a new goal, such as, “I’ll walk for 20 minutes after work.” Soon you could be reaching for goals that once seemed impossible.
Make walking enjoyable. If you don’t enjoy solitary walks, ask a friend or neighbor to join you. If you’re invigorated by groups, join a health club.
Vary your routine. If you walk outdoors, plan several different routes for variety. If you’re walking alone, be sure to tell someone which route you’re taking.
Take missed days in stride. If you find yourself skipping your daily walks, don’t give up. Remind yourself how good you feel when you include physical activity in your daily routine — and then get back on track.
Once you take that first step, you’re on the way to an important destination — better health.
Did you know you can improve spinal health through the foods you eat?
Understanding spinal health from a nutritional perspective can improve back pain and ease the damage done to broken or strained vertebrae. By eating the right foods we can heal the body rather than damaging it through further nutritional deficiencies and food-based destruction.
Check out this list of foods if you’re looking to maintain and redevelop the health of your spine.
Calcium:Found primarily in dairy products. However, kale and broccoli are excellent vegetable sources of calcium.
Magnesium:Dark chocolateis an amazing and tasty source of magnesium. Nuts like almonds, cashews, brazil nuts, and sunflower seeds are also high in magnesium.
Phosphorus:Also found in many nuts and seeds like brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds. Cheese is also a great source of phosphorus.
Foods like pineapple, chicken, avocado, red onion, tomatoes and leafy greens are all foods designed for spinal health.
Vitamin D:Eggs and fatty fish like anchovies and salmon are great healthy food sourcesof vitamin D. However, 20 minutes a day of sunlight is the best way to get vitamin D and will meet your daily requirements for mineral absorption.
Vitamin K: Leafy greens, broccoli, asparagus and even cucumber are natural sourcesof vitamin K. The richest source of the potent K2, which is the best form for calcium absorption, is found in a japanese food called natto. Although this fermented food is difficult to find, a pill form is easily purchased at most health food stores or online.
By maintaining spinal health through regular exercise, chiropractic care and proper nutrition, you won’t have to feel the effects of premature aging. You can also maintain a healthy spine and enjoy the benefits of living with full mobility. The best part about maintaining spinal health is the new foods you get to try. So start eating for spinal health and today and notice instant benefits.
Improve spinal health by following these suggestions:
1. When standing, keep one foot forward of the other, with knees slightly bent. This takes the pressure off your low back.
2. When sitting, sit with your knees slightly higher than your hips and provide good low back support.
3. When reaching, stand on a stool to reach things that are above your shoulder level. This can prevent unnecessary injury
4. When moving heavy items, pushing is easier on your back than pulling. Use your arms and legs to start the push. If you must lift a heavy item, get someone to help you.
5. When lifting, kneel down on one knee with the other foot flat on the floor as near as possible to the item you are lifting. Lift with your legs, not your back, keeping the object close to your body at all times.
6. When carrying two small objects (one in either hand) may be easier to handle than one large one. If you must carry one large object, keep it close to your
body.
7. When sleeping, sleeping on your back puts 55 lbs. of pressure on your back. Putting a couple of pillows under your knees cuts the pressure in half. Lying on your side with a pillow between your knees also reduces the pressure.
8. When controlling your weight, keep in mind that Weight additional weight puts a strain on your back. Keep within 10 lbs. of your ideal weight for a healthier back.
9. Quit Smoking! Smokers are more prone to back pain than nonsmokers because nicotine restricts the flow of blood to the discs that cushion your vertebrae.
10. Treat minor back pain with anti-inflammatories and gentle stretching, followed by an ice pack.
Pregnancy is a beautiful thing, especially when it involves a properly aligned spine. If you are pregnant, or know someone who is, this article expresses the importance of visiting a chiropractor on a regular basis when you are expecting. There’s many benefits to getting regular adjustments before and after you go into labor. Check out the list below and stop by Midwest Chiropractic today if you need an assessment.
Many people think that swollen ankles, lower back pain and hormones gone wild is a natural part of pregnancy. However, chiropractic care can lessen these painful symptoms of pregnancy or eliminate them all together.
Methods Used to Eliminate Pain
Since the spine is considered the central force of life, it controls the nervous system and plays a major role in how we feel on a daily basis. When a baby is growing inside a female body, the baby develops at the physical expense of the female. From a chiropractic perspective, this often results in vertebral subluxations and as previously mentioned, lower back pain.
By receiving adjustments on a regular basis, your spine can be realigned and pain can be prevented. This can result in a healthier, happier baby since the mother’s body endured less pain and tension as a result of the pregnancy.
After Pregnancy
Receiving chiropractic care after pregnancy not only helps the body, but the mind as well. By getting a spinal adjustment after a woman gives birth, she can prevent and treat postpartum depression. That’s because a chiropractic adjustment creates more blood flow in the spine and makes it easier for circulation to reach the brain.
Working with Midwest Chiropractic
By selecting Midwest Chiropractic, you have opted for a safe alternative to invasive treatment and harmful medicines. Dr. Joe has worked extensively on spinal health for the past 26 years and is eager to help you. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to call at our office at 847-253-2112.
When visiting a chiropractor, make sure you come prepared with a list of questions to ask that will help realign your spine as well as your health. By preparing yourself for the visit, you can become an advocate for your own health and as you experience the power of healing within your own body. Don’t hesitate to do your own research, the list of questions below might help you get started.
1. What conditions do chiropractors treat?
Doctors of Chiropractic (DCs) care for patients of all ages, with a variety of health conditions. DCs are especially well known for their expertise in caring for patients with back pain, neck pain and headaches…particularly with their highly skilled manipulations or chiropractic adjustments. They also care for patients with a wide range of injuries and disorders of the musculoskeletal system, involving the muscles, ligaments and joints.
Getting a chiropractic adjustment can help everyone relieve tension in the spine and create more mobility.
2. How do I select a doctor of chiropractic?
One of the best ways to select a doctor of chiropractic (DC) is by getting a referral from a friend, family member, colleague, or another health care provider. You can also check out our Facebook page to learn more about how we care for our patients at Midwest Chiropractic LLC.
3. Does chiropractic treatment require a referral from an MD?
You do not need a referral from an MD to visit a chiropractor. In fact, some MDs frown upon the work chiropractors do since it deviates from a health plan based on pharmaceuticals.
4. Is chiropractic treatment safe?
Chiropractic is widely recognized as one of the safest drug-free, non-invasive therapies available for the treatment of neuromusculoskeletal complaints. Although chiropractic has an excellent safety record, no health treatment is completely free of potential adverse effects. The risks associated with chiropractic, however, are very small. Many patients feel immediate relief following chiropractic treatment, but some may experience mild soreness, stiffness or aching, just as they do after some forms of exercise.
5. Is chiropractic treatment appropriate for children?
Yes, children can benefit from chiropractic care. Children are very physically active and experience many types of falls and blows from activities of daily living as well as from participating in sports. Injuries such as these may cause many symptoms including back and neck pain, stiffness, soreness or discomfort.
Are chiropractors allowed to practice in hospitals or use medical outpatient facilities?
6. How is a chiropractic adjustment performed?
Chiropractic adjustment or manipulation is a manual procedure that utilizes the highly refined skills developed during the doctor of chiropractic’s intensive years of chiropractic education. The chiropractic physician typically uses his or her hands–or an instrument–to manipulate the joints of the body, particularly the spine, in order to restore or enhance joint function.
If you have more questions regarding how chiropractic treatment could benefit your health, feel free to give Dr. Joe a call at 847-253-2112 so he can help improve your spine.
If you haven’t visited a chiropractor before, you should start now! At Midwest Chiropractic LLC, we pride ourselves on the ability to enhance a patient’s health without invasive treatment. After receiving one spinal adjustment from Dr. Joe Baric, or patients mood is lifted and tension is put at ease.
The spine is the center of human life. If a single nerve, nodule or disc slips out of place, an adjustment is necessary to fix the imbalance.
Why Chiropractic Care Works
By taking a holistic approach to health, the spine is identified as the center of human life. If a single nerve is out of place, it can result in unnecessary pain and mental imbalances or stress. All chiropractors, including Dr. Joe Baricare aware that the body has the ability to heal itself with enough exercise and proper diet. By acknowledging this, we manipulate the spine to realign the human mind and body.
Visiting a chiropractor on a regular basis and receiving spinal adjustments can improve:
1. Back Pain
2. Neck pain
3. Headaches
4. Ear Infections
5. Scoliosis
6. Asthma
7. Blood Pressure
8. Tough Pregnancy
9. Organ Function
10. Surgery Prevention
At Midwest Chiropractic LLC, we assess the patients health before manipulating the spine. Misalignment happens for a variety of reasons including; poor diet, poor posture, inflammatory response, degenerative diseases.
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