My Fave Things About Social Distancing (So Far)

Y’all. I am an introvert by nature, and believe it or not, so is Pierce, so we really enjoy being at home. Being (essentially) forced to stay at home makes me want to get out more though...funny how that works. As I’ve been practicing social distancing more though, it’s making me start to realize how many things I truly take for granted in any given day. 

One of the nicest things for me, and it’s a little selfish, being a chiropractor who is still seeing acute patients, is the fact that traffic is SO LIGHT. It’s so nice being able to turn off the AC, roll down the windows and jam out to some sweet tunes. Plus singing at the top of my lungs and red-light dancing is so uplifting right now. Seriously, next time you’re headed to the grocery store, try it. Your heart will feel like it’s smiling. 

Speaking of grocery shopping, I have seen so many more people connecting with each other (though at the CDC suggested distance of 6 feet), little smiles, jokes, noting the TP in the cart. It’s encouraging seeing people connect with each other. So many of us were stuck with our eyes glued to our phones, disengaging. So maybe we are practicing social distancing but encouraging social engagement. 

As I’ve pulled into a neighborhood to see a patient, I always get a big smile on my face when I see a family taking a walk with each other. Movement is important. Being outside is important. Spending time with loved ones is important. It’s so nice seeing people connecting with all of those things.

Rarely, like in the last 2 years, have I been able to enjoy my yard (it’s a pretty great one). I love seeing the deer, birds and other wild life really thriving right now. I get to see the wildflowers dancing in the wind, the painted bunting come to my bird feed and listen to the noises of nature.

We don’t have kids yet. But we do have animals. And while it’s nice to come home to a loving husband and a comfortable house. there’s not much greater than animals that greet you when you walk in the door. I used to take is for granted, but now I try to greet each of them (Pierce first) as excitedly as they greet me. It’s also nice having a dog that all he wants to do is spend time with you while you’re working. We don’t deserve dogs, guys.

I truly believe that things happen for a reason, maybe this whole pandemic is meant to bring society closer together in a way we haven’t seen in a lifetime. So let’s all keep on enjoying time spent with loved ones, connecting with strangers and getting that ever-important (especially right now) Vitamin D. 

Again, because I want to make it clear, we are here to continue to support you. If you are experiencing any musculoskeletal concerns, especially any that would make you go to the emergency room, we are encouraging you to seek treatment by a chiropractor at this time. We would be happy to help, give us a call at (210) 323-2163. 

Please stay safe, stay well and most importantly stay home.

Dealing with CoronaVIrus (AKA Common Sense)

We are in the midst of a global pandemic spreading like wildfire. How we respond to life helps to determine how quickly the virus could die down. 

Right now, for this virus in particular, it is important to practice social distancing, whether you are feeling well or if you have been exposed to it either via travel or a carrier. We want to practice flattening the curve as much as possible, and the more social distancing there is, the better.

Our hospitals will likely begin to fill up soon with people who really and truly need emergent care, if you don’t need to be there, we encourage you to avoid it as much as possible-I’m looking at you low back pain, neck pain and headache sufferers. Those are something you should be seeing your chiropractor for, we specialize in musculoskeletal issues. It makes ZERO sense for anyone who is healthy but experiencing musculoskeletal pain to go into the hospital right now.

We keep hearing about people being tested and being positive for CoronaVirus, however you do not want to go into the hospital to see if you have it or not. Please wait until you’re either showing signs of COVID-19 before thinking you need a test. With that being said, you need to realize that the more tests become readily available there will be exceptional growth of people who have the virus. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU NEED TO PANIC, the tests are just being used more and naturally the numbers will grow.

Reach out to elderly neighbors, parents, grandparents, or any immunocompromised people, if you are healthy and low risk to see if they need anything from the store if you are headed that way. We need to make sure they get as little potential exposure as possible, because it can lead to severe complications for these populations.

Most importantly, the best thing you can do for yourself is to practice some self care. Get outside, plant a garden, go on a hike, for a bike ride, whatever…synthesize that Vitamin D, baby. Eat Healthy (maybe from your garden?), get lots of leafy greens, drink a healthy smoothie. Stress less, we practice limited social media exposure on the weekends and almost NO live TV. I always say I’ve got enough to worry about in my day to day life, It’s been really freeing. You should be getting enough water, it helps to support your immune system and can be just the thing your body needs. If we wind up being quarantined for whatever amount of time, use it as a way to reconnect with yourself, your family, God and mother nature-I bet you’ll come out on the other side a better person for it.

Since this whole thing started to directly affect my normal life, I’ve found beauty and appreciation in little things, that remind me everything is going to be OK. A bird happily chirping in a tree. The noises babies make when they are eating. A cat purring in your lap. Your dog wagging its tail when you come home. How much you love your family and friends. whatever it is, think about how great your life truly is and thank whoever it is that you believe in for it.

Obviously, please continue to stay well and practice good hygiene. Washing hands for 20 seconds has been proven to help prevent the spread of disease...that’s humming Happy Birthday to yourself twice. Wipe down surfaces with a disinfectant, we are using CaviWipes, an antiviral/bacterial/microbial on our tables and our office. Sneeze or cough into your elbows and not your hands. Avoid shaking hands with anyone that you don’t know. It just takes a little common sense to help people continue to stay healthy.

If you are feeling sick or having flu-like symptoms, please consider staying home and help prevent the spread of anything.

Take care of others.

We’re here for you through all of this. Our office continues to stay open for office visits, telemedicine and house calls. We will meet you where you are at…ya know, unless you’ve got CoronaVirus. We have a business to run and patients to treat, after all. If you’re having good ole, regular aches and pains, reach out to us and we will help you feel better. You can reach us at (210) 323-2163.

We’re all in this together, after all.

Exercises for Common Problems

No body is perfect, hopefully if you follow these exercises we can help your body function more perfectly.

TMJ

If you’ve ever noticed your jaw popping or clicking (or getting stuck open or closed), you may have TMJ. You will also notice some ear or jaw pain associated with it. Most of the time, if you’re like me, it’s from clenching your teeth, especially while sleeping. Our favorite exercise for TMJ to instruct patients on is super easy to do, no one will be able to even tell you’re doing it at all. So, first, check and see where your tongue is sitting in your mouth. It should be lightly pressed against the back of the two top front teeth. That’s the exercise (yeah, really). I told you it’d be easy. In fact it’s so easy, that’s actually where the tongue should automatically go when at rest, like we’re talking anatomical position, correct biomechanics stuff (...<3). When you do this, it is virtually impossible to clench your teeth because it inhibits the muscles responsible for closing the jaw. 

The hard part comes into play when we need to train your brain into putting it there. 

So, what we suggest doing is pick a trigger (whatever it is, a text, a phone call, your kids shouting for your attention, etc.), make it something that happens throughout the day pretty regularly and then check and see where your tongue is. From a fellow TMJD patient, this really works. I’ve alleviated my symptoms and my tongue automatically goes behind my top front teeth. 

Neck Pain

Neck pain is the worst. Most of the time it is followed up with a headache, which can range from not that bad to turn-off-all-of-the-lights-and-no-one-talk-to-me-until-I-am-ready bad. Lucky for you, we have some easy ways to help the neck pain you’re already experiencing and may prevent it from happening again. 

First start off sitting, then you will tap yourself on your shoulders with your fingers (right to right/left to left). Relax your shoulders (but keep them where they are) and lower your arms down to your sides. Now you will want to take your neck through all of the ranges of motion. Look up, down, side to side and tilt your head from right to left. 

You want to try to do this throughout your day, so there will be natural triggers to remind you to do your neck stretches (hopefully). We also like to do these when we are taking a shower or just trying to relax. 

Low Back Pain

FACT. Low back pain is one of the most common excuses for people to either not go into work or participate in activities they would like to, but feel that they can’t. 

This one may have to be done at home. First, get on your hands and knees on the ground. You’re then going to drop your bellybutton down toward the ground and look up (think of a cow standing in a field), then bring your bellybutton toward your spine/spine toward the ceiling (like a hissing cat).

If you are experiencing any of the above, we have so many more things left in our back pocket to help you. Give us a call, set up an appointment and then we can go over so much more detail. Our number is (210) 323-2163, give us a call anytime.

The Gate Control Theory of Pain

When I was in chiropractic school I learned so much about how and why chiropractic works but this is the one that made the most sense to me and has stuck with me many years later. Now, it’s just a theory, and it’s pretty hard to prove if it is true, maybe in my lifetime it will become a law of science.

Let’s set the scene, you’re walking along and then you stub your toe on the coffee table. What’s the first thing you do without even thinking about it? As soon as your brain realizes what’s going on, you put pressure on the stubbed toe and it helps alleviate the pain. 

Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty details of the theory, pain and movement move up the same neural pathway to the brain. Movement is a faster and pain is a stronger signal up the pathway. The faster one, movement, will get to the brain faster and prevent the stronger one, pain, from making it in. So, by putting motion into the joint, it gets to the brain before the pain, essentially tricking the brain into thinking there isn’t a problem anymore (if there ever was). 

So, how does this relate to chiropractic care? When a chiropractor puts movement into a joint, then that signal makes it to the brain before the pain signal can make it there. So, that’s why when patients get off the table they will feel better almost immediately, even if it’s only slight.

If you’re looking for a chiropractor and live in San Antonio, please reach out and I’m sure we can help. You can reach us at (210) 323-2163.

Adrenal Fatigue, Trust Me...it’s Not Just Stress

I can say with a lot of confidence, about 80% of Americans are experiencing adrenal fatigue without even looking at the actual statistics. If you’re like the rest of us (you feel tired all the time, a little bit of brain fog, lack motivation and aren’t sure where all of that is coming from), welcome to the club. The thing that sucks about it is it can hit you hard and at the most inconvenient time. So, what can you do about it? There’s a few options to try, the most obvious (and probably the hardest) option is to stress less. But you, like everyone else, have about a million things to do and not enough time in the day to do them...OK, then we have other options. 

I have been advised to schedule out “white space” in my Google Calendar. We all think “Oh, I’ll just take some ‘Me Time’ when I finish X,Y,Z’...yeah, I tell myself that all the time too, and let’s be honest, it never happens. Once I started to do this for myself I was able to do the things I WANTED to do, even organizing the pantry (What? You know you’ve dreamed of a Pinterest Pantry too.); yours could be going to a yoga class, getting a mani/pedi, playing with your kids, eating a really good meal, whatever. Give it a try this week and see if you feel slightly less stressed. 

I also am a proponent of making sure you are supporting your adrenal glands. They’re pretty important but often forgotten - there’s a lot of options to do it too. An obvious one, that we all know and may not actually follow through with, is proper diet. If you feel like you could use additional help, there are supplements that also support these organs. 

It’s best to speak with someone who can go over your health history and advise you on the proper way to take care of yourself before you go jumping into anything crazy. We can help and if we aren’t sure what to do, we always know someone who does, give us a call at (210) 323-2163.