Mattress Basics And What To Look For.

Here’s what you want to look for in a mattress. I’m a posture freak. Good posture means being able to look at someone from the side and see that their ear, shoulder, hip and ankle are all in a straight line to each other. Good sleeping posture is exactly the same thing. Find a mattress that can put those four points in a straight line when you’re laying on it and you’re there.

Posturepedic mattresses are usually good, and they’re very affordable. They’re one of the more popular ones I would recommend. I would also advise you to try out the ‘sleep number beds’ with the air mattresses.

I like the sleep numbers. I also like the idea of side by side support, because chances are, you and your spouse don’t have the exact same spines, and trying to cram both of you onto one mattress will not be beneficial to either one of you. So if you have a bed where she can adjust her side and you can adjust your side to the desired comfort levels, then that’s a great thing. That’s the advantage of the sleep number beds.

I would also advise you to try out the Tempurpedic beds as well. I like the Tempurpedic beds because rather than be on a boxspring, the mattress is on a firm base, and that memory foam reduces pressure points drastically. I think the most you’ll get out of any mattress is about 10 years, and quite frankly, if you get that many you’re doing well.

Now, keep in mind, and this is strictly my opinion, that when it comes to mattresses, there is just no universal gold standard. In other words, what’s good for the goose isn’t always good for the gander. If your neighbor, family member, friend, or co-worker has found a mattress that they like and that gives them a good night’s sleep, that’s great, but that same style mattress might not be as good for you. After all, people come in all shapes, sizes, and builds and therefore have different needs from a mattress. By the way, here’s an excellent article from Consumer Search Reports that describes exactly what I’m talking about: http://www.consumersearch.com/www/house_and_home/mattress-reviews/review.html

The one mattress that I have seen that incorporates the best of the inner coil mattresses, the sleep number beds and the Tempurpedic mattresses is the Sleep Adjustment Bed by Isleep. Check it out: http://www.isleep.com/showroom/beds.asp

Now this mattress, quite frankly, is expensive. But, keep in mind that our beds are where we spend 1/3 to 1/4 of our entire lives, so don’t get too tight-fisted when you’re buying one. You know the old saying: Pennywise, Pound foolish. Ask yourself, how much is a good night’s sleep worth?

Considering that good sleep can boost immune function, increase overall health and wellness, help burn fat, help boost memory and mental function, help repair worn out tissues and increase your life span, it seems that a good night’s sleep is virtually priceless, so consider this an investment!!!

And no matter what you do, make sure that if you’re going to make a significant investment of your money, your time, and your spine (hey, you got to sleep on the thing, right?), that you get a 30 or 60 day money back guarantee if you’re not happy with the mattress.

You absolutely cannot tell how a mattress is going to do if you sleep on it for just 5 minutes in a store. You have to give it a few nights to a few weeks to really know how it’s going to treat your body. How can you tell how it’s doing? You’ll know if you: toss and turn a whole bunch at night, feel extra sleepy or fatigued in the morning, wake up extra stiff or sore in the morning, especially in your lower back.

These are all good signs that your mattress just isn’t happening for you. Take it back and try again. Personally, the best night’s sleep I have ever had in my life was on a limited-motion waterbed that had a heater to make the bed warm when you climbed in at night.

Years later, I found out from the American Sleep Research Institute (www.ASRI.net ) that one of things that helps put you in a deep sleep and then keep you there is when your extremities have a higher temperature than the core of your body.

Then, to stay in a deep sleep, there should not be a lot of temperature changes when you shift in your sleep. Have you ever gotten out of that nice warm spot and been amazed to find out how cold other spots on the mattress are? Just that small temperature change can rouse you from deep sleep even if it doesn’t necessarily wake you up.

So I think one thing a mattress should have is a constant surface temperature of around 85 degrees. The Sleep Adjustment bed has this feature. If you are not rushing right out to buy a new mattress, keep your hands and feet warm when going to bed to induce a deeper sleep more quickly. Light mittens and socks may help improve the quality of your sleep.

Finally, it’s not just the mattress that will help with the support of your back at night. It’s your pillow, too. You may or may not know that I sell custom fitted pillows.

But this pillow won’t be as good unless you’re sleeping on the right mattress, and vice versa, sleeping on a good mattress with a bad pillow will make the mattress seem not quite as comfortable.

So get the pillow situation right too!!
www.wingspanchiro.com
Dr Stephanie Janiak, 2551 River Park Plz Ste 200, Fort Worth, TX 76116 (817) 423-2600

The Intervertebral Disc

Disc disease, degenerated discs, slipped discs, herniated discs are common terms often related to back pain, both in your lower back and neck. Most people in the medical profession use these terms with patients, so I want to explain them to you.

What do these terms mean? How do these things happen? What can one do to help or prevent these painful events from occurring? These questions and many others will be discussed in this article.

First some anatomy to get you on the same page: Your spinal column is made up of 24 bones called vertebrae. Each vertebra in your back has six joints; four at the back of the bone that allow and control spinal movement. These are called ‘facet’ joints. The other two joints are at the top and bottom of the vertebrae themselves. These two remaining joints in your back are weight-bearing in function. These bones protect your spinal cord.

Between each pair of the vertebrae is a intervertebral disc, except between the top two in your neck. Your discs become progressively smaller as you go up your spine. They also change shape as they go up, simply because the bones also change shape.

The most problematic discs are the lower back ones. The typical lumbar disc is almost circular in shape, but looks more like a flat car tire or mushroom head. It's flat across the back when you look down from the top.

A disc is made up of two things: the soft central area is called the nucleus, and the tough outer cartilage margins are called the annulus. The nucleus is made of a toothpaste-like material.

The nucleus works like a ball bearing, allowing the bones to flex and extend around its shape. One of the things that builds the most pressure in your disc is when you SIT, especially in poorly supportive furniture, or when you slouch. Surprisingly, the pressure in the nucleus is three times greater in the sitting position than in the standing position. Doesn't that speak volumes when you think of today's lifestyle?

The annulus (outer layer) is wrapped in layers around the nucleus to contain its pressure. These layers are somewhat like the layers of an onion. These layers have to be ‘tough and non-yielding’; otherwise the soft nucleus would lose its shape and spill all over the place.

In fact this is indeed what does happen if your tough outer layer called the annulus breaks down. This incident is known variously as a ‘slipped disc, a herniated disc, a disc protrusion, a rupture, or a disc bulge’.

These terms often depend on the degree of movement, which depend on how your cartilage may break down. If you want more information, please let me know.

www.wingspanchiro.com
Dr. Stephanie Janiak,2551 River Park Plz Ste 200,Fort Worth, TX 76116 (817)423-2600

A Chiropractic-Case Study: Bells Palsy

A lot of times, you may not appreciate what regular care at this office can do for you and your family members.

Today I’m going to go over something called Bell’s palsy. You’re probably asking yourself, “What is Bell's palsy?” Bell's palsy is simply a paralysis or weakness of the muscles on one side of your face.

Damage to the facial nerve that controls muscles on one side of the face causes that side of your face to droop. The nerve damage may also affect your sense of taste and how you make tears and saliva. This condition comes on suddenly, often overnight.

Bell's palsy is not the result of a stroke. While stroke can cause facial paralysis, there is no link between Bell's palsy and stroke. Palsy simply means ‘weakness or paralysis’.

What causes Bell's palsy?

The cause of Bell's palsy is not clear. Most cases are thought to be caused by the herpes virus that causes cold sores.

Inflammation?

In most cases of Bell's palsy, the nerve that controls muscles on one side of the face is damaged by inflammation.

Many health problems can cause weakness or paralysis of the face. If a specific reason cannot be found for the weakness, the condition is called Bell's palsy.

CASE STUDY


Here’s a case study that I’m going to share with you today.

A 40-year-old white male patient presented himself to the doctor with right facial paralysis of 2 days duration.

Prior to the paralysis he had been experiencing "tingling" sensations at approx. C7/T1 which was at the base of his neck, along the shoulder area. He had also been fighting a sinus infection for two weeks prior to this also.

He also said that he had right facial numbness, an inability to smile on the affected side, inability to eat on the affected side with drooling. Under regular chiropractic care and adjustments, by his 3rd visit, which was 2 days later he had up to 75% of sensation in his face return and by 7 days he had complete recovery.

This quick recovery was most likely due to him getting regular adjustment and following through with the recommended schedule of care.
www.wingpsanchiro.com
Dr. Stephanie Janiak, 2551 River Park Plz Ste 200,Fort Worth, TX. (817) 423-2600

Do You Honestly Care About Your Health?

Here’s a story I’ve given you before, but it’s so important, I’m going to share it with you again. The new mother was told that her “twin” babies had died after birth. However, the truth was far different: they were sent to an institute near Moscow to be studied since they were joined at the hip and the doctors wanted to study them. This was to be the fate of “Masha” & “Dasha”, one of the most unusual set of conjoined twins ever born. Pay close attention to this if you have children or grandchildren.

Siamese twins are formed in the same way as identical twins but the eggs, for some reason, don’t completely separate; instead, they remain partially attached. Because their circulatory systems are interconnected, the twins shared each other’s blood. A germ that enters one twin’s bloodstream would soon be seen in the blood of her sister. Now here is the kicker. Surprisingly, illness affected them differently. Dasha was near-sighted, prone to colds and right-handed. *Masha* was a healthier constitution, higher blood pressure, good eyesight and is left-handed.

The twins differing health pattern presented a mystery. How could one girl become ill with a childhood disease while the other one did not? The measles “bug” was in both of their bodies, in their collective bloodstream; so why didn’t they both get the measles? What made one healthier than the other? This phenomenon was seen over and over again with the girls (flu, colds, other diseases were all experienced separately). If ‘germs alone’ had the power to cause infectious diseases, why would one of the twins be disease-free while the other was ill? What was it in their makeup that differentiated one from the other?

The answer was in their nervous system. Although the twins had common circulatory, digestive, excretory, lymphatic, endocrine and skeletal systems (they were joined at the hips remember), they had separate spinal columns, separate brains, and separate spinal cords.

This was a very important difference between the girls, but something most doctors would have missed. In these extraordinary twins, nature’s “laboratory” devised an experiment that no researcher could ever duplicate. The twins are an invaluable example confirming that there is much more to “catching” a disease than simply breathing in germs; germs can make you sick if, and only if, your body provides them fertile ground in which to grow.

The state of your nervous system can determine whether or not (and how quickly) you will recover. By keeping your spinal column and nervous system FREE from misalignment (subluxation stress), chiropractic care keeps you in a higher state of health, hence able to ward off dis-eases.

There is no shortage of theories to explain the role of the subluxation in disease and the effect of the adjustment in relieving symptomatology. Your autonomic nervous system (that part of your nervous system which controls vital functions in your body) may be effected by spinal dysfunction or subluxation causing a compromise in that function.

Immunity is one such function which can be adversely affected if your spine is not aligned. You know as well as I do if the front end of your car is misaligned, it’s going to affect the ride, and the tires. They are going to wear out and you’re going to spend more money until you fix the problem.

The same is true for your dynamic body and spine. If they are not aligned, things are going to happen that will cost you more money in the end. If you want to stay as healthy as you can, and this includes your children, make sure your spine is checked on a regular basis. If it’s not checked on a regular basis, you are more apt to get disease. It really is as simple as that.

www.wingspanchiro.com
Dr. Stephanie Janiak, 2551 River Park Plz Ste 200, Fort Worth, TX (817) 423-2600

Asthma Study Shows Chiropractic Benefits

This is from a recent study on Chiropractic adjustments and Asthma.
The article notes that approximately 14 Americans die each day from asthma. Asthma is only one of three diseases that has shown an increasing death rate in recent years, up 58% since 1979. Everyone, including you needs to pay attention to this.
Presently estimates show that 17 million Americans suffer from the disease making it the most common and costly illness in the United States today, costing over $13 billion annually.
Presently, asthma causes more hospitalizations of children than any other childhood disease.
In the study, 47 patients were observed for a two year period. These patients had all been medically diagnosed with persistent asthma ranging from mild persistent in 11 cases, moderate persistent in 28 cases, to severe persistent in 8 cases. The care rendered consisted of specific chiropractic adjustments. The range of visits was from 14 to 44, with the average being 26 during the study period. Most patients in the study began care at a rate of 3 visits per week with this frequency being reduced after 4 to 8 initial weeks.
The patient results were very good with ALL 47 of the study patients showing a marked improvement ranging from 87 to 100 percent. Patient observed improvement was measured by both 1)improvement in their symptoms as well as a 2)decrease in their usage of acute asthma attack medication. Even more impressive was that ALL of the patients in the study reported maintaining their improvement after a two-year follow up. If you know anyone that has asthma, please let them know we can help and they can call us for information.
Dr. Stephanie Janiak,2551 River Park Plz Ste 200, Fort Worth, TX 76116 (817 423-2600

MD’s GO ON STRIKE, DEATH RATE DROPS

The June 10, 2000 issue of the British Medical Journal reports that on March 9, 2000, doctors in the Israel Medical Association began sanctions to reduce their contact with patients (in other words, a strike) in order to protest a new four-year wage contract for doctors. Since going on strike, the death rate in Israel has dropped considerably according to a survey of Israeli burial societies.

“The number of funerals we have performed has fallen drastically,” said Hananya Shahor, director of Jerusalem’s Kehilat Yerushalayim burial society. “This month there were only 93 funerals compared with 153 in May 1999, 133 in the same months in 1998, and 139 in May 1997.”

Meir Adler, who manages the Shamgar Funeral Parlour says, “There definitely is a connection between the doctor’s sanctions and fewer deaths. We saw the same thing in 1983 (when the doctors applied sanctions for four and one half months).”

There is one town in Israel where the death rate has remained constant, the town of Netanya. Netanya has only one hospital and the doctors there signed a no-strike clause with their contract. The doctors in Netanya have not participated in the countrywide sanctions.

A similar situation also occurred in the United States. According to Robert Mendelsohn, M.D., in his book Confessions of a Medical Heretic (1979), in Los Angeles County, California, in 1976 the doctors went on a work slowdown to protest soaring malpractice insurance premiums. There was an 18% drop in the death rate. When the strike ended, the death rate went back to where it had been before the strike.

In retrospect, that may not have been the best argument they could have made about high malpractice insurance rates.

The Controversy

From the beginning, chiropractic has been the target of discrimination but we’re still here, ready to help anyone that wants natural health.

Colorful Personalities

The Palmers of Davenport, Iowa discovered and developed many of the principles of chiropractic. Both D.D. Palmer and son B.J. Palmer were flamboyant and charismatic. Their personalities and dogmatism produced vehement detractors.

Medical Monopoly

To hamstring the fledgling chiropractic profession, the American Medical Association prevented medical doctors from working with or referring to chiropractors. This illegal tactic ended in 1990 when the A.M.A. was found guilty in U.S. Federal Court. Nevertheless, the damage was done.

Increasing Acceptance

Today, the profession of chiropractic is recognized and licensed worldwide. Currently, there are 22 chiropractic colleges around the world graduating educated, compassionate and talented healers. Insurance companies and many government programs reimburse for chiropractic care. Chiropractic has come a long way since 1895.

Blood vs. Nerves

Traditional medical treatment relies on putting drugs into the bloodstream. Chiropractic care helps restore nervous system integrity by reducing subluxations. Two very different approaches:

Medical Treatment
Blood-based
Treats symptoms
Renders sickness care
Prescribes drugs
Sees body as parts
Removes organs
Tries to kill germs
Causes side effects
Artificial
Risky

Chiropractic Care
Nerve-based
Corrects cause
Offers health care
Makes adjustments
Sees whole person
Revives organs
Helps resist germs
Produces positive effects
Natural
Safe


Dr. Stephanie Janiak, 2551 River Park Plz Ste 200, Fort Worth, TX, 76116, (817) 423-2600