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Your Headspace and Your Health

Published
by
Dr. Gould
on March 16, 2008
in Aging, Cincinnati Chiropractors and Wellness 101
. 0 Comments

smiley.bmpI think everyone will agree, when we are happy, we not only perform better but we generally feel better. As human beings we regularly postpone our happiness until certain future goals are attained. The problem with doing that is obvious. What if the goal is attained and it does not bring you happiness or even worse, the goal is never achieved?

Our attitude is absolutely critical when it comes to achieving optimal health. When we are happy it tends to suppress the release of stress hormones. Because of this fact alone it keeps our immunity fully charged up. When we are happy we tend to be more active, take deeper breaths and spend more time out in fresh air.

Some of you that are reading this may be rolling your eyes, thinking that if I had your life, I might not be so happy. I appreciate that thought, however, there are people that have lives that would make our worst days look like a comedy, yet they are happy. It has been said that we tend to be about as happy as we decide to be. Yes, it is an individual thing.

Is There a Secret to Happiness?

The happiest people have an uncanny ability to focus on what is good in their life, not on the bad. They focus on what they can do, not on what they can’t do. They focus on what is good and true. Remember, it’s a choice. Your choice!

Happiness truly does happen in the six inches between our ears, also known as our Headspace. So begin to elevate your thinking. It has been said that we do not create our own thoughts. I tend to agree. If you disagree with me. Stop reading this for a moment and try to stop thinking. So if we don’t create our own thoughts what can we do. Here comes the Secret. As thoughts come to us we can either accept them or we can dismiss them. That is very powerful. The key is to only accept and choose empowering thoughts. Let the other thoughts go right on by.

Below is a clip from a wonderful movie that focuses on this very topic.

It’s true, our Headspace can make our daily experience one of joy or of despair. Choose Joy!

Yours in Health!

Dr. Gould

Cycling & Burning Fat

Published
by
Dr. Gould
on March 12, 2008
in Cincinnati Chiropractors, Fitness and Wellness 101
. 0 Comments

armstrong-_7.bmpOne of the wonderful things about living in the Cincinnati area, are all the available bike trails. Two of my favorites, the Loveland Bike Trail and the Lunken Bike Trail.  Cycling is an ideal exercise because it’s easy on the knees and lower back. Of course, I’m excluding mountain biking in this conversation. 

Cycling allows you to use the large muscles in your legs which create a significant demand on the heart and lungs.  Over time, if you understand proper training techniques, you can greatly expand your aerobic capacity, plus it is a wonderful way of Burning Fat!

Simply put, your body has two fuel choices, sugars and fats. 

I’d like to teach you the secret of burning fat.  To burn fat you have to get your heart rate into a range that is specific for YOU! Ones size does not fit all.  Everybody is different! 

So how do you figure this out?  There are several ways, this I have found to be the easiest.  220 - (your age) X 70%= Your Target Heart Rate.  Let’s say you are 30 years old.  Here is how the calculation would go 220 - 30 X 70%= 133.  So if you were 30 years old, your target rate would be 133 beats per minute.  This is basically 70% of your maximum heart rate for your age.  When your heart is beating in this zone your body’s chooses fat as a fuel.  When your heart rate exceeds this your body chooses sugar as a fuel. We do not want this!

Ideally, you would slowly bring (over a period of 5 to 10 minutes) your heart rate up to your target rate.  Once you achieve your target rate, the longer you stay there the better.  Start out slow maybe 12 minutes.  Over time work up to 15 minutes.  Soon you will be doing 45 minutes to an hour. 

I always advise my Wellness Clients to buy a Heart Rate Monitor. In my opinion Polar Heart Monitors are the best.  The heart monitor becomes an invaluable tool. I call it my coach.  It will let you know when you are above or below your target rate.  It also helps you to create a target zone.  Bottom line, it makes doing this EASY!

If you are looking to burn fat I’ve just given you the recipe.  If you have questions or would like more information please leave a comment below or e-mail me.

Helping you to be all that you can be!

Dr. Gould

Posture and Pain

Published
by
Dr. Gould
on March 2, 2008
in Cincinnati Chiropractors and Mid Back Pain
. 0 Comments

anterior-weight-bearing.jpgThe only true-business-card we have is our posture. Think about that statement. Typically, what is the first thing you notice about someone? Their posture! It’s true, our posture is the one element that makes the Strongest First Impression. Not only does it impact what others think about us but more importantly, it impacts our own Physiology and our Psychology. It effects how we breath, how we feel and our mood. Think of a depressed person’s posture. Their head is down and their shoulders are slumped.

Our daily posture, to a large degree will determine how the structural components (skeletal system and joints) of our body ages. Let me explain why. Maintaining a good posture allows the weight of our head and upper body to be placed on the bony part of our spine. This weight gets transferred into our pelvic area then into the seat pan of a chair if we are sitting or down our legs into the floor if we are standing. Because of this fact, good posture requires very little muscular effort.

Conversely, poor daily posture creates a variety of problems. These problems occur due to the body adapting to the postures we maintain at work, home or leisure. Any posture that we regularly maintain for a prolonged period of time our body will adapt to. Specifically, it is our ligaments that adapt. Some shorten and others lengthen. When this happens the weight of our body gets transferred improperly. Over time our posture begins to change. The most common change is called anterior weight bearing. There is a forward shift of the head (See picture). If this is not corrected over time the mid back will become prominent. Because of this, these people develop chronic upper back pain.

So go look in the mirror. Better yet, look at some recent photos of yourself. Now that you have a better understanding about posture, are you pleased at what you see? There are many factors that contribute to poor posture. The majority are correctable over time. As a chiropractor, I have an acute awareness that a person’s posture is actually a window to their spine. If you feel your posture could use some work, give me a call and let’s begin.

Yours in Health!

Dr. Gould

Antalgic Spine

Published
by
Dr. Gould
on February 27, 2008
in Cincinnati Chiropractors and Low Back Pain
. 0 Comments

antalgic.bmpAntalgia! We have all seen this and some of us unfortunately have experienced it. So what exactly is an antalgic spine and what causes it? As the picture demonstrates, the spine takes on an abnormal curve. There are a variety of things that can initiate this, ranging from trying to lift something heavy to simply rolling over in bed. To say the least, it can be very frustrating. Not only is it unsightly but also very painful.

So what causes our spine to become antalgic? The simple explanation for this is weakness of the spinal muscles. Specifically the (paravertebral) muscles located on either side of the spine. This weakness allows more of the load of your body weight to be transferred away from the boney structures of the spine to the soft tissues around the spine. Specifically the disc.

A disc is made up of two parts. The ball like center is called the nucleus. Wrapping around the nucleus, in concentric rings, is a ligamentous structure called the annulus. By design, the disc allows the vertebra to tip on one another. This tipping allows us to bend in all directions.

Imagine watching two kids on a teeter-totter. When one goes up the other goes down. What allows this to occur is a center pivot point or fulcrum. The nucleus does the exact same thing, it allows the vertebra to tip or teeter on the other. When you bend to the right the nucleus actually shifts to the left in each disc. This causes a wedging of the disc. When you straighten back up the nucleus migrates back to the center.

The spine becomes antalgic when the nucleus does not migrate back to the center position. Within a short period of time the muscles that surround that area go into spasm which inturn causes more pain.

Correcting the problem requires isolating where it is occurring and then a series of spinal adjustments to reposition or center the nucleus. Once recentered, exercises are provided to strengthen the paravertebral musculature to prevent future occurrance.

I hope this has been helpful. If you should have a question or would like to make a comment please do so at the bottom of the page.

Yours in Health!

Dr. Gould

Is Your Mattress Causing Back Pain

Published
by
Dr. Gould
on February 24, 2008
in Cincinnati Chiropractors and Wellness 101
. 0 Comments

hammock.bmpMany people sleep on older mattresses. By definition, your mattress is older if it is between 8 and 10 years old. Over time your mattress loses its ability to properly support your body. Like many things, this happens slowly over time, so we rarely notice it. What we do notice however, is we are not sleeping soundly or we wake up feeling stiff and in some cases in pain.

The typical older mattress causes what I call “hammocking” of your body. Imagine what your body would look like laying in a hammock. Your feet and head are higher than your bottom. Lying like this for several hours can cause a variety of things to happen to the spine. In your lower back it causes the forward curve of the spine to flatten out. This in-turn causes the spinal joints in your lower back to spread apart, in many cases causing muscle spasm to occur.

If you suffer from back pain it may be due to your mattress and box-springs. Check to see if your mattress has lost its ability to support your body weight. Have someone stand at the side of the bed while you lay in the center of the mattress on your back. Ask them if you are hammocking. If so, it’s time to shop for a new mattress and box-spring.

People always ask me what is the best type of mattress and box-spring. I always tell them that it is a very individual thing. You can spend several hundred, to several thousands of dollars on a mattress and box-springs and find yourself very dissatisfied after several nights of use. Just remember, all mattresses and box-springs have pros & cons.

What you are looking for is a mattress that is both comfortable and offers adequate spinal support. In the majority of cases, a medium to firm mattress with a pillow top usually does the trick.

When you are shopping go to a variety of stores. Don’t be in a hurry and do not allow the salesman to sell you, allow your spine to tell you. When you lay on a mattress and your body and spine go Ahhhhhhh! You know you have found a good one.

Let me know if this has been helpful?

Yours in Health,

Dr. Gould