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Tension Headache Causes and Treatment Options

Tension Headache Causes and Treatment Options

??????When your head feels like it’s being squeezed in a vise, with pain radiating from the neck, the back of your head or your eyes, you may have what is referred to as a tension-type headache.  Tension headaches are the most common type of headache, accounting for approximately 90% of all occurrences.  Experts estimate that between 30% and 80% of the US adult population suffers from the occasional tension headache.  It is also possible to have chronic tension headaches, but this is experienced by only about 3% of the population.

Unlike migraines, tension headaches do not run in families.  There is no single cause of tension headaches.  Most are due to emotional or physical stress of some kind.  Among some of these causes are:

  • Insufficient or poor quality sleep
  • Losing a job or beginning a new job
  • Having recently had a baby
  • Relationship problems with your partner
  • Sports competitions
  • Studying for school exams
  • Being involved in too many activities
  • Being overweight

Anxiety, fatigue, hunger and poor posture can also significantly contribute to the likelihood of a tension headache caused by tight muscles in the neck and scalp.  Another possible source of some tension headaches may be the frequent or constant clenching of the teeth, which can cause chronic contraction of the muscles in the temples (which is why massaging this area sometimes brings some relief).

Those who suffer from chronic tension headaches tend to be people who suffer from stress on a daily basis.  Women are the most common sufferers of these chronic headaches, which can vary in intensity throughout the day, but which always produce some level of pain.  Chronic tension headaches are classified as those lasting for 15 days or more.  Most commonly, chronic tension headaches last for 60 to 90 days.

Analgesics such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen and aspirin are often used to treat the occasional tension headache.  However, taking these on a long-term basis can cause what are referred to as medication overuse headaches (or rebound headaches), which are the third most common form of headache.

Stress reduction techniques can help prevent tension headaches.  Making lifestyle changes such as getting more sleep, eating healthy food and getting regular exercise can help too.  That said, it’s important to understand that this type of headache is often the result of specific situations in our lives and the way our bodies react to them.  This means that the way we deal with these root-cause situations (potentially including avoiding them in the first place or managing them in a different way) is often the key to making them less frequent or less severe.

Building Eye-Hand Coordination

Building Eye-Hand Coordination

couple volleyball playersWe first begin to learn eye-hand coordination (sometimes also called hand-eye coordination) when we are infants, with the greatest amount of development occurring during childhood. But it is never too late to improve eye-hand coordination skills. It is important to maintain this function as we age, since it is central to so many of our daily tasks, such as driving or chopping vegetables.

According to a study published in the journal Communication Research, playing video games for as little as 20 minutes can improve your eye-hand coordination. Researchers found that college students who played video games for 20 minutes using a special controller demonstrated nearly twice the accuracy in shooting at a real target as the students who did not play the video game first.

Improved eye-hand coordination can help when fast reaction times are needed, such as when driving a car or playing with children. It can increase productivity at work and is useful for leisure activities as well, such as reading music and computer gaming. Following are a few activities that you can practice that will allow you to improve your eye-hand coordination.

Play video games – Either online or using a console like a Wii, playing video games that require a sensitive touch and precise timing has been shown to improve accuracy skills.
Do some coloring – Grab some markers or crayons and a coloring book and color away. Our hands are beginning to lose their fine motor coordination abilities now that more and more of us use a keyboard to write. Coloring will help to preserve those fine motor skills.

Play a racquet sport – Any sport involving a racquet and ball will help to improve your eye-hand coordination, in addition to it being a great aerobic workout! You have to react quickly to your opponent’s moves and quickly judge where they will hit the ball.

Take up juggling – Start juggling two balls from hand to hand, then gradually introduce a third (and even a fourth if you can manage it). It will improve both coordination and focus.

Do a jigsaw puzzle – Useful for improving both eye-hand coordination and reasoning, a jigsaw puzzle is a fun way to hone these skills, particularly if it is a 3D puzzle.
Play catch – A great activity that can help improve both your and your child’s hand-eye accuracy, a simple game of catch using a tennis ball or other type of small ball is a great way of sharpening your skills while spending time with your kids.

Create something – Doing crafts such as model building and knitting can be creative ways of improving your eye-hand coordination, and you’ll have something to show for it to boot!

Chiropractic and Professional Soccer

Chiropractic and Professional Soccer

traumaProfessional soccer (or football, as it is called in parts of the world outside the U.S.) is a sport that is rough on the musculoskeletal system. It’s not uncommon to see a player suddenly drop to the ground holding his leg in apparent pain. Sometimes this is just a way of slowing down the game or trying to draw a penalty. However, it can also be a sign that the player has sustained a real injury.

Soccer involves movements that are particularly hard on the lower body. Players must often change direction very suddenly when running down the field. This means that they twist the upper body quickly in one direction while their feet are still planted in another. When this occurs, it places a great deal of stress on the tendons and ligaments in the knees, potentially resulting in injuries. Leg injuries can also occur when players are kicked repeatedly or are shoved or tackled when in vulnerable or awkward positions.

The legs aren’t the only part of a soccer player’s body that takes a beating. Their heads are often used to redirect a ball flying through the air at 60 or 70 mph, putting a strain on the entire spinal column. With all the twisting that soccer players do, it is easy for their spines to become misaligned, putting pressure on nerves and causing pain not only in the back, but in the limbs as well.

With all this abuse, many professional soccer players have found that chiropractic care helps keep them on the field and performing at their best. Dr. Mike Foudy, who was the team chiropractor for the Women’s World Cup Championship team said, “all but one member of the team received regular chiropractic care during their training and on the days of their matches. Chiropractic adjustments balanced their spine, removed nerve pressure and optimized the function of their bodies. All the players felt like they healed quicker from injuries and that the care gave them a competitive edge.”

A former World Cup champion from Brazil, Carlos Alberto Torres, credits chiropractic with resolving chronic disabling back pain that had kept him relying on crutches to walk. Traditional medical treatments had not helped, and finally someone referred him to a chiropractor. The chiropractic care he received enabled him to have a quick and full recovery so he could walk again without crutches and free of pain.

 
With the 2014 FIFA World Cup coming up in Brazil, professional soccer players will no doubt be lining up for chiropractic services. As Dr. Erik Plasker, the team chiropractor for one of the top US youth soccer teams noted, “while the other teams are scrambling to change their lineups due to injuries, our team bounces back fast and brings an energetic advantage to championship games. The players and coach agree that chiropractic care helps them compete at the highest level and avoid injuries.”

Spring Cleaning Health Tips

Spring Cleaning Health Tips

????????Spring is just around the corner, and it’s a perfect time to open up the windows in your house, let in some fresh air and give the whole place a good scrub. But you should also be aware of some of the possible health hazards involved in getting your place spic and span. You don’t want to be breathing harmful chemicals, and it’s a good idea to remove any health hazards that may be lurking in seemingly innocent areas of your house. Instead of using chemical-laden cleaning products, try to use simple non-toxic cleaners include vinegar, baking soda and water in varying combinations. They are just as effective for many jobs and will not expose you to harmful fumes. Read on for some healthy spring cleaning tips!

For sparkling windows – Far better than commercial glass cleaner, this window washing solution is non-toxic and leaves no streaks: Combine 1/4 cup of vinegar, 2 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon of liquid dish detergent in a spray bottle, and voila! You’ve got window cleaning solution that will cut through the waxy buildup of years’ worth of cleaning products, leaving your windows crystal clear.

More tips:

* Try to clean your windows on an overcast day. Sun shining directly on windows can dry the washing solution too fast and you end up with streaks.
* Use either a rubber squeegee to remove the solution, or use newspaper. Dry newspaper will not leave streaks or wipe marks the way that paper towels can.
* When removing the washing solution, use vertical strokes on one side of the window and horizontal strokes on the other. That way, if you leave a streak or two it is easier to figure out which side of the glass the streak is on.

To clean a toilet  – Pour about 1/4 cup of white vinegar into the toilet bowl and put some vinegar in a spray bottle to spray the sides of the bowl. Add a sprinkling of baking soda, let it sit for 5 minutes, then scrub with a toilet brush as usual. To remove hard water marks from the bowl, add two cups of vinegar to the water in the bowl and leave it overnight to dissolve the marks.

Remove the dust – Dust is heaven for dust mites, which can trigger allergies and make life generally uncomfortable. Old wool sweaters or fabric make good dust cloths, as they will pick up dust easier than other cleaning cloths. At the same time, replace air conditioning and heating filters so they do not serve to redistribute the dust and other airborne allergens around your newly clean house.

Get rid of mold and mildew – Provoking allergic reactions and worsening asthma, mold and mildew are constant enemies in areas of your home that remain warm and damp for extended periods of time. The most effective non-toxic mold remover is tea tree oil. Mix two teaspoons of tea tree oil with two cups of water and use it in a spray bottle on any mold or mildew. The scent will dissipate in a few days, but if it is too strong for your taste, straight vinegar works almost as well, killing 84 percent of mold spores. You can add a few drops of your essential oil of choice if you do not wish your bathroom to smell like a salad for a few hours.

To clean sinks, counters and bathroom tile – A mixture of one part baking soda, two parts vinegar and four parts water makes a good scouring cream for these surfaces. One of the most germ-laden locations is your kitchen sink, so give this an extra scrub with straight vinegar every so often to kill pathogens.
To clean and polish wood surfaces – Use a solution made of equal parts lemon juice and olive oil. Rub in and let it dry.

Top 10 Stretches for All-Around Flexibility

Top 10 Stretches for All-Around Flexibility

stretching-collage-200-300Stretching is important to maintaining flexibility. If you study animals such as cats and dogs, you will notice that they stretch on a frequent basis to keep their muscles supple and limber. Stretching helps to maintain a good range of motion and can help prevent you from muscle injuries such as sprains and strains. Following are our top 10 stretches for all-around flexibility.

1. Knee-to-chest stretch – While lying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, bring one knee up to your chest and hold it there with your hands. Repeat with the other leg. This stretches the muscles in your lower back, relieving tension.

2. Piriformis stretch – Again, lying on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor, bring your outer left ankle to rest on your right knee. Then slowly pull the right knee in toward the chest with your hands clasped behind your lower right thigh. Repeat with the other leg. This stretches the outer thigh and buttock muscles.

3. Hamstring stretch – Lying on your back with your legs stretched out in front of you, lift one leg off the floor while holding the back of your thigh with clasped hands, keeping the leg slightly bent at the knee. Pull until your leg is at a 90° angle with your body. Repeat on other side.

4. Side stretch – Standing with feet shoulder-width apart, stretch your left arm over your head and slowly bend over to the right until you feel the stretch in your left side that should extend from your left hip all the way to your wrist. Repeat on the other side. This improves mobility in your rib cage and improves overall flexibility.

5. Overhead triceps stretch – Raise both arms above your head with elbows bent and hands just touching your upper back. With your left hand, pull your right elbow back until you feel the stretch in the back of your right arm. Repeat on the other side.

6. Chest and biceps stretch – Standing next to a wall, raise your bent arm to shoulder height and place your forearm flat against the wall. Slowly turn your body away from the wall while keeping your forearm stationary, until you feel the stretch in your chest and upper arm. Repeat on the other side.

7. Calf stretch – Standing about two feet from a wall, place your hands against the wall and extend one leg back, putting your heel flat on the floor and bending your other leg. Repeat with other leg.

8. Quadriceps stretch – While standing, bend one leg back at the knee, then grab and hold your ankle, with your foot pulled as close to the back of the thigh as possible. You can grasp a chair or use the wall for balance, if necessary.

9. Hip stretch – Making sure that your knee is adequately cushioned, go down on one knee, with your other leg in front of you bent at a 90° angle. Push slightly forward with your hips, which stretches the hip flexors. Be sure to keep the forward knee above your ankle.

10. Lateral stretch – While grasping a pole or other secure stationary object with both hands at about waist height, bend your knees and lean back until your weight is supported by your arms. This will stretch your upper back and shoulders.
For best results, these stretches should be performed when your body is warm. If you just want to stretch without having exercised first, experts suggest that you at least warm up for 10 or 15 minutes first to avoid the risk of injury. Hold each stretch for 30 to 60 seconds. Ease in and out of stretches slowly and breathe normally throughout your stretching routine. Be sure not to bounce as you stretch, as it can cause small tears to your muscles.

How to Maintain and Improve Your Memory

How to Maintain and Improve Your Memory

senior man with american flag isolatedNo matter how old you are, you’ve probably already had what is commonly referred to as “a senior moment”. It’s not the least bit unusual to occasionally misplace your car keys or walk into a room and forget what you went there for.

While this sort of thing is not necessarily a sign of declining memory, some types of cognitive ability do seem to decline naturally as we age. Experts have examined how the brain’s functions change as we age and have found that practicing certain behaviors can help you maintain and improve your memory as you get older.

Similar to exercising your body on a regular basis to keep it in shape, exercising your mind appears to help maintain cognitive ability. A study conducted by Dr. Joe Verghese and published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the more cognitively stimulating leisure activities that were performed by older adults, the less their risk of dementia. Those who played board games, read, played a musical instrument or danced, for instance, were 63% less likely to develop dementia than those who did not. Other studies have found that the more time people spend learning something, the lower their risk of dementia. Those who know two or more languages develop Alzheimer’s over four years later on average than those who know only one language.

Following are some activities that may help to maintain your cognitive ability:

* Join a book club
* Do crossword puzzles
* Learn a new language
* Play new board games
* Play chess or bridge
* Take an online course
* Go to lectures in your community
* Learn how to play a musical instrument
* Learn how to dance

Studies have shown that what you eat and how much you exercise also have a lot to do with your risk of Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia. One study found that walking 30 minutes a day for six months significantly improves cognitive ability. And people who do weight training in addition to aerobic exercise benefit more greatly than those who only perform one type of exercise.

Certain foods feed the brain and have been shown to help improve memory and general brain function. A diet high in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants can contribute greatly to maintaining a good memory. Increase your intake of fatty fish such as salmon, sardines and herring, and add an array of colorful vegetables to your plate. Bright red, orange, purple and yellow vegetables are particularly high in antioxidants. Also, studies have found that drinking alcohol in moderation improves the brain’s ability to form and maintain memory, which was not the case for those who either abstained or drank heavily.
Not only can we maintain our cognitive ability as we age, there are ways of improving it as well. The more you use your brain, the more cognitive pathways that are developed and the better your memory becomes. Following are a few tips on how to improve your memory:
* Involve all your senses when learning. The more senses that are involved when learning a new thing, the easier it is to remember. One study found that people who were shown a series of images along with a smell were better able to remember the images, even when the smell was not present.
* Repeat what you want to remember. Speaking information out loud or writing it down helps to cement it in the brain. For example, if you are meeting a new person, repeat their name as you greet them: “So Daniel, how do you know Trish?”
* Repeat things over time. Review information you need to memorize at increasingly longer intervals: first every hour, then every several hours, then every few days. The information will stay in your memory better than if you study it intensively in a short period of time.
* Create mnemonics. Using acronyms to remember information can be helpful. For instance, RICE for acute injuries: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.

Is It Normal for Knees to Pop and Crack?

Is It Normal for Knees to Pop and Crack?

??????????????????????????????????????????????????Many people experience a popping or cracking noise in their knees as they squat down or bend their knees, and this seems to happen with increasing regularity as we age. The medical term for this condition is called crepitus. It is a very normal phenomenon and, so long as it is painless, there is nothing to be overly concerned about. Whether young or old, cracking and popping of the knees is a common occurrence.

Crepitus can be caused by many things, and scientists are still not completely certain why it happens. One of the reasons for the popping sound may be that the patella is slightly out of alignment and is rubbing against the front of the femur or the adjacent soft tissue. Another condition called cavitation can cause a popping sound when small bubbles of carbon dioxide, which are normally suspended in the synovial fluid that lubricates the knee joint, form a larger bubble and make a popping sound as the knee is bent or twisted (think bubble wrap). Lax ligaments have been associated with an increase in cavitation. Changes in altitude or barometric pressure can often exacerbate the popping sound, such as on plane flights or when there is a change in the weather.

However, if the cracking or popping noise is accompanied by pain on a regular basis, or the knee catches or locks up, then you may have some cause for concern. Pain, sometimes accompanied by a grinding sensation, may be an indication that there is tissue damage to the articulating surfaces of the joint, such as tear to the meniscus. The cartilage behind the kneecap can fray, leading to the pain and popping sound of patellofemoral pain syndrome, which is generally caused by an overuse and misalignment of the hips, knees and ankles.

Swelling and/or stiffness may be indications of early arthritis, bursitis, gout or tendinitis. To be sure you do not damage the joint further, which may require surgery to correct, it is wise to consult with your physician or chiropractor to stop any further damage before it starts.

Your chiropractor can help to realign any joints that are misaligned, which may be contributing to the problem, in addition to suggesting specific stretching and strengthening exercises that you can do at home to support the muscles, tendons and ligaments surrounding the knee. Weak quadriceps is one of the foremost causes of knee pain, so exercises to strengthen this area may be a good idea. If you need to be seen, you can call our office at 406-652-3553.

Chiropractic and Addiction

Chiropractic and Addiction

addiction-200-300It is ironic that chiropractic-a health care methodology that is committed to being drug-free-is being utilized more and more as an effective treatment for the ravages of addiction. Addiction is a major public health problem these days, with the National Institutes for Health (NIH) estimating that 15% of Americans can be classified as “problem drinkers” or alcoholics, and that 1 in 10 Americans are either addicted to or in recovery from the use of illegal drugs. And the problem of drug addiction is far from being limited to illegal drugs; the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that millions of Americans meet abuse or dependence criteria for prescription opioids and painkillers used to treat their chronic pain.  Add to alcohol and drugs other mainstream sources of addiction (smoking and gambling for example), and it becomes quite clear that addiction is a broad problem that negatively affects the lives of those addicted and their families as well as society at large.

Let’s talk for a minute just about substance abuse. Whether the source of the addiction is alcohol, illegal drugs or prescription drugs the reasons people have for taking them in the first place are remarkably consistent, and based on feelings of dis-ease. People are in such pain – physical pain as the result of injury or disease, or emotional pain as the result of psychological trauma or mental illness – that they turn to these addictive substances to dull their ever-present pain and just “get through the day.” And while there are conditions for which powerful opioid painkillers can be legitimately prescribed, the continued use of them can be as debilitating as the illegal drugs, and can wreak havoc on people’s overall physical and mental health.

Chiropractic care is increasingly being shown to be remarkably effective at eliminating the dependency that such individuals have on these addictive substances, and at helping them to live alcohol- and drug-free lives. Chiropractic does this by often eliminating some or all of the chronic pain that caused the person to resort to drugs or alcohol in the first place, easing the levels of physical aches and pains that cause a person to crave prescription medication or seek to self-medicate.

But because chiropractic care is above all holistic and designed to improve all aspects of a person’s life simultaneously, chiropractic treatment can also relieve psychological pain and mental distress, and enable people to re-achieve a sense of well-being. On a physical level, the spinal adjustment received during chiropractic care have been shown to release endorphins and other “feel good” chemicals in the brain, and thus to directly improve the sense of well-being. When the spine is in proper alignment, powerful chemicals known as neurotransmitters are released in their intended order and amount, resulting in positive mental states. One recent study published in the journal Medical Psychiatry found that when a 30-day addiction recovery program was supplemented with frequent chiropractic adjustments, the subjects achieved an unprecedented 100% success rate with the program.
Chiropractic care is safe, effective, and long-lasting, helping people’s bodies to heal in a holistic manner. Having this alternative means that they don’t need to resort to the use of prescription drugs, alcohol or illegal drugs to suppress their pain and feelings of dis-ease. So if you or someone you know and love is struggling with addiction issues of any kind, please look into the benefits that professional chiropractic care could bring to their recovery.