Blog - Oklahoma City, OK 73120

Nov 22 2020

How to Find the Right Chiropractor for your Sports Injuries

Chiropractors are part of America’s third largest primary healthcare profession. With hundreds in each state, it is evident that finding the right one is a rather difficult task. Fortunately, it is not impossible either. Here are 5 factors you should look for on your search for the right chiropractor.

1 – Reputation

The most important factor to analyze when searching through a list of recommended chiropractors is their reputation. Even with years of experience, some chiropractors do not prove as beneficial as others. When it comes to sports injuries, ensure that you choose only a highly reputable chiropractor, evident by a number of positive online reviews.

2 – Experience

A chiropractor may come highly recommended and they may have a reputation as being a great chiropractor. However, if you have visited multiple chiropractors before, with little positive result, it may be a good idea to choose a more experienced chiropractor. With more experience, your chiropractor will know about a deal of problems and hence can help you better than others.

3 – Locality

Of course, locality is an important factor when choosing from your list of chiropractors. With the busy schedule most people have, the last thing anyone needs is to travel for an hour to reach the chiropractor. As such, unless they are one of the best chiropractors in the state, area or country, always select a chiropractor that is close by.

4 – Availability

Considering the nature of their work, chiropractors can be unavailable at many times. If you need to have your sports injuries examined on a weekly basis, it would be unwise to select a chiropractor that is available only once a week. Why? Because with the load they have, setting up an appointment will be difficult.

5 – Services

Last but not least, when selecting from a large list of recommended chiropractors, ensure that you select one that offers a number of services. While you may require a chiropractor for sports injuries, it is wise to have one for other problems too such as back and neck pain.

By analyzing the 5 factors above, selecting the right chiropractor will no longer be a difficult task. However, ensure that you spend ample time on each factor, ensuring that the chiropractor you choose has the right blend of the above 5 factors. Never pick a chiropractor who excels in just one factor.

Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: Crunches.jpg

Nov 22 2020

Say Goodbye to Headaches in 2012!

Living with neck pain and headaches is tough. Day after day of being miserable, irritable, and looking a lot older than you really are. The frustration of knowing that your friends and family just don’t understand what you’re going through. Add this to doctors’ visits, MRI’s and CT scans — which only come back with “normal” results. And that’s not all… trying one medication after another, feeling like you’re on a merry-go-round of drugs. All this is enough to make anyone want to scream!

My name is Dr. Micah Carter, and I’ve been helping patients with neck tension, headaches and migraines live pain free for nine years now. Every week I hear how people suffer from severe headaches – statements like…,“I feel like my head is in a vice,” “My eyes hurt and I feel so drowsy,” “I have to lie down,” “I’ve had migraines since a child,” “Muscle tension in the neck and pain into the shoulders,” and more. They tell me they’re sick and tired of jumping from one headache medication to the next. Here’s what I hear… “I am tired of being looked upon as someone who is only out there to get medicine. I only want RELIEF. I don’t know why that is so hard for people to understand. I don’t want to be treated badly anymore. I want to get help, and I want to get rid of the headaches.”

This was my life before I met Dr. Case. You see, I had headaches at least three days every week, and at least one of them a migraine! My medicine cabinet was always stocked with the largest bottle of acetaminophen and ibuprophen. I would take one until it quit working and then I would switch to the other. Back and forth, headache after headache. I was a high school science teacher at the time and found it hard to even get up for work some days because of recurring headaches. Then I met Dr. Case. Dr. Case is a chiropractor in a small town in northwest Kansas. He shared with me the cause of my headaches and it made sense! I would get off work and drive 35 miles to see Dr. Case. (There were seven chiropractors in the town I lived in, but I drove to see Dr. Case because he knew how to correct my headaches.) My headaches rapidly reduced to one a month, then down to a couple times a year. What a Blessing! I loved teaching, but chiropractic fascinated me so I enrolled in chiropractic school. Now I get to help people get rid of their headaches for good!

Imagine being able to live life like a normal person again, pain free and without headaches — being able to play with your kids, enjoy time with friends, and not have to worry that your headache will hit you at just the wrong time. That’s my goal for you, to live virtually headache free, like I do now. Don’t just trust me though, numerous studies have shown the benefits of spinal adjustments with headache patients, here are a couple:

The Boline Study

This study compared two groups of headache patients, half went for chiropractic adjustments, and the other half took amitriptyline, a medication often prescribed for the treatment of severe tension headache pain. After six weeks, researchers found that chiropractic patients experienced almost no side effects. And only the chiropractic patients continued to report fewer headaches when treatment ended.

The Duke Study

Medical experts concluded that spinal manipulations resulted in almost immediate improvement for headaches. Patients also had significantly fewer side effects and longer-lasting relief of headaches than a commonly prescribed medication.

If you have a headache more than once a month, your body is trying to tell you something is wrong. Recurring Headaches Are Not Normal. No question… if you are having headaches then something is wrong. Pain is your body’s way of telling you something is wrong. Finding the problem and fixing it has got to be top priority! Call today… Phone 405-340-4400. Our office is called Family Tree Chiropractic and you can find us at 12325 N. May Ave., Suite 111. (We are on the NW corner of 122^nd and May, by Backwoods)

Sincerely,

Micah D. Carter, DC, CCST

P.S. Why Suffer With Years Of Misery?

How many years can your body handle taking one pill after another? That’s no way to live, not when there could be an easy solution to your problem. Many of the pain medications available are quite addicting and can have drastic side effects. Call today. I may be able to help you live a normal, pain-free life again.

Nov 22 2020

How Lack of Exercise Affects Health

A lack of exercise results in numerous health problems, starting from seemingly harmless weight gain to cardiovascular diseases and a much higher chance of suffering a stroke. Research has concluded that as many people die because of the effects of lack of exercise as the number that die from smoking.

This is why chiropractic exercises are strongly recommended to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle and avoid all complications that can lead up to a stroke.

The following problems can occur due to lack of exercise:

1. Obesity

Obesity is one of the major effects of a lack of exercise. Various health problems can surface due to obesity such as diabetes, breathing issues, high blood pressure and a far greater risk of suffering a heart attack.

Besides the physical effects, many psychological effects also accompany obese people. Low self-esteem that leads to depression can be a devastating experience.

It is no doubt that obesity can result from genetic factors, but a lack of exercise is usually a major reason.

2. High Blood Pressure

Being overweight can lead to hypertension. The blood vessels clog up which restricts blood flow. Hypertension exposes a person to various other risks, such as heart attack, kidney failure and many other ailments. A hypertensive individual is more likely to develop diabetes.

3. Decline in Brain Function

Exercise helps in increasing the flow of blood to the brain, while lack of exercise does the opposite. A brain that is deprived of blood cannot function normally as it would otherwise. The brain can also physically shrink due to the lack of blood supply – a research states that this ‘shrinkage’ can be avoided and mental abilities can be enhanced by regular exercise.

4. Reduction in Strength of Bones and Muscles

A sedentary lifestyle can weaken the bones and muscles, thus exposing an individual to a greater chance of injury as well as diseases such as arthritis. Lack of exercise can make a person more prone to fractures in case of a fall along with knee-joint and hip problems later on.

5. Increased Chances of Developing Cancer

Research was carried over several years and the results show an increased chance of cancer from a lack of exercise. Also, people who were physically fit when they developed cancer had a far greater chance of survival than those who had led a sedentary lifestyle.

Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: The ‘weigh’ he was — weightloss at Guantanamo.jpg

Nov 22 2020

Oklahoma City Chiropractor shares ankle exercises for beginners.

Here is a simple exercise that you can do at home with no equipment.
It works the peroneus longus/brevis, tibialis anterior, tibialis posterior, gastrocnemius, soleus muscles.
The purpose of this exercise is to improve muscular endurance, ankle strength, and proprioception.
By doing this exercise you can have the benefits of Improved stability, functional strength and injury prevention.

Begin seated in a chair with good posture.
Extend leg.
Attempt to write alphabet from A through Z with toes, moving ankle in all directions.
Repeat for prescribed sets.

Nov 22 2020

The Medication-Free Path to Lower Blood Pressure

Hypertension, often called the silent killer, happens when a person’s blood pressure is over 140/90. Hypertension strains the heart, the blood vessels, kidneys as well as other organs. This person is at increased risk of cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks and stroke. Most adults are on medication for elevated blood pressure. Here are a few suggestions to help manage your blood pressure so that you might be able to reduce your medication or dispense with it entirely.

1. Lose Weight. For those of you who are at your target weight, ignore this section. Everyone else will be delighted to know that losing just 10% of your existing body weight can lower your blood pressure enough to require an adjustment in your medication. Losing 20% yields even greater benefits.

2. Breathe. Right, I know, we all breathe. But do we all breathe properly? The fact is, we don’t. Because of our constantly elevated stress levels and the need to constantly be on high alert, we breathe rapidly and with only our upper lungs. Rarely do we breathe deeply enough to expand our diaphragm and really stretch out our lower lungs. When we take deep, slow, controlled breaths, there is a reduction in the stress hormones that trigger renin production in our liver. Renin is an enzyme that rises our blood pressure. By regularly practicing deep breathing, we can naturally lower our blood pressure. Not only do we get the benefit of a lower blood pressure, we achieve an overall calming effect. Practicing yoga breathing techniques, called pranayama, can yield remarkable results in terms of stress reduction and reduced blood pressure.

3. Sunlight. Spending time in the sun produces nitric oxide which relaxes our blood vessels, allowing blood to flow more freely. This reduces blood pressure and can eventually lower one’s risk of a heart attack. Exercise caution, however, when the temperatures are extremely high as this can raise your blood pressure.

4. Walking the dog. Spending time with a pet and taking walks together has been proven to reduce blood pressure and feelings of stress. Just 30 minutes of physical activity a day provides the necessary effect. Whenever possible, try to walk in nature, away from cars, buildings, and traffic whenever possible. The blood pressure reduction benefit is especially good when walking near a body of water like a lake, river, or ocean.

5. Music soothes. Many people have used music to manage their emotions, so it comes as no surprise that listening to music can lower blood pressure as well. The Netherland Heart journal published a study that reported lowered blood pressure in people who regularly played an instrument or listened to music.

Try one or all of these natural blood pressure lowering techniques to improve your health and reduce your dependence on medication to keep you healthy.

Photo Credit : Project 366 #98: 070412 The Pressure’s Off from Pete
via Flickr

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