4 Keys to Being Well

So you want to BE WELL? It's simple: Eat Well, Move Well, Think Well and Rest Well!

It's as simple as that!

Schedule Keeping You From Your Exercise Plan?

Boy do I understand that! From the time we started getting ready to move, to now 3 months after the move, I've had issues with my schedule. Lately it seems I could only get in about 2 days/week, or 3 if I was lucky.

I was faithful to do at least that much though. I find that totally giving up on the plan is much worse than just toning it down temporarily. Doing SOMETHING is better than doing NOTHING!

Finally, I figured out a way to get more exercise in, walking particularly. So today, I got up early, took my dog outside on a gorgeous spring day, and voila, I had a 30 minute brisk walk, good for the dog and good for me.

My point is, if we just at least keep doing something, even in a reduced amount, when our schedule clears up, or becomes more regular, then we can jump back in and not have lost as much ground.

So keep grinding it out, it will happen!

The Coffee Jitters

Ok, so today I was taking care of my first few patients, and noticed I was nervous, anxious and my heart seemed to be beating harder than normal. I couldn't figure it out. Then I recalled the fact that I had been drinking more coffee than usual. I usually have only about 2-4 cups/week, but it had slowly crept up to daily and sometimes 2x a day. It all made sense to me. 3 hours later I was feeling fine again.

Back to moderation in my coffee intake!!

Staying Well

Just a quick note. I've been teaching to Eat Well Move Well and Think Well for optimum health. I still believe that to be very important. However, I am adding in one new habit: Rest well.

If you've read my stuff, you know how I preach the importance of proper rest, so much so that I feel its value is missed by using only the 3 other "wells" (eat, move, think).

So, remember:

To BE Well, We Must EAT Well, MOVE Well, THINK Well and REST Well!!

Pregnancy Can Be A Pain In The ……Back!

For just a second or two I will take a break from talking about wellness, and move into dealing with a specific health issue. Recently I’ve run across several women that were pregnant and having to deal with lower back pain. It’s not surprising by any means, especially since 80% of the general population has back pain at some point in their lives. And considering that a large portion in our community is of child bearing age, I thought this might be a good topic to touch on this month.

Back pain or discomfort is common during pregnancy and should be expected to some degree by most women. Back pain may be experienced during any point of your pregnancy; however, it most commonly occurs later in the pregnancy as the weight of the baby increases. Back pain can disrupt your daily routine or interfere with a good night of sleep. The good news is there are steps you can take to manage the back pain that you experience.

There are a number of causes of back pain related to pregnancy. On top of all the wonderful changes your body goes through, hormones are released that allow the ligaments in the body to loosen, so that the pelvis can spread wider for the passage of the baby. That’s bad news on two fronts: 1. Your hips get bigger, and 2. Joints get stressed more (particularly the joints where the pelvis joins the triangular shaped bone called the sacrum). Another reason is your center of gravity changes as the baby grows. This causes more and more stress on your back muscles since they have to work harder to keep you upright and not falling over face first into the ground. Additionally, the challenge of finding comfortable positions to sit or stand in may cause you to assume poor posture at times, thus stressing your back further.

So, how can you prevent the back pain? Listed below are suggestions from the American Pregnancy Association:

1. Use exercises approved by your health care provider that support and help strengthen the back and abdomen
2. Squat to pick up something versus bending over
3. Avoid high heels and other shoes that do not provide adequate support
4. Avoid sleeping on your back
5. Wear a support belt under your lower abdomen
6. Make sure your back is aligned using a chiropractor
7. Get plenty of rest. Elevating your feet is also good for your back

But what if you are already suffering from back pain? Again, from the American Pregnancy Association website:

1. Use ice or heat
2. Braces or support devices
3. Sleep on your left side and use a support pillow under your knees
4. Medications used to treat inflammation
5. Use a licensed health care professional such as a chiropractor or massage therapist (our therapists are trained in pregnancy massage).

I hope this has been helpful for those in our community that are expecting, and wondering about or already suffering from back pain. We’d love to help you have a more enjoyable pregnancy if we can!