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The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) connects the temporal bone with the condylar process (flange of bone) of the mandible (jaw bone). There is a TMJ on each side of your skull. The joint provides for all motion of the jaw in relation to the skull, including elevation, depression, protraction, and retraction. The temporal bone is a highly complex structure. Cranial nerve VII (facial nerve) is located within the temporal bone’s facial canal. The tympanic part of the temporal bone surrounds the external auditory meatus, forming the canal that transmits auditory signals to the auditory nerve.

The TMJ is a diarthrodial joint, as are many other joints in the human body, and comprises ligaments, a cartilaginous disc, a joint capsule, and a synovial membrane. As a diarthrodial joint, the TMJ is subject to inflammatory disorders, including degenerative arthritis, and movement of the TMJ may become quite painful. TMJ syndrome describes head, ear, and jaw pain; joint crepitus of the TMJ; joint dysfunction; and tenderness of the muscles of mastication. Joint crepitus is a sensation of grinding, grating, crunching, or popping upon movement of a joint. TMJ joint dysfunction is characterized by deviation of the jaw to one side on opening of the mouth and/or inability to insert 3 fingers vertically when the mouth is open. The jaw deviates to the side of a weak muscle, such as the pterygoids. The muscles of mastication are the masseter, temporalis, and pterygoids, all extending from the zygomatic and temporal bones to the mandible TMJ.

Regarding TMJ pain, sensory innervation to the TMJ is provided by the mandibular branch (mandibular nerve; V3) of cranial nerve V (the trigeminal nerve). Muscle spasm related to the TMJ may involve the motor branches of V3, which supply the masseter, temporalis, and pterygoid muscles. Muscle spasm may contribute to substantial pain as a component of TMJ syndrome.

TMJ syndrome may involve radiating pain, especially to the jaw line and ear, irritating the auditory canal. There may be aching facial pain, pain around and in the ear, and locking of the TMJ, interfering with normal opening and closing of the mouth.

Chiropractic care is an especially important component of a comprehensive, holistic program of treatment for TMJ syndrome. Chiropractic care detects, analyzes, and corrects spinal nerve irritation and spinal joint dysfunction. In the case of TMJ syndrome, the vertebral joints of the neck and their associated spinal nerves may be specifically implicated. Additionally, using gentle manual procedures directed toward the TMJ itself, chiropractic care is able to relax and reduce muscle spasm in the jaw muscles surrounding the TMJ and help to restore normal TMJ mobility. Additional treatment for TMJ syndrome may include use of a mouth retainer at night (nocturnal occlusal guard) to act as a “sling” and help prevent grinding of the teeth while asleep. As well, psychological counseling may be of benefit.

Overall, chiropractic care provides specific treatment for TMJ syndrome. Your chiropractor may also recommend a restorative nutrition program and exercise routines to assist your overall recovery and return to optimal health and well-being.

Chantaracherd P, et al: Temporomandibular joint disorders’ impact on pain, function, and disability. J Dent Res 94(3 Suppl):79S-86S, 2015

Fernández-de-las-Penas C, Svensson P: Myofascial Temporomandibular Disorder. Curr Rheumatol Rev 12(1):40-54, 2016

Sanders C, et al: Temporomandibular Disorder Diagnostic Groups Affect Outcomes Independently of Treatment in Patients at Risk for Developing Chronicity: A 2-Year Follow-Up Study. J Oral Facial Pain Headache 30(3):187-202, 2016

The knee is a hinge joint and stability is provided by the large thigh muscles (the quadriceps and hamstrings), the cartilaginous medial and lateral menisci, the medial and lateral collateral ligaments, and the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments. The cruciate ligaments are located within the knee joint and provide front-and-back stability to the knee. Specifically, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) helps prevent the shin bone (tibia) from sliding too far forward with respect to the thigh bone (femur). The cruciate ligaments also provide rotational stability to the knee.

The cutting maneuver, in which the foot is planted, the knee is flexed, the thigh is internally rotated, the shin is externally rotated, and with subsequent powerful contraction of the quadriceps is a position of vulnerability for the knee. Cutting maneuvers are common in sports such as soccer, basketball, football, and lacrosse. Cutting maneuvers may also be utilized in daily life, such as with the need to suddenly bend and twist the lower body.. Sudden, unanticipated cutting maneuvers may result in knee injury. Structures that may be damaged include the medial meniscus, the medial collateral ligament, and the ACL. This complex of injuries is known as O’Donaghue’s triad. If there is significant joint swelling post-injury, it is likely that the ACL has been severely sprained and possibly ruptured.

Prevention is always the optimal policy, as third-degree ACL sprains (torn ACL) typically require ACL reconstructive surgery. Postoperative rehabilitation includes progressive physical therapy and at-home exercise. This recovery period usually ranges from 8 to 12 months.

Prevention of ACL injuries involves flexibility routines and lower extremity strengthening exercises. Flexibility activities may include yoga, Pilates exercises, and regular stretching of the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calf muscles. Lower extremity strength training includes squats, lunges, quadriceps extension, hamstring curls, calf raises, and toe raises. A primary result of an ongoing flexibility and lower extremity strength training program is optimization of knee proprioception, that is, increased neurological activity of the knee joint regarding its positioning in 3-dimensional space. Enhanced proprioception will help distribute cutting maneuver physical forces around the knee joint more effectively, reducing the likelihood of injury. As well, flexibility and exercise programs provide resilience and increased strength to the musculoskeletal structures comprising and supporting the knee.

Regular chiropractic care provides necessary support for both knee injury prevention programs and postoperative recovery. By detecting and correcting sources of biomechanical dysfunction and nerve interference, regular chiropractic care helps create a physiological environment by means of which you and your family can obtain the greatest benefit from your exercise activities. In the same way, if ACL reconstruction ever becomes necessary, regular chiropractic care helps assist the effectiveness of the recovery program and helps your body achieve the greatest benefit from rehabilitation protocols.

Benjaminse A, et al: Revised Approach to the Role of Fatigue in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Prevention: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analyses. Sports Med. 2019 Jan 18. doi: 10.1007/s40279-019-01052-6. [Epub ahead of print]

Biscarini A, et al: Knee flexion with quadriceps contraction: A new therapeutic exercise for the early stage of ACL rehabilitation. J Biomech 49(16):3855-3860, 2016

Smeets A, Malfait B: Is knee neuromuscular activity related to anterior cruciate ligament injury risk? A pilot study. Knee. 2018 Nov 8. pii: S0968-0160(18)30903-30907, 2018. doi: 10.1016/j.knee.2018.10.006. [Epub ahead of print]

Yard work can be both a necessary and enjoyable activity for many, whether you live in a condo with a small yard, a suburban community, or on a sprawling ranch in rural America. However, yard work can often cause the unprepared to sustain a musculoskeletal injury, especially to the lower back. Knowing how to prepare for yard work is usually appropriate for most adults in order to avoid unanticipated and unwanted problems.

Yard work typically involves repetitive bending, lifting, and twisting activities, and may include maintaining a bent-over position for several minutes at a time. All of these actions and postures may place significant biomechanical stresses on the joints, muscles, and ligaments of the lower back. This may result in injury to anatomical structures that have not been trained to support such loads. Effective yard work preparation involves core exercise training and general fitness activities such as cardiorespiratory exercise and strength training accompanied by an understanding of safe bending and lifting techniques.

Core exercises train your deep abdominal muscles, including the rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques, and the very important transversus abdominis. Regular sit-ups will train the rectus abdominis, but this is the most superficially located of your core muscles. Your oblique and, especially, your transversus abdominis provide stability and support to your lumbar spine and pelvis, helping to ensure that your bending, lifting, and twisting activities will be relatively safe and injury-free in most daily contexts.

Core exercises include many routines familiar to older fitness enthusiasts and former high-school athletes, such as squats, pushups, and jumping jacks. More recent additions to the core exercise group include the plank, hip presses, leg crossovers, and forward and backward lunges. Core exercises only require an exercise mat and possibly some lightweight dumbbells for squats and lunges. They can easily be done at home or outdoors in your backyard or neighborhood common area. The addition of upper and lower body strength training and cardiorespiratory exercise such as walking, running, swimming, and cycling will provide a complete fitness program that will enable you to fully engage in vigorous activities of daily living such as yard work, carrying heavy packages, and other household chores.

It is also always important to pay attention to optimal bending and lifting practices. Prior to performing bending, lifting, or twisting activities, you should make sure your abdominal muscles are activated by breathing in and flattening out your stomach. Next, get as close as possible to the object you’re intending to lift or otherwise manipulate, bend your knees, and bend forward at the waist, continuing to keep your abdominal muscles strong. Then, lift the object while keeping it close to your center of gravity and straighten your legs. By adhering to this sequence of maneuvers, you’ll be able to safely lift objects of reasonable weight, as well as safely engage in productive yard work and gardening.

1Caneiro JP, et al: Physiotherapists implicitly evaluate bending and lifting with a round back as dangerous. Musculoskelet Sci Pract 2018 39:107-114, 2018

J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil

2Kumar T, et al: Efficacy of core muscle strengthening exercise in chronic low back pain patients. 28(4):699-707, 2015

3Turner LW, et al: Influence of yard work and weight training on bone mineral density among older U.S. women. J Women Aging 14(3-4):139-148, 2002

At some point during the course of her pregnancy, a woman may begin to experience low back pain and even sciatica, that is, radiating pain down the back of a leg. The likely explanation for most of these cases of obstetric-related low back pain is the increased mechanical load due to the weight of the developing fetus, amniotic fluid, and placenta. Many times, low back pain is transient and resolves on its own. However, pregnancy-associated low back pain may persist for more than a week and require conservative treatment to help reduce pain and achieve resolution.

Chiropractic care is the optimal conservative treatment for pregnancy-related low back pain, with or without sciatica. The musculoskeletal structures affected by the increased weight of pregnancy are the vertebral joints of the lumbar spine, the sacroiliac joints, the local ligaments, and spinal musculature. The sacroiliac joints, especially, contain numerous pain receptors and sacroiliac joint dysfunction often causes a substantial component of a pregnant woman’s low back pain.

Chiropractic care identifies, analyzes, and corrects these sources of lumbar spine and sacroiliac joint dysfunction and nerve irritation. As a result, information exchange between the brain and the rest of the body is optimized. The ability of the lumbar vertebrae and the sacroiliac joints to bear weight and manage the increased mechanical stresses of pregnancy is facilitated. Stimulation to pain receptors is reduced and the supporting musculature is enabled to relax. Function improves and a sense of improving health and well-being is restored.

In the case of a breech presentation, the buttocks and/or feet of the fetus are positioned closest to the birth canal, rather than in the more typical vertex presentation, with the fetus’s head being closest to the route of delivery. A breech presentation occurs during 3-4% of all full-term births. Factors that may be associated with a breech presentation include prior pregnancy, the presence of twins, and too little or too much amniotic fluid. A breech presentation may be identified by specific palpation of the abdomen and confirmed, if needed, by an ultrasound of pelvic examination.

Chiropractic care may be utilized in the overall healthcare management of a breech presentation. If the pregnant mother-to-be chooses a vaginal delivery, chiropractic care may be employed to provide integrative support. By detecting and correcting spinal misalignments and sources of nerve interference in the mother-to-be, chiropractic care helps to optimize all of her physiological processes, including supporting the health and well-being of her developing fetus. By helping to restore and maintain peak physiological function in the mother-to-be, chiropractic care helps provide an environment that supports the activities of other members of the healthcare team in attempts to turn the fetus so that the orientation is head down, and otherwise helps support an optimal outcome of a vaginal delivery.

1Berhan Y, Haileamlak A: The risks of planned vaginal breech delivery versus planned caesarean section for term breech birth: a meta-analysis including observational studies. Brit J Obstet Gynecol 123(1):49-57, 2016

2Fischbein SJ, Freeze R: Breech birth at home: outcomes of 60 breech and 109 cephalic planned home and birth center births. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 18(1):397, 2018 doi: 10.1186/s12884-018-2033-5

3Alcantara J, et al: The use of validated outcome measures in the chiropractic care of pregnant patients: A systematic review of the literature. Complement Ther Clin Pract 21(2):131-6, 2015

“Sciatica” is an older term describing the symptoms of inflammation of the sciatic nerve, also known as sciatic neuritis. Sciatica involves radiating pain down the back of one lower extremity, usually including the back of the thigh and back of the calf, possibly extending into the foot. Sciatica pain may be described as sharp, shooting, gnawing, and/or burning, and may be accompanied by numbness and tingling. Intensity may range from mild to severe and frequency may range from occasional to constant. The onset is generally gradual and not necessarily associated with a precipitating event.

When lower back pain is accompanied by radiating lower extremity pain, it is useful to attempt to assess the relative distributions of such pain. If low back pain predominates or low back pain and sciatica pain are fairly equal in distribution (approximately 50% of the pain is in the low back and approximately 50% of the pain is in the lower extremity), then the sciatica pain may likely be caused by mechanical dysfunction in the low back. If sciatica is associated with a herniated disc, then leg and buttock pain will be the dominant symptom, compared with low back pain. In the case of a herniated disc, there may also be leg muscle weakness and diminished sensation in the affected leg. Pain that radiates only to the buttock and thigh is probably not related to irritation of the sciatic nerve, but rather to mechanical disorders of the low back and/or sacroiliac joint.

Regular chiropractic care is a primary natural remedy for sciatic pain. Regular chiropractic care detects and corrects spinal dysfunction that may be a source of sciatica pain. For example, altered spinal biomechanics may impinge and irritate spinal nerves, causing nerve inflammation and associated radiating pain. By helping to restore optimal spinal biomechanical function and relieve sources of nerve irritation, regular chiropractic care helps to restore the integrity of the sciatic nerve and reduce inflammatory pain and other symptoms.3

In addition to in-office care, your chiropractor may recommend the use of ice applications and stretching/exercise to assist in managing sciatica pain. An ice pack or plastic bag filled with ice cubes may be applied to the lower back for 15 minutes every few hours to help reduce associated muscle pain, muscle spasm, and sciatic nerve inflammation. Importantly, ice applications should always be wrapped in a thin towel so as to avoid placing the cold pack directly on the skin. Gentle stretching for the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calf muscles will assist in restoring optimal biomechanical functioning to both the trunk and the legs. Gentle exercise, including walking and riding a stationary bike, will similarly assist in the process of recovery. Overall, your chiropractor is your go-to resource and the best manager of the range of natural remedies to help resolve sciatica pain.

1Ramaswami R, et al: Management of Sciatica. N Engl J Med 376(12):1175-1177, 2017

2Deyo RA, Mirza SK: Clinical Practice. Herniated Lumbar Intervertebral Disk. N Engl J Med 374(18):1763-1772, 2016

3Lewis RA, et al: Comparative clinical effectiveness of management strategies for sciatica: systematic review and network meta-analyses. Spine J 15(6):1461-1477, 2015

The focus of chiropractic treatment is the spinal column and nerve system. Most of us are familiar with the application of chiropractic treatment methods in the care of the human population. What is not generally known is the fact that chiropractic treatment can be applied in the care of the veterinary population. Historically, chiropractic treatment of animals most typically involved the care of horses, but veterinary chiropractic also includes the care of cats and dogs, those furry loved ones for whom many of us provide food and shelter.1

The basic principles are the same. Spinal misalignments cause nerve irritation and soft tissue inflammation. Soft tissue inflammation causes pain, muscular tightness, decrease in joint range of motion, altered biomechanics, and, ultimately, injury. Such musculoskeletal injuries may be mild, moderate, or severe and time to recover depends on the nature of the injury.

Additionally, nerve irritation causes an altered flow of information between the brain and the rest of the body. At the cellular level, these structures may receive incorrect information regarding the timing and performance of their functions. At the other end of the feedback loop, the brain may receive inaccurate information regarding the biochemical state of the cells themselves. Depending on which organ systems are affected, nerve irritation may impact any or all of the cardiorespiratory, digestive, hormonal, and immune systems. As a result of undetected nerve interference, both people and animals may begin to demonstrate signs and symptoms of various illnesses.

The range of human disorders is generally well known. With respect to early warning signs and symptoms of diseases common to animals, horses may cough, be depressed, or lose their appetite. Cats may experience weight loss, dry coat, thirst, and sneezing. Similarly, dogs may experience a change in appetite, lethargy, dehydration, and labored breathing. Overall, most of these animal disorders may be related to conditions associated with named disease entities as well as nerve irritation.

Chiropractic treatment provides great benefit in the care of horses, cats, and dogs by addressing many of the underlying causes of common disorders. By detecting and correcting sources of nerve irritation and restoring optimal biomechanics of the spine, chiropractic care helps to restore normal physiology and function. As many of the root causes of the disorder are corrected, your beloved animal begins to feel better and demonstrate increased liveliness and well-being.

Chiropractic treatment for pets is similar to chiropractic treatment for people.2,3 Depending on the particular animal, chiropractic adjustments may be used. For others, soft tissue techniques such as muscular relaxation, kinesiology, and trigger point therapy may be utilized. The overall goal is to restore spinal integrity and restore optimal function to the nerve system, the body’s master system. In this way, chiropractic care helps all members of your extended family achieve high levels of health and wellness.

1Hesbach AL: Manual therapy in veterinary rehabilitation. Top Companion Anim Med 29(1):20-23, 2014

2Haussler KK: Equine Manual Therapies in Sport Horse Practice. Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract 34(2):375-389, 2018

3Edge-Hughes L: Canine thoracic costovertebral and costotransverse joints: three case reports of dysfunction and manual therapy guidelines for assessment and treatment of these structures. Top Companion Anim Med 29(1):1-5, 2014

Should you use heat or ice on your painful injury? The best method of solving this important riddle is to assess the nature and source of the pain. Essentially, a new injury, that is, one that you sustained within the last 48 hours, is best treated with ice. Chronic pain, or pain that you have had for a long time, is generally best treated with moist heat. Understanding the mechanisms of injury and the physiological and biochemical causes of pain helps us to differentiate the indications for applying ice or applying moist heat.

The primary rule is that you can never go wrong with applying ice. Ice calms things down and, although an ice application may be uncomfortably cold for a few moments, the overall effect is soothing. Cold decreases local metabolism and constricts small blood vessels (arterioles). Cold reduces nerve conduction velocity, that is, the speed at which nerve impulses are transmitted, and therefore reduces the number of pain signals that reach your brain per unit time. Thus, ice applications provide vasoconstriction, analgesia, and sedation. Ice is indicated for acute musculoskeletal injury, burns, insect bites, bleeding, and snake bites. Ice should not be used for gout, rheumatoid arthritis, Raynaud’s phenomenon, history of vascular impairment, and cold allergies. As well, ice should not be used for a patient in a coma.

Moist heat increases local metabolism and dilates small blood vessels. Vasodilation results in increased nutrition, increased activity of white blood cells (phagocytosis), and increased removal of waste (metabolic end-products and damaged cellular structures). Moist heat provides analgesia, sedation, and reduces muscle spasms. Heat is best for chronic pain and muscle spasms. Contraindications to moist heat include acute musculoskeletal injury, area of diminished sensation, acute skin conditions, pregnancy, malignancy, diabetes, encapsulated swelling, hemorrhagic disorders, and suppurative conditions.

Generally, ice applications are used for acute injuries within a 72-hour time frame from the onset of the injury. Acute injury damages local capillaries, causing blood to leak into the spaces between cells and tissues, where it doesn’t belong. Such uncontained blood causes pressure on local nerve endings, creating pain. Also, pressure is applied to nearby cells, causing extended injury and possibly cell death. Thus, limiting the amount of blood leaking out of disrupted capillaries is critical in slowing the effects and reducing the impact of musculoskeletal injury. Ice performs this function. Ice reduces swelling, reduces pain, and provides a sedative effect.

When applying ice, it’s very important to avoid damaging the skin. Ice packs should always be wrapped in a towel. Ice should rarely be applied directly to the skin. Duration and frequency of ice applications is not an exact science, but a useful guideline is to apply ice for 15 minutes every two hours for a moderately acute injury, using three to four ice applications per day. However, you will know instinctively when the time is right to apply the next ice pack.

Moist heat applications follow similar guidelines. Dry heat should never be used. Moist heat packs should be wrapped in a towel and are applied for 15 minutes every two to three hours, up to several applications per day.

Recovering from injury requires your body to put forth a great deal of effort and requires support from the nerve system, the body’s master system. Regular chiropractic care provides great assistance in the process of recovery from an injury. By detecting and correcting spinal misalignments and sources of nerve interference, regular chiropractic care helps ensure optimal functioning of the nerve system. Thus, regular chiropractic care helps facilitate your recovery and helps you return to your full range of activities as quickly as possible.

1McCarberg B, D’Arcy Y: Options in topical therapies in the management of patients with acute pain. Postgrad Med 125(4 Suppl 1):19-24, 2013

2Piana LE, et al: The Cold, Hard Facts of Cryotherapy in Orthopedics. Am J Orthop (Belle Mead NJ) 2018 Sep;47(9). doi: 10.12788/ajo.2018.0075

3Mayer JM, Mooney V: Continuous low-level heat wrap therapy for the prevention and early phase treatment of delayed-onset muscle soreness of the low back: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 87(10):1310-1317, 2006

As we go along in life, most of us periodically encounter obstacles or other checks to our welfare and well-being that cause us to question ourselves, our values, and our life circumstances. As we inquire with ourselves, we may find that we’re wanting in certain areas such as preparedness, resilience, and adaptability. If we look deeply enough, we may also discover that there is a deficiency in kindness, generosity, and empathy with others and even with ourselves. If we’re not honest with ourselves, the whole process is doomed to fail. But if we are, we will eventually have an opportunity to locate a spark of hope, a brighter light that points the way toward the means of resolution, specifically, a process of self-discovery and self-healing.

This self-healing process of growth and development may take many forms. For some persons, engagement with one of the world religions, such as Judaism, Islam, or Christianity, may provide a deeply rewarding and meaningful journey of self-realization. For others, launching and maintaining a daily meditation practice provides an effective method for achieving inner growth and self-actualization. As well, others may discover timeless wisdom in the works of the great philosophers, including Plato, Aristotle, Augustine of Hippo, Thomas of Aquino, Baruch Spinoza, David Hume, and Immanuel Kant. Many persons, over time, may embrace all of these methods of participation in the life of the self and others, as one’s ongoing investigations and explorations point the way to additional sources of learning and fulfillment.

Thus, there is no single and exclusive means of achieving self-knowledge. One is guided by one’s instincts and inclinations, based on one’s inner understanding of what is truly meaningful. What works for you, works for you, and what is of deep interest should be pursued. Importantly, none of these processes of developing a relationship with oneself is a solipsistic endeavor, that is, a process that is only directed inward. We all have a responsibility, an obligation, to know ourselves and improve our capabilities. We also have a corresponding responsibility to help further the goals of others, to assist others in achieving their dreams and aspirations.

Regular chiropractic care is a critical part of one’s journey of growth and development. Regular chiropractic care improves spinal alignment and removes sources of nerve irritation, helping to further the physiological benefits of our mindfulness practices.1,2,3. In this way, by helping to optimize our health and well-being, regular chiropractic care helps to facilitate both our inner processes of self-discovery and our outer activities that contribute to the welfare of our family, community, and society.

1Zeidan F, Vago DR: Mindfulness meditation-based pain relief: a mechanistic account. Ann NY Acad Sci 1373(1):114-127, 2016

2Khusid MA, Vythilingam M: The Emerging Role of Mindfulness Meditation as Effective Self-Management Strategy, Part 2: Clinical Implications for Chronic Pain, Substance Misuse, and Insomnia. Mil Med 181(9):969-975, 2016

3Armani KA, et al: The Impact of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Emotional Wellbeing and Glycemic Control of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. J Diabetes Res 2018 Jun 10;2018:1986820. doi: 10.1155/2018/1986820. eCollection 2018

How to Exercise Indoors

For those of us who live in locales such as southern California, outdoor activities and outdoor exercise are available year-round. Elsewhere, winter sets in and many people discontinue their outdoor activities until the return of spring. As it is important to maintain our fitness levels throughout the year, ongoing questions relate to the possibility of developing indoor activities and exercise programs. Fortunately, a wide range of indoor exercise activities is available when the weather gets colder to effectively replace one’s outdoor fitness regime.

An indoor activity and exercise program includes the following:

Supine leg roll-overs (core)

Supine hip presses (core)

Plank (core)

All-fours leg raises (core)

Push-ups

Bodyweight squats

Bodyweight split-squat

Walking hamstring lunges

Jumping jacks

Rapid standing leg lifts

Abdominal crunches (core)

Leg raises

Resistance band seated row

Resistance band shoulder press

The only equipment you need is a 6-foot-long exercise mat and a resistance band.

You may perform the entire routine in a single session or divide the exercises into groups, such as legs and 1-2 core exercises, upper body and 1-2 core exercises, aerobic exercise and 1-2 core exercises, and perform each group on a separate day. The overall goal is to do 30 minutes of vigorous exercise five days a week. The indoor activity/exercise program incorporates strength training, aerobic exercise, and core exercise. It could even replace going to the gym when the weather is particularly unsettled.

From the perspective of an individual’s and a family’s health and well-being, as well as from a public health perspective, regular vigorous exercise provides a wealth of benefits. For example, diabetes, high serum cholesterol levels, overweight/obesity, heart disease, and hypertension are all lifestyle disorders. By implementing consistent lifestyle changes including exercise, nutritious food choices, and obtaining sufficient rest, we are taking meaningful action on our own behalf that will positively impact our long-term health and well-being. These lifestyle changes are important for everyone, as people of all ages, races, and genders may be affected by lifestyle diseases. For example, research has shown that lifestyle modifications accounted for a 50% reduction in mortality from heart disease. This is a significant return on investment of time and effort.

Regular chiropractic care is a key component of all exercise programs and provides support and benefit for both indoor and outdoor exercise activities. Regular chiropractic care detects and corrects spinal misalignments and sources of nerve irritation as well as helps enable your body to perform at peak capacity and function at high levels of effectiveness. In this way, by participating in regular chiropractic care, the spinal biomechanics of every family member is optimized, helping to ensure the long-term health and well-being of everyone, young and old.

1Escamilla RF, et al: Muscle Activation Among Supine, Prone, and Side Position Exercises With and Without a Swiss Ball. Sports Health 8(4):372-379, 2016

2Lorenzetti S, et al: How to squat? Effects of various stance widths, foot placement angles and level of experience on knee, hip and trunk motion and loading. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil 2018 Jul 17;10:14. doi: 10.1186/s13102-018-0103-7

3Beazley D, et al: Trunk and hip muscle activation during yoga poses: Implications for physical therapy practice. Complement Ther Clin Pract 2017 Nov;29:130-135, 2017 . doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2017.09.009

Most of us pay little attention, if any, to the daily functioning of our many physiological systems. Our hearts beat, our digestive systems digest, and our various hormones, such as those deriving from the thyroid gland, adrenal gland, and pancreas, do what they do. It’s all good… until it’s not.

For example, ongoing stress can do a real number on people and most of the time we don’t see it coming. We get a headache, some neck pain, or back pain and keep going. But when problems persist, it’s a good policy to begin paying attention. Stress can elevate blood pressure, depress the immune system, cause a person to become more susceptible to infections, and cause significant problems with the gastrointestinal system. Serious problems associated with long-term stress include type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke, and various types of cancer. Overall, stress directly impacts and interferes with the daily functioning of all of our body’s systems.

It is well known that stress increases around the holidays. Buying presents, cleaning, cooking, and worrisome memories of what happened during past holidays all serve to ramp up one’s levels of anxiety and stress. The biggest missing ingredient in our holiday rush is a sense of self. We lose sight of ourselves in the maelstrom of events and become a reactive automaton, of sorts. Go here, go there, buy this, buy that, do this or that chore around the house, and finally go to bed, only to get up early the next morning and start the whole merry-go-round again. All without taking the time to pause and locate ourselves in who we really are and what’s really of value to us and our loved ones.

The good news is that there is a better way. We are the ones who get to say how our day is going to go. It is critically important to stop and take a few deep breaths, to find our center, to reconnect with our inner self, to regain the meaning and purpose of our lives. An easy way to return to one’s center is to engage in a practice of daily meditation. Firstly, you don’t need any equipment to practice meditation, other than a comfortable cushion or chair. All you do is close your eyes and concentrate on breathing, imagining your breath going up your spine in the back and down your spine in the front. That’s all there is to it. Count your first cycle of breathing up to ten, then start back over at one. If you notice your thoughts wandering, try restarting your count back at one. The benefit is in the practice itself. By concentrating on your breathing, you regain mastery over your continual train of thought. You are placing yourself, that is, your inner self, back in control, instead of being overwhelmed by random thoughts regarding what you think you “need” to do.

One of the outcomes of such a meditation practice is reduced stress and enhanced wellness and well-being. The holidays are transformed into a time of good fellowship and loving family interactions. Regular chiropractic care provides wonderful assistance to all of us as we engage in the process of re-centering. By restoring balance to our nerve system and optimizing our spinal biomechanics, regular chiropractic care supports our present and future health and wellness, throughout the holiday season and throughout the year.