Winter Storm 2010 (The Remix)

"Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland..."

Well, if what the weatherman is saying on t.v. is true, it looks like the second major winter storm of 2010 is heading our way this week, and to think, most of us just finally got ourselves dug out from the last one. The storm that hit our area over the past weekend dumped up to 2 feet of snow in some areas. I know I measured outside Saturday morning with a yardstick and it was 18'' inches of the white stuff right outside my door. Now they're calling for another 4' (on the low side) to 10" (on the high side). Sounds like fun right?
 

With so much snow being dumped on us last weekend at such an unexpected rate, I think there were a lot of our neighbors, friends and families who were under-prepared for impending storm system. That means that everyone woke up, got dressed, and thought about when, or more importantly how, to dig out from all of this snow. Most, if not all of the people you and I know, probably just went out grabbed a shovel and started tossing snow around as fast as they could. In doing this though, most probably didn't think about the repercussions these activities would have on their bodies. So, as this next storm system speeds our way on course to hit out area tomorrow sometime, what better time to go over some of the basic, BUT important rules and tips for proper shoveling technique in order to protect your health, your heart and your back.

Your Heart

According to the 1996 Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health, shoveling snow is considered as a moderate physical activity if you actively do it for 15 minutes. Since we should all aim to try and accomplish at least 30 minutes of physical activity 3-4 days per week, this can be a good thing for a lot of us. On the flip side of that though, there are reported increases in the number of fatal heart attacks related to shoveling snow in heavy snowfalls.

"How do I know if I'm at risk when shoveling snow?"

• Any person who has had a previous heart attack
• Individuals with a history of heart disease
• Persons who smoke
• "Couch potatoes", or those who with sedentary lifestyles
• Individuals with high blood pressure and/or high cholesterol levels

"How can I keep my heart safe when shoveling snow?"

• If you are one of those sedentary lifestyle individuals, or have a history of heart trouble, absolutely talk to your doctor before going out to the drive with shovel in hand
• Caffeine and nicotine should be avoided before beginning to shovel. Both cause your blood vessels to constrict since they are stimulants and also increase your heart rate.
• Drink lots and lots of water. Getting dehydrated in the winter is just as big an issue as it is in the summer.
• Make sure to dress yourself in layers so that one can be removed as needed.
• Start slow and work your way into it. Take breaks if needed and pace yourself.

"Should I warm up?"

• Since shoveling snow is a combination of cardiovascular exercise and weightlifting, it would only make sense to warm up properly. You're not going to wake up, step outside and start running sprints or start bench pressing 225lbs right? Of course you wouldn't, you would warm up the muscles properly so as not to injure them. 
• Start by walking in place or marching around the driveway.
• Stretch the muscles in your arms and your legs, because you'll be using them all.
• Warm muscles are not only less likely to injure, but they also work more efficiently.

 Your Back

"How about protecting my back?"

•  Remember to warm up all of the muscles you will be using, including your back muscles.
• Pick a shovel that is right for you. 
• A shovel with a smaller blade may carry less snow, but will put much less stress on your body.
• A proper fitting shovel should have a handle that reaches about chest high.

• Use a good technique
• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart.
• Keep the shovel close to your body.
• Space your hands our for leverage.
• Keep your head down and in line with a straight back.
• Avoid extending your arms. Keep each shovel full close to your body.
• Bend from your knees, and tighten your stomach muscles as you lift the snow.
• Never twist, especially with a shovel full of that heavy snow.
• Minimize the distance that you carry the snow.
• Try to only walk a couple of feet with each shovel full.
• Keep the shovel full close to the ground.
• Clear deep snow (like this last storm's) layer by layer.

Some final important tips for everyone...

• Listen to what your body tells you.
• If you feel pain or are winded / fatigued --- STOP
• If you feel chest pain or other symptoms of a heart attack --- CALL 911

There is no reason to run out and buy a brand new snow blower. Not everyone who shovels snow is going to have a heart attack or come down with an acute low back condition. Snow shoveling can be good exercise and a fun activity if the family all gets involved. Just remember to be smart and safe. Perform the activity correctly and remember that your health is the most important, not getting the car out of the driveway.

Stress and the Holidays

If the body is sick, the mind worries and the spirit grieves; if the spirit is sick, the body and spirit will suffer from it’s confusion; if the spirit is sick there will be no care for the body or the mind.

- J.R. Worsley 

 The holiday season is approaching us quite quickly, and we all know that the Holiday Season is the most stressful time of year for most everyone. There are gifts to buy, parties to attend, family get-togethers, and more. Food, sweets, and alcohol are consumed in excess, we travel more and most of us even go further in to debt because of the season.

It's no coincidence that this time of the year is when more people get sick because they're run down!

Now, how about some Holiday Thoughts....

Many retailers will make as much as 70% of their yearly income in the 3 weeks leading up to Christmas. In the U.S., during the Christmas and Hanukkah season, Visa cards alone will be used an average of 5,340 timers per minute....WOW right?

The stress is there, and you can't avoid it because it's impossible to avoid stress! To be alive is to be under stress. Any emotion and any activity causes stress. There are three types that we consistently look at, Physical Stress, Chemical Stress, and Emotional Stress. The same stress which makes one person sick can be invigorating experience for another (distress vs. eustress). It’s not the stress but how our bodies respond to the stress.

So how are you going to respond to stress? The most powerful anti-stress tool is one that you have built in...Your mind. When we confront stress, a complicated thing happens inside of you called the General Adaption Syndrome, or G.A.S.

There are three stages of G.A.S., the first is “The Call To Arms” – the alarm Reaction. Messages form the brain to the endocrine system in a “fight-or-flight” response. If the stress stops you return to “normal”.

The Second Stage of G.A.S… If the stress continues you enter “Resistance” – the body tries to adapt to the stress. If the stress stops you revert to “normal”.

The Third Stage of G.A.S… If the stress continues you enter the stage of “Exhaustion” – during this stage your system (your body) falls prey to ill health.

Imagine 3 Dolls…

One made of glass, one of plastic, and one of steel. Strike each with a hammer (physical or emotional stress) and what happens???

- The glass one shatters (the person who cannot adapt to life’s stresses, gets ill and/or dies as a result).

- The plastic doll will scar (person not killed but is hurt or damaged will recover but never completely heal).

- The steel doll rings with a pleasant tone (person adapts to stress quickly and thrives).

Which one are you? Which would you like to be?

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

Your body is an amazing machine, capable of amazing feats. Your body comes complete with 100 Billion Brain Neurons that can send impulses at lightning speed to every cell, tissue, organ and system in your body. It came complete with a very sophisticated nerve system that stretches for miles and stores over 100 Trillion bits of information. It produces 8 Million new red blood cells every second. There are 100,000 genes with more than 50% designated to the structure and function of your nervous system.

Your Amazing Body was designed perfectly and was made to live healthy and vital for 120 –150 years. (The Hunza people). There are  in fact 80 Thousand Americans over 100 years right now. The US Census Bureau predicts that by 2050 there will be well over 4 Million people 100 years of age or older. What will you health be like when you reach this milestone?

So what do we need to do in order to help eliminate the stress we know we will come in contact with?

Laugh, and laugh often - laughter promotes healing.

Volunteer - volunteerism boosts self-esteem which is another life extender.

Meditate - meditation works as an anti-aging mantra. People who meditate 20 minutes a day have higher levels of DHEA-S, a hormone which is found at its peak in your early 20's.

Help Out - helping others contributes to longevity. It triggers the body to release feel-good endorphins which lowers blood pressure and heart rates = less stress and less tension.

Think Positive - positive thinking promotes positive physiology, negative thoughts present negative physiology.

 So how does chiropractic care factor into all of this? Chiropractic care focuses on removing all interference from your nervous systems, and since your nervous system is the body's master control system, doesn't it make sense that it should function unimpeded? Do you think it's just a coincidence that the brain and the spinal cord are the only areas of your body to be completely encased in bone? Your nervous system controls everything, so it definitely makes sense to offer it the most protection and to make sure there are no problems with the signals going out into your body. Doctors of chiropractic use the spine as a way of facilitating the nervous system. A problem in the spine means there is the potential of nervous system interference. Have you ever wondered what was possible for you or your family if you all lived your entire lifetime free from interference? You would have a stronger immune system, improved energy levels, increased focus, fewer aches and pains, quicker healing times and longer lasting effects. Basically, it would be a healthier, safer and saner world for everyone.

So our goal and your goal should be to stay healthy during stressful times. How do we go about doing that? First, make a list of goals and then try to follow that list. Maintain a wellness program, maintain healthy relationships and quality time, and don't forget to get appropriate sleep. Some other ways to help maintain your health and keep the stress levels low can include all of the following, just some of the following, or just make up your own list of things that help you specifically. You can pray or meditate, have a pet or a hobby, laugh often, volunteer, smile more (it's contagious you know), use sweets and alcohol in moderation, use positive self motivation, keep finances in balance, and finally try to simplify your life.

In the end, the choice is always yours, but wouldn't the holidays be that much more enjoyable if we weren't always stressed out about all the little things. These are just  some suggestions, and hopefully, we can help make your holiday season the best it can be. Think healthy, be healthy, and don't forget about your nervous system.

Have a wonderful holiday season,

Dr. Christopher Raymond

Raymond Chiropractic
5533 Mahoning Ave. Suite C
Austintown, OH 44515
330.799.4400

Patient Appreciation Days!

As the holiday season approaches (probably a bit faster than most of us would like it to), we have decided to hold our Patient Appreciation Days on November 10 and November 12 at the office. We will be accepting toys and cash donations towards the Toys for Tots organization this year.

Whenever we have these Patient Appreciation Days, it's always an exciting time. Not only do we get to give something back to all of our wonderful patients, but we also get the chance to give something back to the community, and what better of an organization than Toys for Tots.

Sometimes, as life gets hectic and things sometimes seem to blur by, we forget to stop and take time to look around ourselves, and be grateful for so many of the things and people around us. This event is our way of showing thanks and appreciation to all of our patients who have helped grow this office to where it is today. I couldn't be doing any of the things I am doing or accomplishing on a daily basis without the patients who needed help. I am just glad that I was able to help all those I come in contact with achieve greater levels of health and reach new levels of life and happiness.

So please, come enjoy a day dedicated to you, our patients; eat, drink, enjoy good company and of course come get adjusted. This is our way of thanking you for being you, and I truly am blessed to be the one who could help.

Dr. Raymond

Swine flu vaccine support crumbles as flimsy rationale for H1N1 shots becomes apparent

(NaturalNews) Public support for the swine flu vaccine is evaporating by the day as the rationale for the vaccine appears increasingly ludicrous to anyone paying attention. Moms, nurses, day care workers and members of the general public are increasingly realizing that Big Pharma's rationale for swine flu vaccination just doesn't add up.

Recent polls conducted by the mainstream media indicate that more than fifty percent of moms are refusing to expose their children to the swine flu vaccine, and nurses and health practitioners across the US and UK are going vocal with their opposition to the vaccine.

Legal action against the FDA's approval of the swine flu vaccine is already underway (http://www.naturalnews.com/027205_v...), and public protests are gaining momentum in raising awareness about the primary objections to the swine flu vaccine. Intelligent, informed people everywhere are saying NO to this vaccine!

Popular support for the vaccine is crumbling by the day, and health authorities are now turning to exaggerated scare stories to try to drum up demand for their vaccines. Where scientific credibility is lacking, fear is being invoked in its place.

Why the swine flu vaccine doesn't add up
So why is the justification for the swine flu so flimsy? It all comes down to these five crucial reasons being pushed by the vaccine industry... but as you'll see below, each of these five reasons is demonstrably false!

Reason #1) The H1N1 swine flu pandemic is dangerous and deadly!

Why it's flimsy: While the infection rate of H1N1 is currently high, the fatality rate is remarkably low. In fact, it's no higher than a normal, seasonal flu.

Reason #2) The vaccine protects you from the virus!

Why it's flimsy: There is absolutely no scientific evidence demonstrating that the swine flu vaccine offers real-world protection against the circulating H1N1 virus. While there is evidence showing that it produces antibodies, as people who have studied vaccine effectiveness already know, the mere existence of vaccine-induced antibodies doesn't directly translate into functional, real-world immunity! Vaccines are often, in effect, fabricated immunity that often don't provide practical immune defense in the real world.

Reason #3) The vaccine is perfectly safe, even for kids!

Why it's flimsy: This reason is truly laughable. None of these vaccines have been properly safety tested by the FDA or the drug companies. They were approved by the FDA with a waiver, utterly bypassing the normal process of long-term safety testing that the public expects the FDA to enforce. In fact, according to attorney Jim Turner, the FDA's baseless approval of these swine flu vaccines is a violation of federal law. (http://www.naturalnews.com/027205_v...)

Reason #4) There's nothing else you can do to protect yourself from the swine flu (therefore you must take the vaccine shot).

Why it's flimsy: This reason is an outright lie. In order to sell more vaccines, the pharmaceutical industry (and all its bureaucratic cohorts at the CDC and WHO) are intentionally keeping people ignorant of far safer and more effective options such as vitamin D and anti-viral herbal remedies.

http://www.naturalnews.com/027222_swine_flu_flu_vaccine_swine_flu_vaccine.html

Why Chiropractic Care is So Great!

We tend to see a lot of patients that come to us as a last resort. Many of them have taken a bunch of drugs, tried many different treatments and therapies, and some have even been through invasive surgeries. After all the doctors and other health care providers they have seen, all the time they have taken, all the money they have spent, they come to our office in desperation hoping for a miracle.
Many of these so-called “incurable” cases get better in our office. There is a very specific reason why. Our office specializes in finding and correcting vertebral subluxations. These subluxations can cause a variety of serious health issues because they interfere with your nerves. Your nerves are what control every function in your body. Chiropractors are the only health care providers that are trained to locate and correct subluxations in the spine.

Therefore, if your health problems are due to a subluxation, the only way for you to overcome your problem is to have that subluxation corrected.
The reason chiropractic care is so great and helps so many people is because we work with the body to correct itself. Most people will agree that the greatest machine on the planet is the human body. It is a self-healing, self-regulating, and self-sustaining organism built with everything you need to function fully and overcome sickness and disease. You see, chiropractic is not some magical healing thing; the body is. Chiropractic care removes what often interferes with the body’s incredible healing potential.

Please remember that your body is an amazing thing. True healing occurs when you get the body in a position to heal. Drugs do not heal! The body heals. Regardless of your health status right now, having your spine examined for subluxations is important… and it may just be the key to getting well!

~Dr. Raymond


Dr. Raymond runs a family Chiropractic practice in Austintown, Ohio. Consultations are offered at no charge to determine your specific health needs. To schedule an appointment, have questions answered, or to have a free health information packet sent to you, call 330-799-4400 today.

Don’t You Wonder Why…

…DRUG COMPANIES SPEND SO MUCH MONEY ON ADVERTISING?
…YOU HAVE TO “ASK YOU DOCTOR IF A DRUG IS RIGHT FOR YOU?”
…DRUGS HAVE SO MANY SIDE EFFECTS?
…MOST PEOPLE ARE CURRENTLY TAKING NUMEROUS DRUGS SIMULTANEOUSLY WITHOUT ANY RESEARCH ON POTENTIAL INTERACTIONS?
…YOU WAIT SO LONG AT YOUR DOCTOR’S OFFICE?
…INSURANCE KEEPS COSTING MORE, YET PAYS FOR LESS?
…MANY DRUGS KEEP GETTING PULLED FROM THE MARKET BECAUSE OF PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN SIDE EFFECTS?
…EVERYDAY A NEW DRUG IS CLEARED BY THE FDA, BASED ON CLINICAL TRIALS CONDUCTED BY THAT DRUG COMPANY?
…WITH MORE DRUGS, DOCTORS, AND HOSPITALS WE KEEP GETTING SICKER?
…WE ARE CURRENTLY 2ND TO LAST IN WORLD HEALTH RANKINGS?
…WE HAVE BEEN FIGHT CANCER FOR SO LONG YET DO NOT HAVE A CURE?
…WHERE DOES CHIROPRACTIC FIT IN?
…CHIROPRACTIC SUPERSEDES ALL THE ABOVE, TO PREVENT ILLNESS AND PROMOTE TRUE HEALTH.
…HAS YOUR FAMILY BEEN CHECKED BY A CHIROPRACTOR?

~Dr. Raymond


Dr. Raymond runs a family Chiropractic practice in Austintown, Ohio. Consultations are offered at no charge to determine your specific health needs. To schedule an appointment, have questions answered, or to have a free health information packet sent to you, call 330-799-4400 today.

What is Chiropractic?

I know that, while millions of people see chiropractors every day in the U.S., many people still do not know what a chiropractor does. A common response that I will get from patients, medical doctors and nurses as well, is “I never knew what chiropractors actually did.”

Because of all of the misinformation regarding chiropractic many people never take the step of actually making an appointment with a chiropractor. This is upsetting because so many more people would benefit from chiropractic care if they just knew what it was.

Simply put, chiropractic care is the science, art, and philosophy of finding and correcting vertebral subluxations. Vertebral subluxations are misalignments of the spine causing abnormal nerve function. These nerves control every single function in the body, thus can cause aches and pains as well as organ dysfunction. If someone has a spine, it should be checked for subluxations. This is no different than a person with teeth being checked by a dentist for cavities.

Chiropractic is extremely safe and gentle! Our malpractice rates are among the lowest of all healthcare providers (Obstetricians pay approx. $120,000 per year; I pay approx. $1500 per year). Patient satisfaction ranks extremely high and patients appreciate the communication that chiropractors provide.

Chiropractic care is very affordable and many offices have family plans and special payment methods so that you can get the care you need with, or without, health insurance.

As people become more frustrated with their medical care, are looking to avoid dangerous medications and invasive surgery, and learn more about natural health care, chiropractic care is becoming the fastest growing health care profession on the planet. The chiropractic profession does not spend billions of dollars on advertising, yet, chiropractic has become one of the fastest growing forms of health care over recent years because people get results and are telling other people.

My goal is to change the way people view chiropractic. While I would like to change the world’s view of chiropractic, I will start with the immediate area around our office. That is why I write these article’s every single week and have done so for years. This is also why I speak to as many groups as possible. And it is also why we will be starting lectures locally that will be open to the public to get good health information and have the opportunity to ask questions.

It is time to find out why so many people are flocking to chiropractic care. It is time to have your family checked by a chiropractor.

~Dr. Raymond

Dr. Christopher A. Raymond runs a family Chiropractic practice in Austintown, Ohio. Consultations are offered at no charge to determine your specific health needs. To schedule an appointment, have questions answered, or to have a free health information packet sent to you, call 330-799-4400 today.