The Role of Hibiscus Tea in Reducing High Blood Pressure
Posted on 27. Sep, 2009 by author in chiropractor
The Role of Hibiscus Tea in Reducing High Blood Pressure via Elements4Health
Hibiscus tea is made from the Hibiscus sabdariffa flower, which has been used in folk medicine as a diuretic and for the treatment of several other complaints, including high blood pressure, liver diseases and fever. The pharmacological actions of the Hibiscus sabdariffa extracts include strong in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activity. Studies have shown that consuming hibiscus tea infusion has positive effects on blood pressure. High blood pressure (hypertension) is defined as having a systolic and diastolic blood pressure greater than 140 and 90 mmHg. Systolic pressure is the pressure when the heart beats while pumping blood and diastolic pressure is the pressure in large arteries when the heart is at rest between beats. A double-blind randomized controlled trial involving 60 type II diabetes patients with mild hypertension… Read More…
Staycations are here to stay
Posted on 23. Sep, 2009 by author in chiropractor
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Need some time to relax and rejuvenate? But watching your pennies with today’s economy? How about a ‘staycation’? All across the country, families have decided to forgo expensive vacations this year and spend more quality time closer to home.
Traveling tends to include more work and stress than originally planned for, not to mention the added expenses, traffic and delays.
Staycations are not about the exotic locale, but how you spend your time. And more often than not, a break from your daily routine is all you really need. Disconnect from technology and recharge your internal battery.
With vacation planning, ask yourself why you’re yearning to “get away” in the first place? Perhaps your job is overly demanding, your relationships have become strained, or you just feel a strong desire to escape the daily grind.
Think about what you hope to achieve during your staycation. Whether it’s rest and relaxation, much needed time with friends and family or maybe some fun activities to add excitement back into your life, prioritize this time for yourself.
During your free time, make a point to try something new. Try an exercise or yoga class that you normally couldn’t go to, take a day trip to a local town, or try a new restaurant or a recipe. Remember to practice extreme self-care and enjoy your staycation!
Brown bag it
Posted on 22. Sep, 2009 by author in chiropractor
You don’t have to be back in school to pack your lunch. In fact, it’s a growing trend among Americans these days. 8.5 billion people brown-bagged their weekday lunch last year, according to a study by the NPD Group. A survey found that the majority of brown-baggers were motivated by financial reasons as well as efforts to eat healthier. Bringing a lunch from home helps to cut costs as well as unwanted calories from restaurant meals.
Looking for a healthy lunch idea? Check out this New York Times article where Martha Rose Shulman shares a homemade hummus recipe and incorporates the tasty spread in a satisfying vegetarian wrap.
How can you prepare more food from home?
Hummus Wrap
For the hummus:
1 to 2 garlic cloves, to taste; halved, green shoots removed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt to taste
3 to 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste
2 to 3 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt, as needed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons sesame tahini
For each wrap:
1 large flour tortilla or whole wheat wrap
2 leaves romaine lettuce, ribs cut away
1/8 red pepper, cut into thin strips
2 tablespoons cucumber, cut in julienne
Fresh mint leaves (optional)
1. Turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and drop in the garlic cloves. Process until they are chopped and adhere to the sides of the bowl. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, and process until very smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.
2. Warm a large flour tortilla for about 10 seconds in the microwave or over a burner, just until flexible. Lay it on your work surface and cover with lettuce leaves, leaving a two-inch border all the way around. Place 3 heaped tablespoons hummus (about 1/4 cup) on top of the lettuce on the bottom half of the tortilla. Top with the red pepper, the cucumber and a few leaves of mint if desired.
3. Fold the bottom edge of the tortilla over the filling. Fold in the sides, then roll up, squeezing the tortilla so that the roll is compact. Place the roll on a piece of plastic wrap. Fold in the sides of the plastic over the ends of the wrap, and roll up tightly to secure. Refrigerate for at least five minutes and for as long as 24 hours.
Yield: 1 3/4 cups hummus. Enough for six or seven wraps.
Advance preparation: The hummus will keep for three or four days in the refrigerator. It will become more pungent. The wrap can be made a day ahead.
Golf Injuries Can Be Prevented
Posted on 16. Sep, 2009 by admin in sports injuries
Injuries are not unusual with any type of sport. You can often avoid getting injured in a certain sport by finding out what injury is likely to occur, and then do whatever it takes to avoid it. The truth is, though, that sports injuries can’t always be avoided. Consequently, it’s important to be physically fit to make injury less predictable, or less traumatic.
Prior to starting a sport, such as golf, the most critical thing you can do is to be certain that you have the proper fitness level. By maintaining a healthy lifestyle, keeping your joints mobile and your muscles limber, preparing your body prior to activity, using proper form and good postures during activity, and giving yourself plenty of cool down and relaxation time, you will probably keep your body safe from injury.
Golf injuries don’t only happen to amateurs. It has been conjectured that close to a third of pro golfers playing in the same time frame are playing injured. The good news is that all-round good health and fitness can reduce the number of injuries that you may experience and might possibly preclude them completely.
Proper body strength in the muscle areas most employed during golf is crucial. However, it’s still prudent to make sure your spine is in good alignment and that it has good mobility prior to setting out to build muscle strength. A proficient golf swing relies on your spine’s capacity to effectually move in a rotational manner. Back injuries are the most common kind of injuries sustained by golfers. To be certain that your spine is in appropriate alignment and there is effectual movement in the vertebrae, see your chiropractor. Chiropractic treatment can make a big difference in helping you to avert back injury.
Once you’ve “straightened,” it’ll be time to strengthen. A safe, injury-free day on the green depends upon your being prepared for your golf game. You can warm up your muscles and make muscle strain less likely by doing golf stretching and flexibility exercises. Whole body range of motion (ROM) exercises will enhance flexibility, often rather fast, in all parts of the body. Furthermore, elastic band conditioning can provide functional golf range of motion advantages and can increase needed energy in the shoulders, hips and deep muscles of the core. Sports professionals, such as Dr. Yong Kim, are adding elastic band training to their golf conditioning programs because the bands offer dynamic resistance that ordinary weight lifting does not offer.
A large number of golfers have painful “Golfer’s Elbow” besides back injuries. Despite the fact that golfer’s elbow and tennis elbow are nearly the same injuries, there is a minute difference between them. Tennis elbow affects the outside of the upper arm whereas golfer’s elbow disturbs the inner arm. Golfer’s elbow, like tennis elbow, can be a reaction to a single intense action, such as (in golf) hitting the mat at the driving range or thrusting down on a hard fairway surface. Repetitive stress from smaller shocks, though, is most often the protagonist. Moreover, it can come upon those who abruptly start playing too much golf. For example, if a person that generally plays golf once or twice a month elects to play in a tournament, he or she is conceivably at risk for developing the injury.
Golf makes distinctive requests of your body. The game is generally longer than the majority of other sports and that can lead to fatigue. Whenever the body is fatigued, poor posture and decreased coordination often follow. This combination can produce an assortment of injuries. In addition, the shoulder muscles are liable to injury due to the repetitive swinging of the golf clubs. Just as attention should be given to make sure that your muscles are stretched and warmed up prior to starting your golf game, be sure to rest your body properly between games.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is often a surprising injury associated with golf. But, this injury can be the result of numerous games of golf played over a number of months constantly. As it is an affliction that occurs as a result of repetitive stress, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can be a severe injury creating disability and, on occasion, requiring surgery. However, if a health professional, such as your Sacramento chiropractor, discovers it at an early stage, chiropractic treatment and, sometimes, the use of a brace will relieve the problem.
Quite a few golfers seem to feel that injuries are merely an inescapable part of a golfer’s life. Nonetheless, a healthy, mobile spine, dedicated preparation, specific exercise and muscle conditioning, attaining and maintaining a an appropriate fitness level, and sensible rest and recuperation after your game is over, can make injuries much less a part of your golfing experience.
Dr. Kim is a sports injury specialist. He knows the risks involved in any sport. He can help to relieve the pain of sports injuries you may have already sustained, and he can help you to straighten and strengthen to prevent injuries in the future. Let Dr. Kim help you to get on with your game!
Chiropractic: Drug-Free Treatment for Arthritis Pain Relief
Posted on 15. Sep, 2009 by admin in arthritis
It is seldom necessary for you to look for a conventional healing approach if you are suffering from arthritis. On the contrary, some natural techniques may actually be able to help you overcome arthritic pain, even when medical science is incapable of doing so. Sadly, medical techniques regard merely the symptoms of disease, while natural techniques tend to look for the real origin of a problem and then correct it. If you are looking for a natural approach that has proved, repeatedly, to relieve arthritis pain, as well as many other problems, you need look no further than chiropractic care.
For over a hundred years, chiropractors have been helping people suffering from back pain due to arthritis and other arthritic problems. A chiropractor treats individuals who are suffering from musculoskeletal and nervous system problems. Arthritis is commonly inflammation and degeneration of particular joints within the skeletal system. Chiropractic medicine treats the aberrations of the vertebral column that impede the function of the nervous system. These misaligned vertebra, in addition to causing arthritic changes in the spine, can weaken resistance and immunity, therefore producing new health problems.
An effective chiropractor, like Dr. Yong Kim, has excellent observational and diagnostic skills that assist in detecting physical irregularities and joint problems. He performs neurological tests and orthopedic examinations. He may scrutinize your posture as a way of identifying causative or co-creative conditions, and he may also check your gait to determine faulty movement patterns that may produce new arthritic changes as well as add to your present arthritic pain.
Chiropractic therapy is not only a non-surgical, drug-free treatment, but in addition to treating your current pain, you will be offered advice and provided educational information regarding the benefits of individual lifestyle changes, such as exercise and nutrition, that will help to slow down joint degeneration in your body.
So, if you suffer with arthritis, back pain, headaches, neck pain, hip pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, or balance challenges, and you’d like to do more for your body than to just take a pill, chiropractic care may be the answer for you. One way to find out for sure is to go in to see Dr. Kim, your Sacramento Chiropractor, and let him tell you exactly what he will be able to do for you. It’s very possible that you will experience some relief from your problem after only one visit. With subsequent visits, you will continue to make improvements, and it is likely that you will find that this natural treatment works best to relieve your painful arthritis.
Chiropractic: Expert Treatment For Your Low Back Pain
Posted on 14. Sep, 2009 by admin in back pain
If you’re experiencing low back pain, you’re not alone. Low back pain affects many people, an amazing 80% in fact, making it second only to the common cold in its frequency. However, contrary to the common cold, waiting for your back pain to “run its course,” and taking prescription or over-the-counter remedies while you wait, is not the answer. The majority of back pain won’t go away by itself. More often than not, if your pain lessens, it is usually due to the fact that your body has compensated for the problem and, unfortunately, is generating new conditions. Low back pain is nothing to sneeze at! If you’d like to eliminate your back pain for good (and who wouldn’t?), it is important for you to see a back pain expert, like Sacramento chiropractor, Dr. Yong Kim.
Back pain is often a mystery to most people who are suffering from it, and chiropractors are skilled in solving their confusion. Most individuals ask: “Why is it that I have not experienced any trauma, accidents, or major injuries before the onset of my pain?” The answer is that the cumulative effects of awkward sitting posture, bad work habits, improper lifting, lack of routine exercise, and other unhealthy lifestyle-related factors create most back pain.
These elements add up over time and produce stresses and imbalances on the spine causing subluxations that can turn into serious back conditions. The process is similar to the front end of your car being out of alignment. When you insist upon driving anyway, there is irregular wear and tear on your tires. If you didn’t get the problem fixed, the situation would worsen until a tire “blew.” When the spine is misaligned, the function of the spine is put at risk. In other words, it’s not only a problem waiting to happen, it’s a problem waiting to get worse. And then, something as seemingly benign as reaching down to pick up a piece of paper can be the “final factor” that generates back injury. When this occurs, the surrounding back muscles go into spasm in order to stabilize the stressed or injured tissues of the back.
Chiropractors have more education, training, and experience than medical doctors when it comes to knowledge and treatment of the spine. They offer state-of-the-art diagnosis and experienced treatment for all musculoskeletal abnormalities. They not only provide welcomed relief if you are suffering from back pain, but they are knowledgeable about what will assist you in avoiding further back pain. As an adjunct to effective adjustments and other productive chiropractic therapies, your chiropractor will give you an individual exercise plan and recommend other healthy lifestyle changes that will keep you well-adjusted and pain-free in the future.
Chiropractic Care Can Help Relieve Tension Headaches or Migraines
Posted on 13. Sep, 2009 by admin in headaches and migranes
Do you frequently suffer from tension headaches or migraines? If so, then you are painfully aware of their incapacitating impact on your life. Chiropractic treatment can help. Dr. Yong Kim understands the differences between the causes of tension headaches and migraines and he is an expert at treating both.
Tension headaches: Like it or not, life can be a pain, now and then, and result in a tension headache. Many people have suffered from more than one, and maybe you are one of them. If you are someone who’s had a tension headache, then you probably experience it as a dull, aching head pain that is sometimes accompanied by a sensation of tightness or pressure across your forehead or on the sides and back of your head. Occasionally, you might feel a tenderness of your scalp, neck and shoulder muscles, and at times you may experience a loss of appetite.
Tension headaches are generally characterized as mild to moderately intense. The severity of the pain varies from one individual to another, and from one headache to another in the same person. Tension headaches can happen occasionally or you may have them regularly. Your headaches are considered chronic if they occur fifteen or more days a month for at least three months. If tension headaches are disrupting your life, chiropractic care may be the solution.
Migraine Headaches: Migraine headaches differ from the average tension-related headache. For example, migraines more often than not occur on only one side of the head, according to the National Headache Foundation. They throb or pulsate and are accompanied by nausea or vomiting. Auras, visual disruptions an hour before a migraine attack, and symptoms such as pulsating light, lines or dots, are experienced by one-fifth of migraine sufferers.
Migraines have an upsetting, debilitating effect on a sufferers life. If you suffer from migraines, then unfortunately you already know from experience that, more often than not, standard over-the-counter medications are ineffective, and prescription drugs generally have alarming side effects. Yet, the pain of a migraine can incapacitate you for hours, days, even a lifetime. It’s time to finally get rid of the pain and get your life back! Chiropractic treatment has been shown to be highly beneficial in relieving and eliminating migraine headaches.
If you suffer from tension headaches and/or migraines, make an appointment today with Dr. Kim, your Sacramento Chiropractor. He can help!
Chiropractic Treatment Can Help You to Stop Suffering From Hip Pain
Posted on 12. Sep, 2009 by admin in hip pain
Do you feel pain in one or both hips whenever you twist them or when you cross your legs? Does the pain keep you awake at night and make it difficult to get a good night’s sleep? When you get out of bed in the morning, or when you get out of your car, are you stiff and do you find it hard, at first, to move your legs? If you answered in the affirmative to any or all of these questions, it is likely that you have imbalances and alignment problems in the lower part of your body that in addition to creating hip pain can, over time, bring about degenerative hip joint disease if not treated.
Even though hip pain and related problems are often signs of age-related degenerative conditions, especially osteoarthritis of the hip joint, osteoarthritis isn’t always the “culprit.” In fact, rather than being the original cause of the problem, osteoarthritis of the hip joint can be the ultimate result of damage to your hips at a previous time.
Gait changes caused by biomechanical injury such as an ankle sprain or knee strain, can generate hip pain. Furthermore, your gait may shift to counterbalance new body demands such as a job change, an alteration in the way you sit, a new sport or activity, or if you start driving for long periods of time on a regular basis..
In addition, gait asymmetries can occur from leg length dissimilarities, foot pronation (walking like a duck), even carrying a baby or small child on your hip. The point is, anything that generates an asymmetry or imbalance when you are in motion can cause painful hip problems.
Dr. Yong Kim can help in many of these areas. Along with your adjustments, as part of the chiropractic management of your hip problem, he may suggest that you wear orthotics. He will also offer appropriate progressive rehabilitative exercises that include muscle stretching and strengthening.
Hip pain won’t disappear on its own. Hip pain indicates that something needs to be corrected. Get out of pain, get back in balance, and get your life back now! Call Dr. Kim, your Sacramento Chiropractor. He knows what to do to help you!
Chiropractic Care Can Stop the Pain of Sciatica
Posted on 11. Sep, 2009 by admin in sciatica
Sciatica is an extraordinarily painful condition. The good news is that chiropractic treatment can help. Dr. Yong Kim knows about the pain of sciatica, the deep discomfort that is constant during your waking hours and interferes with your daily activities.
The path of sciatic pain is usually from your low back, through the buttock(s), and down the large sciatic nerve in the back of your leg(s). Many times, the pain can even radiate into your knee. Motion and sitting, alike, can produce pain. On occasion lying down will decrease, or perhaps momentarily eliminate, the pain. Nonetheless, sciatica cannot be corrected without suitable management, and chiropractic treatment is highly effective.
The clinical diagnosis of sciatica is referred to as “radiculopathy”, a medical term that means simply that a disc has distended from its usual position in the vertebral column and is placing pressure on the radicular nerve (nerve root) in the lower back, which forms part of the sciatic nerve. This type of pressure is extremely painful.
Additional pressure on the intervertebral discs, as well as imbalances in the muscles encircling the spine, can happen during and after prolonged sitting, especially in a improper position. In general, an explicit event or exact injury doesn’t create sciatica. Instead, it tends to develop over time as a consequence of general wear and tear on the structures of the lower spine. Over time the lower spine loses its capacity to function normally during everyday requirements.
The final result is that the intervertebral disc develops small fissures, or cracks, which then lets the soft nucleus extend the disc outward. If the disc puts pressure on sensitive tissues, it generates the pain that is frequently called a slipped disc. If the disc puts pressure on the spinal nerve, an individual can develop sciatica.
With chiropractic adjustments and therapies, which often includes postural exercises, most disc problems, including sciatica, can be alleviated. If you are experiencing sciatic pain, it is essential for you to seek help. Call Dr. Kim, your Sacramento Chiropractor. He’s a spine expert!
Don't Play With Shoulder Pain
Posted on 10. Sep, 2009 by admin in shoulder pain
Your shoulders carry plenty of responsibility. You depend upon them to perform many different actions in the course of your day. This variety of involved motion aids you in doing what you need to do in your life – at work and at play. However, if you are currently suffering from shoulder pain, you’ve probably been overworking your shoulders. How? You might be involved in repetitive activities such as lifting and other arm movements, in particular those done overhead like throwing a baseball, swinging a golf club or tennis racket, or merely putting items on overhead shelves. Nerve irritation, joint stress, and wear and tear of the tissues surrounding the shoulder joints can occur as the result of these types of repetitive motions. On the other hand, repetitive activities shouldn’t actually create pain if your shoulder is healthy. If you are experiencing pain in your shoulder, it is evidence that there’s a problem that requires attention.
When the nerves are irritated, your shoulder muscles often become stiff, even weak, and motion is painful and confined. This often takes place in the ligaments and a group of muscles (and their tendon attachments) referred to as the rotator cuff. These muscles and tendons join your upper arm bone with your shoulder blade and, in addition, help to lock the ball of your upper arm solidly in its shoulder socket. It is the arrangement of this elegant combination that permits the most significant range of motion of any joint in your body.
The symptoms of this shoulder impingement syndrome can extend from a slight “catching” pain with activity (in particular raising your arm overhead), to an almost entire inability to use the shoulder. Never ignore your shoulder pain or continue an activity while in pain. It is crucial for you to attend to your shoulder problem as soon as you’re able because the pain will only go from bad to worse. Unhappily, if disregarded, some shoulder problems, such as Rotator Cuff Syndrome, frequently end up requiring surgery and a long rehabilitation.
Dr. Yong Kim is an authority in the area of musculoskeletal problems, and he knows what to do to get you out of pain. Because chiropractic care focuses on the reason for your shoulder pain, the problem is treated at its source. Dr. Kim will help to restore healthy mobility to your shoulder joints, and will also recommend rehabilitation exercises that will not only help you get rid of the shoulder pain you have now, but will help you to avoid shoulder injuries in the future.
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