Posted on

Birth, Naturally

Posted by: Jenny Everett King

 

“Natural childbirth” is a term that is frequently tossed about without the speaker clarifying his/her meaning. One person may use “natural” in reference to vaginal birth, rather than birth by cesarean. Another may use natural in place of “medication free.” Still others think of the spontaneous onset of labor, homebirth, or hospital birth with a nurse midwife rather than an OB. In reality, proponents of true natural childbirth encourage a birth experience that not only is drug-free, but one that incorporates a variety of positions and coping methods for all stages of labor. Above all else, the birthing mother is encouraged to trust, rather than question, her own body.

 

Natural childbirth is not for everyone, and should not be presented as such. No matter what our personal philosophies, no one has the right to tell another woman how to birth her baby. With that said, many women do not consider birthing naturally, or are skeptical about their ability to do so, simply because they have never been offered the proper tools. Every woman deserves to be educated about the option of natural childbirth, and the vast majority of women should be offered the opportunity to birth in this way.

 

An epidural-free labor that does not incorporate tools for coping with pain is nearly impossible. “Natural” childbirth does not equal un-medicated childbirth. Rather, natural childbirth offers an alternative philosophy of the birthing process and, in doing so, incorporates an alternative set of coping tools. I have spoken with so many women who tell me, “I wanted to have a natural birth, but it was just too painful.” As the conversation continues, I usually hear that she spent the most difficult parts of labor in bed, hooked up to machines, often surrounded by nurses who were strangers to her, or a doctor / midwife she met once before. What woman has a pain threshold high enough to withstand the intense contractions of transition in this environment?

 

Birthing naturally does not just mean the absence of an epidural. It requires freedom of movement, emotional and sometimes physical support from the birth partner and from care providers, and confidence in birth itself. Most women who have had positive experiences with natural birth also credit mental preparation and relaxation techniques. Partners often mention the benefits of close communication with the laboring mother, and the ability to understand her needs and desires. These are important skills that come with training and practice – they don’t simply manifest in an instant in the labor and delivery room! All pregnant women and their partners who desire natural childbirth should be encouraged to communicate openly with one another, to educate themselves about the birth process, to practice relaxation exercises, and to strive for a naturally healthy and fit pregnancy. These four principles are the basis of Healing Hands’ new Empowered Birth series. We believe that you deserve to know the power and beauty of natural birth!

Posted on

Backpack Safety Tips

Posted by: Dr. Jessica L. Caruso

Think carrying a backpack is “no big deal”? Think again. The average child’s backpack weighs 12 pounds and gets lifted 10 times a day. That equals 120 pounds lifted each day. That works out to be about 21, 600 pounds lifted in a 180-day school year!!!

How exactly does carrying a backpack affect the spine? Common sense tells us that a heavy load distributed unevenly day after day causes stress to a growing spinal column. More than 50% of youths experience at least one low back pain episode by the end of their teen years. Repetitive activities such as hauling a heavy backpack over one shoulder each and every day can lead to serious postural misalignments and imbalances, creating subluxations of the spinal column. These subluxations may cause nerve interference, which can lead to a variety of symptoms and decrease a child’s immune response.

Carrying a heavy backpack in which weight is improperly distributed can result in poor posture; spinal column distortion; muscle strain; headaches; back, neck and arm pain; and nerve damage.

Proper lifting techniques are extremely important. The following is proper backpack lifting technique and should be demonstrated to your child:

Face the backpack before you lift it

Bend at the knees

Using both hands, check the weight of the pack

Lift with legs, NOT your back

Carefully slip on one shoulder strap at a time

NEVER sling the pack on one shoulder

Packing your child’s backpack properly can decrease strain on the spinal column:

Pack the heaviest objects close to the body

Place bumpy objects on the outside, away from the back

Having your child checked regularly by a chiropractor to remove subluxations and insure proper posture during the growing years is very important. Remember, “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.”

Posted on

Turn Up the Health

Posted by: Dr. Jessica L. Caruso

 

When I first graduated from chiropractic college, I moved to New Hampshire to take on an associate position. While working under this other doctor, I learned a lot about how to explain the power of chiropractic and the miracle of the human body to both patients and prospective patients alike.

One particular analogy always stuck with me when explaining the difference between health and sickness. I would be in a room full of people with the door shut. I would tell the people that on the other side of the door all the lights were out in the hallway and the hallway was left in pitch darkness. I would then ask the group what would happen if I opened the door- would the light from the room we were in seep into the dark hallway and make the hallway brighter, or would the darkness from the hallway seep into the lit room and make it dimmer? Every time I would ask this question, the answer was always, “Of course the hallway would become brighter.” So I would ask “Why?” I would get all kinds of answers about the speed of light and so forth. But never once did I get the answer I was looking for. I would wonder if never getting the right answer was due to our societal mindset of “healthcare.” I would then go on to explain that darkness does not exist but is merely the absence of light…just like sickness does not exist but is merely the absence of health. In order to make the hallway brighter we need to turn up the lights, not go into the dark room and pick out the “dark spots”! So why aren’t we turning up the light in our bodies? Turning up the health is the answer, not taking out the dark spots; taking out the gallbladder, tonsils, female reproductive organs, whatever the surgery du jour or surgery trend of the decade is.

Too many people are ignoring the signs their bodies are sending them! We are all born with an innate intelligence. Our bodies all have the ability to heal. However, we need to provide the environment for that to occur optimally. If someone breaks their arm, and decides not visit the ER to get the bone set and cast, their arm will heal. However, it will not heal optimally. This may be a drastic example. Most people cannot ignore the fact that their arm is broken, so why are we ignoring all the other signs. Headaches…not a deficiency of Excedrine like the commercials want you to believe. Getting a headache is your body’s way of telling you there is something wrong, something’s out of balance and in a state of dis-ease. If your oil light in the car came on and you decided to take the fuse out so the light turned off, does that mean the problem is fixed? Or does it make more sense to check the oil?!! We need to start treating our bodies at least as well as we treat our vehicles.

Chiropractic, yoga, reiki, massage and a regular meditation practice are all ways of enhancing the ability to listen to your body and make the appropriate adjustments your body needs. Stop turning off the lights and start turning up the health.

Posted on

Give It All You’ve Got

Posted by: Jenny Everett King

 

There is a commercial for a popular children’s product that ends with the line, “Motherhood means always giving one hundred percent.”

If that’s the case, then most of us are in trouble.

If motherhood meant always giving 100%, my child would never watch TV. She would never go to bed without a story. I would never forget to give her a vitamin supplement – no, even better, she wouldn’t need a vitamin supplement because her meals would be perfectly balanced to include the appropriate RDA of each and every vitamin, mineral, and herb for optimum two-year-old health. And it all would be totally organic, of course.

Well, in a perfect world, maybe.

Many of us take the sentiment of that commercial – that doing something at all means doing it perfectly – and apply it to other aspects of our lives, like diet and exercise. When it comes to our health, it’s easy to have an “all or nothing” mentality. Have you ever given up on buying some organic produce, since you can’t afford to buy all organic, all the time? Have you ever thought there’s no point in eating well for the rest of the day, just because you ate pancakes with loads of butter and maple syrup for breakfast? Or skipped exercise for the rest of the week, since you didn’t make it to the gym on Monday and Tuesday?

I have to confess that I have been guilty of all those examples at one point or another in my life.

But fortunately, health does not work that way. Wellness is not an “all or nothing” concept; in fact, it’s just the opposite: Every little bit counts. A chiropractic adjustment only once every two or three weeks is better than no chiropractic care at all. One yoga class a week is still good, even if you don’t have space to practice at home every day. Five minutes of meditation is beneficial, if your day won’t allow for a full half-hour. (Chances are, if your day is too busy to squeeze in a half-hour session, you’re really going to need those five precious minutes to yourself!)

In perfect world, I believe we should all practice yoga daily and have consistent adjustments according to our chiropractor’s recommendations. We should eat very little sugar and very many organic vegetables and whole grains. These are the sorts of recommendations patients and students often hear from us in the office, because we want to present you with an ideal. Sometimes, that ideal is daunting.

Make no mistake: You don’t have to be perfect in order to be healthy. Wellness, like motherhood, does not have to mean always giving 100%. Give your health the best that you are able to give it in this moment, and let that be enough.

 

 

Posted on

Chiropractic Care is Important for Children

Posted by: Dr. Jessica Caruso

Many people know that chiropractic care is beneficial for adults, but so many do not know how crucial it is for children.Most people are SO surprised when I tell them that my youngest patient to date was 18 hours old when she received her first chiropractic adjustment. Chiropractic care is for all ages, and absolutely safe for children.Chiropractors use very gentle and specific techniques for children. This is what is so awesome about chiropractic…it can be tailored for the individual patient!

Children are very susceptible to trauma in their spines. Childhood is such a physical timeof life– learning to walk, riding a bike, climbing trees, playing sports, and so much more.Spines grow at a rapid rate during the first five years of life. Checking for abnormalities during this time especially is critical for proper structural and nervous system development.

Many parents understand the importance of regular dental check-ups, but a spinal check-up can be one of the most important check-ups a parent can bring their child to.

The spine protects billions of nerve fibers, where signals travel from the brain to the body and back again.If there is any interference along these nerve pathways from misalignments in the spine, also known as SUBLUXATIONS, then a state of dis-ease can develop. If this state of dis-ease is ignored, then pain, sickness and disease can occur over time.

Subluxations can occur as early as in utero from abnormal positions in the womb.Injuries can occur to a baby’s spine at birth due to delivery in these abnormal presentations. Also, C-section, vacuum or forceps extraction, and even induction can all create subluxations.This is why it is so important to have your children’s spines checked sooner rather than later.

Health problems in childhood or even adulthood have been traced back to spinal damage at birth.Many parents bring their children in to a chiropractor for such things as frequent colds, asthma, colic, reflux, ADHD, and ear infections. However, they quickly discover that chiropractic care for their children is so much more than symptomatic care, but rather quite vital to their overall wellness and proper growth and development.

We all know that if one person in the household is sick, everyone is affected.This is why at Healing Hands Chiropractic we encourage everyone in the family to get their spine checked. We believe that Happy Families Are Healthy Families!

 

Posted on

The 3T’s of Subluxation

Posted By: Dr. Jessica L.Caruso

 

Recently I have had a lot of patients coming into our office with complaints of runny nose, sinus pressure, scratchy throat, cough and body aches. Many people associate these symptoms with the cold weather, not the summer months. However, we are susceptible all the time to the germs and bacteria that may cause these types of symptoms. When our immune systems are strong they can ward off these germs.

I’ve asked each of my patients during their visits if they could think of any reason why their immune systems are lowered and not working at their best potential. Most answers I get are related to stress, changes in routine, poor sleep, eating poorly (like at all those BBQs), busy with kids out of school, travel — just plain feeling overextended. I remind patients of the 3T’s of subluxation: Trauma (this includes poor posture), Toxins, and Thoughts. For those of you who do not know: SUBLUXATIONS are misalignments in the spine that cause nerve interference, not allowing the body to function optimally, thus, not allowing the body to achieve optimal health.

Most of the answers I received from my patients could fit into at least one of the 3T’s categories. Since chiropractic adjustments remove subluxations, it makes perfect sense to get adjusted when you feel “run down” or like “you’re fighting something off”. Subluxations interfere with your nervous system’s ability to work at 100%. Your nervous system tells everything else in your body how to perform, including your immune system. So, a healthy nervous system equals a healthy immune system. We all have an innate ability to heal. We just need to provide an environment conducive to healing optimally. This means getting good sleep, watching your posture, eating well, taking your vitamins (I take, as well as highly recommend to my patients, Doctor Greens’ vitamins and supplements because they are 100% organic), good stress management practices such as yoga and meditation, listening to the signs your body is sending you, and GETTING ADJUSTED.

Research performed at New York Medical Institute by Dr. Pero (a medical doctor) showed that people under regular chiropractic care had immune systems 200% stronger than those not under chiropractic care. Pretty amazing research about the power of chiropractic!