Doroski - Doroski Chiropractic Neurology, Woodbridge, VA

Shopping Season

in Chiropractor by Doroski November 18, 2016 0 comments

You can’t really tell by the weather but it is Holiday season. We all know football season, summer sports season and yardwork season…. but shopping season. That’s right it sounds boring (maybe because I am a guy) but shopping can be as strenuous as any other activity. Your Woodbridge, Dale City VA Chiropractor wants to provide you with some tips that may help.

The holidays seem to come earlier and earlier every year — and along with them, the stresses and strains of frenzied holiday shopping. Take a stroll through your local mall, and you’ll already see symbols of the approaching holiday season — from Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations to notices of blowout sales. As your muscles tense with each passing day, the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) asks, “Are you ready for the holiday shopping challenge?”

“Our bodies have the capacity to do a little more than we normally do,” says Dr. Scott Bautch, past president of the ACA’s Council on Occupational Health. “But our bodies do not adapt very well to doing a lot more than we normally do. Since the added demands of this season can stress the capacity of our bodies, we need to do everything we can to help ourselves. Eat right, drink plenty of water, stretch, exercise and take a few minutes to slow down and reflect on what the season is all about.”

So relax and enjoy the holidays! Dr. Bautch and the ACA encourage you to consider the following tips to help keep you and your loved ones healthy, happy and safe this season.

Treat Holiday Shopping As An Athletic Event

Stay hydrated! Drink eight to ten 8-ounce glasses of water a day. (Coffee, tea, soft drinks and alcohol are dehydrators. Don’t substitute them for water.) On shopping days, you may need to drink even more water.

Be sure to stretch before and after a long day of shopping. When you are stressed-out, your muscles are less flexible than usual.

Wear shoes with plenty of cushioning in the soles to absorb the impact of walking on those hard shopping mall floors.

Make sure your clothing is as comfortable as possible. It’s a good idea to wear layers, because you may be going from a cold environment (outdoors) to a warm environment (indoors).

Leave your purse at home. Wear a light fanny pack, or if necessary, a light backpack instead. Pack only those items that are absolutely essential (driver’s license, credit card, etc.).

If you start to feel some pain, nip it in the bud. Apply an ice bag to the affected area for 20 minutes, then take it off for a couple of hours. Repeat a couple of times each day over the next day or two.

“During the holiday season, we’re running at absolute maximum capacity, which can lead to stress and even depression,” says Dr. Bautch. “We need to stretch and stay hydrated to increase our capacity, so we are not overwhelmed by the activities of the season.”

Plan Frequent Breaks Into Your Shopping Day

During a day of heavy shopping, most people should take a break every 45 minutes. Those with less stamina may even need to take breaks more frequently.

If possible, obtain a locker. Lockers can help cut down dramatically on how much you have to carry around. You can take a load off by scheduling trips to your locker into your breaks.

If your mall or shopping center doesn’t offer lockers, try to plan trips to your car. Don’t carry around more than is absolutely necessary at one time.

When taking breaks, try to eat light foods. A salad and some fruit is a much better option than a burger and fries.

Skip the coffee break! Coffee and sodas contain caffeine and sugar, which add even more stress to your body. Pass on the designer coffee at the java stand and keep drinking water.

“We actually need to eat better than normal during the holiday season,” explains Dr. Bautch. “On average, people gain five to six pounds during the holidays. And heart attacks occur more often during the holidays as well. Eating a heavy meal and then running out on an exhausting shopping trip can be very dangerous.”

Shopping With Children

If at all possible, DO NOT bring children along on a holiday shopping trip. Most children simply do not have the stamina for such an event, and you and your child will only become frustrated with one another. Don’t add this type of stress to an already stressful situation.

Try to split “child duty” up with a spouse or another parent. They’ll watch your kids while you shop, and vice-versa.

“Shopping with children is just a bad idea,” says Dr. Bautch. “If your hands are loaded with shopping bags, you may not be able to hold your child’s hand, which could increase the chances he or she might wander away from you. Take whatever steps necessary to not have to bring your child along.”

Wrapping Your Gifts

Since there is no “ideal” position for wrapping gifts, the most important thing to remember is to vary your positions. For example, try standing at a table or countertop for one package, sitting on a bed for another, sitting in a comfortable chair for another, etc.

Do not wrap packages while sitting on the floor. Wrapping packages while sitting on a hard floor can wreak havoc on your posture, and should be avoided.

Always stretch before and after you wrap gifts.

“When wrapping presents, it’s a good idea to ‘stretch the opposites,'” says Dr. Bautch. “In other words, if you are leaning forward when wrapping your gifts, stretch backward when you are done.”

Chiropractic Care Can Help

If you experience pain or discomfort as a result of holiday shopping, consider a visit to your doctor of chiropractic. Your doctor of chiropractic can help alleviate your pain naturally, so you can enjoy the holiday season as it was meant to be.

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Doroski Chiropractic Neurology

3122 Golansky Blvd, Ste 102

Woodbridge VA 22192

703 730 9588

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Sacroiliac Pain

in Chiropractor by Doroski November 11, 2016 0 comments

There are several types of low back injuries. One of the most common that I see in my Woodbridge, Dale City VA chiropractic office is SI pain. This is the low back pain people get across the pant line and it is usually worse on one side. It makes getting out of a chair and long car rides a nightmare. The good thing is there are no discs in the area so it usually isn’t a surgical injury.

Pain in and around the sacroiliac joint is one of the more common causes of low-back pain. With approximately 80 percent of the population suffering from low-back pain at some point in their lives, the sacroiliac joint dysfunction likely represents about 15-25 percent of those cases.

The following points will help you educate your patients about the sacroiliac joint dysfunction.

What Is Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction?

Sacroiliac joint dysfunction (SJD) is a broad term often applied to pain in the sacroiliac joint region—the largest joints at the base of the spine.

SJD can be painful and debilitating, but it is rarely life-threatening.

SJD rarely requires invasive types of treatment such as surgery.

Symptoms and Causes

SJD symptoms include low-back pain, typically at the belt line, and pain radiating into the buttock or thigh.

These symptoms are hard to distinguish from other causes of low-back pain, such as disc herniations or facet joints disease.

Most often, SJD is caused by trauma. For example, rotation of the joint when lifting or participating in some vigorous activity may cause tears in small ligaments surrounding the joint, resulting in pain and dysfunction.

While more serious conditions such as fracture or dislocation, infection and inflammatory arthritis can cause sacroiliac joint pain, minor trauma is considered a much more common cause.

The risk of SJD may also increase with true and apparent leg-length inequality, abnormalities in gait and prolonged exercise.

Pregnant women may suffer from SJD because of hormone-induced relaxation of the pelvic ligaments during the third trimester, weight gain and increased curvature of the lumbar spine.

Evaluation

Because SJD pain resembles other types of low-back pain, it is often difficult to isolate it as the actual cause of the patient’s discomfort and disability.

Diagnostic imaging procedures, such as X-ray or MRI, aren’t very helpful in evaluating SJD.

The mostcommonly used diagnostic procedures are physical examination and anesthetic blocks of the sacroiliac joint.

Physical examination involves stressing the joint in various body positions and movements.

During anesthetic blocks, a procedure with unproven validity for SJD diagnosis, the anesthetic solution often creeps outside the sacroiliac joint and may relieve pain from other structures.

Treatment

Because it is often difficult to isolate SJD as the source of pain, an appropriate management strategy is hard to implement. Once SJD is determined as the cause of the problem, many therapies are available.

Chiropractic manipulation and mobilization of the sacroiliac joint has been shown to be beneficial.

Exercise focusing on strengthening the core stabilizer muscles of the spine and trunk and on maintaining mobility of the sacroiliac joints can also be helpful.

Patients with a leg-length inequality may benefit from a shoe inserts helping to properly distribute weight borne by your lower back and sacroiliac joints.

For those with abnormal gait biomechanics, gait training may be needed.

To reduce the excess rotation that sometimes occurs with SJD, a pelvic belt can help stabilize the sacroiliac joints.

In cases of fractures and dislocations of the sacroiliac joints, surgery is needed.

Prevention

Use proper lifting techniques and ergonomics during your daily activities.

Maintain a regular exercise program and a healthy diet to help you function at peak capacity and prevent injuries

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Doroski Chiropractic Neurology

3122 Golansky Blvd, Ste 102

Woodbridge VA 22192

703 730 9588

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Proper Warm up

in Chiropractor by Doroski November 4, 2016 0 comments

I usually try to get the patients in my Woodbridge, Dale City VA chiropractic office to start some type of exercise program. Exercise is very important to keep the muscles supporting your back strong. The routine doesn’t have to be crazy intense but it does involve getting out of your office chair. The most important and often overlooked aspect of any routine is warming up. Most of us go, ok I will do 45 minutes of exercise… than just start. But to avoid injury you have to give yourself time to warm up before beginning the 45 minutes. So yes give yourselves an hour!

Whether your workout plan is a bodyweight routine in the park or a 5K, warming up should be the first thing on the to-do list (after that pre-workout snack). But what’s the ideal way to warm up? Experts agree a warm-up should heat and loosen the body, and prepare the mind for action. But there are a few moves you should avoid too.

The Need-to-Know

When it comes to strength training and a variety of sports, coaches often think of their warm-ups as training preparation—using techniques such as foam rolling and movement practice to get the gears aligned.

We perform optimally and better avoid injury after a warm-up that does what its name promises: warm us up. And while a marathoner doesn’t warm up like a powerlifter (the same way an opera singer doesn’t warm up like a modern dancer), there could be some similarities.

For endurance or cardio routines, research shows a dynamic approach, including dynamic stretching—active range of motion movements that tend to be similar to what you’ll do in your workout, can improve performance. Some experts even suggest performing a few short intervals of the planned exercise at a lower intensity (for example: brisk walking before running, or bodyweight squats before adding weight).

As for static stretching, leave it for the cool-down. Numerous studies have shown that it can hinder performance and increase the risk of injury.

Your Action Plan

Every warm-up will be different, depending on your fitness level and the goal of your workout. But as a jumping off point, start with these four basic goals for every warm-up, as outlined by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Loosen up.

Warm your joints, muscles, and prep your body for exercise with mobility movements. If you’ve got one, now is also a great time for foam rolling. Start by rolling your back, then hit every section of the legs, glutes, and hip flexors.

Get your heart pumping.

Increased heart thumping warms up your muscles and switches on your nervous system. Jog, slowly row, or ride a bike on low resistance. Just be sure you’re able to converse with your workout buddy (or sing along to your Spotify playlist).

Do some dynamic stretches.

Stretch your warm muscles, but don’t hold it. Remember: Static stretching during a warm-up can actually hinder your performance. Instead, do dynamic stretching, which involves continuously moving through a range of motion. For instance, you can make big arm circles in both directions, kick your legs forward, or simply touch your toes and then reach for the sky. The key is to not hold in any position.

Practice.

Move through the exercises planned for that day’s workout at a lower intensity. Have a long, hard run ahead? Warm up with a few technique drills. Back squats? Start with bodyweight squats or by holding an empty bar. Practicing the movement patterns teaches muscle memory (a.k.a. neuromuscular adaptation) and continues to prepare your body for action.

Find an enjoyable warm-up and remember to listen to your body’s cues. Your warm-up should not fatigue you. After all, it’s only one aspect of the workout. And don’t forget to cool down at the end.

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Doroski Chiropractic Neurology

3122 Golansky Blvd, Ste 102

Woodbridge VA 22192

703 730 9588

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Healthy food choices

in Chiropractor by Doroski October 28, 2016 0 comments

I get asked about diets and healthy eating all the time in my Woodbridge, Dale City VA Chiropractic office. Seems like this time of year everyone is trying to diet or worried about breaking their diet due to the holidays. Making the right choices with what we eat is tough enough with all our busy schedules. I try to encourage my patients to make small changes in their diets rather than one huge drastic one. Lunch seems to be the easy one to change. It is usually done on the fly so bringing a healthy lunch can help improve your daily food intake. Here is some pretty good advice on making the correct food choices.

Healthy Dietary Choices

Eat more raw foods. Cooking and canning destroys much of the nutrition in foods. With the exception of canned tomatoes, which have been shown to help prevent prostate cancer, fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables generally have more natural vitamins and minerals.

Select organically grown foods when possible, because they have lower amounts of toxic elements, such as pesticides and heavy metals.

Consume 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day. Whole-grain breads and cereals, beans, nuts and some fruits and vegetables are good sources of fiber. High-fiber diets can help prevent digestive disorders, heart disease and colon cancer.

Eat out more sparingly. Food preparation methods in restaurants often involve high amounts—and the wrong types—of fat and sugar.

Brown-bag your lunch to control your fat and sugar intake while adding nutritious fruits, vegetables and grains.

Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. Don’t substitute coffee, tea and soft drinks for water.

Limit your intake of alcohol, and quit smoking. Drinking alcohol excessively and/or smoking hinder your body’s ability to absorb nutrients from food.

Vegetarian Diets

Research shows that a good vegetarian diet as part of a comprehensive health program can help prevent heart disease, cancer and other diseases. However, fried foods, hydrogenated fats and commercial meat substitutes may contain more sugar and fat than a meat-eater would consume. If you are considering a vegetarian diet, keep the following tips in mind:

Eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes to consume a wide range of nutrients.

Consume fortified foods or take supplements, such as vitamin B12, to obtain the nutrients you no longer get from animal-based products.

Children, pregnant and breast-feeding women, and people recovering from illness should consult their healthcare practitioners before eliminating animal products from their diet.

Supplements

While dietary supplements are becoming increasingly popular, they are not substitutes for foods, nor can a person sustain good health simply by taking vitamin and mineral supplements. When taken properly, however, supplements can play an important role in achieving maximum health.

Since supplements are just an added source of nutrients, consume dark green vegetables, oils, nuts and seeds, which are sources of magnesium, fatty acids and many other vitamins and minerals.

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Doroski Chiropractic Neurology

3122 Golansky Blvd, Ste 102

Woodbridge VA 22192

703 730 9588

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Functional Neurology

in Chiropractor by Doroski October 21, 2016 0 comments

My Woodbridge, Dale City VA Chiropractic office gets calls relating to neurology on an almost daily basis. We treat pretty much all non-surgical and non-pharmacological issues a patient could have. Most importantly the neurological training I underwent, helps me diagnosis and refer patients that I can’t help.

Traditionally, neurology tends to look at disease of the nervous system as black-and-white with one side being optimal neurologic function and the other being neurological disease such as tumors, strokes etc. Functional Neurology looks at dysfunction of the nervous system as different shades of gray looking for subtle changes in the nervous system before they become distinct pathologies. You will often hear it said by functional neurologist that neurons need fuel and activation in order to thrive and survive. Fuel can be defined as oxygen, glucose and essential nutrients. Activation refers to stimulation of the nervous system which causes changes in the structure and metabolism of the nerve cell. More recently, Functional Neurology Practitioners are also involved with eliminating possible negative effects on neurons such as toxins, infectious agents and immune responses.

Four factors that are of high importance in functional neurology care are:

Determining where the failure in the nervous system and/or body lies.

What would be the right stimulation to activate that area?

What is the health and condition of the failing area, so as to determine how much stimulation would be too much.

Adapting this vital information in order to apply that precise amount of stimulation to the patient in our office.

It is important to note that the stimulations used, must be specific to the particular patient who is being treated. There is bio- individuality to the nervous system, just as individual as a fingerprint, and such that even those with similar symptoms may require different stimulations at different frequencies and intensities in order to achieve the best success. This cannot be done in a generalized or cookbook type program. For example, you cannot treat every patient with a balance disorder or ADHD with the same treatment protocols. Generalized treatments run the risk of exciting an area of the nervous system that is already overexcited, or stimulating an area that should be inhibited. Results are maximized due to the fact that the program of stimulations is tailored to the individual patient’s problem and capacity, and not a one-size-fits-all program where results may be limited or the program may actually be inappropriate. In other words: Different people, different brains, and therefore, different treatments.

It is important to note that the functional neurological examination although very detailed is noninvasive and therefore can be performed on many different types of patients without patient anxiety being a factor. This is very significant especially for those practitioners treating children on the autism spectrum, because there is a tendency for these children to have higher anxiety. The skilled Functional Neurology Practitioner realizes that everything from the patient’s posture, to tics, to faulty eye movements, and alignment are all expressions of what is going on in the patient’s nervous system. Subtle though these expressions may be, to the highly skilled Functional Neurologist, these little things mean a lot.

Activation of the nervous system via specific exercises or stimulations to targeted areas of the brain, pathways or circuits can create powerful results in the patient, but should be carefully monitored, so that the metabolic capacity of the patients nervous system is not exceeded, and damage does not occur instead of the intended rehabilitation.

Functional neurology is on the cutting edge of health care.

Functional neurology is a field of study that achieves successful results by applying current neuroscience in an office setting. This means that the Functional Neurology Practitioner is taking current neuroscience from the research laboratory and devising ways of applying that research in the office to treat patients. The training begins with neuron theory and progresses to a level that allows the practitioner to evaluate and treat dysfunction of the nervous system without the use of, or in conjunction with medications.

The concept of functional neurology is relatively new and therefore begs the question” What exactly is functional neurology? ” This is an inquiry that I get asked when doing presentations, and by email on a regular basis. Hopefully the above helps to clarify some of the questions and misconceptions out there regarding Functional Neurology.

The following is a list of health conditions people have shown significant improvement with:

Balance disorders low immunity

arm/shoulder pain spinal stenosis

low back pain/sciatica numbness

bulging/herniated discs neck pain

carpal tunnel syndrome MS symptoms

dizziness tremor disorders

dystonia hip/knee/feet pain

early Alzheimer’s symptoms insomnia

fibromyalgia migraines

RLS (restless leg syndrome) post concussion

If you have been suffering from any of the above problems or can’t figure out what is wrong call me at 703 730 9588. Even if it is outside of my scope of practice I may be able to help you find relief.

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Doroski Chiropractic Neurology

3122 Golansky Blvd, Ste 102

Woodbridge VA 22192

703 730 9588

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Face Pain

in Chiropractor by Doroski October 14, 2016 0 comments

I see tons of patients with headaches as a Woodbridge, Dale City VA Chiropractor. One of the things that needs to be ruled out is TMJ or TMD. It is the same thing just two different names. TMJ dysfunction can cause pain into the side of the face and head. Most people don’t associate this complaint with their jaw, they just consider it a headache. Here is some information that may help you decide what is causing your headaches.

Does it hurt when you chew, open wide to yawn or use your jaws? Do you have pain or soreness in front of the ear, in the jaw muscle, cheek, the teeth or the temples? Do you have pain or soreness in your teeth? Do your jaws make noises loud enough to bother you or others? Do you find it difficult to open your mouth wide? Does your jaw ever get stuck/locked as you open it?

If you answered “yes” to some of these questions, you may have a temporomandibular joint disorder, or TMD. TMD is a group of conditions, often painful, that affect the jaw joint.

Signs may include:

Radiating pain in the face, neck, or shoulders;

Limited movement or locking of the jaw;

Painful clicking or grating when opening or closing the mouth;

A significant change in the way the upper and lower teeth fit together;

Headaches, earaches, dizziness, hearing problems and difficulty swallowing.

For most people, pain or discomfort in the jaw muscles or joints is temporary, often occurs in cycles, and resolves once you stop moving the area. Some people with TMD pain, however, can develop chronic symptoms. Your doctor of chiropractic can help you establish whether your pain is due to TMD and can provide conservative treatment if needed.

What Causes TMD?

Researchers agree that TMD falls into three categories:

Myofascial pain—discomfort or pain in the muscles of the jaw, neck, and shoulders;

A dislocated jaw or displaced disc;

Degenerative joint disease—rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis in the jaw joint.

Severe injury to the jaw is a leading cause of TMD. For example, anything from a hit in the jaw during a sporting activity to overuse syndromes, such as chewing gum excessively or chewing on one side of the mouth too frequently, may cause TMD.

Both physical and emotional stress can lead to TMD, as well. The once-common practice of sitting in a dentist’s chair for several hours with the mouth wide open may have contributed to TMD in the past. Now, most dentists are aware that this is harmful to the jaw. In addition to taking breaks while they do dental work, today’s dentists also screen patients for any weaknesses in the jaw structure that would make physical injury likely if they keep their mouths open very long. In that case, they may use medications during the procedure to minimize the injury potential, or they may send the patient to physical therapy immediately after treatment. In less severe cases, they instruct patients in exercises they can do at home to loosen up the joint after the visit.

While emotional stress itself is not usually a cause of TMD, the way stress shows up in the body can be. When people are under psychological stress, they may clench their teeth, which can be a major factor in their TMD.

Some conditions once accepted as causes of TMD have been dismissed—moderate gum chewing, non-painful jaw clicking, orthodontic treatment (when it does not involve the prolonged opening of the mouth, as mentioned above), and upper and lower jaws that have never fit together well. Popular theory now holds that while these may be triggers, they are not causes.

Women experience TMD four times as often as men. Several factors may contribute to this higher ratio, posture and higher heels.

TMD Diagnosis and Treatment

To help diagnose or rule out TMD, your doctor of chiropractic (DC) may ask you to put three fingers in your mouth and bite down on them. You may also be asked to open and close your mouth and chew repeatedly while the doctor monitors the dimensions of the jaw joint and the balance of the muscles. If you have no problems while doing these things, then the problem is not likely to be TMD. Your DC can then look for signs of inflammation and abnormalities. Sometimes special imaging, an x-ray or an MRI may be needed to help confirm the diagnosis.

If you have TMD, your doctor may recommend chiropractic manipulation, massage, applying heat/ice and special exercises. In most cases, your doctor’s first goal is to relieve symptoms, particularly pain. If your doctor of chiropractic feels that you need special appliances or splints (with the exception of the “waterpack” and other guards against teeth grinding), he or she will refer you to a dentist or orthodontist for co-management.

In addition to treatment, your doctor of chiropractic can teach you how to:

Apply heat and ice to lessen the pain. Ice is recommended shortly after the injury or after your pain has started. In the later stages of healing, you need to switch to heat, especially if you are still experiencing discomfort.

Avoid harmful joint movements. For example, chomping into a hard apple is just as bad as crunching into hard candy (some hard candies are even called “jawbreakers”—for good reason). And giant sandwiches can cause the mouth to open too wide and have a destabilizing effect on the jaw.

Perform TMD-specific exercises. Depending on your condition, your DC may recommend stretching or strengthening exercises. Stretching helps to loosen tight muscles and strengthening helps to tighten muscles that have become loose. Special feedback sensors in the jaw can be retrained, as well, if needed.

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Doroski Chiropractic Neurology

3122 Golansky Blvd, Ste 102

Woodbridge VA 22192

703 730 9588

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Meditation time!

in Chiropractor by Doroski October 7, 2016 0 comments

Living in the DC area is enough to make you go out of your mind. It might not be a bad idea to find a way to get deeper into your mind. Or at the very least filter out all the outside noise. Meditation is a great way to do that. Outside of the relaxation aspect of meditation there are also some pretty amazing changes that take place in your brain. Your Woodbridge, Dale City VA Chiropractor has some examples of how meditation helps your brain!

What is meditation?

There are different ways to meditate, and since it’s such a personal practice there are probably more than any of us know about. There are a couple that are usually focused on heavily in scientific research, though. These are focused-attention, or mindful meditation, which is where you focus on one specific thing—it could be your breathing, a sensation in your body or a particular object outside of you. The point of this type of meditation is to focus strongly on one point and continually bring your attention back to that focal point when it wanders.

The other type of meditation that’s often used in research is open-monitoring meditation. This is where you pay attention to all of the things happening around you—you simply notice everything without reacting.

What happens in your brain when you meditate

This is where things get really interesting. Using modern technology like fMRI scans, scientists have developed a more thorough understanding of what’s taking place in our brains when we meditate, kind of similar to how scientists have previously looked at measuring creativity in our brains.

The overall difference is that our brains stop processing information as actively as they normally would. We start to show a decrease in beta waves, which indicate that our brains are processing information, even after a single 20-minute meditation session if we’ve never tried it before.

Below is an explanation of what happens in each part of the brain during meditation:

Frontal lobe

This is the most highly evolved part of the brain, responsible for reasoning, planning, emotions and self-conscious awareness. During meditation, the frontal cortex tends to go offline.

Parietal lobe

This part of the brain processes sensory information about the surrounding world, orienting you in time and space. During meditation, activity in the parietal lobe slows down.

Thalamus

The gatekeeper for the senses, this organ focuses your attention by funneling some sensory data deeper into the brain and stopping other signals in their tracks. Meditation reduces the flow of incoming information to a trickle.

Reticular formation

As the brain’s sentry, this structure receives incoming stimuli and puts the brain on alert, ready to respond. Meditating dials back the arousal signal.

How meditation affects us

Now that we know what’s going on inside our brains, let’s take a look at the research into the ways it affects our health. It’s in fact very similar to how exercising affects our brains.

Better focus

Because meditation is a practice in focusing our attention and being aware of when it drifts, this actually improves our focus when we’re not meditating, as well. It’s a lasting effect that comes from regular bouts of meditation.

Focused attention is very much like a muscle, one that needs to be strengthened through exercise.

Less anxiety

This point is pretty technical, but it’s really interesting. The more we meditate, the less anxiety we have, and it turns out this is because we’re actually loosening the connections of particular neural pathways. This sounds bad, but it’s not.

What happens without meditation is that there’s a section of our brains that’s sometimes called the Me Center (it’s technically the medial prefrontal cortex). This is the part that processes information relating to ourselves and our experiences. Normally the neural pathways from the bodily sensation and fear centers of the brain to the Me Center are really strong. When you experience a scary or upsetting sensation, it triggers a strong reaction in your Me Center, making you feel scared and under attack.

When we meditate, we weaken this neural connection. This means that we don’t react as strongly to sensations that might have once lit up our Me Centers. As we weaken this connection, we simultaneously strengthen the connection between what’s known as our Assessment Center (the part of our brains known for reasoning) and our bodily sensation and fear centers. So when we experience scary or upsetting sensations, we can more easily look at them rationally. Here’s a good example:

For example, when you experience pain, rather than becoming anxious and assuming it means something is wrong with you, you can watch the pain rise and fall without becoming ensnared in a story about what it might mean.

More creativity

As a writer, this is one thing I’m always interested in and we’ve explored the science of creativity in depth before. Unfortunately, it’s not the most easy thing to study, but there is some research into how meditation can affect our creativity. Researchers at Leiden University in the Netherlands studied both focused-attention and open-monitoring mediation to see if there was any improvement in creativity afterwards. They found that people who practiced focused-attention meditation did not show any obvious signs of improvement in the creativity task following their meditation. For those who did open-monitoring meditation, however, they performed better on a task that asked them to come up with new ideas.

More compassion

Research on meditation has shown that empathy and compassion are higher in those who practice meditation regularly. One experiment showed participants images of other people that were either good, bad or neutral in what they called “compassion meditation.” The participants were able to focus their attention and reduce their emotional reactions to these images, even when they weren’t in a meditative state. They also experienced more compassion for others when shown disturbing images.

Part of this comes from activity in the amygdala—the part of the brain that processes emotional stimuli. During meditation, this part of the brain normally shows decreased activity, but in this experiment it was exceptionally responsive when participants were shown images of people.

Another study in 2008 found that people who meditated regularly had stronger activation levels in their temporal parietal junctures (a part of the brain tied to empathy) when they heard the sounds of people suffering, than those who didn’t meditate.

Better memory

One of the things meditation has been linked to is improving rapid memory recall. Catherine Kerr, a researcher at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging and the Osher Research Center found that people who practiced mindful meditation were able to adjust the brain wave that screens out distractions and increase their productivity more quickly that those that did not meditate. She said that this ability to ignore distractions could explain “their superior ability to rapidly remember and incorporate new facts.” This seems to be very similar to the power of being exposed to new situations that will also dramatically improve our memory of things.

Less stress

Mindful meditation has been shown to help people perform under pressure while feeling less stressed. A 2012 study split a group of human resources managers into three, which one third participating in mindful meditation training, another third taking body relaxation training and the last third given no training at all. A stressful multitasking test was given to all the managers before and after the eight-week experiment. In the final test, the group that had participated in the meditation training reported less stress during the test than both of the other groups.

More gray matter

Meditation has been linked to larger amounts of gray matter in the hippocampus and frontal areas of the brain. I didn’t know what this meant at first, but it turns out it’s pretty great. More gray matter can lead to more positive emotions, longer-lasting emotional stability and heightened focus during daily life.

Meditation has also been shown to diminish age-related effects on gray matter and reduce the decline of our cognitive functioning.

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Doroski Chiropractic Neurology

3122 Golansky Blvd, Ste 102

Woodbridge VA 22192

703 730 9588

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Leaf Raking Season

in Chiropractor by Doroski September 30, 2016 0 comments

Well it looks like winter has finally beaten back the miserably hot summer we had. That is the good news. The bad news is the miserably hot summer made everything grow and now it will die. Meaning it is now all over your front yard. Of course you can wait until the end of winter but that only kills your grass making more work come spring (not that I don’t do that every year). So it is time to brush off the rake and get out there. You just have to be careful because yard work and raking use completely different muscles than sitting and watching football. Your Woodbridge, Dale City VA chiropractor has a few tips to help you do it safely.

Just as playing football or golf can injure your body, the twisting, turning, bending, and reaching of mowing and raking can also cause injury if your body is not prepared. Like an athlete, if you leap into something without warming up or knowing how to do it, the chances of injury are greater.

What Can You Do?

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) offers the following tips to help prevent the needless pain yard work may cause.

Do stretching exercises, without bouncing, for a total of 10 to 15 minutes spread over the course of your work. Do knee-to-chest pulls, trunk rotations, and side bends with hands above your head and fingers locked. Take a short walk to stimulate circulation. When finished with the yard work, repeat the stretching exercises.

Stand as straight as possible, and keep your head up as you rake or mow.

When it’s still warm outside, avoid the heat. If you’re a morning person, get the work done before 10 a.m. Otherwise, do your chores after 6 p.m.

Wear supportive shoes. Good foot and arch support can stop some of the strain from affecting your back.

When raking, use a “scissors” stance: right foot forward and left foot back for a few minutes, then reverse, putting your left foot forward and right foot back.

Bend at the knees, not the waist, as you pick up piles of leaves or grass from the grass catcher. Make the piles small to decrease the possibility of back strain.

When mowing, use your whole bodyweight to push the mower, rather than just your arms and back.

If your mower has a pull cord, don’t twist at the waist or yank the cord. Instead, bend at the knees and pull in one smooth motion.

Drink lots of water, wear a hat, shoes and protective glasses. And, to avoid blisters, try wearing gloves. If your equipment is loud, wear hearing protection. If you have asthma or allergies, wear a mask.

Try ergonomic tools, too. They’re engineered to protect you when used properly.

If you do feel soreness or stiffness in your back, use ice to soothe the discomfort. If there’s no improvement in two or three days, see your local doctor of chiropractic.

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Doroski Chiropractic Neurology

3122 Golansky Blvd, Ste 102

Woodbridge VA 22192

703 730 9588

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Scoliosis

in Chiropractor by Doroski September 23, 2016 0 comments

I have patients that come in concerned because they have been told they have a scoliosis and think it is the cause of their pain. Sometimes it is but more often than not it has nothing to do with it. So for those of you who have one and think you are stuck with back pain, there may be hope. There are also home exercise and in office therapies that can help people who are suffering from pain directly caused by their scoliosis. Your Woodbridge, Dale City VA chiropractor want to help you better understand the diagnosis.

What is scoliosis?

Because we walk on 2 feet, the human nervous system constantly works through reflexes and postural control to keep our spine in a straight line from side to side. Occasionally, a lateral (sideways) curvature develops. If the curvature is larger than 10 degrees, it is called scoliosis. Curves less than 10 degrees are often just postural changes. Scoliosis can also be accompanied by lordosis (abnormal curvature toward the front) or kyphosis (abnormal curvature toward the back). In most cases, the vertebrae are also rotated.

In more than 80% of cases, the cause of scoliotic curvatures is unknown; we call this condition idiopathic scoliosis. In other cases, trauma, neurological disease, tumors, and the like are responsible. Functional scoliosis is often caused by some postural problem, muscle spasm, or leg-length inequality, which can often be addressed. Structural scoliosis does not reduce with postural maneuvers. Either type can be idiopathic or have an underlying cause.

What are the symptoms of scoliosis?

Scoliosis can significantly affect the quality of life by limiting activity, causing pain, reducing lung function, or affecting heart function. Diminished self-esteem and other psychological problems are also seen. Because scoliosis occurs most commonly during adolescence, teens with extreme spinal deviations from the norm are often teased by their peers.

Fortunately, 4 out of 5 people with scoliosis have curves of less than 20 degrees, which are usually not detectable to the untrained eye. These small curves are typically no cause for great concern, provided there are no signs of further progression. In growing children and adolescents, however, mild curvatures can worsen quite rapidly—by 10 degrees or more—in a few months. Therefore, frequent checkups are often necessary for this age group.

How is scoliosis evaluated?

Evaluation begins with a thorough history and physical examination, including postural analysis. If a scoliotic curvature is discovered, a more in-depth evaluation is needed. This might include a search for birth defects, trauma, and other factors that can cause structural curves.

Patients with substantial spinal curvatures very often require an x-ray evaluation of the spine. The procedure helps determine the location and magnitude of the scoliosis, along with an underlying cause not evident on physical examination, other associated curvatures, and the health of other organ systems that might be affected by the scoliosis. In addition, x-rays of the wrist are often performed. These films help determine the skeletal age of the person, to see if it matches an accepted standard, which helps the doctor determine the likelihood of progression. Depending on the scoliosis severity, x-rays may need to be repeated as often as every 3 to 4 months to as little as once every few years.

Other tests, including evaluation by a Scoliometer™, might also be ordered by the doctor. This device measures the size, by angle, of the rib hump associated with the scoliosis. It is non-invasive, painless, and requires no special procedures. A Scoliometer™ is best used as a guide concerning progression in a person with a known scoliosis—not as a screening device.

Is scoliosis always progressive?

Generally, it is not. In fact, the vast majority of scolioses remains mild, is not progressive, and requires little treatment, if any.

In one group of patients, however, scoliosis is often more progressive. This group is made up of young girls who have scolioses of 25 degrees or larger, but who have not yet had their first menstrual period. Girls generally grow quite quickly during the 12 months before their first period and if they have scolioses, the curvatures tend to progress rapidly. In girls who have already had their first periods, the rate of growth is slower, so their curves tend to progress more slowly.

What is the treatment for scoliosis?

There are generally three treatment options for scoliosis—careful observation, bracing, and surgery. Careful observation is the most common “treatment,” as most mild scolioses do not progress and cause few, if any, physical problems. Bracing is generally reserved for children who have not reached skeletal maturity (the time when the skeleton stops growing), and who have curves between 25 and 45 degrees. Surgery is generally used in the few cases where the curves are greater than 45 degrees and progressive, and/or when the scoliosis may affect the function of the heart, lungs, or other vital organs.

Spinal manipulation, therapeutic exercise, and electrical muscle stimulation have also been advocated in the treatment of scoliosis. None of these therapies alone has been shown to consistently reduce scoliosis or to make the curvatures worse. For patients with back pain along with the scoliosis, manipulation and exercise may be of help.

Most people with scoliosis lead normal, happy, and productive lives. Physical activity including exercise is generally well-tolerated and should be encouraged in most cases.

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Doroski Chiropractic Neurology

3122 Golansky Blvd, Ste 102

Woodbridge VA 22192

703 730 9588

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Juicing

in Chiropractor by Doroski September 16, 2016 0 comments

In today’s world of eating on the run we often shoot for being full rather than healthy. I had a run where anemic iceberg lettuce was getting credit for being a vegetable. Which I guess it is since it grows… There is another way to get some healthy vegetables into our diet and juicing is the answer. It is a little bit of a pain in the ass doing it on a Saturday morning but after that 2-hour event is over you have enough juice to last the week. Your Woodbridge, Dale City VA Chiropractor wants to share with you some of the benefits of juicing.

There are three main reasons why you will want to consider incorporating vegetable juicing into your optimal health program:

1 Juicing helps you absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables. This is important because most of us have impaired digestion as a result of making less-than-optimal food choices over many years. This limits your body’s ability to absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables. Juicing will help to “pre-digest” them for you, so you will receive most of the nutrition, rather than having it go down the toilet.

2 Juicing allows you to consume a healthier amount of vegetables in an efficient manner. Virtually every health authority recommends that we get six to eight servings of vegetables and fruits per day and very few of us actually get that. Juicing is an easy way to virtually guarantee that you will reach your daily target for vegetables.

3 You can add a wider variety of vegetables in your diet. Many people eat the same vegetable salads or side dishes every day. This violates the principle of regular food rotation and increases your chance of developing an allergy to a certain food.

Plus, it limits the number of different phytochemicals in your diet, as each vegetable will offer unique benefits. With juicing, you can juice a wide variety of vegetables that you may not normally enjoy eating whole.

Additionally, juicing can help:

Promote weight loss. In one study, adults who drank at least eight ounces of vegetable juice as part of a diet lost four pounds over 12 weeks, while those who followed the same diet but did not drink the juice lost only one pound. The vegetable juice drinkers also significantly increased their intake of vitamin C and potassium, while decreasing their overall carbohydrate intake.

Boost your immune system by supercharging it with concentrated phytochemicals. Raw juice also contains biophotonic light energy, which can help revitalize your body.

Increase your energy. When your body has an abundance of the nutrients it needs, and your pH is optimally balanced, you feel energized. Since it can be utilized by your body immediately, those who juice report feeling the “kick” of energy almost instantly.

Support your brain health. People who drank juices (fruit and vegetable) more than three times per week, compared to less than once a week, were 76 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

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Doroski Chiropractic Neurology

3122 Golansky Blvd, Ste 102

Woodbridge VA 22192

703 730 9588

Map Link