SAD?? What is Seasonal Affective Disorder and How to Cope

It's that time of year again! Days become darker, the fire place is a comfy spot to snuggle up and the white stuff comes down from the skies... it's winter! While skiing, hot chocolate and building snowmen are activities we can look forward to, some people are negatively affected by this change in weather. For some, Seasonal Affective Disorder rears its ugly head.

Seasonal Affective Disorder affects roughly six percent of the U.S. population. Another 14 percent are effected by some form of winter blues. So how do you know if you are affected? What can you do about it? And, how does chiropractic help?

Symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) are usually the same as depression that come on during late autumn and late winter months. Feelings of loss of energy, lethargy and loss of interest in activities are all symptoms. People may experience social with drawl and increased time spent sleeping. The difference between depression and SAD is SAD sufferers experience symptoms during the long days of winter and persons affected by depression have symptoms all year around.

Lack of sunlight seams to be a big contributor to these symptoms. Sufferers of Seasonal Affective Disorder have relief of symptoms during the summer months. Unfortunately there are no tests to diagnose SAD, so your health care provider will take a detailed history of your symptoms.

Conventional treatments include light therapy, medications and talk therapy. Exercise can be prescribed as well. Symptoms are typically improved in 3 to 4 weeks.

So, how can chiropractic care help? Chiropractic adjustments have far-reaching affects to consider. An adjustment is a controlled force placed into a joint to realign it correctly. If a joint is not aligned correctly, local pain from that joint can result. Also, pain in distant areas may be experienced. Since muscle attach to bone, a joint that is misaligned can make the muscle that attaches to it tight as well.

By aligning the joints of the body correctly, pain can decrease. This can allow for a better night's sleep, less irritability and increased energy. This is big news for SAD sufferers! With less pain, people with SAD can have the energy to go for a walk, fall asleep faster and be less irritable with family and coworkers.

You can learn more about chiropractic, massage therapy and Seasonal Affective Disorder at CWCchirorpactic.com or call 636-825-6555 to speak to one of the chiropractors directly. Email is welcomed at CWCchiropractic@gmail.com

Mmm... Applesauce-Raisin Cookies!

Attention all holiday lovers! Here's a new recipie you should try out! Why? It's new, healthy, simple and bound to be a hit!

Prep time: 35 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Oven temp: 375

Ingreditents:

- Two (2) cups all-pourpose baking flour
- Half (1/2) teaspoon baking powder
- Half (1/2) teaspoon baking soda
- Half (1/2) teaspoon ground cinnamon
- One fourth (1/4) teaspoon ground allspice
- One fourth (1/4) teaspoon salt
- Half (1/2) cup butter or margarine, softened
- Half (1/2) cup granulated sugar
- One fourth (1/4) cup packed brown sugar
- One (1)large egg
- One (1) cup unsweetened applesauce
- One (1) teaspoon vanilla extract
- One (1) medium Granny Smith apple, finely chopped
- One (1) cup dark raisins
- One (1) cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Lemon Glaze:

- One cup confectioner's sugar
- Two (2) Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease 2 large cookie sheets.

2. Prepare Applesauce Raisin Cookies: On wax paper, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, Cinnamon, allspice and salt.

3. In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in egg, applesauce, and vanilla until well combined. Beat in flour mixture just until blended. With spoon, stir in apples, raisins and walnuts if using.

4. Drop dough by rounded measuring tablespoons, 1 inch apart, on prepared cookie sheets. Bake cookies on 2 oven racks 20 to 22 minutes or until lightly browned around and edges are set, rotating cookie sheets between upper and lower racks halfway between baking.

5. Prepare Lemon Glaze: In a small bowl, stir confectioner's sugar and lemon juice until smooth.

6. Transfer cookies to wire racks. With pastry brush, brush glaze over warm cookies; cool completely.

Enjoy!
For questions about health and nutrition, please call our office at 636-825-6555 or checkout our website at CWCchiropractic.com

Coping with Holiday Stress!

It's that time of year again: some are excited at that statement and some are dreading the holidays. If you are in the latter group, this article is for you. There is a lot to be thankful and excited about, like your health and spending quality time with your family; but there can be a lot to stress about too, like getting the house ready, food prepared and how you are going to handle Aunt Millie's out bursts.

Stress can have a negative effect on your health. Some stress, like the panic you go into when someone cuts you off in traffic or your son jumps out from behind the door to scare you, is good for you. In that moment, your body is designed to rush blood to your legs and arms and even a rush of white blood cells (the immune boosters) is surged through your body. Chonic stress however, like the impending arrival of out of your mother-in-law, is damaging to your health. It raises blood pressure, lowers your immune system and increases the risk for heart attack and stroke.

To cope with  stress, try these tips:

1. Acknowledge your feelings.
Trying to put on a happy face when you are anxious inside will not accomplish anything. Come to grips with the fact you are sad or anxious.

2. Reach out.
Feeling alone or sad can be helped by reaching out to your community at events or even volunteering.

3. Be realistic.
The holidays do not have to be perfect and you do not have to do it alone. Ask someone to bring a side dish or the wine. If someone cannot make it, realize they too are under stress and be understanding to their situation.

4. Set aside differences.
Now is a good time to let that tiff go between you and your sister. Letting go of grievances for the time being does not admit defeat, but rather trying to keep the peace is admirable.

5. Stick to a budget.
Going over the holiday budget is just going to stress you out over your financial situation later. If something can be homemade, like holiday cards, try that. Cut out the decorations or reuse from last year. Save wrapping paper and bags to reuse.

6. Plan ahead.
Set aside certain days for shopping, visiting friends and baking. Make a menu for each event and a shopping list to follow to avoid last minute scrambling.

7. Learn to say no.
Going to every event, working overtime at the office and catering to every one's needs will take a toll on you. People will understand you are not Wonder Woman, so know your limits.

8. Stick to healthy habits.
Over-indulging will just lead to stress and guilt. Have a healthy snack, like trail mix or an apple, handy. Get about 8 hours of sleep, drink plenty of water and try taking a brisk walk when the stress is too much.

9. Take a breather.
Take 15 minutes to veg out, take a walk or listen to soothing music. You can put the world on hold for 15 minutes while you recuperate and don't feel selfish doing it!

10. Seek professional help.
Despite your best efforts, you may still feel persistently sad, irritable and hopeless. Seek the help of a mental health professional if these feeling persist.

11. See your chiropractor!
Achy joints can limit your movements and hinder your sleep. Getting your joints realigned through a chiropractic adjustment can relieve achiness and it even increases your immune system.

For questions about how chiropractic can help stress or questions about stress in general, please call 636-825-6555 or email CWCchiropractic@gmail.com

What is the Webster Technique?!

With so many questions and misunderstandings about the Webster Technique, let's take some time to clear up some issues and have a better understanding of what this technique is all about.

First of all, the Webster Technique is a chiropractic technique used to realign the bone at the base of the spine, a triangle-shaped bone called the sacrum. Also, tension is reduced in the round ligament, a ligament that connects the uterus to the sacrum, with a slight pressure.

The sacrum is comprised of 5 bones that fuse together. It rests at the base of the spine, creating a platform for the rest of the bones of the spine, the vertebrae, to rest on. The sacrum can become misaligned, or subluxated, from many different ways. Sitting for prolonged periods of time, especially with your legs crossed can twist the pelvis into misalignment. Many times, a previous injury to an ankle or leg can shift the way your body distributes weight, causing a misalignment. Sometimes though, an injury such as falling on a patch of ice or wrestling around with the kids can alter the position of the sacrum.

Once the sacrum is subluxated, the platform for the rest of the vertebrae above it is misaligned and can cause rotation in vertebrae above it. Also, the round ligaments can be tightened on that side, and if you are pregnant, the space for baby to move around in is limited or twisted.

In the Webster Technique, the side in which the sacrum has moved back is determined by a Webster Certified Chiropractor. Once this side is determined, an adjustment is used to help realign the sacrum. The adjustment consists of placing a hand on the side of the sacrum that has moved back and delivering a gentle thrust to push it forward, which is cushioned by a table designed to give away at the pelvis with a force applied to it.

After the adjustment, the patient is positioned on their back and the side of round ligament tension is determined. A pressure applied on the round ligament helps relax the ligament. The round ligament is special in that it is also comprised of muscle tissue. Just like an overused muscle, the round ligament can become tense. The pressure on the ligament helps to relax it, much like a massage helps relax tired muscles.

The goal of this procedure is to create an ideal position of the pelvic bones- NOT to turn breech babies! Beware of these claims that are unfortunately being made by the chiropractic community. As explained by the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association and Dr. Webster,


The Webster protocol is a specific chiropractic sacral analysis and diversified adjustment. The goal of the adjustment is to reduce the effects of sacral subluxation/ SI joint dysfunction. In so doing neuro-biomechanical function in the pelvis is facilitated.

By aligning the space for baby, it is often observed that breech babies turn vertex, or head down. This is a great outcome, but again, this is just a wonderful side effect observed by being adjusted! There are many factors effecting the position of baby, and if inadequate space to turn around is one of them, then getting adjusted would help facilitate the turning. However, if a baby is breech due to other factors, a baby will not turn vertex. This does not mean the Technique did not work though. The treatment goal is to reduce the subluxation of the sacrum.

What are other side effects of adjustments others are enjoying? Well for starters, the adjustment, to any place in the body, not just the sacrum, increases the circulation of white blood cells in the blood stream. White blood cells help fight off illnesses. Does this mean the adjustment is a treatment for illness? Not really. Patients have noticed a decrease in recovery time from illnesses after an adjustment, which is a great side effect of reducing subluxations. Some patients have noticed a decrease in asthma symptoms with adjustments as well. Reducing the interference to the nervous system with an adjustment can have this affect on patients, but does not  mean chiropractic is a treatment for asthma.

To learn more about the Webster Technique, chiropractic or your specific condition, please contact CWC at 636-825-6555, or more information can be found on our website at: www. CWCchiropractic.com

Dr. Angela Woodson

Shots Anyone???? To Flu or not to Flu that is the question.

In the past month I have had a number of patients ask my advice on if I recommend that they get a flu shot. So I thought for my blog this month I would give you the exact right answer........... I don't know.
Deciding if you need the flu shot is a personal choice that requires getting yourself educated. I hope this blog serves to jump start your education.

Here is just a few facts that I pass on to my patients:
-The flu season in the United States starts roughly November and ends around April of the following year. The peak in the flu season usually lands around January or February of each year.

- The flu vaccine only creates antibodies to the viruses in the vaccine (3 Strands). However, there are many subtypes of flu strands. So the vaccine will not protect you against all types of flu. In the defence of the vaccine makers, they try to gamble on the strands that research suggests will hit a given hemishpere within a particular year. If they are wrong the death toll for that given year will be higher due to complications from the flu virus.

-The flu shot does not make your immune system stronger it actually suppresses your immune system.

-In a year there are 25,000 (on average) deaths attributed to the flu. In some years the death toll is less than 5,000 total and some years it has risen to roughly 50,000. However, 90% of the deaths every year are in the age category of 65 years or older. If you are a younger healthier adult (19-49) the odds of you dying from the seasonal flu are minimal.

- The vaccine itself takes roughly two weeks to become effective in your body. The immune system has to make the antibodies before it can protect you against the flu so if you already have flu symptoms then you should not go and get the flu shot. Once the flu is contracted you have two options: ride it out or see your primary care physician for some antiviral medications

- If you are allergic to EGGS you should NEVER get the flu shot. The flu vaccine is produced through the use of chicken eggs and can cause an allergic reaction to those with sensitivity to eggs. If you are unsure if you are allergic to eggs and you notice gastrointestinal issues when you eat eggs I suggest you consult your doctor prior to the flu shot. In addition, if you have every had a adverse reaction to the flu shot, consult with your doctor prior to getting a shot again this year.

- There are additives in the seasonal flu shot. Many of these additives may cause adverse reactions.
Some of the additives include:
Thimerosal- This is MERCURY!!!! The same stuff that is so toxic to your body that it can kill you if you are exposed directly. This is used in the flu shot as a preservative. I recommend that my patients try to find a preservative free or thimerosal free vaccine if they opt to have a flu shot for the season. This year the CDC projects that 79 million thimerosal free doses will be available.
Gentamiacin- This is a antibiotic.
Triton X100- This is a strong detergent. (Soap)
Resin- This is known to cause allergic reactions.
Formaldehyde- This is what they embalm dead people with. It is also a known cancer causing agent.
Sucrose- This is standard table sugar.

Here is a couple of pictures we found of the flu vaccine packages:




If you decide the flu shot is not for you, there are other things you can do to stay healthy. Vitamin supplements, regular chiropractic care and good nutrition is the key to a healthy immune system. It also is very helpful to manage stress and get enough rest at night.

The vitamins I recommend to the majority of patients that do not want or can not take the flu vaccine are:

B Complex: B vitamins are water soluble and thus you will excrete the vitamins that you do not need in your urine. B vitamins are helpful in reducing stress, fatigue and brain fog. This supplement will turn you urine a very bright color of yellow and this is normal.

Vitamin D: This is a fat soluble vitamin and should be taken with a meal. Vitamin D helps protect the body from respiratory infections as well as boosting the immune system to attack mutant cells. Current research suggests that the majority of Americans are deficient in Vitamin D and that Vitamin D appears to be affective in fighting cancer. To get vitamin D naturally you can get 15-30 minutes of sunlight per day without sunscreen. You can also take a Vitamin D supplement. Consult with your doctor on the amount you should be taking per day. 400-1000 IU per day is a normal dosage. However, if you are deficient in this vitamin you may be prescribed 5000-10,000 IU per day. A simple blood test will determine your level of deficiency.

Vitamin C: This vitamin helps boost the immune system as well as reduce the time you are sick. You can find this vitamin naturally in oranges and grapefruit. You can also supplement this vitamin but be careful of extreme high doses all at once. The body can only absorb only so much of Vitamin C at a time, so taking 5000 mg at once does you no good. It is recommended that for a cold or flu you take 1000 mg of Vitamin C per day in broken up doses.

Echinacea: At the first sign of symptoms take 300 mg every 2 hours for the first day. Then 300 mg, 3 times per day for the next 7-10 days.

Other supplements: Astragalus, Bilberry, Chamomile, Elderberry, Garlic, Ginger, Ginseng, Goldenseal, Peppermint, Selenium, Siberian Ginseng, Spirulina, and Zinc.


Regular visits to your chiropractor can help keep your immune system stay on track, but when you start to feel achy and sick is when a visit to your chiropractor is most important. At the first sign of illness schedule a emergency appointment with your chiropractor to make sure you immune system is armed to fight against any viruses.

If you have any questions or comment feel free to e-mail us at cwcchiropractic@gmail.com or call the office at 636-825-6555.

Dr. Lorie Lofquist D.C.; C.K.T.P.

Back to school special: Vamanos! Backpack Backpack!

It's that time of year again! By now, you have your child's school supplies and hopefully your school routine is becoming more routine. Does that routine include hours of homework after school as well? Finding the time to cook dinner, spend some quality time together and help with homework can be challenging. Along with those hours of word problems and vocabulary tests comes pounds of text books, workbooks, pens, paper and calculator all squished into the very fashionable and expensive backpack your child HAD to have. But how much weight on your child's back is too much? And, how can you make changes to take the strain off your child's back?

Taking the time to weigh your child and his or her backpack may sound like a good idea for the immediate future, but you could also be helping your child avoid a lifetime of back and neck aches down the road too. When muscles are tightened and strained on a regular basis, pain or discomfort can occur. Continued strain on the muscles can lead to joint changes as well. Muscles have attachments to bones and if muscles are too tight, they can drag the bone they are attached to with them, disrupting the alignment of the joint. The result? Pain! And if those muscles are left strained over an even longer period of time, early degeneration and arthritis can result. In this case, on ounce of prevention is worth a pound of treatment!

So what can you do now? Well first start by weighing your child. The weight of your child will determine how much weight he or she can handle on their growing bodies. Then weigh your child's backpack. Below is a list of how much your child's backpack should not exceed:

Along with backpack weight, one strap versus two strapped backpacks should be considered. The one strap style seems to be heading out the door and with good reason! One strap over one shoulder look can cause the side of the neck the strap is on to be strained and can even cause numbness and tingling down the arm. The best way to wear a backpack is with two straps over the shoulders.

Other tid bits of advice: Load the heaviest items in the back of the backpack, closest to your child's back. Arrange books and pencil holders so they won't slide around. Also, tighten straps so the bottom of the backpack rests in the small of the child's back. The backpack should not rest more than 4 inches below your child's waistline.

Now, to find a genie to help with dinner...


Need more information? Give us a call at (636) 825-6555.

                

I don't have any issues, why should I see a chiropractor?

Would you only see your doctor when you're already dead or your dentist after the tooth fell out? Seeing your chiropractor prior to any problems or in the begining of a problem makes the chances of fixing the issue more probable. However, there is one major reason that everyone should see a chiropractor..............a record of your spinal health.

Take this example: You are driving along on a sunny morning when you decide to pull in to the local coffee shop drive through. After getting your beverage you are stopped waiting for the light to turn green. When from behind a teenager texting on her cell phone hits you at about 25 MPH. The impact was hard enough to push you into the car in front of you and caused damage to all three cars. You feel okay for the moment so after exchanging information you continue on your way to work. Later that same day you start to feel some tightness in your neck. The following morning you can hardly turn your head from side to side. You immediatly call your doctor or go to the ER and they determine that you have whiplash or some other muscle sprain/strain condition. They perscribe you medicine to relax the muscle and for pain. Three months later you are still in pain, you have tried PT which has either helped some or didn't help at all, the insurance company is not wanting to pay so now you have hired an attorney.

This senerio assumes that you have never seen a chiropractor before. Every chiropractic patient knows that if you get into a car accident the chiropractor is one of the first calls to make. However, back to the senerio, the attorney will request all medical records related to the accident. When the radiologist report comes to him it reads: Normal radiologic findings and other than you stating that you hurt there is nothing to show how badly you were injured. This allows insurance companies to down play your injury. This is where seeing a chiropractor prior to the accident can make a big difference for you. Without pre-injury records what stops the insurance company from claiming that it was a pre-existing condition? Or that you are claiming that the pain is worse than it really is?

Same example from above with chiropractic: You just left your quarterly chiropractic wellness check when you decide to pull in to the local coffee shop drive through. After getting your beverage you are stopped waiting for the light to turn green. When from behind a teenager texting on her cell phone hits you at about 25 MPH. The impact was hard enough to push you into the car in front of you and caused damage to all three cars. You feel okay for the moment so after exchanging information you call your chiropractor to inform them of what happened. Your chiropractor gives you a emergency appointment and has you come in the same day. The chiropractor performs a full examination to evaluate the extent of the damage you sustained in the accident. The chiropractor orders any x-rays or other tests they deem appropriate. After it has been determined that it is safe for you to be adjusted, the chiropractor treats you for your injuries. The following morning you are a little sore from the accident but still able to go to work. After completing your treatment plan with the chiropractor you are well on the way to pre-injury status. Since the insurance company is refusing to pay you have hired an attorney for your case who requests the records from your chiropractor.

The notes from your chiropractor demonstrate every change that was made to your spine as a result of the accident. And since you went to the chiropractor the same day of the accident, changes to the spine can be made before your body has time to compensate for your injury and cause more damage.

Having that pre-injury status on record gives you ammunition should you ever have a accident in your life. No one wants to be injured but if you are injured due to someone elses neglegance showing a before and after picture of your spine makes it easy to determine the damage as a result of the accident. So consider making a consultation today and save yourself the headache down the road.

If you have any questions for the doctors feel free to email us at cwcchiropractic@gmail.com or call (636) 825-6555.