“After every holiday, people visit their family chiropractic doctor with physical complaints that are usually the result of the holiday,” says Dr. Don Nixdorf, executive director of the BC Chiropractic Association.

Here are some tips to make your holiday weekend enjoyable, and pain free:

If you have to drive more than two hours to visit friends and relatives, take a break; get out of your vehicle and stretch. This temporarily restores normal posture, which will help prevent a recurrence of neck or low back conditions.

• When loading your vehicle for the trip, organize your luggage and packages into smaller loads, as opposed to one large suitcase, cardboard box or carrying case.
• Wear your seatbelt. Adjust vehicle headrests so that they are no more than two inches behind the centre of the back of the head. Many of the estimated 20 million car accident victims suffering whiplash injuries in North America could have prevented much of the injury had their vehicle seat headrests been adjusted properly.
• It’s OK to be a couch potato this weekend, but don’t slouch on the sofa and don’t fall asleep on the recliner, as two or three vertebrae in the spine can assume a sharp angle. When you sit up, the normal movement isn’t restored. “We often see people walking into our offices with their heads sideways, because by slouching, the position of the joints irritates the nerves and blood vessels, causing muscle spasm,” says Dr. Nixdorf.
• Avoid bending directly over the oven door to lift out the turkey. Crouch down, pull out the oven shelf, and use your legs for better balance. Avoid putting all the leverage on the lower spine. This helps reduce the sharp leverage on the lower spine.

With these few simple tips, the Chiropractic Doctors of BC wish everyone a healthy, happy holiday.

For example, aerobic exercise improves cardiovascular function.1, 2 As a result, during periods of rest the heart rate is slowed and the ability of the lungs to take in air (vital capacity) is increased. A slower heart rate means the heart is working more efficiently. Likewise, increased vital capacity means the lungs are working more efficiently. Fewer heart beats per minute and fewer breaths per minute result in reduced “wear and tear” on these critical systems. Aerobic exercise makes us healthier.

When we have stress, our muscles get tight. Sometimes this tightness is prolonged, and the normal mobility of our bones and joints is compromised. Reduced mobility of the spinal column creates a spiraling effect of tight muscles, tight ligaments, and further loss of mobility in the neck, middle back, and lower back. We experience pain in these areas as a result.3

These patterns may persist. We all know people who have frequent neck pain or lower back pain. These patterns of pain and limited mobility may result in changes to the normal curves of the spine. Normal curves may become flattened, and these changes result in further discomfort, muscular tension, and pain.

Importantly, loss of the normal spinal curvature in the neck and middle back may place additional stress on the heart and lungs. The actual, physical space in which these organs function may then become reduced. Maximum function may be compromised and efficiency is lost. Brisk walking used to be easy. Climbing stairs used to be no problem. Now these normal daily activities may leave you out-of-breath. You’re huffing-and-puffing and don’t know what’s happened.

You begin doing aerobic exercises to try to improve cardiovascular function. But the potential benefits are limited by these underlying muscle, ligament, and joint problems. You spend a lot of time exercising but don’t seem to be making any improvements.

Chiropractic health care may be able to restore more normal functioning. Chiropractic treatment restores mobility to spinal joints. The gentle treatment relieves stress on the spinal muscles and ligaments, which in turn improves spinal range of motion. Muscle tightness eases, pain and stiffness are reduced, and you become more flexible.

In addition, this improved flexibility allows your chest and rib cage to expand much more fully when you breathe. Your heart and lungs have more room to function, and you can now actually begin to receive the full benefits of your aerobic exercise. This in turn, leads to improved “Stroke Volume.”

Stroke volume is not about improving your golf scoreat least, not directly! Physiologically, stroke volume is the amount of blood your heart pumps every time it beats. The more blood pumped per heartbeat, the less times your heart has to contract to provide the needed amount of blood.

Our heart’s efficiency is directly related to stroke volume. Increased stroke volume means less work for the heart.

As you do more and better aerobic exercise, you are training your heart to be more efficient. Stroke volume increases over time as a result of this exercise, and you notice a number of things. First, it’s much easier to walk up hills and other inclines. Stair climbing requires no extra effort. If you’re a swimmer, you can go longer between breaths and you can stay underwater longer. If you play hockey,

And, you notice your heart rate goes down. A good resting pulse is 60 beats or less per minute. Most people who aren’t exercising have resting heart rates of 70 or greater, even 80 or greater. Less heartbeats per minute means less work for your heart.

Aerobic exercise, done correctly, makes a person much healthier overall, positively impacting many body systems. Chiropractic care helps you get fit and stay fit!

1Pivarnik JM, et al. Effects of maternal aerobic fitness on cardiovascular responses to exercise. Med Sci sports Exerc 25(9):993-998, 1993. 2Jackson EM, Dishman RK. Hemodynamic responses to stress among black women: fitness and parental hypertension. Med Sci Sports Exerc 34)7):1097-1104, 2002 3Petrella RJ, et al. Can primary care doctors prescribe exercise to improve fitness? Am J Prev Med 24(4):316-322, 2003

“Until the barriers to improved inter-professional collaboration are removed, we will continue to experience perceived shortages,” said The CCA President, Dr. Grayden Bridge. “The recent Canada Health Council report clearly identifies the need to reform the way primary health care is delivered through the use of multi-disciplinary teams and improved co-ordination of care.”

“Unfortunately, despite the recommendations of numerous national and provincial reports, we have yet to see any significant movement to ensure patients have access to the most appropriate care from the health care provider who is best qualified to provide it in the most cost-effective manner.”

The CCA pointed to the recent de-listing of chiropractic, optometry and physiotherapy services in Ontario and the de-listing of chiropractic services in British Columbia as short-sighted moves that will drive patients to the highest cost provider.

“For example, we know that back pain and related disorder cost the country up to $8 billion a year,” said Dr. Bridge. “Restricting patient access to chiropractic services for debilitating neuromusculoskeletal disorders will only increase drug expenditures and the cost of physician services.”

“Until we fundamentally reform the way health care is delivered in Canada, we will continue to increase health care expenditures with little improvement in access or quality of care,” said Bridge. “We applaud the Health Council for adding its voice to the need to develop new ways of delivering care and to remove the barriers that create divisions among our regulated health professions.”

The Canadian Chiropractic Association represents more than 5,400 licensed chiropractors. Chiropractic is a regulated health care profession recognized by statute in all Canadian provinces, and is one of the largest primary care health care professions in Canada. Every year approximately 4.5 million Canadians use chiropractic services. Chiropractors provide diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders related to the structures of the spine and joints.

For more information or to interview Dr. Bridge, please contact: Maureen McCandless, Director Communications 1-800-668-2076 or 416-781-5656.

Reprinted with permission from Canadian Chiropractic Association. www.ccachiro.org

CBC News

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced on Friday his government will contribute $30 million over five years to a national network that will focus on spinal cord injury research and rehabilitation.

Harper made the announcement at the Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre, where he was joined by spinal cord research advocate Rick Hansen.

Most of the government’s funding will go to the Hansen Foundation’s Spinal Cord Injury Translational Research Network — a group of Canadian researchers who help accelerate practical applications of research discoveries regarding spinal injuries.

“As the ultimate goal is to see people walking again, the majority of the funds I’m announcing today will be used to explore ways to reduce permanent paralysis,” Harper said.

Harper said more support will also go to those currently living with spinal cord injuries to help them with issues like mobility and independence.

He said that the new initiative will benefit all Canadians, not just those living in large centres.

Hansen, who was paralyzed from the waist down at the age of 15 following a car crash, is best known for his Man in Motion fundraising world tour. The trek spanned more than 40,000 kilometres, raising millions of dollars for those with spinal cord injuries.

In making the announcement, Harper was joined by Health Minister Tony Clement, and his parliamentary secretary Steven Fletcher.

Fletcher, the first quadriplegic to be elected to the House of Commons, was paralyzed after hitting a moose in a 1996 car accident.

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