After today’s record-breaking snow storm in October here in Belvidere the county seat of Warren county New Jersey and the surrounding communities of: White Township, Hope, Blairstown, Oxford, Columbia, Delaware, Harmony, and Phillipsburg; as well as, the neighboring communities such as: Bangor, Upper and Lower Mt. Bethel in Northampton county Pennsylvania, although winter isn’t even here yet, if snow removal happens to be a major problem for you, here is a list below of 10 tips for snow removal to help you prevent back injuries and other major illnesses when shoveling your driveways and walk ways.

1. Stretch your back, neck, arms and legs with a brief warm-up.
2. Use a shovel appropriate in length and weight to your height and strength.
3. Bend from the knees while lifting and keep the spine as straight as possible.
4. Push the snow when it is practical, as opposed to lifting and throwing it.
5. Deposit the snow close to where you are shoveling, to avoid heaving it across a wide area.
6. Don’t shovel at too rapid a pace. Work at a pace fitting to your age and strength.
7. Don’t lift snow with your back. Bending and twisting the spine are common causes of disc and ligament damage. Use your arms and body to deposit snow in one smooth motion.
8. Don’t shovel with your feet planted firmly in one spot. Allow your legs and thighs to help your upper body and arms deposit the snow to the side.
9. Don’t lift large amounts of snow in one scoop of the shovel. To avoid back strain, shovel light to moderate amounts of snow per load.
10. Don’t overwork yourself. If you are huffing and puffing, stop immediately and rest.

If you’d like more information on a an easy 3 to 5 minute stretch and warm-up exercise routine see my previous video post titled: How to Get the Zaz Back in Your Life HERE. And for some additional information on: How to Lift Properly to Avoid Back Injuries watch this previous video post HERE.

The relationship between snow shoveling and major injuries, including back, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal problems, is no coincidence. A number of injuries, even deaths, could be averted each year if people followed these simple tips while shoveling.~Dr. William Bender, past president of the Michigan Chiropractic Council.

It’s always wise to have your family chiropractor examine your spine to make sure that it is up to all strenuous physical activities, especially the rigors of snow shoveling.

Remember, be kind to your spine, it is after all, the central support structure of your body. You must respect this structure so that it will give you strong, flexible service for a long time to come and since your spine also carries your neurological lifeline from the brain to all the other parts of your body, the functional health of your body depends on the flow of an unrestricted nervous system. Therefore, when your spine suffers, your overall health suffers too.

I hope you’ve found this post’s information helpful and would love to hear any of your comments, questions, or any additional tips to help other loyal readers so leave your comments below.

And if you don’t want to miss any future posts, subscribe to the email updates HERE. Or you can subscribe to the RSS feed HERE (See: What’s This?)
And while you are at it, Get YOUR FREE copy of my eBook: An Easy Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle HERE.

You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, or YouTube.

Trick or Treat – Snow in October – 10 Tips for Snow Removal to Help You Prevent Back Injuries and Other Major Illnesses is a post from: Dr. Jon P. Heins D.C. of Belvidere Chiropractic Center which is protected by a Creative Commons License

Related posts:

1. How to Lift Properly to Reduce Back Injuries
2. What Can You Do to Prevent the Top 10 Most Common Sports Injuries in Children from Occurring ? (And What You Can Do if They Do Occur.) – Youth Sports Week 2010
3. Lower Back Pain

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services: “80% of the US population suffers from back pain at least once in their life time” and for many it becomes a chronic condition and that: “Americans spend at least $50 billion each year to treat back pain.”

The definition of normal according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern”

So many may argue that it’s a normal part of aging to have back pain.

I hear things all the time like, “What do expect doc I’m getting old” or “Well, what do you expect, I worked hard my whole life”, and my favorite “What Golden Years? More like the Rusting Years!”

We know that, the most common cause of chronic lower back pain is from a progressive condition known as degenerative disc disease. What happens is the disc a soft spongy ligament in between each bone in your spine that cushions your spine starts to wear out and deteriorate. This then continues to get worse and worse over time and causes more stress on the other spinal ligaments. Your body responds to this abnormal stress by laying down calcium which results in the formation of bone spurs. These spurs can then sometimes get so large they put pressure on your spinal nerves and/or your spinal cord and can cause permanent nerve damage.

What causes this process of disc degeneration?

Many incorrectly believe that it’s a ‘normal’ part of aging and while around the 6th or 7th decade of one’s life some minimal amount of degeneration starts due to the effects of gravity. However, this is a very slow and even process on all the discs in your spine. Yet there are numerous x-ray’s, CAT scans, and MRI’s documenting disc degeneration very severely in only a single or a few discs and in people as early as in their twenties.

So what causes this?

Let’s look at from a different perspective so it’s much easier to understand. Let’s say, I put up one of those white picket fences (that for some reason that I’m not quite sure of, we’re all supposed to have) and of course there is a gate in the front of it. The gate has metal hinges so it can open and close. As long as they are in alignment they will open and close indefinitely with little to no wear and tear. However, let’s say my daughter one day accidentally crashes her bicycle into the gate and slightly knocks the gate off its proper alignment. What will happen eventually to the gate and it’s hinges?

The hinges will start having abnormal stress put on them because they are no longer in their proper alignment and this will cause them to start to wear out unevenly and prematurely. This will in turn, effect the gate’s functioning and will get worse and worse with everyday use and eventually the hinges will begin to rust and eventually they break.

This is essentially the same thing that can happen to your spine. As long as your spine’s bones are in alignment they can move with little to no wear and tear but when things such as; traumas, repetitive motion injuries, poor posture, and bad ergonomics cause the bones in your spine to become misaligned this then puts abnormal pressure on your discs, ligaments, and the surrounding nerves and if not corrected, over time this abnormal alignment starts to cause the disc and joints to wear out unevenly and prematurely and this will in turn effects your spine’s functioning. This will get worse and worse and eventually you will develop bone spurs.

Chiropractic care analyses your spine to find if any misalignments are there and through a series of adjustments over time corrects these abnormal spinal misalignments that are causing nerve pressure called subluxations and depending on, when and if caught in time, can either slow down, stop, or even reverse this degeneration.

So if you want to be ‘normal’ and be like the 80% of the population that has back pain and end up with degenerative disc disease simply keep ignoring your spine and covering up your symptoms such as back pain, neck pain, or headaches with all the pills, potions, creams, and hot patches, et cetera …. that are out there or you can call your family chiropractor today to have your spine checked to see if you in fact have any spinal misalignments and find out what kind of condition your spine is in and what, if anything, can be done to help you correct the problem.

Remember, the longer you put something off the worse it will get, the harder it will be to correct, and consequently the more expensive it will be not only to treat, but if not caught early on, may end up costing you your health. Which after all, is the greatest asset you have. Wouldn’t you agree?

As always, I welcome any of your thoughts and would be glad to help answer any of your further questions you may have. So, if you’d like to, just leave a comment below.

And so you don’t miss any future posts, just subscribe to the e-mail updates HERE. Or you can subscribe to the RSS feed HERE (See: What’s This?).

You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN, Google+, or YouTube.

Why Be Normal ¿ is a post from: Dr. Jon P. Heins D.C. of Belvidere Chiropractic Center which is protected by a Creative Commons License

Related posts:

1. What Can Spring Cleaning Teach You About Your Health ?
2. What A Broken Washing Machine Can Tell You About The Secret to Better Health
3. Lower Back Pain

Just this past Saturday, my wife had a lot of things on her to do list so I figured I could help her out and start the weekly laundry. So I put a load in and walked away. Then when I figured it was done, I went down into the basement to put the load into the dryer and start the next load. But when I opened it up there where the clothes soaking in a washer full of soapy water! The washing machine filled up but never even started it’s wash cycle. By this time my lovely wife is back running a few of her many errands and says,“Oh, I guess you didn’t know, have to bang on the lid to get it to work.”

Now as I’ve done quite a bit of laundry in my time so I know enough that you shouldn’t have to bang on the lid to get a washing machine to work, so I figured there was a problem and my first question was, How long has this been going on? She answers,”Quite some time now, guess you haven’t done the laundry in awhile.” (in case you were wondering, I got the point!)

Since I know that the problem isn’t just going to go away on it’s own and as the laundry is never going to stop needing to be done, I’d better figure out what exactly the problem is and what to do to get it corrected.

Now I know there’s a safety switch that stops the washer from spinning when the lid is opened and since banging on the lid gets it to ‘work’ that’s where the problem more then likely is. So I take the machine apart and take a look, and sure enough the switch’s plastic bracket is broken. So it obviously needs to be replaced but, since it’s Saturday that’s not going to happen any time soon. And as there’s a load not even done and the rest of the laundry still will need to be done, something must be done now (even if it’s temporary) to fix the problem until we can get the switch replaced.

So I take the switch apart and discover that what it does is make an electrical connection when the lid closes sending power to the washer so it works.

So what to do? Simple, I cut the wires before the switch and splice them together so the electrical connection is made and the machine works until we get the switch replaced.

Your probably wondering, What the heck does this have to do about Chiropractic care and your health?

Well, let’s just pretend that switch represents one if the bones in your spine (called the vertebrae) and the wires delivering electricity are just like your nerves sending electrical signals to your body to tell it how to work.

Something happened and the switch got misaligned, and this affected the washer machine’s functioning. If caught early on (if I’d of just done some of the laundry) it could’ve easily been corrected before it even broke and needed to be replaced. But instead, by continuing to bang on the lid, while getting it to ‘work’, obviously didn’t fix what was causing the problem and just made it worse by misaligning the switch more and more until eventually, it finally broke.

Just like what happens if you ignore or cover up your body’s symptoms with over the counter and prescription medications. Eventually, something will break and you won’t have any choice and you’ll end up having to get done whatever you can and instead of safe, natural, and noninvasive, chiropractic care you’ll end up needing a risky invasive surgery.

So if you are suffering from back pain, neck pain, headaches, or other conditions don’t just keep ‘banging on the lid’ call your family Chiropractor today and get your spine checked to see if your’s is in fact caused by a chiropractic problem or not and get it corrected before it just continues to get worse and worse and you end up needing surgery.

Remember, while you can always replace your home’s appliances your can’t replace your health so don’t delay call your family Chiropractor today.

If you have any comments or questions or need any help either leave a comment below, contact me by email through this site’s contact page, or contact me through Twitter.

You can also follow me on Facebook, LinkedIN, Google+, or YouTube.

What A Broken Washing Machine Can Tell You About The Secret to Better Health is a post from: Dr. Jon P. Heins D.C. of Belvidere Chiropractic Center which is protected by a Creative Commons License

Related posts:

1. What Can Spring Cleaning Teach You About Your Health ?
2. How Can Chiropractic Help TMJ joint problems ? – National TMJ Awareness Month (part 3 of 3)
3. Headaches

Cancer is the 2nd leading cause of death in the USA. There are many types of cancer but essentially they all are a disease process where the DNA in some cell in your body becomes damaged due to exposure to toxins from environmental pollution and/or free radicals from your diet collectively called carcinogens.

What are the Symptoms of Cancer?

Here is a list from the Cancer Cure Foundation a non-profit organization dedicated to research and education in alternative cancer therapies. One of their main goals is provide individuals with information about the availability of treatments, doctors and clinics and to assist them in gathering the information they need to make the best decision for their particular situation.

• Bladder cancer: Blood in the urine, pain or burning upon urination; frequent urination; or cloudy urine.
• Bone cancer: Pain in the bone or swelling around the affected site; fractures in bones; weakness, fatigue; weight loss; repeated infections; nausea, vomiting, constipation, problems with urination; weakness or numbness in the legs; bumps and bruises that persist.
• Brain cancer: Dizziness; drowsiness; abnormal eye movements or changes in vision; weakness, loss of feeling in arms or legs or difficulties in walking; fits or convulsions; changes in personality, memory or speech; headaches that tend to be worse in the morning and ease during the day, that may be accompanied by nausea or vomiting.
• Breast cancer: A lump or thickening of the breast; discharge from the nipple; change in the skin of the breast; a feeling of heat; or enlarged lymph nodes under the arm
• Colorectal cancer: Rectal bleeding (red blood in stools or black stools); abdominal cramps; constipation alternating with diarrhea; weight loss; loss of appetite; weakness; pallid complexion.
• Kidney cancer: Blood in urine; dull ache or pain in the back or side; lump in kidney area, sometimes accompanied by high blood pressure or abnormality in red blood cell count.
• Leukemia: Weakness, paleness; fever and flu-like symptoms; bruising and prolonged bleeding; enlarged lymph nodes, spleen, liver; pain in bones and joints; frequent infections; weight loss; night sweats.
• Lung cancer: Wheezing, persistent cough for months; blood-streaked sputum; persistent ache in chest; congestion in lungs; enlarged lymph nodes in the neck.
• Melanoma: Change in mole or other bump on the skin, including bleeding or change in size, shape, color, or texture.
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma: Painless swelling in the lymph nodes in the neck, underarm, or groin; persistent fever; feeling of fatigue; unexplained weight loss; itchy skin and rashes; small lumps in skin; bone pain; swelling in the abdomen; liver or spleen enlargement
• Oral cancer: A lump in the mouth, ulceration of the lip, tongue or inside of the mouth that does not heal within a couple of weeks; dentures that no longer fit well; oral pain, bleeding, foul breath, loose teeth, and changes in speech.
• Ovarian cancer: Abdominal swelling; in rare cases, abnormal vaginal bleeding; digestive discomfort.
• Pancreatic cancer: Upper abdominal pain and unexplained weight loss; pain near the center of the back; intolerance of fatty foods; yellowing of the skin; abdominal masses; enlargement of liver and spleen.
• Prostate cancer: Urination difficulties due to blockage of the urethra; bladder retains urine, creating frequent feelings of urgency to urinate, especially at night; bladder not emptying completely; burning or painful urination; bloody urine; tenderness over the bladder; and dull ache in the pelvis or back.
• Stomach cancer: Indigestion or heartburn; discomfort or pain in the abdomen; nausea and vomiting; diarrhea or constipation; bloating after meals; loss of appetite; weakness and fatigue; bleeding – vomiting blood or blood in the stool.
• Uterine cancer: Abnormal vaginal bleeding, a watery bloody discharge in postmenopausal women; a painful urination; pain during intercourse; pain in pelvic area.

The key to treating Cancer and all diseases is prevention.

With all diseases prevention is always your best option, especially with chronic diseases that have no known cure such as; cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. All of which you can prevent by living a healthy lifestyle. So, if you haven’t already, be sure to get your copy of my free eBook: An Easy Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle by clicking HERE.

If you happen to have cancer medical treatment is a must however effective alternatives do exist that can be used to compliment and improve the outcome of your medical care.

Can you get Chiropractic care if you have cancer?

When you read my free eBook I mention that a healthy spine and nervous system is a key component to a healthy lifestyle. So if you have cancer you should definitely be under chiropractic care. However, special precautions should be taken including: necessary x-rays to see if there is any changes in any of the bones of your spine from either any metasis to the bones or if you have a bone cancer as well as, utilizing a low force technique such as a drop table technique that I use on many patients who have cancer here at Belvidere Chiropractic Center.

In closing cancer is preventable if you practice a healthy lifestyle. If you do get cancer early detection will give you the best options and the best prognosis so get the recommend cancer screenings for your age and gender and if you notice any of the symptoms listed above schedule an appointment with your doctor.

If you have any questions or would just like to share your thoughts on this post, feel free to leave a comment below or contact me either, through twitter or this site’s contact page and I will be glad to help answer any questions you may have.

If you don’t want to miss any future posts, subscribe to the email updates HERE. Or you can subscribe to the RSS feed HERE (See: What’s This?)

You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN or YouTube.

What Are the Symptoms of Cancer? is a post from: Dr. Jon P. Heins D.C. of Belvidere Chiropractic Center which is protected by a Creative Commons License

Related posts:

1. Help Put an End to Blood Cancer
2. What are the Causes, Symptoms, Treatments, and Prevention for TMJ ? – National TMJ Awareness Month (part 2 of 3)
3. What are the Symptoms of Fibromyalgia ? – National Fibromyalgia Education and Awareness Day (part 2 of 4)

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a digestive disorder that many people have, but few people talk about. It is estimated that IBS affects up to 15% of the U.S. population and affects women more predominately then men.

What are the Symptoms of Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)?

The symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome are chronic stomach pain and major disturbance of bowel functioning. IBS brings about episodes of urgent diarrhea, chronic constipation, or a pattern of alternating between the two. IBS is considered a functional disorder, in that it involves a malfunction in how your intestinal system works, but doesn’t show up in any visible disease process or tissue damage. If you suffer from IBS, you know first hand how intense the disorder can be and how it can cause significant disruption in the ability to do the things you really love to do. People with IBS frequently feel as if they have lost control of their life and they just want to ‘feel normal’ again.

What Causes Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)?

Stress and IBS often go hand in hand, but the relationship is not yet fully understood but new research indicates that more then likely there is a functional problem between your gut and the brain and since Chiropractic care is based on the idea that, your nervous system is the organizer, controller, and coordinator of all your body’s processes. All your other systems, including your digestive system, depend upon your nervous system to work properly. Therefore, the most direct method of correcting irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) should be directed toward balancing your nervous system and this is exactly what Chiropractic care does.

In addition, if you’d like more information on what stress is, how it affects your health and what you can do to reduce your stress you can read my previous four part post series Stress Awareness HERE.

Over the many years of practicing I have had the opportunity and pleasure to help many who have suffered with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) through Chiropractic care and have gotten great results.

In addition, by recommending lifestyle changes necessary to deal with IBS has lead to my patients focusing on better self care with positive effects seen in terms of there overall health and well being.

I hope you enjoyed this post and it served it’s purpose to inform and educate you on what irritable bowel syndrome is and gave you some insight on what you can do about it if you or one of your loved ones are suffering unnecessarily from it.

If you would like to share any of your thoughts or have any further questions just leave a comment below.

And so you don’t miss any future posts, just subscribe to the email updates HERE. Or you can subscribe to the RSS feed HERE (See: What’s This?)

You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN or YouTube.

While you’re at it, be sure to download my Free eBook: An Easy Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle HERE and sign up for my Free Newsletter HERE.

What Is Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)? is a post from: Dr. Jon P. Heins D.C. of Belvidere Chiropractic Center which is protected by a Creative Commons License

Related posts:

1. What are the Symptoms of Fibromyalgia ? – National Fibromyalgia Education and Awareness Day (part 2 of 4)

Spring is here and I don’t know about you but we’re thinking about getting the Spring cleaning done before the weather starts to get really nice again and we start having some fun out doors.

Through out the year we dust, vacuum, and clean our homes. Yet, every Spring we take everything apart and really clean everything really good.

Why?

Because, if you clean your home really good it will make those periodic house cleanings much easier to do since, you would probably agree that, it’s much easier to keep a clean house clean then it is to get a filthy house clean again.

Well guess what? Your spine and consequently your health are exactly the same way!

Unfortunately, most people come in to see me when their back and/or neck are really hurting and more often then not, we find many times that it’s been going on for months and sometimes even years and only kept getting worse until they finally decided they needed to do something about it to get it corrected. Consequently, we now have a harder task of having to clean up the mess they’ve gotten their spines into, and just like a house that hasn’t been maintained and cleaned periodically, we will have to do quite a bit of work to get it straighten back out again. Then, once the problem is corrected, don’t you think it would be easier to keep it maintained then to just let it go and have to start over again?

I hope you answered yes and that’s why we recommend you continue with maintenance or supportive care.

Now, what if they came in and got checked when they first started noticing the problem instead of putting it off?

You guessed it, just like Spring cleaning a cleaner house, it would’ve been much easier to correct it.

Remember, while you can always get another house, you only have one life and one body, so you should be making a conscience effort to take the very best care of it.

If you would like some good information to help you get started on how to do this simply download and read your free copy of my eBook: An Easy Guide to Healthy Lifestyle by clicking HERE now.

And, if you’re having problems such as back pain, neck pain, or headaches call your family Chiropractor today to get your spine checked to find out if Chiropractic care can help you or not. So please for the sake of your own health, don’t keep putting it off because, just like your house will be harder to Spring clean the worse it gets, so will your spine and consequently your health.

If you have any questions or need help finding a Chiropractor near you either, leave a comment below, send me an email through this site’s contact page, or contact me through Twitter and I’d be happy to help you any way that I can.

You can also follow me on Facebook, LinkedIN or YouTube.

What Can Spring Cleaning Teach You About Your Health ? is a post from: Dr. Jon P. Heins D.C. of Belvidere Chiropractic Center which is protected by a Creative Commons License

Related posts:

1. What A Broken Washing Machine Can Tell You About The Secret to Better Health
2. How Can Chiropractic Help TMJ joint problems ? – National TMJ Awareness Month (part 3 of 3)
3. Sciatica

One of the most common conditions Chiropractors are known to successfully treat, as most of you probably know already, is lower back pain.

You can read my post on Low Back Pain which will give you, in detail, what the facts and statistics on the causes of lower back pain are, how common a problem lower back pain really is, what the chiropractic approach to treating lower back pain is, and the reasons why it is the safest, most effective, drugless form of professional treatment for lower back problems, and even gives you 9 helpful tips on how to prevent lower back pain, all of which you can read by clicking HERE. Once you have finished reading it don’t forget to come back to this post to watch the video.

As a public service to the people who live and work in and around the Belvidere area and the surrounding communities, I give helpful and informative health lectures on various topics such as: over all health and wellness, ergonomics , and specific health conditions that can often be helped with chiropractic care.

One I do quite often at the local assisted living facility The Chelsea of Brookfield is about Proper Lifting Techniques for Health Care Workers to Reduce Back Injuries. Since improper lifting by anyone is one of the most common causes of lower back pain, I went ahead and made it into a short video presentation which you can watch now simply by clicking on the video below.

What you will get out of watching this video presentation is:

• Why lower back pain is so common in health care workers.
• An easy Acronym to help you remember how to lift properly to avoid injuries.
• Detailed instructions on the exact steps on how to lift properly to avoid injuries.
• What the most weight anyone can lift with a minimal risk of injury is.
• What to do when back pain persists.
• And 4 tips to help minimize your risk for developing lower back pain.

I hope you enjoyed this video presentation and it served it’s purpose to inform you on how to lift properly to reduce back injuries.

As always, I welcome any of your thoughts and would be glad to help answer any of your further Questions you may have.

So, if you’d like to, just leave a comment below or if you’d rather prefer it feel free to contact me through the site’s contact page HERE.

And so you don’t miss any future posts, just subscribe to the e-mail updates HERE. Or you can subscribe to the RSS feed HERE (See: What’s This?)
You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN or YouTube.

How to Lift Properly to Reduce Back Injuries is a post from: Dr. Jon P. Heins D.C. of Belvidere Chiropractic Center which is protected by a Creative Commons License

Related posts:

1. Trick or Treat – Snow in October – 10 Tips for Snow Removal to Help You Prevent Back Injuries and Other Major Illnesses
2. What Can You Do to Prevent the Top 10 Most Common Sports Injuries in Children from Occurring ? (And What You Can Do if They Do Occur.) – Youth Sports Week 2010
3. Lower Back Pain

It’s National Youth Sports Week again. ‘Adopted to promote the values of sportsmanship, civility, respect, health, safety, fun, and physical activity among players and leaders, including parents, coaches, and officials.’
Last year I introduced this event in a post titled: Youth Sports Week which you can read HERE. In that post I mentioned that: “In today’s age of health and fitness, more and more kids are involved in sporting activities and although being part of a football, soccer, or a cheerleading team is an important rite of passage for many children. You as parents may be overlooking the importance of preventing injuries on and off the playing field in your children.”
I also mentioned that: “the majority, if not all, sports are good, provided that your children prepare appropriately.”
Why is that? Well, that’s because, since there are so many structural and physical developmental issues that need to be taken into consideration before your children engage in any type of sports, and without the proper preparation, playing any sport can end up turning into a bad experience.
I went ahead and gave you some suggestions on the proper, sport specific, warm up stretches, and strength-training exercises to help prevent sports injuries from occurring.
I then discussed the importance of proper nutrition and hydration to also help minimize the likelihood of sports injuries from happening.
I finished up with 10 tips to help ensure your child does not miss a step when it comes to proper fitness, stretching, training and rest that their bodies needs to engage in sporting activities.

This year for National Youth Sports Week, I’ve decided to give you the list of the top 10 most common sports injuries, some useful tips to minimize the chances of them from occurring , and if these injuries do indeed happen, tell you what you can do to help minimize any potential permanent damage. That way, not only will your child never miss a step and continue to enjoy all the physical activities they really enjoy doing, but also, so that your children won’t suffer from the same aches and pains you as an adult are now suffering from because of your past childhood sports injuries. All of which you will shortly read about below:

The Top 10 Most Common Sports Injuries:

1. Runner’s Knee:

Knee injuries comprise about 55% of all sports injuries. Torn ligaments and cartilage are the most common injuries. However, many knee problems are grouped into the category called ‘runner’s knee’, which includes a variety of aches and pains from a problem with your child’s kneecap. While it is common in children who enjoy running they are not the only ones afflicted by this common problem. ‘Runner’s knee’ also commonly affects children who engage in bicycling, swimming, cheerleading, football, basketball, and volleyball. ‘Runner’s knee’ occurs when the repetitive pounding and overuse leads to a misalignment that causes irritation and inflammation of the tendon below the kneecap and eventually begins to wear out the area under the knee cap and leads to a degenerative arthritis that is referred to as chondromalacia patella. Which literally means chondro= cartilage, malacia= softening, of the patella= knee cap.

2. Shoulder Injuries:

Shoulder injuries are next on the list and comprise about 20% of all sports injuries and include dislocations, sprains, and strains. Shoulder injuries are more common in children who engage in sports such as: tennis, swimming, weightlifting, baseball, and volleyball. Basically, any sports that involves a lot of overhead movement. These problems are usually due to repetitive overuse, which loosens the group of tendons and muscles that surround the shoulder, referred to as the rotator cuff, and causes the shoulder, neck and upper back to misalign. Symptoms may include pain, stiffness, weakness, and slipping in the shoulder.

3. Sprained Ankle:

Ankle sprains are next on the list and are more common in children who engage in sports such as: soccer, hockey, basketball, and volleyball. Basically, any sport that involves jumping, running, and turning quickly. These sudden movements can lead to twisting the ankle and possibly tearing tendons or ligaments.

4. Tennis and Golfer’s Elbow:

Elbow injuries are next and account for 7% of all sports injuries. Tennis elbow is caused by a degeneration of the tendon in the elbow due to repetitive impacts such as repeated backhand strokes in tennis. It results in pain on the outside of the elbow.
Golfer’s elbow, on the other hand, usually occurs on the inside of the elbow, although it can sometimes attack the outside too. The pain experienced is a result of swelling and inflammation of the area on the inside of the elbow where the forearm muscles attach to the upper arm.

5. Pulled Muscle:

The most commonly pulled muscles are the muscles behind the thighs called the hamstrings, and are more common in children who engage in sports involving running, such as: jogging, basketball, and soccer.
While the hamstrings are the most common pulled muscles, your children can pull many different muscles depending on the sport they are performing.
Not warming up properly, fatigue, lack of flexibility, weakness, and lack of proper hydration are the most common causes of a pulled a muscle.

6. Lower Back Pain:

Lower back pain is next on the list and more commonly affects children who engage in running, bicycling, golfing, tennis, and baseball.
While there are many types and causes of lower back pain such as: bulging or herniated discs which can cause pain to shoot down the leg (known as sciatica), the most common reason for sports-related back pain in children is a sprain / strain of the very complex joints, discs, ligaments, surrounding muscles, and delicate nerve roots of the spine usually as a result of improper stretching.

7. Shin Splints:

Shin splints is a condition that causes pain on the inner side of your child’s shinbone as a result of an inflammation of the muscles that surround it.
They often affect children who, aren’t used to exercising, increasing the intensity of their workouts too fast, wearing worn-out shoes or by jumping or running on hard surfaces.

8. Groin Strain:

A strained groin usually happens when your child suddenly changes directions while running. They occur more commonly in sports such as: soccer, hockey, basketball, racket sports, football, and volleyball. Symptoms include sharp pain, swelling and sometimes even bruising on the inside of the thigh.

9. Concussions:

A concussion is an injury to the brain that is usually the result of a blow to the head. Symptoms can include: disorientation, vision disturbances, headaches, dizziness, amnesia, loss of balance, difficulty concentrating, and nausea. Concussions are most common in contact sports, such as: football, boxing, hockey, and soccer. However, they also occur in sports like skiing, cheerleading, and gymnastics.

10. Neck Sprains:

Neck strains are last on the list and similar to concussions are most common in contact sports, such as: football, boxing, hockey, soccer, skiing, cheerleading, and gymnastics. They are a result of a sudden forced movement of the head or neck. Commonly referred to as ‘whiplash’, the sudden ‘whipping’ motion injures the very complex joints, discs, ligaments, surrounding muscles, and delicate nerve roots of the spine. The muscles in the injured area then react by tightening up causing more neck pain and stiffness.

What can you do to prevent the injuries listed above?

First, since most sports injuries are due to either an improper warm-up or stretching routine or because the level of intensity of the workout was increased too quickly, the best way to avoid sports injuries that can keep your child out of the game for weeks or months is to have them stretch adequately before and after their workouts, and to pace themselves according to their level of skill and experience in their chosen sport.
In addition to warming-up properly, sport specific routine stretching, and proper pacing, I’ve listed some helpful tips to prevent each of these top 10 most common sports injuries below:

1. Runner’s Knee:

Try replacing your child’s shoes and insoles regularly. Choose a softer running surface such as an indoor track rather than hard pavement. Strengthen your child’s thigh muscles. Take more rest days between workouts. Cross train to prevent overuse.

2. Shoulder Injuries:

Shoulder injuries occur most often when your child hasn’t used their shoulder muscles in a while. (Such as during your baseball league’s off-season.)
So, be sure they strengthen their muscles through weight training before the season begins.

3. Sprained Ankle:

Strengthening your child’s ankles by having them do exercises such as ankle lifts on stairs, as well as taping their ankles or wearing a lace-up brace can help prevent any sudden movements that can lead to them twisting thier ankle and possibly tearing tendons or ligaments.

4. Tennis or Golfer’s Elbow:

The best way to prevent these two ailments is to perform forearm-strengthening exercises, such as: wrist curls,reverse wrist curls,squeezing a soft rubber ball, and improving your child’s swinging techniques.

5. Pulled Muscle:

The best way to prevent pulling a muscle is to: stretch properly before and after any sports activity or any exercising, make sure your child is properly hydrated, and avoid any sports activity or performing any exercises when they are fatigued and weak.

6. Lower Back Pain:

The best way to prevent a lower back injuries in your children from occurring is to make sure they: warm up properly before any sports activity or exercising, stretch properly before and after any sports activity or exercising, make sure your child is properly hydrated.

7. Shin Splints:

Wearing good shoes, cross training, stretching, and not increasing workout intensity too quickly are the best preventive measures for shin splints from occurring.

8. Groin Strain:

As with most sports injuries, the best way to prevent a groin pull is to have your child stretch properly before exercising. They can use following video on how to do the proper groin stretches, that I found at LiveStrong.com titled: How to do groin stretches. Also, gradually increasing the intensity of an activity rather than jumping right into it too quickly will also help prevent these injuries as will strengthening the groin muscles.

9. Concussions:

The best way to prevent concussions is to avoid contact sports, however, if that isn’t an option obviously the proper use of any protective head equipment is a must.

10. Neck Sprains:

The only way to prevent neck sprains just like concussions is to avoid contact sports.

What you can do if these injuries do happen.

1. Runner’s Knee:

If your child injures their knee, apply ice for 20 minutes every hour as often as possible this will reduce any swelling in your child’s knee and don’t have them exercise for at least two days. After two days if their knee is all better then they can try and resume their workouts, just be sure they warm up properly first and also apply some ice to their knee for 20 minutes after exercising to prevent any further swelling.

2. Shoulder Injuries:

If your child does injure their shoulder, apply ice for 20 minutes every hour as often as possible this will reduce any swelling and rest it for two days. Following the two days of resting, start them doing the following downloadable pdf file of the proper shoulder range of motion exercises that I have included HERE from OhioHealth online. These will minimize the possibility of a condition called adhesive capsulitis or ‘frozen shoulder’ from occurring.

3. Sprained Ankle:

If your child does sprain their ankle apply ice for 20 minutes every hour as often as possible to reduce the swelling. Completely rest and elevate it for only one day. Then, following this day of complete rest and elevation, have them begin to gently moving their ankle in all directions. This will help start to get better circulation, help to reduce further swelling, and most importantly, help to prevent the likelihood of any potential shortening of the damaged tendons and ligaments that can then lead to a future chronic ankle problem.

4. Tennis or Golfer’s Elbow:

If your child develops either one of these aliments apply ice to the area for 20 minutes every hour as often as possible to reduce the inflammation for two days. Take a 1 week break from the sport or the repetitive motion. Wear a ‘tennis’ elbow brace for 4 weeks upon resuming the sport or repetitive motion.

5. Pulled Muscle:

As with most injuries, applying ice for 20 minutes every hour as often as possible will reduce any swelling and inflammation in your child’s injured muscle. In about two days, after most of the swelling goes down and your child’s injured muscle has begun to heal, they can then begin some gentle stretches and start exercising again, but have them stop every so often during their workout to stretch until they are completely healed.

6. Lower Back Pain:

Since your child’s spine is such a complex and important structure that directly affects your child’s delicate nervous system. Lower back pain even from a pulled muscle or back spasms requires appropriate professional treatment. If lower back pain or an injury does occur in your child you can help minimize any damage by immediately applying ice on the area for 20 minutes every hour as often as possible to help reduce any swelling until you can get your child to the appropriate professional care.

7. Shin Splints:

As with most injuries, applying ice for 20 minutes every hour as often as possible will reduce any swelling and inflammation followed by the following stretches of the lower legs, that I found in an ezine article titled: Shin Splint Stretches – Top Three Shin Splint Stretches to Stop Your Pain.

8. Groin Strain:

Apply ice for 20 minutes every hour as often as possible to reduce swelling and inflammation. Don’t let your child do anything too strenuous for one to two weeks after these injuries. When they resume exercising, apply ice to the affected area after their workout until healed. When they are feeling better, start a stretching and strengthening program.

9. Concussions:

Any head injuries should never be taken lightly and an appropriate professional care should be sought in order to properly evaluate the severity of a any type of head injury. Treating a concussion however simply involves resting and refraining from playing any contact sports from anywhere from a day to a few months depending on the severity. As, returning to play too quickly can result in second impact syndrome, a potentially fatal condition.

10. Neck Sprains:

Since your child’s neck is such a complex and important structure that directly affects your child’s delicate nervous system. Neck sprains requires appropriate professional treatment. If a neck sprain does occur in your child you can help minimize any damage by immediately applying ice on the area for 20 minutes every hour as often as possible to help reduce any swelling until you can get your child to the appropriate professional care.

When should you seek professional treatment for a sports injury?

I already mentioned that: concussions, lower back pain , and neck sprains require the appropriate professional care, however, in addition all other injuries that do not completely self resolve within 2 weeks should be evaluated by an appropriate health care professional.

I hope you found this post useful and it served it’s purpose of informing you about the top 10 most common sports injuries, gave you some useful tips to minimize the chances of them from occurring , and if any of these injuries do indeed occur, informed you about what you can do to help minimize any potential permanent damage. This way, not only will your child never miss a step and continue to enjoy all the physical activities they really enjoy doing, but also, so that your children doesn’t suffer from the same aches and pains you as an adult are now suffering from because of your past childhood sports injuries.

As always, I welcome any of your thoughts concerning this subject. So, if you’d like to, just to leave a comment below.

And so you don’t miss any future posts, just subscribe to the email updates HERE. Or you can subscribe to the RSS feed HERE (See: What’s this?).

You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin.

What Can You Do to Prevent the Top 10 Most Common Sports Injuries in Children from Occurring ? (And What You Can Do if They Do Occur.) – Youth Sports Week 2010 is a post from: Dr. Jon P. Heins D.C. of Belvidere Chiropractic Center which is protected by a Creative Commons License

Related posts:

1. Youth Sports Week
2. Do You Have Trouble Sleeping ? – National Sleep Awareness Week
3. Trick or Treat – Snow in October – 10 Tips for Snow Removal to Help You Prevent Back Injuries and Other Major Illnesses

If you happened to have missed the last three weeks of Posts, I mentioned that June is National Scoliosis Month. Sponsored by the National Scoliosis Foundation, a Patient-led Nonprofit Organization, Dedicated to: “Helping Children, Parents, Adults, and Health-Care Providers to Understand the Complexities of Spinal Deformities such as Scoliosis.”

The First Part, Which You can Read HERE, Defined What Scoliosis is. The Second Part, Which You can Read HERE, Discussed What the Symptoms of Scoliosis are, The Third Part, Which You can Read HERE, Discussed What You Can Do About Your Scoliosis, Followed by This Final Fourth Part, That Will Discuss What the Treatment Options for Scoliosis are.

What are the Treatment Options for Scoliosis?

Treatment Options of idiopathic Scoliosis are based on these 4 things:

1. When the curve starts to develop (see Part One: What is Scoliosis? the 3 Categories of idiopathic Scoliosis).
2. The degree of the curve when measured on Spinal X-rays (see Part Two: What are the Symptoms of Scoliosis?).
3. The likelihood it will get worse.
4. How quickly it is progressing (if it is getting worse).

For Examples, with Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (the most common form of scoliosis), if You or Your Child’s curve is small when it is first diagnosed, it can be observed and followed with routine X-rays and measurements. If You or Your Child’s curve stays below 25 degrees, no other treatment is necessary. However, if You or Your Child’s curve is between 25-40 degrees, a brace may be recommended (which is not designed to correct the curve, but can be used to help slow or stop the curve from getting worse). If You or Your Child’s curve is greater than 40 degrees, then surgery may be indicated. With Juvenile idiopathic scoliosis (which has the highest risk for getting worse of all of the idiopathic types of scoliosis), bracing can be tried early if You or Your Child’s curve is not very severe. The goal is to prevent You or Your Child’s curve from getting worse until You or Your Child stops growing. Since the curve starts early, and has a lot of time left to grow, there is a higher chance for needing more aggressive treatment or surgery. Infantile idiopathic scoliosis will improve without any treatment in most cases. X-rays can be obtained and measurements compared on future visits to determine if Your Child’s curve is getting worse. Bracing is not normally effective in these cases.

I mentioned in Part Two: What are the Symptoms of Scoliosis, That Scoliosis is typically Not associated with Back Pain. However, in cases with Back Pain, the symptoms can be lessened with Chiropractic Adjustments, Physical Therapy, Massage, Yoga, and the Exercises I listed in Part Three: What Can You Do About Your Scoliosis?, These Exercises will Help Strengthen the Muscles of Your Back. None of these Therapies or Exercises, However, are a Cure for Scoliosis and will Not be able to Correct the Abnormal Curve.

If the curve stays below 40 degrees after You or Your Child is Finished Growing, it is not likely to get worse later in life. However, if You or Your Child’s curve is greater than 40 degrees, it is likely to continue to get worse by 1-2 degrees each year for the rest of Your life. If this is not prevented, You or Your Child will eventually be at risk for heart or lung problems.

If You have degenerative (adult) scoliosis you will often have complaints of back and leg pain. This is related to the arthritis in the back and possible compression of the nerve roots that lead to the legs. Non-operative treatment including: Chiropractic Adjustments, Physical Therapy, and Exercises can help relieve Your symptoms in most cases.

I mentioned above and in Part Two: What are the Symptoms of Scoliosis, That Scoliosis is typically Not associated with Back Pain. So, You are probably wondering that, “If my child has No Pain and Chiropractic Can Not Correct the Curve Why should they get Adjusted?”

Because, Misalignments of Your Child’s Spine and the other Joints of Their Body Can Cause Nerve irritation and since the Nervous System is the Organizer, Controller, and Coordinator of All The Body’s Processes and All The Other Systems, including: the Circulatory, Respiratory, Digestive, Reproductive, Hormonal, Muscle and Skeletal Systems, they all Depend upon the Nervous System to Work Properly. Therefore, the Most Direct Method of Returning to a Balanced, Relaxed, and Healthy State, Should Be Directed toward Balancing the Nervous System and this is Exactly What Chiropractic Care Does!

Chiropractic Adjustments Correct the Misalignments Your Spine and the other Joints of Your Body, Reduces Spinal Nerve irritation, improves Circulation, and Releases Muscle Tension, All of Which Helps Your Body Return to a Balanced, Relaxed, and Healthy State.

That is Why A Healthy, Balanced Spine is a Key Factor to a Happier Healthier Lifestyle.

Chiropractic Care is Based on the Idea That, Given the Opportunity, the Mind and Body Can Heal itself. If You Would Like More information on this see: General spinal check-ups, Supportive, Maintenance and Wellness care.

You can also watch this great YouTube Video demonstrating the Chiropractic Treatment for Scoliosis in Children I’ve included below:

I Hope You Found this Post Series Useful and Welcome any of Your Thoughts on this Subject.

So, if You Like to, Feel Free to Leave a Comment Below.

And So You Don’t Miss any Future Posts, just Subscribe to the Email Updates HERE. Or You can Subscribe to the RSS Feed HERE (See: What’s This?).

You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIN.

What are the Treatment Options for Scoliosis ? – National Scoliosis Awareness Month (Part 4 of 4) is a post from: Dr. Jon P. Heins D.C. of Belvidere Chiropractic Center which is protected by a Creative Commons License

Related posts:

1. What are the Symptoms of Scoliosis ? – National Scoliosis Awareness Month (Part 2 of 4)
2. What is Scoliosis of Your Spine ? – National Scoliosis Awareness Month (Part 1 of 4)
3. What Can You Do About Your Scoliosis ? – National Scoliosis Awareness Month (Part 3 of 4)

If you happened to have missed the last two weeks of Posts, I mentioned that June is National Scoliosis Month. Sponsored by the National Scoliosis Foundation, a Patient-led Nonprofit Organization, Dedicated to: “Helping Children, Parents, Adults, and Health-Care Providers to Understand the Complexities of Spinal Deformities such as Scoliosis.”

This Will Be a Four Part Series Posted Weekly Throughout the Month of June to Help inform You About this Condition called Scoliosis.

The First Part, Which You can Read HERE, Defined What Scoliosis is. The Second Part, Which You can Read HERE, Discussed What the Symptoms of Scoliosis are, This Third Part, Will Discuss What You Can Do About Your Scoliosis, Followed by the Final Fourth Part, That Will Discuss What the Treatment Options for Scoliosis are Which Will Be Posted Sometime Next Week.

If You Don’t Want to Miss this Series or any Future Posts, just Subscribe to the Email Updates HERE. Or You can Subscribe to the RSS Feed HERE (See: What’s This?).

You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIN.

What Can You Do About Your Scoliosis?

The Easiest and Most Effective thing You Can Do About Your Scoliosis are These 4 Specific Exercises. These Exercises are Not Difficult and Anybody Can Do Them. However, if You Do Have any Questions or Have any Difficulty Performing the following Exercises feel free to Contact Me either, through Twitter or this Site’s Contact Form and I will be glad to Help Answer any Questions You may Have.

1. Wall Straightening
   Stand against a Wall with Your Head, Shoulders and Buttocks firmly against the Wall with Your Feet out about a Foot from the Wall. Press Your Lower back into the Wall, Take a Few Deep Breaths and Release. Repeat 10 times. This Same Exercise can also be performed lying down on Your Back. With Your Knees bent Raise Your Arms above Your Head and press Your Lower Back into the Floor. Take a Deep Breath in as You Raise Your Arms and Breath Out as You apply the Pressure. Repeat 10 times.
2. Side Stretches
   Stand with Your Feet Shoulder-width apart. Put one Hand on Your Hip and Raise Your other Arm up and over Your Head. Bend Sideways at Your Waist with Your Raised Arm Curving over Your Head. Simply Stretch and Return to the Upright Position. Repeat 10 to 20 times on Each Side. Be careful Not to Twist as You Bend and Don’t Bounce. You can also add Hand Weights to this Routine. Hold one weight at Your Side instead of putting Your Hand on Your Hip and Hold the other weight in Your Raised Arm.
3. Sit-Ups
   Lie flat on Your Back and bend Your Knees. Breathe in as You Raise Your Arms up over Your Head and tilt Your Hips slightly upwards. Slowly Bring Your Arms forward and raise Your Upper Body as You bring Your Arms forward over Your Knees. Keep Your Elbows straight as You can and continue to roll upwards and touch Your Knees and release Your Breath as You rise. Lie back down slowly and Repeat 10 to 20 times.
4. Push-Ups
   Lie on the floor face down, place Your Hands shoulder-width apart underneath Your Shoulders. Slowly Lift Your Upper Body up by straightening Your Arms. Keeping Your Knees on the floor and Your Back as straight as possible while tilting Your Hips forward, and Breathe in as You rise up. Hold for 5 seconds, release Your Breath, and slowly lower Yourself back down. Repeat 10 to 20 times.

These Exercises Should be done Twice a Day, Once Every Morning and Once Again an Hour Before going to Bed Every Night.

Next week is the Final Fourth Part of this Series and will discuss What the Treatment Options for Scoliosis are.

I Hope You Found this Post Useful and Welcome any of Your Thoughts on this Subject.

So, if You Like to, Feel Free to Leave a Comment Below.

So You Don’t Miss the Last Post of this Series or any Future Posts, just Subscribe to the Email Updates HERE. Or You can Subscribe to the RSS Feed HERE (See: What’s This?).

You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIN.

What Can You Do About Your Scoliosis ? – National Scoliosis Awareness Month (Part 3 of 4) is a post from: Dr. Jon P. Heins D.C. of Belvidere Chiropractic Center which is protected by a Creative Commons License

Related posts:

1. What are the Symptoms of Scoliosis ? – National Scoliosis Awareness Month (Part 2 of 4)
2. What is Scoliosis of Your Spine ? – National Scoliosis Awareness Month (Part 1 of 4)
3. What are the Treatment Options for Scoliosis ? – National Scoliosis Awareness Month (Part 4 of 4)