South Windsor Neck & Back - October 2018

South Windsor Neck & Back - October 2018

Spinal The

COLUMN OCT 2018

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Scary Healing Can Be But Your Chiropractic Appointment Shouldn’t Be

While it doesn’t always happen, it isn’t too uncommon for appointments at the South Windsor Neck & Back office to be met with some apprehension from patients. These are people’s backs, after all, and one wrong move could impact every part of their body. And to be honest, sometimes those sounds coming from the body as I adjust it can be … well, weird. But I don’t have a passion for my job just because I enjoy the science behind it — I love helping patients through their healing process. That usually means talking them through my techniques and offering education along with the moves I do. With neck adjustments, I start by calmly walking a patient through the adjustment. At this point in an appointment, the patient would be lying on their back, and I encourage them to take a deep breath in, let it all out, and turn their head to the side. Then I start the process again, distracting them as they turn their head each time. If a patient isn’t relaxed, they are going to tense up, negating the positive effects of the adjustments and subsequently derailing progress. You can be educated on every anatomical piece of the spine and neck, but if you can’t make a patient comfortable in your own hands, you’re not providing them with real, manageable healing. As a chiropractor, I had to earn my bachelor’s degree and graduate from four years of specialized schooling in the science and technique behind spine and neck management. I can still remember graduation and the confidence I had. Every college graduate remembers the eagerness to get out into the world and share the knowledge learned in their classes.

Soon, reality sets in. For chiropractors, it’s realizing that you have someone’s life right in your palms. Through my experience and continued education, I’ve

added some weight behind that collegiate confidence and furthered the care I can provide for my patients. There’s still the heightened pressure of working with patients who have severe injuries or pain, but I still believe in my abilities and know that I’m capable of helping them. For those with neck injuries, confidence in a cure can be hard to find. Sometimes it can feel impossible to find a solution, as patients struggle with basic, everyday functions. To top it off, sometimes the treatment can be terrifying. Loud cracks and swift movements do nothing to quell these fears — but they certainly work wonders for the neck they are being performed on. And a good chiropractor will know how to communicate this with their patients. After all, if there’s a neck condition, there’s a treatment for it. Don’t believe me? Let me talk you through it. –Dr. Chris Colby

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“Relief today ... function for life!”

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860.644.2437

Have you ever been driving home after dark and seen someone jogging on the side of the road? Youmight have thought they were crazy for waiting until so late in the day to go for a run, but there is actually research that suggests running in the evening is better than going for a run at any other time of day. Here are a few reasons why you should save your run until you can join all the things that go bump in the night. You can hit the snooze button. Many people who run first thing in the morning find themselves pressed for time. Hitting the snooze button is not an option, and with so little time, breakfast is usually a banana on the way out the door. Moving your run to the eveningmeans you can enjoy a more leisurely morning. Not feeling stressed out first thing in the morning can also lead to a more relaxed day. You can push yourself harder. It can be hard to get a good workout in the morning after your muscles have been still for eight hours during sleep. A study at the University of NorthTexas found that your body is better prepared to exercise in the evenings, since your muscles have been warming up all day. With improvedmuscular function and strength, you can push yourself harder and see greater improvement. You sleep better. You will obviously feel tired after a good run, so why not time it right and use this to your advantage? Research from the University of South Carolina found that people who ran before bedtime enjoyed a better night of sleep and Run A Lovely Night for a Should You Go for a Run After Dark?

increased energy levels when they woke up, meaning they felt more awake and better rested throughout the following day.

The best time to run is honestly whenever you have time to run, but if it works with your schedule, nighttime runningmight provide your best workout ever. Just remember that if you do decide to save your run for after sunset, you should stay safe by wearing bright, reflective clothing, sticking to the left side of the road, and running only in well-lit, populated areas.

Advantage OF THIS

October Offer

TAKE

Don’t get backed into a corner when it comes to your spinal health. When your recovery begins to plateau, it’s frustrating, but at SouthWindsor Neck & Back, we’re committed to continually helping our patients maintain their active lifestyles. Your Spine Will Thank You

Just call South Windsor Neck & Back at 860.644.2437 and mention

And nowwe’re offering patients and their loved ones a special opportunity tomonitor their spinal health.

With our TytronThermography Spine Scanner, we can accurately monitor and diagnose our patients’back issues, scanning the entirety of a person’s spine and neck in 15 seconds. This process gives chiropractors an inside view of their patients’spinal systems and helps themdevelop a roadmap for treatment while accurately documenting patient progress. Maintain your spinal health and encourage your friends and family to get a back checkup with SouthWindsor Neck & Spine’s October TytronThermography special. You’ll save some money and get results to accurately track your back health inminutes. Now that’s how you get back in control!

“Newsletter 2018” to take advantage of this special — a $75 value!

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860.644.2437

“Relief today ... function for life!”

www.functionforlife.com

The L ifesaving Importance of Monitoring

Back Health MAINTAINING

Your back is essential to your everyday movement. It keeps you upright, helps you walk, and connects the rest of your body together. That’s why back pain or injuries can be some of the most devastating—and that’s all the more reason to regularly check your back health. When your back isn’t functioning at full capacity, your life can be put on hold. Walking and everyday activities become tiresome. The weekend hobbies you enjoy or your nightly after-dinner walks could become impossible. Furthermore, your painmay be a symptomof something life-threatening. We often associate heart attacks or diseases with chest or armpain, but according to the American Heart Association, back pain can also be a symptomof serious heart issues, such as aneurysms, angina, or irregular heartbeats. When you let your back health go untreated or unmonitored, you ignore a major part of your health.

your daily functions. Studies have shown that regular chiropractic visits can result in fewer headaches, pain relief, and a larger range of motion, among other benefits. Your chiropractor can also help you consider treatment plans to keep your body aligned and healthy. At South Windsor Neck & Back, we regularly monitor our patients’ progress to help them maintain proper back and overall health. Along with our expertise, our Tytron Thermography Spine Scanner will take 15 seconds to scan your back and neck, helping us pinpoint issues and catalog a history of your pain and treatments. As studies show, these regular scans, coupled with treatment, can do more than just protect your back — they can save your life, too. Regular chiropractic adjustments are suggested to keep your spine healthy. To learn more about your spinal health or to schedule an appointment at South Windsor Neck & Back, call 860.644.2437 or visit functionforlife.com .

The inverse of this ripple effect is true with treatment: The power of chiropractic science is that it can impact

TAKE a Break

Purple Potatoes With

Caramelized Onions

Shiitake Mushrooms

and

Hearty dishes are the perfect way towarmup your home this autumn, and this potato dish is no exception. After trying it, Angie Colby said this recipe is “soooo tasty,” andwe’re confident youwill think so too.

Ingredients

• • • • • •

3 tablespoon olive oil

• • • • •

4 medium-sized shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced lengthwise

Cracked pepper

1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 pinch red pepper flakes

Kosher salt

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

3 slices of thick-cut bacon

1 tablespoon chopped capers

1/2-pound purple potatoes sliced into small wedges

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over low heat in a pan and add onions. After five minutes, add the butter and a pinch of salt, and stir. Remove onions fromheat once browned. 2. Slice bacon into small pieces and cook in a separate heated pan. Brown the mushrooms evenly in the bacon pan once the meat is removed, and add a pinch of salt and pepper. 3. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add a single layer of potatoes. Add red pepper flakes and salt. Flip the potatoes after 3–5 minutes to brown each side. 4. Crisp the capers with the potatoes. Stir in the onions, bacon, andmushrooms on low heat. 5. Top off the dish with tarragon and enjoy!

Cauldron Costume Dracula Ghost Halloween Hallows Eve

Haunted Pumpkin Scary Stories Spooky Trick-or-Treat Zombie

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“Relief today ... function for life!”

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Inside This Issue

1 2 3 4

Managing Patient Fears

Running at Witching Hour Spinal Scan October Special

Check Your Back; Save Your Life Colby’s Kitchen

The Surprising Origins of Trick-or-Treating

Why There Are

As Halloween looms and you load up your grocery cart with candy, you may ask yourself,“Why do I provide these spooky gremlins with a sugar high every Oct. 31, anyway?”Well, when your doorbell starts ringing around 6 p.m. this All Hallows’Eve, you can thank the Celts for this tradition of candy and costumes. Halloween itself is a kind of mishmash of four different cultural festivals of old: two Roman fêtes, which commemorated the dead and the goddess of fruit and trees (not at the same time); the Celtic Samuin or Samhain, a new year’s party thrown at the end of our summer; and the Catholic All Saint’s Day, designed to replace Samuin and divorce it from its pagan origins. Long before there were young’uns on your porch dressed as Thanos with candy-filled pillowcases in hand, the Celts believed that Samuin marked an overlapping of the realms of the living and the dead. To trick the spirits leaking into our world, young men donned flowing white costumes and black masks — a great disguise when ghosts were about. Asking for Candy Kids on Your Porch The History of Trick-or-Treating

The Catholic Church was never a big fan of these pagan traditions, so they renamed it “All Saints’Day”and gussied it up in religious garb. By the 11th century, people were dressing up as saints, angels, and the occasional demon instead of spirits. Eventually, costumed children started tearing through town begging for food and money and singing a song or prayer in return— a practice called“souling.” But when did they start dressing up as Minions? Starting in the 19th century, souling turned to“guising,”which gave way to trick-or-treating in mid-20th-century America, and the costumes diversified. So put on some clown makeup and a big smile, scoop up a handful of sweets, and scare the living daylights out of ‘em— ‘tis the season!

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860.644.2437

“Relief today ... function for life!”

www.functionforlife.com