Do you ever wonder why this is the recommendation? Well here’s the reason why.
A person loses water constantly with exhaled air ( about a pint or .473 liter a day), through skin (one to two pints a day) and an average person losses three pints through urine.
That’s a lot of water lost everyday not including water lost during exercise.
To function well a person needs to drink 5-8 8oz glasses of water per day. There is a possibility that you need to drink over 10 glasses if you work out hard or work out side when it hot. Spreading out the water evenly through the day will prevent you from going to bathroom too much. Another trick to reduce bathroom trips is adding a very small amount of sea salt to the water. This will add minerals to the water. Cutting back on water in the evening will help prevent you from waking up and going to the bathroom.
You’re probably under hydrated if your urine is not clear (has some color to it). Vitamins such as the B-vitamins and some foods (beets) can change the color of urine. This should be taken into account. But generally the darker the urine the more dehydrated you are.
If you have more questions please call Dr. Sikorsky or stop in the office..
Almost everyone will have low back pain at some point in their lives. It can affect anyone at any age, and it is increasing—disability due to back pain has risen by more than 50% since 1990.
Low back pain is becoming more prevalent in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) much more rapidly than in high-income countries. The cause is not always clear, apart from in people with, for example, malignant disease, spinal malformations, or spinal injury.
Treatment varies widely around the world, from bed rest, mainly in LMICs, to surgery and the use of dangerous drugs such as opioids, usually in high-income countries.
”Focusing on key principles, such as the need to reduce unnecessary health care for low back pain, support people to be active and stay at work, and reform unhelpful patient clinical pathways and reimbursement models, could guide next steps..”
Thank you to all of our wonderful patients who participated in this month’s coat drive! We collected several coats that will be donated to the Elgin Crisis Center.
As always thank you for the support of our clinic but also our community!
Here are some examples of good posture and poor posture. With out me categorizing the photos I’m sure you can guess which one is good and which one is bad.
How many people do you see with bad posture? Look around! I bet nearly no one you see has “good” posture.
In a world where we are using phones and iPads daily it is very easy to develop poor posture but with my help you can learn how to use your device while keeping your neck and back healthy.
A patient sent me this great article about “text neck” that was posted in the New York Times.
I have been telling patients for years that looking down at your cell phones all day can cause neck and upper back pain. There’s a name for pain from using cell phone and computers: Text Neck.
The average human head weighs between 10 and 12 pounds, and when we bend our neck to text or check Facebook, the gravitational pull on our head and the stress on our neck increases to as much as 60 pounds of pressure. That common position, pervasive among everyone from paupers to presidents, leads to incremental loss of the curve of the cervical spine. “Text neck” is becoming a medical issue that countless people suffer from, and the way we hang our heads has other health risks, too, according to a report published last year in The Spine Journal.
Cell phone can cause more than neck pain. It can affect one’s mood and interferes with manners.
That “always-on” behavior that smartphones contribute to causes us to remove ourselves from our reality, experts said. And aside from the health consequences, if we’re head down, our communication skills and manners are slumped, too. But, ironically, that might not be how most of us see ourselves.
Posture can also effect the serotonin levels. Serotonin is the feel good brain neurotransmitters. Anti- depressant s have an effect on serotonin levels. There has been studies that show sitting up with good posture can help people feel better.
I recently received an notice from a school about putting together a healthy breakfast for the kids. The school wanted to have the kids bring in the following: Strawberries, Blueberries, Cantaloupe, Pineapple, Bananas, Grapes, and Watermelon. So far so good right?
Now here’s the kicker : The school also requested 1 gallon of chocolate milk, a tub of cream cheese, large bagels, small muffins, box of cereal. Are these really considered healthy breakfast items?
This is not a healthy breakfast! It’s sad that a school would be promoting such poor eating habits. Put these choices in front of a 10-14 year old what do you think they would choose?
Today, about one in three American kids and teens is overweight or obese.(1) . It is way too easy to eat poorly when junk food is everywhere (even in our schools.) Next time you’re in a school look into the vending machine. You will see chips, cookies, pop tarts, candy. The list goes on and on.
We as parents and our teachers/role models must start looking at ourselves and take the lead. Our brains are wired to like and crave high calorie foods. The choices we make are even more important because not only do we have to fight off those cravings, we also have to set an example of what type of food we should be fueling our body and mind with.
With that being said, this was a great opportunity for the teacher to lead and be creative. Setting up a blender and create a healthy smoothie with fruit , powdered protein , flax seeds and some healthy greens would have been something great to show the kids! There are so many tasty options out there that are also great for our health. There must be thousands if not millions of recipes for kids and adults online that could have been used. (2)
Healthy eating takes some effort and time. Your health and the health of your children are worth it.
If you have any questions or would like to start a healthy eating program, call the office!
Here are some of Dr. Sikorsky’s tip for a healthy lifestyle:
Set Some Goals.
Write your goals down. Goals become more real when they are written down. Progress will become easier during the process once you set a goal.
Get Enough Sleep.
Put down the iPad, turn off the TV, head to be earlier and get more sleep. It might rake a while to become accustomed to an earlier bedtime. Stick with it and you will fall asleep earlier. Sleep is vital for one’s health.
Drink More Water.
Try to drink half of your body weight in ounces of water. For example, I weigh 160 pounds so in a given day I will try to drink anywhere from 80 ounces to 200 ounces of water each day depending on my activity level.
Elevate Your Heart Rate.
Try to elevate your heart rate for a continuous 30 minutes a day. It doesn’t matter how you do it as long as you do. First find your target heart rate: 180 (beats per minute) – your age = target heart rate. This would put you in the fat burning zone.
Sign Up For an Athletic Event.
Signing up for a 5k or a fun walk is a great way to keep you motivated and on task.
Eat Well.
Eat more fruits and vegetable. The ratio of fruits and vegetables should be two thirds vegetables and one third fruits. Try to eat as many different shapes and colors of vegetables as you can. This can be hard for people that don’t like vegetables but once you start eating them regularly your taste buds will change and you will become more accustomed to the taste.
Cut Back or Reduce the Amount of Meat You’re Eating.
Cut out unhealthy, fatty and process meats. Replace them with vegetables.
Snack Healthy.
Stop eating chips and crackers. Eat more fruit, nuts and vegetables to replace those snacks. Instead of ranch dressing on your veggies try using a hot hummus.
Interact Socially.
Isolation is not good for the body, soul and mind. Having a workout partner helps motivate and keep you on track.
Go on a Date.
If you are married and haven’t been on a date with your spouse in a while then go on one. Do whatever you need to do to make it happen. Hire a babysitter or drop your kids off at your parents and just go.
Be Grateful.
Try writing down three things that you could be grateful for or went well each day.
Back pain is one of the most common health complaints across the globe, and the No. 1 cause of job disability. It’s also one of the most common reasons triggering opioid dependence, the side effects of which can be lethal.
In fact, opioids are now the leading cause of death among Americans under the age of 50,1 and more than 202,600 Americans died from overdosing on these potent pain killers between 2002 and 2015 alone.2
If you struggle with back pain, please know there are safer, more effective ways to address your pain than filling a prescription for a narcotic pain reliever.
Two highly effective means of preventing lower back pain are closely related — staying active and practicing interrupted sitting may help to improve muscle strength and coordination, reduce stiffness and improve blood flow.
Physical Activity Is Foundational for Pain-Free Mobility
Exercise and non-exercise movement are two ends of the same spectrum. Exercise is important to raise your heart rate and improve muscle strength, while non-exercise movement is important for overall health. Both are also important to your back health. The benefits of exercising for 30 minutes or more each day may actually be counteracted by sitting for long periods of time.
While you may not be able to avoid sitting at work, it is important to make accommodations to improve your cardiovascular and musculoskeletal health.
It may be tempting to lie down as much as possible when pain strikes, but as counterintuitive as it may seem, the evidence suggests increasing your activity is actually more effective.
So, do consider standing as much as possible during the day rather than sitting or lying down. The benefits of standing and walking as much as possible during the day, while maintaining good posture, cannot be overstated. In fact, using these strategies was exactly how I eliminated my own nagging back pain.
Physical activity in combination with a healthy diet and fasting will also effectively address any excess weight you may be carrying that can easily translate into back and knee pain.3
Exercise Lowers Odds of Back Pain by One-Third
A number of studies have concluded exercise is key for the prevention and treatment of back pain. Most recently, a systematic review4,5 of 16 published studies concluded that people who exercised lowered their odds of developing back pain by 33 percent. It also reduced pain severity among those who had pain from the outset.
The studies included a total of 4,310 individuals and ranged in duration from two months to two years. Five of the studies found that, compared to inactivity, exercise lowered the risk of back pain leading to disability by 38 percent.
In conclusion, the researchers suggest a combination of strength training, stretching and/or aerobic exercises done two to three times a week is recommended for the prevention of lower back pain. Lead author Dr. Rahman Shiri of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki also noted:6
The study shows that exercises for strengthening and stretching the lumbar and abdominal muscles, or a combination of strengthening and aerobic exercises protect against low back pain. Furthermore, exercise reduces the severity of low back pain as well as disability due to low back pain.”
This supports the findings of a 2016 review of 21 studies,7 which found that people with a history of back pain who exercised had a 25 percent to 40 percent lower risk of having another episode within a year than those who remained inactive.
As above, strength exercises, aerobics, flexibility training and stretching were all beneficial in lowering the risk of recurring pain.
Updated Treatment Guidelines for Back Pain Highlight Benefits of Activity
The evidence supporting physical activity when you have back pain is so strong, the American College of Physicians (ACP) have now updated its treatment guidelines8,9 for acute, subacute and chronic low back pain, sidestepping medication as a first-line treatment and recommending nondrug therapies instead, starting with exercise.
Considering back pain is a primary complaint for which opioids are prescribed, this change in treatment guidelines could save thousands of people from opioid addiction and death if widely implemented and followed in clinical practice.
According to the ACP, one major reason for avoiding drug treatment for back pain is because most patients with acute or subacute low back pain improve over time regardless of the treatment they receive, so narcotic pain relievers are an unnecessarily risky approach.
Dr. Rick Deyo, a spine researcher and professor at the Oregon Health and Science University and one of the authors of the new ACP guidelines, also notes there’s no need to see a doctor for acute back pain, defined as pain that lasts up to four weeks and does not radiate down the leg.
He likens it to a case of the common cold — most of the time you just have to wait it out.
Seventy-five to 80 percent of back pain cases resolve within two to four weeks,10 with or without treatment. In addition to exercise, the guidelines recommend using superficial heat, massage, acupuncture and/or spinal manipulation as a first line of treatment for acute or subacute back pain. The only drugs that made the list of treatment options are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxants.
Treatment Guidelines for Chronic Back Pain
Chronic back pain may occur consistently, or you may experience times of remission when the pain dissipates and you move about freely without discomfort. Chronic back pain, defined as being present for 12 weeks or more,11 occurs in approximately 20 percent of people.12 For chronic low back pain, the ACP recommends the following treatment options:
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or operant conditioning therapy,13 a branch of CBT where your behavior is modified by its consequences
Motor control exercises
Spinal manipulation
As you can see, a number of these treatments involve psychotherapeutic approaches. The reason for this is because mounting evidence strongly suggests that, in many cases, the pain has a psychological or emotional origin. This does not mean the pain is imaginary and not physically real. It simply means that you cannot separate your body from your mind, as they are closely interrelated and work in tandem. As noted in a 2014 scientific review:14
“Specifically with regard to pain, studies pointed to the need for a model encompassing the complexity of the pain phenomenon. The biopsychosocial perspective closes this gap by confirming the existence of a dynamic relationship among biological changes, psychological status and social context … [S]everal studies show the major role of biopsychosocial factors in triggering chronic pain, in the process of acute pain chronicity and in patients’ incapacity.”
You can learn more about this in my recent article, “Is Most Back Pain Caused by Repressed Emotions?” It features the work of the late Dr. John Sarno, which is as groundbreaking as it is controversial.
Drug Treatment Guidelines Stress Lower Dosage and Patient Education
Patients with chronic low back pain who have tried and failed to find adequate relief from nondrug therapies “should consider pharmacologic treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as first-line therapy, or tramadol or duloxetine as second-line therapy,” the ACP guidelines state, adding, “Clinicians should only consider opioids as an option in patients who have failed the aforementioned treatments and only if the potential benefits outweigh the risks for individual patients and after a discussion of known risks … “
The guidelines stress that even in the rare case when an opioid is given, it should only be prescribed in the lowest dose and for the shortest duration possible.
Steroid injections and acetaminophen are also discouraged, as studies suggest neither is helpful or beneficial. Acetaminophen does not lower inflammation, and a review of the research15 shows steroids are on par with placebo when it comes to treating back pain in the long term.
Functional Exercises to Improve Back Pain
Strengthening and stretching the muscles in your back and core will go a long way toward preventing back pain. For example, when you sit for long periods of time, you typically end up shortening your iliacus, psoas and quadratus lumborum muscles that connect from your lumbar region to the top of your femur and pelvis.
When these muscles are shortened, it can cause severe pain upon standing as they will pull your lower back (lumbar) forward.
When there’s insufficient movement in your hip and thoracic spine, you also end up with excessive movement in your lower back. Research also shows that exercise helps improve your acceptance of pain, which in turn helps prevent inactivity caused by fear that movement will hurt.
As noted by Heather K. Vincent, Ph.D. in an ACSM guest blog, “total body resistance exercise reduces pain catastrophizing by as much as 64 percent. Total body exercise also reduced perception of disability due to pain and pain during physical activities more than lumbar extension.”16
Yoga has demonstrated its usefulness in a number of studies. In one, taking one yoga class per week resulted in greater improvements in function compared to medication or physical therapy.17 The Yoga Journal has an online page demonstrating helpful poses.18
Functional exercises such as the following examples are also recommended for lower back pain. For photos demonstrating each pose, see this Greatist article.19 Ideally, you’ll want to do these types of exercises two to three times per week for 20 to 30 minutes per session.20
1. Decompression breathing: This exercise focuses on maintaining a long, strong spine while breathing deeply. Stand slightly pigeon-toed; toes touching with heels spread slightly apart (this is not an exaggerated position) and knees slightly bent.
Looking straight ahead, shift your weight to your heels and pull your heels together as you reach toward the ceiling with your arms, pressing your fingertips together. With each inhale, focus on raising your ribcage away from your hips. As you exhale, tighten your core to maintain and support this elongated posture. Repeat for several breaths.
2. Founder to forward fold: Moving straight from the decompression exercise above, push out your buttocks, leaning your upper body forward with knees slightly bent. Your arms are still stretched out overhead, maintaining an elongated spine. Keep your head in a neutral position, looking at the floor in front of you.
Hold 15 to 20 seconds, then bend forward until you touch the floor with your fingers. Your arms and back should form a straight line from your fingertips to your buttocks. Remember to keep knees slightly bent. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds. To stand, place your hands on your shins and bring your spine to a neutral position, then sweep your arms back and out to the sides and shift your hips forward as you raise your torso.
In the video below, Dr. Eric Goodman, creator of Foundation Training, discusses how exercises such as “The Founder” can help prevent and treat back pain.
3. Adductor-assisted back extension: Lying on your stomach with flexed feet (so the weight is on your toes) and legs together, press your hips and knees into the floor while lifting your elbows and shoulders off the ground. Maintain a long, straight, neutral neck position. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds, then release and come back down.
4. Eight-point plank: Position yourself on the floor so that your feet, knees, elbows and fingers touch the ground. Your feet should be flexed, knees together, elbows positioned a few inches in front of your shoulders and fingertips gently resting on the floor.
The aim of this position is to form a long, neutral spine, which will require you to work your core muscles. To ensure the proper dynamics, pull your shoulders away from your ears, squeeze your knees and elbows toward the center of your body, and press your knees, toes and elbows down into the mat. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds. If done right, you’ll likely start to tremble before the 30 seconds are up.
5. Woodpecker: Start out in a standard lunge position with the weight on your front heel. Lift your heel and reach your arms out in front of your chest. Then, without shifting the position of your knee, push your buttocks backward until you feel the stretch in your hamstrings. Shift your arms to counterbalance. Once you feel the stretch, tighten your core, maintain a neutral spine, and slowly raise your arms parallel to your ears. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds. Repeat on the other side.
Undo the damage. You can blame your wicked hangover and pounding headache on dehydration and the toxins your body had to release to metabolize all that booze. “Alcohol also increases the secretion of acid in the stomach and irritates the stomach lining,” says Robert Swift, MD, PhD, associate director of the Brown University Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies in Providence. Relieve your misery by eating a piece of toast with honey. Greasy foods, like fried eggs and sausages, will only overtax your irritated digestive system and make it pump out more acid, Dr. Swift says. Honey is an excellent source of fructose, a sugar that research shows may help your body get rid of alcohol’s toxins more quickly. Rehydrate with plenty of water and pop an ibuprofen, which was found to relieve aches faster and better than acetaminophen in a study in the journal Headache.
Stay the course. To outsmart calories (eggnog packs more than 200 a cup) and hangovers at future fetes, order a mixed drink, such as vodka and club soda; it is low in calories (about 100), easy to dilute (just add soda), and less likely to cause a humongous hangover. “The darker the booze, the worse you’ll feel the next day,” Dr. Swift says. That’s because dark liquor contains more congeners, chemicals produced during the fermentation process that are to blame for many hangover symptoms. Also avoid screwdrivers, vodka and cranberry juice, and other drinks made with fruit, says Heather Bauer, RD, coauthor of The Wall Street Diet. The sugar in these cocktails will leave you craving more of the sweet stuff, making pecan pie, peppermint bark, Christmas cookies, you name it, irresistible.
You went overboard at last night’s holiday dinner.
Undo the damage. Even if you ate enough to feed Santa, Mrs. Claus, and all the reindeer, don’t starve yourself to make up for it. “Deprivation will set you up to overeat again,” says Patricia Bannan, RD, a nutritionist in Los Angeles and author of Eat Right When Time Is Tight. Eat a high-fiber breakfast (try a bowl of bran cereal with a handful of raisins), drink plenty of water, and work out to get things, um, moving. Munch on foods that are high in H2O (cucumbers, celery, and melon) and potassium (bananas, apricots, and pumpkin) to flush excess water out of your cells and reduce bloating, Bannan suggests. Steer clear of supersalty foods, such as pickles, olives, cured meats, and most frozen meals, as well as carbonated drinks.
Stay the course. When you’re dining at a friend’s or a relative’s, bring a healthy dish that you can dig into guilt-free. Then choose sweet potatoes over mashed with gravy, and broccoli over green bean casserole. Skip the rolls even if they’re whole wheat; chances are you already have plenty of carbs. Help yourself to a double serving of salad to fill up without filling out, and just say no when Aunt Edna insists that you have another spoonful of her stuffing (’tis the season for food pushers!). A little humor will take the edge off, so say, “Your stuffing is so good, but if I eat another bite I’ll be more stuffed than that bird!” When you play hostess, fix lighter fare (make your green bean casserole with fresh beans and sauteed onions rather than cream of mushroom soup and fried onions). And since Turkey Day leftovers are even more delectable and easier to overindulge in, send guests home with doggie bags.
Stay Fit During Stressful Times
You haven’t been to the gym in more than two weeks.
Undo the damage. You only think your hiatus has turned you into the sugar-plump fairy. “It takes at least three weeks to lose aerobic condition and muscle strength,” says exercise physiologist and personal trainer Alice Burron, a spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise. Once you start working out, you’ll be up to speed again in no time. The real challenge is getting your head back in the game, so try these tricks from FITNESS readers: “Think ahead to how energized and accomplished you’ll feel after you exercise,” says Lani Muelrath, a fitness trainer in Magalia, California. Or register for a Zumba session or a running club, suggests Pearl McGregor, a respiratory therapist in McKinney, Texas. “If you sign up for a class and pay for it, you have to go!” she says. Still not feeling it? “A cute new workout outfit is an instant motivator,” says Brandi White, a ballet instructor in Phoenix.
Stay the course. Take baby steps, every day. “Even a 20-minute walk will keep you in the exercise habit,” says clinical psychologist Judith Beck, PhD, author of The Beck Diet Solution, and chances are you’ll be inspired to keep going. No time to hit the gym? Shape up in your living room with an exercise ball, 5-pound weights, and a resistance band. Burron recommends moves that target several muscle groups. Or sneak fitness into your holiday to-dos, suggests Heather Chambliss, PhD, professor of exercise behavior at the University of Memphis. Combing the mall for two hours blasts about 350 calories; boost the burn by doing biceps curls with shopping bags while waiting to pay for gift number 207. If you’re really moving, an hour spent climbing up and down a ladder hoisting lights is comparable to an easy workout.
You’ve been working long hours to prep for holiday vacation, so dinner is always delivery.
Undo the damage. Today is the day you start working smarter so you can get home in time to cook a healthy meal. Go to the office early (extra hours in the morning, when you’re fresh, are more productive) and outline your to-dos. If possible, delegate time-sucking projects that can easily be done by others, and avoid multitasking. When subjects in a study from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor tried to switch between two tasks, their productivity dropped by 50 percent or more. Tell associates to call with urgent concerns so you can turn off e-mail alerts, and check your in-box just three times a day. “That seemingly harmless ding or pop-up instant message actually creates a huge disruption,” Beck notes.
Stay the course. If you’re logging overtime despite your new and improved habits, spend some time in the kitchen on the weekend. On Sunday, whip up a vegetarian chili or stir-fry and refrigerate it. Or stock up on ingredients for quick-as-a-wink after-work dinners: low-sodium soups, microwavable brown rice, frozen veggies, rotisserie chicken, and peeled shrimp. If you must do delivery, cheesy and creamy aren’t the only adjectives on the menu to avoid. Also watch out for crunchy (translation: fried), says Bannan, and order sauce on the side so you can use it sparingly. Instead of ordering in, stop on your way home to pick up a burger from a restaurant (topped with onions and mushrooms and without the bun, it weighs in at about 300 calories) or a ready-made salad from the supermarket (just use your own low-calorie dressing).
You’ve been staying up till the wee hours. Your little helper? A colossal mocha with whipped cream.
Undo the damage. “Holiday activities lead to significant sleep loss, driving people to caffeine and sugar,” says Cornell University sleep researcher James Maas, PhD, coauthor of Sleep for Success! Lack of zzz’s also triggers a drop in leptin (the hormone that tells your brain, “I’m full”) and a rise in ghrelin (the one that screams, “I’m starving!”). Stay alert without wrecking your diet by ordering a 12-ounce skim latte (100 calories compared with 450 in a massive mocha), but hit the coffee shop before midafternoon or your sleep could suffer. Eat for all-day energy by combining protein and complex carbs at every meal: a veggie omelet and a small bran muffin for breakfast, grilled chicken on whole wheat bread for lunch, whole-grain pasta with baked fish for dinner, and lots of produce all day. “Healthy carbs give you longer-lasting energy than simple sugars from cake and candy,” Bannan says.
Stay the course. Getting more sleep is easier said than done; luckily, quality, not just quantity, affects how rested you feel. A small carb-based snack, like a banana, an hour before bed will speed your body’s release of tryptophan, which steps up production of snooze-inducing serotonin, Maas says. Turn off your TV and computer 30 minutes before you turn in. Light, even that from a flickering screen, can disrupt your body clock, as can a warm room. The magic number? Sixty-seven degrees. If you’re still tired during the day, try these calorie-free pick-me-ups: Go for a quick run or pop a piece of sugar-free gum. Chewing works the facial muscles, which increases the flow of blood to your head and keeps you alert. You’ll feel refreshed — and revved to hit more holiday parties with the energy and willpower to stick to your diet.
It is scary that more than 100 million U.S. adults are now living with diabetes or pre-diabetes, according to a new report recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The report finds that as of 2015, 30.3 million Americans – 9.4% of the U.S. population – have diabetes. Another 84.1 million have pre-diabetes, a condition that if not treated often leads to type 2 diabetes within five years.
Starting in January Sikorsky Chiropractic will be hosting a monthly health meeting. Dr. Sikorsky will be your coach and guide you in becoming healthier. This class will be a safe space where various topics will be covered to improve your overall health. Each month we will discuss something different at our meeting. We will include conversation on exercise, diet, sleep, etc. in our meetings. As January comes near we will provide more information!
