Chiropractic and Infantile Colic: 1 Hour and 12 Minutes Less Crying

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6844054/#CR26

Babies come and go in waves at the office, we have a lot of full bellies waddling in and out these days, so a new crop is about to arrive. Moms and dads to be are mostly thinking about delivery, but we manage to squeeze in a little conversation about the bundle of joy that will be a new resident of their household as well. And sometimes, the little bundle can be very unhappy and be quite vocal about it.

I was listening to a research podcast on my drive home last week. Infantile colic is one of those health problems that really, REALLY matters to the parents but for which conventional medicine is largely hands off , with the idea that the baby will outgrow it in time. That is little consolation to child and parent. The munchkins must be feeling really quite miserable to cry themselves into exhaustion and the parents feel on edge and powerless.

Colic is a complicated set of possible triggers to unpack, however chiropractic care has time again shown to be worth exploring and really safe. The research article focuses on evidence for various integrative approaches to infantile colic. Manual therapy showed on average 1 hour and 12 minutes less crying per day in infants receiving chiropractic care. One of the podcast commentators was wondering how much of a quality of life impact these 72 minutes of daily screaming would have. The other commentator is heard bursting out laughing. Obviously not a question anyone would ask who has ever been in that situation.

NATIONAL TRAIL MIX DAY- AUGUST 31ST

NATIONAL TRAIL MIX DAY

AUGUST 31, 202

TRAIL MIX- SO SIMPLE, YET SUCH A TASTY SNACK AND WHEN DONE RIGHT PACKED WITH HEALTH BENEFITS. MANY INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES SEEM TO HAVE A HARD TIME FINDING HEALTHY SNACK OPTIONS, THIS IS A GREAT “GO TO” TO HAVE ON HAND!

THE FOLLOWING IS A FEW OF THE CLASSICS FOUND IN TRAIL MIX AND SOME OF THEIR BENEFITS-

-          Walnuts:

o   Promote both brain and heart health.

o   High in omega 3 fatty acids *2.5g/1 serving

o   High in protein *5g/1oz

o   High in vitamins & minerals *Copper, folic acid, phosphorus, vit B6, manganese, vit E

o   Great source of antioxidants and fiber

-          Almonds:

o   High in unsaturated fat

o   High vit E *7.27mg/1oz (nearly half of daily requirement)

o   High protein *6g/1 oz

o   Good source of calcium *76.3mg/1 oz

o   Great source of iron *1.0mg/1 oz

o   Great source of manganese *0.6mg/1oz (almost half of daily requirement)

-          Pecans:

o   Heart healthy

o   Improves digestion, fiber packed *2.7g/1 oz

o   Anti-inflammatory, magnesium packed *1.3mg/1 oz (over half of daily requirement)

-          Dried Cherries:

o   High in antioxidants

o   Source of melatonin (help with sleep)

o   Source of natural fiber *1.6g/100g

o   Source of natural potassium *173mg/100g

o   Source of natural copper *0.104mg/100g

o   Source of natural protein *1g/100g

o   Source of natural iron *0.3mg/100g

o   Source of natural carbohydrates *12g/100g

o   Vitamin source- vitA *1,283IU/100g, vitC *10mg/100g, vitE *0.07mg/100g (boost immune)

-          Cashews:

o   Heart healthy

o   Bone health

o   High copper *622mg/1oz

o   High protein *5.17g/ 1oz

o   Source of calcium *10mg/ 1oz

o   Vitamin source- vitC & vitB

-          Coconut flakes:

o   High protein *3g/80g

o   High manganese *60% daily value (DV)

o   High copper *44% DV

o   High fat *27g/80g (about 90% unsaturated)

o   High fiber *7g/80g

-          Dark chocolate chips:

o   High antioxidant

o   May improve blood flow to the brain

o   May reduce heart disease risk

What are your favorite trail mix ingredients?

NATIONAL GOLF MONTH- AUGUST

National Golf Month

Golfers & Back Pain

Golf is a fantastic way to keep moving and exercise with sport of the summer. Well, in honor of national golf month coming to a close, were going to discuss a bit with golfers and low back pain.

Most Americans usually experience some back pain at some point in their life (fun fact- there is a reduced chance of needing spinal surgery when the first point of contact for back pain is a chiropractor!) weather it be from a muscle strain, filamentous sprain, disc derangement, stenosis or something different. Back pain is arguable the most common injury in golfers. If the pain is severe, please go and visit a provider first to evaluate the symptoms and provide the appreciate care and recommendations based on your specific needs. As posted in an earlier blog, the mobility/stability continuum indicating alternating portions should be mobile vs stable. If there is a lack of mobility in the thoracic spine or the hips (they should be mobile) then the low back may be compensated and become mobile when it needs to be stable. A couple of exercises that can be tried may include cat/cow to keep some mobility in the pelvis while the dead bug exercise will improve core contraction and activation to help with stability through back and fore swing.

Yoga Blocks for Ergonomic Modification and More-

I wish I had run into this earlier podcast by Chris Masterjohn 4 months ago. At the time, we were fielding a lot of emergent questions from patients trying to find the most comfortable way to work from home on a short notice, often with nothing more than a laptop and an old kitchen chair. The low low tech retrofits I was proposing (old books, shoes boxes), were definitely doing the trick, but Masterjohn’s use of the two simple yoga blocks in endless possibilities of propping, elevating, and lowering is quite brilliant.

The fall of 2020 is looking more and more like a lot of people are going to continue working from home - quite possibly joined by school age children on a part or full time basis. As such, every one in the house needs to be able to modify work and study surfaces to fit their individual needs, and everyone needs to be able to switch positions on a frequent basis. The blocks may be the easiest and cheapest way to achieve that, and as an added bonus, less aesthetically disruptive than many other solutions.

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2016/05/03/the-daily-lipid-podcast-episode-7-many

Cannon Falls Library "How to" Series- How to: Run

The Cannon Falls, MN Library is hosting a “How to” series and here at the office we have been helping with a few of them. Our most recent YouTube video is How to: Run. In this video you can find some basic tips to begin running.

Keep up to date with our YouTube videos by subscribing! We will continue to release additional video for at home activity use!

Cannon Falls Library "How to" Series- How To: Breathe

The Cannon Falls, MN Library is hosting a “How to” series and here at the office we have been helping with a few of them. Our most recent YouTube video is How to: Breathe. In this video you can find some at home activities you can participate in to make the most of your breathing.

Keep up to date with our YouTube videos by subscribing! We will continue to release additional video for at home activity use!

CHIROPRACTIC BEYOND PAIN PART 4 : DYSAUTONOMIA: CIRCULATION, DIGESTION, ETC.WWW

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320306138_Heart_Rate_Variability_to_Assess_the_Changes_in_Autonomic_Nervous_System_Function_Associated_With_Vertebral_Subluxation

The last part in the “beyond pain” series is about the correlation of spinal functional lesions and their impact on the regulation of your autonomic nervous system (referred to as ANS).

When I received my education 25 + years ago, autonomic dysfunction was thought to be a relatively rare disorder and there were few, much less non-invasive testing for it. Much has changed since then, and ANS dysfunction of various severity is recognized as prevalent, even leading to the current terminology DYSAUTONOMIA.

The ANS regulates automatic, unconscious vital functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, digestive enzyme production, heat/cold thermostat and many, many more. The ANS is on a constant feedback loop gathering information from the periphery, analyzing in the lower brain centers and sending signals down the spinal cord for appropriate response: elevating your heart rate for exercise, moving your bowels when full, increasing sweating when hot etc… So dysautonomia can be very confusing to diagnose or define, since it can involve very different symptoms that may be vague.

Chiropractors from many decades ago may never have heard of the term dysautonomia, however their work back then and our work today continues to powerfully help regulate the ANS by eliminating unnecessary breakdown in the feedback loop, both sensory as well as the ANS motor system. I have found that to be especially true in children, and more recently infants dealing with physically challenging births. I believe that many of the cases of unexplained colic, fussy babies, is actually a manifestation of autonomic dysfunction especially to the delicate digestion of newborns.

The “diagnosis” of dysautonomia is a broad and complex topic that cannot be addressed in this blog, but hopefully soon. There are simply physical tests that can be a clue (asymetrical blood pressure and SPO2 for example), advanced medical testing (table tilt, sweat test), and some newer non-invasive and inexpensive in office diagnostics such as heart rate variability.

Part II: SHOULDERS- NOW WHAT?

The following blog is the second part of the shoulder blog from July 11,2020.

If your shoulder is creating issues for you, please be sure to check in with your local provider. Not all of these following exercises or at home activities are appropriate for everyone. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the office at (507) 263-2393 and schedule at appointment or email me at bwclinic.kaila@gmail.com

First-

Wall Ball Circles. I really like this activity because it makes the shoulder work together and if you are doing it correctly, it really fires shoulder depressor muscles which I have found more and more underactive ones in our recent patient population. 

• What you will need:

  • A ball- tennis ball, deflated basketball or volleyball will work too. You could use a small exercise ball, but those tend to be a bit heavier and more difficult.

  • A wall- any wall that is at least shoulder height.

• How:

• Standing with your shoulders and hips parallel to the wall. 

• Stand far enough away from the wall that you can hold the ball between your hand and the wall comfortable without compromising the parallel position of your shoulders and hips.

• With a tall, shoulder down and slightly back, start with some small clockwise circles.

• After about 10 small clockwise circles, try about 10 counterclockwise circles.

• Progression to larger clockwise and counterclockwise circles can be made.

• When to stop:

  • If you are experiencing any shooting pain that radiates or causes any numbness or tingling.

  • If you are experiencing pain greater than 6/10.

  • If you are unsure you are doing it correctly.

• Follow the following link for a short YouTube video!

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIhBstWPqDc

Second-

Elbow Press Downs. I like this exercise for firing the shoulder depressors as well as creating a stretching sensation on the top of the shoulder into the neck.

• What you will need:

  • Chair with a back for starters, without a back as you progress

  • 1 elbow 1 shoulder- connected usually works best :) 

• How:

  • While sitting in a tall upright positing, imagine a squishy ball beneath your elbow

  • Press your elbow straight down into that squishy ball

  • Hold for about 3 seconds

  • Repeat  

• When to stop:

  • If you are experiencing any shooting pain that radiates or causes any numbness or tingling.

  • If you are experiencing pain greater than 6/10.

  • If you are unsure you are doing it correctly.

• Follow the following link for a short YouTube video!

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01RkpWuQ-TQ

These are just two exercises/ daily at home activities that I really like for some shoulder care. Again, these don’t work for everyone and if you are in pain or dysfunction, please do not hesitate to visit a provider. 

Visit our YouTube Channel for some additional at home activities!

Bruggers- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH3FV3f7lBY

Neck Retractions- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bzqsoWABtg

Enjoy!