Community Party on April 28 - Free and You're Invited!

Every year we have a party to thank our patients and our community for supporting our Chiropractic office. We are hosting our annual party on April 28 from 5 PM to 7 PM. Everyone that comes will get a prize. We also have a grand prize that we are giving a way. It is a netbook computer. We will be serving hot dogs and other side dishes and there will be cake.

I'll be giving away free first visits to any new patients that sign up at the party. This includes the initial examination and the first treatment. This is just our way of saying thanks to everyone.

We are also sponsoring a health fair. The following people have confirmed for the fair.

West Covina Smiles will do free dental evaluations.
Johnny Hudson from Basic Training will do free physical assessments.
Massage therapy by our very own massage therapist Liz
Deborah Minniefield will show us how to cook healthy with Tupperware
Total Resources will sell low-cost first aid and earthquake kits

We are working on a couple more people for the party.

For all you business owners, this will be the Regional Chamber of Commerce mixer for April.

We look for to seeing everyone there.

How much sleep do you need?

 

A good night’s sleep has lots of benefits. It can help improve memory, reduce stress, and reduce the risk of diabetes. Here’s a quick review of some recent studies.

Sleep helps your heart - A 2010 study found that C-reactive protein, which is associated with heart attack risk, was higher in people who got six or fewer hours of sleep a night.

Sleep helps weight loss - Researchers at the University of Chicago found that dieters who were well rested lost more fat than those who were sleep deprived..

Live a longer life. In a 2010 study of women ages 50 to 79, more deaths occurred in women who got less than five hours or more than six and a half hours of sleep per night.

Sleep improves performance - A Stanford University study found that college football players who tried to sleep at least 10 hours a night for seven to eight weeks improved their average sprint time and had less daytime fatigue and more stamina.

Sleep keeps you alert - A 2009 study in the journal Pediatrics found that children ages seven and eight who got less than about eight hours of sleep a night were more likely to be hyperactive, inattentive, and impulsive.

How much sleep do you need?

It varies. Everyone is different. You can try this 3 Day Test to help you figure it out. Go to sleep the first night for as long as you want to try to reduce any sleep debt. Don’t set the alarm and let your body wake up naturally.

Then sleep the next two nights for as long as your body needs. If you sleep for the same amount of time or within 15 minutes both nights, that is a good indication of the amount of time you need each night.

Don’t try this test if you are sick or spent a few nights in a row sleep deprived. Here are a couple of notes

Quality is as important as quantity. If you sleep 8-9 hours a night and you still feel tired, you may not be getting good quality sleep. Try a new pillow or mattress. Making the room darker with blackout blinds or using earplugs can help.

If you sleep extra on weekends can you work off your sleep debt?

It looks as though you can to a limited extent. Although this sleeping pattern will help relieve part of a sleep debt, it will not completely make up for the lack of sleep.

Recommended Amount of Sleep

Infants 14 to 15 hours

Toddlers 12 to 14 hours

School-age children 10 to 11 hours

Adults 7 to 9 hours

Older adults need about the same amount of sleep as younger adults. You ay also need more sleep if you are pregnant.

Smoking Leads to Back Pain

Most people are aware that smoking can cause lung and mouth cancer, as well as heart disease, and lung disease. However, many people are not aware that it can also put a person at risk for back pain, osteoporosis, and bone fractures. Positive associations between current smoking and nonspecific back pain were found in 18 of 26 studies in men and 18 of 20 studies in women. I knew that a link existed but I didn’t know how strong it was. Quitting smoking not only greatly improve health but it could also mean the difference between weeks and months of recovery and time off work.

Most studies on the effects of smoking suggest the following…

1. Smokers lose bone at a faster rate than non-smokers as they age.

2. The longer you smoke and the more cigarettes you consume, the greater your risk of fracture in old age.

3. Smokers who fracture may take longer to heal than nonsmokers and may experience more complications during the healing process.

4. Quitting smoking appears to reduce the risk of low bone mass and fractures. However, it may take several years to lower a former smoker’s risk.

Just another good reason to quit smoking.

What Works Best for Low Back Pain

The May issue of Consumer Reports looked at low back pain and what was effective for treating it. The Consumer Reports Health Rating Center surveyed more than 14,000 subscribers who had lower back pain in the past year and never had back surgery. More than half said pain severely limited their daily routine for a week or longer, and 80% said it recurred throughout the year. Many said the pain interfered with sleep, activities, and efforts to maintain a healthy weight. The respondents rated treatments they tried and their satisfaction with their health care providers.

The number-one rated therapy? Chiropractic. 58% of those who tried chiropractic said it helped a lot and 59% were completely or very satisfied with their doctor. Massage therapy was also effective. It was rated as being very helpful by 48% of consumers. The least effective treatment was seeing a primary care physician. The bottom line is…

Back Pain = Chiropractor

The link to the article is here.

 http://www.consumerreports.org/health/conditions-and-treatments/back-pain/overview/back-pain.htm 

What those insurance terms really mean

It seems like every year insurance companies impose new deductibles and co-pays for their health insurance. The problem is some people don’t know what those terms actually mean. Below are a list of the common terms and what they actually mean.

Health Savings Account - Plan that allows you to contribute pre-tax money to be used for qualified medical expenses. HSA’s must be linked to a high-deductible health insurance policy. We accept HSA’s as payment.

Coinsurance - Money that an individual is required to pay for services after a deductible has been paid. In some health care plans, co-insurance is called “copayment.” Coinsurance is often specified by a percentage. For example, the employee pays 20 percent toward the charges for a service and the employer or insurance company pays 80 percent. Most PPO’s have coinsurance,

Copayment is a predetermined (flat) fee that an individual pays for health care services, in addition to what the insurance covers. For example, $15 copayment for each office visit, regardless of the type or level of services provided during the visit. Copayments are not usually specified by percentages. Most HMO’s have Co-pays.

Deductible - the amount an individual must pay for health care expenses before insurance covers the costs. Often, insurance plans are based on yearly deductible amounts. Most PPO’s have a deductible and most HMO’s do not have a deductible

Effective date - the date your insurance coverage begins.

In-network refers to providers or health care facilities that are part of a health plan’s network of providers with which it has negotiated a discount. You usually pay less when using an in-network provider. We are in-network with most insurance companies (Anthem, Blue Shield, Kaiser, Cigna, Aetna, etc...)

Pre-existing condition is a medical condition that is excluded from coverage by an insurance company because the condition was believed to exist prior to the individual obtaining a policy from the particular insurance company.

Pre-Authorization - some insurance requires a primary care physician to approve treatment before it will pay for it.

Back Pain - The Basics

Back pain (also known as dorsalgia) is pain felt in the back that usually originates from the muscles, nerves, bones, joints or other structures in the spine.

The pain may be a dull ache, or a sharp or piercing or burning sensation. The pain may radiate into the arm and hand), in the upper back, or in the low back, (and might radiate into the leg or foot), and may include symptoms other than pain, such as weakness, numbness or tingling.

Back pain is one of humanity's most frequent complaints. In the U.S., acute low back pain (also called lumbago) is the fifth most common reason for physician visits. About nine out of ten adults experience back pain at some point in their life, and five out of ten working adults have back pain every year.

The spine is a complex interconnecting network of nerves, joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments, and all are capable of producing pain. Large nerves that originate in the spine and go to the legs and arms can make pain radiate to the extremities.

Why Choose Chiropractic?

Chiropractic is a natural approach to treating many painful conditions.

Chiropractors "adjust" the spine to decrease pain, restore motion and increase normal function. It is effective for back pain, headaches, bulging discs, neck pain, sports injuries, and car accidents.

We've tried to make our office a comfortable and friendly place to visit. We have massage chairs in our reception room for our patients. We offer our patients coffee, tea and hot chocolate as well as snacks while they are waiting to be treated.

Our office is also kid friendly. We have an Xbox for the kids (and some adults ) to play with while their parents are being treated. We also have videos for the kids to watch and toys for them to play with to keep them occupied.

Click for more information.