Posts by OConnor
Tips to Achieve More Restful Sleep
When it comes to sleeping, some of us are settling for far less than we need on a nightly basis to stay healthy and functional. The truth is, sleep deprivation or lack of sleep can cause drowsiness, compromised motor skills, decreased coordination, and affect your overall neuro functionality.
Below are a few measures you can take to achieve more restful sleep.
Exercise Regularly
Getting your exercise in at least 4 times a week will help you achieve more restful sleep. As human beings, we are genetically wired from ancestors who did much. We’re programmed to do the same amount, but many of us aren’t getting the right amount of movement and stimulation at our 9-5 jobs. After a good workout, you’ll be pleasantly surprised how tired you’ll be at the end of the evening.
Read in Bed
Reading in bed will help you fall asleep. Just make sure that you’re not getting into a bonafide page-turner before you need to get your sleep.
Cut Caffeine After 4 pm
If you have to be in bed by 9 or 10, then we recommend your last cup should be no later than 4 pm.
If you take a few proper measures, your sleep will get more restful and more consistent on a nightly basis. If you have any additional questions about how you can optimize your wellness contact O’Connor Family Wellness Chiropractic today.
How to Reduce Stress on a Daily Basis
Did you know that many of our pains are rooted in stress? Many times pain or injury can be our body trying to tell us something, whether we’re firing too hot on all cylinders, whether we’re pushing ourselves too hard physically, mentally, or emotionally. Many times pain and injury are rooted in stress.
Below OFW Chiropractic goes over a few ways you can reduce and manage your stress every day as a way to optimize your wellness.
Exert Yourself Physically
Our ancestors spent a lot of time being on their feet and staying on their toes, whether they engaged in hunting, gathering, or anything else necessary to survive. We don’t really have to live that way anymore, but our bodies still need that activity so our minds can be put at ease. When you incorporate rigorous physical activity into your daily/weekly routine, you’ll be amazed how good you’ll sleep.
Breathe and Meditate
Breathing deeply and meditation can help you both at the beginning or end of the day (or any time in between) as well as in the moment when stimuli occur. It’s a great way to gain perspective on your life while also taking a much needed moment to pause.
Visit Your Chiropractor in Westwood, NJ
Staying close with your chiropractor in Westwood, NJ will help you stay in line with the latest health trends as well as deal with pain and injury the drug-free way as they occur. Contact OFW Chiropractic today to learn more!
5 Common Sports Injuries
O’Connor Family Wellness treats many patients who happen to be athletes. As a result, we see a lot of patients who experience injuries that are common to particular sports they engage in, whether it’s the basketball player experiencing lower back pain, the Jiu-Jitsu specialist needing chiropractic adjustments, and a number of scenarios commonly experienced by athletes.
Below are some of the most common sports injuries experienced by athletes.
1.) Back Injuries / Back Pain
It just so happens that your back and your spinal column experience varying levels of stress during any sports activity, depending on how much you push your body. Doing the same motions over and over, hitting your body with the same level of impact day in and day out, this can lead to the accumulation of stress, inflammation, muscle spasms, and more. Injuries to the vertebrae, the muscles, and also the discs can frequently sideline athletes or at the very least cause increased levels of upper or lower back pain.
2.) Trauma / Impact
Collisions on the court or the field of play can often happen, which can not only cause injury at the point of contact, but can throw your spine out of line or tweak your neck. A case of a sudden, jarring impact can also cause acute injury to your back, neck, or other areas of the body.
3.) Neck Injury
Football especially leaves player’s necks vulnerable to injury, especially players like offensive and defensive linemen, who hit each other on every play, which has serious implications for the neck, head, and spine.
4.) Knee Injuries
Whether it’s a torn ACL or MCL or anything else that can happen with the complex knee joint, many athletes experience knee injuries. Basketball is one sport especially vulnerable to knee injuries due to the amount of jumping and landing that goes on. One small mistake like landing on another player’s foot the wrong way can send even the greatest player to the bench with an injury that could possibly even end their career.
5.) Concussions
We all hear about concussions happening to football players, but did you also know that concussions often happen to football (soccer to Americans) players? Any footballer who commits to a header is liable to get a concussion. Concussions are characterized by a sudden impact to the head that causes the brain to shift inside the skull. Headache, dizziness, sleepiness, even temporary loss of consciousness are all symptoms of concussions.
Things you can do at home to prevent injuries include stretching and warming up before strenuous activity. If you experience an injury you should see a physician immediately to determine the next best steps.
You can also supplement any active lifestyle with chiropractic treatments that vary widely depending on your specific condition. O’Connor Family Wellness offers drug-free, all-natural ways to treat and even prevent injuries. Contact us today to schedule your consultation.
3 Symptoms of Whiplash
At O’Connor Family Wellness Chiropractic we get a lot of patients who experience whiplash, whether it be from an automobile accident, an amusement park experience gone bad, your latest bout with the bumper cars, or any other activity that leaves you in pain.
If you’re experiencing whiplash, it’s important to see a chiropractic care specialist for a drug-free solution. Below we go over some of the symptoms of whiplash.
1.) Pain or Tenderness in the Back or Neck (Or Both)
After an accident or injury, if you’re experiencing pain or sensitivity in the back or neck, you may very well have whiplash.
2.) Limited Mobility/Range of Motion
If you’re having trouble turning or craning your neck like you normally do, this is a common symptom of whiplash.
3.) You’re Experiencing Headaches
Headaches are also a common symptom of whiplash that many patients experience.
Most whiplash injuries can typically take anywhere from 12-24 hours to fully develop. Even after the incident any pain or swelling can take time to manifest. Just like with many injuries, whiplash injuries tend to feel worse the day after the initial incident.
If you believe you’ve experienced whiplash and need a drug-free solution, contact O’Connor Family Wellness Chiropractic today. We have a long track record of keeping our patients healthy and well!
An Introduction to Musculoskeletal Medicine
Understanding your body to understand your pain
No matter how far science has come, we are still only at the precipice of our understanding of pain. Even with a proper diagnosis, the best known treatment may not work for everyone. What’s worse is that many people will never get a proper diagnosis before starting on a, “magic bullet,” treatment plan that they found on the internet. Because pain is often intangible, a vacuum has opened in which a host of unqualified “health writers” and less-than-ethical doctors will offer you anything to drive business.
We believe that anyone already suffering from chronic pain should not suffer further by wasting time, energy and money on treatments that promise everything and deliver nothing. At OFW Chiropractic, we believe that understanding the musculoskeletal form of a human is the best way to understand and treat that human’s chronically recurring pain.
Filtering Stress: In With the Good While Keeping Out the Bad
Stress is necessary to live
But the energy-endowing, problem-solving, survival instinct elements of stress have a dark side; they can take more than they give. You’ve heard people say life is all about balance; we would argue that managing good and bad stress, and how much of it is present in your daily life is a life-defining type of balance. Some studies suggest that there is a perfect amount of stress, but few of us know how to find or maintain it.
How to Avoid the Dreaded Back Spasm
The dreaded back spasm
Many adults are familiar with the sudden, involuntary tightening of a muscle, the literal spasm of pain, the uncontrollable tightening and the restricted range of motion which immediately follows. Does this sound like an accurate description of a muscle spasm? Now imagine, it happens regularly and you have a recipe for something that damages your quality of life.
Chiropractic As Preventive Medicine
Prevent rather than treat!
Yes, chiropractic is an important modality for healing after an injury, but it is equally important as a modality for preventing injury in the first place! Your spine is the chassis upon which the rest of your body is effectively built- regular maintenance including chiropractic adjustment and treatment of the layers of tissue in the back ensures that your spine has the best possible chance of resilience to injury.
Back Pain: Common Causes with a Single Solution
What is causing your lower back pain?
When you have non-specific lower back pain, it is always worth taking a look at the usual suspects. As chiropractors we pay attention to a frequent occurrence that results from everyday activities: subluxation. Whether from acute trauma or culmination of repetitive trauma, the spine can move out of alignment and put pressure on one or more of the 124 nerve roots which exit the spine. Because these nerve roots connect your entire body to the central nervous system, a problem with their smooth function tends to create problems including pain and dysfunction.
The Undeniable Power of Morning Time
Morning time is the best time to lose weight
Carpe diem, seize the day and make the morning hours your time to set a course for weight loss. This is the most potent part of the day; each step you take from bed represents a deposit in the bank of caloric balance that contributes to maintaining a healthy weight. The process actually begins before you even wake up- a healthy sleep cycle is essential to keeping the pounds at bay. But once you wake up, each decision you make will go for or against your weight-loss regime.
From a chiropractor’s perspective, maintaining a healthy weight is essential for the health and alignment of your spine. Every pound over your ideal weight is adding an extra burden to the spine, especially to the lumbar region, which is responsible for bearing the weight of the upper body. Read on to find out ways you can use the natural energy of the morning time to encourage weight loss.