How to Pick Your Office Chair

Picking Your Office Chair

 Think of how many hours you spend at your chair at work. Is it six, seven, ten hours? Is it more hours then you spend in your bed? People will spend thousands of dollars and weeks of research on finding the right mattress (which is incredibly important as well) but they spend their entire workday in a $50 office chair that doesn’t fit them.

It’s nearly impossible to have a one-size fits all chair. People just don’t work that way. So when shopping for the best ergonomic chair, there are a few things that you should look for specific to you.

 Here are a few things for you to consider as you make your selection:

 1.      Seat pan comfort and shape

When you sit in the chair the seat pan should be at least one inch wider than your hips and thighs on either side. The seat pan should not be too long for your legs otherwise it will either catch you behind the knees or it will prevent you from leaning fully back against the lumbar support. Most ergonomic chairs have a seat pan with a waterfall front that prevents the seat from catching you behind the knees. The seat pan should also be contoured to allow even weight distribution and it should be comfortable to sit on.

2.      Think adjustable

Always ensure that your chair is adjustable so that you can adjust seat pan height while you are sitting on the chair. You should be able to adjust the height of the seat pan so that the front of your knees is level or slightly below level and your feet are firmly on the ground

3.      Lumbar support is key

Many chairs have cushioned lumbar supports that can be adjusted up and down and forwards and backwards to best fit your shape. If the chair will be used by multiple users then this level of adjustment may be required. However if you are the primary user of the chair then a fixed lumbar support may be acceptable, if it feels comfortable.

4.      Don’t forget about the hips

A chair that doesn’t provide enough hip room can make you sit too far forwards on the seat pan, which doesn’t provide so that you will not have enough thigh support.

5.      Have a long-term strategy

Think about how the chair will feel after one or two hours. Low-density foam seat pans can become permanently deformed after long term use which can affect cushioned support leading to discomfort, imbalance and hip and back fatigue.

Other things to consider for those of us not “height-blessed” is whether your feet touch the floor. It is incredibly important to invest in an adjustable chair, but if the desk is too high, then a footrest may be inevitable. Consider whether you can sit back comfortably in your chair without having your feet dangle. If you can’t, then think about investing in a foot support that allows your feet to rest comfortably upon it, preventing strain on the legs and the back.

To book an appointment with one of our chiropractors. Call us at Family First Chiropractic. 403-347-3261. 142 Erickson Dr Red Deer. www.family1stchiro.ca

Resources

Your Back Health:  http://www.yourback-health.com/work/top-5-tips-for-selecting-an-office-chair/ June 11, 2013

Children and CranioSacral Therapy

CranioSacral Therapy and Children

I often hear from parents that they would like for their children to receive CranioSacral therapy but are not sure how that is possible.  Adaptability by the therapist is probably the most important thing when treating children.  There are many ways in which I adapt my techniques to effectively treat children.  Most importantly the child needs to be comfortable.  Often that is in their parents arms or with them close by.  They can be lying down, in a chair or I have even spent half an hour following toddlers around the room.  Toys, books, etc, are also great distractions that can aid the practitioner in getting effective work done.  When working on children I often shorten the treatment to half an hour.  For most children that provides enough time to get an effective treatment and not to over stimulate the system.

To find out more about CranioSacral or to book an appointment with Jeannette, call us at 403-347-3261. Family First Chiropractic, Red Deer. www.family1stchiro.ca

Baby Wrapping

Swaddling

Swaddling involves wrapping or bundling babies in cloth blankets with the arms restrained to dampen the startle response and provide a sense of comfort. The paper by Price is timely because of the rising popularity of infant swaddling in Western societies.

 Studies have demonstrated that swaddling promotes sleep consistency and duration while encouraging infants to remain in the recommended supine position during sleep.

 It has been found that both swaddling and stomach sleeping limits arm movement, which can lead to a decrease in the startle reflex. A reduction in startles results in a better sleep maintenance but can also depress spontaneous arousals.

It is important to ensure that during swaddling it is advised to use thin materials in order to prevent overheating.

Developmentally, children need to be able to move and be able to bring their hands to their mouths. If swaddling, keeping their hands closer to their face and not pinned by their sides will allow this natural movement.

Traditional swaddling involves wrapping infants with the legs straight and the hips and knees extended. This practice should be discouraged because it increases the risk of developmental dysplasia of the hip and hip dislocation.

 Proper swaddling methods restrain the upper extremities but allow hip flexion-abduction and knee flexion.

 A longer duration of swaddling beginning at birth produced a greater rate of dislocation and more severe dysplasia than the shorter period of swaddling. The authors concluded that earlier swaddling and prolonged swaddling were more detrimental to hip development in this experimental model.

To book an appointment call us at 403-347-3261. Family First Chiropractic. 142 Erickson Dr Red Deer. www.family1stchiro.ca

 1. Price, C.T. Swaddling and Hip Dysplasia: New Observations. 2012. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery 94(92): 1-2.

2. Kato et al. Spontaneous Arousability in Prone and Supine Position in Healthy Infants. Sleep 29(6):785-791.

ADHD and Medications

ADHD Drug Emergencies Quadrupled in 6 Years.

According to a 2010 US government survey, 1 in 10 American children now has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This is a 22 percent increase from 2003. ADHD makes it hard for children to pay attention and control impulsive behavior.
About two-thirds of the children diagnosed with ADHD are on some form of prescription medication, and according to data recently released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), ADHD drugs such as Ritalin, Vyvanse, Strattera, and Adderall (and their generic equivalents) were responsible for nearly 23,000 emergency room visits in 2011 in the US alone.

This is a more than 400 percent increase in ER visits due to adverse reactions to such drugs in a mere six years!

Misuse of Behavior-Modification Drugs Is Rising Dramatically
The DAWN report highlights the growing trend of prescription drug abuse, and reveals that more than half of these youngsters—primarily college-aged—obtained the drug either from a friend or relative, free of charge. Seventeen percent purchased them from someone they knew.

Other reports also show a dramatic spike in ADHD drug abuse.

48.4 million prescriptions for ADHD stimulants were written in 2011, a 39 percent jump from 2007. More importantly, close to 14,000 new monthly prescriptions were written for ADHD stimulants, up from 5.6 million in 2007.
Far from being recognized for their potential health hazards, these kinds of stimulants have gained a reputation as “cognition enhancers” among students and young professionals seeking to gain an edge.
Unfortunately, it’s exceedingly easy to fake ADHD symptoms in order to secure a prescription, and as noted in a 2008 study published in the Journal of American College Health.

“Of the study participants, 34 percent reported the illegal use of ADHD stimulants. Most illegal users reported using ADHD stimulants primarily in periods of high academic stress and found them to reduce fatigue while increasing reading comprehension, interest, cognition, and memory.

Furthermore, most had little information about the drug and found procurement to be both easy and stigmafree.”

Meanwhile, the potential side effects of ADHD drugs are actually quite serious. Certainly, no one should take them without being under a competent doctor’s care: permanent brain damage, cardio toxicity, and liver damage, cancer, changes in personality, depression, and/or hallucinations, heart attack and stroke, sudden death and suicide

In related news, US health officials have launched a federal probe into the use of antipsychotic drugs on children in the Medicaid system. According to a study of data from 2004, kids using Medicaid were prescribed antipsychotic medications four times more often than those with private insurance. In 2008, more than 19,000 children under the age of five received Medicaid prescriptions for antipsychotics. Most shocking of all, the study also found that Medicaid prescriptions for antipsychotics were issued to children younger than one year old!
It’s exceedingly difficult to fathom a situation that would actually warrant giving a toddler an antipsychotic drug.
After all, medications cannot address the underlying cause of aberrant behavior.

Dr. Stephen Kelly is located at Family First Chiropractic. To book an appointment with him call 403-347-3261. 142 Erickson Dr. Red Deer. www.family1stchiro.ca

Genes

Genes and You: Risk of Social Isolation

Most people hear the word ‘genetics’ and their eyes immediately glaze over. There’s a faint memory from school of DNA, Punnett squares and Pedigree charts. Anyone?

We know that certain traits are genetic, which we just assume means they are inevitable. Whether that ranges from hair colour (natural hair colour of course), to hereditary diseases or even personality traits, people blame it on the genes.

However, it’s been recently investigated that, when it comes down to it, genes don’t make you who you are. Gene expression does. And gene expression varies depending on the life you live.
Within reason, the genes that you were born with are the genes you are stuck with. However, that doesn’t mean that all the cards are dealt. The effect that your environment has, influences gene expression.

“If you actually measure stress, using our best available instruments, it can’t hold a candle to social isolation. Social isolation is the best-established, most robust social or psychological risk factor for disease out there. Nothing can compete.”

 That meant that about one percent of the genome—a considerable portion—was responding differently depending on whether a person felt alone or connected.

We usually think of stress as being a risk factor for disease, and it is. If you actually measure stress however, it is not even comparable to social isolation. Social isolation is the best-established, most robust risk factor for disease there is.

This partially explains why people who work in high-stress but rewarding jobs, tend not to suffer ill effects, while others living in isolation and poverty end up accumulating stress-related diseases (hypertension, heart failure, obesity, diabetes).
“We sometimes conceive “social support” as a sort of add-on, something extra that might somehow fortify us. Yet this view assumes that humanity’s default state is solitude. It’s not. Our default state is connection. We are social creatures, and have been for eons”

So surround yourself with people in your life who support you and who provide a social network. Because according to the studies, it’s not genes or stress that will predict the future, it’s the relationships you foster!

Dr. Marlee is located at Family First Chiropractic, 403-347-3261. 142 Erickson Dr. www.family1stchiro.ca

References

http://www.psmag.com/health/the-social-life-of-genes-64616/

ADHD

What Is ADHD, and What Causes It?

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) involves a cluster of symptoms that include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsive behaviors. Often, children with the conditions may struggle in school and with relationships, and suffer from low self-esteem. The similar term attention deficit disorder (ADD) has largely been replaced with ADHD, as it describes two of the most common symptoms of the condition, inattention and hyperactive-impulsive behavior.

Most of the “symptoms” could describe virtually any child, or most children, at one time or another. As such, those who display these symptoms at school but not at home or with friends are not considered to have ADHD. Ditto for children who display symptoms at home but not at school. Only children who struggle with inattention and hyperactive or impulsive behaviors around the clock are deemed to have ADHD—although a 2010 study published in the Journal of Health Economics⁸determined that about 20 percent of children are likely to have been misdiagnosed.

The cause of ADHD remains elusive, and according to psychiatrist Leon Eisenberg, who was hailed as the “scientific father of ADHD,” the disorder is “a prime example of a fictitious disease.” Eisenberg made this confession in a 2012 interview with the German paper Der Spiegel, just seven months prior to his death at the age of 87.
Still, behavioral problems, just like emotional problems, do exist. The question is, why does it seem to affect so many these days?
Unfortunately, few are focusing on basic nutrition, which I believe is a key factor. We know that the food choices of most children and adults today are incredibly poor, and how can you possibly expect a child to have normal behavior if he is fed refined grains, sugars, and processed foods loaded with chemicals and largely devoid of natural nutrients? Four dietary factors of particular concern are:

·         Too much sugar

·        Gluten sensitivity

·         Too few beneficial bacteria

·         Omega-3 deficiency

Too Much Sugar and Gluten Can Trigger ADHD Symptoms
The number of children being harmed, perhaps for life, by unnecessary drugging is truly heartbreaking. Especially, when there are so many simple and safe, not to mention healthier, alternatives. Many are reluctant to adopt unproven strategies, but the great news is that many of these non-drug alternatives are indeed supported by science. The two most oft-cited dietary villains that can trigger ADHD symptoms are sugar and gluten. This automatically makes grains of all kinds a primary food to avoid, as most grains not only contain gluten, but also turn into sugar in your body. There is evidence suggesting that gluten sensitivity may be at the root of a number of neurological and psychiatric conditions, including ADHD, is quite compelling.

Behavioral Problems Are Closely Linked to Poor Gut Health
The gut-brain connection is well recognized as a basic tenet of physiology and medicine, and there’s a wealth of evidence showing gastrointestinal involvement in a variety of neurological diseases, not just ADHD. Your gut and your brain are actually created out of the same type of tissue. During fetal development, one part turns into your central nervous system while the other develops into your enteric nervous system. These two systems are connected via the vagus nerve, the tenth cranial nerve that runs from your brain stem down to your abdomen. So in a very real sense you have two brains, one inside your skull and one in your gut, and each needs its own vital nourishment.
Toxicity in your gut can flow throughout your body and into your brain, where it can cause symptoms of autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, depression, schizophrenia and other mental disorders.

Chiropractic care has been shown to help with ADHD and related disorders. Chiropractic can help calm and “over-excited” nervous system and help with the typical ADHD symptoms. If you have a loved one who is having any of these issues, please book an appointment with one of our doctors. We can help! We are located at 142 Erickson Dr, Red Deer, AB Family First Chiropractic. 403-347-3261. www.family1stchiro.ca

Neck Pain and Welding

Welding and Neck Pain

Musculoskeletal injuries, such as strains and sprains, can occur when a welder is welding in a sustained or awkward position with a heavy face shield. This can be further perpetuated when both a hard hat and a welding helmet are used in combination. In addition, by working long hours in a repetitive position, cumulative effects may occur in the neck that increases the risk of injury.

Welding helmets, worn for protection and weighing as much as 3 lb in some cases, place an additional load on the neck. Wearing a helmet down and standing in a common position for welding generates a lot of stress on the neck and upper back. A welder in this position may be generating more than 50 lb of internal force on his or her neck and back.

Guidelines For A Good Working Posture While Welding

• Learn to recognize symptoms of work-related musculoskeletal disorders or repetitive strain injuries. Make sure you take breaks and avoid staying in any sustained posture for too long.

•Avoid awkward body positions that cause fatigue, or reduce concentration. Position yourself in a stable, comfortable position.
• Always use your hand to lower your helmet. Do not use a "jerking" motion of your neck and head.
• Position the welding item as flat as possible, on a horizontal surface, between waist and elbow height. Try to position scaffolding at a comfortable height to allow working in a seated position.
• Always store materials and tools within normal reach.

To book an appointment with Dr Marlee, call us at 403-347-3261. Family First Chiropractic. 142 Erickson Dr. www.family1stchiro.ca

 Resources

1. Musculoskeletal injuries in Welders. Labour Department, Government of Canada.
2. American Welding Society. http://www.aws.org/wj/dec02/feature3.html
3. Malikraj, S., A.K. Ganguly, and T.S. Kumar. Productivity Improvement Potential Analysis Through Ergonomic Intervention in Arc Welding. 2010. Technology Today Quarterly Journal 2(4):34-44.