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Weinstein Chiropractic & Wellness Center is a chiropractic office serving Fairfield, CT. Click here to learn more about how often you should get chiropractic adjustments!

Almost everyone has had a headache. Headache is the most common form of pain. It's a major reason people miss days at work or school or visit the doctor. Headache is third only to back and neck pain for absenteeism.

The most common type of headache is a tension headache. Tension headaches are due to tight muscles in your shoulders, neck, scalp and jaw. They are often related to stress, depression or anxiety. You are more likely to get tension headaches if you work too much, don't get enough sleep, miss meals, or use alcohol.

Other common types of headaches include  migraines , cluster headaches, and sinus headaches. Most people can feel much better by making lifestyle changes, learning ways to relax and becoming proactive in preventing them.

 

The most common treatments for headaches include Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) but these do not come without risks:

 

"Acetaminophen overdose is one of the most common poisonings worldwide," according to the National Institutes of Health. Taking too much of this pain reliever can lead to liver failure or death.

So what are some other options other than potentially harmful medications?

Research shows that spinal manipulation – one of the primary treatments provided by doctors of chiropractic – may be an effective treatment option for tension headaches and headaches that originate in the neck. A 2014 report in the   Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT)   found that interventions commonly used in chiropractic care improved outcomes for the treatment of acute and chronic neck pain and increased benefit was shown in several instances where a multimodal approach to neck pain had been used.

Chiropractors gentle re-align the cervical spine allowing the pressure causing the headache to be alleviated. Additionally, Chiropractors may recommend certain exercises, nutritional supplements and dietary changes to help prevent future headaches.

Ginger is one of the most effective and purposeful spices on the planet. There are so many benefits that can help improve health. Whether it’s adding it to a recipe or used as an oil/juice, consuming ginger can be the first step to a healthier life. This spice is packed with nutrients, including gingerol, a natural oil that is ultimately responsible for giving ginger the medicinal properties that provide such wonderful benefits.

Some of the most well-known benefits of ginger is its role in helping nausea, morning sickness, stomach ache as well as inflammation.

 A study done by ScienceDirect tested patients who suffered from osteoarthritis. The study revealed joint pain was decreased after taking small amounts of ginger daily.

Another study involved Cholesterol. High cholesterol can increase risk of heart disease. The study, in the Annals of Natural Medicine, determined that LDL (bad cholesterol) may be reduced by consuming 3-4 grams of ginger on a daily basis.

Other benefits seen with daily usage of ginger include decreasing blood sugar, preventing cancer and decreasing risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Whether it’s ginger tea or adding some ginger juice to a smoothie, adding more ginger to your daily lives could have incredible effects on your health, both now, and in the future.

Vitamin D, one of the most important nutrients on Earth, has an incredibly important role in helping the immune system. By increase your Vitamin D intake, your risk of colds and the flu can be reduced. Vitamin D works on activating certain enzymes in the body that help white blood cells, which are ultimately responsible for keeping our immune system strong.

According to Harvard University, studies have shown thta vitamin can reduce the growth of cancer cells, keep infections in control, and help keep inflammation down. By ingesting Vitamin D, the body can help keep your calcium levels high as well. All of these benefits combined work together to keep your immune system strong and fight away infections and sicknesses.

Low levels of Vitamin D are often associated with infections, autoimmune diseases, and frequent sicknesses, so it's clear this nutrient could help out your immune system!

Chiropractic care is based on removing misalignments of the spine allowing the body to heal and protect. By maintaining a properly aligned spine, the nervous system is able to perform at its optimum level, an d thus helping your immune system to function properly.

In the age of COVID-19, keeping your immune system strong is more important than ever. And there are many ways to help increase your intake. You could spend more time in the sunlight, take supplements, or consume more foods that have Vitamin D in them.

There are many ways you can help your immune system, and taking more Vitamin D could be the first step to a more healthy lifestyle!

To my Fairfield friends, neighbors and patients, I would like to thank you for your continued support and commitment to our office. My goal has always been to provide the highest quality chiropractic care in the warmest and most healing environment. You have all helped me to accomplish this goal. I will continue to commit and work harder to make next year even better. 

I am honored and humbled by this award and am so proud and blessed to be part of this wonderful Fairfield community. 

Cheers to all of you and Thank you!

Do you love that first cup of coffee in the morning? Well you're not alone. The number of Americans who drink a cup of coffee daily is the highest it's been in six years. According to Reuters, a study commissioned by the National Coffee Association surveyed 3,000 Americans about their coffee drinking habits. The survey found that 64 percent of Americans drink a cup of coffee every day , up from 62 percent in 2017, and the highest percentage since 2012. The majority of Americans drink coffee—around 83 percent—and did you know the average American spends $1,110 on coffee annually? From a health perspective, according to scientists at the Mayo Clinic, consumption of up to 400 mg of caffeine is safe (not necessarily healthy) for most adults. That's roughly the amount of caffeine in four cups of brewed coffee, 10 cans of cola, or two "energy shot" drinks.

Headache is the second most common reason for a visit to the Chiropractor. Approximately 70% of men and 80% of women get headaches in one form or another. One of the most debilitating forms of headache is known as Migraines. Typically, these are severe headaches, characterized by throbbing of one side of the head, nausea and vomiting, sleep disturbances and in some cases, visual disturbances.

 

The traditional forms of treatment for migraines are NSAIDS, ibuprofen, Motrin and drugs usually prescribed as anti-depressants. And as Maria had mentioned, most of the time these drugs were ineffective and did nothing to address the cause of the problem, but attempt to mask the symptoms.

 

A recent clinical trial of migraine sufferers demonstrated that in 72% of the people involved experienced either “substantial” or “noticeable” improvement after a period of receiving chiropractic care.

 

As a Chiropractor, my primary objective is to address the cause of the problem.

There are seven vertebrae in your neck which is composes the cervical spine. When a vertebra in your cervical spine misaligns, this can create pressure on a nerve. This pressure is known as a “subluxation” The misalignment or subluxation can be caused by many events. The most common causes are from a traumatic event (slip and fall, motor vehicle accident), but can also be caused by stress, improper nutrition or repetitive motion.

 

Ultimately then, it is this “subluxation” or nerve interference that may be causing your migraine headache. The job of the Chiropractor is to detect this nerve interference and remove it.  By eliminating this interference the cause of the problem is removed. Without drugs, without nasty side effects. This gives the body’s natural recuperative ability the opportunity to heal. The Chiropractic “adjustment” is simple, safe and effective.

When thinking about being healthy, what’s the FIRST thing most people think about? It’s food and exercise, right? Not to say that those aren’t important, but if you’re NOT thinking about your spine you’re missing out on the foundational piece of building good health.

So how exactly can we promote good spinal health? Here are 3 things to remember that will help.

3 Tips For Building A Healthy Spine

#1 Pay Attention To Posture
Something that’s easy to overlook is how we’re sitting every single day. It’s a safe bet to say that most of us work sitting down behind a desk, or at least sitting down somewhere (shout out to the lucky few who get to work from the couch). Did you know that the average American spends 11 hours sitting per day? No wonder they say sitting is the new smoking! It’s easy for the spine and our posture to suffer when we’re not paying attention. Avoiding this sedentary type of lifestyle without physical exercise and activity will make a HUGE impact on your health.

Quick Tip:  Set an alarm for every 30 minutes to an hour to get up and walk around. Your spine and your back will thank you.

#2 Stretch it Out
Stretching is an underrated exercise that ANYONE can do from ANYWHERE. You don’t have to go see a doctor or a chiropractor to take full advantage of this useful activity. Specific exercises can strengthen your core and muscles around your spine, supporting excellent spinal health. There are specific exercises you can do for lower back pain, sciatica, herniated discs, and even scoliosis. Building these muscles up around the spine is extremely important and will help with long-term health.

Quick Tip:  You can do a quick search online for easy at-home stretches for specific lower back pain or core building exercises, or reach out to our team here and we’d love to help you out!

#3 Visit Your Local Chiropractor
Chiropractors are the experts when it comes to spinal structure and musculoskeletal structure, so this makes perfect sense. We get that some people have some apprehension when it comes to even hearing the word “chiropractor”, hey we get it. Let us ease your mind for a second though. We know that people have legitimate fears and questions about doctors and their treatments, but fear is the result of the unknown. We are in the business of helping people get pain relief from a variety of health conditions and this starts with simple, effective spinal adjustments. Removing interference within the spine is how we target the root cause of problems not just treat your symptoms. A healthy spine will create a healthy body and life and getting treated by a chiropractor will be the best decision you can make for yourself.

Quick Tip:  The easiest way to get past any fear or skepticism is simply call and make an appointment. Experience for yourself how powerful this non-opioid and non-surgical treatment really is.

We’re pros when it comes to musculoskeletal health, so trust us when we say the spine is a big freaking deal. It has 24 vertebrae plus discs that act as shock absorbers, oh and it’s the super highway of communication for the entire nervous system, so yeah kind of important. And if there’s anything we know, traffic jams on major highways cause major delays, headaches, and a flat-out bad mood for the rest of the day. Translate this into traffic jams and interference of the nervous system and you’ve got the breakdown of systems and processes of the body plus pain and symptoms popping up all over the place. Not ideal.

Can we take it a step further? When these traffic jams don’t get fixed, the problems only get worse, building up on top of each other creating bigger complications on down the line. We’re talking stuff like high blood pressure, diabetes, sciatica, neuropathy, even cancer. Come on, where did you think sickness and disease came from?

Give our team a call and let’s start building a healthier life starting with your spine!

Sarah was 10 years old and still wetting the bed. When her little sister was able to ditch the pull ups before her, Sarah was distraught. Her parents tried everything and anything. Her pediatrician’s advice was that Sarah would just eventually outgrow it. In fact, many pediatricians don’t consider bedwetting a problem until a child is 7 years old, but most kids are capable of staying dry all night long much earlier than that. She was already missing out on sleep overs and overnight camp and it was beginning to really have an effect on her self-esteem. Her mom knew she had to try something!

Whether your child is younger than 7 or well beyond that age, bedwetting is no fun for anyone involved. The medical term for bedwetting, nocturnal enuresis, includes both children who have wet the bed since birth and those who have gained bladder control and then seemingly lose it again at nighttime.

Sarah’s mom had a friend that suggested she give chiropractic care a try. She was thinking, “chiropractic for bed-wetting?? My daughter doesn’t have any back pain.” – Absolutely consider chiropractic! There is a nerve called the phrenic nerve which plays a role in the phrenic reflex. This nerve exits the spine between the third, fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae. Chiropractic adjustments can focus on the vertebrae that affect the bladder and can help to improve function of the nervous system by relieving the subluxations that impede on proper communication and function.

In fact, results from a study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (Elsevier Inc., 2005) found that one quarter of the 171 children in the study treated with chiropractic had a 50% reduction of wet nights.

Unfortunately, there is really no way to tell if a child is simply slow in the development of the phrenic reflex, or if a subluxation is the direct cause of the problem. Chiropractic examination can help pinpoint spinal problems, but the only real way to see if chiropractic care will help Nocturnal Enuresis is to actually try it. A series of chiropractic adjustments will generally determine whether or not chiropractic care will be of help. Sarah’s parents tried all traditional methods and decided to give it a try. She was seen twice a week for about a month. They noticed a significant reduction in frequency in incidents until eventually things stopped all together.

When Sarah had made it an entire week without wetting the bed, she was elated. She and her mom went out and got a cute new pajama set and invited kids over for her very first sleep over!