chiropractic physician Archives

July 6, 2020July 6, 2020

Grow Your Cup

Pain has many components. Physical injury may be immediately obvious, but there are also social (being bullied or rejected at school or work) and psychological (depression, guilt) causes of pain. Therefore, to help understand how various contributors to pain can affect a person, the analogy of a cup may be useful. Then, using this analogy, we can begin to implement lifestyle changes designed to grow your cup. Also, please read this article by Dr. Lehman.

A picture of an overflowing cup — Pain results when the system cannot contain all the stressors affecting it. In other words, when the cup overflows, you feel pain. So to reduce or eliminate pain you can either reduce the harmful inputs causing your cup to overflow, or you can build a bigger cup.

So we recognize that pain is more complex than tissue damage. There are many people walking around today with damaged tissues and no pain. Think of the paper cut that doesn’t hurt until you notice it. Likewise, there are many people in great physical pain with no apparent tissue damage or history of physical trauma. If you need a health care professional to help guide you to feeling better or getting out of pain, hopefully they recognize pain is multifaceted.

Which Road to Travel? Probably Both

Armed with this information, there are two routes to travel if you are looking to reduce pain. First, you can limit the amount of negative input causing your cup to overflow. These negative stimuli can take the form of:

Stress
Tissue damage
Poor sleep
Anxiety
Bad habits

Secondly, you can build yourself a bigger cup. This is accomplished in several ways, such as:

Having fun / play
Fulfilling activities
Positive social interactions
Exercise
Better nutrition
Better sleep quality

In my opinion, both reducing negative inputs into the system AND building a bigger cup are important. Each person’s experience will dictate how much energy they should apply to each side of this model. But, if I had to choose one versus the other, I’d take building a bigger cup every time. Here’s why.

You will never be able to completely eliminate stress, toxicity in all environments or relationships, sleep disturbances, physical harm, eating an inflammatory diet, etc. Reducing and moderating all of these are important, but there is also no growth without stress. Arguing with your relatives may be stressful, but would cutting that stress out of your life also eliminate beneficial aspects of your relationship? It’s probably a better solution to keep the relationship intact but build strategies to deal with the stress of those topics of conversation that you anticipate will set you off.

Build Yourself a Bigger Cup

So, in my opinion, humans are adaptable, robust, highly resilient beings. We should be able to function and adapt to our surroundings and overcome challenges. It seems to me a more winning path forward is to adopt strategies to deal with stress effectively than to try and avoid stress at every turn. To get stronger, instead of avoid any task that requires strength. Exercise enough that a few days of poor eating doesn’t completely derail you. Because, at some point life is going to challenge you, and a bigger cup can hold more without spilling over.

photo of Dr. Erik Reich with his son on his shoulders — Dr. Reich, Meriden chiropractor, and his son.

About the Author:

Dr. Erik Reich is a chiropractor in Meriden, CT. He practices at Omni Physical & Aquatic Therapy Center, Inc. located at 303 South Broad Street. He treats all types of patients including weekend warriors, seniors, high school athletes, victims of trauma such as auto accidents, physical laborers and desk workers. Dr. Reich treats patients Monday through Friday and can be found spending time with his wife and son, and their Boston terrier when not in the office.

March 31, 2020March 31, 2020

3 Tips For Exercise During Coronavirus In Meriden

Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is spreading throughout the world. The United States, and especially the New York Metro Area, is currently a hotbed of infection. People are urged to stay home. Physical distancing from others, and avoid going out except for essential activities, is the rule.

Health professionals know that the most effective measures in combating the spread of the virus are robust hygiene practices. Hand washing, limiting physical contact with others, refraining from touching your face, and other health promoting activities are key. Then, one must consider the role of exercise. Physical activity is important in the overall picture of protecting yourself from infection.

A photo of the coronavirus on a blog post from Dr. Erik Reich about exercise during coronavirus pandemic. — Exercise during the coronavirus pandemic can be challenging. Dr. Erik Reich, Meriden chiropractor, offers some advice on staying active in these difficult times.

Exercise has been shown to help regulate the immune system. Regular physical activity can therefore improve your body’s defense to infection. Exercising during the coronavirus pandemic presents unique obstacles. Gyms are closed. Physical distancing guidelines take certain sporting activities off the table. So, in this blog I will offer three suggestions to maintain a physical activity program while adhering to physical distancing and other hygienic protocols.

Something is Better than Nothing

First, don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Just because you can’t go to the gym or play basketball with your friends right now doesn’t mean you can’t exercise. If you like to lift heavy weights, now is a great time to focus on your form. Also, attention to intensity at home with lighter reps and more intention yields benefits. You won’t lose strength as quickly as you may be fearing. Maintaining muscle mass doesn’t require the progressive overload that gaining muscle requires. So as long as you’re lifting, pushing, pulling, squatting, hinging, etc. some weight, don’t lose sleep that you may not have access to the loads you are used to moving.

Likewise, while you may not be able to enjoy the team aspect of certain sports, skills can be sharpened and drills can be performed at home for many sports. Take this time to improve or hone your dribbling, feinting, shooting at a target, or other skills. Video yourself and watch it back and look for areas to improve, or share with teammates and ask for feedback on technique. Exercise during coronavirus can have a social aspect if you use the apps and social media that is now available to many of us.

Time for Fresh Air

Studies show, spending time outdoors improves markers for good health. Fewer strokes, less respiratory disease, hypertension, and other conditions are all improved with greater exposure to nature. Furthermore, it is a great way to get some exercise during coronavirus threat, while maintaining physical distance from others.

So despite playgrounds, swimming pools, and gyms being closed, green spaces are accessible and largely remain open to the public. So take a walk on a trail, go for a hike in the woods, walk on the beach, ride your bike, and aim for 150 minutes a week of physical activity as recommended by the CDC and in the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2^nd edition. We are all taking advice from the CDC seriously right now, so we might as well adhere to their advice on exercise.

Get Creative with Exercise During Coronavirus

Now is a great time to get creative with your exercise during coronavirus. While being untethered from your usual routine may be stressful, it can also be fun to experiment. If you like lifting weights now is a good time to find some unusual items around the house to push, pull, carry, and squat. Not everything in life is barbell shaped, and in fact most of what life throws at you is not gym equipment.

Therefore, find the benefits in using unconventional loads in your lifts. You will work accessory muscles, balance, coordination, and sometimes it’s just fun to lift weird heavy objects. Think of how popular tire flipping has become at some gyms. Water jugs, a 50 pound bag of sand in the garage, pull ups off the kid’s swing set…use your imagination and lots of everyday items can become gym equipment.

photo of Dr. Erik Reich with his son on his shoulders on a blog about exercise during coronavirus — Dr. Erik Reich, Meriden chiropractor, and his son.

Dr. Erik Reich is a chiropractor in Meriden, CT. He practices at Omni Physical & Aquatic Therapy Center, Inc. located at 303 South Broad Street. Where he treats all types of patients from high school athletes, seniors, victims of trauma such as auto accidents, and desk workers. Spending time with his wife and son, and their Boston terrier, is something Dr. Reich also enjoys.

March 9, 2020March 9, 2020

3 Easy Tips To Fight Coronavirus in Meriden, CT

If you turn on the news this week you will no doubt be bombarded with talk of the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). This can be scary. You may be stressed and uncertain of what steps you can take immediately to avoid contracting this virus and to limit the spread of coronavirus and other viruses such as the flu. So let’s begin with some advice on how to fight coronavirus in Meriden, CT.

A picture of hands being washed in a blog post about coronavirus in Meriden, CT — Wash your hands multiple times each day with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and don’t touch your face without clean hands.

First, the basics. Wash your hands with soap frequently throughout the day, and spend at least 20 seconds doing so. Second, disinfect surfaces which you commonly come into contact, especially if these objects touch your hands or face, using a disinfecting spray or wipes. Third, avoid touching your face, eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

4 More Not So Obvious Tips

Don’t try to be a hero by going to work or school if you are sick. Your coworkers, commuters, and fellow students will not appreciate your dedication. Also, it is just a bad idea during a viral outbreak.

Also, if you have relatives or friends who are elderly, have weakened immune systems, or other serious health conditions, do not visit them if you are sick or have been around others who have been taken ill recently.

Furthermore, eat healthful meals. As we are still in the middle of flu season, and now with COVID-19 spreading at almost pandemic levels, take extra steps to boost your own immune system.

Begin with eating healthy sources of fats, protein, and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption. Much of the immune response begins in the gut, so keep those good bugs happy! Don’t smoke. Smokers have weaker immune systems in general and take longer to heal as well. You can’t control everything around you such as people coughing next to you, but you can control what you put into your body.

Next, and this is a harder one due to societal norms around greeting, but do not shake hands or hug people when meeting them. A simple wave or nod of the head is adequate and important to fight the spread of coronavirus in Meriden, and the flu virus as well.

About the Author:

Dr. Erik Reich is a chiropractor in Meriden, CT. He practices at Omni Physical & Aquatic Therapy Center, Inc. located at 303 South Broad Street. Where he treats all types of patients from high school athletes, seniors, victims of trauma such as auto accidents, laborers, and desk jockeys. Spending time with his wife and son, and their Boston terrier, is something Dr. Reich also enjoys.

December 9, 2019December 9, 2019

Why is Smoking Bad for Healing After Disc Injury?

If you want to get better faster and with less pain after a disc injury, don’t smoke.

Picture of an anatomical model of a lumbar disc herniation on the website of Meriden CT chiropractor Dr. Erik Reich — Scientific studies routinely demonstrate that smokers have more pain, decreased healing ability, and longer recuperation times”, states Dr. Erik Reich, a chiropractor in Meriden, CT.

It’s no surprise that smoking is bad for you. If you are a smoker, you’ve most likely been told by friends, family members, and your doctor to quit the habit already a million times. However, as a chiropractor, let me be perhaps the first to state it this way: smoking is terrible for your health after a disc injury.

In this study by Tsarouhas A et al. the authors state, ” Smoking habits were found to have a negative dose-dependent effect on the transcript levels of MMP-3 and MMP-13 and a positive correlation with pain intensity, suggesting an unfavorable role for smoking in the regression process of herniated disc fragments. “

In other words, smokers take longer to heal after a disc injury. Smokers also experience more pain with disc injury than non-smokers. Anyone who has had a cervical or lumbar disc herniation can tell you, they can be extremely painful and debilitating. Therefore, you should give yourself every advantage when you are trying to heal after such an injury to your spine. If you are a smoker, be aware that continuing to smoke during the healing process has been demonstrated to slow recovery, increase pain intensity, and result in poor outcomes. So stop smoking for disc health!

In sharing this study and the information in it, it is my hope that if you are a smoker experiencing back pain, but especially back pain due to trauma or disc injury, you seriously consider quitting immediately. I know you’ve heard it before about the negative health consequences of smoking cigarettes, but this study makes the connection between smoking and back pain in a way most people are still unaware.

Graphs of MMP levels from a study on disc herniations and the effects of smoking on the website of Meriden, CT chiropractor Dr. Erik Reich — Significantly lower MMP-3 (c) and MMP-13 (d) mRNA levels were observed in discs removed from patients smoking more than 20 cigarettes per day compared to non-smoking patients

I have no doubt that studies coming out in the future will build on the negative relationship between smoking and back pain, but in the meantime if you want my clinical advice: stop smoking for disc health now to improve your outcomes from suffering a spine related injury. Of course this is in addition to eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly, and if you need help doing that call (203)2350171 today.