Getting Proper Rest...Another Key Element To Staying Healthy And Pain Free!

A few blog posts ago I talked about the 5 things you must do to improve and maintain your health. Here they are again: 1) Eat right 2) Exercise 3) manage their stress level 4) Get proper rest 5) maximize their nervous system potential by getting their spine checked.

Since I got on the subject of sleep in the last post, today I'm going to talk about number four on the list - Get Proper Rest.

Getting a good nights sleep is very important because your body actually does a lot of it’s healing during this time. There are thousands of cellular reactions taking place in your body every second that need to happen. Without rest your body starts breaking down – from the cellular level to the organ level to the tissue level. What this means in plain English is: everything in the body from your insides to your outsides will suffer.

Think about how you function when you need sleep. It becomes tough to concentrate, reflexes are slower, you may irritable. So if you noticeably are not functioning like you should be this will take it’s toll on the body.

Why do many people not get good rest or sleep. Often its their eating habits. It can be work. It can be because of back or neck pain or some other health issue. It could even be environmental factors.

Six to eight hours sleep for the majority seems to be the norm, and if you read the study I mentioned last post, closer to 7 hours is better. Do not eat preferably 3-4 hours before going to bed. I’m a big proponent of water but don’t drink it right before bed or you may find yourself waking up to go to the bathroom more. Try to avoid being on the computer immediately before bed. Also, let your body wind down at least 30 minutes before bed. This means, avoid exercise, working on the computer, and any stressful things right before bed.

Lastly, for optimum sleep, have a room that's very suitable for just that. Have a comfy setting, complete darkness, comfortable temperature, and preferabley no TV running!

And don't forget #5 on the list - Getting Your spine checked. A healthy, aligned spine will enable you to sleep more comfortably, without waking up during the night with back pain, neck pain, or tingling hands and feet, and without feeling stiff and fatigued the next morning.

If you or someone you know isn't getting adequate rest because of their back or neck problems -We may be able to help with Chiropractic or Spinal Decompression.
Call our office in Glastonbury as soon as possible at 633-8756.

Getting Your 8 hours of Sleep is the Key to Staying Way from the Common Cold

A new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine reveals that the Exposure to rhinovirus is more likely to lead to the development of a cold in people who have less than 7 hours' sleep each night compared to their better-rested counterparts.

Sheldon Cohen, Ph.D., of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and colleagues conducted a study of 153 healthy subjects, aged 21 to 55 years, who recorded their sleep habits for 14 days before they were quarantined and exposed to a rhinovirus. They were then observed for signs of a common cold.

Subjects who reported getting less than seven hours of sleep a night had a 2.94 times higher risk of developing a cold after exposure to rhinovirus compared with their counterparts who had at least eight hours' sleep, the investigators found. Those with less than 92 percent sleep efficiency were 5.5 times more likely to develop a cold than those with sleep efficiency of 98 percent or above, the researchers report.

"These relationships could not be explained by differences in pre-challenge virus-specific antibody titers, demographics, season of the year, body mass, socioeconomic status, psychological variables or health practices," the authors concluded. "The percentage of days feeling rested was not associated with colds."

Source Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(1):62-67. Sleep Habits and Susceptibility to the Common Cold- Sheldon Cohen, PhD; William J. Doyle, PhD; Cuneyt M. Alper, MD; Denise Janicki-Deverts, PhD; Ronald B. Turner, MD

As we weather the upcoming winter storms, we have to make sure to take care of bodies during this cold season. Exercising, getting enough sleep, and getting our spines adjusted is important in making sure that we are functioning at our optimal level. Visit CT Spine and Disc Center LLC in Glastonbury CT to get your spine checked.

Low Back Pain And Its Many Causes!!!

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common complaints presenting to our Glastonbury office and remains one of the most challenging conditions to manage because there are so many causes of LBP. Some of the causes include the obvious such as over lifting, over use activities such as sports injuries (bowling, golfing, skiing, tennis, football, etc.), raking leaves, shoveling snow, and more. Frequently, work related strains are the primary cause of LBP due to the constant, persistent and awkward positions frequently required in many jobs, especially in repetitive motion assembly line work.

The cause can also be as simple as standing on 2 feet versus 4 feet. Studies show when 2 legged and 4 legged animals are compared, arthritis starts in the 3rd vs. the 6th decade of life, respectively due to the vertical load placed on the biped or 2-legged animal. In spite of this, after sharing this information with patients, I have not been successful in convincing them to start walking on all fours! Because we are a 2-legged species, addressing a short leg can have significant benefits to any spinal condition. This is because a short leg of only 5mm (1/4 inch) can result in a drop in the pelvis resulting in crooked foundation that the spine sits on, creating a curvature in the spine. This places stress on the spinal components including the spinal cord and nerves and can contribute or be the actual cause of not only Lpw Back Pain, but also problems higher in the spine including neck pain and headaches!

Many times, a satisfying outcome is not achieved until I address the leg length issue by the use of heel or a combination of heel and sole lifts. If a leg is short, the effects at the top – that is, the neck and head, are dramatically affected. In one case, treatment to the neck and head had little effect on his headaches and only after placing a heel lift in one shoe and arch support in both shoes did he feel significantly improved.

In most cases, treatment addressing the entire body from the feet up yields the most satisfying results. Also, secondary issues such as diet, stress management, home treatments including exercises, can be very important in the successful management of back pain. In many patients, a combination of chiropractic, leg length correction, and nutritional management including the use of vitamin and herbs resulted in the best approach results.

Usually, offering the patient advice on the methods of applying ice, modifying/reducing bending/ lifting activities, as well as performing the chiropractic treatment will satisfy the majority of patients. However, in some cases, co-management with other allied health care providers is necessary, especially where there is a slow response in the initial acute stage of LBP. If these less common cases should occur, the combination of chiropractic and primary care yields the best results.

In our Central CT Clinic, we offer a multidimensional, holistic approach to the treatment of low back pain so that a positive, satisfying outcome is achieved. We also incorporate the latest, most up to date treatment methods such as Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression.

YOU MAYBE A CANDIDATE FOR DRUG FREE RELIEF!
FOR A FREE NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION CALL 633-8756

Heat vs Ice for Lower Back Pain Relief?

Hello everyone, Happy New Year 2009; Wishing everyone a wonderful healthy new year ahead !

Today I want to discuss one techinque for lower back pain relief that I often get asked about. Heat or ice for Lower Back Pain?

The good news is that they both can be good and they are all natural. So no side effects like medication.

To get the best results use ice when there is inflammation. This is often hot, red and feels tender. Areas are usually inflammed when they are initially injured or re-aggravated.

Heat works very well to loosen an area. So, couple of days after the initial injury when inflammation has disippated from using ice, use heat. For the ara to heal completely it may take weeks. With the use of heat to now keep the muscles loose and increase blood flow you can often get better much sooner.

Here's an example: If you watch football, you'll notice before the game most players are wearing extra clothing like sweats or sports pants and jackets. This keeps their backs, legs, and arms heated and warm. After the game often they're sore especially if they injured an area they'll have ice packs on thier back or knee, etc..This is because the area is often strained and inflammed.

The same holds true for someone with a back injury. Use ice to decrease the inflammation and back pain. If you continue to work or do physical activity you can heat your back to loosen the muscles before you begin your activity. The ice and hot packs we recommend patients are often shaped specially for certain parts of the back.



For example, if you are icing or heating your lower back, use a larger ice pack that is 10"x13", square in shape. For your neck area, use a 6" x 20" ice pack that is shaped with a special pouch area to cover your neck area. There is also a special ice pack for your neck and upper back, with dimensions of 9" x 16" trisectional ice/heat pack- it had two side flaps for your shoulders to better coverage. Just keep in mind tha this ice pack will be a little heavier than the cervical or lumbar ice pack.

To get rid of your low back pain once and for all look into this advanced new technology we use at our office called Spinal Decompression.

Dr. Matt Bellinger
CT Spine and Disc Center LLC

Photo Credits: Flickr Monstershaq2000

Addtional Resources:
Hot and Cold Therapy for Lower Back Pain Relief- Ice/Heat Packs for Pain Relief

Low Back Pain (…or is it?)

Have you ever had leg pain and immediately blamed your low back? Me too! Many patients (and unfortunately, many doctors) conclude this to be “sciatica” or a “pinched nerve.” When this diagnosis is wrong, it can lead to an inappropriate type of treatment, delaying appropriate care, or worse, it may result in death due to a missed diagnosis of a blood clot. There is currently a government campaign seeking to warn the public about this hard-to-diagnose 'silent killer.'



Here’s the news flash that was recently released (updated 8:28 a.m. CT, Mon., Sept. 15, 2008): “WASHINGTON - Far too many Americans are dying of dangerous blood clots that can masquerade as simple leg pain, says a major new government effort to get both patients and their doctors to recognize the emergency in time.”

"It's a silent killer. It's hard to diagnose," said acting Surgeon General Dr. Steven Galson, who announced the new campaign Monday. "I don't think most people understand that this is a serious medical problem or what can be done to prevent it."


Blood clots make headlines when seemingly healthy people collapse after prolonged sitting, such as long airplane flights or being in similarly cramped quarters. Vice President Cheney suffered one after a long trip last year. NBC correspondent David Bloom died of one in 2003 after spending days inside a tank while covering the Iraq invasion.

According to the Surgeon General’s new campaign, there are about 100,000 deaths associated with blood clots each year. Risk factors include increasing age (especially over 65), recent surgery or fracture, falls, car crashes, prolonged bed rest, smokers, obesity, pregnancy, and hormone replacement drugs including birth control pills. Other less controllable causes can include genetic conditions so it is important to tell your doctor if a relative has ever suffered a blood clot.

People with these factors should have "a very low threshold" for calling a doctor or even going to the emergency room if they have symptoms of a clot, said Galson, who issued a "call to action" for better education of both consumers and doctors, plus more research.

Symptoms include swelling; pain, especially in the calf; or a warm spot or red or discolored skin on the leg; shortness of breath or pain when breathing deeply. Unfortunately, studies suggest only a third of patients who need protective blood thinners for major surgery get them. And patients can even be turned away despite telltale symptoms, like what happened to Le Keisha Ruffin just weeks after the birth of her daughter, Caitlyn. In her case, after being turned down by several visits to the doctor and ER, only after a very hot bath did her leg swell to 3-4 times its normal size, tipping off the doctors to make the right diagnosis.

Don’t wait for your medical doctor or our office to make the diagnosis if you’re suspicious of a blood clot. Ask us if it’s a possibility. Rest assured that we have been properly trained to diagnose this condition and we work with other health care providers when needed.

YOU MAY BE A CANDIDATE FOR DRUG FREE RELIEF!
FOR A FREE NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION CALL 633-8756

Eating Right For Optimum Health

If you read the last blog post you learned there are 5 things you must do to achieve your best health and also maintain it: 1) Eat right 2) Exercise 3) manage their stress level 4) Get proper rest 5) maximize their nervous system potential by getting their spine checked.


Today we are going to expand on Eating Right...

Let’s clear up something right now, I’m not a big fan of any serious diet plans out there. Especially one’s that starve you and one’s that advertise still eating a dessert after every meal or a chocolate shake for breakfast. First, everything in moderation. It’s fine to drink a glass of soda once in a while, just not every night. Same goes for other sweets – make them a treat. Also, if you want a glass of wine with dinner at night that’s ok too, just don’t drink till you are hammered night after night. If you drink a cup of coffee every morning ok, just hold back when going for that 2nd, 3rd, and 4th or more cups; I know who you are. I also see some awfully big cups out there. There is actually some benefits of some of these things, in moderation of course. Second, if you actually believe a no-fat or low fat diet is good, get with the times. Use common sense with what you are eating. They chemically alter these foods to remove the fat or remove something else. And think about it, ever since this low fat diet fad started, people have only gotten fatter. The same goes for unnatural soy, that stuff is chemically engineered from the get go, just so humans can eat it.

Let’s go back to the basics. When we were put on this earth, what did we eat? Did we eat hostess snack cakes, or pilsberry rolls, or in other words all of these complex carbs and sugars – No. We ate fruits and vegetables and meats and all the other good stuff that comes from these plants and trees and animals - natural, unaltered foods, with normal ingredients.

There really is so much to go over on this one subject alone of eating right we will come back to it again soon. I want to stay on track and cover all 5 bases of how to achieve and maintain optimum health 1st.

So keep your eyes open for the next blog on how exercise is another component and why so many out there are just lost when it comes to what to do, when to do it, and how to get started!

...And remember we must do all of these things to stay healthy. Most importantly we have to keep our nervous system healthy because it runs the show! For the body to even absorb all the nutrients it needs, and for each body reaction that takes place, the nervous system needs to be at its best. Chiropractic treatment keeps that nervous system doing it's job. And now with DRX9000 spinal decompression we take natural treatments for the spine and chiropractic to the next level.

The 5 Things You Must Do To Stay Healthy!

There are 5 things one must do to achieve their best health. 1) Eat right 2) Exercise 3) manage their stress level 4) Get proper rest 5) maximize their nervous system potential by getting their spine checked.

With just one of these 5 things missing our health will not reach 100%. For example we can eat great, getting all the important nutrients but constantly live with severe emotional stress and be well below your maximum potential. Or one can have misalignments in his or her spine putting stress on our nervous system thereby not allowing all the parts of the body to use those nutrients in the 1st place.

Before We Can Achieve Anything (Being Healthy!), We Need To Know What That Something Is?.

The definition of health is mental, physical, social or spiritual well being, or normal function, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. In other words - Health is normal function of the body. Just like a plant cannot live without water (nutrients), sunlight, air, and the proper temperature. We cannot live without the proper environment – food (nutrients), water (nutrients), air (exercise replenishes and recycles oxygen), proper rest, and nerve supply.

So what can we do to maintain and improve these 5 things? Keep reading this blog, and next time that is what I will be going over.


If you can't wait and need help with your health NOW!, Call our office at 860-633-8756 or visit us on the web at www.ctbackdr.com.

The Common Answers To Solving Back Pain From a Herniated Or Bulging Disc...And Why They Almost Never Really Work!

Until recently, the only advice for many of you suffering with back pain was to try the following:

-Try Exercises
-Try Physical Therapy
-Try These Pain Medications
-Try Muscle Relaxers
-Try Pain Shots Or An Epidural
-Try Risky/Dangerous Back Surgery
-Try To Live With The Pain

If you're like most, none of these have actually worked for you or you are afraid of what could happen if you do try some of these.

Exercising or exercises at PT makes your pain worse. The muscle relaxers or pain meds just cover the problem up, give you side effects, and only give short term relief.

Pain shots are scary, made things worse, didn't work, didn't last, had side effects as well, and really did nothing to fix the cause of the problem.

Back surgery, if you had it, gave you one of the following outcomes: it made you worse, it din't work, or it actually did help but now your pain has returned worse than ever.

Now there's finally an answer to your low back pain that Does Work!

Whatever your situation, you owe it to yourself to check into this new breakthrough treatment, right here in the Hartford area of Connecticut.

My Doctor Told Me To Lose Weight...Then Come Back And See Him!

Definitely more weight added on to an already unstable or degenerated spine and discs doesn't help but it's rarely the actual cause of your back pain.

Most often, the patient's that are really hurting from back pain or leg pain can't exercise!

Since They Cannot Exercise It's Extremely Hard To Lose Weight!!

The DRX9000 Spinal Decompression machine is designed to handle someone who weighs up to 400lbs, and can treat anyone up to 6'10" tall. At CT Spine And Disc Center we have helped many of those patients that have gained a good deal of weight simply because they were in so much pain they couldn't be active anymore.

Once we got their backs better they were then able to work out, be more active, and therefore take off the pounds!

If your back or leg pain has caused you to stop being active and even gain weight,call the Chiropractors at CT Spine & Disc Center today. For pain relief - Call 633-8756 now!

I Have Osteoporosis Or Osteopenia Bone Deterioration...Can The DRX Or Chiropractic Treatment Still Help Me??

Most often the answer is YES!, it can still help. Most people at some point in their lives get bone and disc deterioration or breakdown. This is the same thing as arthritis or degeneration which will happen somewhat with age.


Some get more of a weakening of the bones called osteopenia. If that steadily gets worse and becomes what we call severe osteoporosis where the patient presents with stress fractures and collapsed vertebrae unfortunately they will not be a drx9000 candidate.

They may still be a candidate for another therapy in our office. Things like heat or ice therapy, gentle muscle work, Electric muscle stimulation therapy, or a specific chiropractic technique such as activator.
This is a very gentle type of chiropractic done with the "activator tool" vs the usual hand on approach.

However, to put things in perspective - out of the hundreds of patients we've had come in for drx9000 treatment , or the hundreds we've had for chiropractic treatments - only a few had severe osteoporosis where they could not get drx9000 spinal decompression, or hands on chiropractic. They did receive other therapies that helped as well as our special gentle chiropractic techniques that gave them relief.

Do not let your spine break down completely before you get into our office. The sooner we address your aches, pains, and health issues, the faster and easier they are to take care of.

The best thing to do if you are suffering back pain, neck pain, or extremity pain is call our office for an absolutely free consultation at 860-633-8756. There is no obligation to pursue any treatment if you are accepted by us as a patient.