CONCUSSION FATIGUE: "Why am I so tired".....

10 Minute (or more) Total Body Workout

This workout is best used on days you are short on time.  After all, a quick workout is better than no workout!   How it works: This workout is based on the idea the intensity is more important than duration.  Below you will see two sets of seven exercises.  Chose one set to do each day.  The key to remember with more intense, shorter workouts is to really push yourself!  So do these with a workout buddy and compete, or count reps and try to beat your last record each time. Do each exercise for 20-30 seconds. Rest for 10 seconds, and then start the next exercise. Continue doing the circuit of 20-30 seconds of exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest, until you've done all seven exercises.  This completes one circuit.  After you complete one full circuit rest for 60 seconds and begin a second, or third, or fourth round.  So, this way you can customize the workout duration to suit your needs.   Circuit #1 Body-weight chair squat: Stand with your hands behind your head. Sit back at the hips and bend your knees to squat down.  Squeeze your glutes and push back up. Plank pose: Place your forearms on the floor (shoulder-width apart) and straighten your legs behind you so your feet line up with each other. Lift your hips and torso off the floor. Focus your eyes on the floor beneath you so your head is in neutral alignment with your spine. Back extension: Lying on your stomach with your arms at your sides (with palms up), inhale and lift your head and torso up off the floor into a back bend.  Your feet may stay down, but for more intensity, lift them as well.  Go as high up as you can.  Hold the up pose for a moment; then, as you exhale, lower yourself back down. Jumping Jacks. Forward lunge with band pushes: Take a large step forward with one leg and push both arms straight out in front of you.  When your front thigh is parallel to the floor, hold for 2-5 seconds and return.  Repeat with your other leg and arms. Dumbbell or band biceps curl to an overhead press: Stand holding a pair of dumbbells with an underhand grip (palms facing forward) at arm's length next to your thighs. Without moving your shoulders forward, move your arms slightly back behind you. Curl the weights up to your shoulders, then rotate your arms as you press the weights overhead so that your palms face forward at the top of the move. Pause for 2 seconds and then return to starting position. Lying Swiss-ball triceps extension: Grab a pair of dumbbells and lie face-down with your chest on a Swiss ball with your arms bent 90 degrees. Keeping your elbows and upper arms stationary, straighten your arms. Pause for a count of two, then slowly return to starting position. Circuit #2 Squat with alternating arm pull: Stand with exercise bands with handles in your hands attached to a low point. Sit back at the hips and bend your knees to squat down. Squeeze your glutes and push back up. Once up, pull the bands into a row. Step ups: Stand facing a step or bench or sturdy chair. Place one foot on the bench and push down through your heel to lift your other leg up to the step and drive the knee up. Return to the starting position and finish the reps with one leg before switching legs and repeating the exercise with the other leg. T push-up: With hands placed shoulder-width apart on the floor, do a push-up. When your arms are straight, lift your right hand and rotate to the right so you raise your right arm straight up over your shoulder and your body forms a "T." Bring the arm back to the floor. Do another push-up and alternate arms. Mountain climbers: Get in a push-up position, but with your feet staggered on two good-sized hand towels. Make sure you are on a surface that will allow the towels to move back and forth under your feet. Move feet back and forth (bring one knee in toward your body, then the other) as fast as you can under control. Swimmer's lat pull: Use an anchored exercise band. With feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent, lean over at the hip - don't roll your back - until your upper body is almost parallel with the floor. Extend your arms in front of you as you grip the band handles. Draw your arms down and extend them in back of you until they are at hip level. Then reverse the motion and repeat. Backward lunge: Stand with your feet together, facing and holding exercise bands with handles in each hand. Move your left foot backward and pull the handles into a row with elbows at your side. Keeping your head and chest up, bend both knees to lower your body. Return to the starting position. Alternate legs so you work both sides of the body. Single-leg Romanian deadlift: Stand on one foot. Keeping the arch in your spine, push your hips back and lower your hands. Press your heel into the floor to return to standing. Do equal amounts on both legs.   Source: Tucker, Jeffrey. To Your Health. October 2009.

Back to School Worries? Check out all the ways we can help!

At Smith Family Chiropractic, we realize back to school time can be stressful for parents and children!  We would like you to know we can help in many ways as you make this transition.  Check out some of the services we offer for children that you maybe weren't aware of.


Neurological support for reading, learning, and attention
Our doctors specialize in functional neurology.  With their specialized training our doctors will complete, quite arguably, one of the most thorough exams your child has ever had.  Then, we will test them with our cutting edge diagnostic technology.  With the information obtained from these exams our doctors are able to assess which part of the brain is not working correctly, or where the brain is not communicating optimally.  They will then prescribe a specific rehabilitation program that forces the brain to repair/rebuild that part of the brain.

High quality nutritional support for health and brain function
It's true, our children do not eat as well as they should.  It's also true that the nutrients we give them make a big difference.  At Smith Family Chiropractic, we offer only the best in quality and the support you need to go along with it.  We carry items for general health, gut/digestion health, immune support, and brain health.  Stop in and ask our staff today what is best for your child to help them succeed in school.

Chiropractic support for injuries and wellness
We often underestimate the benefit of consistent chiropractic care for our children.  With all of their activity they take multiple falls, which often causes misalignment.  Rather than having your children just get 'used to' feeling this way, bring them in to see us for repair.  We guarantee you will be pleasantly surprised with the thorough care they get at each visit.

Performance enhancement for athletes
With our doctors' training in functional neurology and the specialized testing equipment we have, we are able to identify inefficiencies in athletes' brains.  For instance, maybe there is one corner of the net that your hockey player can never quite hit as efficiently as the other corners, no matter how much he/she practices.  Or maybe, they just can never quite make that shot in the hoop from one side of the court.  With our methods, we may help you see it is not due to lack of practice, but instead a brain inefficiency that can be corrected.

Sports physicals
These types of physicals often seem like one more nuisance to prepare for school.  However, at Smith Family Chiropractic, our doctors will make this worth your while.  They will thoroughly examine your student to be sure they are ready to play.  Give us a try, we promise you will be surprised!

Nutrition counseling for children and families
Now that we are in the season of more routine, often our meal times are re considered.  We can help you and your family as little or as much as you'd like.  Sometimes patients come to us with a disease process in place that they'd like to manage with nutrition, and other times, they just want to improve function and health with nutrition.  Whatever your case is, we can help!

Concussion care and rehabilitation
After our doctors completed their post graduate studies in Functional Neurology, they spent three more years in more post graduate studies specific to Concussion Care with Functional Neurology.  So, if you suspect your child has had any type of head injury, even if you are not sure how severe, we can help.  Our doctors will perform a thorough exam and do extensive testing, then offer a rehabilitation program specific to your child.  See us today, if your child has had an injury!

We'd love to help you and yours make this school season wonderful!

Garden, Harvest, Prepare.  Why Not?

At our house we work hard to grow what we eat, and prepare what we eat!  So, last week I went to the backyard to gather most of our food for the evening from our garden.  I was yet again amazed at the nutritious food the earth can produce.  Then, I diligently set about washing the items harvested and began to prepare them.  As I was preparing these items, it gave me great fulfillment to watch a nutritious meal come together, all the way from seed to plate.

During this process I thought, why not?  Why not prepare a meal that is nutritious, pleasing to the eye, and worthy of smell-o-vision?  Why not reduce the quantity and focus on the quality?  Why not, focus on nutrition, instead of filler?  Why not, entice your God-given senses instead of just fill the gut with garbage?

So, is it work to garden, harvest food, and prepare meals?  You bet!  But when you experience all the benefits of eating this way and the fulfillment that comes from this labor, you will become addicted too.

This is what gardeners do.  They don't do it because its their hobby they do it because it's their life!  Because at the end of the day, Food Matters!  So why not find your fulfillment in the meal you prepare and the food you eat?

Is Your Food Dead or Alive?

Do you find yourself getting frustrated when you throw food away because it has gone bad?  Although you may be frustrated and feel like you have created waste, you should also feel reassured to know that you have food that actually spoils.  We will call this alive food.  If you leave food out on the counter and it never goes bad, we will call that dead food.

Alive food grows in the dirt, or on trees, or at one time ate grass and walked on legs or swam in water.  Dead foods on the other hand, "is a series of synthetically derived ingredients that are mixed together into something that tastes okay, has a long shelf life and actually does more harm than good to our health" (Raupp).

Over the pas few decades, these dead foods have become the staple of many American's diets.  "As such, we have seen an incredible rise in modern diseases like diabetes, obesity, autoimmune diseases, infertility, cancer, and more" (Raupp).  These two events are more than mere coincidence.

So make a decision to eat living foods, foods that actually decompose.  Although this may seem like a daunting task, start small.  Make a goal to have one meal every day contain only living foods.  As you attain that goal add another meal or snack to the living foods category.

Also, take advantage of this time of year.  It's harvest season, so use your garden or find a local CSA that allows you to harvest their crops and fill your freezer with living foods for the winter.

Finally, contact us at Smith Family Chiropractic, and we will help you earn optimum health with a healthy lifestyle.  We offer coaching and a customized plan to help you eat living food and feel your best!

Source: Raupp, Aimee. To Your Health. Vol. 06, Issue 08.

Overweight and Obese Children...Why Are We Ignoring this Issue?

Follow Maya Smith on her quest for better health!

In a recent article in the Washington Post, we are reminded that "for the first time in history, American children could have a shorter life span than their parents.  The cause: obesity." (1)  We often ignore this issue thinking they will grow out of it or we don't want to offend anyone.  However, these habits they are learning at a young age have a direct influence on their health later.  If we don't want our children to suffer later in life, we need to teach them now!

So, what pushed me to focus on my daughter?  Wise old advice from my observant and direct mother. 

In a letter that I received shortly after a visit to her home in Canada, she writes: 

Ala, you and Kelly do a very good job taking care of "yourselves" and you do not eat much and you exercise a lot.  Why is it that your rules are not the same for Maya?  She has a belly that is too big for a girl of 8 years of age.  She looks like she is 11 or 12, but she is not!

Do you want her to get obese?  Why aren't you paying attention? 

I suggest that you stop plating Maya's food and instead watchfully have her do it.  If she puts too much on her plate, stop her from that and tell her less is better.  Explain how much a little girl should eat and give her a comparison of the size of her plate to the size of your plate. They should not be the same, for you are not the same size. You will see that she will only put on her plate, what her eyes see. Don't force her to eat all of it if she is full.  If she is eating too fast and not paying attention, stop her and remind her to slow down to realize if she is full. 

Have her become more responsible and grow into a mature young lady who has control of her body. She should only eat when she is hungry.  You never give her a chance to get hungry. You push food on her as if she may starve.  Nobody Ala, in America, is starving, especially Maya. 

Think about what you are doing and take some time to fix this big problem now. Have her pack her school lunch and you will see that she will make better choices than you will and she will control the portion size too. 

She is such a beautiful girl, but by having her eat too much, you will change that beauty and along with it her confidence. 

Please don't be offended by my suggestions, I am old (86) and have lived a long time and have only experience to share.  I am much better at observation than executing my advice.  If I was younger, I would work harder to also be healthier and reduce how much I eat too.  

What a great push to start that which has haunted me in my parenting of my own daughter. 

My mom sent me an old proverb that writes:  "Keep your head cool, stomach empty/starved and your feet warm and dry and you will live long on this earth. "

I will cherish this motherly advice for the rest of my life and those of you struggling with ill health, or ill health of your children read this post and re-read until you too have made a decision to overcome your shortcomings. 

I look forward to Maya's transformation and together, Kelly and I will do this transformation with her.  Follow Maya on her journey for better health, and challenge your kids to do the same.

If you would like more specific advice, help, or support for you or your child as you work toward health, please call us today for a consult, we would be delighted to help you with your family's journey toward optimum health.

Maya's Health Goals:

Exercise daily

Plate her own food

Pack her own lunch

Weigh herself daily

Reduce/eliminate processed foods and candy

Lose 5 lbs.

Stay tuned to track her progress toward these goals!

Source: 

1. "How Obesity Harms a Child's Body."  Health and Science.  The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/health/childhoodobesity/obesityeffects.html#

Are you planning to get healthy? What are your goals? As you make a plan, consider this information we recently reviewed by Dr. M. Colgan describing the body's mechanism for healing and the time required for complete healing.

Healing time is via the cellular time clock

By Dr. M. Colgan

The principle of nutrition you need to know is physiological dynamics. Unlike drugs, nutrients do not have rapid effects, there is no quick fix. The business of nutrition is to build a better body. That has to wait on nature to turn over body cells. A blood cell lasts 60-120 days. In 3-4 months your whole blood supply is completely replaced. In 6 months almost all the proteins in your bones die and are replaced, even the DNA of your genes. In a year all your bones and even the enamel of your teeth is replaced, constructed entirely out of the nutrients you eat.

This time curse is well illustrated by the course of deficiency diseases. If I remove the vitamin C from your diet, within 4 weeks blood vitamin C will drop to zero. But, you will see no symptoms of disease at 4 weeks. You have to wait until enough of the healthy cells have been replaced by unhealthy cells. It is another 12 weeks before the symptoms of scurvy start to ravage your body. So when you implement an optimal nutrition program, don’t expect rapid results. In one of the studies at the Colgan Institute, runners were supplemented to try to improve their hemoglobin, hematocrit and red blood cell count. But after one month of supplementation there was no improvement at all. After 6 months, however, all 3 indices were significantly increased.

Think of it this way, if you take a neglected house plant and start feeding and watering it, the leaves may perk up a bit from the improved nutrition. But you have to wait for the old leaves to die off and new leaves to grow before you get a really healthy plant. It is the same with the human body. When you start feeding it better, you have to wait on physiological dynamics of your body to grow new improve cells in the improved nutrient medium.