Dr. Judd Lowrey's Sports and Wellness Chiropractic Blog

Along with maintaining a healthy diet, exercise is a fundamental part of staying healthy. Keeping active at any age can provide a wide range of proven benefits which can support good health throughout life. By taking a common sense approach to exercise and incorporating chiropractic care into your overall wellness plan, you can also help to prevent injuries from occurring. Of course, maintaining a consistent exercise regime and not overdoing it are also both essential.

The following are just a few of the many benefits of exercise.

Improved Heart Health
Cardiovascular exercise gets the heart to pump at a faster rate. Performed on a regular basis, running, brisk walking, swimming, cycling, and all forms of cardio-focused exercise can help improve the function of the heart muscle and make it pump more efficiently. With a heart working optimally, you’ll find yourself to be less winded while tackling everyday tasks such as walking up stairs, lifting heavy objects, or doing household chores. For those who have hypertension, regular exercise can help lower blood pressure to healthier levels naturally without the use of medications.

Increased Metabolism
Along with improving the function of your heart, exercise also increases your metabolism. This can make it easier to maintain your weight or lose weight if necessary. The more intensely you exercise, the larger the increase in your metabolic rate.

Better Hormonal Balance
One of the most beneficial effects of exercise is the release of endorphins, often called ‘feel good’ hormones, and a decrease in the production of cortisol. High levels of cortisol in the bloodstream have been linked to chronic stress and depression.

Management of Diabetes
Exercise helps the body’s muscles utilize glucose more efficiently. Thus, individuals who regularly exercise tend to have better management of their blood sugar levels and have fewer blood sugar swings. For diabetics, exercise can be an essential component to managing symptoms and disease progression.

Flexibility
As we age, muscles, joints and ligaments are more prone to injury. Exercise can help maintain their function. And by adding chiropractic care to regular exercise, many of the often-times painful effects of aging such as muscle pulls and torn ligaments can be prevented.

Both exercise and chiropractic care help circulation and muscle function which can promote healing of body tissues. Combined, they can also prevent back pain by keeping spinal muscles toned and flexible, improve restorative sleep, and reduce overall pain and stress.

If you want to learn more about the benefits of exercise and chiropractic care, contact our office today for a consultation. We’ll be happy to recommend a treatment plan that combines chiropractic therapy and exercise to help improve your overall health.

Dr. Judd Lowrey, D.C. | Lowrey Chiropractic | El Dorado Hills & Folsom Chiropractor | (916) 941-7508

Now that the days are longer and the weather is nicer, it is time for spring cleaning. We are not just talking about dusting off cobwebs and couch cushions, but spring cleaning your health too. Here are four simple ways that you can improve your quality of life this spring.

1. Drink water. Everyone has heard the advice, “Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day.” But did you know that water makes up approximately 60 percent of your body weight. Every system in your body depends on water. So, this spring, drink 8-10 glasses of water a day, plus replace soda, juices, and coffee for more water.  After your chiropractic adjustment, it is important to drink lots of water to stay hydrated and help your body with its healing process.
2. Take in fresh air. Make sure you get outside and take advantage of the beautiful weather. Even if it is just for 30 minutes during your lunch break – do it!
3. Try a new workout. Spring represents new things, so why not try a new workout too. There’s no better way to flush your body of built-up toxins than by sweating it out! Exercise helps increase your energy and reduce fatigue.
4. Add color to your diet. Spring is the perfect time to add more vegetables and fruit to your diet. Your body will like you for the extra nutrition and you will feel the extra energy boost throughout your day.

Dr. Judd Lowrey, D.C.  |  Lowrey Chiropractic  | El Dorado Hills Chiropractor

(916) 941-7508

http://www.lowreychiropractic.com

With warmer temperatures finally here, spring is in full bloom. This means for more than 20 percent of us that suffer from seasonal allergies – sneezing, itchy eyes, rashes and symptoms of allergic rhinitis. While there are many treatment options available for allergy sufferers, chiropractic care has become increasingly popular because of its efficacy and absence of side effects.

Orthodox medicine does not offer a cure for allergies. The most common treatments are antihistamines to combat histamines that cause eye redness, sinus congestion, and other allergy symptoms. These medications used to treat symptoms of seasonal allergies often have a variety of side effects that can leave some feeling groggy and tired – particularly when they’re taken with alcohol, sedatives, or tranquilizers. More serious side effects of allergy medications include infection, suppressed immunity, and hypertension. A 1994 Journal of the National Cancer Institute also produced research showing a link between certain antihistamines and cancerous tumors in lab rodents.

Unlike medications that have side effects and have been developed solely for minimizing or masking allergy symptoms, chiropractic care helps restore the body’s ability to adapt to allergens by locating and reducing disturbances in the nervous system. As an allergen is introduced to the body, the immune, glandular, and respiratory systems can react inappropriately causing symptoms of allergies. The chiropractic approach to treating this over response by the body is to release stress on the nervous system so that immune system can function more effectively.

By removing stuck neurological patterns, stress can be relieved, and the body can begin to neutralize allergy-causing chemicals. With the nervous system in check, symptoms of allergies often subside. Thus, the focus on chiropractic care for allergies is truly building a healthier body, as opposed to either eliminating allergens or treating symptoms with medications.

Whether or not you’re suffering from allergies this spring, it’s beneficial for your long-term health to have a healthy spine. A spinal checkup can determine if you have stuck neurological patterns that could be contributing to allergy symptoms or other conditions that can affect your health, strength, and vitality. Call Lowrey Chiropractic, El Dorado Hills Chiropractor at (916) 941-7508 today to find out how chiropractic care can help you!

Try the Cat/Camel stretch to strengthen your lower back. It helps to increase low back strength and muscular endurance and improves stability, functional strength and injury prevention.

Back Exercise from Lowrey Chiropractic, El Dorado Hills Chiropractor

1. Begin on floor on hands and knees. Hips should be above knees and shoulders above hands. Attain a straight spine position.
2. Round your back upward, stretching mid-back between the shoulder blades.
3. Relax and let your stomach fall downward as you arch your back.
4. Hold each position 30 seconds and repeat 3 repetitions for 3 sets.

Call today to schedule your appointment: (916) 941-7508

Dr. Judd Lowrey, D.C.  |  Lowrey Chiropractic  | El Dorado Hills & Folsom Chiropractor

80% of people suffer from back pain

Eighty percent of people suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Back pain is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office. In fact, it is estimated that low back pain affects more than half of the adult population each year.

As long as it is healthy and functioning correctly, the low back can withstand tremendous forces without injury. However, if the low back is out of adjustment or has weakened supporting muscles, something as simple as lifting a bag of groceries, or picking something up off the floor can cause a low back injury.

Consumer reports rated chiropractic care number one for the treatment of low back pain for a simple reason – “it works”. In fact, major studies have shown that chiropractic care is more effective, cheaper and has better long-term outcomes than any other treatment. Chiropractic care is the only method of treatment that serves to re-establish normal vertebral motion and position in the spine.  All other treatments, such as muscle relaxants, pain killers and bed rest, only serve to decrease the symptoms of the problem and do not correct the problem itself.

Here is the Piriformis Stretch for you to try out.  It helps to remove tension off lower back, correct hip imbalance, restore function, and increases flexibility, improves joint range of motion, and improves circulation.

3. Grasp uncrossed leg under thigh and gently pull toward chest.

Dr. Judd Lowrey, D.C. | Lowrey Chiropractic | El Dorado Hills & Folsom Chiropractor

(916) 941-7508