Trigeminal Neuralgia

“What Is Trigeminal Neuralgia?”

Over the next 2 weeks we are going to learn about a condition called trigeminal neuralgia. We are going to learn about signs and symptoms, causes and what treatments work and which do not work.

Trigeminal neuralgia is characterized by intense pain in the face and has been described by many as “one of the most painful conditions anyone could ever have.”

The location of trigeminal nerve pain can be the ear, eye, nose, lips, scalp, forehead, cheek, teeth, tongue or even the entire side of the face.

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It can also cause uncontrollable tearing of the eye and most of the time only affects one side of the face but in 10-12% of sufferers, it will affect both sides of the face.

Trigeminal nerve pain has been described as intense, stabbing electric shocks or burning-type shooting pains that can last seconds, minutes or even hours.

The short interval attacks can repeat up to 100 times per day.

Attacks can be triggered by light touch on the face or even air currents but most attacks occur spontaneously without any stimulation.

The pain usually occurs in cycles and periods of remission (no pain) can last months or even years.

This condition can affect people of any age but typically affects adults and females more so than males.

Currently, the most popular forms of treatment are medication, Botox injections and surgery all with equivocal results at best.

Next time we are going to learn about causes of trigeminal nerve pain and effective alternative forms of treatment.

In the meantime, if you have any questions on this topic or any other health concerns you may have or your family may have, please give me a call.

Remember that consultations in our office are always free of charge and family appointments are always available.

Our phone number is 905 335 LIFE (5433) or you can email us by clicking on the link found on our home page.

Life Chiropractic… helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington.

Click Here To Book A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad

Proof Of Chiropractic Care Benefits

“Research Study Provides Proof That Chiropractic Care Improves Your Health”

Today I would like to tell you about a particular research study because the findings of this study are something everyone should know about.

Especially those who are keen about looking after their health and their children’s health.

This was a 7 year study that followed a group of people whose primary health-care physician was a chiropractor.

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The results of this study showed that these people had 60% less hospital admissions, 59% less days spent in a hospital, 62% less out-patient surgeries and 85% less drug usage.

In light of these findings, I think it is important that we remind ourselves why chiropractic care has such a profound effect on your health.

First of all, every other health care profession is all about treating symptoms either through the application of electrical stimulation, drugs/medications, or surgery.

Remember that symptoms are the way your body alerts you that there is a problem.

And when you focus on the symptoms, you are ignoring the cause of the problem.

The unique thing about chiropractic care is that we focus on the cause of your problem, not merely the effect (symptom).

Secondly, there is no other health-care profession whose main objective is to optimize the performance of your central nerve system.

The central nerve system controls all the other 10 vital systems inside your body.

So, when you understand that symptoms are your friend and not your enemy, and you take excellent care of your spine and central nerve system (because the 2 go hand in hand), and of course exercise and a healthy diet are important too, the statistics prove that you will have better levels of health. Because healthy people under normal circumstances do not go to hospitals, have surgeries and take handfuls of medication.

If you have any questions on this topic or any other health concerns you may have or your family may have, please give me a call.

Remember that consultations in our office are always free of charge and family appointments are also available.

Our phone number is 905 335 LIFE (5433) or you can email me directly by clicking on the link right on our home page.

Life Chiropractic … helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington.

Click Here To Book A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad

Chiropractic Wellness Care Schedule

“For Chiropractic Wellness, How Often Should You Go For An Adjustment?”

Last time we talked about chiropractic wellness care and today I am going to give you my best recommendation for what I think is the optimal chiropractic wellness care schedule.

In other words, how often you should go to the chiropractor once you have successfully completed your corrective care.

To answer this logically, let’s look at what the chiropractic and spinal research says.

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Research tells us 2 things.

One thing is when a spinal misalignment (subluxation) is left undetected and uncorrected for 2 weeks or more, this can start to damage the spinal joints, the spinal discs and the spinal nerve roots.

Research also tells us that when a nerve is compressed or pinched for 2 weeks or more, this can cause damage in the organ that specific nerve controls.

When you look at the Chart of Effects of Spinal Misalignments found on our home page, you will see all the nerves and all the organs that they go to in your body.

The T2 nerve for example controls your heart and this is a very common place for people to get a subluxation.

So, when we consider these facts, I have 1 question for you … how many 2 week periods would you want to accumulate throughout your lifetime without being checked for subluxations and having them corrected?

Of course, there are special circumstances where some patients may require care on a more frequent basis.

Patients under a lot of stress, high-performance athletes, and patients with Crohn’s disease, fibromyalgia or spinal arthritis for example.

But, under normal circumstances, the optimal chiropractic wellness care schedule in my view is once every 2 weeks.

You are checked every 2 weeks and adjusted when necessary.

If you have any questions on this topic or any other health concerns you may have or your family may have, please give me a call.

Remember that consultations in our office are always ‘free of charge’ and family appointments are always available because spinal problems do tend to run in families.

Our phone number is 905 335 LIFE (5433) or you can email me directly by clicking on the link on our home page.

Life Chiropractic … helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington.

Click Here To Book A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad At The Burlington Clinic

Chiropractic Wellness Care

“Understanding Chiropractic Wellness Care”

Today I would like to help you understand why wellness chiropractic care is important.

Once patients complete their corrective program of chiropractic care, often times we forget why it is important to continue on with some sort of wellness plan.

So, to help you understand this, I would like you to consider the following 2 scenarios.

[flashvideo file=http://lifechiropractic.s3.amazonaws.com/07.20.2015.wellness.thru.chiropractic.care.bi-1.m4v image=https://lifechiropracticcentre.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/wellness.thru_.chiropractic.care_.jpg width=500 height=305 /] Let’s say you have committed to an exercise program to lose that extra 25 pounds around your waist.

Do you think it would be wise to stop exercising once the 25 pounds is gone?

Or, let’s say you have committed to a heart-healthy diet because your levels of bad cholesterol are high.

Do you think it would be wise to stop eating heart-healthy food once your cholesterol levels are normal?

The answer here is obvious and I am quite sure you would agree.

Well, the same thinking applies to chiropractic care.

Once you have successfully completed your corrective program of chiropractic care, whether it was 6 months or 12 months or even 18 months, it is important to follow up with some type of wellness care plan.

Because if you don’t, you will eventually lose all the benefits you have gained throughout your corrective care.

Now, next time I am going to give you my best recommendation for what I know to be the optimal wellness care plan for chiropractic care.

But in the meantime, if you have any questions on this topic or any other health concerns you may have or your family may have, please give me a call.

Remember that consultations are free of charge in our office and we also offer family appointments.

Our phone number here in Burlington is 905 335 LIFE (5433) or you can email me directly by clicking on the link right on our home page.

Life Chiropractic…helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington.

Click Here To Book A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad

Risk Factors For Lower Back Pain

“Top 5 Risk Factors For
Lower Back Pain”

Today you are going to learn the top 5 risk factors for developing lower back pain and reason I want to share this with you is because low back pain is becoming an epidemic problem here in Canada.

As many as 80% of Canadians will have a lower back problem at least once in their lifetime and there is a way to prevent this.

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1. Risk factor 1 Poor posture. Remember that the only way you will have poor posture anywhere in your spine is due to spinal misalignments (subluxations) left undetected and uncorrected.
2. Risk factor 2 Infrequent physical activity which is a big problem with most Canadian adults and children.
3. Risk factor 3 These are self-explanatory; being over-weight, obesity and smoking. All of these significantly increase your chance of developing low back pain.
4. Risk factor 4 Jobs that involve frequent sitting, standing, bending, lifting and twisting. These reason why is because these are the exact stresses that cause
   spinal misalignments and pinched nerves in the lower back.
5. Risk factor 5 Family history. If one or both parents have a history of low back pain, their kids are at a significantly higher risk of developing low back pain.

And the reason why is because spinal misalignments and spinal problems tend to run in families.

Here is your most effective solution for preventing lower back pain.

1. Regular chiropractic care to maintain good spinal alignment and good spinal hygiene. Good spinal hygiene means no spinal degenerative arthritis.
2. Participaction! Brisk walking for 40 min 3 times per week and learning how to effectively stretch your body once or twice a week would be sufficient for most adults. You do not need to join a gym.
3. Practicing good health habits. A good diet to keep the extra pounds off. Good nutrition and good food choices to prevent obesity. Cut out the smoking.
4. If you are a parent with a history of lower back pain, get your kids in for a chiropractic lower back examination right away to identify any potential problem.

And if you would like me to help you with this, I would be more than happy to help. All you need to do is call our office to schedule an appointment for your free initial consultation. Remember too that we also offer family appointments where I can check all of your kids at the same time.

Our phone number is 905 335 LIFE (5433).

Life Chiropractic … helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington.

Click Here To Book Your Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad

Lower Back Problem

“5 Top Signs And Symptoms Of A Lower Back Problem”

Today I am going to share with you the top 5 signs and symptoms that confirm you have a lower back problem.

Make sure you read through all 5 points below to see if you indeed have a problem with your lower back that needs to be looked at.

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1. Pain and stiffness after sleeping, after sitting or standing for 15 minutes or after any type of physical activity ( vacuuming, gardening, walking, exercising at the gym etc.)
2. Tightness in the hamstring muscles and/or the calf muscles with or without cramping.
3. Crooked posture when you get up in the morning. If you are tilted forwards, or to one side this is never a good sign even if you straighten up after 20 -30 minutes.
4. Sharp, stabbing flashes of back pain that can bring you to your knees.
5. Difficulty walking. You find it hard to lift your leg when walking because it feels too heavy and/or one of your feet slap onto the floor when you’re walking (stepping down).

Irrespective of your age, if you have even 1 of these signs or symptoms then you definitely have a lower back ( lumbar spine) problem.

And 99% of the time it is a spinal misalignment and pinched nerve in your lower back.

Chiropractors get great results with all of these problems but the only way to know for sure is to get a complete and thorough spinal examination.

So all you have to do is give me a call to book an appointment for an examination.

And remember that consultations in our office are always free of charge.

There is no financial obligation to sit down and talk to me so we can determine if you have a chiropractic case.

Or you can email me your questions directly by clicking on the link found right on our home page.

Our phone number here in Burlington is 905 335 LIFE (5433).

Life Chiropractic … helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington.

Click Here To Book A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad

Spinal Health For Life

“A Hard Golf Lesson About Maintaining Good Spinal Health”

Today I am going to tell you a story of a patient I had a while back who threw his back out playing golf.

When he first came in he was extremely frustrated because he had just retired and his passion was to play golf  2 – 3 times per week.

He was also very impatient. He expected that 1 adjustment would cure him and he would be able to resume golfing the next day.

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I also had a hard time reasoning with him why he needed a spinal xray. He thought that I could just ‘pop’ his spine back into place without any type of examination but he finally agreed to get them.

Well, the xrays were not good news. The xrays showed that the spinal disc at the very bottom of his back had almost completely decayed away due to a subluxation that had been there for at least 40 years. This was causing him to have a severely pinched nerve in his lower back. He did not start a program of care when I explained to him that a quick fix was impossible.

The reason that I am sharing this story with you is because I have seen this happen time and time again. Someone works hard all their life, retires and is ready to enjoy their hobbies and is then crippled with a back problem that they have paid very little or no attention to their whole life.  This was not the first time this guys back went out.

The sad thing is this did not have to happen. You do have a choice. Regular chiropractic adjustments throughout your lifetime pay huge dividends later on.

Really … you need to take extra special care of your spine because  everything else depends upon it.

If you or anyone else in your family is struggling with a health problem, I may be able to help. All you need to do is give me a call.

Remember that consultations are always free of charge and we also offer family appointments. Our phone number is 905 335 LIFE (5433) or you can email me directly by clicking on the link on our home page.

Life Chiropractic … helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington.

Click Here To Book A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad

Help For Allergies

“Reducing The Impact Of Spring Allergies”

It is that time of year when some of you may be experiencing allergy symptoms.

You need to understand that the watery eyes, runny nose and sneezing even though uncomfortable and annoying, are the way your body gets rid of the stuff you are allergic to.

Pollen for example.

You also need to understand that taking a medication that prevents watery eyes, a runny nose and sneezing allows the stuff you are allergic to, to stay inside your body.

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You can imagine that this cannot really be good for you especially when your body was trying to get rid of it in the first place.

Your body always knows best!

So, what can you do?

Here are my 3 best recommendations that I give all of my patients who have allergy symptoms:

1. Drink plenty of water as this will help cleanse and flush the stuff out of your body that you are allergic to.

2. There are several natural remedies to help support your immune system. You can find these at your favorite health food store. They are totally safe to take during high allergy season.

3. Remember that chiropractic care is the most important thing you can do to help super-charge your immune system. Nothing else even comes close to the powerful effect a spinal adjustment has on your defense system. And it is totally ok to get a few extra adjustments during the time of year when allergies bother you the most.

Most people who follow these 3 recommendations are much more comfortable during allergy season.

If you have any questions on this topic or any other health concerns you may have or a family member may have, please give me a call.

Remember that consultations are always ‘free of charge’ and ‘family appointments’ are also available.

Our phone number here in Burlington is 905 335 LIFE (5433) or you can email me directly by clicking on the link right on our home page.

Life Chiropractic … helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington.

Click Here To Book A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad

Safe Gardening Tips

“Safe Gardening And Yard Work Tips”

It is that time of year again where you may find yourself doing a lot more gardening and yard work.

And because it does not matter how good your fitness level is, you can never prepare for this type of activity.

So, today I have a few helpful hints for you.

First of all, take your time. There is no need to rush.

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Yard work and gardening will never go away.

Take a break every 20 minutes especially in the beginning to rest your back a bit and have a drink of water to keep hydrated.

Cycle through 2 or 3 different tasks if you can. Work one job for 20 minutes, take your break and move on to the next. Mixing up your activities like this can be a real back saver.

If something does not feel right (neck pain, arm pain, chest pain, low back pain, leg pain etc.), stop what you are doing right away.

Apply a cold compress to the problem area and get in to see me right away so I can take a look.

Gardening and yard work will much more enjoyable and a good bit of exercise for you if you do it ‘safe and smart’.

If you have any questions on this topic or any other health concerns you may have or anyone in your family may have, please give me a call.

Remember that consultations are always free of charge and family appointments are always available.

Our phone number is 905 335 5433 (LIFE) or you can email me directly by clicking on the link on our home page.

Life Chiropractic…helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington.

Click Here To Book A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad

Spinal Trauma And Fibromyalgia

“Fibromyalgia Has Been Linked To
Spinal Trauma”

Fibromyalgia ranks in the top 3 diagnosed conditions made by rheumatologists in North America.

As many as 25% of diagnosed cases of fibromyalgia are attributed to a prior traumatic event.

Whiplash-type neck injuries rank as the number 1 traumatic event when it comes to fibromyalgia.

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Car accidents especially, concussions, sports injuries or any type of fall or injury that sprains, strains or misaligns (subluxates) the vertebrae in the neck should never go unattended.

These can significantly increase your risk of developing fibromyalgia.

A thorough spinal examination by a chiropractor is what you need because this what we do.

This is our area of expertise.

Chiropractors get great results with fibromyalgia patients as well as whiplash-type neck injury patients.

If you require more information on this topic or any other health concerns you may have or your family may have, please give me a call.

Remember that consultations are always free of charge and we also offer family appointments.

Our phone number is 905 335 LIFE(5433) or you can email me by clicking directly on the link found on our home page.

Life Chiropractic … helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington.

Click Here To Book A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad At The Burlington Clinic