Hello everyone.

Dr Brad Ivanchuk here. I am a Burlington, Ontario chiropractor at Life Chiropractic Centre on Guelph Line in the Beacon Hill Plaza. I am also a Certified Posture Expert and Postural Neurologist with the American Posture Institute.  And a canfitpro certified Personal Training Specialist.

Today we are going to learn about shoulder osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and is caused when the shiny, smooth cartilage surface of a joint (spinal or skeletal) wears away until there is bone on bone contact. This results in pain and stiffness in the joint.

Although osteoarthritis usually affects the joints under the heaviest weight-bearing load – the hips and knees – it can also affect the joints that make up the shoulder. ( See our 26 April, 2019 post to learn more about the shoulder.)

This is what you need to understand ….. cartilage receives no direct blood supply. It relies on a process called diffusion.

Nutrients are absorbed into the cartilage tissue of a joint when it is compressed by movement. This is diffusion.

Anything that restricts the movement of the shoulder – posture distortions in PQ 1 and/or PQ 2, misalignment of the shoulder joint itself, inflammation, injury – will cut off the nutrient supply placing the joint at risk of developing osteoarthritis.

So, how can chiropractic help an osteoarthritic shoulder? By correcting any posture distortions in PQ 1 and 2, realigning the shoulder joint itself, mobilizing the shoulder joint and traction of the shoulder joint.

All of these will increase the range of motion of the shoulder drawing in fresh nutrients (diffusion) which will promote healing.

And just like with anything else, the sooner you start treatment, the greater the chances you will achieve the desired result.

If you or anyone in your family are complaining of shoulder pain, we should take a closer look because you do not want a small, simple issue to turn into a more complex osteoarthritic issue.

All you need to do is call to schedule an appointment for your free initial consultation which also includes a detailed posture scan.

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

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

Hello everyone.

Dr Brad Ivanchuk here.

I am a Burlington, Ontario chiropractor at Life Chiropractic Centre on Guelph Line in the Beacon Hill Plaza.

I am also a Certified Posture Expert and Postural Neurologist with the American Posture Institute. I also have the following designations with canfitpro; Personal Training Specialist, Active Aging Coach and Children’s Fitness Coach.

Today we are going to talk about your sinuses.

The connection between our sinuses and headaches has been well established. But what about the relationship between our sinuses and neck pain? Is there a connection here also?

Sinusitis is very common when pollen counts are high and when you have a cold or the flu.

The Mayo Clinic states that at least 2 out of the following 4 symptoms must be present in order to confirm a diagnosis of Chronic Sinusitis (CS).

1-Thick and often times discolored nasal discharge or post-nasal drip.
2-Congestion of nasal passages making it difficult to breathe through the nose.
3-Pain/tenderness/swelling of the eyes, nose, face (cheeks) and forehead.
4-Reduced sense of smell and taste in adults. Coughing in children.

Now, what many people do not realize however is that neck pain and stiffness, jaw pain and teeth pain can also be symptoms of CS.

And this all relates back to Posture Quadrant #1 – your head and cervical spine (neck). We already know that spinal misalignments and posture distortions here can result in neck pain and headaches but they can also make you susceptible to developing CS.

And it has been my clinical experience over the years that people who struggle with sinus issues including CS; a lot of them benefit greatly from chiropractic adjustments.

So if you or anyone in your family is suffering from CS or other sinus issues, I may be able to help. The first thing you would need to do is schedule an appointment for your free initial consultation which also includes a detailed posture analysis. And then we will take it from there.

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

Remember that good posture is by design and not by circumstance.

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

Hello again.

Dr Brad Ivanchuk here. I am a Burlington, Ontario chiropractor at Life Chiropractic Centre on Guelph Line in the Beacon Hill Plaza.

I am also a Certified Posture Expert and Postural Neurologist with the American Posture Institute. And a canfitpro certified Personal Training Specialist, Active Aging Specialist and Children’s Fitness Coach.

Today we are going to talk about Posture Quadrant #4 which is your legs; from your hip joints all the way down to your toes.

One of the most common symptoms of posture distortions in this particular posture quadrant is knee pain.

And I see quite a bit of knee pain at this time of year because people are generally more active; walking, running, playing golf, playing softball etc.

Two of the most common causes of knee pain are posture distortions in Posture Quadrant #3 (your lower back and pelvis – remember this is your main stability quadrant and PQ4 attaches to PQ3 at the hip joint) and foot pronation. Foot pronation is also known as toe-out foot flare or flat feet.

Both of these posture distortions (and you can have both) put a lot of undo stress on your knee joints resulting in knee pain. And if the posture distortions are not corrected, over time they can also cause osteoarthritis in your knee joints.

But we can help you with both of these issues. As you already know we have a special interest in posture correction and we can also fit you with custom orthotics.

The first thing you would need to do is call and schedule an appointment for your free initial consultation. This also includes a detailed posture scan where we will check your entire posture system from head to toe for posture distortions. And we would then take it from there.

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

Remember always that good posture is by design and not by circumstance.

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

Hello everyone. Dr Brad Ivanchuk here.

I am a Burlington, Ontario chiropractor at Life Chiropractic Centre on Guelph Line.

I am also a Certified Posture Expert and Postural Neurologist with the American Posture Institute and a canfitpro certified Personal Training Specialist, Active Aging Coach and Children’s Fitness Coach.

Today I would like to share a case history with you.

One of my patients who has been with me almost from the start brought in her 4 month old grandson for me to check.

This poor little guy had a traumatic birth … it was a c-section delivery and the head vacuum was required to extract him from the womb.
 
He immediately had a torticollis (his head was turned all the way to the right and stuck that way) and he had a large unsightly bump on the top of his head where they attached the head vacuum.

Their family doc said there was nothing to do and that these issues would resolve on their own, but after 3 to 4 months nothing had changed.

Not only had nothing changed, but the little guy could not hold up his head. It would flop frontwards or backwards while being stuck turned to the right.

This is when she desperately reached out and asked if I could help. And I said of course I would take a look and see what I could do.

This little guy required a team effort. I attended to the neck injury and spinal misalignments, and my clinic partner Dr Lynne who is proficient in cranial technique, started to work on his skull to reposition his cranial bones.

After 4 weeks of treatment ( one per week for 4 weeks ), he has made incredible progress.
The torticollis is at least 50% better, his neck muscles are now strong enough that he can hold his own head upright and that unsightly bump on his head is diminishing nicely.

Baby is happy, momma is happy and grandma is happy.

And the reason I am sharing this case history with you today is because what you made have read , or seen, or heard about chiropractic or chiropractic and kids in the media of late, we have been helping kids of all ages including little babies just like this safely and
effectively for over 33 years.

And most of my chiropractic colleagues would tell you the exact same thing.

Remember good posture is by design and not by circumstance.

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

Hello everyone.

Dr Brad Ivanchuk here. I am a Burlington, Ontario chiropractor at Life Chiropractic Centre on Guelph Line in the Beacon Hill Plaza.

I am also a Certified Posture Expert and Certified Postural Neurologist with the American Posture Institute, and a canfitpro certified Personal Training Specialist.
 
To today we are going to learn about the connection between stress and posture.

Often times when I do a Report of Findings with a patient, they are surprised if not concerned when they see their posture scan and their xrays.

And the question I most often hear is; “Dr Brad … how did I even get this way in the first place?”

Well, there are 2 parts to the answer of this question which I would like to address today.

The first part is not having regular chiropractic care and doing the proper exercises specifically to maintain a healthy, upright and open posture system.

The second part is understanding what cause spinal misalignments and postural collapse and that is stress.

The 3 main types of stress are physical, mental/emotional and chemical.

Examples of physical stress are childbirth (both for mother and baby), childhood falls, sports injuries, concussions, whiplash injuries, work injuries, repetitive strain injuries etc.

Examples of mental/emotional stress are job insecurity, financial worries, unhealthy relationships, deadlines at work and at school, exam time for students etc.

Examples of chemical stress are substance abuse (alcohol, medication, recreational drugs), unhealthy food choices ( foods high in fat, sugar, refined and processed foods), and even working in a toxic environment.

We are all subjected to all 3 kinds of stress to some degree every single day of our lives. This is a fact of life.

Some will have more physical, some will have more mental/emotional and some will have more chemical depending upon lifestyle, job, hobbies etc. but we are all
subjected to all 3 types.

And stress either directly or indirectly affects our posture system and if stress is not managed properly, it will cause your posture system to collapse. But it doesn’t have to be this way and this is where I can help you.

All you have to do is call and schedule an appointment for your free initial consultation which also includes a detailed posture scan.

And then we can begin to investigate the areas of your posture system that are being affected by stress and make a plan to minimize the consequences.

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

Remember good posture is by design and not by circumstance.

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

Hello everyone.

Dr Brad Ivanchuk here and I am a Burlington, Ontario chiropractor at Life Chiropractic Centre on Guelph Line in the Beacon Hill Plaza. I am also a Certified Posture Expert and Postural Neurologist with the American Posture Institute. And a canfitpro certified Personal Training Specialist.

Today, we are going to discuss teenagers and headaches.

In 2016, researchers at Curtin University in Perth examined the seated posture and health data of 1100 seventeen year olds to determine if any particular posture increased the risk of headaches in late adolescence.

Among the 4 posture subgroups (upright, intermediate, humpback and forward head posture), the researchers observed the following; participants with humpback and forward head posture were at higher odds of having mild/moderate/severe depression. Those who were
over-weight were more likely to sit with forward head posture. They also found that exercise frequency, depression and body mass index are associated with neck pain and headaches.

But they did not find any one particular posture increased the risk of headaches in adolescents.

And this has been my clinical experience as well. Any type of posture distortion in the head and neck, and upper back (Posture Quadrant 1 and 2)can cause headaches in teenagers.

But here is your takeaway from today people …. “participants with humpback and/or forward head posture were at higher odds of having mild, moderate or severe depression.”
 
So if any of your kids or even you struggle with depression, it would be very, very wise to have your neck posture checked. And this is where I can help you.

All you have to do is call and schedule an appointment for your free initial consultation which also includes a detailed posture scan.

And then we can begin to investigate what your neck posture looks like.

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

Remember that good posture is by design and not by circumstance.

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

Hello everyone. Dr Brad Ivanchuk here. I am a Burlington, Ontario Chiropractor at Life Chiropractic Centre on Guelph Line in the Beacon Hill Plaza.I am also a Certified Posture Expert and Postural Neurologist with the American Posture Institute.

Today we are going to discuss the importance of having a properly curved cervical spine (neck) which is Posture Quadrant #1.

When you look at the left side of your neck, it should be shaped like a ‘C’, or lordotic.

This important curve develops when infants learn to lift their head during tummy time and continues to develop as they learn how to crawl.

When we move our heads back and forth (nodding frontwards and backwards), the most active vertebrae are in the middle to lower neck; C4, 5 and 6.
 
When this part of the neck curve flattens or even reverses (a backwards C-curve) due to spinal misalignments and posture distortions, two things are going to happen.

One is degenerative joint disease and the second is degenerative disc disease.

Some researchers have found that as your neck posture collapses and your neck begins to degenerate, the arteries in your neck that go from your heart and feed your brain with blood become tense, weak and inflamed.

Now, here is your take-away from today. As the arteries in your neck become tense and weak and inflamed, the blood supply to your brain becomes limited (not good! … as your brain needs glucose for fuel which is carried by your blood), and your risk factor for a stroke significantly increases.

This is why it is so very, very important (even critical) that everyone maintain a normal, healthy, C-shaped curve in the neck.

And to find out what your neck curve looks like, I can help you.

All you have to do is call and schedule an appointment for your free initial consultation which also includes a detailed posture scan. And then we can begin to investigate what your neck curve looks like.

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

Remember that good posture is by design and not by circumstance.

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

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Hello everyone. Dr Brad Ivanchuk here.

I am a Burlington, Ontario chiropractor at Life Chiropractic Centre on Guelph Line in the Beacon Hill Plaza.

I am also a Certified Posture Expert and Postural Neurologist with the American Posture Institute and a canfitpro certified Personal Training Specialist, Active Aging Coach and Children’s Fitness Coach.

Today we are going to talk about chiropractic treatment and posture correction to help migraine headaches.

Migraines affect approximately 15% of the population and are usually managed by medication.

This approach however is not well tolerated by some migraine sufferers due to the side-effects and long-term risks.

A literature review of randomized controlled trials found that chiropractic care was as equally effective as some of the medications for the treatment of migraines. And without any of the debilitating and possibly dangerous side-effects.

Remember that migraine headaches are one of the most common side-effects of spinal misalignments and posture distortions in Posture Quadrant #1; your head and neck (cervical spine).

As your posture collapses here (tech neck / forward head posture), this will irritate the spinal joints and the spinal nerves in the neck resulting in migraines.

By correcting this specific posture distortion pattern with the appropriate chiropractic adjustment will significantly reduce the spinal joint irritation and spinal nerve irritation offering migraine headache relief. And with no side-effects!

If you or anyone in your family are suffering from migraine headaches, I can help.

All you need to do is schedule an appointment for your free initial consultation which also includes a detailed posture scan.

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

Remember good posture is by design and not by circumstance.

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

Hello all. Dr Brad Ivanchuk here.

I am a Burlington, Ontario chiropractor at Life Chiropractic Centre on Guelph Line in the Beacon Hill Plaza.

I am also a Certified Posture Expert and Postural Neurologist with the American Posture Institute. And a canfitpro certified Personal Training Specialist, Active Aging Coach and a Children’s Fitness Coach.

Today we are going to continue our discussion on how you can retire in good health.

We started this last time by discussing a case history of a patient who had been going for chiropractic care for many years, but there was never any real attention to posture and he would go on a pain-relief basis only.

And when he and I sat down to review his posture scan and his xrays, he was in utter shock.
Here is the takeaway you need to be crystal clear about regarding this case history.

First of all, you need to remember that only 10% of your nerve tissue is pain-sensitive. This means that 9 times out of 10, you can have a spinal misalignment, posture distortion, joint irritation and nerve irritation and you will not feel any symptoms.

This is the most dangerous thing about spinal misalignments that have been left undetected and uncorrected. You can have them without realizing you have them.

The second takeaway about spinal misalignments left undetected and uncorrected is that they will cause ongoing postural collapse. And as your posture system continues to collapse, this will cause spinal degenerative arthritis to develop in your spine.

Spinal degenerative arthritis will cause further irritation on your spinal joints and your spinal nerves.

So, how does your brain respond to all this irritation happening in your posture system?

It signals the release of stress hormones into your body.

Cortisol, adrenaline and something called L-Dopa.

These are very beneficial in tiny amounts on an as-needed basis but when they continually flood your body, they will impair your immune system function, cause inflammation throughout your body, counteract your insulin which will lead to weight gain and pre-dispose you to Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, even cancer and behavioral disorders.
 
This is what is going to shorten your lifespan and your health-span both! Your lifespan is how long you will live. Your health-span is how long you will live in good health.

So the key to living healthy well into your retirement years – yes exercise is important and food choices are important – is to maintain as best as you can a properly aligned, open, upright and healthy posture system.

And this is exactly where I can help you.

All you have to do is give a call to schedule an appointment for your free initial consultation. This also includes a detailed posture scan.

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

Remember that good posture is by design and not by circumstance.

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