In this weeks video blog, Dr. Barnard Shows up how easy it is to stretch your pec muscles at the comfort of your own home or work. May people have whats called upper cross syndrome. When the pec muscles are too tight it pulls your shoulders forward and gives you that rounded shoulder look. This can cause problems for your entire spine. This is not a normal posture and this posture leads to hunch back look. Take a moment to watch this video and see how easy it is to work on your posture.

Dr. Barnard demonstrates different neck stretches that you can do while in the office or at home when your neck starts to feel tight. To many people sit at a desk all day and complain of neck pain or headaches. These simple stretches can help alleviate those aches and pains and improve function throughout your day. Take a moment to watch and make these stretches a part of your day.

Coconut Creek Chiropractic Treatment for Headaches!

Many people suffer from headaches and migraines that can be debilitating. Our chiropractor, Dr. Barnard has known people that spend more hours in their rooms then they do functioning out in the world because their headaches have been so bad. Or maybe you don’t get that severe of a headache but you get them often enough that it affects your mood or productivity? The scary part is that some people deal with this almost their entire life. That is truly is no way to live.

What if I told you that there might be a natural way to get rid of your headaches without the unnecessary use of drugs or surgery? Wouldn’t you want to know more? Our Coconut Creek Chiropractor is discussing that very thing.

Types of headaches our chiropractor treats

First we need to discuss what a headache is. There are two types of headache categories. First is a primary headache, which makes up 90% of headaches and the second is secondary headaches. Secondary headaches are something that can be life threatening such as a brain bleed, infection etc. For the purpose of this article we will be focusing on primary headaches such as tension, cluster and migraine type headaches. But what causes the head to hurt? Conditions our chiropractor can treat.

Your brain does not have pain fibers so the brain itself is not what causes the pain. Instead the blood vessels, arteries, veins in and around the brain do have pain fibers. Typically these will be pain generators in the skull. You also have a lot of muscles that run up the back of your head and covers portions of the skull. These muscles have lots of pain fibers and can be pain generators or contributors to your headaches. Its important to understand this because the answer to your headaches may be complicated or fairly simple.

Causes of Headaches

Hydration levels

For the average person that suffers with chronic headaches, a solution may be right around the corner. What are some of the solutions? Drinking more water might be just one of the answers to decrease your headaches. In this country we don’t drink enough water and instead try to replace it with sugary drinks or drinks that act as diuretics. This means that it makes you lose water faster. So changing your water intake may be the easiest way to change your symptoms.

Muscle/Soft Tissue Tension

For those other cases where water isn’t the fix, it might be coming from the neck.
Our Chiropractic Team says, Tension type headaches or Cervicogenic headaches are types of headaches you get from your neck and muscles. These headaches are caused from poor posture/ergonomics and the cervical curve in your neck being lost. It’s important to note that your neck needs to have a proper curve in order to function properly. After you are done reading this check out my video section. Dr. Barnard made a video on the cervical curves and what happens when you lose it. (Cervical Degeneration) The muscles in your neck go into spasm and this puts pressure on your head. This gives you the classic headache over the top of your head or across your forehead.

Neck Misalignment and Chiropractic for Headaches

The other type of headache generators can be coming from the misalignment in your neck. These misalignments put pressure on the nerves, which can refer pain to your head causing the headaches. The most popular one to do this is your Atlas. C1, aka Atlas, can be the primary cause of a lot of conditions but I have found that it is usually the culprit when it comes to headaches. This bone can shift out of place putting pressure and causing dysfunction in your neck. The brain stem enters your spinal canal here and this misalignment can put pressure on the spinal cord causing issues. Its important to make sure that this isn’t the case because this can cause a whole host of problems further down the spinal cord and NOT JUST HEADACHES.

Other Causes of Headaches

Its important to note that there are many other reasons for headaches such as sinus infections or sinus headaches. Your TMJ can be another reason for headaches or neck pain. Many people grind their teeth or clench their jaw at night which can also be a contributory factor. Blood pressure can be another reason for headaches and the list goes on. That’s why its important to find out the cause.

Coconut Creek Chiropractic Solutions For Headaches

What’s the solution for chronic headaches? Coming in and getting a detailed consultation and examination done with some X-rays is your first step by your Coconut Creek Chiropractor. Finding out the root cause of your headaches is the primary goal. Headaches are just a symptom of a larger problem. Finding that problem takes exploration. Here at the office we do just that. Once we find out what the cause of the problem is we can then go about treating you and getting back on the road to a better and healthier life. The scary thing to think about is if you spend any amount of time in a room because of your headaches, that’s taking away from your life. You get one life so lets not let something that may be fixable ruin it. Let me help you!

Dr. Michael Barnard

What Our Coconut Creek Chiropractic Patients Are Saying!

To be or not to be, that is the question! Sciatica is a word that gets thrown around a lot as a self-diagnosis. It’s a common term used for low back pain that travels down into the leg. But do you truly have sciatica? What is sciatica? We are going to discuss the differences between sciatica and those other conditions that can cause symptoms like sciatica.

First, lets define sciatica. The sciatic nerve starts in low back where the nerves exit the spinal column through the sacrum. These nerves that exit the sacrum form whats called the sacral plexus. As the nerves run down towards the glute they form one giant nerve, which is your sciatic nerve. This nerve travels down the back of the leg to the knee where it splits into the tibial nerve and the common fibular nerve. Now it’s important to note that this nerve passes under and close to the piriformis muscle, which sits under the glute max muscle. We will talk about this later.

Sciatica vs. Radicular Symptoms

So what are symptoms of true sciatica vs. radicular symptoms? True sciatic symptoms occur when you have pain that runs down the low back, into the back of your leg and into your foot along the nerves. Pain typically passes the knee joint which is a hallmark of this condition. If you have symptoms that do not cross the knee then you may be suffering from another condition such as a radicular symptom.

Sciatica Causes

Some of the causes of sciatica are disc herniation and piriformis syndrome. A herniated disc is when the disc material in between the vertebra comes out and starts to put pressure on the nerve. This can cause severe pain and travels down the leg. You can have numbness, tingling, weakness, foot drop or a combination of these. Another cause of sciatica is the piriformis muscle that we spoke about earlier. If this muscle goes into spasm it can contract and put pressure on the sciatic nerve causing the sciatic like symptoms. These two are some of the most common reasons to experience sciatica.

Other Causes of Sciatic Like Symptoms

Many people experience pain running down into the glute and leg but this doesn’t mean you have Sciatica. Again if the pain doesn’t cross the knee joint then chances are you don’t have sciatica. SI dysfunction (sacral iliac dysfunction) can be a cause of your pain. SI joint makes up your pelvis and this joint can cause pain that runs down the leg. This pain doesn’t cross the knee joint but can feel similar to sciatica.

Another condition that can cause sciatic like symptoms is myofascial pain or trigger points. The muscles and fascia in your body holds a ton of nerve endings and if your muscles go into spasm or contain trigger points it can cause pain to run down the back of your leg just like sciatica. Again the pain does not cross the knee joint and this is a hallmark of sciatica.

What should you do?

Having a consultation and examination done by a chiropractor is one of your best options. As a chiropractor I deal with this every day in the office and know the best ways to treat it. If it’s due to joint dysfunction or myofascial pain we have the tools and knowledge to treat these conditions and get you back to the pain free lifestyle you had.

Dr. Michael Barnard

What Our Patients Are Saying!

We are all told when we are young to stand up tall and sit up straight but why? Why is posture so important to our overall health? Im glad you asked! First lets talk about what picture perfect posture looks like. If we are to look at anyone from a side standing position we want to see one straight line that starts at the ear. We connect dots from the ear to the shoulder, hip, knee and finally ankle. If you look at the picture on the side you can see the dots that are connected.We want all those dots to be in one straight line because this is the gravity line.

Any deviation forward or backwards as a result of this alignment can start to put a large amount of pressure on your spine. Looking from the front of your body we start up at the nose. Draw a line down to connect the dots at the sternum, belly button and pubic symphsis. This again is proper spinal alignment and posture.

What happens if you deviate from this alignment? Altogether your head weighs about 12 lbs. (on average) and for every inch that your head moves forward off this line, the weight of your head goes up by 10 lbs. So for 2 inches forward the weight of your head is 32 lbs. Your spine is not designed for all this extra weight and it begins to change and become painful. Proper spinal alignment is important because it offsets all the forces and stress we put on our bodies. An increase in weight around your mid section throws off your center of gravity because it pulls your spine forward and down placing an abnormal amount of stress on your lumbar spine.

Your spine acts like a shock absorber. When looking from the side your spine is not straight but curved. These curves help offset the stress that we put on our bodies just like a spring or a shock for your car by dispersing the forces. We begin to get degeneration and arthritis building up when your body can no longer deal with the stresses placed on it. The misconception is that degeneration and arthritis are synonymous with old age. This could not be further from the truth. How well you take care of yourself directly represents the damage to our spine.

How does posture affect your overall function? An easy way for you to see how important posture is to your overall function is the “Breathing Test”. Before that we need to ask the question “how important is breathing?” Silly question right?! We rely on oxygen for every aspect of our life so its kind of important. With that in mind lets do this test.

First off  all slouch forward and round your shoulders forward. You are basically putting yourself into a horrible postural position. From this position and without changing anything, I want you to try and take a deep breath in. Not easy to do right? In contrast, sit up straight with your shoulders down and back. From this position try and take a deep breath. What a difference that makes. How much more oxygen can you be taking in on a daily basis with proper posture? Comparatively this gives you an easy way to see the importance of posture and the affect it can have on your function. Your oxygen intake is directly affected because of your posture.

In conclusion, its important to get your spine checked to make sure you don’t have some of the underlying problems that occur from bad posture. Through chiropractic care we can help correct some postural changes you have undergone. So much more can be said but if you have questions regarding this topic please email me. I also offer free consultations to anyone that has questions about chiropractic and if it can help you.

Michael Barnard D.C.

What Our Patients Are Saying!

Many people ask this question or seem to think they don’t “need” chiropractic care. The truth is that EVERYONE can benefit from chiropractic care, including athletes looking for Sports Chiropractors in Palm Beach Gardens. The joke I use often with people when they ask me who needs chiropractic care is “anyone with a spine”. The truth is if you have a spine then you should be undergoing some form of care whether that be corrective care for an issue you are having or wellness/maintenance care for prevention. Our country is backwards in the way we do health care in that we wait till a problem occurs before we get treatment.

In truth, preventative measures should be taken so that a problem never arises. I preach this topic often to patients and friends on the difference between being proactive with your health verses reactive with it. Why wait till a problem occurs to get the help you might need. Many people walk into my office not knowing the underlying problems that are going on in there spine as a result of years of abuse.

My job is to educate them on this and help prevent problems down the line. Your spine houses part of your central nervous system. This system supplies your entire body with information on how and when to function. Without it you would die. If this system is that important to your overall function then would it not stand to reason that you should get a “checkup”? Many people go to the dentist every six months or sooner because of their teeth and that’s something you can live without.

You can replace teeth while your nervous system and spine you cannot replace. Furthermore who wants spinal surgery? My father is a dentist and I know that most don’t like getting a small cavity filled so major back surgery should be out of the question. And yet too many people undergo major back surgery before even giving chiropractic care a try. Unfortunately many end no better or worse as a result.

So is chiropractic care for you? Absolutely it is! If you have pain or not, chiropractic care is for you. Pain is the last thing to present when you have an issue. At Barnard Chiropractic, Health, Sports & Wellness I know the importance of getting seen before things get bad. I see it on a daily basis the problems that occur as a result of not going and taking care of your health. We make it safe, affordable and fun here at the office.

Education is paramount to your success because we take the time to show you what and why things are happening so that you understand your condition. Consultations are free in the office so if you are reading this and have some doubts don’t wait. Ask questions and find out the benefits that chiropractic care can offer you. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I look forward to meeting you in the office.

Dr. Michael Barnard Jr. D.C.

What Our Patients Say About Us!

Dr. Barnard discusses proper spinal alignment from different views. Many people get confused about the alignment of the spine in different orientations. This short clip is designed to help with that confusion. Also Dr. Barnard discusses what happens if you lose those curves in the spine and the detriment it has on you.

The Vibration Platform is another tool used at Barnard Chiropractic. These platforms are used to retrain posture, improve circulation, retrain muscle patterns, improve balance, improve coordination and more. We have two in the office we use daily. This is a integral part to what we do in the office.

PNF Stretching is a type of stretching that we do in the office. Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation is the proper name for the technique. This type of stretching uses your own bodies neurology against itself. Trying to get the the muscles to relax we cause a contraction in the muscle we are trying to stretch. Then the muscle is relaxed allowing for further stretch and greater range of motion.