Are you Sacrificing Your Health in the Pursuit of Wealth?

Are you Sacrificing Your Health in the Pursuit of Wealth? They say the only thing that is constant is change, and that is never truer when it comes to your body. Every minute of every day you are alive, your body is changing millions of cell. You create millions of new cells to replace old one and this process happens without you thinking one iota about the process. I want to introduce you to this concept and how it relates to your life. I am always one to encourage people and challenge them to create shift in their lives. One of my favorite personal quotes is ‘shift happens.’ I also enjoy introducing practice members and friends to ideas on how to create the constant shift and change in their lives to keep things moving forward. One of the ideas I often share is having two vacations on the books. Yes, that is correct, TWO of them so after you take one, you always know when your next vacation is. I know some of you are thinking, ‘ I don’t have time for that,’ or ‘I can’t afford that.’ Well, you can’t afford not to. The number one cause of personal bankruptcy in our lifetime is a health care crisis later in life so let’s just picture the idea of someone working their tail off so they can save up enough money to enjoy those vacations later in life, only to suffer from a health care crisis and spend all of that money on their health.

The Dalai Lama said it best, and I am paraphrasing, when asked what fascinates him most about mankind and his reply ‘that man/woman sacrifices health in the pursuit of wealth only to turn around and spend that very wealth to regain their health later in life.’ We need to start living NOW, we never know if tomorrow will come. Having vacations on the books are a great way to create excitement and always having something to look forward to. It can be a weekend trip, a camping trip, and overnight away, it doesn’t have to be a big expensive trip. We do four or five small trips and one big trip per year in our family. Take a different way to work, sleep on the other side of the bed, change that workout routine, call an old friend, have dinner at a new restaurant, hike a different mountain, go to a new beach, there are so many ways to create change and keep yourself present in that very moment. Have you ever driven somewhere so many times that you often make the drive and don’t even remember stopping, turning, driving etc..? Of course you have, change and shift help maintain presence.

Fall season is here and start it with an Adjustment to align your spine, get a Massage, or get you Qi”Chi” flowing! Call 604-294-2663 today and we would love to help you.

Happy New Year from Your Burnaby Heights Chiropractic and Wellness Centre. Tis the season for New Year’s Resolutions, but what we have to say hear may change your mind. Sure lose weight, stop smoking, eat better, work out more, etc……are the biggest New Year’s plans for most, however, this year let’s really examine the psychology behind all of this and take a different approach.

I certainly understand, metaphorically, the idea of a ‘fresh start’ in the ‘new year.’ This is a concept that has been around for many years. In fact, I am totally amazed every year how many new faces are at the gym even at 5 am starting January 2nd. This type of thinking comes directly on the heels of a holiday season where people have let their bad habits slip even more than usual. Less sleep, more sugar, increased stress has left people feeling particularly lethargic and often times ill. This year will be different for sure; I am starting fresh in the New Year. I will lose 20 lbs, I am joining the gym, I will not smoke another cigarette, I am throwing away those muffins blah blah blah…! This sound wonderful in theory but most of the time these plans come crumbling down at the first obstacle. Now to the underlying thought process that affects most of us.

The average new years resolution lasts approximately 14 days, that’s right, 14 days. Wow, that isn’t even enough time to become a good habit. A good habit takes 21 days. This is what we are going to do different this time. We are going to set goals with action steps, not resolutions. This is not to say that someone can’t make a decision for a new year and stick with it. I know someone in my office that smoked for 20 years and just decided Jan 1st one year, they stopped smoking completely and kept that up. This blog is for the 98% of people who don’t do that. Goals have purpose, true meaning behind them. First make a list of the things you value most in life. Mine would be health, family, etc…..this list should consist of the five things in life you value most. Now ask yourself if your mental, physical, and spiritual well being are in line with those five important values. Behind every goal is true purpose, once this purpose is in line with your desired outcomes, you will be far more likely to reach your new years goals.

These goals can be broken down into professional and personal. A personal goal may be health, financial, social, family, vacation, service to community. There are many ways to break down your goals based on what you value most. As an example, if my most important value is family, playing with my kids, being active as a family etc…how can I do all of that if I am 20 lbs overweight, smoke cigarettes, don’t exercise, and sleep all day long? Well, I can’t. My value of family driven by purpose is what propels me to eat the way I do, exercise at 5 am daily, meditate, get adjusted by my chiropractor every week, get massages, go on vacations, take yoga and so on. These things are driven by my purpose.

This year, look at your life in goals, not resolutions, discover your purpose and let the upcoming year be your best ever. The results may just amaze you.

Do you experience difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, are you looking for an insomnia treatment in Burnaby? Then read on if you also experience any of the following symptoms: fatigue, difficulty concentrating, mood disturbances, or decreased work/school performance? If you said yes to both questions, then you may suffer from insomnia.

Insomnia and poor sleep quality is a common condition. The National Sleep Foundation estimates that 48% of North Americans experience insomnia occasionally, while 22% experience insomnia nightly. Lack of sleep and/or poor quality sleep can have detrimental effects on energy, physical performance, emotional wellness, mental acuity, immunity, and digestion.

At Our Burnaby Chiropractic Clinic, our practice members often report improved sleeping quality as one of the unexpected effects of chiropractic care. This is a common report among practice members ranging in age from infants to seniors. Improved sleep benefits not only the practice member, but also their relationship with their loved ones. When I share this finding with other people, they often ask the question, “What does sleep have to do with your back?”

To answer this question, we must keep in mind that the spine and skull protects the spinal cord and brain (the central nervous system). When spine is properly aligned, the nervous system functions optimally and appropriately balances the body’s fight or flight (sympathetic) and rest and digest (parasympathetic) functions. Sympathetic and parasympathetic functioning is inversely related, meaning that as one state increases, the other decreases.

Sleep is a parasympathetic function that can diminish when the spine is misaligned (or subluxated) from birth, traumas, chronic poor postures, repetitive motions, toxins, or mental/emotional stress. At the same time, sympathetic functioning increases. Manifestations of sympathetic/parasympathetic imbalance can include poor sleep, reduced immunity, problematic digestion, decreased growth, and even pain.

The chiropractic adjustment optimizes the spine’s functioning thereby re-balancing the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic functioning. It is for this reason that a person who initially comes in for pain will report changes to sleep and ability to relax, in addition to experiencing relief for their original complaint, after being under care for some time.

If the insomnia or the quality of your sleep is preventing you from functioning at your best and you would like to find out how chiropractic can support you, schedule an initial evaluation today by calling (604) 294-2663.

Dr. Rami Ghazzaoui and Dr. John Ly are committed to creating extraordinary health for the entire family. They practice in the Burnaby Heights Area.

My neck is hurting again!?” Do you ever find yourself thinking this? Did you know that neck pain often comes from tension in the upper shoulders? Unlike our cars, our bodies are an interconnected network of physiological processes. One area does effect another.

When you have tension in your upper back, it can sometimes cut off necessary blood and nerve supply to your head and neck. And, as we know, a steady, free-flowing supply of oxygen, carried by our blood supply is necessary for clear thinking. Our brains are the command and control center of our bodies, needed that immediate feedback loop to stay open.

Do you experience upper back tension? When this doesn’t get relief it can turn to a throbbing headache. Has this ever happened to you? This is a common cascade of tension rolling into even greater pain. In our society it is common occurrence. It can come from doing computer work, desk work. This is common and necessary to move along our lives.

Have you ever taken an aspirin for this kind of pain? It’s a common solution. Ask yourself, “Does this solution offer long-term relief or is it only temporary?” What isn’t normal is to live with the pain. Many times relief is a matter of education and learning a better solution.

To get long-lasting relief, that is healthy for your long-term health, let’s look at the mechanics behind upper back pain. Tension can be created by tightening muscles. After all, just living in todays society can cause this kind of tension on a daily basis. Yet we need to live and work, and desk work is a part of life.

Did you know that relief can be healthy and long-lasting? This can come from a chiropractic adjustment. This adjustment can free up essential nerve and blood supply, giving you relief. The alignment created by gently moving the your vertebrae in place allows free-flowing nerve energy and blood supply to your head and neck. The weight of the average human head is roughly 8 pounds. Imagine gravity pushing down, while you’re vertebrae are out of alignment!

At the same time, nerve and blood blow is constricted moving up to the head. This can create a kind of traffic jam, going both ways. Have you ever seen this on the freeway? Imagine this going on in your body! Tight muscles can misalign bones. When the vertebrae are out of place, it’s like having highway lanes misaligned. What happens now? Major blockage!

The healthy solution is a chiropractic adjustment. Do you know how easy this really is? Just going in for an adjustment, gives you relief physically and aligns your vertebrae to allow vital, free-flowing nerve and blood flow, to and from your neck and shoulders. Your chiropractor can also show you the proper body mechanics.

Tension might be a normal part of life. Living with it, isn’t! Relief is experienced by thousands of people with the same kind of pain, as you. Chiropractors are experts at helping your nervous system function at its highest level.

Feel the relief today.

One good adjustment is worth a good night’s sleep going into a relaxed and energized day.

Did you know that backpacks accounted for 28,000 doctor office and emergency room visits in 2010? How can a backpack cause so many problems? Choosing the right backpack is extremely important. Poorly fitting backpacks may lead to strains and pinched nerves. They can cause dislocations and fractures during falls. Furthermore, poorly fitting backpacks promote poor posture, which may negatively affect concentration, learning, immunity, or even athletic performance. With backpacks being one of the top three items on almost all back-to-school shopping lists, it is important to know how to select the right backpack.

While backpacks can be an extension of your child’s personal taste, the selection of a backpack should never compromise safety for fashion. Here is a checklist of features that should be available when choosing the right backpack:

• Wide, padded shoulder straps. Wide, padded straps distribute the backpack’s weight along the shoulders.
• Padded back. A padded back improves comfort and protects the child from being poked by contents within the backpack (i.e. rulers, pencils, etc).
• Waist strap. Waist straps reduce the stress that is placed upon the shoulders by the shoulder straps.
• Multiple compartments. Multiple compartments help balance the load evenly within the backpack.
• Size. The backpack should never be longer or wider than the wearer’s torso.

After selecting a backpack with the proper features, it is even more important to use the backpack properly. To prevent injury, here are some tips for how to properly wear a backpack.

• Loading a backpack. A backpack should carry no more than 10% the weight of the person carrying the backpack. Therefore, the weight of a backpack worn by a 100 lb. child should not exceed 10 lbs.
• Wear all the straps. Wearing all the straps will prevent excessive stress from being exerted on one area of the body.
• Positioning the backpack. The bottom of the backpack should be no lower than four inches below the waistline.

Back-to-school is a period of excitement and anticipation for the upcoming school year. If you have any questions regarding backpacks, choosing the right backpack, your child’s posture, or their health feel free to schedule a consultation in our office. Please call 604-294-2663 to schedule your child’s appointment today.

With today’s technology at the tip of our fingers, more and more car accidents and whiplash injuries are happening around the country and Vancouver, specifically.  Whiplash is a commonly used term to describe the mechanism of injury sustained in a car accident.  This type of injury can cause structural damage to the neck, mid back, and lower back.  It is commonly called a flexion/extension type of injury where the head and neck move rapidly forward and then backwards. In fact, research many years ago showed that a car accident with rear impact of just 10mph is enough to cause significant structural damage to the ligaments and muscles surrounding the bones of the spine.

In addition, car accidents cause a Vertebral Subluxation where the bone becomes displaced and creates significant pressure or pinching on the spinal nerves. This may create a large amount of discomfort, however, in only ten percent of the cases does this actually cause pain.  Ninety percent of the time, when someone causes a subluxation they won’t feel the pain until weeks, months, and sometimes even years later.  It is vital that every person involved in any type of car accident have their spine checked as soon as possible by a Chiropractor.  The amount of damage to the nervous system and surrounding nerves can go unnoticed at first by the injured party, but can cause many problems later in life such as arthritis or degeneration of the spine, headaches, neck pain, trouble concentrating, changes in blood pressure, spinal pain, radiation into the extremities, dizziness, trouble concentrating just to mention a few.

This mechanism of injury is often caused by high impact sports also such as football, rugby, skiing, snowboarding and surfing.  Many children even suffer this type of injury who play sports in these high impact situations leading to health issues later in life. In fact, recent research showed that playing in an NFL game was equivalent to being in 10 car accidents.

If you have been involved in a car accident, whether you are at fault or not, you may  have suffered some type of whiplash injury,  get checked by your Burnaby Chiropractor right away.

With Spring around the corner and the Vancouver Sun Run getting closer, here are some common types of Runing Issues that we see at our Burnaby Chiropractic and Wellness Centre. We will address a different issue each week, first on the list is “Shin Splints”.

One of the most common complaints is the onset of lower leg pain which begins after starting the exercise program. Often the patient has already had treatment by physical therapists, orthopedic surgeons, and other sport injury specialists.

I love these types of patients because after we help their sports injury, which other specialists were not able to do, they now trust us to take care of their spinal problems as well.

I believe that the best way to build a practice is to get people better and they will refer everyone they know.

The most common lower leg injury is “shin splints.”

Sports medicine specialists are starting to use the new terminology of medial and lateral tibial stress syndrome instead of “shin splints.”

This injury can be devastating to young athletes as well as recreational runners and aerobic exercise enthusiasts. Hard surfaces are blamed as the cause of shin splints by many experts.  In my opinion, the cause of the vast majority of shin splints is the common biomechanical problem of overpronation.
Pain along the medial border of the tibia is the chief entering complaint. The posterior tibialis muscle attaches along the medial tibia and inserts on the bottom of the medial foot. Its function is to invert and dorsiflex the foot. It also helps to support the arch of the foot and therefore helps prevent overpronation of the foot.

Overpronation is an excessive rolling in of the foot. Many authors have stated that 60-80% of the population overpronates. This overpronation will cause an overstretching of the tibialis posterior muscle which leads to fatigue, weakness, and spasm. As a result, the attachment of the muscle along the tibia will become inflamed. The periostium of the bone is loaded with pain nerves and the condition can be extremely painful to the point of stopping all exercise activity.

Correction of this condition starts with a custom foot orthotic to correct the overpronation of the foot. Overpronation takes place in the subtalar joint and this joint needs to be checked for subluxations.

Once the foot is stabilized and the biomechanical problem has been neutralized, therapy to the injured area can begin.

Therapy for our patients usually includes:
– massage
– cryotherapy and
– a light strengthening program for the tibialis posterior muscle.

Strengthening the tibialis posterior muscle
Strengthening is accomplished by having the patient stand with his feet turned in as much as possible (pigeon-toed.) Then the patient will do toe raisers. This is done using only the body weight and lifting the heels off the ground and then coming back down. In time, the patient will be able to do 100-200 repetitions in a few minutes.

The differential diagnosis of a tibial stress fracture must be performed on all patients. An AP and lateral, lower leg x-ray must be taken to rule out a stress fracture. Any small change to the tibial cortex indicates a stress fracture. All sports activity is stopped for 6-12 weeks while the fracture heals.

Of special interest is that this cortex reaction may not be seen in the initial stages of pain. Therefore, another series of x-rays should be taken if the condition is not improving with treatment. A bone density study can be utilized in difficult cases; however, I prefer that the patient rest for 6-12 weeks prior to a bone density study.

This treatment plan that has been presented, along with the clearing of any foot, ankle, knee or pelvic subluxations will give you, the doctor of chiropractic, the best results of any sports medicine specialist in your community.

There are thousands of people unable to exercise due to “shin splints.” We can get those people better and back on their exercise programs through correction of their biomechanical problems and good chiropractic care.

Contact us at your Burnaby Chiropractic and Wellness Centre and get runing pain free!!

We have often wondered why so many people wait until New Years to start their new resolutions, whether they are financial, personal, or health goals. In our Clinic, We have heard the most amazing excuses for not starting prior to the end of the year, “I just bought a carton of cigarettes, I have to finish them before I stop smoking.” “I might as well finish the sodas in my fridge before I stop.” “There is no point exercising now as I have so many parties to go to, I am just going to eat and get fat anyway.” The list literally goes on and on. There is a reason why resolutions don’t work. Sure people may metaphorically look at the New Year as a fresh start, a new beginning and, thus, feel mentally as if they are ready to make real change. We understand the mindset, just not the action. If something is important enough to change and your health is truly the most important thing to you, one can change in an instant at any time, New Years or not. Most people are just kidding themselves and use New Years as a crutch or an excuse.

You see, the reason why resolutions don’t work is they are not goals. Goals are completely different than resolutions. Resolutions are stated as “I am going to quit smoking in the New Year or I am going to start exercising in the New Year.” These are just statements without defined action steps. In fact, I have a close friend who works on the corporate level for a fitness company and they make more money in January than the rest of the year combined because all the “one time new years fitness customers” sign up for the year pay in advance to get a discount and never end up using their membership. He even went as far as to tell me that over 2/3 of their paying members haven’t used one of their gyms in over 90 days time. Goals are S.M.A.R.T. Specific, Measurable, Actionable, and Realistic, with a Timetable. Goals have purpose with defined action steps that lead to success. Most resolutions last a mere 14 days. Those that study goal setting and habits realize that a good habit takes a minimum of 21 days for success. Resolutions don’t work because they don’t last long enough to become a habit.

This year, write goals for the different areas of life. Each year I set Personal Health, Financial, and Family goals. We sit down as a team and set Office Goals. Each goal must have a purpose (the why you want to achieve this goal). Each goal must have action steps and they must follow the S.M.A.R.T rule. Make sure you are realistic, read your goals daily. In fact, only 1% of people have clearly defined written goals but almost everyone makes resolutions. Fortune magazine did a study many years ago of the top people in 100 different categories of business. They wanted to determine what made people rise to the top of their industry. Was it personality type, schooling, up bringing, or some other factor? What they found is the only thing every single person in the study did the same was each of them had written goals they referred to on a daily basis.

When you take your life and your health serious and make sure your success and health are a number one priority, you will write GOALS and ditch the RESOLUTIONS this year.