Just Be Happy, people!

Hello Jacksonville, Dr. Chris Renne here. For today’s blog post I wanted to step outside my usual boxes of chiropractic and physical medicine and talk about… happiness! How can someone make themselves happy?

Now, you might think that this is a question for philosophers, not medical providers, but in recent years science has started trying to figure out what it is that makes happy people tick. No, no one has come up with a ‘happy pill’ yet, but experts have identified a few key traits that most happy people have in common. Most happy folks, it turns out, have cultivated five unique skills: they are able to savor the moment, thank those that matter to them, aspire to meaningful goals, give generously of themselves, and empathize with others.

Let’s take a look at each of these ‘happiness skills’ in a little more detail!

Savoring the Moment

How much of your day do you spend rushing around, thinking about what you have to do next? Experts say that happy people focus their attention on the present moment, and that doing so helps them reduce stress and negative thoughts. Here is a simple way to practice being ‘in the moment’: every time you sit down, exhale five long, slow breaths. As you do so, think about your inner experiences since the last time you did your five long, slow breaths that day. Use these moments to refocus, collect yourself, and relax.

Thanking Those Who Matter

It’s easy to focus only on the things in your life that need fixing. An attitude of thankfulness can make you mindful of the good stuff in your life instead of just the bad stuff. Who can you thank for making your day a little bit better? Don’t forget to be thankful for the little things too - a sunny morning, a fluffy pet, a pain-free day - even when no-one in particular is responsible. Focusing on the good things in your life will improve your mental outlook.

Aspiring to Meaningful Goals

It can be easy to get stuck in dead-end thinking in which you believe nothing about your life will ever change. Replace this negative mindset by giving yourself goals that have specific, achievable steps. Checking off the steps towards a goal feels rewarding and exciting, and it will help you take a proactive attitude towards your life. The key is to pick goals that will be meaningful and rewarding to you, but are achievable.

Giving Generously of Yourself

When life is challenging, thinking of others may not be the most obvious solution; but experts find that many happy people practice volunteering their time and talents no matter what they are going through. Doing this can help you see what other people have to offer and give you a fresh perspective on your own problems. Plus, it will lift the spirits of those you help as well as your own, so it is really a win-win!

Empathizing With Others

Empathy could be defined as the ability to understand and respond to another person’s unique feelings and experiences. While you might think that this is something that some people are simply able to do naturally, it can in fact be learned and practiced. The first step is to communicate with others and try to understand their point of view. By focusing your attention on the needs of others, you can break out of a self-focused mindset and improve your relationships. Experts say that the development of empathy is one of the most important skills for personal and professional success.

How Will Your Pursue Your Happiness?

So how can you start making yourself a little happier? Maybe start with those goals! What about setting yourself a goal to do thirty minutes of moderate exercise three times a week? Or eating healthier, fresher foods? Or practicing mindfulness breathing exercises? Whatever you do, I hope you find happiness and contentment.

Yours in health,

Christopher B. Renne, D.C.

Chiropractic Physician

www.activechirocenter.com

Golf Anyone?

Hello again, Dr. Renne here to talk about a very important subject: golf! I love golf, and not just because it’s a lot of fun to play. As a medical provider what I like about it is that it encourages people to get outside and walk! And regular distance walking is very beneficial to the body, especially compared to sitting indoors in front of a desk or a TV all day.

However, if you suffer from lower back pain, playing golf can stop being a joy and become a chore instead. If you are at risk for back pain, whether due to injury, a chronic pain condition, or age, I strongly encourage you to take some simple, preventative measures to keep lower back pain from ruining your game:

• Warm up and limber up: Going straight to the tee at 7 AM and whacking away with your driver is a recipe for a pulled muscle. Loosen up your back first by rotating your torso in each direction, hugging each knee to your chest in turn, and trying to touch your toes. Take a few gentle practice swings as well before you really hit the gas.
• Practice good technique: A golf swing involves applying a great deal of torque (force) and torsion (twisting) to your lower back. If this isn’t performed properly, it can result in a great deal of stress and lead to injuries and even degenerative disc conditions. Work on a smooth, fluid swing which distributes the load evenly across your spine. This will prevent wear and tear on your back, and as a bonus, it might even improve your score!
• Watch out for the golf bag: Bending over to pick up a heavy golf bag can put a lot of stress on the lower back. Some golf bags can stand upright on their own, which makes them easier to pick up, so you may find that this is a worthwhile investment. When carrying your golf bag I recommend using dual straps that distribute the weight evenly over your back instead of just carrying it over one shoulder.
• Exercise regularly: Is your weekly golf game the only exercise you’re getting? Take up a low-impact aerobic exercise, such as walking or stationary biking, and do this three times weekly for 30-40 minutes. This conditioning will help keep your body loose and functional during your golf games.

If you are already experiencing low back pain, there are steps you can take to get yourself back in the game. Stretching and flexibility become even more critical, since people suffering from chronic low back pain tend to lose mobility. Make sure you are stretching not just before your game, but on a daily basis. If you would like to work out a routine of helpful stretches and exercises, come in and our helpful staff will show you how!

I also strongly encourage you to get involved in a regular, low-impact exercise routine. In fact, I discussed several such options in my last blog post, including: walking, stationary biking, step machines, elliptical trainers, and water therapy. Again, the key is to perform such an exercise several times a week and for a long enough period to elevate your heart rate. Regular aerobic exercise will make you feel better and allow healing to begin within injured joints, muscles, and discs.

For some of us, once we reach a certain age we may develop conditions such as spinal stenosis or degenerative spondylolisthesis. If this happens to you, you need to take extra care on the links. Consider using a golf cart to get around and modifying your golf swing for a lower-impact stroke. I also highly recommend low-impact water therapy as an exercise in this case.

From your chiropractor’s perspective, golf is a game with a lot of health benefits, as long as you take care of your body - especially your lower back! With care, you should be able to enjoy the back nine for many years to come.

Yours in health,

Dr. Christopher B. Renne

Chiropractic Physician

4111 Atlantic Boulevard

Jacksonville, Fl. 32207

www.activechirocenter.com

Low impact exercises for the spinally challenged among us

Hey Jacksonville, Dr. Renne here. As promised, here are additional tips and exercises that are designed to get in shape safely and with minimal insult to your back.

If you have experienced chronic back pain then you know it can discourage you from getting up and moving around a lot. In particular, it might stop you from doing what we call ‘aerobic’ exercises such as walking, running, biking, and swimming. And you need that kind of exercise!

You might think that aerobic exercises wouldn’t have much to do with back pain, but in fact they can be highly beneficial to sufferers. Aerobic exercise allows blood and nutrients to reach tissues and muscles in your back, promoting healing. It can also reduce stiffness in your joints. The key to achieving these benefits is elevating that heart rate and keeping it in an age-dependent target zone for at least 20 minutes at a time!

Chronic back pain patients who are able to do regular aerobic exercise experience a bunch of benefits: they have fewer episodes of lower back pack pain and those episodes are shorter; they are more likely to stay functional and be able to carry out everyday activities; they have better control over their weight, which decreases stress on their joints and spine; they produce more endorphins, which are natural painkillers; and they experience fewer symptoms of depression, a common side-effect of back problems.

“That’s great, doc,” you might say, “but I’m really hurting! I can’t exactly go run a 5K!” Not to worry! There are plenty of low-impact aerobic exercises that you can start doing right now to get on the road to better health. Here are a few:

• Walking: Walking is great! Most people can do it, you can do it almost anywhere, and no special equipment is necessary. You can even do it on a treadmill in your own home. Studies show that walking 2-3 miles three times per week can greatly contribute to increased spine health.
• Stationary biking: If you are the kind of person that prefers riding a bike, you have more options than ever before. Many gyms offer popular ‘spinning’ classes and there are a wide variety of upright and reclining stationary bikes that can be purchased for your home. You can probably find a perfectly good used bike at a steep discount. And then you can ride while you read a book or watch TV!
• Step machines and elliptical trainers: These machines are somewhere between the treadmill and the stationary bike. You step on pedals or steps, causing them to move along a continuous oval, which is a lower impact motion than stepping onto a hard surface. These machines provide an excellent aerobic workout and can be less jarring than walking. Many of them also provide an upper body workout by giving the arms something to do as well.
• Water therapy: Perhaps the lowest impact of all forms of exercise are water exercises, since water’s natural buoyancy counteracts gravity’s pull on your spine and joints. You probably associate water with swimming laps, which is of course a great aerobic workout, but did you know that you can also lift weights and do stretching in the water? Patients who wouldn’t normally be able to participate in activities such as bicep curls or tricep kickbacks are often able to do so in water. For those in too much pain to tolerate mats on a hard floor or the elderly, I highly recommend water therapy.

Whatever level of physical ability you are currently at, there is a low impact aerobic exercise that you can do. I encourage you to find what that is and start doing it regularly. Before too long you’ll find yourself working up to activities you never knew you were capable of!

If you don’t currently have an aerobic exercise regimen, come in and talk to us. We will show you some exercises that will work for you, fit with your lifestyle, and not exacerbate your back pain. Let’s get you back on the road to recovery.

Yours in health,

Christopher B. Renne, D.C.

Chiropractic Physician

www.activechirocenter.com

To check out other helpful blog posts, click here: http://www.activechirocenter.com/index.php?p=398237

Postural pain bringing you down? This may help....

Hello everyone, Dr. Renne here to talk about how you can reduce back pain in your everyday routine.

If you're someone who is living with chronic back or neck pain, your daily routine can get pretty complicated — appointments, insurance paperwork, time off work, treatment regimens to follow, etc. While these are important aspects of managing your pain and recovery process, there are simple things you can do (or avoid doing) every day to help your condition. Good posture and body mechanics (the way you perform your activities all day, everyday) can leave you feeling more like yourself at the end of your day!

Support your spine while sitting at your desk or in your car

Sitting for prolonged periods of time can be a major cause of back pain. Sitting is a static posture, which can add a tremendous amount of pressure to the back muscles and spinal discs. Even worse is sitting in a slouched-over or slouched-down position! This can overstretch the spinal ligaments and increase the pressure on your spinal discs.

Sitting with your back relatively straight and with good support is essential to minimize the strain on your back. You need to provide your lower back with support for the inward curve of the lumbar spine, especially when you sit for prolonged periods of time. Here are a few tips for good posture and support for your lower spine while sitting at a desk or while driving:

• Make sure your chair is set up so your knees are bent at about a 90° angle. Two fingers should slip easily between the bottom of your thigh and the chair.
• The backrest of your chair should push your lower back forward slightly. If it doesn’t, try placing a small pillow, rolled up towel, or orthopedic support on your chair.
• Your buttocks should be pressed against the back of the chair, and your back should be straight.
• It's a good idea to have arm rests on your office chair that place your elbows at a 90-degree angle.
• Place some support under your feet to elevate them slightly and take some of the load off of your lower spine. Sit with your knees slightly higher than your hips to eliminate much of the pressure on your lumbar spine.
• Don’t sit on anything that would throw your spine out of alignment. (Take that wallet out of your back pocket!)
• Don't slouch or slump in your office or car seat—this puts extra pressure on your spine and stress on the lumbar discs. Use the back of the chair to provide support for your back.
• Sit up straight and keep your chin pulled in (avoid keeping your chin and head thrust forward).
• Sit as close to your desk as possible.
• Your computer screen or reading materials should be at eye level.

Some people prefer furniture that promotes more muscle activity, such as a Swedish kneeling chair, standing desk, or a Swiss exercise ball, rather than a chair that provides complete support. Purchasing a good ergonomic office chair that provides optimal back support may also be helpful.

On the phone a lot?  Consider investing in a headset to take the strain off your neck, or try using the speakerphone. Avoid cradling the phone on your shoulder.

If you are in a great deal of pain, try to avoid driving. If possible, have someone else drive, and lie down in the back seat with your knees slightly bent. You can place a blanket or pillow under your knees to support them, as well as a small pillow under your head.

Move about during the day

A healthy body can only tolerate staying in one position for relatively short periods of time. You may have noticed this on an airplane, at your desk, or at a movie theater when sitting is uncomfortable after just a short time. Even with correct posture, holding the same position slowly takes the elasticity out of the tissues; over time, stress builds up and causes discomfort. This is normal!

Keep your joints, ligaments, muscles, and tendons loose by moving about and stretching on a regular basis throughout the day:

Stand up while talking on the phone. Try standing with one foot slightly in front of the other, or placing one foot on something a few inches off the ground; avoid standing straight with your knees locked.

Stretch your hamstrings twice each day. To help you remember to do this on a regular basis, link the stretching to a part of your daily routine, such as when you brush your teeth in the morning and evening, or when you first get to work and before you head home. Flexible hamstrings will significantly reduce the stress on your lower back.

When you return to your seat after moving around, use an alternate posture for just a few moments and some of the tissue elasticity needed to protect your joints will return.

Paying attention to your posture and movement throughout the day and while sleeping at night will help you manage your pain and maintain good spine health.

If you would like to talk with us about how you might improve your posture and support your back in your everyday activities, give us a call at (904) 398-4860.

Yours in health,

Dr. Christopher B. Renne

Chiropractic Physician

4111 Atlantic Boulevard

Jacksonville, Fl. 32207

www.activechirocenter.com

Check yourself before you......

Nah. I won't go there!

But it is National Blood Pressure Awareness Month, so I thought I'd reach out to let everyone know how important it is to monitor your blood pressure and to take ACTION if you have a problem.

First, a little background.....High blood pressure affects 1 in 3 adults in the US. One out of every three! Of course, those numbers are for all adults. For adults over the age of fifty, over half have high blood pressure! Yikes!

High blood pressure is an especially dangerous condition because you can have it and yet be completely unaware of it! But that doesn’t stop it from having very real consequences.

Blood pressure is a measurement of the amount of force your blood exerts on the walls of your blood vessels as it flows through them. Too much force and those walls can fail, just like the pipes in your house. High blood pressure forces your heart to work overtime to pump blood through your veins. It also greatly increases your risks for heart disease and strokes.

In 2010, it is estimated that blood pressure was a direct or contributing factor in over 360,000 American deaths. That is 1,000 deaths per day.

Okay doc, I’m convinced! High blood pressure sounds pretty bad! What can I do about it?

The first step is prevention. When is the last time you, or your close friends and family members, had a blood pressure screening? If it has been a while, don’t wait! In addition to your doctor’s office, most pharmacies now offer free blood pressure screenings.

Blood pressure is measured by two numbers, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure, the top number, is the force exerted when your heart beats and pumps blood out. Diastolic pressure (the bottom number) is the force exerted between heartbeats, when the heart is relaxed.

Generally speaking, systolic blood pressure of less than 120 and diastolic blood pressure of less than 80 is considered normal. If your systolic blood pressure is between 120 and 139 and your diastolic pressure is between 80 and 89, you have pre-hypertension. If your blood pressure exceeds those numbers, you have hypertension, or high blood pressure. If you blood pressure is within pre-hypertension or hypertension levels, you should definitely see a doctor.

If you do have high blood pressure, don’t panic! There are steps you can take to reduce it. First of all, talk to your doctor! He or she may want to prescribe medication to help reduce your blood pressure. It is important to take this medication regularly as instructed.

Here are some other tips to reduce your blood pressure:

• If you smoke, quit! If you don’t smoke, don’t start.
• Reduce the sodium in your diet. Sodium raises blood pressure.
• Reduce your body weight.
• Exercise moderately for at least 30 minutes per day.
• Eat healthy! Make sure you get lots of fruits and vegetables and avoid saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol and, of course, sodium.
• Limit your alcohol intake. No more than one drink per day for women and two per day for men.
• Keep checking your blood pressure regularly!

Remember, you don’t have to go it alone! I find that patients who have support for their exercise and dieting routines are almost always more successful. Find a friend or family member who is also working on their low blood pressure. Take regular walks together. Plan low sodium meals together. Ask each other when the last time you checked your blood pressure was! With the right care, you’ll start to see those numbers come down.

For more information on high blood pressure, check out the CDC’s article on National High Blood Pressure Education Month.

In honor of National High Blood Pressure Education Month, Active Medical & Chiropractic is offering a free blood pressure screening along with fifteen minutes on our hydromassage table. No appointment is necessary. Just mention this blog post when you arrive. We are conveniently located at 4111 Atlantic Boulevard here in Jacksonville, Florida across the street from the world Famous Beach Road Chicken Dinner Restaurant.

Come in and see us today!

Yours in health,

Christopher B. Renne, D.C.

Chiropractic Physician

www.activechirocenter.com

Coffee, to drink or not to drink, that is the question......

From the desk of Christopher B. Renne, D.C.

Some News That Will Perk You Up

Hey folks, here I am enjoying a nice steaming cuppa joe. If you are like many people, you depend on one to two cups of coffee to get you through the day. But is coffee good for you or bad for you? Health experts have long blamed coffee for a laundry list of scary stuff, for everything from high anxiety, to heart disease, to high blood pressure, to cancer!

But the thing about good medical science is that it doesn’t rest on its laurels. Research on coffee continues, and a new study has come out that has some good news for coffee drinkers! The European Journal of Nutrition conducted a randomized trial on 84 men for several weeks and found something surprising: the men who drank coffee had a significant reduction in damage to their DNA. That means that over the course of their lives those men are less likely to suffer from disease and more likely to live longer. Wow. Way to go, coffee!

This isn’t the only recent study which is redeeming coffee in the eyes of doctors. Doctors used to steer patients with heart problems away from coffee. Now they encourage them to drink more of it. Yes, a study at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard School of Public Health concluded that drinking coffee in moderation protects against heart failure!

So what’s the deal with coffee anyway? I’ll let Dr. David Friedman explain why it has such a powerful effect on our bodies both for good and ill:

“The caffeine in coffee is a central nervous system stimulant which has physiological effects very similar to drugs, such as amphetamine and cocaine. This caffeine can be addictive and if you deprive your body of its java fix, it can lead to withdrawal symptoms like headaches, nausea and lightheadedness. Okay, it’s addicting; that doesn’t sound good. But since coffee is also loaded with health enhancing phytonutrients, vitamins, and enzymes, is being addicted to it really such a bad thing?”

Just like with most things, moderation is important. Too much coffee can definitely be bad for you. Research seems to indicate that 1-3 cups of coffee per day is just about right for most of us. Be sure to listen to your body, though. If coffee makes you feel bad or upsets your stomach, you may need to stay away from it.

It’s also important to remember that all this research has been conducted using simple black coffee. Milk, sugar, and cream taste great, but too much of that stuff can lead to weight gain, which can lead to inflammation in the body; that can cause all types of ailments from arthritis, to diabetes, to heart disease. So take it easy on those ‘venti mocha lattes’ at Starbucks! Instead, try substituting natural sweeteners like honey or the natural sugar alternative called Xylitol.

For more information about what the research says about coffee, you can check out Dr. Friedman’s article on the subject here.

Yours in health,

Christopher B. Renne, D.C.

Active Medical & Chiropractic

4111 Atlantic Blvd

Jacksonville, Fl. 32207

www.activechirocenter.com

It’s Time To Cure Sitting Disease!

Hello again friends, Dr. Chris Renne here. Today were going to discuss the dangers we all face living a sedentary lifestyle, particularly as this pertains to our spinal health.

How many hours per day do you spend sitting down? If you work in an office, probably more than a few! (Use this handy online calculator to figure out your daily ‘sit time’.) Global studies have shown that we spend an average of 7.7 hours per day sitting.

“Okay, doc, so I am sitting at my desk all day at work. So what?”

People who sit most of the day are at an elevated risk for non-accidental back injuries. The load on the discs in your spine is actually less when you are standing versus when you are sitting. If you suffer from lumbar degenerative disc disease, this difference in pressure can make a big difference.

But when you sit all day, a lot more than just your spinal health is at risk!

Studies show that prolonged sitting leads to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity,

depression, and even early death, folks! Yikes.

According to a study that examined mortality in women, those who are inactive and sitting for more than 6 hours a day are 94% more likely to die prematurely. Men - you are not off the hook! Your sedentary lifestyles increase your risk of cardiovascular mortality by 82%.

Mayo Clinic endocrinologist James Levine, an outspoken advocate for increased standing, has studied the effects of prolonged sitting. He comments, "Today, our bodies are breaking down from obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, depression and the cascade of health ills and everyday malaise that come from what scientists have named Sitting Disease."

Sound pretty alarming? Fortunately, there’s an easy fix: stand-up desks! Grab a stand up desk and find out just how easy it is to improve your health by committing to sitting just a little less every day. Your spine ‐ and your overall health ‐ will thank you.

Here is how to counteract the potentially negative effects of Sitting Disease:

• Purchase (or make) a standup desk, making sure to position your computer screen and keyboard in a way that will encourage good posture.
• Start out alternating between standing and sitting. While you are sitting, office ergonomics can help lower the risks associated with prolonged sitting in an office chair, such as neck strain, lower back pain, and leg pain.
• At first, only stand for two hours each day to allow your muscles to get used to the new arrangement. Gradually increase the amount of time you spend standing.
• To make sure you spend time standing, assign an activity like phone or email time as ‘standing only’, or set an alarm on your phone to remind you when to stand.

As an added incentive for adopting a standing desk, you could also lose weight! When you stand you fidget and move around more, and so you burn more calories than you do when sitting! Use this calorie-burn calculator to see how many more calories you'll burn by standing for all or part of your work-day. It adds up quick! The weekly incremental calorie burn by using a standup desk can add up to an 830 extra calories per week, or about a pound a month!

Take the first steps to living a healthier lifestyle by committing to stand a little more every day. As always, should you have questions, I’d love to talk with you.

Yours in health,

Christopher B. Renne, D.C.

4111 Atlantic Boulevard, Jacksonville, Fl. 32207

www.activechirocenter.com