The Business of Being Born

November 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Hi, this is Dr.Rob with your weekly health blog. This week we’re going to talk about the business of being born. I want to thank Stephanie for bringing in the movie called The Business of Being Born; if you get a chance, watch it! The movie discusses midwives and our birthing system today.

The United States has one of the highest infant mortality rates of industrialized countries. Many countries in Europe, as well as Japan, have lower mortality rates. Coincidentally, 70% of all babies in the aforementioned countries are delivered by midwives whereas only 8% of babies in the U.S. are delivered by midwives.

A little history on births in the U.S: In the 1900s, 95% of all births were home births. By 1955, less than 1% of births were home births. C-section rates increased from 5% in 1970 to 45% in 1995. It’s amazing how we’ve turned a natural procedure into a major medical operation. In fact, one of the most common operations done on women in the United States are c-sections.

If you get a chance, take a look at that movie; it’s amazing. You should at least get the facts so you can make intelligent decisions about your health.

If you have any questions about this, call me at Bates Chiropractic (310) 545-4188 or visit me online at www.chiropractormanhattanbeach.com

Keep Spreading The Word. Look forward to seeing you at your next visit.

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Expecting Mothers and the Drug-Free Approach

September 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment

 

This is Dr. Rob with your weekly health blog. I was just reading a study in The American Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics regarding pain relievers for expecting mothers. It discussed pain relievers such as the over the counter drugs, the non steroidal anti-inflammatories, like Motrin and Advil. Basically they say not to use pain relievers because they create birth defects, especially in the first trimester. They also talked about Tylenol, don’t take it any time during your pregnancy because not only does it increase birth defects in the child it increases the possibility of your child having asthma.
That is why we have so many expecting mothers come in. 1, because getting adjustments is a drug free approach; 2, it is very healthy for the mother and very safe for the expected baby; and 3, it allows for a good nerve supply and increases the chance for an easier delivery, by keeping the pelvis in alignment.
Also, you can use ice, because its only side effect is it’s cold. If you have any questions regarding this topic, don’t hesitate in contacting me at Bates Chiropractic (310)545-4188 or www.chiropractormanhattanbeach.com
Have a great day. Keep spreading the word. We’ll see you in here for your regular adjustments. Take Care!

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Would You Give Your Pets Cola In Their Water Dish?

July 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This is Dr. Rob with your weekly health blog: I have a question for you. Would you ever think of giving your dog or cat a can of Coca-Cola in their water dish as if you’re giving it a treat? If you think that I am crazy saying, “of course not, I wouldn’t do that, it’s not healthy for my pet”, why would you give it to your kids or yourself?
We have to revisit these areas where we think it’s okay to have these “treats.” It really isn’t ok, because they’re not promoting health. We, as parents, have to develop the skill to know what is good to eat and pass it along to our kids so that they can grow up healthy and strong. That is why it’s important to get regular spinal adjustments. A lot of people that come into the office leave their kids at home to develop the same problems they originally came in with.
The time to act is before problems occur. That is true health maintenance. If you have any questions about these things, you can always contact me at Bates Chiropractic at (310)545-4188 or www.chiropractormanhattanbeach.com

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Backpack Attack

September 20, 2010 by Leave a Comment

It’s back to school week. One of the big problems we have when going back to school is Backpack Attack! We have severe problems with kids going to school, because their backpacks are loaded down with books, and kids start coming up with backpack injuries. In fact, some kids have backpacks that weigh 50 to 60 pounds. Compare that to their little bodies that only weigh 50-80 pounds, that is just way too much weigh for their bodies to take, and it creates postural imbalances as time goes on, and as their bodies are growing. It’ll create subluxations in the body and health problems down the line.

Now, one of the biggest problems heavy backpacks will create is Forward Head Posture, where the head goes forward in front of the shoulders. It creates a lot of undue stress on the ligaments, the nerves, the discs, and joints of the spine, and will set the tone for future degenerative disease like degenerative disc disease or arthritis.

So, what we want to do is keep the spine in alignment. One of the best thing you want to do for your kids regarding their backpacks is keep the straps tight with no more than 15% of the body weight in the packs.

Also, they need a strap or a buckle attached to the waist. So the weight of the backpack is more evenly distributed across the spine, this will help bring back the head a little closer.

Most kids wear their straps loose, which creates a lot of weight down low making the kids push their heads forward in order to counter balance the weight.

The key now would be to fix the cause, which is the backpack attack to where it is over-weighting the body and creating the turtle effect. Said effects create a lot of undue pressure on the areas mentioned before.

The other thing is to get your kids checked for subluxations, because if it’s already been going on for a few years, they’ll have degenerative disc disease building up. Since this is a silent process, their symptoms may then seem like they’re coming out of nowhere, such as severe neck pain, headaches, back pain, discs problems, and may end up with surgeries down the line.

Checking your children is a proactive, instead of a reactive, type of healthcare. First we have to fix the backpack problem, then get your kids checked for subluxations, and create the subluxation problem, so that they may lead a healthy life.

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