Massage and Your Health

Therapeutic touch has been used for thousands of years in many different cultures. The power of touch can relieve pain and relax the receiver, aiding in the healing process. There is no doubt that massage is an effective treatment for achy muscles, but until recently, the way it worked was a bit of a mystery.

A researcher at McMaster University in Canada ( Mark Tarnopolsky,) had such excellent results from massage that he authored a study looking into why massage works so well. What his research found is what many patients experience daily: muscles that were damaged healed faster if they were massaged! In this study, muscle biopsies showed that massage actually turned on genes that promote healing and reduce inflammation!

Many people still think that massage is only a luxury – to the contrary, studies show that massage therapy can improve our health and wellbeing by: increasing circulation, releasing endorphins, improving range of motion and reducing adhesions and scar tissue.

Almost everyone loves a nice relaxing massage. Angelica our resident massage therapist certainly can do your typical relaxing massage but she specializes in relieving chronic pain and stress. Call or stop in today to pick up massage gift certificates for yourself and your loved ones.

We are open today to see you, for as long as we can. Please call.

Dear Patients and all of our Saporito Chiropractic family, 

Please be safe out there in this upcoming Blizzard. Listen to the early warning and be as prepared as you can be. We are open today to accommodate any and all our patients who would like to get in before the storm hits. If you have any questions or concerns about your appointments, we are here for you in office so please do call us at 860-589-1491. Again, please be safe.

With Gratitude,
Dr. Shepherd

In light of the upcoming snow here's an article we published last year that you might find useful:

Your snow shoveling technique may be killing your back?

We have had a few inches of snow recently with more on the way! With the snow has come a flurry of patients complaining of neck and back pain. As nice as it is to catch up with our patients that we haven't seen in a long time, in many cases, the pain could be avoided by adopting different and better snow removal techniques. Lets talk a little bit about how to remove snow in a way that reduces the risk of back pain.

1) Use a snow blower, get help or get professional snow removal
For many of our patient's who may already have serious back injuries, who may be elderly or otherwise indisposed, using a snow blower, getting help or using a professional service may be the best way to go.

2) Use the correct tools
There is evidence that using the ergonomic shovels can be beneficial when shoveling. Some shovels have curved handles. Others have handles with adjustable lengths. What this means for you is that there is less bending while shoveling which takes a lot of the pressure off the back. Opting for a shovel that is smaller and lighter is also advantageous.

3) Now it's time to warm up...
Yes! Before going out there to shovel you do need to warm up your cold muscles to prevent muscle strains. Take 5-10 minutes to warm up your neck, back and shoulders, low back and leg muscles with some gentle stretches. Don't forget that when your muscles are warm they are less prone to injury.

4) Proper lifting technique
Proper lifting technique is a theme that seems to be repeated in a lot of our articles. Whether it lifting while shopping, fall clean up or snow removal, the rules are the same: Try to do as little lifting as possible. If you can push the snow out of the way that is preferable. If the snow is piled high, take it a little at a time from the top. When lifting anything including a snow shovel face the thing you are lifting head on and bend at the hips and knees lifting with the legs and buttock muscles. Focus on small light loads for lifting. Be sure your grip of the handle is appropriate for you and hold the shovel you have lifted as close to your center of gravity as possible. Finally, avoid reaching and tossing.

5) Take breaks
I think this piece of advice is the one my patients find hardest to follow. It may also be the most important. Doing repetitive tasks for extended periods is the surest way to cause damage to muscles and joints. As much as we all want to just "get it done," it's better to take a break for a minute or two for every 5-10 min of shoveling. Mixing up tasks may also be helpful in relieving the stress put on joints by repetitively doing the same thing.

Be sure to use proper lifting techniques this snow season, this will help you to stay safe, happy and healthy!

Dr. Shepherd

If it speaks to you...Please join us for yet another gratitude challenge?

My dear friend Janet has challenged us to do another gratitude challenge. She pointed me to the above link for inspiration. So here goes:

For the next 30 days please do this with us yet again! Lets take a few minutes per day to just stop and post here what we are grateful for.

Today I can truly say I am grateful for all of you! We wouldn't be able to do any of this without you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

With sincere gratitude,
Dr. Shepherd

Prenatal Massage - Note from Angelica Macaraeg LMT

NEW YEAR, NEW BLESSINGS!!! 

With that being said, CONGRATS TO ALL THE MOMS & DADS To be!!! I know about a Dozen couples too many to name.  May God Bless you all that are expecting with Your Bundles of Joy. 

Pregnancy can be an exciting time for women and VERY STRESSFUL.  The Women's body go through many changes In the course of 9 months.  #PrenatalMassage #PregnancyMassage can be Very Beneficial️

️BENEFITS :

• relieves muscle spasms, muscle cramps, back ache, stiff neck, Myofascial pain in the lower back, Neck, hips & Legs

• reduces edema or swelling

• relieves headaches 

• better sleep

• Relaxation, reduction of stress

• Enhances the pliability of skin and underlying tissues 

• Provides support for the new mother w/ physical and emotional strains of mothering 

• Decrease levels of the stress hormones of norepinephrine 

• Can assist inducing labor

10OFF YOUR FIRST PRENATAL MASSAGE 

BOOK AN APPT TODAY AND "EXPERIENCE A TOUCH OF HEAVEN" WITH ANGELIC TOUCH MASSAGE THERAPY! 

Your health and wellness: Happy National Hug Day – How hugs improve your health!

Here’s my challenge to you today: Can you give away 20 hugs today? Then going forward how about seeing how many hugs you can give away every day? OK, so I'm not sending you out to hug random strangers. That would just be weird, not to mention…unsafe! There are however so many reasons that hugs are a great idea and a lot of the reasons have to do with your health!

1)      Hugs have been shown scientifically to increase the levels of the hormone oxytocin in the body. This tends to lead to feelings of attachment, connection, trust and intimacy. Not bad! I’d say we could all use a boost of that hormone, don’t you?

2)      If you are the parent of a toddler or small child, work those hugs! Psychologists say hugs improve children’s behavior by reassuring them of love.

3)      Social effects of hugs: Hugs increase social bonding, increase happiness and decrease stress.

4)      More health benefits: Hugs improve heart rate, decrease blood pressure and decrease the levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

All this from a free hug!!

Need more reasons to hug? Studies now show hugs help ward off depression and boost immunity. So go ahead, take full advantage of the benefits of national hug day today…and every day for that matter!

Sending you hugs and blessings,

Dr.Shepherd

Money magazine weighs in on which alternative therapies are worth your money:

January is typically one of those months when our patients mention taking a closer look at their finances; This could be as a result of holiday expenditure, the upcoming tax deadlines or for some of our patients it may be when their high deductible health plans reset. This leads a lot of patients to trying to cut expenses and sometimes health expenses unfortunately have to be considered. Today I happened to look at one of the office's "Money" magazines and was surprised to see a cover story about alternative medicine. I quickly flipped to the article interested to see what they had to say about chiropractic.

Its nice to see that more and more the health benefits of chiropractic are being noticed and it was also refreshing to see that the cost benefit is being appreciated also. The article notes that research shows chiropractic adjustments "...helpful for low back pain." They recommend that you see a licensed accredited chiropractor (obviously.) And they inform their readership that visits are generally covered by insurance and can also be payed for with tax free dollars from a health savings or flexible spending account.

The article also positively mentions acupuncture and naturopathy as well as biofeedback.

For the new year please keep making your health and wellness a priority. There is after all, only one you!

Regards in health,
Dr. Shepherd


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Questions or comments? 
Please email DrDaviaShepherd@hotmail.com