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The Benefits of Chiropractic Care on Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding requires a very sophisticated coordination of muscle and movement.

In fact, it involves: ▫

  • 6 cranial nerves

  • 22 bones connecting at 34 sutures

  • 60 voluntary & involuntary muscles

In the case of breastfeeding difficulty, as with many childhood disorders, the cause of the problem often traces back to undetected biomechanical injuries to the spine and cranium at birth. The baby’s positioning in the womb and/or birth trauma can alter the spine, cranium and jaw.

Subtle shifts can occur in a number of ways from physical, chemical or emotional stresses. Williams Obstetrics, agrees with the chiropractic viewpoint by stating, “the diameter of the woman’s pelvis is decreased when the sacrum is displaced” (Cunningham, Levano, Bloonm, Hauth & Roth).

In this circumstance the mother has a misalignment of the pelvis. This can interfere with the baby’s ability to attain the optimal positioning causing intrauterine constraint. Compression on nerves, joints and cranial bones can occur with this alteration in positioning. This in turn can affect feeding.

Some of the most common indicators of difficulty with breastfeeding are:

  • Babies who cannot latch firmly
  • Babies who can latch and not sustain sucking
  • Babies who are unable to smoothly coordinate suckling, swallowing, and breathing
  • Babies who can feed in only one position
  • Babies who seem dissatisfied when nursing or who remain fussy and distressed throughout the day
  • Babies who chew and damage the mother’s nipples
  • Babies who may not feed any better from other devices

Gentle chiropractic adjustments to the newborn help restore alignment and motion caused by abnormal positioning in the uterus, intrauterine constraint, and spinal distress from the journey through the birth canal or during the delivery process itself – making it easier for baby to feed.

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Anti-Hustle for Your Health

Passion, goals, and a desire to better yourself are all good things. But the reality is constant hustle can be exhausting, stressful, and downright damaging to your health. Plus, the more we glorify the hustle, the more we feed the beast of busy –  and the more we praise the pursuit of personal goals above all else. We’ve talked before about the downside of multi-tasking, which has seemingly morphed into this grind, attack it, hustle mentality that is all the rage.

The problem with this mentality is that everything begins takes on the harshness of the hustle – not just your work, but your food, your self-care, your hobbies, your relationships. We rush until we wear ourselves down.

What if betterment means listening to your body more, like going for a walk outside at lunch instead of answering emails or returning calls. After all, what you don’t get done today can always happen tomorrow.

As another Monday arrives, remember – the best kind of hard work comes from a healthy, well-rests place. That’s healthy hustle.

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The Right Way to Fall

We’ve all done it – whether it happens on a crack in the pavement, going off a curb or missing a step – it’s usually accompanied by jumping up as quick as possible and acting like nothing happened (or is that part just me?!) The truth is – sometimes there’s no way to avoid a fall – so we may as well do it right (with the least amount of bodily harm).

Statistics tell us that more patients go to emergency rooms in the US after falling than from any other form of mishap, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly triple the number injured by car accidents. Here in Connecticut, we have to also deal with ice and snow conditions that can contribute to falls. So to put it another way, you’re more likely to miss work this week because of taking a nose dive onto some pavement or ice than catching the flu.

How you prepare for the possibility of falling, what you do when falling, what you hit after falling – all determine whether and how severely you are hurt.

Now, some things we can’t control – but luckily – there are factors that are under our control when it comes to falling. For example, what condition you are in is key. Maintaining strength and flexibility plays a big role in how your body will respond. Lower body strength is important for recovering from slips, while upper body strength is crucial for surviving falls. Even what you eat is a factor – a study of 6,000 elderly French people in 2015 found a connection between poor nutrition, falling and being hurt in falls.

If you are falling, the key is to let it happen – when you feel yourself start to fall, let your body go limp. This will allow your body to naturally
roll into the fall. The less you rigid and tense you are the less likely you are to hurt yourself.

Ideally you want to protect your head – one way to do this is to try not to fall straight forward or backward (which raises the risk of damaging your spine and organs as well). The key is to roll, and try to let the fleshy side parts of your body absorb the impact – not a hip, knee or bone. Young people break their wrists because they shoot their hands out quickly when falling. Older people break their hips because they don’t get their hands out quickly enough (you’d much rather break a wrist than a hip).

The reality is that people fall – at least now you can be prepared for it.

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Healing Takes Time

With time comes progress, even if it doesn’t feel like it sometimes.

And the truth is, healing — change of any kind — isn’t linear. Whether it’s quitting smoking, starting an exercise routine, or leaving a toxic job or relationship, positive transitions are full of setbacks. Physical healing is no different.

Sometimes, a setback happens because of something external – as in something happens to re-aggravate an injury or condition. Often times patients will rush the healing process and do too much, too soon. But it’s also an inherent and important part of the healing process itself. We often see healing occur in alternating cycles of repair and recovery, and it’s common to see symptoms flare up during these cycles.

Occasional visits back to the old pattern are actually a normal and important part of healing that helps solidify the new, healthier pattern. Reversing structural abnormalities using specific customized chiropractic care gets to the underlying cause of many conditions – but it also takes time.

It’s also really important how you handle setbacks. 

Take this as a time to step back and focus on you. Often times when we begin to get better we forget about self care. Let’s remember that true health isn’t just by design – it’s also by choice. Caring for your adjustment is not just your chiropractor’s job. You, too, need to take responsibility and do what you can to maintain the adjustments you receive. Doing so will help expedite the spine’s retraining process, but it’s also just good practice for your body.

After all, a backbone and spinal cord that are in the proper position provide optimal performance for your entire body, enabling you to live a healthy, happy, pain-free and productive lifestyle.

Take note of what might have triggered the setback, so that you can understand and avoid what may aggravate your condition. In addition, sometimes when symptoms are milder and more intermittent, it’s easier to notice what provides some relief. Put that in your set of tools for the future, so you can continue learning how to recover more quickly and completely when you do have setbacks.

This is also a good time to keep the lines of communication open with your health care provider. Together, we might decide together to change your care or increase frequency for a while, to support your healing. Often a visit at the first sign of a flare-up can help stop you from going all the way down that path again.

Keep in mind, it’s only a matter of time before your body begins healing properly and true health and vitality can be achieved. Once the foundation has been fixed, then we’ll teach you how to keep it that way through customized recommendations designed for your spine, so the problem does not come back.

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3 Foods To Boost Your Energy

An often overlooked way to keep our energy levels high and our moods stable is to eat the right foods. If you feed your body the right building blocks, you can boost your energy naturally without resorting to caffeine or supplements – after all, you are what you eat.

Generally speaking, all food gives you energy. BUT some foods are certainly better at providing the energy boost you need – due to their nutritional composition. So why not try these 3 delicious and energy boosting power foods the next time you are in a little lag:

Black beans

Black beans pack both protein and fiber, which is a great combination to help boost energy and then keep it stable. Protein helps by keeping you fuller for longer, and fiber helps keep your blood sugar level steady – allowing your energy level to stay at an even keel.

Beans also contain magnesium (close to a third of your recommended daily intake in a cup). Magnesium helps to relax the body so it can rest and restore energy.

Walnuts

Walnuts are a great energy boosting snack due to their perfect composition of healthy fats, fiber and protein – keeping you nourished and sustained. They’re packed with good fats, which help you stay full; fiber, and nutrients like selenium, vitamin E, and omega-3s.

Steel Cut Oats

Oats contain quality carbohydrates that are stored in the body as glycogen and provide fuel for our brains and muscles. In addition, the soluble fiber in oats takes longer to digest and helps extend the energy boost you get from carbs for long-lasting energy. For this reason they make a great pre-workout meal.