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The Spinal Column
an informative newsletter for your family
what’s new?
www.accesschiropractic.net
The summer is here! Finally! As you go out and enjoy the outdoors, please remember your body does not take a break for
the summer. Maintain your regular adjustment schedule to continue to live as healthy as possible! Lying on your air mattress
while camping, going over the ruts while you’re quadding, and running between airports and shuttles while you travel all
take a toll - do not neglect your health!
As of September 1, 2011, the clinic will no longer accept direct billing unless it is a result of a motor vehicle accident (MVA),
Worker’s Compensation Board (WCB) claim, or RCMP billing. We sincerely wish that we could continue to offer this service
and feel we should let our patients know that we were forced to discontinue direct billing due to to staff abuse, patients refusing to pay co-payables, deductibles, etc., as well as patients who chose not to pay for treatments when their insurance
rejected their claims. It is unfortunate that the poor behavior of these individuals has forced us to end this privilege for all
our patients.
Dr. Boyd will be away on holidays from July 27 through August 10 and Dr. Bajor will be away on holidays July 27 through
August 3. In addition the clinic will be closed for the August long weekend on Monday, August 1.
Did you know that you could have an email reminder for you appointments? YES, YOU CAN! Many of us have smartphones and receive email on them; this is an easy way to ensure you keep your appointments. Please see the front desk to
have yourself added to our list. Please remember that although we do provide this service, it is always your responsibility
to remember your appointments. Appointments preceeded by a statutory holiday will not receive an email the day before.
As well we have no control if your mailbox bounces this reminder out or classifies us as spam. Please check your settings
and add us as a legitimate address!
Along with our paperless theme, please allow us to email you the link to this newsletter when it comes out on a quarterly
basis - help save a tree!
fascinating facts - part 1
The consumption of natural vanilla causes the body to release
catecholamines (including adrenaline) - for this reason it is
considered to be mildly addictive!
When vanilla plants were first exported from Mexico to other tropical
climates, they flowered but wouldn’t produce vanilla pods. It was
discovered that a bee native to Mexico was the only creature that could
pollinate vanilla flowers (vanilla comes from a special species of orchid).
Attempts to move the bee to other countries failed and it was not until a
slave boy discovered a method of artifical pollination that Mexico lost its
monopoly on vanilla. As well as being mildly addictive, vanilla has also
been found to block bacterial infections.
The term ‘brain freeze’ was invented by 7-11 to explain the pain one
feels when drinking a slurpee too fast.
Believe it or not, there is a real scientific name for ‘brain freeze’ - it is
sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia! When something very cold touches the
top palate of the mouth, it causes blood vessels to constrict. This makes the
nerves send a signal to the brain to re-open them. The rapid re-opening of the
vessels causes a build up of fluid in the tissues causing a slight swelling in
the forehead and, therefore, causing pain. It normally takes 30-60 seconds for
the fluid to drain, relieving the pain!
SWEET GRILLED YAMS - BBQ’d and tasty!
Yams are extremely good for you, tasty, and easy to work with. A simple recipe that you can
serve with your bbq’d steak, chicken, or fish!
Preheat grill for 5 minutes and oil it to prevent sticking.
Ingredients:
3 Tbsps packed brown sugar
2 Tbsps butter (melted)
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp ground ginger (fresh is best!)
1 tsp pineapple (or orange) juice
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 large yams, peeled and chopped into
1/4” slices
feature article:
recipe
zone
In a small bowl combine brown sugar, ginger, and 1 Tbsp of butter; mix
well.
Stir in maple syrup, pineapple (or orange) juice, vanilla extract, and cilantro; set aside.
Melt remaining butter and brush both sides of cut potato slices.
Grill for 8-10 minutes or until tender.
Spoon maple syrup mixture evenly over cooked potato slices and serve!
chiropractic can help your headaches
Is it the Chinook, the screaming kids, the tight muscles in your neck, or your menstrual cycle; when you have a headache you probably don’t care what is causing it, only what can relieve or prevent it. There are many different types of headaches and an equally
large number of potential causes. Migraines (with or without aura), tension-type, hormonal, sinus, cluster, and rebound, just to name
a few. For this reason I will focus on one type of headache for this article. Cervicogenic headaches.
A cervicogenic headache is which has its cause in your neck (cervico=neck genic=producing or causing). Your head and neck contain
many nerves, muscles and bones that work together. These nerves and muscles cross back and forth from your neck to your head,
and in the case of some nerves, back into your neck again. If the nerves of your neck are irritated they can cause tight muscles in your
neck. These tight muscles can then lead to the symptoms of a headache. These irritated nerves can also send pain signals into you
head, again producing the symptoms of a headache.
So how do you know if you have a cervicogenic type headache? Common causes can be: chronic poor posture (such as from
computer work, prolonged driving or studying), sports injuries, whiplash or whiplash type injuries, or any type of neck injury.
Chiropractic care has been well documented as being a safe and effective treatment for cervicogenic headaches(1). A chiropractor can
first identify the type of headache you have, address the muscular tension and reduce the irritation on your nervous system with a
gentle chiropractic adjustment. These chiropractic adjustments or “manipulations” have been shown to be one of the most effective
non-medicinal treatments for cervicogenic headaches(2). By reducing this irritation on your nervous system your muscles can relax,
your range of motion improve and fewer pain signals will be sent to your head thereby relieving your headache. The number of treatments required for relief varies with each individual and some patients will choose preventative care to prevent headaches in the
future.
References:
1.Haas, M, Spegman, A, Peterson, D, Aickin, M, Vavrek, D. Dose response and efficacy of spinal manipulation for chronic cervicogenic headache: a pilot randomized
controlled trial. Spine 2010;10: 117-128
2. Bronfort, G, Nilsson, N, Haas, M, et al. Non-invasive physical treatments for chronic/recurrent headache (review). Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews 2004; 3.
Art. No.: CD 001878. DOI:10.1002/14651858.CD001878.pub2
fascinating facts - part 2
7- UP - invented in 1920 contained Lithium - the drug commonly prescribed now to sufferers of bi-polar disorder.
The drink was originally marketed as a hangover cure - due to the inclusion of lithium citrate. It was released just a few years before the
Wall Street crash of the 1920s and it was marketed under the name ‘Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda’ - quite a mouthful! The name was
changed to 7-UP shortly after its release but lithium remained one of the ingredients until 1950. Some popular myths surround the name of
the drink - but the name is most likely due to the original recipe containing 7 ingredients (with the ‘up’ portion relating to the lithium) or the
fact that lithium has an atomic mass of 7!
Banana trees are not actually trees - they are giant herbs!
The large stem that is mistaken for a trunk on a banana tree is actually a ‘pseudostem’ meaning ‘fake stem’. Each pseudostem provides a single
bunch of yellow, green, or red bananas. This then dies and is replaced by another pseudostem. Smaller bunches of bananas (such as the ones we
buy in stores) are actually called ‘hands’ - not bunches which can weight up to 50 kgs. The bananas we eat are specifically cultivated to exclude
seeds - therefore you cannot plant a banana tree from commercially grown bananas. Wild bananas have many large hard seeds inside them!