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Healthy Chiropractic

What Position Should I Sleep In?

Written by Todd Donohoe D.C.
Thursday, 26 August 2010 20:51
Every day I have this conversation with at least one of my patients. I thought it about time that I put it into writing. Most people don’t think about sleep as being a “stress” to their body, but think about it… The average American lives 78 years. That’s 28,470 days or 683,280 hours. We are in bed for 1/3 of those hours or 227,760 hours over our lifetime! You do anything for that long and it’s going to be a major stress to your body! You either do it right, or you pay the price. The importance of sleep posture cannot be understated. Pretty much everyone has experienced the effect of sleeping awkwardly even for just an hour or two; the dreaded “crick in the neck”. Though this one is usually self-limiting within 3 days or so, repeated postural stress from poor sleep postures can contribute to much more complicated problems over the years. Let’s discuss a bit of anatomy first. Perhaps you’ve heard of the term “pressure point” as it relates to mattresses. Well, in reality, these pressure points are sensitive parts of your anatomy. These pressure points are the points where your body weight presses hardest into the mattress. If you lie on your back, these points are your buttocks and lower back as well as your upper back. When lying on your side, these points are your hips and shoulders. The problem with a pressure point is that it can restrict blood flow and, if there’s an underlying weakness, even affect nerves. The irritation that results from these pressure points causes the average sleeper to change positions up to 80 times per night! Of course, the sleep surface has a lot to do with this as I’ll discuss next month, but improved body mechanics on any sleep surface can drastically reduce the effect that pressure has on these points.
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Is Tackle Football Safe for Younger Kids?

Written by Todd Donohoe D.C.
Monday, 02 August 2010 19:24
Two weeks ago one of the moms in my office told me her 8 year old son wanted to play Pop Warner Football. She wanted to know if I thought it was safe for boys his age. As a former Pop Warner and high school football player myself, I had to admit that I could not be very impartial on the subject of the sport. I told her that football was a great sport! It takes strength, stamina, courage, hard work, pride, heart and it teaches commitment, teamwork and perseverance. Oh yea, and if you’re worried about injuries, it’s not a matter of “if”, but “when”. It’s just the extent that’s the question. My dad played football, my younger brother played football and I did too. Each of us sustained at least one serious injury. My dad broke his leg in his senior year. My brother blew out his ACL in training prior to his senior year when he’d already been scouted by USC and lost any chance of a full ride scholarship. I broke my thumb my sophomore year (it still pops to this day every time I bend it). Even so, my 17 year old son is played his first year of football as a sophomore on the JV team at Elsinore High and I couldn’t have been prouder. My 10 year old son played his first year of Pop Warner last year and I was an assistant coach for his team! In this month’s column I intend to present the facts on football injuries and give some advice on how to treat your player when the “not-so-serious” injuries occur on the field.
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The Vaccination Dilemma (Part 9)

Written by Todd Donohoe D.C.
Tuesday, 01 June 2010 20:43
This month I’ll wrap up this series on childhood vaccination. I have covered LOTS of information in the past 10 months with this series. All of the past columns are available for review at the Neighbors Newspaper website, www.NeighborsNewspaper.com or at my own website, www.DonohoeChiropractic.com. The questions that have been discussed so far have included:
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The Importance of Cranial Care In The Newborn

The simple fact of the matter is that we all come into this world “injured”. It’s the degree of injury that sets the stage for our future health status. The “injury” that I speak of is the effect that birthing has on the structure of the newborn cranium, or more commonly known as, the skull.

Many of my patients are surprised to learn that there are 22 bones in our skull. These 22 bones fit together in a very unique manner. They are held together through the action of cranial sutures. The cranium is the only place in the body where these specialized joints are found. These joints offer a very unique type of motion to the bones of the skull. Yes, I said motion. The skull does not fuse together into one big, hard bone after it stops growing. Our skull is constantly in motion, forever expanding and contracting ever so slightly. It’s this motion, or lack thereof, that determines many aspects of our expression of health.

The 22 bones of the newborn skull are extremely soft and malleable. As such they are subject to significant degrees of stress and must adapt both during pregnancy and the labor and delivery process. Under enough force these cranial bones will commonly become misaligned. Often even the untrained eye can observe these distortions to the newborn skull. I’m sure many readers will recall the friend or family member’s baby that had a “flat spot” or “cone head”. If left uncorrected, these distortions can have life-long consequences on the infant’s health.

The Vaccination Dilemma – Question All Parents Should Ask (Part 5)

Written by Todd Donohoe D.C.
Saturday, 05 December 2009 19:27
Over the last several months I have delved into this subject on many different fronts. Below you will see the list of questions we have discussed so far. 1. Are vaccinated children healthier than non-vaccinated children? 2. Do the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks? 3. What are the real numbers of children being hurt? 4. Are vaccinations “effective”? 5. Are vaccine doses personalized? 6. Can vaccines cause damage that may not surface for years? 7. Can vaccines cause crib death (SIDS)? 8. Did vaccines eliminate diseases? 9. What if we stopped vaccinating? 10. How many people are really getting diseases? Please review any of the previous articles you may have missed at www.NeighborsNewspaper.com or at my website www.DonohoeChiropractic.com.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 02 June 2010 18:18
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