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Chiropractic Can Help You Stay Fit As You Age

It’s no secret that an active lifestyle can help you stay healthier as you get older. In fact, vigorous exercise performed just 15 – 20 minutes per week decreased the risk of death by 16 – 40% in a research study published in the European Heart Journal. Luckily, chiropractic will help you keep your muscles and joints limber and ready for your favorite type of exercise.

Worried About Falls? Chiropractic Helps You Keep Your Balance

Good balance is important whether you’re running, playing pickleball, or participating in a dance class. Even a walk around the neighborhood can become dangerous if you step on a rock and can’t keep your balance.

As you get older, balance can be affected by weaker muscles and declining bone strength. Subluxations, misalignments in the vertebrae that make up your spine, can also cause balance problems. A subluxation can affect the mobility of your joints and increase tension in your muscles, ligaments, and tendons. If you have any of these issues, a slight wobble or misstep could turn into a nasty fall.

Many people have subluxations, but don’t realize it. In fact, poor posture is a common cause of misalignments. It’s easy to forget about posture basics whether you’re walking, driving, or hurrying to finish a project at work. Over time, posture issues can pull your vertebrae out of alignment. Headaches, stiffness, tenderness, sore muscles and joints, or difficulty moving your joints easily may mean you have a subluxation.

Spinal manipulation, a key chiropractic treatment, corrects subluxation and may also improve your balance and the stability of your joints. During spinal manipulation, quick thrusts performed with the hands or an activator realign your vertebrae. Correcting subluxation eases pain, loosens muscles and tissues, and relieves pressure on nerves, in addition to improving your body’s natural balance.

Concerned About Exercise Injuries? Chiropractic Can Lower Your Risk

Although exercise is important throughout your life, it comes with certain challenges as you get older. Tendons, ligaments, and tissues stiffen with age, increasing your risk of conditions ranging from sprains to knee injuries to Achilles tendon tears.

If your joints and tissues are tight, you’re more likely to experience a workout-related injury. Spinal manipulation, massage, soft tissue mobilization, flexion-distraction, and other chiropractic treatments keep your tissues flexible and lower your risk of strains, sprains, and other injuries.

Improving Your Range of Motion with Chiropractic Offers Fitness Benefits

Subluxations and tight tissues prevent your joints from moving freely. As a result, your tennis or golf swing may suffer, or you may notice it’s harder to perform yoga poses or extend your arms fully when swimming. Regular visits to the chiropractor help you avoid range of motion problems that can affect your performance and lead to injuries.

Chiropractic Eases Pain Before and After Exercise

When you’re in pain, exercising is probably the last thing you want to do. Unfortunately, pain and stiffness are more likely to occur with exercise as you get older.

Chiropractic treatments relieve joint, muscle and tissue pain, making exercise more enjoyable. Visiting your chiropractor after a marathon, golf tournament, or busy weekend ensures that subluxations are corrected before they can cause muscle or joint pain.

In addition to realigning your spine and loosening tight tissues, chiropractic treatments trigger the release of endorphins and serotonin. These hormones naturally decrease pain and also enhance relaxation and your sense of well-being.

Are you ready to add chiropractic care to your exercise routine? Contact our office to schedule your appointment. https://russellcenter.com

~Dr. Sheri Russell

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CAPE ANN YMCA ANNOUNCES NEW BOARD MEMBERS

Local leaders lend their expertise in support of the Y and its mission

Gloucester , MA – The Cape Ann YMCA is pleased to announce new volunteer board members. These new members bring a diverse range of perspectives and skill sets and are actively engaged with the Y, understanding its core pillars of impact. The new members join a long list of committed leaders who are dedicated to advancing the Y’s mission in support of strengthening the Cape Ann community through programming and initiatives focused on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. 

Executive Director Erina McWilliam-Lopez said, “Each new member offers a genuine passion for purpose and an incredible breadth of experience that will be crucial in moving our Y’s mission forward. We have more than 11,000 members, a wide variety of programs and classes, a thriving child care program, and a new senior affordable housing project being built downtown. I am excited to welcome these new board members and I look forward to working with them and our current board members to advance our Y’s mission while fostering more partnerships as we continue to be a critical resource to the community.”  

New Cape Ann YMCA Board Members:


Heather Carnevale

Heather Carnevale is an independent Orton-Gillingham tutor dedicated to helping students progress through their challenges, building their skills in spelling and reading. Prior to tutoring, Heather worked for 13 years as a Montessori elementary teacher. She enjoyed creating a beautiful environment where community building was an important part of her work with students, families, and colleagues. Heather has a Bachelor of Science degree in Athletic Training and a Masters in Education both from Endicott College. 

David Martz

David is a long-time resident of the North Shore, born and raised in Manchester. David’s affiliation with the Y began with swim lessons at the Cabot Street YMCA in Beverly and has continued ever since. In 2017, Cape Ann Enterprises, a software company where David is Managing Director, partnered with Merrimack College and the Merrimack Valley YMCA to develop Active Science for Kids. With funding from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, Active Science was a tablet-based early learning program in which children at YMCA’s after-school programs used pedometers and accelerometers to capture their steps, calories, and heart rate activity and turn it into data. The children then used their own activity data to solve structured math and science problems. 

Joan O’Connor

Joan has lived in the Magnolia neighborhood of Gloucester for over 30 years. Officially retired, Joan enjoys part-time employment and volunteering at Essex County Greenbelt. Over the years, Joan has been a member of different YWCA organizations across the Commonwealth. She taught fitness classes at the Greater Beverly Y  for 10 years. 

Cris Peterson

Cris is an investor and entrepreneur. He is the founder and managing partner of Novati, providing management consulting and leadership development for early stage organizations. He has served as CIO for international corporations and consulted to enterprises navigating significant change. He co-founded Cardinal Group, a software development company and has taught graduate level computer science courses at Harvard University. Cris works with Tiger 21 in Boston as a chair, and serves on the board for Cape Ann Animal Aid. He holds degrees in Computer Science and Economics from the University of Colorado, Boulder. 

Courtney Schoon

Courtney is an Innovation and Impact Specialist at Verizon. With over 15 years of experience in impact program design, development, and implementation, she specializes in operationalizing new programs and enabling existing impact programs to scale sustainably. Previously, Courtney worked at the MIT Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship, Echoing Green (an award-winning international social change organization), and with numerous community development organizations. Courtney holds a business degree from Texas A&M University and has completed Executive Education training in organizational management from Columbia Business School. 

Bob Simmons

Bob’s passion for both social and physical wellness has been brought to fruition in campuses promoting Whole Student Wellness at Harvard University, UMass Amherst, MIT, Muhlenberg College, Colby College, Vanderbilt University, the University of Georgia, and the University of Tennessee. Bob is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon’s School of Architecture. Bob has developed a national reputation and expertise in successfully building community on campuses and is a sought-after speaker on projects that focus on all aspects of gathering. He has designed over 2,000 Urban housing units ranging from subsidized housing to privately-funded micro-unit and mixed-use developments.

Len Williamson
Len joins the board with a decade of experience in education and youth development work. Len’s career began with playing pro basketball overseas and coaching local youth teams. He currently serves as Program Director at BUILD Boston, an entrepreneurship education organization. Prior to BUILD, he worked at the Pingree School as the Dean of Students for six years while coaching basketball. He facilitates professional development courses for educators in school districts across the state through the Massachusetts Partnership for Youth with a diverse group of educators from around the country to deliver social justice curriculum for high schoolers at the annual NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference. He earned a B.A. in Sociology from Amherst College and an M.Ed. in K-12 Learning & Instruction from Northeastern University.

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About the Y
The Y is one of the nation’s leading nonprofits strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. The Ipswich Family YMCA is part of the YMCA of the North Shore association of seven YMCA locations. For more than 150 years, the YMCA of the North Shore has been strengthening the foundations of community for the more than 50,000 members it serves in 24 cities and towns. YMCA of the North Shore is the 19th largest YMCA nationwide. We nurture the potential of children and teens, improve the nation’s health and well-being, and provide opportunities to give back and support our neighbors; regardless of age, race, ethnicity or socio-economic background. Visit http://www.northshoreymca.org.

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Could Chiropractic Care Help Your Tendinitis Symptoms?

Pain becomes a constant part of your life when you’re suffering from tennis elbow, Achilles tendinitis, swimmer’s shoulder, or any other form of tendinitis. Chiropractic care offers an effective way to ease pain, tenderness, and swelling during your recovery.

What Is Tendinitis?

Tendons are strong cords of tissue that connect muscles to bones. Your tendons help your muscles move your bones and absorb shock when you move. Tendinitis occurs when the tendons become inflamed. Although tendons are flexible when you’re young, they stiffen and weaken as you grow older. Unfortunately, this may mean they become inflamed more easily.

Tendinitis can affect tendons anywhere in your body, causing pain that may last several weeks. Although the injury often affects athletes, anyone can develop tendinitis. Participating in activities that involve repetitive motions, like hitting a ball or running, raises your risk for tendinitis. Other risk factors include poor posture, jobs or sports that require overhead movements, or working with vibrating tools. You might also develop the condition after spending the weekend weeding your overgrown flower beds or swiping your finger across your smartphone.

Tendinitis can also be caused by overuse, which could occur if you exercise too long or too intensely. According to an article in American Family Physician, overuse injuries most often affect the:

  • Rotator Cuff in the Shoulder
  • Elbow
  • Patellar Tendon in the Knee
  • Achilles at the Back of the Heel

Symptoms of tendinitis include:

  • Pain, Which May Worsen at Night or When You Move the Muscle or Joint
  • Warmth, Swelling, and Stiffness
  • Crackling Sound When Moving the Affected Part of Your Body

How Chiropractic Care Eases Tendinitis Symptoms

Your visit to the chiropractor starts with a thorough examination to determine why you have tendinitis. Although you may know that playing golf is the reason your elbow hurts, your chiropractor can determine if a muscle imbalance or other underlying issue is a contributing factor.

Visiting your chiropractor could help you:

  • Relieve Pain. Your chiropractor offers a variety of treatments aimed at easing your pain, including hot and cold therapies, massage, soft tissue mobilization, ultrasound therapy, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) therapy. Chiropractic treatment prompts your body to release natural painkillers and promotes healing by increasing blood flow.
  • Improve Flexibility. Swelling and inflammation causes stiffness, reducing your range of motion and worsening pain. In addition to massage, soft tissue mobilization, and other treatments, your chiropractor may use spinal manipulation to realign the vertebrae in your spine and reduce stiffness. Misaligned vertebrae can press on nerves and cause muscles and tendons to tighten. Once your vertebrae are correctly aligned, you may notice that flexibility improves.
  • Get Rid of Scar Tissue. Your body reacts to an injury by creating new tissue around the injured area. Although this reaction is certainly helpful initially, scar tissue buildup restricts your movement and triggers pain. Chiropractic treatments break up scar tissue that can limit your flexibility and range of motion.
  • Decrease Inflammation. Inflammation, a major factor in pain and stiffness, can be worsened by misaligned vertebrae. Realigning the vertebrae not only reduces pressure on nerves and tissues but also relieves inflammation. In a research study published in Chiropractic & Manual Therapies, researchers noted that spinal manipulative therapy reduced the production of inflammatory agents in people with low back pain. Although this study focused on low back pain, spinal manipulation could have the same effect on inflammation throughout the body.

During your visit, your chiropractor may also show you a few exercises that will strengthen your muscles, eliminate muscle imbalances, and decrease your risk for developing tendinitis in the future.

Need help managing your tendinitis symptoms? Contact our office to make your appointment for chiropractic treatment.

Sources:

American Family Physician: Common Overuse Tendon Problems: A Review and Recommendations for Treatment, 2005

https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2005/0901/p811.html

Chiropractic & Manual Therapies: Effects of Spinal Manipulative Therapy on Inflammatory Mediators in Patients with Non-Specific Low Back Pain: A Non-Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial, 1/8/2021

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7792327/

Mayo Clinic: Tendinitis, 11/11/2022

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tendinitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20378243

Arthritis Foundation: Tendinitis

https://www.arthritis.org/diseases/tendinitis

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Get fit on your terms at Freedom Fitness

We’ve recently completely upgraded our equipment to give you the best of the best! Our new facility has all new interactive equipment that’s easy to use and gives you a fun and effective way to workout. No matter if you’re new to the gym or a seasoned vet, new equipment can help give you that spark of motivation or help your workouts feel less mundane.

Call today to schedule a tour!

978-865-3150

 www.freedomfitma.com