Healthcare is important stuff, but work should be fun, too. Here are a few shots from our 2015 Halloween celebration. Wishing you and yours a safe and fun-filled holiday!
–From All the Ghouls, Geeks, Goons and Ghosts of Foot Levelers
Month: October 2015
Foot Levelers’ Technology in the News
We don’t usually like to toot our own horns, but…. toot toot!
Foot Levelers’ technology was featured on WNCN news covering the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina area. Check out the story, titled “Raleigh Chiropractor Uses New, Advanced Technology to Relieve Patients’ Pain,” by clicking on the image below!
Foot Levelers on the Field
We love hearing from our Doctors! Thanks, Dr. Barnett!
“I put my new Foot Levelers functional orthotics into my baseball cleats last Sunday for the first game of the season. I stole 2 bases and had 2 runs—‘must be the shoes?’ No way! It’s my Foot Levelers’ functional orthotics. They help stabilize my body and keep it working at its best! My orthotics go everywhere I do, in my bowling shoes, tennis shoes, work shoes, baseball shoes. I can’t wait to get them into my golf cleats!”
Dr. Kenny Barnett
Pathways Chiropractic Health Center of Savage
Savage, MN
Avoid Dangerous, Costly Surgery for Knee Pain–Go for Conservative Care First
Got knee pain?
Some people suffer knee pain so acutely, they’re ready to jump on the surgical table for a total knee replacement. While this option can work, conservative care may be just as effective at relief–plus less costly, less dangerous, and requiring little to no “down time.”
That’s what a recent study covered in Reuters Health found: that “while 85 percent of patients who underwent surgery showed clinically-significant improvement after one year, so did 67 percent assigned to a combination of supervised exercise, use of insoles, pain medication, education and dietary advice.”
“It won’t do any harm trying the nonsurgical treatment,” the study’s chief author, Dr. Soren Skou of the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, told Reuters. “I hope this will give a more balanced discussion of whether or not to have the surgery.”
1 percent of surgery patients die within 90 days of their operation and about 1 in 5 have residual pain at least six months after the procedure.
“People need to understand and respect that knee replacement is not without complication,” added Dr. Andrew Pollak, chairman of orthopedics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore in the same article. “Knee replacement is a big surgical procedure and there are risks associated with it.” One percent of patients die within 90 days of their procedure, and about 1 in 5 have residual pain at least six months after the fact. (Read the full piece here).
Foot Levelers’ custom orthotics, along with care from a health professional like a Chiropractor, are research-proved to help alleviate knee pain, among many other common problems associated with age, injury and/or over-use. Plug in your city or zip code here to find a Chiropractor near you.
Foot Levelers Celebrates World Spine Day!
Join us in celebrating World Spine Day and help spread awareness about spinal health! From http://www.worldspineday.org:
“Every year on October 16th people from around the world join together to raise awareness on World Spine Day as part of the Bone and Joint Decade’s Action Week. The World Spine Day (WSD) theme for 2015 is ‘Your Back at Work,’ focusing on the importance of education related to good spinal health and prevention of injuries in the workplace – help promote WSD by sharing a ‘spine selfie’ of ‘Your Back at Work’!
Spinal disorders, such as back pain, neck pain, scoliosis and disc disease, to name a few are common, and they can have a profound effect on a person’s overall health.
Research has demonstrated that poor postures and inactivity can contribute to the development of back pain and other spinal disorders.
- Back and neck pain is one of the most common reasons for workplace sick leave.
- 50% of the working population will experience back or neck pain symptoms at least once per year.
- In a recent study low back pain ranked as one of the most ‘disabling’ conditions and sixth in terms of usage of health funding.”
Your spine does more than keep your body upright: it’s the way that Command Central (the brain) “talks” to everything else. Chiropractic care helps you maintain a healthy spine by eliminating subluxations; custom-made orthotics are designed to help the benefits of that care last longer and stronger. Don’t have a Chiropractor yet? You can find one here, and be sure to ask for a pedal exam to find out if orthotics are right for you.
Eat More to Eat Less
Tempted to grab a 100-calorie snack pack of cookies or pretzels? Eating carbs, even if they’re lower in calories, may leave you hungrier later on, and more likely to gobble up more. That’s because snacks like these make your blood sugar spike—then take a nosedive—leaving you wanting more.
Instead, reach for something more substantial like protein-packed peanut butter or string cheese with an apple. These may have more calories per serving, but the protein and fat will help you get full faster and feel full longer.
What about eating frequency? You may have heard that eating six (versus three) times a day boosts weight loss, but a few recent studies may cast doubt on that claim. For a low-calorie diet, researchers at the University of Ottawa found there was no special advantage to spreading calories among six meals versus three. And a recent review of the literature also reached no solid conclusions on the matter.
Your best bet? Keep your overall daily calorie intake in check; exercise; drink lots of water; stay away from processed foods and sugars. Weight loss and maintenance isn’t rocket science–but it is about smart, conscious choices. To your health!
Susan Loves Her Custom Orthotic Flip-flops (and So Will You!)
We love hearing from our patients! Thanks Susan!
“I absolutely love my Foot Levelers’ custom orthotic flip-flops. The first time I tried them on was the day I was flying to Orlando for a convention. I put them on that morning, walked through the entire airport and still had them on late into the evening. My feet, knees and low back felt great and that never would have happened in any other kind of flip-flops. I have worn Foot Levelers orthotics for over 20 years so I understand the importance of wearing the right shoe with the right correction.”
–Susan J., Andover, MA
Break Bad Eating Habits by Retraining Your Brain
Are you a junk food junkie?
Would you like to change your eating habits to favor healthier foods, but just can’t seem to make the leap?
Good news! Just as junk food can become an addiction, the brain can be ‘retrained’ to prefer the healthy stuff, too. People aren’t born loving cheeseburgers and creamy pasta dishes; they’re conditioned over time by repeatedly eating such foods, creating addiction circuits in the brain. These circuits can be broken, found researchers at Tufts University and Massachusetts General Hospital. The scientists followed 13 overweight or obese men and women over six months using MRI imaging of their brains.
“The brain scans showed changes in areas of the brain reward center which are associated with learning and addiction,” writes Harold Mandel for the Syracuse Natural Health Examiner. “At the end of six months, this area of the brain had increased sensitivity to healthy, lower-calorie foods. This served as an indication of increased reward and enjoyment of healthier food cues. There was also decreased sensitivity to the unhealthy foods.”
This is great news for those trying to lose weight or break even lifetime-long habits of unhealthy eating. Click here to read the full study, published September 1 in The Journal of Nutrition and Diabetes.
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