Sunlight and Bone Strength

The summer’s long hours of sunlight are an opportunity to boost our spinal health. “How so?” you may ask. ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge is more than a chiropractic clinic; we take a holistic view of health that includes nutritional counseling. And for reasons we’ll explain in this post, getting exposure to sunlight will help our bodies to absorb the minerals they need to maintain strong bones.

 

One of the main components of bones is calcium. As living tissue, bones are constantly breaking down and rebuilding. But our bodies don’t produce calcium on their own; they have to absorb it from food. And when they aren’t getting enough calcium, the bones can’t regrow fast enough to keep pace with their natural resorption. This results in them becoming honeycombed, which is the condition known as osteoporosis. When vertebrae are honeycombed, they can easily fracture, leading to them slowly collapse and causing a person to stoop over.

 

Too much calcium is harmful, so our bodies’ absorption of it is regulated by Vitamin D. And in order to make Vitamin D, our skin needs to be exposed to direct sunlight. About fifteen minutes three times per week is enough for most people, although people who are older or who have darker skin may need a little more. Vitamin D and calcium are also commonly used to fortify foods such as dairy products, breakfast cereals, and orange juice. However, food may not be a sufficient source of Vitamin D and calcium, and getting sunlight in the summer months is also an opportunity for healthy exercise. With proper nutrition, osteoporosis doesn’t have to be inevitable, and peoples’ bones may remain strong throughout life.

 

We offer nutritional counseling as well as musculoskeletal pain relief. For a nutritional analysis, visit Dr. Carmelino Caratozzolo at the ACT Wellness Center, 14111 Minnieville Road, Woodbridge, Virginia. Call 703-491-9355.

Weightlifting Safety

Weightlifting is an excellent way to strengthen your musculoskeletal system. As a certified sports physician and chiropractor, ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge’s own Dr. Carmelino Caratozzolo has overseen many athletes and patients using weightlifting as a way to maintain their muscle tone, as well as the density of their bones. When done properly, weightlifting allows the muscles to support a person’s spine and joints and makes them more resilient to injury. But weightlifting needs to be done correctly for maximal benefit and to avoid accidents, and while we recommend that everybody considering it get a personal trainer, there are some general safety tips to keep in mind.

 

Anytime you work out, you should start with a warm-up of at least five minutes of aerobic exercise. These may include dynamic stretches, but not ones you do while holding a muscle still. You’ll also need to do at least five minutes of cooldown exercises at the end of the workout. It’s important to build strength throughout your body and to avoid overuse, so work each set of muscles twice a week, no more, and don’t work the same set two days in a row. You’ll also need to have someone else present when you lift heavy weights, although you’ll be working your way up to those gradually.

 

A fitness instructor will help you to determine your goals and the proper form for each lift, and sticking to that will keep your workouts efficient as well as safe. But for each lift, you need to avoid turning your head and keep your back as straight as possible. Inhale as you lower a weight, and exhale as you lift or press. Stop doing anything that hurts, and come to our office if you experience back or neck pain. Weightlifting is part of a healthy lifestyle, but like any form of exercise, comes with risks that can be mitigated by following gym and trainer rules.

 

For assistance with workout recoveries and relief from joint and back pain, visit Dr. Carmelino Caratozzolo at the ACT Wellness Center, 14111 Minnieville Road, Woodbridge, Virginia. Call 703-491-9355.

Electric Muscle Stimulation

When you’ve suffered an injury to your joints or muscles, you don’t necessarily need invasive procedures to recover. At ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge, we take a holistic approach to wellness, providing complementary treatments that are meant to take advantage of the body’s innate potential for healing. Among the most versatile of those treatments is electric muscle stimulation, or EMS. Since a few of our treatments involve electricity and patients often benefit from multiple approaches, we wanted to explain a bit about why EMS works and what it’s for.

 

EMS forces muscles to rapidly contract. This causes them to produce natural painkillers called endorphins, and to push out waste-filled blood and let fresh blood flow in. Inflammation is one of the body’s natural responses to injury; it helps to restrict the flow of blood that potentially carries pathogens and makes cellular walls more permeable to antibodies. But since prolonged inflammation can lead to weakness and is painful, using EMS to reduce it will allow for faster recovery times and ease patient comfort.

 

Most people describe EMS as pleasant or tingly. The way it works is that a small electric pulse is generated in a vibrating machine and delivered into the body by wires attached to sticky pads. The pads are placed over the part of the back or limb that is sore. EMS is commonly used to treat people with subluxations in their backs or shoulder pain, but can also be used on people who have suffered strokes to help their muscles relearn how to respond to electric signals from the brain. Although it is not recommended for people with pacemakers or who are pregnant, it’s easy on the patient and often done along with other therapies.

 

Don’t wait any longer to get treatment for back or shoulder pain. If you’re interested in EMS, visit Dr. Carmelino Caratozzolo at the ACT Wellness Center, 14111 Minnieville Road, Woodbridge, Virginia. Call 703-491-9355.

How to Save Your Back While Driving

Your body is subjected to a lot of force in a moving car, especially behind the wheel as the driver. Without proper care and prevention, you may suffer from joint pain and long-term health issues. At ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge, VA, Dr. Carmelo Caratozzolo is passionate about preventative care, especially when it comes to the bad posture and body aches that come from driving. Here are a few tips and tricks to use the next time you’re on the road. 

 

Adjust Your Seat

One of the first steps to preventing bad posture while driving is adjusting your seat. Start by fixing your seat height, making sure you can see the road and dashboard. At the same time, your seat height should not strain your back or neck when bending down or turning towards the side. For shorter drivers, a cushion for more comfort and to reach the steering wheel is recommended. Keep your right foot relaxed on the pedals, with the heel touching the floor. Use the balls of your feet to press the accelerator or brake pedals. Unless using the clutch, the left foot should remain in the footrest. 

 

Adjust Your Steering Wheel

Your hands around the steering wheel should be in the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock positions. Bring the steering wheel towards you, taking care it doesn’t block any important information on your car’s dashboard. Your Woodbridge, VA chiropractor also recommends keeping your arms relaxed and elbows rested on the seat’s armrests.

 

Use the Mirror Trick

A simple technique that encourages good posture is the old mirror trick. In a sitting position at the driver’s seat, adjust your rear and side mirrors. This way you’re forced to sit up straight whenever you have to use them as you drive, resulting in terrific posture!

 

Take Breaks

If you’re driving a road trip, incorporate short stops along your route to stretch. A 15-minute break will do wonders to relax your muscles, increase blood flow, and reduce numbness in the lower limbs. 

 

To learn more about how to drive safely, contact Dr. Carmelo Caratozzolo at ACT Wellness Center at 14111 Minnieville Road, Woodbridge, Virginia. Call 703-491-9355 today. 

 

 

Proper Workplace Posture

At ACT Wellness Center, we advise our patients to practice good posture at work. While back injuries aren’t always preventable, years of bad posture may have taken a toll on your back. Over time, putting unnecessary strain on your back adds up and can increase your back pain by up to 50%. You are doing a great disservice to your back and your body when you have poor posture.

When possible, we encourage our patients who work at a desk job to get up and stretch every half hour so your back stays loose and your muscles don’t tighten up. While at work remember to not slouch in your chair and to have your feet on the floor and your back pressed firmly against the chair. Your computer screen should also be in direct line with your eyesight so your neck strained from moving up and down all day.

Our doctors are specialized in spinal manipulation and can help treat your back pain. Remember, your health is the most important thing to us!

If you dealing with back pain it might be because of poor work habits. Our staff can help to provide you with pain relief and help you properly sit at work. Please contact ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge, VA. You can set up an appointment with Dr. Carmelo F. Caratozzolo both online and over the phone. Schedule online at our website, www.actwellness.com, or call 703-491-9355. 

Chiropractic Treatments for Migraines

If you are suffering from migraines, our doctors at ACT Wellness Center encourages our patients to seek chiropractic care. Migraines can occur in any part of the head or in one location. Symptoms of migraines include blurred-vision, nausea, and light-headedness. While over the counter drugs are available to treat migraines, frequent migraines are a cause for concern.

Some possible causes of migraines are stress, diet, poor posture, anxiety, and your environment. Certain foods such as cheese and wine are known to trigger possible migraines and others can foods can be just as sensitive.

Migraines limit your ability to perform everyday activities and function normally. To treat your migraines it is important that we evaluate all possible causes, and begin treatment options. Studies have shown spinal manipulation to improve migraine headaches and provide long-term relief.

If you dealing with frequent headaches or migraines, we can help. Please contact ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge, VA. You can set up an appointment with Dr. Carmelo F. Caratozzolo both online and over the phone. Schedule online at our website, www.actwellness.com, or call 703-491-9355. 

Buying Shoes for a Healthy Gait

A well-aligned skeletal system starts from the bottom up. Think about it: if there’s a misalignment in your foot or ankle bones, everything above them can be off-center enough to cause chronic soreness and fatigue. We perform extremity adjustments at the ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge and provide customized foot orthotics, allowing our patients to recover from imbalances in their knees, hips, and lower backs. But since we’re in the holiday shopping season, we thought we’d share some tips for buying shoes that will provide you with better support.

One of the most common mistakes people make when buying shoes is not getting both their feet measured. Often, people’s left and right feet are slightly different sizes, so they should know from the start whether they’ll need supportive orthotics for at least one shoe. They should also wear socks of a similar thickness to the ones they expect to wear with certain shoe types, and may want to go later in the day, when their feet have spread out a bit from bearing their weight.Shoe manufacturers are making more flip-flops, sandals, and dress shoes with arch support, but buyers still need to take care that both the bottom and side of their foot will be supported. Athletic shoes should also provide cushioning and stability to the ankle. 

If used daily, athletic shoes will probably be worn out after a few months, at which point they will need to be replaced. In general, shoes need to be replaced when their treads no longer have grip or when the shape of their cuff is distorted enough to stop providing ankle support. Buyers should remember to lace the shoe the way they intend to wear it, but if a shoe is uncomfortable after being worn in the store for ten minutes, it is unlikely to get any better.

If you still have doubts about how your gait is affecting your extremities, come in for an assessment at the ACT Wellness Center at 14111 Minnieville Road, Woodbridge, Virginia. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Carmelino Caratozzolo, call 703-491-9355 or visit ACT Wellness.