2 Your Health: Alzheimer’s and Brain Health—How Therapy and Coaching Can Help
Dr. Rose Bricker
Dr. Rose Bricker, Blue Lemon Health & Wellness
If you are experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer’s, dementia, and poor brain health, you are not alone. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, in 2023, 6.7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s. Eleven million Americans provide unpaid care for those with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementias.
Are you one of those caregivers? If you are, caregiving may be taking a toll on your mental and physical health as well.
Feelings of stress, anxiety, depression, frustration, irritability, insomnia, forgetfulness, headaches, decreased concentration, and being emotionally overwhelmed are often the red flags that indicate we need to take a look at the health of our brain and how we are (or are not) taking care of ourselves.
Our sympathetic nervous system is activated by the stress and mental instability in our lives. We can find ourselves stuck in the “survival mode” of fight, flight, and freeze. In that state, our life becomes very difficult to manage. We often use unhealthy coping mechanisms that create more challenges in our lives.
You can learn healthy skills such as cognitive interventions, mindfulness techniques, self-care interventions, and other ways to activate the parasympathetic nervous system (our calm and relaxed state) to promote calmness, mood stability, and improve both brain and physical health.
When your brain works right, you work right!
If you would like more information on mental health/behavioral health issues, please call me for a complimentary meet and greet appointment at 520-815-6901. My website is bluelemonhealthandwellness.com, and I’m located at Blue Lemon Therapy and Coaching, LLC, 10132 N. Oracle Road, Suite 160, Oro Valley, AZ 85704 (in the business park behind the Fairfield Inn in Oro Valley).
2 Your Health: What Can a Chiropractor Do for Back and Neck Pain That No Other Health Professional Can Do?
Craig W. Brue, D.C.
What’s unique about chiropractic treatment? Chiropractors specialize in the biomechanics and structure of the spine. Compared to medical doctors and physical therapists, a chiropractor has much more training, background, and experience related to the function, structure, and biomechanics of the spine. A chiropractor can take X-rays, can read imaging studies (X-rays and MRIs), and can accurately diagnose the condition that is causing the pain. Without an accurate diagnosis, it is impossible to have an effective treatment plan.
Back and neck conditions are often very complicated and difficult problems to resolve. Recurring back and neck pain is seldom a simple muscle strain. With the senior population, back and neck pain is often related to a curious combination of degenerated and herniated discs, spinal stenosis, spinal misalignment, spinal curvature, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, pelvic/sacral imbalances, and pinched nerves. It is imperative that you have a correct diagnosis before beginning any treatment for back or neck pain.
The biggest difference between chiropractic care and medical treatment for back pain is this. A chiropractor is the only health care professional who specializes in correction of spinal misalignment with specific spinal adjustments. Discs degenerate, rupture, and wear out because of spinal misalignment. Nerves and spinal cords get pinched (stenosis) because of biomechanical stress and misalignment. A chiropractor is the only doctor that has the training and experience to correct spinal misalignment without doing surgery. In a matter of a fraction of a second, a chiropractor can realign vertebra and restore spinal function; a process that can give instantaneous relief for hours, days, months, and even years. Chiropractic care is the safest, most conservative, most effective, and the fastest way to relieve back and neck pain. All the exercise in the world will not adjust or re-align a vertebra that is misaligned.
However, a single adjustment doesn’t last forever, and some people need a lot more than one visit to make a significant spinal correction. As I tell my patients. It’s like straightening teeth. You don’t go to the dentist, have him put on braces, and then have perfectly straight teeth the next day. Likewise, the correction of spinal misalignment and the restoration of spinal function may take time. Many patients need periodic care because of structural spinal instabilities. Disks don’t grow back, and osteoarthritis doesn’t go away. However, with periodic spinal adjustments and regular exercise, spinal problems are often relieved with maintenance care.
My recommendation: always do the most conservative and sensible treatment first. Chiropractors have been helping patients with back and neck pain for more than 100 years, and it is still the best conservative option for back and neck pain.