Sitting Pretty: A Burbank Chiropractic Patient’s Perspective

Bad Posture, by Skoivuma

Last week I got a lecture on my posture, which definitely took me back to my childhood. However, I’m finding that when our moms said, “Sit up straight!” they only got it half right. Apparently there’s a lot more to sitting pretty and properly.

So what have I learned? Burbank chiropractor Dr. Alfred Sadanaga, gave me some tips on sitting correctly:

Imagine a straight line from the top of your head down to the base of your spine––the trunk of your body should mimic that.

But the spinal column itself isn’t perfectly straight, it has natural curves. That’s why we all need lumbar support, to keep the curve in our lower backs in place.

You know about the dangers of carpal tunnel syndrome. Your arms should bend at the elbow at a 90 degree angle to prevent squeezing the nerves in your wrist.

Your thighs should NOT bend at a 90 degree angle from your hips. Position your knees slightly downward (about 80-85 degrees down from your pelvis.)

Roughly, that’s the position to keep when sitting at your desk. Dr. Sadanaga will give you further pointers to target your specific trouble spots in your own pain management and prevention campaign. Just ask him!

Chris Podbielski is a patient at Magnolia Natural Health Center located at 2200 West Magnolia Boulevard, Burbank, CA. Call Magnolia Natural Health at (818) 954-0884 for your personalized consultation today!

Cholesterol: A Burbank Chiropractor’s Advice

Cholesterol Testing Begins in Young Adulthood or Earlier

The best way to lower your cholesterol is to exercise and diet smartly. What many of us don’t know though, is how to tell when we have high cholesterol, because there really are no symptoms for this condition.

Ideally, you should have had blood tests since you were 20 (to help identify your normal levels) and follow-up tests every five years after that, according to the Mayo Clinic. I don’t think I know anyone over the age of 30 who’s followed that advice––we simply didn’t know then what we know now. (Children with certain risk factors like obesity should be checked even earlier.)

But it’s not too late for us to get our lipids (fats) levels back on track. When smart dieting and regular exercise just aren’t bringing your bad cholesterol levels down, you may want to consider some dietary supplements before you resort to prescription medications. Or, you might use supplements to bolster the good effects of your prescriptions:

• Artichoke Extract
• Barley Extract
• Blond Psyllium (found in seed husk)
• Fish Oil
• Ground Flaxseed
• Oat Bran
• Omega 3 Fatty Acids (found in fatty fish)

If you’d like more information about these and other nutritional supplements, I’ll need to know what prescriptions and other herbals you’re already taking to keep your body in balance. If we’re going to fight the lipids and triglycerides building up in your body together, complete information will help us win the war on high cholesterol.

Dr. Alfred Sadanaga is a Burbank chiropractor whose offices are located at 2200 West Magnolia Boulevard, Burbank, CA. Call Magnolia Natural Health Center at (818) 954-0884 for your personalized consultation.

Pulp Fiction Punch: A Burbank Chiropractic Patient’s Perspective

Turken, by Benny Mazur

If you read my first blog, you know that I’ve been seeing Dr. Sadanaga for several years now, and that until recently I sought sporadic treatment. Basically, if I had pain or discomfort, I made a call to Magnolia Natural Health Center, got an adjustment or two and then carried on with my bad habit lifestyle.

It doesn’t pay to be stubborn.

Now I find I have Anterior Head Syndrome (AHS), probably due to perpetual ergonomically incorrect computer use (I’m a sloucher), and which manifested in symptoms of tingling sensations in my arm––pretty scary for someone who’s considered herself to be in relatively good health all of her life.

So what does Dr. Sadanaga do about this problem, besides remind me to sit correctly, stretch frequently and maintain my chiropractic treatment more regularly?

Well, the thing about Dr. Sadanaga is that he’s full of surprises. When adjustment techniques work for me, he continues with those techniques. When they don’t, he tries different positions and adjustments. It never takes him long to find a treatment technique that works.

The latest one for me is what I like to call the Pulp Fiction Punch. Dr. Sadanaga has me stand up against a wall, and places his fingertips somewhere under my collarbone. Then, with his other hand, he delivers a sharp rap to his fingers, which reminds me of that scene when John Travolta delivers an adrenaline shot to revive Uma Thurman’s character from her drug-induced coma somewhere near the beginning of the movie.

The difference is…it doesn’t hurt at all. I just found it very surprising the first time.

Now I expect it, and when Dr. Sadanaga tells me to back up against the wall, I go willingly and with a sense of relief. I’m not so stubborn anymore.

Chris Podbielski is a patient at Magnolia Natural Health Center located at 2200 West Magnolia Boulevard, Burbank, CA. Call Magnolia Natural Health Center at (818) 954-0884 for your personalized consultation today!

Osteoporosis: A Burbank Chiropractor’s Advice

Less force needed when treating osteoporosis patients

Most of you have heard of osteoporosis––a debilitating disease of the bone that decreases skeletal mass or density. But what you may not know is that there is no cure for the disease. All you can do is prevent it in your youth, and halt or slow the progression of bone loss as you get older.

I treat quite a few Burbank chiropractic patients who have osteoporosis, but I treat them differently than I would patients who don’t have the disease. The difference is not necessarily in the techniques I use, it is in the force necessary to make adjustments. Fragile bones require less force, so the manipulations are gentler.

If you or someone you know needs chiropractic care and suffers from osteoporosis, I’ll need X-rays or the results of a density test to determine the strength of the bones.

The National Osteoporosis Foundation (just about anyone in the medical community, really!) recommend higher intakes of calcium and Vitamin D to treat the disease. Research by the University of Nebraska suggests 1,000 mg of calcium per day for people aged 19 to 50, along with 200 IU vitamin D. (Other age groups have other recommendations.) And NASA released findings last May that suggest Omega-3 fatty acids may reduce bone loss for space travelers––this may have very interesting applications for those of us suffering bone loss on Earth.

Since I’m trained in nutritional health too, I can help you figure out which forms of calcium supplements will be best for your body, or recommend other supplements like Omega-3s to keep you in good skeletal health.

But you can do your part to bolster your bones too. Start with adding some low-impact exercise into your routine. Ever heard the phrase “use it or lose it?” Healthier bones get a work out, which means some moderate weight-bearing exercises, regular Tai Chi classes, or even a daily walk will help.

Dr. Alfred Sadanaga is a Burbank chiropractor whose offices are located at 2200 West Magnolia Boulevard, Burbank, CA. Call Magnolia Natural Health Center at (818) 954-0884 for your personalized consultation.

Progress: A Burbank Chiropractic Patient’s Perspective

X-ray Photo by A. Sparrow

Well it’s been about three weeks since I first came to Burbank chiropractor Dr. Sadanaga, really worried about my constant, radiating shoulder pain and tingling arm. And already I’m feeling results.

Dr. Sadanaga suggested a course of treatment three times per week, and the first week, I only felt temporary relief that generally lasted two to four hours after an adjustment. I still had some trouble sleeping, but was encouraged that I was pain free for part of the day at least. I knew I was on the right track.

Things got progressively better, and by the second week I was feeling less pain and numbness.

But it wasn’t until this past week that I realized my shoulder pain is now almost completely gone. I still get the tingling sensations when I hold my arm a certain way, so that’s still a little worrisome. But the fact that I’m virtually pain free and I can sleep normally again is a HUGE relief. Progress is good.

Chris Podbielski is a patient at Magnolia Natural Health Center located at 2200 West Magnolia Boulevard, Burbank, CA. Call Magnolia Natural Health Center  at (818) 954-0884 for your personalized consultation today!

Headaches: A Burbank Chiropractor’s Advice

Not Quite Right in the Head by Migraine Chick

About 90% of Americans suffer headaches, according to the American Chiropractic Association. If your headaches are frequent or even chronic, you may benefit from a chiropractic adjustment, or spinal manipulation.

Why? Because when your back or neck is out of alignment, it causes stresses on your muscles, blood vessels and nerves, not to mention the wear and tear on your vertebrae. This is a common occurrence with a condition known as Anterior Head Syndrome (AHS), which generates neck-based headaches.

So how do you develop AHS? By maintaining a particular posture or positioning your body a certain way, for too long of a time. This might happen if you spend hours in front of a computer, lying down to read or watch television, sleeping in awkward positions, etc.

For prevention, remember to stretch and change positions every 30 minutes or so. Try to fall asleep in more natural positions, flat on your back, for example.

For frequent headache relief, keep hydrated by drinking plenty of water. Avoid clenching your jaws and your muscles. Try to incorporate low-impact exercise in your daily routine––you’d be surprised how much a 20 minute walk will help. And last, come see me for an adjustment. With a little gentle manipulation I can put your spine or neck back into proper placement, helping you stay headache free for the long term.

Dr. Alfred Sadanaga is a Burbank chiropractor whose offices are located at 2200 West Magnolia Boulevard, Burbank, CA. Call Magnolia Natural Health Center at (818) 954-0884 for your personalized consultation

Smart Bodies: A Burbank Chiropractic Patient’s Perspective

In some ways, our bodies were smarter on day one than they are now.

When we emerged from the birth canal into the light of worldly existence outside of the womb, most of us arrived knowing how to inhale and exhale, how to pump blood through our veins, and how to fire off brain synapses automatically. In a sink or swim situation, most of us learned to swim quickly, without the aid of books, mentors or punishments and rewards.

Unfortunately, many of us have added hurtful lessons to our worldly existence. We introduced bad foods (like my Taco Bell addiction!) and bad behaviors (like sleeping on our stomachs). We learned to seek comfort—choosing to drive instead of walk or bicycle to a destination two blocks away.

And all of these new lessons make the innate lessons we learned at birth harder to accomplish in our adulthood.

Breathing and pumping blood gets more difficult when we put on weight. Firing synapses slow down when we’re structurally and skeletally misaligned. Somehow we find that we’re just not moving or thinking as fast as we used to.

This is a normal process of age. But it doesn’t have to be. You can drastically slow down the aging process now.

How? Well, there are a number of things you can do to tip the scales in your good health favor. And many of you will find that just starting with one small, good habit will encourage you to incorporate other good habits.

For me, that means taking my chiropractic care a bit more seriously these days. While Dr. Sadanaga puts my structure back into proper alignment (all of those vertebrae I knocked out of whack with repetitive stresses and bad sitting or sleeping postures), he also helps me with the nutrition side of things too. I’m not ready to give up my Taco Bell entirely just yet, but I find myself going to the produce section rather than a drive through more often.

All it takes is one, small thing to get started. What will you do?

Chris Podbielski is a patient at Magnolia Natural Health Center located at 2200 West Magnolia Boulevard, Burbank, CA. Call Magnolia Natural Health Center  at (818) 954-0884 for your personalized consultation today!

Straight Talk: Burbank Chiropractic Advice

Are you free of back pain today?

If you answered yes, it probably means your neck and back bones have maintained their natural curves. If you were to view a healthy spinal column from a side view, you will notice that the spine mimics the curves of a seahorse, but with the tail taking on an extra turn at the end.

Ideally, everyone should have these curves!

To take a look at the more painful turns—the ones that cause back pain—we’ll need to take a look from the front or the back of your body. Usually, when one of my patients experiences back pain, I can either see the problem right away just by the way they are standing, or feel one or more of their vertebrae knocked out of place just by running my hand up and down the spine.

Generally when looking at an X-ray taken from the side, front or back of a patient, I generally find a case of Anterior Head Syndrome, in which the neck loses its curve and straightens out too much—this can cause a whole host of secondary symptoms which I’ll discuss in future blogs. And with back pain, it’s usually because one of the vertebrae moves slightly to the right or left.

So what can we do to treat your Anterior Head Syndrome or the slightly misaligned vertebrae causing you lower back pain, shoulder pain and more? Well, we gently nudge things back into place.

If your pain is a minor annoyance, it will probably take only a handful of adjustments. If you suffer more chronic back pain, we might need a few adjustments per week for several weeks to get everything back in alignment.

Either way, once you start experiencing neck stiffness and back pain you’ll want to maintain your overall skeletal structure with regular adjustments. That could mean treatments from every week to every six or eight weeks, depending on the severity of your subluxations (misalignments).

Dr. Alfred Sadanaga is a Burbank chiropractor whose offices are located at 2200 West Magnolia Boulevard, Burbank, CA. Call Magnolia Natural Health Center  at (818) 954-0884 for your personalized consultation.

Is Your Head on Too Straight?

Ok, I have Anterior Head Syndrome, or AHS as it’s known in the chiro world. I know this, because Dr. Sadanaga has been adjusting me off and on for years for a problem I used to affectionately call “mous-i-ti-tis,” that bit of shoulder pain I occasionally got when I sat at a computer for too long and repetitively reached for a mouse that seemed to be located somewhere in east Kansas. Usually, a quick adjustment did the trick, and if only I had listened to Dr. S from the beginning…well, I wouldn’t be in the situation I’m in now.

Basically, I’m stubborn. I sit at my desk incorrectly. And I don’t go for regular chiropractic adjustments (I could have gotten by with a visit every three weeks or so back then!) because I’m too busy, too lazy, too embarrassed that I can’t correct my bad behavior, etc. etc. etc. I’m pretty sure Dr. S has heard all of the excuses.

Now I’m in a much worse situation, and practically required to go three times a week. Cause if I don’t, my arm will fall off. Or that’s how it feels, anyway.

When the chronic mousititis started, I went running to Dr. S. because he’s always helped me out of painful situations before. But I could tell that this time was going to be different. The first clue was when I realized I had constant, radiating pain from the shoulder. The second was when Dr. Sadanaga scheduled new X-rays.

And that’s how I found out I had AHS. Looking at my films, I can see that my head is on straight, despite what some of my friends may say. In fact, it’s on too straight, because I’ve lost the natural curve in my neck, which is what’s causing my issues.

So what am I doing now? I’m being a good patient, taking an active role in my own treatments. When Dr. S. told me I needed a lengthy treatment course, I panicked a bit. “How long is ‘lengthy’?” I asked him. The answer? About two months. If I remember to sit at my desk properly and move my mouse back somewhere closer to Burbank, CA rather than Kansas.

Chris Podbielski is a patient at Magnolia Natural Health Center located at 2200 West Magnolia Boulevard, Burbank, CA. Call Magnolia Natural Health Center  at (818) 954-0884 for your personalized consultation today!

Head, Neck & Back Pain are Merely Symptoms

If you’re reading my blog you’re probably experiencing (or have experienced in the past) discomfort of some sort: headaches, back pain, stiff neck or shoulder pain and numbness. These are all symptoms of many things that could be happening in your body, and are usually secondary symptoms of the bigger, problematic picture.

Usually when my patients come in to see me, I discover that the bigger picture is something called Anterior Head Syndrome, or AHS. This is a structural problem in the vertebrae of the neck and spine—the bones shift out of place causing pressure on muscle groups, nerves and blood vessels. You might experience any one or more of these symptoms if you have AHS:

• Numbness and Tingling Sensations
• Shooting or Radiating Pains
• Sciatica Pain
• Muscle Spasms
• Pinched Nerve
• Poor Posture or Granny Hump
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Dizziness or Vertigo
• Hip Pain
• Headaches or Migraines
• Herniated Disc
• Canal Stenosis
• Degenerative Joint and Disc Diseases
• Muscular Imbalance

So what happens if you do have these symptoms? Chances are, you’ve already seen a physician, who may or may not have been able to help. (Remember Anterior Head Syndrome is not ALWAYS the root cause of these issues.) Or, maybe you’ve been consuming quantities of over-the-counter pain medications and applying heat or ice for temporary relief. But these tactics do not provide solutions, as they only mask your symptoms for short periods.

What you really should do at this point, is consider chiropractic care.

When a patient comes to see me with any of the above symptoms, I perform a preliminary, visual inspection, and ask questions to evaluate the level and frequency of pain or numbness. I’ll take X-rays and then recommend a course of corrective treatment. Depending on the severity of your Anterior Head Syndrome, you’ll need to come in for regular adjustments 1-3 times per week initially. Each case varies, so it will be difficult to judge how long you’ll need treatment until we go over your X-rays and see how well your body reacts to the adjustments.

It all also depends on your lifestyle and work habits—repetitive stresses, sitting habits and nutrition also play large roles in your treatment. I’ll be happy to help you in those areas as well.

Dr. Alfred Sadanaga is a Burbank chiropractor whose offices are located at 2200 West Magnolia Boulevard, Burbank, CA. Call Magnolia Natural Health Center  at (818) 954-0884 for your personalized consultation.