"Feel Better in Fewer Visits"

with Chiropractic, Acupuncture, and Massage Therapy

Most people have their keyboard in the wrong place! 

The position your have your keyboard in could be contributing to your neck pain, upper back pain, headaches, numbness/tingling in your arms, carpal tunnel symptoms, etc. 

Your keyboard should be at a level that places your elbows at a 90° angle. Any higher than this forces your elbows to come away from your rib cage which, in turn, engages a very large muscle called the trapezius. The trapezius attaches to your upper/middle back, neck and across your shoulders which is why 8 hours/day in front of a computer with less than exceptional ergonomics can begin to take a toll on these structures. 

Imagine holding your knee out straight all day. Your quadriceps (front thigh) muscle would get really tired and achy, right? This might even cause hip and/or knee pain. It wouldn’t make sense to do that just like it doesn’t makes sense to engage your trapezius all day.  

How do you fix it?

Every workspace is unique, but if you are able to raise your chair to allow your hands to access your keyboard and mouse with your at  90°, you’re half way there! A pull-out keyboard is sometimes available. Once you’ve managed to acquire the  90° elbows, you may want to put something under your feet (if you are “vertically challenged” like me) to take pressure off of your hips and/or raise your monitor up onto a stand so that you are looking forward rather than down. 

Proper ergonomics can be tricky. Talk to your Chiropractor about your specific situation. Photos are helpful. Have a coworker or family member take photos from the side and front of you sitting about your workspace. If you are looking for a Chiropractor in the Arlington, Midlothian, or Mansfield, TX, please consider Solutions Alternative Healthcare, LLC.

The “Momma Hold” vs. “Daddy Hold” and what the “Momma Hold” does to our low back/pelvis.

Facts are facts. Men tend to have more upper body strength and women tend to have more lower body strength. This is why you see mom and dad holding their babies completely different. Mommas stick their hip out creating a “shelf” to rest baby on. You do not see dads doing this! Dads plaster that kid to their chest wall with their big strong daddy (or Granddaddy) arm!

Moms and Grandmoms are causing imbalances in their spines and hips by holding babies like we do. We will generally gravitate to the side opposite our dominate arm leaving that arm free to do “all the things.” This means one side of the muscles of our lumbar spines are overly contracted while the opposite overly stretched. This can cause back pain and aggravate conditions such as sciatica. 

Ladies, (most) of us are never going to be able to do the “Dad Hold,” so we need to try and remember to switch sides to help create balance. Seeing your Chiropractor and/or Massage Therapist regularly can also help with these imbalances. 

A Doctor of Chiropractic can further help you with imbalances of the spine and pelvis as a result of postural issues such as these. If you are looking for a Chiropractor in the Arlington, Midlothian, or Mansfield, TX, please consider Solutions Alternative Healthcare, LLC.

There’s a better way to screen time! 

Most of us do a lot of sitting at work. This causes us to be in a flexed position (with our legs bent at the waist) which shortens our hip flexor muscles often times causing back pain and/or sciatica. We also tend to have bad posture in our upper bodies and shift our heads forward while we’re concentrating which straightens the natural curve that we are supposed to have in our neck and spinal cord.

If you’re going to have screen time, whether it’s scrolling social media, watching TV, or playing video games, try it on your tummy (like you used to watch cartoons as as kid)! This position gently stretches your hip flexor muscles and makes you extend your neck farther than flexing it forward and/or down as you do throughout the rest of the day.

Check out our YouTube video for a demonstration.

A Doctor of Chiropractic can further help you with posture and preventing degenerative changes. If you are looking for a Chiropractor in the Arlington, Midlothian, or Mansfield, TX, please consider Solutions Alternative Healthcare, LLC.

Better posture is an area where almost all of us agree that we can do better! I am going to teach you a VERY simple 2-step posture check to get you looking and feeling better quick!

Why Is Posture Important?

Posture not only makes you feel better, but it also makes you look much better… and slimmer! - So if for nothing else, do it for the sake of vanity! 

Improved posture can help prevent unnecessary early degeneration of the spine as well as improve mood. Yes! There is a psychological aspect to good posture too! When you sit up straight and tall, not only do you look better, but you feel better too, both physically and mentally.

Doctor Gonzalez’ 2-Step Posture Check

Also See Photos Below

Forget the 8 bullet point list of things to do when trying to attain perfect posture - i.e. chest up, shoulders back, chin tucked, abs in, etc. I’ve reduced good posture to only 2 key items: Abs and Elbows!

Abs: Lower Body Postural Correction

Many of us let our tummies droop forward as we lock our knees. Not only is this unattractive, but it’s terrible for your lower back! Simply engaging your abdominal muscles will force you to unlock your knees (try to have locked knees and stick your tummy out - it’s like trying to pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time). Engaging your abdomen will instantly correct your hip alignment and unlock your knees correcting most of the major lower body postural issues.

Elbows: Upper Body Postural Correction

Many of us tend to let our shoulders drag forward and down and our heads forward. With the help of gravity, this creates an awkward angle for the weight of our heads to sit on top of our spines, effectively increasing the pounds/square inch of pressure from the weight of our head onto the top of our spine. This can cause pain, numbness/tingling of the arms, increased degeneration, etc.. When we sit up with good posture, gravity pushes (just) the weight of our head straight down and the curves of our spine help cushion this pressure, protecting our spinal cord.

To correct this region, bring your elbows back behind you as if you are trying to touch them together, then drop your arms back down to your sides in a relaxed position. This will automatically bring your head, shoulders, and upper back into proper alignment.

A Doctor of Chiropractic can further help you with posture and preventing degenerative changes. If you are looking for a Chiropractor in the Arlington, Midlothian, or Mansfield, TX, please consider Solutions Alternative Healthcare, LLC.

Temporomandibular pain (jaw/TMJ pain) can have many causes including direct injury, jaw pain after dental work, or chronic pain from habitual causes. 

Direct Injury

An airbag to the face, an athletic injury (think elbow to the jaw), or a face forward fall are some examples of direct injury. A direct injury to the jaw/TMJ joint can cause immediate misalignment which can be very painful.

Dental Work

Extensive dental work can also be a cause of TMJ pain. If your mouth must be held open for a long period of time, this can cause muscle spasm and misalignment of the joints. Sometimes the dentist must pull on the mandible (lower jaw) to do certain types of dental work which can irritate the TMJ joints. The dentist may prescribe muscle relaxers or pain medication for this, but some refer to Chiropractors.

Chronic/Habitual

An example of habitual cause of TMJ pain could be side sleeping which can put pressure on one side of the jaw for an extended period of time. Grinding the teeth can also cause muscle spasms and misalignment of the TMJ. Dental or orthodontic issues can also be a factor in chronic TMJ pain as these issues could alter your natural “bite” (how your teeth align together).

Treatment

In order to adjust the TMJ, many chiropractors use a very gentle technique called Activator technique. Activator technique uses a small tool to gently move the small joint of the TMJ back into proper alignment. Dr. Gonzalez uses this technique and sometimes acupuncture if a significant muscle spasm is present.

Are you in the Arlington, Midlothian, or Mansfield, TX area? Make an appointment today to help get relief from your jaw pain/TMJ pain!

This happens All. The. Time. A patient comes in (usually on a Monday) and they are MAD! They aren’t mad at me, they are mad at the ER physician they saw over the weekend. The conversation usually goes something like this:

Patient: Doc, I threw out my back Saturday afternoon  and it was so painful, I had to go to the ER! The doctor there did NOTHING! All they did was give me medication! 

Me: What!?!? You mean to tell me that the MEDical doctor gave you MEDicine? (I say in a friendly, yet sarcastic tone).

Patient: Well, yes, but I thought they might DO something. You manipulate my spine and fix the issue when this happens. 

Me: I understand you expected something different, but the ER doctor did exactly what they are supposed to do. They made sure you didn’t have any emergent issues causing your pain (fracture, tumor, kidney issues, appendicitis, gall bladder attack, etc), and as soon as they confirmed that you weren’t an emergent surgical patient or needing other emergent intervention, they got you something for the pain (and perhaps a muscle relaxer) and moved on to triage the next case.

The patient usually sees my points and quickly forgives their originally perceived mistreatment!

Personal Opinion: Should Chiropractors be in the ER? Absolutely! A very large percentage of ER visits are for musculoskeletal issues such as back pain, neck pain, etc.. These cases could be triaged to a Doctor of Chiropractic on staff increasing the ER’s patient satisfaction ratings.