"TXTing?! OMG...HA!!!"

The whole world texts, or should I say, "TXT" nowadays. It's quick, it's easy, and it's FUN. Just looking through a list of acronyms used to make shortened, but not necessarily SIMPLIFIED texts, I learned some new things! For instance, texting isn't limited to the OMG (oh my god), WTF (you know ;) ), JK (just kidding) or LOL... here's a short list of what I learned from www.netlingo.com:

GSYJDWURMNKH = "Good seeing you, Just don't wear your monkey hat"
ACORN = "A completely obsessive, really nutty person"
FYSBIGTBABN = "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night"

Now whether or not YOU'VE heard of these doesn't take away from the main message: "TXTing?! OMG...HA!!!" or as it translates to "texting? oh my god... headache!" That's because our phones, laptops, iPads, and everything else we use for messaging, are causing us problems: headaches, neck pain, tight muscles. Think about your body position/posture when you're texting. You've got that little phone cradled in both hands... the phone is down near your waist (because it would look uncool I'm sure to bring the phone up to your eye level) which causes you to continuously look downward at your phone. This begins to put strain on your upper back and neck muscles as they're now recruited to hold more weight (30 lbs of extra force to be exact) as your head tips off of center gravity. While looking down, your posture begins to diminish and your shoulders roll forward causing your front chest muscles to tighten, while increasing the curve of your midback. Eventually, the backwards 'C' curve of your neck (cervical curve) begins to decrease and can result in a number of conditions, eventually leading to possible degenerative changes such as arthritis.

This is all linked to another acronym, but not one that is commonly used in the messaging world. That is FHP, or Forward Head Posture. It causes headaches, neck pain, shoulder pain, and numbness and tingling in our arms. Without correction, again the problem worsens over time developing into a chronic condition, one of which may be known more commonly at some point in time as "Text Neck" for lack of a better term. If you think about your posture while on your brand new iPad or laptop, it's eerily similar to that of your phone. Besides not having to hold your laptop, we commonly slouch and our shoulder roll forward as we reach for every key-stroke. Rarely, is our laptop or iPad sitting at eye level, and that again forces a constant looking-down posture.

FHP can be corrected by chiropractic care, and the sooner action is taken, the better the prognosis. Simple adjustments can help to correct and increase the cervical curve, if not only to prevent further damage to it. Another important note, is think about your posture when you're messaging (head forward, shoulders rolled forward, etc), then do the exact opposite. Stretch your arms up and backwards, and look up. Not only will this help your posture, it will allow for better breathing, more oxygen flow, and more energy. Simple stretches, along with chiropractic adjustments, go a LONG way!

If we spent only a matter of minutes a day messaging, these symptoms and problems wouldn't be as big of a factor. However, we love to stay "connected" and to know whats going on with our friends, family, and as much as I hate to say, celebrity gossip! But when we're on our computers, we spend periods of time lasting up to hours... when we text, we get the response and text back, that endless cycle... today's accessibility and connectivity are our non-verbal killers.

SYS (see you soon)... and how about a emoticon to boot! ;)

-Dr. Matthew Lau
www.matthewlaudc.com

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You vs. Golf, who's winning?

Let me ask you a question guys (and girls), Have you been hitting the links this summer??? Or have the links been hitting you?! The THREE most common injuries due to golf are: back pain, tennis elbow/ golfers elbow, and shoulder pain. Although, we eventually get back at the course when our ball finds the pond, trap, O.B., or just doesn't travel as far as the divot or the club we just threw... in those instances, we get our revenge by using some specific and creative 4-letter words!

Although golfing doesn't strike one as being among the most physically abusive sports, throughout an 18 hole round, your body can absorb a considerable amount of physical stress. It begins from the very moment you put the first tee into the ground and continues to the point you scoop your ball out of the cup on hole 18. In these instances, did you bend at the knees as you would with "proper lifting technique"? Or did you lean against your driver or putter and bend at the waist to the fullest of your flexibility? Now that your ball is all teed up, it's time for your Tiger and Phil impersonations. First off is the continuing bending over to address the ball and set up your swing and quickly following is the torque you stress on your body while you twist to strike and admire that (hopefully) 300 yard drive that splits the fairway.

Lets continue with this vision. You're walking down the fairway on hole one up to your 300 yard drive already having birdie on your mind, and you're carrying those 14 clubs, dozen balls, tees, umbrella, and bag on your back because no one assigns you a caddy when you're playing Sunday afternoon at your local public course. Finally you approach the ball for your second shot and go through everything you did the first one (poor posture, torque, stress) and begin that smooth swing and right before you hit the ball, your seven iron digs into the ground like a car coming to a halt after rear-ending the car in front. Imagine the stress you put on your wrists and forearms and the rest of your body acts as the shock absorber.

Anywhere from 60-120 shots later (depending on your skill) of the same repeated stress, not to mention the weight of those clubs bearing down on you throughout your trek of spanning the course, and you begin to feel the stress and the abuse that golf puts on your body. It becomes clearer why BACK PAIN is so relevant due to our continued bending over, poor posture, repetitive stress carrying (or pushing/pulling if you've got a cart) your clubs cause, and the force it takes to swing and hit the ball. Now, one understands TENNIS ELBOW/ GOLFER'S ELBOW (both are inflammatory conditions within the elbow caused by excessive stress and strain on the muscles) due to the aggressive and numerous swings we take and the divots that accompany them. Lastly, the SHOULDER PROBLEMS, that are caused by the stress your rotator cuff undergoes throughout the day make sense all of a sudden.

Each of these problems can be treated or corrected by chiropractic, so if by chance you're not golfing with your local chiropractor, seek him or her out if these problems arise and/or persist! Good luck golfing this season!

Can Chiropractic Help YOU?!

Chiropractic, the literal greek meaning of which is "Done By Hand", is a completely safe and natural form of health care that has been around for 115 years! It's focus is on the human body's nervous system that essentially controls everything from muscle contraction, to all FIVE of your senses, to all of which occurs at the cellular level including production of new cells, energy, or hormones. Your brain, spinal cord, and the nerves that relay messages to and from are what comprise the nervous system. Protecting the brain and spinal cord is the skull, the 26 bones of the spine called the vertebral column, and the surrounding musculature. Not only do these bones and muscles protect the spine, but they allow us to stand upright, twist, turn, bend, and walk. Can you imagine the stress we put our spines through each and every day with holding our body weight, jumping, running, poor postures, injuries, accidents, etc.?

Chiropractic aims to treat SUBLUXATIONS of the spine. What are these? Subluxations are misalignments within the spine that cause irritation to the nearby exiting nerves. This irritation can cause many symptoms, the most common of which is pain. Headaches? Low Back pain? Each benefit greatly from chiropractic ADJUSTMENTS. What is this? Adjustments, sometimes referred to as manipulations, are the active treatment of chiropractic. Chiropractors use their hands to detect and diagnose specific conditions, and correct the misalignments in the spine by using a high velocity (speed), low amplitude (force) adjustment and to re-align the spine.

Besides headaches and low back pain, chiropractic can be used to treat an endless list of conditions including asthma, shoulder pain, bedwetting, colic in babies, carpal tunnel, postural problems, injuries and accidents, fatigue, and sleep disorders to name a few. Chiropractic is entirely natural and does NOT involve any drugs! It is safe for ALL ages so stop wondering if chiropractic can help YOU and start acting!