November 3rd, 2011
Helping relieve tension headaches through chiropractic and nutrition
Over the years I’ve worked with many people who suffer from chronic headaches. Being a chiropractor, in practice since 1998 in Midtown Manhattan, I always begin the process by doing a through exam of their spinal alignment. Many people suffer from headaches due to bad posture through out the day. It begins at work, possibly a work station that forces them to look at a computer all day from an angle that doesn’t allow a neutral gaze. The chair might be too high, to allow a person to watch their moniter without straining the cervical muscles and subluxates, pulls out of positions, the vertebrae in there spine. Doing this for hours at a time sets up muscles that contract, and can’t relax, as well as bones that are forced out of normal positioning. As a person comes home, many times they crash on the couch watching television, another way to further the imbalance created at work. Finally, retiring to bed only to sleep with huge pillows on their stomachs. All this over even a few days will create a pattern in the upper neck where muscles will begin to compensate for the abnormal tension and shorten, straightening the cervical curve and cause headaches.
Another correlation I’ve found for headaches, even of the migraine type, is a lack of proper probiotic, good bacteria, in the gut. If a person is eating a diet high in sugar and processed grains and meats, the good bacteria will lessen. This can cause an over acidification of the body, leading to severe headaches. A good probiotic, bought from your local health food store, or any fermented food such as sauerkraut will balance the good bacteria out in your body, and allow the processed foods to be digested with greater ease. Cutting back on Sugar, wheat, and animal products and replacing with green leafy vegetables will help as well.
Finally, it’s important to change the bad positioning that causes the headaches in the first place. Through chiropractic adjustments, stretching of the cervicals, and stregthening exercises, proper function to the body can be restored. Changing the dynamics of your work station, so that you’re able to work for long periods of time without looking down when reading or working on the computer is of vital importance. Watching TV in an upright relaxed position when home, and sleeping on your back with thinner pillows should also help tremendously in restoring health to the neck. For those who have snoring issues, sleeping on the side comes in as the next favorable postition.
Have any questions, or if you’d like to schedule an appointment, Contact: Dr. Dani Stekel, (212)581-3331, or email me at DrStekel@gmail.com. Address is 250 West 57st., NY NY 10107, Suite 930
October 26th, 2011
Over the past few months, I made a decision to begin sleeping on my back in an effort to improve my posture. Being a chiropractor, in practice since 1998 in Midtown Manhattan, I am keenly aware of the degenerative effects of sleeping prone on the stomach, but never was able to move out of that bad habit. Then approximately four months ago, I made a true effort, for the first time, to begin sleeping only on my back. My goal was to counter the forward translation of my head. It looked as if My head was two to three inches forward of my shoulders looking at my posture from the side and my cervical curve was straightened. My neck was compensating for all the stress of years of sleeping on my stomach with my head turned. I felt guilt preaching to my patients that sleeping on their stomachs was bad for them and yet I was doing it myself.
The first week of sleeping on my back was miserable. I set up my bedroom as comfortably as possible, made sure that the light was right, sheets my favorite…and yet it was still so difficult getting used to this new position. No exaggeration…I slept an hour or two. When I did wake up I felt tingling and numbness in my fingers…they were falling asleep! But I continued on…every night dealing with the same feelings although a bit less by the end of the week. By mid week on my second week my body began to really adjust to the new position. I was sleeping through a full night, and no more numbness. It’s now four months later, and I love it. My posture has improved dramatically, with the forward translation of my head reduced at least 50-60 percent.
It took time, perseverance, and a willingness to endure a few sleepless nights, but I’m healthier for it. Here are a few pointers to get you started: The first is to make sure that you begin with your normal pillow, and gradually work down to a thinner pillow so your head isn’t bending forward as you sleep. Secondly, make certain you don’t have sleep apnea which can be aggravated by sleeping on your back. Also, if you’re going to sleep on your back, try to avoid food for a few hours prior to sleep to avoid digestive acid reflux which can come up in to the throat area as we sleep if we are digesting food.
If you would like to schedule an appointment for chiropractic care, or for any further questions answered, contact me at: Dr. Dani Stekel DC, (212)581-3331, Email:DrStekel@gmail.com, Tel:(212)581-3331
October 26th, 2011
Why Athletes are having more injuries today
The athlete today is far more advanced than 30 or even 20 years ago, however the longevity of an athletes body today is significantly less. Many athletes wind up on the disability list due to injuries of their lower back, shoulders, knees, necks, and other areas which could have been prevented by diet and water consumption. The issue is acidity in the body. When an athlete is expending energy, lactic and pyruvic acid builds up in the body. Since we try always to maintain a certain PH of blood, around 7.35, if an athletes going in to an acidic state through the extreme physical exertion on a regular basis without alkalizing to offset the acid build up, his body will begin to leach minerals from the soft tissues to buffer the blood. This bicarbonate buffering eventually causes ligaments, tendons, and muscles to become vulnerable to injury. What should have been a normal pitch for a pitcher becomes the straw that broke the camels back. On top of this, most athletes drink sport recovery drinks in the belief that they will rehydrate, and replenish with electrolytes. The problem continues to be exacerbated by these drinks that contain high amounts of sugars in the from of high fructose corn syrup, and other sources of sugar. These drinks are highly acidic and can continue the downward spiral leading to an injury. With alkaline ionized restructured water, the water is able to hydrate the body bringing all the inert minerals to life through the ionization process of electrolysis. So when an athlete is in need of hydration, essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium already present in the water supply become readily available to the athlete. In doing so the athletes body doesn’t need to scavenge itself for those buffering mineral to alkalize the blood and organs. Kangen water is in my opinion an excellent source of hydration, and minerals. Depending on how “hard” your water supply is, the harder it is the more minerals available for the ionization process. The kangen machines attach to your faucet, and alkalizes water from the tap creating this water. Kangen water is six times more hydrating than normal water. If you have any questions about your health, feel free to contact me at .
Dani Stekel D.C (212)581-3331
250 West 57st., Suite 930, New York, NY 10107
DrStekel@gmail.com
October 12th, 2011
A few years back I took a course for continuing education as a chiropractor. Having opened my office back in 1998, these courses had become over the years a helpful tool to revitalize my office, and getting excited about the wonderful profession that I’m very thankful to be in. The course back in 2009 which I took was called the anti-inflammatory diet. The instructor taught how over acidic diets can unlock genetic propensities for sickness in the body, and lead to disease. He recommended a diet high in alkaline fruits and vegetables, cutting out most grains including wheat, eating only grass fed meats, and fish, using spices, and taking omega fish oils for supplementation. For snacking, he recommended only eating alkaline dried fruits, raw nuts and seeds, and dark chocolate that came from non high fructose corn syrup. He was very realistic that it takes pounds of green vegetable consumption to keep an alkaline environment. I decided to try the diet, however after only a few weeks I went off course. I continued to bounce on and off of this beneficial diet, but in the end it was just hard enough to keep me from staying on it consistantly. I noticed that when I’d stick to the diet, the stiffness in my lower back would ease up considerably…If you didn’t know this, being a chiropractor is very physical work. Along with my chiropractic adjustments that I received on a weekly basis, I stayed on this diet as much as I could.
In 2010, I came across Kangen alkaline ionized restructured water. The water, came in 8.5ph, 9.0ph, and 9.5ph. Normally water is at neutral 7.0, or acidic below 7.0 on the ph scale depending on the source. The Kangen was exponentially more alkaline than regular water. Within a month of drinking the kangen water, I noticed that my spine was so much more flexible than it had been in years. I learned that the alkalinity of this water was highly anti-inflammatory, and few cups of kangen water a day would alkalize my body more than were I to eat those pounds of vegetables that I had been really working hard to take in every day. Kangen isn’t a cure for any sickness or disease but I began to feel great. My energy increased considerably and would stay with me through long days of working with my patients. I had always been low energy since my childhood, but the water also gave me a significant boost that stayed with me throughout the day.
Consider alkalizing your body through diet, and alkaline ionized water for greater health.
If you have any questions on alkalinity, feel free to contact me at:
Dr. Dani Stekel
DrStekel@gmail.com
(212)581-3331
250 West 57st.
Suite 930
New York, NY10107
October 10th, 2011
As a chiropractor in private practise since 1998, I’ve worked with many patients suffering from lower back pain. Recently, I began working with a patient who was post surgery for lower back disk herniations. It had been a few months since her surgery, and she still was undergoing lower back pain. Her fear was that she’d always have this lower back pain and that the surgery was a failure. Following a detailed examination, I began chiropractic adjustments on her lower back, and used mechanical traction. A stretching routine of knee to chest stretches were performed on her, and I advised her to continue doing the same at home. (more…)
October 10th, 2011
Neck pain can be aggravating, and depending on the severity can really make daily tasks…well…”a pain in the neck!” I’ve been a chiropractor in midtown manhattan on west 57st. since 1998, and I’ve seen many patients over the years with neck pain. There are many causes of neck pain. From car accidents, to just waking up with it, nearly everyone will experience at least one episode of neck pain over there lifetime. The good news is that our necks are biomechanically rough and tough. (more…)
March 23rd, 2010
Lower back pain is one of the top reasons for lost productivity in America. Many people who suffer from low back pain fail to make it in to work. Too many become addicted to pain relief medications in the hopes that the lower back pain will eventually diminish. Most people, however, fail to receive the necessary help from medication alone. Lower back pain can be attributed to a number of causes. The pain can be due to muscle spasms, misaligned vertebrae, disc protrusions or herniations, muscle weakness, poor posture, not receiving the proper nutrition, and even can be an indirect sign of other serious diseases. Lower back pain can be felt in many different pain patterns. Some people experience lower back pain localized in one area, others may feel the pain shift from one area to another as they move. Lower back pain can even radiate down a leg causing pain as far as to the toes.
January 4th, 2010
Living in New York city can be a challenge for even the most health conscious individual. The city’s streets offer temptations to people that if left unchecked could prove disastrous to their waist size, and their health. I’m speaking about all the amazing tasty foods that I pass every day, and any day. It’s true, Manhattan is a city that never sleeps, and if I’m not aware of what I’m doing for even a moment, it’s possible I’ll find myself at the corner savoring a slice of pizza, or enjoying an “everything” bagel with cream cheese….I’m only human. But as the saying goes, it’s not what you do some of the time, but what you do most of the time that counts… (more…)
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