HOW TIGHT HIPS CAN CREATE AN UNHEALTHY BODY

May 24, 2020 by Kais Faddah

Many people don’t realize that the root cause of some of their pain and other health problems might be tight hip flexors.

The impact the hips have on the whole body never occurred to me until I saw the effect tight hip flexors had on the health and well-being of many of my patients over the years.

Tight or locked hip flexors can contribute to the following problems:

Nagging joint pain in the legs, lower back or hips.
Walking with discomfort.
Hips locking up.
Bad posture.
Trouble sleeping.
Sluggishness in day to day life.
High anxiety.
Lack of explosiveness in the gym or sports.

Do you find it surprising that all of this might be simply caused by this one tight muscle?

Many people suffer from tight or locked hip flexors, especially those who sit for hours each day, but few realize the impact on your whole body.

Again, everything flows through the hips. They help to support the strength and health of your entire body.

AT THE VERY HEART OF THIS ARE TWO POWERFUL PRIMAL, FIGHT OR FLIGHT MUSCLES – the Iliacus and the Psoas Major. Together, they are known as the Iliopsoas.

Your hips are the bridge between your upper body and lower body. They are at the center of your body’s movement.

Sitting within the well of your hip and lower spine is the psoas major muscle, one of the two muscles that makes up the iliopsoas.

It’s often called the “mighty” psoas (pronounced so-az) for the many important functions it plays in the movement of your body.

The psoas is the only muscle in the human body connecting the upper body to the lower body.

The muscle attaches to the vertebrae of the lower spine, moves through the pelvis and connects to a tendon at the top of the femur. It also attaches to the diaphragm, so it’s connected to your breathing, and upon it sits major organs.

A properly functioning psoas muscle creates a neutral pelvic alignment, stabilizes the hips, supports the lower spine and abdomen, supports the organs in the pelvic and abdominal cavity and it is what gives you great mobility and core strength.

When it functions well, it has the power to ….

… Help the body metabolize (burn) fat.
… Help improve athletic performance.
… Help improve strength training and endurance.
… Help improve energy levels.
… Help you sleep more comfortably and soundly through the night.

Put simply, this muscle is the core of activity in your body. So, when it’s out of balance or if the psoas tightens, serious consequences can flow throughout the body.

And there’s one activity, in particular, that’s the sworn enemy of your psoas muscle…SITTING

BULGING BELLY SYNDROME

My patients sometimes wonder why their stomachs stick out, even though they’re hammering the core exercises every day. It’s a common myth that bulging belly is due to weak abdominal muscles. The real cause is likely to be tight psoas muscles, which cause the lower back to curve, pushing out the stomach. When the psoas works properly, it pulls the abdomen back, tucking the tummy in, adding to the appearance of a strong, flat stomach.

FAT LOSS INHIBITOR

As the body’s “fight or flight” muscle, your psoas is deeply connected to our natural survival instinct. It instantly tightens in moments of danger to either protect you (in a fetal position) or help you run, fueled by the release of adrenaline. However, with your psoas constantly tight, it’s as though you are in constant danger. When your body is stressed, it often switches into fat storing mode in anticipation of danger. So, if fat loss is an issue for you, tight hips might be to blame.

UNCOMFORTABLE SLEEP

Sitting all day causes your hips to become stuck in a forward thrust position. This leads to pulling on the lower back and decreased blood flow and circulation through the hips. This tightness results in physical discomfort, making it more difficult to fall asleep and more likely to wake up throughout the night.

Getting regular chiropractic checkups and adjustments can improve both spinal function and reduce the stress response. Myofascial release therapy will also assist in releasing the locked hip flexors.

10 Researched Benefits of Chiropractic Adjustments

May 24, 2020 by Kais Faddah

If you haven’t visited a chiropractor before, you might be missing out. Millions of people around the world have experienced the incredible benefits of chiropractic care.

One of the best things about chiropractic care is it’s a drug-free and surgery-free path to healing naturally.

There are some misconceptions about chiropractic practices and how chiropractors are trained. In fact, did you know many chiropractic programs also incorporate an entire year of PhD-level advanced nutrition training?

However, most of the benefits of seeing a chiropractor come from getting a chiropractic adjustment. Let’s talk about the philosophy, history and evidence-based research of chiropractic care.

What Chiropractors Know

Chiropractors pride themselves on taking a natural, drugless approach to helping their patients reach their health goals. Essentially, the basic principle upon which the entire profession is built is that the body has the amazing, innate ability to heal itself (under the right conditions), and it is the chiropractor’s job to help create an environment to facilitate this.

Because the nervous system controls virtually every cell, tissue and organ in your body, chiropractors focus their attention on the health of your spinal column being properly aligned. When misalignments occur, chiropractors create a slight, directional force, called an adjustment, to help the vertebrae return to proper alignment.

Vertebral Subluxation

At the core of the numerous chiropractic miracle stories is a concept known as “the correction of vertebral subluxations.” Vertebral subluxations refer to mechanical compression and irritation to spinal joints and spinal nerves. Interference to spinal nerve impulses can create a gamut of physical conditions. When you consider how most cells and organs in your body depend on proper nerve impulses traveling through your spinal canal, it’s incredible to consider how vast the effects can be to bodily function when there are subluxations present.

Why Get Chiropractic Adjustments?

Many things can lead to a vertebral subluxation. Some of the more common causes I’ve found are:

A vertebra going out of place (“misalignment”) because of a slip or fall (i.e., “macrotrauma”).

The entire spine misaligning globally due to effects of poor posture.

Joint swelling caused by damage done to the intervertebral joint.

An inflammatory response caused by a poor nutrition, lack of pure water or psychological stress.

Osteoporosis or degenerative changes of the spine or intervertebral discs.

Trigger points and tight back muscles that pull the vertebrae out of place.

Importance of Posture

The problem that we see in Western cultures is that our unnatural habit of sitting down most of the day has a negative affect on our spines — not to mention our posture! We’re glued to our cell phones, iPads and laptops!

Far too many live their lives hunched over and with their necks stuck out like turtles. Doctors call this “forward head posture,” and studies prove that for every inch your head sticks out from a true center of gravity, your neck bears an extra 10 pounds of stress. Just think about how common and dangerous this can be for your health!

During posture evaluations, chiropractors regularly observe many of their patients carrying their head two to three inches forward, which is an extra 20-30 pounds of pressure on their neck! Tight hip flexor muscles also contribute to an anterior pelvic tilt and a bulging abdomen.

When our bodies have subluxations, many physiological conditions can occur. Although many symptoms and conditions improve with chiropractic care, a properly functioning body and health are paramount to chiropractic care. Listed below are research studies looking at some of the physical benefits:

Top 10 Chiropractic Studies and Research

Finding a good chiropractor isn’t only key to correcting the damage caused by years of poor posture or trauma — it’s also important for everyone wanting to take a proactive approach to his or her health care.

I don’t know of any other profession on the planet that can prevent neuromuscular-based conditions like chiropractic can. That is why I’ve been personally getting adjusted for over 30 years and recommend my patients, friends and family members to do the same.

But don’t just take my word for it. Here is some of the research and studies proving the therapeutic benefits of chiropractic.

1. Sciatica

The European Spine Journal published the findings from a clinical trial uncovering how chiropractic adjustments resulted in a 72 percent success rate in treating sciatica and related symptoms compared to the 20 percent success from physical therapy and 50 percent from corticosteroid injections.

Compared to most medical treatments, few interventions can initiate back pain relief and healing like chiropractic adjustments can!

2. Low Back Pain and Neck Pain

In a study published in the British Medical Journal 2003, 183 patients with neck pain were randomly allocated to manual therapy (spinal mobilization), physiotherapy (mainly exercise) or general practitioner care (counseling, education and drugs) in a 52-week study.

The clinical outcome measures showed that chiropractic adjustments resulted in faster recovery than physiotherapy and general practitioner care. Moreover, total costs of the chiropractic-treated patients were about one-third of the costs of physiotherapy or general practitioner care.

Another study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found patients with chronic low-back pain treated by chiropractors showed greater improvement and satisfaction at one month than patients treated by family physicians. Satisfaction scores were higher for chiropractic patients.

A higher proportion of chiropractic patients (56 percent vs. 13 percent) reported that their low-back pain was better or much better, whereas nearly one-third of medical patients reported their low-back pain was worse or much worse.x

In a study funded by NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine to test the effectiveness of different approaches for treating neck pain, 272 participants were divided into three groups that received either spinal manipulative therapy from a doctor of chiropractic (DC), pain medication (over-the-counter pain relievers, narcotics and muscle relaxants) or exercise recommendations.

After 12 weeks, about 57 percent of those who met with DCs and 48 percent who exercised reported at least a 75 percent reduction in pain, compared to 33 percent of the people in the medication group. After one year, approximately 53 percent of the drug-free groups continued to report at least a 75 percent reduction in pain, compared to just 38 percent pain reduction among those who took medication.

3. Headaches (Tension and Migraine)

Second only to back pain, headaches are one of the most common conditions regularly managed by chiropractors. At the time I conducted this research, over 230 peer-reviewed articles referenced chiropractic’s ability to help cure, prevent and ease the burden of headaches and migraines in people all across the globe!

A group trial found that 22 percent of people who had chiropractic treatment saw the number of attacks drop by 90 percent. In that same study, 49 percent said they had a significant reduction in pain intensity.

Compared to most medical treatments, few interventions can initiate headache relief like chiropractic adjustments can.

4. Colic and Ear Infections

A 2012 study published in Journal of Manipulative Physiological Therapeutics found that chiropractic adjustments greatly reduced colic symptoms.

Although very few randomized control trials have been conducted describing the clinical effects of chiropractic care on children, literally scores of case studies have been documented that describe how children suffering from otitis media (ear infections), acid reflux and colic have experienced complete to near complete resolution after just a few visits.

The reasons for this vary, but one common theme is that nerves controlling the gut and brain are intricately connected to each other and are quite sensitive to neurological insult caused by vertebral subluxations.

5. Neurological Conditions

Exciting research is currently being conducted via upright MRI showing how upper cervical adjustments affect various brain-based conditions. What we have seen so far is quite remarkable.

Not only are MRI scans revealing that cerebral spinal fluid and blood flow are markedly increased after a chiropractic adjustment, researchers are observing that cerebellar invagination (when the cerebellum drops down below the skull line) is being reversed and brain plaquing (common in multiple sclerosis patients) is reduced.

6. Blood Pressure

In 2007, George Bakris, the world expert on hypertension, published a study with a team of researchers in the Human Journal of Hypertension proving that one upper cervical chiropractic adjustment had the same effect as two blood pressure-lowering drugs. Even more fascinating, the effects of just one adjustment lasted more than six months!

Compared to the placebo-treated patients, those who got the real procedure saw an average 14 mm Hg greater drop in systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure count) and an average 8 mm Hg greater drop in diastolic blood pressure (the bottom blood pressure number).

Other studies have shown similar findings with hypotensive patients, and their low blood pressure was raised to normal levels after chiropractic care. This is exciting because it highlights the body’s ability to create a homeostatic balanced environment once vertebral subluxations are removed.

7. Surgery Prevention

Chiropractic has long been heralded by natural health care providers as a natural method to prevent back surgery.

In fact, the Journal of the American Medical Association published its low back pain guidelines and suggested that people suffering from back pain first try chiropractic before resorting to surgery.

8. Frozen Shoulder

Last yeaclinical trial was published describing how patients suffering from the debilitating condition frozen shoulder responded to chiropractic care.

Of the 50 patients: 16 resolved completely; 25 showed 75 percent to 90 percent improvement; eight showed 50 percent to 75 percent improvement; and one showed 0 percent to 50 percent improvement.

9. Scoliosis

Chiropractic adjustments for scoliosis coupled with muscular rehabilitation techniques may help prevent the progression of scoliosis. Organizations like the nonprofit Clear Institute founded by Dr. Dennis Woggon have set out to empower health care professionals with an effective chiropractic system to treat people with scoliosis.

They’ve perfected a model and discovered that it is possible to effectively treat the condition without the use of restrictive braces or dangerous surgeries. In many case studies, participants have seen a 10 percent to 30 percent decrease in their scoliosis curvatures.

10. Human and Athletic Performance

There is a reason why athletes both today and in the past are under regular chiropractic care. In fact, over 50 percent of NFL teams have a chiropractor on staff.

Because it is so effective at improving physiological conditions, one of the most overlooked aspects of chiropractic care is that it enhances personal and athletic performance. Studies have shown that it:

Reduces inflammatory cytokines

Boosts your immune system

Enhances pulmonary functioning’s

Decreases mental and oxidative stress

Relieves muscle tension

And can naturally increase your energy level

Studies have even proved, objectively and subjectively, that chiropractic patients experience “overall increased bodily function,” which includes bowl regularity and mental clarity.

Basically, because it helps place your body in the position where it can heal itself, chiropractic adjustments can free your immune system up to focus on keeping you healthy, which enhances your ability to think, move and perform.

And in this day and age, having a properly functioning immune system is incredibly important for overall health and well being.

What is Myofascial Release?

June 15, 2019 by Kais Faddah

It is difficult to go throughout life without the body experiencing some kind of pain or discomfort. Whether you have injuries or trauma that flare up periodically, structural misalignment, or just regular old wear and tear, the body can and does withstand a lot. It is made to be used, and it should be! But we all need a little help from time to time in order to provide maintenance and feel good so we can keep up the physical activity. Alternative medicine and bodywork are excellent ways to take positive and proactive steps to keep your body in tip-top shape. Myofascial release is an excellent bodywork option for people who experience muscular pain or restriction, as well as their repercussions.

What is fascia?

The word fascia can be described as “a clingfilm-like substance that wraps around all our muscles and organs, offering support and reducing friction during everyday movement.” It is a connective tissue system that literally weaves around all of our bones, muscles, organs, nerves, arteries, and veins. It is a continuous system (that’s to say, it’s all connected and has no real beginning or end), and can be compared to the yarn of a sweater. Needless to say, it’s an important system for the structural integrity of the human body. It can have vast consequences when there is an issue in the system.

Causes of fascial restriction

Fascial restriction can be caused by a variety of reasons, but when it occurs, it can lead to pain and loss of mobility.

Some of the causes are physical, and thus more obvious:

Physical trauma/injury
Muscle overuse/tightness
Inflammation
Poor posture/structural alignment
Poor health

That last one is very general, but it segues into an interesting topic, the lesser-known causes of fascial restriction:

Not moving enough (having a sedentary lifestyle)
Dehydration or poor diet
Not enough good quality sleep
Stress
Mental or emotional trauma

What you can do about fascial restriction

There is a predominant idea that we have been told often, that we need to stretch sore, tight, and knotted muscles. Yet visualize a rope with a knot in it: taking it and stretching it from either end. What do you imagine? The knot getting tighter. There is an alternative school of thought that suggests that we need to take our knotted muscles and break those knots up. This, in essence, what myofascial release is.

Some common ways to deal with fascial restriction are the following:

Rolling out fascia bands on foam rollers
Using the pressure from lacrosse, tennis, or massage balls on affected areas
Yin yoga (more passive yoga poses held for 2-5 minutes, targeting specific muscles or areas)
Myofascial release deep tissue massage

Myofascial Release Technique — Photo via Pixabay

An empowered approach to health

The wonderful thing about myofascial release is that there are so many techniques that are DIY. Of the four listed above, three of those can be done to yourself by yourself. There is nothing more gratifying (and frankly, empowering) than being able to identify the issues preventing/ obstacles to you having good health and being able to manage or even improve them on your own. The trick is to be proactive with your health versus treating and dealing with the issues as they flare up or become unbearable. Just like anything mechanical, all of the individual moving parts of the body require attention and care. The fascia is another part of the body, albeit an extensive one, that requires tender loving care.

Myofascial release at Paraiso Wellness Center

At Paraiso Wellness Center, we believe that a holistic approach to health is the best way to achieve optimal health. It’s affected by a great combination of factors: diet, exercise, sleep habits, mental wellbeing, stress management, and attitude. It’s assisted by regular bodywork such as massage, chiropractic, acupressure or acupuncture, and yoga — this is where we come in. We are specialists in (and have a great deal of tools in our arsenal) to assist our patients and clients.

Myofascial release is one of the tools that we use in combination with our chiropractic work to help loosen, relax, and release the fascia surrounding muscles, skeleton system, and organs. We have found that it leads to optimal results when done with chiropractic work as the body is a complex system and it’s impossible to treat one aspect while ignoring the others.

We are excited to help you be more proactive with your health, and see the positive results on your health, happiness, and life!

Costa Rica Pledges to go Carbon Neutral and Single-Use Plastic-Free by 2021

June 1, 2019 by Kais Faddah

The health of the planet is of utmost important to human health, most obviously because it’s our one and only home. We eat from the earth, drink the water, and breathe the air. Also, in an energetic way, we are creations of the earth like any plant or animal, and are comprised of the very same molecules that everything else on earth is. It is no secret that the health and wellbeing of the earth are changing rapidly, and that this change is human-induced. We are so proud and excited to live in a country that is making environmental protection a top priority. Costa Rica is stepping up to a global leadership position by taking a strong stance on two prominent environmental issues: greenhouse gas emissions, and single-use plastics.

What is carbon neutrality, and why is it important?

In short, greenhouse gases are what is emitted by the burning of fossil fuels, the byproducts of which then go into the atmosphere, and are trapped there. This leads to a heating of our earth’s atmosphere as well as oceanic temperatures. The effects of this are increased storms, floods, droughts, fires, and more. Many actions taken daily by humans around the world (such as driving in a vehicle, turning a light on, cooking a meal) contribute to the issue. The risks are great, and most people are waking up to the reality that without collective, widespread, and profound change, we risk altering the state of our planet. We risk making it unlivable by ourselves and other living creatures, in an alarmingly short timeframe.

However, there are other types of energy sources other than fossil fuels — commonly known as renewable energy sources — that create much less of an impact. These are hydroelectricity, wind power, solar, and geothermal to name a few. Currently, Costa Rica has within it all of these types of energy and more. Most importantly, the country has the political will to make this goal, which many consider unrealistic or utopian, a reality. Costa Rica has long been seen as a “green” country and an “ecotourism” destination. The Costa Rican government and its residents see the value of protecting the beauty and health of this unique place, both for tourism purposes and to be seen as a global leader in the environmental movement.

Why are single-use plastics so detrimental?

While plastic is just over 100 years old, and we’ve only been actively using it for over 60 years, it now fills every corner of our planet. It can be found from the middle of the ocean, to the tops of the highest mountains. Today, it is often cheaper and easier to make new plastic than it is to recycle old plastic, leading to an explosion of this material being in our environment. The most detrimental aspect of plastic is that it never fully biodegrades (that is, to decay and become reabsorbed into the environment). Much of it moves to the ocean, where, because of the salt water and sun, it just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces. It then leaches toxins into the ocean water, is absorbed into the food chain, and directly kills millions of ocean animals every year.

The silly thing about the majority of plastic that’s still floating around nowadays is that it was likely used just once. We’re all guilty of adding single-use plastics to the mix: water bottles, plastic cups, disposable bags. Yet multiply that by every time every individual on earth has used single-use plastics in the history of the world, and the problem becomes apparent. The great thing about this problem is that it’s not too late, nor is it actually too difficult to fix. The political will around the world is quite strong (with the only real deniers being the plastic-producers themselves). Moreover, all it would take to curb this problem would be to limit use, find alternatives, and start widespread putting them into use. Costa Rica has already taken strong action, pledging that “by 2021, at least 80 percent of the country’s public agencies, municipalities and businesses replace their disposable plastic packaging with materials that have a lower environmental impact”.

Why we’re proud to live in a country that prioritizes the environment

Living and working in Costa Rica, we feel the health benefits of living in this beautiful country. Being closer to nature and more active within it, eating more fresh, healthy, and local foods, and spending less time indoors and in the car — these are just a few examples of the physical changes that we have felt. As health practitioners, we know firsthand how important that having a healthy environment is for the people who live within it. We’re proud to live in a community that makes these issues a priority, with many environmental groups and nonprofits operating within Costa Ballena, including the Bahia Ballena Libre de Plastico (Bahia Ballena Plastic Free). We too take actions in our home and business such as reducing our single-use plastic use and eating locally. Acting in solidarity with this beautiful country that we live in, we want to participate in this essentially important goal, and to inspire others as well. We hope that you will come visit us in Ojochal, Costa Rica, and see it firsthand!

The Power of Ocean Healing

May 16, 2019 by Kais Faddah

Here at Paraiso Wellness Center, we are strong proponents of nature’s healing power. Having moved into the jungle years ago, we have felt the firsthand benefits of being surrounded with nature: tropical plants, trees, animals, and the big(gest) one — the ocean. Most of us recognize that feeling of peace of standing at the ocean’s edge, but what many of us don’t know are the reasons for it. Neuroscientists have pinpointed some physiological changes that happen in the human body when it is near the sea. We are so happy to live by the sea as we have felt firsthand the ocean’s benefits, and that our very own Paraiso Wellness Center is blessed with a beautiful view of the tropical Pacific Ocean.

Getting back to the basics

“We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it we are going back from whence we came.”
– John F. Kennedy

Human beings are comprised of nearly 70% saline water, and the world’s oceans are approximately 72% of the earth’s surface. Biological anthropology tells us that humans, like all life forms, emerged millions of years ago from the sea. When we get into the water, there are a series of temporary physiological effects that occur, some almost immediately: decrease in heart rate, blood flood into essential organs, slowing of the breath. There is something so primal feeling about being in or near the ocean, it’s impossible to ignore its effects.

Stress reduction benefits

What is it about being near or in the ocean that just seems to draw out the stress from our bodies and minds? The sound, the smell, the breeze of the ocean; the immensity of it, the way it moves, and even the color; the negative ions, and how walking barefoot at the beach grounds you deeply to the earth. All of these factors contribute to the soothing and stress-relieving nature that the ocean possesses. There is a reason that so many landlocked travelers visit the ocean annually, that real estate with an ocean view is so sought-after, and that we find excuses to just get to the beach. When we are around it, it’s easier to disconnect from the stresses of this fast-paced, technological era and just be [by the sea].

Childlike feelings and freedom

If you haven’t recently played in the waves, we would highly recommend it. Whether you’re surfing, bodysurfing, or just frolicking in the white water, there is something so liberating and laughter-inducing about being in the ocean, and particularly in the waves. Remember when you were a kid, and you would stay in the water for hours, until your skin was all wrinkly and your parents had to drag you out? While most adults don’t feel that way anymore in a chlorinated pool, those same feelings are easily replicated in the ocean. Combined with the stress-relieving aspects, just being and playing in the ocean will make you feel years younger.

Inducing mindfulness

Make no mistake, being near or in the ocean can and should make you more mindful. For one thing, the ocean is not our natural environment. In fact, the majority of human adults feel a deep fear of not just the ocean, but any large, deep body of water. On one hand, if it is not allowed to get out of control, a healthy fear of the ocean can prevent any near-drowning incidents. On the other hand, being mindful of the ocean, learning to be in and around it, and developing a level of respect for the ocean, is far better. It is easy on land to live in a dreamlike-state or to be on autopilot. This is simply not a possibility in the ocean. Therefore, the ocean, when enjoyed responsibly, can itself elicit mindfulness.

Paraiso Wellness Center in Ojochal

We have been graced with a great deal of fortune in this lifetime, and we consider the location of our home and wellness center to be at the top of the list. Paraiso Wellness Center is located in Ojochal, a small town at the edge of the Talamanca mountain range in the Southern Pacific zone of Costa Rica. Our property overlooks the magnificent Pacific Ocean, and from our pool, yoga studio, and main home, we enjoy sunsets over the ocean more days than not. We can attest to the validity of all of the above-mentioned reasons why being near the ocean can be so life-changing. For these reasons and more, we are pleased to offer lodging, yoga classes, chiropractic and bodywork, and wellness retreats and workshops at the ocean-facing Paraiso Wellness Center in Costa Rica.