Men, that is not a joke that needs to be replayed/retold. HaHa.

When we wake up in the morning, we may feel stiff and sore.

The reason is that our discs and joints are basically re-hydrating at night and our joints are feeling distended, since gravity and body weight are not compressing them while we are lying down horizontal. It may take 20 minutes to an hour to feel normal.

In order to cut that time down in 1/2. Here is some simple tricks:

1. Bring your right and then left knee to your chest and hold each leg for a count of 10 seconds.
2. Lye on you back, bend your knees and do 10 pelvic bridges (Raise your butt off the bed).
3. Bend side to side while lying on your back.
4. Roll over on your stomach and push your upper body up off the bed, leaving your pelvis and legs against the bed. This is known as the Cobra or Seal Pose in yoga.

These are just some simple tricks to make us feel better in the morning. And if the mood moves you, morning sexual relations is a form of pelvic floor exercise, and it will get you feeling better in a lot of different ways. Plus, you can say you worked out.

It’s great being your doctor. Thank you for your support. I love you all, and we will get through these challenging times. Take care of your loved ones. We will see you soon. And as always, I’ve got your back.

Sincerely,
Dr. John Bouma

There is a huge population of people that are working from home.

At work we had stand up workstations, ergonomics personnel, keyboard trays and adjustable monitors. All of these are useful at the workplace. Home is another story. Working on you laptops on the kitchen table, couch, lap, coffee table, etc. Ergonomics shot to hell. Neck and back burning yet?

Build yourselves a stand up workstation at home. Order a laptop riser from Amazon or CDW, Get yourself a wireless mouse and keyboard so that you can prop up your monitor to eye-level. Alter your stance, get up and down more throughout the day. Do Stretches, use some heat or ice, and take a break.

And remember, Premier Chiropractic Center is open regular hours to assist you. We also have several Massage Therapy appointments available. Call the office, We’ve Got Your Back!!

Click picture to enlarge

Sincerely,
Dr. John Bouma

Shoulder pain affects 4.5 million people per year. 200,000 people have rotator cuff reattachment surgery and 400,000 people have shoulder surgery due to issues related to tendonitis or partial tears every year.

These statistics are quoted by the November 20th issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

These statistics are recorded as a result of people with shoulder pain seeking out medical care from an orthopedic surgeon. How many Americans are suffering on a daily basis but do nothing? How long have these individuals had shoulder pain, restricted range of motion, or even total loss of motion before they sought help? These are the unanswered questions neither the study nor the statistics represent. Therefore, hundreds of thousands of Americans are suffering from shoulder pain, limited or loss of range of motion and do nothing.

Dr. Bouma has suffered from shoulder problems in the past as a result of his job, working out, and previous athletic injuries. He has had injections and some physical therapy as well. However, the most successful improvements that he has found to be is a combination of chiropractic extremity adjustments, exercise, massage therapy, body and posture changes.

The success he has created for himself and others has saved them from a potential shoulder surgery, months of rehabilitation, thousands of dollars and precious time not feeling well.

If you have shoulder problems, make an appointment for a consultation and treatment options, and begin to finally get some relief.

Do you include Preventative Chiropractic Care into your “Good Things To Do For Your Body” list?
There are many variations of what preventative or maintenance Chiropractic Care looks like. Some offices believe that you should be adjusted 1x/week for the rest of your life. Here at Premier, we believe that this type of care is variable. It depends on your job, health present and past history, arthritis, sports you play, your activity level, and what’s up coming in your life. For most, this is somewhere between every 3-12 weeks between visits. Our philosophy is that the body is innately intelligent and knows that we do not need to be it’s kickstand to keep you up right. But we must train/re-educate the dysfunctional joints prior to a preventative schedule (Tune-up), so they know how to respond when an adjustment is applied.

Think about this. Why wouldn’t you want some preventative or tune-up adjustments throughout the year to keep you in the best possible condition? You worked hard at getting it back in shape after a problem was presented. You should keep it that way. Also, think about the time, pain, energy, and the cost of lump treatments versus spread out. It is highly more cost effective. Which keeps you productive at work, home, in sports, and in life.

In 2017, try getting into the Chiropractor for more routine work. Dr. Bouma will only give you what you need and help you find the right schedule or whatever your life can handle. It will be one of your best years in retrospect on how you felt compared to past years.

This time of year people hold off seeing their trusted physicians due to the restart of a new calendar year deductible. The deductible is a set amount of money that your insurance company and your employer/you agree upon, which must be met before your insurance begins to pay for services that you have encountered.

There is some psychology to this yearly dilemma.
First, the deductible helps lower your insurance premium. The higher the deductible the lower the premium. Insurance companies love it when you choose a higher deductible plan because they don’t have to pay of until you met your set amount, meanwhile they continue to accept your monthly premium. All in and no out. Secondly, the psychology part of it is two fold. People don’t want to use their insurance because they don’t want to have to pay. Which again is a case of insurance companies reaping the premium. And meanwhile you hold off. Time ticks away and then you start see other physicians and you owe each provider your deductible little by little, and you eventually meet your deductible and the insurance company has to kick in some payment. But then you realize that you spent all this money and you only have 3 months left of the year to utilize your insurance and you cram all of your appointments within a 3 month window and your are fighting with everyone else to see the doctor or get a procedure done before the end of the year. Then next year comes around and you start all over again.

Stop the madness.
See the people that you need to see at the beginning of the year, pay out what you need to pay and reap the rewards of your insurance which you are dearly paying for. Get the appointments you want when you want them. Or choose a plan that gives you a health savings card that forces you to put money away for this problem of co-pays and deductibles.

This should be your New Years Resolution.

Fish Oil: Helps transport inflammation within the body to the kidneys to excrete. (If you do not like fish you may be allergic, so don’t try this)

Tart Cherry Juice: 2 table spoons in 4 oz of water per day

Turmeric/Cur-cumin: 500-1000mg per day

Raspberry Leaf or Dandelion Root Teas: This is okay to take if you are pregnant.

Take one of these as a daily regimen to defend your body against inflammation and when your body becomes more inflamed from injury, food, stress, etc. Take an additional remedy for a couple of days until you regulate your system.

There are hundreds of other remedies that you can take. These are just a few that I recommend in the office to patients that are safe. Please read the warnings next to some of these if you are allergic, do not take these items.

Many people at this time of year set New Year’s goals. Your key to success in this department will be to start slow. Consistency wins. The more consistent you become the more your actions become habit. That being said, choose to do something attainable. Do it 3-6x per week. Don’t make it too hard or too long. Results will come but the feel of the exercise or task will become easier and this is your cue to up the ante.

One great way to develop a stronger Core is to stand more in your day. Our core supports our spine. Our body’s were never meant to sit as long as most American’s do per day. Your posture at the desk, traveling to and from work, then sitting at home some more. Think about how many hours you spend a day sitting. The 2 best posture promoting positions to be in is either standing or lying down. Standing causes muscles to fire all day long, it will help increase your working memory, reduce stress, increase your BMI, burn fat, and strengthen your core to name a few. Sitting will be the death of us. If you don’t believe me, look at our kids when they are looking at their phones and how curled up they are. Total reversal of the secondary curves of the neck and lower back. This is called Tech Neck or Tech Spine.

Do this one simple task more often in your day and reap the rewards.

Have a Great New Year and stay tuned for more common sense tips.

Sincerely,
Dr. John

Many of us have just received the notices about our health insurance premiums increasing.
So far we have seen rates increase anywhere from 50-76% increases. If the current situation of insurance wasn’t already bad enough.

Many people were kicked/dropped from their previous insurance plans, and then coerced into purchasing insurance policies that would cost them $700/month for a young family of 4. With the deductible of $10,000. Families were now expected to fork out $18,400 in a calendar year to receive $1 of insurance benefit. All this to avoid a $250-$668 penalty from the government. Let alone that many of people's choices for their local hospitals and doctors were no longer participating with these insurance plans. Now an increase in premiums, these families (at the minimum increase of 50%) are shelling out an additional $4,200 a year for the same terrible coverage.

Can you and your family afford the Affordable Health Care Act?

There are solutions.
You must realize that Insurance Rates and Taxes do not go down. Rates will increase with your age, gender, and health history. You need to be proactive.

1. Take your health into your own hands.
Get Active. Reduce the causes for many self-inflicted
conditions. Eat Better, Get More Rest, Reduce Stress, Make Short and Long Term Goals. Prevention is Always Better Than Crisis.

2. Find A Concierge Physician.
Spend up to $2,500 a year for medical care program. The doctor accepts a limited number of patients. You will get more one-on- one care, you will see less hospital visits, and less medications. This style of practice is growing rapidly in the United States. 4,000 a year are physicians are going this route. Soon we may see some hospitals. Plus, you can avoid the government penalty because this is a DCP (Direct Care Plan) that qualifies under the Affordable Care Act as a covered entity.

3. Choose a catastrophic higher deductible plan that has lower premiums.
Put the money you are saving in the bank, or into health promoting activities like food, exercise, Chiropractic, stress reduction. You need a plan that will cap your expenses if you had to go to the hospital. 76% of all bankruptcies are the result of medical bills.

4. Choose Chiropractic.
#1 Alternative Health Care Specialty For Good Reason. It is the most physiologically correct type of care you can receive. Your body is always trying to heal itself. Chiropractic's philosophy is "Remove the Interference, so that the Body Can Heal Itself". Your Nervous Tissue Brain/Spinal Cord/Peripheral Nerves) are the mother board and computer that controls the entire body. Dysfunction in the spine can cause changes to the exiting nerve and slows the transmission of impulse to the organs and structures it supplies. Dysfunction over time creates disease. Obviously disease is a multi-factorial process.

Choose Chiropractic. It will keep you feeling great and help you resist illness, reduce stress, keep you moving, and reduce your need for medications and future doctor visits. Plus it is significantly less expensive and the results are quick. One additional benefit, we give great advice.

Chiropractic Is Health Insurance… Premiums small, DIVIDENDS LARGE!

Stay tuned for more updates on this topic of discussion. Follow us and spread the message to others who need help.

Sincerely,
Dr. John Bouma

Chiropractic care while you’re pregnant is completely safe and highly effective.

The body undergoes a tremendous amount of changes internally and externally. There are hormonal changes that cause ligaments to soften and become lax allowing for the body to open up and allow for the baby to descend. But also as your posture changes so does the mechanical stress on the spine. The stress on the spine can cause pelvic, neck, shoulder, and upper back pain, sciatica, carpal tunnel syndrome, and headaches.

Chiropractic care is a huge help!

Here at Premier Chiropractic Center, I adjust patients all the way through the pregnancy and even after delivery. Very little pressure is needed and we alternative ways to evaluate and adjust you while you are pregnant.

We also provide Massage Therapy and give great tips on strengthening the pelvic floor to resist further problems. Chiropractic care helps with the brain-body connection of Neuromuscular harmony that allows the nervous tissue to communicate optimally with the uterus/cervix to make sure they both are working together rather than against one another for easier vaginal births.

And how do we know of all this? Three children of my own and 18 years of experience providing excellent care for my family and friends here in the office, training and continuing education.

Dr. John

“Health is a journey. It is a daily endeavor. It takes work.”

Are you more of the mind set of Preventative or Crisis Care? Keep in mind that there is no wrong answer, this is just your thing.

Crisis care is when we do things for our selves when we are ill.
We all do this to some degree. We take more vitamin C when we have a cold, see the Chiropractor when our back is sore, stop smoking when we get bronchitis, only see the doctor when you are sick, Eat healthy just to lose weight before a trip or wedding, etc.

Preventative care is you eat clean and moderately healthy 90% of the time, get adjusted when you are feeling no pain to prevent issues, take vitamins on a daily basis, exercise to increase tone, maintain weight, reduce stress, etc.

What ever your current plan is, that is your prerogative. But keep in mind that an once of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In other words, it is far less expensive to do preventative care and lifestyle than it is to clean up chronic problems during and following crisis.

Some General stats for you:

• 76% of all bankruptcy’s are the result of medical bills
• 1 in 4 Americans have Cardiovascular Disease
• 735,000 people/yr have a Heart Attack
• 29.1% of people in US have diabetes (I,II, III)(Type II largest #)
• 63% of Americans are either over weight or obese

Health is a journey. It is a daily endeavor. It takes work. We are not going to be 100%. And even sometimes, that is not even enough. But when you are ill, I know that your body will respond better to clean eating, fruits, veggies, exercise, and less stress; than it would on the other side of the scale. And if you are on the other side of the scale, you can always switch. It’s your choice.

John Bouma