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The concept is simple: balanced breathing means you breathe in and breathe out for equal amounts of time.

But the upside is amazing: there is no quicker way to calm your nervous system, sharpen the mind and reduce stress than by breathing well. Unfortunately, many of us seem to forget how to breathe as we get older, leading to shallow breath patterns that leave us short on oxygen. 

Begin by breathing deeply

Diaphragmatic breathing, also known as deep breathing, begins by contracting the diaphragm, inhaling through the nose and filling your lungs with air. In this way the abdomen, and not the chest, will expand outward as you saturate all the cells of your body with the oxygen they need to respire. To step it up just a notch further, and turn this basic activity into more of a relaxant, try “equal breathing.“

Practice breathing in through the nose for four seconds and out through the nose four seconds and linking the breaths together so that your breathing feels like one continuous cycle. The rhythm will help calm your mind during moments of stress. You can use this technique before bed, during a stressful commute, or during a free minute at work. At Espinosa Family Chiropractic, we believe in the power of breathing and we want to help you breathe your best. See how we can improve the function of your diaphragm and its accessory muscles by calling our office and scheduling an appointment today. 

Dr. Raymond Espinosa, D.C.

And by small, we mean really small: 10 minutes or less at a time with microexercises 

Imagine that all you needed to do each day was get your heart rate up for 30 minutes, but the pressures of your job, your commute and home life prevented you from doing even that. For many of us, this is a blatant reality. The solution is to think smaller- what is the largest continuous block of time you can squeeze in to your schedule for exercise? Because even 60 seconds is good enough!

Microexercises are made for the busiest of lifestyles

Because everything we need in life is seemingly within reach of our fingertips, we are moving less and less. With a new year upon us, there is no better time than now to take back the little moments to give ourselves emotional and physical boost. Studies show that the health benefits to be reaped by 30 minutes of continuous exercise (calorie burning, cholesterol levels and blood pressure) can also be gained by people who exercise in smaller doses, albeit more frequently. 

Some ideas for microexercises: 

• Take to the stairs at work 

• Try out a 5 minute yoga routine

• Plank for 30 seconds or as long as you can handle it

• Keep a set of dumbbells and a jump rope stored under your desk. 

• Jumping jacks, sit-ups, push-ups

• Simply take a walk

Besides getting your heart rate up and strengthening muscles, you are removing muscles from their constant state of contraction which is so prevalent in the office. This will help you feel less stiff at the end of the day. Choose what makes you happiest and dedicate yourself to doing it as often as you can for as long as you can. For help getting motivated, or healing injuries that are holding you back, give our office in Sacramento a call to schedule an appointment today!

Dr. Raymond Espinosa, D.C. 

Your emotional state is reflective of your lifestyle.

Changes in temperament are reasonable and to be expected when you consider the pressures of adulthood but mood swings are more erratic and disruptive to your well-being. Our lifestyles are a balancing act between genetic predispositions and more tangible lifestyle factors including diet, level of activity and stress. When stress levels are up and activity is down, our body’s attempt at homeostasis often becomes jeopardized.

Mood swings can be regulated by controlling the factors within your power! 

So your workload is higher than usual, you aren’t exercising as much and you’re diet has fallen by the wayside. This is a great recipe for leaving your body and mind in a compromised state that leaves you vulnerable to unpredictable mood swings. Here’s a little insight on how healthy lifestyle decisions impact your emotional state:

• Diet: Skipping breakfast? Relying on coffee and sugar to get you through a hectic work day? Caffeine is a veritable malfactor when it comes to homeostasis and sugar can leave blood sugar levels low after an initial spike. Diet should be a stabilizing influence, not a wave-creator!

• Activity: We need to move to keep our circulation fresh, endorphins rushing and our body in a state of constant renewal. Staying sedentary is the quickest way to watch your body and mind deteriorate. 

• Stress: stress management requires near constant dedication! Optimizing your home and workplace to keep stress at bay set the tone for a clearer mind and a healthier outlook. 

How does chiropractic help with mood swings?

By correcting subluxation and regulating the nervous system, which is the main mode of communication between brain and body. Removing pressure and subsequently interference from the nervous system helps the systems of the body work more fluidly, which is an essential component of homeostasis! For help creating an action plan to naturally account for changes in temperament and mood swings, give our office in Sacramento a call to schedule an appointment today! 

Dr. Raymond Espinosa, D.C. 

Dieting for energy is about balance

To be more precise, a diet that gives you energy would see you equally distribute calories throughout all your meals and observe a ratio high complex carbohydrates: medium protein: low (but not no) fat. Too many of us are skipping breakfast and wondering why we don’t function later in the day; furthermore, this leads us to gorge ourselves because we feel starved by the middle of the afternoon. 

Candy, soda and coffee are not a recipe for energy

Fitting our diet into our busy daily schedules often means that we are eating on the go- grabbing for candy bars and coffee to waylay hunger. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate that is quickly processed by the body; this is why you might experience a surge in energy right away, but once it is is processed you are left with low blood sugar and low energy. Complex carbohydrates (think grains) are the fuel that really keeps you going.

Eating for high energy: 

• Balance carbs, proteins, fats (avoid saturated fats)
• Fruit and vegetables to provide you with natural sugar and all the micronutrients you need to feel your best. 
• Iron: a crucial mineral that helps red blood cells allocate oxygen to allow our systems to function optimally. 
• Vitamin D: is less plentiful during winter, which is unfortunate because it helps to keep mood swings at bay. Cold water fish, mushrooms and fortified dairy products are great places to add in more D.

Our role in keeping you energized

At Espinosa Family Chiropractic, we know that diet is the first place people can start making changes when accounting for fatigue. But keeping your body and, in particular, your nervous system, in top shape is also essential to feeling your best all the time. Chiropractic keeps you energized by removing interference from the nervous system; your brain will feel clearer and your body will function more effectively. Give our office in Sacramento a call to schedule an appointment today. 

Dr. Raymond Espinosa, D.C. 

Fatigue can feel like a syndrome in winter. 

And there is a biological reason for this: with less daylight, the body produces more melatonin which makes us feel drowsier than normal. This sets the tone for seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a mood disorder usually experienced during winter time and characterized by symptoms including: 

• Depression 
• Mood Swings
• Weight loss
• Trouble sleeping

….among other symptoms. It is thought that 1 in 15 people suffer from SAD but even if you are not among this statistic, most of us will feel fatigue of some degree higher than normal during the winter months. 

What can we do about it? 

There are several things within your control which impact your energy levels:

• Exercise: Get outside, get your heart rate up and recoup what little vitamin D is available during the daytime. The endorphin release helps you feel happier and fights stress. 
• Diet: many people are chronically deficient in iron and vitamin D, two nutrients that have an impact on mood and vitality. There are natural and delicious ways to get these into your diet.
• Managing stress: don’t work yourself to the bone simply because there is nothing else to do! Keeping stress at bay is a constant balancing act that can be weighted awkwardly during winter. 

How we help at Espinosa Family Chiropractic

Chiropractic is excellent for boosting vitality because spinal adjustments help to prevent impingement to the nerves and thereby optimizes the nervous system. By improving nerve function, the body is able to balance its own chemistry quicker helping to stabilize your mood. It will also help you to think clearer and move with less pain, both of which are necessary for feeling well in winter!

Dr. Raymond Espinosa, D.C. 

Working out optimally is about working smarter, not harder. 

This begins with the warm up- you may be itching to get going, but a few minutes (preferably 15) of gentle stretching will ease your muscles into a state of looseness that will allow for better physical performance, more muscle building and less chance of injury. When you transition from a more sedentary state to one where you are placing demands on your muscles, you want to prepare your body by getting the body temperature up and thus, the muscles will also heat up and release from their state of contraction. Warming up is especially important during winter when our muscles are even more contracted due to cold weather. 

Dynamic stretching is the key to a successful warm up.

Static stretching is the kind where you remain motionless (think reaching for your toes), while dynamic stretching seeks to get your body moving, blood pumping and muscles ready simultaneously. At Espinosa Family Chiropractic, we believe that a dose of dynamic stretching before every exercise will help you see marked improvements in mobility and muscle building. 

Staying fit during winter

With winter on the horizon, motivation is going down and complaints regarding joints and muscles are going up! We urge you not to join the crowd of people who kiss their summer fitness gains good bye during the holidays! While you may not be gym-oriented, and the thought of going out in the grey rainy weather holds you back from exercising, there is still plenty you can do from the comfort of your own home! And you can always pay a visit to your Sacramento chiropractor to get a fresh perspective, some newfound motivation and a check up for your winter body! We can help keep your spine aligned, muscles free of tension and range of motion intact, all elements that contribute to a happier you!

Dr. Raymond Espinosa, D.C. 

Ice and heat can be an integral part of healing or alleviating back pain.

It is a time honored treatment which is readily available in most households; in case of emergency, or in instances of a flare up, many people reach for an ice pack or a heat pack.

Ice and Heat is tried and true, but do you know why? 

Because it relieves pain and instigates the healing process. When ice is applied to a region, a process known as vasoconstriction takes place in which the blood vessels narrow, inflammation goes down and muscles flex. An ice pack should be applied for no more than 15 minutes at one time. 

Follow this up with a dose of heat, which does just the opposite: vasodilation occurs in which the blood vessels open and nutrients and oxygen rush into the area. This provides for muscle relaxation and pain relief as the healing process begins. Moist heat is better than dry heat and you should also apply for no more than 15-20 minutes at a time. 

Ice and heat is usually associated with rest. 

And while rest is a useful tool for rehab, it can also hamper your efforts to get better quickly. In moments when the pain is most severe, rest, ice and heat are an advisable course of action. But if you can stand it, use movement as medicine to help fight inflammation and pain and preserve range of motion and strength of crucial muscles. To help identify and treat the root cause of your pain or stiffness, give our office in Sacramento a call to schedule an appointment today. 

Dr. Raymond Espinosa, D.C. 

Your hips don’t lie: they have a claim for most important joints in the body and their health is essential for human movement. Hips have a lot of muscle mass that attach to them and they perform such crucial roles as conducting forces between the upper and lower body, activating and facilitating the movement of the legs, and providing for much of the movement we perform on a daily basis, including rotating and lifting. Unfortunately, our hips are up against it: as we sit more than ever, the muscles which make up the hip flexors are constantly contracted, which means that over time we are conditioning them to remain in a shortened position. This limits their abilities across the board and our bodies naturally compensate by shifting the burden to other parts of the body, including the lower back and knees, which have enough on their plate already. 

What’s more, if we are going about our lives with shortened hip flexors, the minute we call upon them to perform even a marginally more extreme movement, the shortened muscle is stretched beyond what it can handle and injury ensues. Sitting has left our bodies in a veritable mess, and the hips are no casual victim; at Espinosa Family Chiropractic, the range of motion in your hips, and thus the greater health of your entire body, is our priority. 

Fortunately, chronically tight hips respond well to strengthening and stretching routines that seek to reverse the shortening which occurs during a session of heavy sitting. Chiropractic adjustment is great for relieving pain and nerve irritation associated with imbalance in the lower spine while simultaneously improving range of motion, allowing you to focus on a fitness routine that preserves the health of your hips. For help getting motivated give our office a call and schedule an appointment today!

Dr. Raymond Espinosa, D.C. 

A cricked neck or a bad back can cause pain so disproportional to the severity of the problem that all we can do is stay in bed and whine, taking aspirin and waiting for the peak of the pain to subside. While this may be recommendable in the immediate aftermath of an injury such as a herniated disc, extended bed rest is actually working against your recovery efforts. The reason for this is that not moving at all weakens the body even more; muscles tighten to perilous extremes and weaken from lack of use, soft tissues become more vulnerable to injury and, in the case of a herniated disc, intervertebral discs will stiffen and dry out when not articulated regularly. 

Most injuries, including herniated discs, will heal themselves given time and the appropriate attention to rehabilitation, but it is worth considering that the time you are out of commission can be shortened with regular stretching and strengthening. At our office in Sacramento, we use chiropractic adjustment, spinal decompression and trigger point therapy to alleviate your pain to a point where you feel comfortable taking on light activity. Once you have established a baseline of manageable pain, we start incorporating light aerobic activity, gentle stretching and corrective exercise which heals the injurious region and strengthens it against the recurrence of future injury. 

Of course, any rehabilitation plan is subject to your injury and ability level; nothing should be undertaken that will exacerbate the pain or make your condition worse; it helps to talk to someone who specializes in rehabbing these kind of injuries. Give our office a call to schedule an appointment today and find out how good movement can defeat pain!

Dr. Raymond Espinosa, D.C. 

In lieu of my last blog regarding junk food, I would like to focus on some foods that are inherently healthy, but go beyond a base of nutrients to include phytochemicals that actually encourage healing in the body! These are ingredients that can be incorporated with little effort, but will influence a world of healing in the face of pain, stiffness and inflammation. As part of turning your back on junk food, it is worth considering that you could effectively replace ingredients that cause inflammation with ones that actively fight inflammation. Here are a few healing foods that deserve a try: 

• Potassium rich foods: including avocado, banana and green leafy vegetables for reducing swelling. 
• Omega-3 fatty acids: well known for its anti-inflammatory qualities. 
• H₂O: hydration’s importance cannot be overstated for keeping joints hydrated and pain down. 
• Lean protein: chicken, fish for the protein necessary to maintain your muscles.
• Turmeric: powerful anti-inflammatory because of the active ingredient known as curcumin which reduces pain.
• Bromelain: an enzyme found in pineapple that is a potent anti-inflammatory and also helps to reduce swelling. 
• Magnesium: a mineral renowned for its relaxing effects, especially on muscles. Can be found in leafy greens, yogurt, nuts, seeds and fish

A diet for fighting back pain is necessarily an anti-inflammatory diet, and this is one that cuts out the processed meats and sweets, and replaces them with wholesome ingredients. Pineapples? delicious. Fish? delicious. And while water may be more boring than Coca Cola, it also comes with none of the negative side effects including sugar, caffeine and extra calories which all work against you. 

Dr. Raymond Espinosa, D.C.