Chiropraticien / Chiropractor Montreal St. Constant  514.707.2222

1. Eat the right foods and maintain a healthy, well-balanced diet.

Optimal nutrition supplies your cells and tissues with the necessary ingredients to ensure that your body functions at an optimal level. This will improve the biochemical functioning and performance of your body on a cellular level. This will also enhance the immune system and strenthen our ability to fight off disease and micro-organisms.

2. Get a good night's sleep.

Adequate rest is essential for optimal health. It is when we sleep that the nervous system processes memories and allows for the body to rest and relax. Restorative sleep will enhance cognitive power, concentration, work productivity, energy levels, and reduce stress hormones. This will strenghten the immune system, keep you healthier, and allow your body to function and be productive at an optimal level.

3. Drink plenty of water.

Water is the single most important solvent required by the human body. All biochemical reactions take place in an aqueous environment. If the body is in a state of dehydration, performance declines at an accelerated rate. Chronic dehydration is also associated with degenerative changes of the body (articular cartilage and the discs in the spine). Regular water consumption will enhance athletic performance (as studied by Dr. Micheal Colgan, PhD, who is a world leading authority on sports nutrition and athletic performance).

4. Take multivitamins, multiminerals, antioxidants, and omega 3 everyday.

There is an overwhelming body of scientific research that shows that nutritional supplementation (in the correct doses) will maximize the body's ability to function at an optimal level, and provide the body with a greater level of protection from free radical damage and other chemical insults (alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, pollution, toxic chemicals). Nutritionists and dieticians agree that there are not enough nutrients in food alone to provide the body with maximal protection from many diseases (read the book by Dr. Ray D. Strand, M.D. "What Your Doctor Doesn't Know About Nutritional Medicine") and nutritional deficiencies. One can be deficient in a particular vitamin or mineral even thought they may believe that they eat well!

5. Exercise regularly.

The human body was designed to move and function dynamically. The benefits of exercise are so numerous, that it has been considered a vital component to maintaining overall health. Exercise has been scientifically proven to build muscle mass, strengthen and increase bone density, improve cardiovascular function, correct poor posture, strengthen tendons and ligaments, increase metabolic rate, strengthen the immune system, strengthen the body in general making it more resistant to injury, as well as serving numerous preventative functions from many diseases. This in turn will optimize health, prolong longevity, and improve quality of life.

6. Always maintain good posture.

The definition of posture is "the position of the limbs or the carriage of the body as a whole" (Stedman's Medical Dictionary). Posture refers to maintaining the body in a position which protects against excessive stresses which cause injury, while requiring a minimal amount of muscular effort to maintain this position. Good posture will reduce the overall amount of muscle tension and will prevent postural related aches and pains. At the clinic, we teach all of our patients special techniques and exercises to reinforce, strengthen, and maintain excellent posture.

7. Always sleep on your back or side, and never on your stomach.

It is recommended that everyone should sleep on his or her back (with a pillow behind your knees) or on the side (with a pillow between the knees). This will allow for the spine to maintain a "neutral position". Sleeping on your stomach is not advised due to the excessive stress that forces the spine into an "extended" position. This in turn, will injure the joints of the spine (called facet joints). These facet joints normally allow the spine to move in several different directions. If the spine maintains an extended position for a prolonged period of time (as would occur during sleeping on one's stomach), this could cause pain at any level of the spine (cervical, thoracic, or lumbar region). People who sleep on their stomach often wake up in the middle of the night or in the morning with pain. If this problem is not corrected as soon as possible, muscle tension, stiffness and chronic pain is the end result.

8. Bend your knees and keep your back straight when lifting objects.

It is of paramount importance that proper lifting techniques be implemented when attempting to lift any object, regardless of how heavy the object may be. At the clinic, we treat patients everyday who come to the clinic with back injuries due to incorrect lifting techniques. These injuries stem from lifting heavy objects to simply bending forwards to pick up a tissue paper. This indicates that it is not just the weight of the object that is important. In fact, it is the positioning of the body as a whole during the lifting movement that will determine the load placed on the tissues and discs of the spine. At the clinic, we teach all of our patients correct lifting techniques to prevent injuries from occurring.

9. Be physically active for the rest of your life.

The human body was designed to perform at an optimal level. Just as a high performance car was built to perform with excellence, the human body is even more complex and is capable of performing dynamic movements with great precision. Being active is a natural healthy way of life. There is scientific evidence that indicates that a sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, circulatory disorders, obesity, and poor general health overall. We must incorporate physical activity into our daily lives, regardless of our age. Everyone will benefit from exercise. Exercise is the key to prevention and is essential in maintaining an optimal state of health and well-being. Before beginning an exercise program, please consult with your chiropractor to be properly screened for any underlying health related problems. Your chiropractor is a primary health care professional that has received specialized training to recognize any underlying health related problems that would warrant a referral to medical specialist.

10. Your doctor of chiropractic can help you achieve optimal health and wellness in a natural, non-invasive, safe, and drug-free manner.

Good health is the most important thing in our lives. Your chiropractor is a trained healthcare professional whose primary focus is to optimize the functioning of the human body in the most natural way possible, without the use of drugs or invasive surgical procedures. Chiropractors are experts in manual therapy, whereby the techniques used are for improving joint biomechanics and increasing range of motion, reducing pain, reducing muscle spasms, reducing muscle tension and stress, improving circulation, improving immune system responses, stimulating the body's own healing mechanisms, and to treat the cause of health related problems, and not just the symptoms. Chiropractic emphasizes the importance of treating the underlying cause of a particular problem, and not just treating the symptoms.