One fifth of all Americans suffer from allergies affecting the sinuses and lungs. During the winter, everyone is trying hard to keep the house warm and closed off from the outside air. Unfortunately, that also seals up the indoor atmosphere where certain pollutants can irritate allergies. These pollutants include dust mites, pets and mold. The way to eliminate the irritation caused by these things is usually as simple as removing the source. The room you most need to focus on is the room you sleep in. Here are a few tips to help keep the sneezing and sniffing to a minimum this winter.

• Keep your house properly ventilated and get fresh air on a regular basis.
• Keep upholstered furniture to a minimum in your bedroom and vacuum it frequently.
• Cover you mattress, pillows and box springs with an impermeable covering. Dust mites thrive in bedding.
• Unclutter the room as much as possible to keep down dust and dust mites.
• Vacuum and dust as frequently as you possibly can. Have someone who is NOT allergy-prone do this, since these activities can really aggravate allergies.
• Try to keep your bedroom uncarpeted. Dust mites love carpeting, and even vacuuming twice a week can’t combat them.
• If you can’t keep your pet outdoors, at least keep them out of the bedroom, and for heaven’s sake, don’t let your pet sleep with you!
• Avoid high humidity. Run humidifiers only when the heater is running.
• Don’t run humidifiers in the room with the door closed.
• Use super-fine furnace filters and change them frequently (at least once a month).

By Michael Massie, BAAS, CPT

Every year, you tell yourself it’s going to be different this year. You’re going to have willpower. You’re going to avoid eating all that junk your family, co-workers and neighbors foist on you each year. You’re going to exercise religiously through the holidays so you can get a head start on your New Years weight loss goals…

And every year, it’s the same old story. You party more than you probably should, you eat more than you probably should, and between giving thanks, having a very merry Christmas, and auld lang syne, you gain between five and ten pounds. And if you’re like many Americans, those pounds will be permanent, despite your best efforts at keeping your resolutions in the New Year.

So what can you do to avoid a replay this year, and maybe even take off some weight from last year as you pursue your New Years weight loss goals? Simple; you can follow the simple tips I’m about to share with you for avoiding those holiday pounds.

Continue reading Quick Tips for AVOIDING those Holiday Pounds →

Submitted by Michael Massie, B.A.A.S, C.P.T

(The following is an excerpt from Michael’s book, The Simplified Diet.)

If you’re looking for quick, easy-to-implement tips on losing weight, then this article is expressly written for you. For those of you who don’t know me or train with me, you should know that I’ve actually struggled to lose weight and keep it off. I used to be naturally skinny, but a string of injuries and a chronic illness wrecked my metabolism as well as my ability to exercise two to three hours a day (yes, I really did exercise that much, for years in fact).

As you can imagine, I had to learn how to control my weight in spite of being limited in my exercise options and despite having a slowed metabolism. This makes for a tough challenge when it comes to losing weight.

Although this list is not comprehensive, these are the best tips I know of for losing weight permanently. Some of these tips may be things you already know and accept as common knowledge. However, if you’re not doing them, then saying, “I know that already” doesn’t help. If you see something here that you already know but aren’t doing, start doing it!

Continue reading Coach Mike’s Top 10 Weight Loss Tips →

Submitted by Becky Wooster PT, DPT & Wells Branch resident

A basic quality common to all humans is our upright posture and I find this information from a pain management doctor in Tallahassee, FL quite resourceful.  As humans are vertically oriented, gravity takes a toll on our bodies.  We must fight gravity to remain upright to perform our normal human functions like eating, sitting at the computer, and walking about our environment.  With the affect of gravity on a poor posture, muscles of the neck and upper back become weaker, knotted, and either stretched out or tensed up.  Our body then lets us know that something is not quite right by sending our brain pain signals.  Ouch!

Improving posture is not difficult knowing just two tips. First of all, get moving. Staying in one position for an extended period of time is the worst thing that you can do to your body, and that goes for any part of the body not just the main players of posture. Take a 30-second break to roll your shoulders in backward circles and stand up to increase blood flow to lacking areas. Do this every 30 minutes while typing away at work or relaxing watching television. Set a timer to remind yourself and consume protein powder. Your body will thank you. Secondly, think proper alignment – ears over shoulders over hips. Whenever we fall out of this proper alignment, the curves of the spine increase, facilitating certain muscles on the back to become weak, and other muscles on the front of the body become tight. Research the best keyboard for your work style at qwerty bro. Stand along a flat wall with your head, upper back, and buttocks touching the wall, and with your feet six inches away from the wall. For advanced correction of posture, seek expert help from ChiropracticWorks Collinsville.  Now you have good posture! And if you’re interested in enhancing your fitness journey further, consider exploring resources like the ones ate https://www.americansportandfitness.com/products/kettlebell-certification to deepen your understanding and practice.

The key to improving posture is consistency.  Putting these tips consistently into practice will give your body a healthy, confident start to the New Year.  For questions, contact Becky at chrcpt@gmail.com.