Part 1 in a series of articles featuring recommended stretches by our Chiropractors. 

For our folks suffering from chronic muscle tension in the neck and shoulders or are trying to improve their posture, these are the stretches for you! Whether we are sitting behind a screen all day, driving, or studying, we find ourselves constantly rounded forward creating a lot of tension in the upper body. This poor posture can lead to muscle tightness and even headaches. It is also very common for us to carry our stress in our shoulders, causing them to rise up towards our ears. Below you will find some great options to help bring the head back over the shoulders and relieve muscle tension throughout the day. 

Please contact our Chiropractors if you have any questions about the best stretches for you.

As the weather warms up and we start to increase our outdoor activities such as gardening and spring cleaning we want to be mindful of our body movements so we can reduce the likelihood of injury.  We have usually heard plenty about bend and lift from your knees and not your back but less so about the importance of minimizing how we twist our backs.  Simply bending forward with only our body weight creates around 700 pounds of compressive force on the low back.  If we are bent forward and twist that force will be shifted more to one side of the spine instead of being evenly distributed, this increases the potential for injury.  One of the most common joints we see injured in these cases is the facet joints in the low back (lumbosacral region) followed by sacroiliac joints (where the bones of the pelvis meet).  Additionally, excessive repetitive twisting like this can start to injure the discs in the area potentially leading to a more severe injury with a longer recovery time.

At Vallejo Chiropractic and American Canyon Chiropractic, we remain open at this time.

This update pertains to our safety and sanitation procedures for those visiting us during the Covid-19 outbreak.

First, we have taken steps minimize patient and staff's potential exposure,  And we will continue to do so as directed by the board of chiropractic.

Sleep apnea is a breathing-related sleep disorder that causes brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. These interruptions can last 10 seconds or more and can occur up to 400 times per night. Sleep apnea is a serious and potentially life threatening condition that often goes unrecognized and undiagnosed. Sleep apnea occurs in both sexes and across all age groups. Not all sleep apnea is the same, a diagnosis of sleep apnea can range from mild to severe. 

Sleep apnea is serious because shots of adrenaline are going into the heart 20-400 times per night to re-start your breathing. Sleep is when your body is supposed to rest, and this increased stress causes an overload for the heart, possibly leading to a heart attack or stroke. 

Some of the symptoms of sleep apnea are obvious (snoring, etc.) while some symptoms such as loss of sex drive and irritability may be less of a signal that something is interfering with sleep. Here is a list of some of the symptoms of sleep apnea:

• loud snoring
• morning headaches/nausea
• gasping/choking while asleep
• loss of sex drive/impotence
• excessive daytime sleepiness
• irritability/depression
• disturbed sleep
•  concentration difficulty/memory loss
• excessive urination at night
• restless leg syndrome