Do’s and Don’ts with Your Children

Over the years that I have been in practice, I’ve seen many adults and children that have injuries that trace back to things that happened in their past and that had long-term effects in the present.  Here is a list of what not to do as a parent in order to prevent the long-term consequences of these injuries, as well as what to do as alternatives.

One of the most common injuries that I see in patients - young and older - is upper extremity sprain or strain injuries from being swung by the hands by a parent or older sibling.  We call it Helicoptering. You’ve seen it plenty of times in your own life or on TV: a parent is swinging their child by the hands around in a circle and the child is laughing and loving it because it’s fun!  The problem is that children’s arm and shoulder muscles and ligaments are relatively weak compared to teens and adults, and the tissues can be injured more easily.  For instance, the elbow, once injured, can lead to chronically cold hands, sweaty palms, eczema, inability to straighten the elbow, weak grip, and arthritic joints in the wrist and hands long-term.  Shoulder injuries can lead to decreased range of motion, frozen shoulder, chronic neck and upper-back pain, arms “going to sleep,” and pitching injuries.

A very simple alternative is to reach under the shoulder of your child from behind where the arm and body meet, then swing away! It’s still a lot of fun for the child with no risk of damage to the tender shoulder, elbow, and wrist tissues.

Another problem I see with raising kids is OTS or Over Tickle Syndrome. This is quite common with some parents and older siblings tickling their kids or younger siblings too much.  I’m not against tickling completely, just not too much! Again, the common misconception is that because the child is laughing, they must be enjoying it.

"Help Me, Dr. Nunez, You're My Only Hope!

It’s wonderful to see a new year beginning and our whole lives ahead of us.  What will this year bring? How will it be different from last year?  What choices can we make today to make our lives and health better than last year?  Will we drink more water and less wine?  Will we get more sleep?  Will we be more conscious of how much we eat and why we are eating it?  How about more quiet time to relax and reflect on the life we have been living and the progress that we have made?  Are we celebrating our wins along the way?

By April, the hopeful anticipation that marked the new year has fallen short for many of us. However, it’s important to remember that January 1st is not the only time we’re allowed to make changes to our lives or set new goals for the future.

I want to encourage you to recommit to being more conscious of our attitudes during the coming days. Let’s ask if what we are thinking or saying is loving towards ourselves and others or just judging, critical and perfectionistic.  If a friend was getting down on themselves for not living up to their own expectations, what would we say to them?  Surely we would remind them of all the things they do right, what they have achieved and how important they are to us.  I’d like to remind you to be that friend to yourself as you are to others, because often we are more judgmental of ourselves than anyone else is of us.  The more loving we are to ourselves, the more loving we can be to our neighbors.  This reduces stress, which reduces tension, which reduces pain, stomach problems, and headaches and helps keep the chiropractor off your back!

I don't often wear high heels but when I do... I ask Dr. Al's advice first!

Recently one of my patients came in wearing shoes similar to these that were five inches high from heel to floor! The interesting thing was that she said that they were some of the most comfortable shoes she wore. This was not the first time a patient has told me this and several patients have also come to me specifically because they had hurt their ankles and could no longer wear their high heels and demanded that I fix them so they could!

While I don’t normally recommend heels this high I know that some of you insist on wearing them. This being the case I thought I would offer some suggestion and recommendations to help you decide on whether or not you should Wear Those Heels!