Nashua Family Chiropractic
Catalyst Chiropractic is now part of Nashua Family Chiropractic.
You can schedule with Dr. Johanna by calling: 603-880-4150
New location is 29 Riverside Dr Unit B Nashua NH 03062
Nominated for Small Business of the Year
Catalyst Chiropractic was nominated for Small Business of the Year in the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce 15th Annual Eminence Awards. While we didn’t win, it was an honor to be nominated and we’re glad to have shared the room with wonderful organizations such as, The Greater Nashua Humane Society, The Great American Downtown, and LaBelle Winery.
Congratulations to all the nominees and winners. We enjoyed the luncheon at Sky Meadow Country Club and learned quite about about the Farm to Table movement here in Nashua and Farmer’s Dinner. Check out Grow Nashua here in town and find out what they are doing to promote health with local fresh vegetables.
We were nominated for our unique expertise in the field, and for our dedication to our patients. Book a New Patient Appointment with us, and experience it for yourself.
Where Do We Go From Here
Welcome listeners of Where Do We Go From Here with Vera Ehmann
In the episode I ended with some exercises you can do to help improve your spinal health. As with any exercise routine, if this hurts contact your healthcare professional for evaluation and care.
This blog contains many brief articles regarding health that you can benefit from without being a patient of the office.
The Uncomfortable Reality of Quitting Smoking.
This isn’t going to be another article about why you should quit, or the health risks to continuing to smoke. If you have read this far, you likely already know all that. If you don’t, click here.
Let’s be honest, quitting smoking is hard, and it’s more than just the addiction to nicotine. I know, because I’ve been there. I jumped over that hurdle in 2002. 15 years ago, and I’m the first to admit that I’m still drawn to it, and when I am around smokers I need to make a conscious choice to not smoke.
The most uncomfortable part of smoking for non-smokers to understand is that smoking is pleasurable. There I said it, we all have thought it, and uncomfortably denied it. Or only told ourselves, but smoking is enjoyable. Smoking might be your quiet alone time where you can separate yourselves from the group and in an almost meditative fashion let your mind wander as you repetitively bring the cigarette to your lips to inhale and exhale. In a way it has been for decades a socially acceptable way, for adults to walk away from a bad situation. To take a time out, to reassess before walking back in. Smoking might also be a social activity, less now I suspect than it was in the past. A common connection with strangers, where you are all located in a designated area.
Why do you need to be reminded as to why you enjoy smoking? Because to quit means to give that enjoyment up. To quit means to acknowledge and find new ways to cope with a stressful situation, a social situation, or if you want a moment to yourself. Your reason, your joy from smoking might be entirely different than any I listed above. Trust me, ask yourself and be honest with yourself about why you enjoy smoking.
Here are somethings that might be helpful.
- Pick up a hand craft: knitting, or crocheting to replace a meditative movement with your hands.
Learn a simple yoga routine or meditative breathing exercises. - Start taking walks. Go outside as you would to smoke, but don’t stop at the designated smoking area, start walking instead. Take a 5-10 minute walk.
- Pick up a hobby. You are going to discover you have 30-60 minutes or more a day, time you used to dedicate to smoking. Enjoy it!
Now for the other part of quitting smoking, the other uncomfortable truth that no one discusses. The first week to several months after you quit, you are likely going to feel sick. Once you are no longer damaging your body with smoke, the body will start the cleaning and healing process. For some it might be minor, for others they may feel like they have a horrible chest cold. You may be tired as your nervous system is used to responding to nicotine and needs to re-balance to not having that stimuli. Drinking water, green tea, taking your AM/PM vitamins and of course regular neurostructural adjustments will help manage the symptoms.
Non-smokers, if you read all this and think maybe smoking isn’t so bad. Trust me, this is not an experience you need to do. Refer to the link in the first paragraph.
Safe Snow Removal
How are you faring with the blizzard outside?
Here are 5 simple things you can do to reduce injury while clearing snow.
1. Hydrate! Water or herbal tea. It’s cold and it’s windy, you likely won’t sweat or feel it if you sweat. Even mild dehydration mixed with heavy physical activity can increase fatigue, and increase perceived effort. Snow removal is hard enough, why make it feel even harder?
2. Warm Up Exercises: Would you do a high intensity workout without a warm up? Shoveling or Snow Blowing are high intensity exercise. Before heading outside do one round of the pointer exercise.
Pointer: Start with hands and knees on the ground. Slowly raise the right leg and left arm. Hold for 5-10 seconds. Slowly bring them back to the floor and raise your left leg and right arm and hold for 5-10 seconds. Repeat 10 times.
3. Traction: Does your footwear have traction? If not, do you have microspikes to add to them? It might be too late for this storm, but if you live in New Hampshire, it might not be a bad investment in having a pair with your winter gear. Be careful. Falls can cause more structural injuries than just simple bruises. Pulled muscles, out of alignment hips, and rotator cuff sprains.
4. Small Chunks: Don’t forget to take breaks, come inside, warm up, drink water, eat a healthy snack. The goal is to finish but there is no medal at the end to compete for. Remember, it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.
5. Stretch & Soak: Don’t forget post activity care. Stretch out areas that tightened up while working, soak in a hot tub with 1-3 cups of Epson salts, then stretch your legs, back and shoulders.
Who is, the Switch Witch?
Halloween is a lot of fun with dressing up and meeting all of your neighbors. The downside is dealing with the fallout of too much candy. While some children may do a good job saving and slowly eating their Halloween candy, others will want to eat it all at once. This leads to tummy aches, crankiness as their body attempts to balance out sugar spikes, increased inflammation and of course potential dental issues later on. If your child has had dental work, they may have restrictions on what kinds of candy they can eat adding to the problem. Just taking the candy away with the accurate but to a small child nebulous “It’s bad for you” will likely lead to tantrums and a bad case of the “I wants”.
In our household we have the Switch 
Witch. After trick or treating, we let the boys pick out 5 pieces of candy to keep, along with any non-candy treats. The rest is left out for the Switch Witch. After they go to bed, we remove the candy offering and replace it with a toy.
The boys are excited with a new Halloween surprise toy, and we donate the now massive amount of candy to adults in need of a quick pick me up. The kids still have a few pieces of candy left to enjoy and we know by the end of the week the Halloween chaos will be a fading memory.
As a note for those that would like to make the life of many parents easier, there are many non-candy options out there. It may be too late for this year but you might want to consider it for next year.
Halloween Ducks
Temporary Tattoos
Bags of Pretzals
Organic Raisins (Okay my children may be the only ones that get excited over raisins)
Gliders
Fallgiving!
Welcome Autumn! The leaves are changing, the nights are colder, and Catalyst Chiropractic is giving back to the community. From now until October 31st, $25 of every new patient exam will be donated to the Nashua Humane Society, or Liberty House (patients choice of course).
We’ve got a team together for the Walk for Whiskers on October 29th. Fall is a great time for outdoor walks, and Mines Falls Park will be ablaze with colorful leaves, come out and join us. Wear a fun costume, and help animals in need.
In the office we are once again collecting donations until the end of October to help local veterans, here is the current wishlist. Liberty House, is a sober assistance home for Veterans located in Manchester, NH. Liberty House has 10 residential beds in their transitional facility. Along with housing, they also support veterans in the community with employment/housing assistance, case management, agency referrals, a food pantry and supplies for those veterans still homeless.
With falling leaves comes raking or wearing heavy leaf blowers. A neurostructural shift can make it difficult to enjoy the weather after all the chores are done. Call the office today to schedule your complementary consultation and help out a good cause.
603-791-0222
Pictures are of our sons Hal and Jack from various years enjoying fall.
Closed Tuesday September 13th
Reminder: The office will be closed tomorrow, Tuesday Sept 12th. Dr. Johanna is Nashua’s Ward 8 Clerk and she’ll be helping oversee the Bicentennial Polling location.
Tuesday is the NH state primary. This election helps decides who represents each party for many of the local positions such as Governor.
Nashua Residents, Where do I vote?
Don’t forget your ID and remember you can register to vote at the polls.
Winter’s Final Hurrah
With hopefully the final hurrah of winter, its time to plan outdoor activities for the Spring and Summer.
We have hiking and walking trails right here in Nashua. Mines Falls, with easy parking right here in the heart of Nashua. The Rail Trail has recently been expanded, and is accommodating to bicycles as well. and where you aware of the 2 miles trail at Roby Park right on Spit Brook Road? If you want to head farther North, there’s also Pack Monadnock and South Uncanoonuc Mountain. Are you planning to go hiking with kids this year? Here’s a list of Hikes for Kids, 32 mountain hikes averaging one to two miles designed for kids, or for those young at heart. Want to take a leisurely stroll through a piece of local history? Benson’s Animal Park closed in the 90’s, and reopened as a public park. Walking paths, a modern playground, a small pond for fishing, and tributes to the classic family fun park from days gone by.
Best Hikes with Kids: Vermont, New Hampshire & Maine
Don’t let disability get in the way of enjoying the outdoors, NH has wheelchair accessible trails.
In need of some inspiration? Nashua local Randy Pierce, of 2020 Vision Quest , who has been blind since 1989, and has hiked all 48 of NH 4000+ footers in one single winter. Randy is also powerful speaker, and avid sports fan.
Where is your favorite place to hike in New Hampshire? Do you prefer a hike in Massachusetts or Maine? Let us know, we’d love to find new places to explore and share with our friends.
Research: Myasthenia Gravis in a Pediatric Patient
Chiropractic Care of a Pediatric Patient With Myasthenia Gravis
In December I summarized the case of a man in his 60’s suffering from myasthenia gravis. This article focuses on the care of a 2 year old female.
Prior to chiropractic care, the 2 year old girls diagnosis of myastenia gravis was made by her pediatrician and confirmed by her medical neurologist. 6 months before starting chiropractic care the child(along with her mother) were involved in a car accident. Approximately 1 month after the accident the girl was given the diagnosis of myastemia gravis. Over the next 5 months the girls symptoms worsened.
A friend recommended chiropractic care as a “last resort”. During the chiropractic examination of the child the following abnormal results were found: forward head posture with head tilt, asymmetry of temperature along side the spine, edema at similar levels as asymmetry, hypertonic muscles, and fixation of articulations in the spine. Xrays were taken, ruling out fractures, dislocations or soft tissue pathology. Her cervial spine had a reduced curve and there was a disruption to the line of the upper sacrum. Fusion of the sacral vertebrae begins at puberty and takes years to complete.
The girl was checked 2 or 3 times a week for the first 3 months of care and adjusted, if needed in the upper cervical(neck spine) or sacral area. Within 4 weeksm the mother stated that the child’s eyes would open after an adjustment and stay open for 6-8 hours. As the child fatigued, the weak eye could then close. Reoccurring ear infections had also stopped. The next 3 months of care the girl was checked 2-4 times a month and continued to improve after each adjustment. After 5 months of care the child was nearly at 100%. The child could run for prolonged periods of time and hold her head upright. Additionally her speech returned to “normal” as reported by her parents.
There is a case of a 17 year old male with a history of spinal trauma prior to being diagnosed with myastemia gravis. The girl in the study discussed above had spinal trauma via a car accident prior to being diagnosed with anti-body-negative generalized myastemia gravis. More research would need to be done to see if there is a link between onset of symptoms and spinal trauma.
Each week I’m going to share a new research journal article regarding chiropractic. Many of these are case studies with benefits most people would not typically associate with chiropractic. If you want to read the full text, feel free to swing by the office.
Information provided is for education and information purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or prescribe. Consult a chiropractor or other healthcare provider regarding any opinion or recommendation with respect to your condition or symptoms. Case studies are not designed to recommend a treatment for a condition but to state what has happened with a patient while under chiropractic care.