What is the purpose of walking? 

Walking is more and more being boiled down to two categories: functional, point A –> point B style walking and walking as a health aid. With the advent of wearable fitness devices, we can now track our steps and compete against friends to see who walked furthest and fastest. But this can miss the heart of walking completely- what you see along the way is just as important as the activity itself. Being bipedal is a blessing that we take for granted; many of us walk fast to get it over with- to get to our destinations and sit down. But why? Rediscovering the joy of simply walking could be an integral way to rediscover fitness. Below we have brainstormed ways why walking can make a significant impact on your life.

The importance of walking 

• Walking gives you time to think: in fact, it is a favorite past-time of some of the world’s greatest thinkers and novelists. 
• It gets you places on your own power and this is profound: while commuting by car is an indelible part of the American lifestyle, it is a key source of daily stress. Walking generally influences calm.
• Walking without the phone: texting changes the way we walk for the worse. Text neck is contributing to the earlier onset of debilitating spinal conditions in our population.
• Walking is good for the body: it alleviates stagnation and muscle tension, refreshes your circulation and releases the feel-good chemicals in your brain. 

What does walking mean to you? 

Rather than making the health benefit (though important) the primary motive for walking, it can help spur your love for walking if you choose other reasons to walk and let health be the side-effect. Birds, flowers, bugs and trees abound in our parks, while interesting alleyways and people-watching await you on the streets; if only you choose to look up! Walking is only pleasant if you are not experiencing pain. If chronic muscle tightness, headaching or spinal dysfunction has you ailing and dreading each step, give our office in Fremont a call. We can help find the true source of your pain and get you on the road to recovery so you can start rediscovering the joy of walking today!

Dr. Francis Scorca, D.C. 

Commuting can be harmful to body and brain. 

Car seats are hardly made for comfort and they often fall short in supporting good posture; combine this with the fact that humans instinctively move their head forward toward the windshield, creating an imbalance atop the spine and you have a recipe for pain that compounds over the days of commuting back and forth. Furthermore, commuting hardly lends itself to peace of mind- sitting in traffic often contributes quite a bit to the make up of stress that we carry with us throughout the day. But for many of us, commuting to the office by car is an inescapable reality, so let’s rethink it rather than fight it! 

Making the commute more comfortable

• Posture: Sit up straight with hands at 9 and 3. If you can, use a rolled up jacket to maintain the lumbar curve and remember to keep your head centered atop the spine as much as possible. 
• What to listen to? News can add to stress. While it is important to keep up on daily events, try mixing it up with a bit of relaxing music or a podcast that engages your brain on a favorite subject. 
• Take a deep breath: driving is a great time to practice deep breathing patterns and the extra oxygen will nourish brain cells and keep them more resilient to stressful stimuli.

We can help you reverse the damaging effects of commuting

Muscles tense as a natural response to stressful stimuli, whether it be physical or psychological. If we don’t address this tension on a case-by-case basis, it often builds on top of itself creating layers of tight muscle that will eventually cause pain. We start by looking for problem areas known as trigger points of tension and releasing them to allow the healing process to begin. This has an immense effect not only on your physical well-being but also your mental outlook. We also seek out and correct subluxation and the resulting nerve impingement that could be interfering with fluid functioning of the body. If you want to change your experience with the daily commute, give our office in Fremont a call to schedule an appointment today. 

Dr. Francis Scorca, D.C.

A hectic schedule is a recipe for stress…

…and stress is hardly ever a recipe for success. Are you a person who finds yourself perpetually, “keeping up,” or at the mercy of a lifestyle and a workplace that makes on-time feel like it is always one step ahead? Well, relax for a second and consider that you are most likely normal! Our culture perpetuates this kind of on-the-go mentality and the advent of social media and cell phone culture keeps us constantly connected to the flow. If you are feeling the stress crunching down, take a chunk out of a free day and do some “life admin.”

Here are some ways you can save time to save stress: 

• Make a list: keep it simple. In order of descending priority, you now have a written plan of attack. Crossing things off feels great.
• Prep meals on Sunday night: cook food in batches. It will save you a lot of time meal-to-meal and it is delicious. 
• Shower at the end of the day: especially if your mornings feel too jam-packed. A shower at night is refreshing and while you’re at it, lay out your outfit for the next day. 
• Don’t take on too much: sometimes saying no can save you a lot of stress down the road. Pick your battles and know when to say no! 

Constant stress takes a toll…

…on the body and brain. At our office in Fremont, we treat the physical manifestations of stress. Muscles tense as a natural response to mental stress and this can pull our bodies out of balance leading to subluxation and nerve dysfunction which, in turns, contributes to stress further. For help removing yourself from this cycle, give us a call to schedule an appointment today. 

Dr. Francis Scorca, D.C. 

Do you often find yourself complaining about a stiff neck? 

It is one of the most common office-related complaints in the modern age. What will separate you from the millions of others is whether you choose to do something about it! As the incursions of posture, sitting, and technology grow by the day, you need to be proactive about keeping your neck free of tension and this means stretching on a daily basis.

Unwinding the layers of tight muscle that have built over years can be a daunting task, but there is nothing to lose except your pain! Start simply by doing stretches from the very chair you are sitting in: 

• Clasping neck: clasp your hands behind your head with fingers interlocked. Lower your chin toward your chest until you feel a stretch; hold 5 seconds and release. 
• Behind-the-back: reach both arms behind your back, clasp your left wrist with your right hand and pull gently away from your body. Hold 5 seconds and switch sides. 
• Ear-to-shoulder: grasp the side of the chair with your right hand to stabilize your body. . Place your left hand on top of your head and lower your left ear toward left shoulder until you feel a stretch on the right side.

An action plan with Scorca Chiropractic Center

I’m guessing that you don’t want to look like a hunchback when you are older; but too many of us put off dealing with our stiff necks, letting the problem compound until we are stuck permanently forward. We stretch to unwind tight muscles and focus on strengthening the ones that matter for holding your head at the top of your spine. Along the way we will defeat the hunched, rounded shoulders look and open up the chest cavity to make breathing more efficient and pain less prevalent! Give our office in Fremont a call to schedule an appointment today.

Dr. Francis Scorca, D.C.

Forward Head Posture (FHP) is on the rise.

With its apt name, the so-called “reader’s neck,” is a position where the head is forward of it’s center of gravity, the spine. Traditionally reserved for avid readers, the posture is now more widespread and available to everyone through computers, tablets and cell phones. As an office of chiropractic, we are seeing more people come in with forward head posture and this is alarming because of the actual physiological effect. Studies suggest that for every inch the head is held forward, pressure to the spine is increased by 10 pounds; many people are holding 2-3 inches forward and are unaware until they experience the premature onset of degenerative vertebral conditions. 

Let’s perform a simple test.

It’s called the wall test, and it goes like this: 

• Heels shoulder width apart, stand up straight against a wall.
• Let your buttocks and shoulder blades touch the wall.
• Is the back of your head touching the wall?

If not, chances are you have forward head posture. This is a great exercise to illustrate how pervasive FHP is: many of us are unaware that we are magnifying the pressure to our own spines. And if we had the choice, we would certainly not be doing it!

How we help at Scorca Chiropractic Center

Do not fear: FHP is highly common and reversible. At our office in Fremont, we help by conducting postural analysis to determine how good your posture is throughout the day- sitting, standing, sleeping. With FHP, a common problem is weakness in the neck muscles- those directly responsible for the weight of the head. The muscles that hold your head straight above the spine are often weak from non-use while accessory muscles are strained from trying to support the head’s new position. With attention to these muscles, stretching and strengthening we can help rebuild the strength of the region that supports the head. From here, awareness is key- when you feel your head creeping forward it’s time to correct. Give our office a call to start fixing forward head posture today!

Dr. Francis Scorca, D.C. 

Your body dreads the prospect of sitting for 8 hours a day

But it necessarily takes a backseat to pulling in the daily dough. While making money is important, so is the health of your body and in particular your spine. Below you will find ingenious exercises that target the core to help you maintain good posture and keep pressure off your lower back.  If you must sit at a desk, lend your body a little slack by using the office chair and desk to pull off a few exercises every hour. 

• Sneaky buns and obliques: just squeeze. Squeeze your glutes and hold for 5 seconds before releasing and do the same with your core. This is the simplest and quickest way to start toning muscles that matter for posture. 
• Chair running: recline in your chair and perform a cyclical motion with your legs as though you are riding a bike. The only trick here is to not let your feet touch the ground. 
• Leg lifts: lift your legs off the floor and hold them straight in the air for up to 20 seconds. Let them down and repeat. 
• Swivel in your desk chair: hold your feet just off the ground and grip the desk then slowly swivel from side to side. 

Exercise is imperative but equally hard to come by during a 40-hour work week. At Scorca Chiropractic Center, we believe that getting your weekly dose of exercise may mean modernizing your attitude! Let’s work together to sneak workouts into your daily routine and start a miniature fitness revolution right from your desk; call our office in Fremont to schedule an appointment today!

Dr. Francis Scorca, D.C. 

Your brain is hungry, but how hungry?

For an organ that accounts for 2% of body mass, it uses up to 20% of the energy you put in, using up to three times as much oxygen as other muscles. It is constantly processing and therefore cycling through nutrients and oxygen at a much faster rate than the rest of the body especially when you are at rest. We must feed the beast!

Blood feeds the brain

The feeling of clear-headedness is determined by the amount of oxygenated blood that reaches the brain. Oxygen along with glucose are the two most important nutrients for keeping the brain energized and cells respiring, but there are a handful of other nutrients which need to be input to help you function your best. 

Brain food includes: 

• B-complex vitamins

• Vitamin C

• Magnesium

• Zinc

• Calcium 

Cerebral circulation refers to the flow of nutrients and oxygen to the brain cells and the flow of de-oxygenated blood, carbon dioxide and lactic acid back to the heart. The better our circulation, the more efficient this system works. 

Ensuring good blood flow to the brain 

• Watch your level of stagnation throughout the day: if you have been sitting for a couple hours straight, take a break, stand up and take a vigorous walk.
• Focus on breathing well: to get the oxygen you need for cellular respiration. 
• Focus on food that is rich with nutrients beyond the bare minimum so that the circulation counts!

Dr. Francis Scorca, D.C. 

Releasing the stress through deep breathing. 

We are all aware of the maxim, “Take a deep breath!” and the wisdom is tried and true. In the heat of the moment, a deep breath will resonate with relaxing effects for your brain. So why stop at just one? Deep breathing is a legitimate tactic for beating back a pang of stress; but do we even remember how to take a deep breath? 

Stress makes our breathing pattern shallow, and we seek to reverse this with deep breathing. 

Notice that when you are stressed you often breathe quicker, with your chest expanding. In this type, known as thoracic breathing, you are drawing air into your chest using accessory muscles rather than into the lungs using your diaphragm. A deep breath is easy: 

• Contracting the diaphragm, take in air through the nose
• Feel your lungs fill fully with oxygen, reaching the bottom where blood is circulating
• Hold in for a few seconds to let the oxygen saturate your cells.
• Breathe out fully- not exhaling fully is what causes breathlessness. 

The benefits of a deep breath when fighting stress:

• Blood circulates better which means that…

• …the cells of your brain and body receive steadily refreshing supply of oxygenated, nutrient-rich blood

• Blood pressure lowers

• These benefits translate to a sharper mind and less tension in the body. 

Balanced breathing fights stress further 

If you truly need a refresh, try balanced breathing: inhale and hold four seconds, then exhale for four seconds. Combined with the health benefits above, the rhythm of deep breathing will help you feel much more relaxed. 

Dr. Francis Scorca, D.C. 

Cooling down is essential for the ending of any work out. 

One of the single most important elements of working out is patience. A work out should not be rushed, and if you are in a crunch for time, always cut short the work out and not the warm up. Nothing can be as traumatic for muscles as jumping into a vigorous exercise without warming up the muscles first. Likewise, you will get the most out of your exercise if you finish it off with a low-key cool down. 

Elements of a good cool down.

While a warm up should be dynamic in nature, combining movement with stretching, the cool down can be of a more static nature. Since your muscles have already been warmed and active, you can finish off with a bit of gentle stretching. This helps to round out the exercise by slowing down the heart rate and stretching muscles which may have accumulated stress during the exercise, particularly those in the lower back. The child’s pose, for example, is a great way to elongate the spine, stretch your hips and practice deep breathing. 

Exercise should flow from warm up to cool down. 

A well-rounded exercise does wonders for the body and mind. If you have a physical complaint that prevents you from exercising, we want to help you rehabilitate and get back on your feet. From chiropractic adjustment to addressing muscle tension; from counseling on posture to simple stretches such as the child’s pose, we can help you escape from the cycle of muscle tension!

Dr. Francis Scorca, D.C.