Chiropractic Can Boost Your Immune System

Allergies, viruses, the common cold -- no matter what the season, it seems there’s always something going around threatening to make us sneeze or feel sick. Here at Foster Chiropractic Sports and Wellness, we feel one of the best ways to stave off infections and illnesses is to maintain a healthy lifestyle, which in turn supports your body’s own immune system and provides a natural defense to the disease and pollutants that threaten to attack every day. 

What is the immune system?

The immune system is your body’s defense against infection. It’s a system made up of many cells and organs working together. White blood cells play an important role in this system, attacking and destroying organisms that invade our bodies. As a system, rather than a single entity, the immune system requires balance to function well. 

Immune Boosters for Your Daily Life

While there’s no scientifically proven direct link between lifestyle and enhanced immune system, there’s no denying the fact that we feel better when we’re living a healthy lifestyle. Scott Foster makes a priority in our practice to care for the whole person, providing adjustments and clinical expertise as well as working with clients on lifestyle and nutrition changes. Here are a few ways to improve your daily habits that will help you feel better overall and hopefully lead to a stronger immune system.

Regular exercise. For most adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week. Whether you’re pushing your limit on the treadmill at the gym or walking the dog every evening after work, the important thing is to get active and get your heart rate up a little. Regular exercise reduces inflammation, which has been shown to allow the immune system to perform better. 

Eat fruits and vegetables. Your mother was right, eating those greens really is good for you. Spinach, kale and other dark, leafy greens are full of antioxidants that help boost your immune system. Other foods high in antioxidants include blueberries, strawberries, apples, broccoli, potatoes and squash. Eating a diet with a lot of colors and variety is a good place to start.

Get enough sleep. While getting more sleep won’t prevent you from getting sick, getting too little sleep might adversely affect your immune system. According to the Sleep Foundation, while you sleep your body produces cytokines, a type of protein that targets infection and inflammation, creating an immune response. It’s recommended that adults get 7-8 hours of sleep per night, and a 30-minute nap on the weekends could help as well.

Visit your chiropractor. Chiropractic adjustments are a good way to relieve stress off the nervous system. This in turn stimulates production of white blood cells, which play an important role in killing viruses and bacteria. There is no scientific evidence that spinal adjustment directly boosts immunity, but it is one way to help improve your overall health and mood, which in turn can improve your immune system’s balance and function.

Make an appointment with us to help you feel better and learn about positive lifestyle changes that can boost your immune system. Live your healthiest life!

Strong Ankles, Strong Performance: We Can Help you Stay in the Game

It might be the middle of summer, but we’re already excited for fall sports. High school football, men’s soccer and tennis and women’s volleyball teams are hitting practice fields, gyms and weight rooms to help the athletes get a jump on strength training and endurance before the height of the competitive season gets started. 

Unfortunately, just as practice gets in full swing, we start seeing more sports injuries here at Foster Chiropractic Clinic. From sore backs to shin splints, pain and injuries can keep you from competing at the level you want. One of the most common sports-related injuries we see are ankle injuries. More than 22% of all sports injuries are ankle injuries, making it the most common injury for high school athletes. This is due in part to the types of sports high school athletes play. Football, basketball, soccer and volleyball are the sports most prone to ankle injuries, as these sports combine jumping in close proximity to others and changing direction quickly while running, all of which can be hard on ankles.

Preventative Measures

My grandmother used to say, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This couldn’t be more true than when it comes to ankle injuries. Many people think ankle injuries are unavoidable accidents, when in fact doing a little work to get your ankles strong can help avoid injury during play and keep you from missing any time in the game. The first step is to schedule an evaluation with Dr. Scott Foster before your season. During this office visit the doctor will evaluate your postural sway, your ankle strength and flexibility, and your balance. From there we can make recommendations for strengthening exercises or other measures, such as shoes with proper fit and support or an ankle brace.

People often think high top shoes are a good way to prevent ankle injuries, and that extra support can help, but the best measure is to strengthen the muscles and improve balance to help prevent injury. Exercises can be as simple as drawing the alphabet with your big toe, standing on one leg for 30 second each repeatedly, and doing calf raises.

Chiropractic Treatment Options

Even the best of prevention can’t avoid all accidents. If you’ve experienced an ankle injury, the first thing to do is practice RICE -- rest, ice, compression, elevate. 

Chiropractic treatment is also an option for many types of ankle injuries. Many people often think of chiropractic treatment as only for the spine, but adjustments of the ankle joint can relieve pain, and regular adjustments can help prevent further injury. Dr. Scott Foster is one of the few chiropractors in the Winston-Salem area certified to treat extremities. His expertise with sports injuries helps him know what to do to get high school athletes back in the game as soon as possible.

If you’re looking to participate in sports, call our office today for a pre-season evaluation and help prevent time out of the game due to injuries this season.

Wrists at Work: Our Solutions to Alleviate the Pain of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

We use our hands for everything. Opening jars, typing an email, pulling weeds from the patio, brushing your hair. What if those daily activities caused you pain? For people dealing with carpal tunnel syndrome, even the most common movements can be painful. 

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition that causes numbness, tingling, or weakness in your hand due to pressure on the median nerve. This nerve runs the length of your arm through a passage in the wrist called the carpal tunnel. 

Anywhere from 4-10 million Americans suffer from the effects of carpal tunnel syndrome. This condition can be caused from swelling in the wrists due to diabetes and high blood pressure, as well as repetitive motions that overextend the wrist.

Typing Tips 

While it’s not proven that typing causes carpal tunnel syndrome, the position of your wrists while typing can definitely aggravate the symptoms. To help alleviate pain associated with carpal tunnel syndrome, pay attention to the following:

·      Posture. Poor posture while sitting at your desk not only leads to back pain, it can also cause wrist pain. If you sit with your shoulders rolled forward it shortens your neck and shoulder muscles, which puts strain on the wrists. Therefore, it’s important to sit up straight, shoulders rolled back, to allow wrists to relax while typing.

·      Wrist position. Make sure your keyboard sits at a position where your wrists are in a neutral (straight) position while typing, not slanted up or down. You also want your elbows to rest at your side at a 90 degree or greater angle.

·      Use keyboard shortcuts. The less typing and pressure you can put on your wrists the better. Learn keyboard shortcuts to help lessen the amount of typing you do each day. You might even be able to use voice recording for certain jobs to replace typing.

·      Avoid wrist rests and ergonomic keyboards. While marketing materials lead you to believe these tools are helpful in avoiding carpal tunnel syndrome, they might actually be detrimental. Wrist rests put extra pressure on the nerve, which could lead to more symptoms. Ergonomic keyboards aren’t as intuitive to lifelong typists, which leads to more time at the keyboard. The best bet is to practice good posture and keyboard position.

·      Take breaks. Every hour or so take a few minutes away from the keyboard to stretch your wrists.

Chiropractic Help

Adjusting your regular routine and paying attention to posture and wrist position are some ways to help reduce the pain and numbness associated with carpal tunnel syndrome. Chiropractic treatment can also help with pain relief. Dr. Scott Foster is one of few chiropractors in the Clemmons and Triad area of North Carolina certified as an extremity practitioner. He can help patients with joint manipulation and spinal adjustments to help alleviate pain. Other non-invasive interventions include stretching and strengthening exercises, and help with better posture and movement techniques.

If you’ve experienced pain from carpal tunnel syndrome, call the office of Foster Chiropractic Sports and Wellness to schedule your appointment..

Tips for a Pain-Free Adjustment to the New Work at Home Reality

For North Carolinians, we’re in the middle of a stay-at-home order from Governor Roy Cooper to help flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic. For many of us, that means life as we knew it is now in upheaval. Kids are out of school, restaurants are closed, and many businesses are trying to keep going with allowing employees to work from home. 

If you’re one of the many now working from home, you have already experienced some of the pros and cons of this new reality. At first it’s exciting, somewhat like playing hooky from school. You get to do your work in your yoga pants or even your pajamas. You can listen to your favorite morning show every day (as long as you’re not having to Zoom with your boss). You can multi-task like never before, having a load of clothes going in the washing machine, supper cooking in the crock pot and kids doing their worksheets all while you’re typing away at your computer.

With all the benefits that come from working from home, you might also be experiencing some stress, and even a little pain. Trying to stay productive while the dog needs walked and the kids have a million questions about how to do math can cause those stress migraines to come back with a vengeance. And crouching over your laptop at the kitchen table or hunched up in bed with your computer on your lap isn’t doing your back any favors. It’s time to take care of yourself.

Pay Attention to Posture

When you’re at the office, more than likely you’re sitting at a desk designed for computer work, hopefully with a nice supportive chair. As much as you can, it’s important to replicate that when working at home. Put your monitor close to eye level so you don’t tilt your neck while looking at the screen. Sit in a chair where your legs are level or slightly lower than your seat, and your feet are flat on the ground. To keep your back straight, roll your shoulders back and sit with your shoulders in line with your ears. 

Remember to take breaks! Get up and walk around for about 5 minutes after every hour to rest and exercise different muscles. It will help you be more productive when you do sit back down to work.

Schedule an Appointment for an Adjustment

Your health is essential, maybe even more so now when maintaining a healthy lifestyle can keep our body’s natural immune system working strong. Even during these weeks of shelter-in-place orders from the state government, the team at Foster Chiropractic is working, and is dedicated to helping our patients maintain a healthy lifestyle and enjoy daily activities pain free. 

We’re taking all the precautions necessary to keep you safe while in our office: strict social distancing regulations, plenty of hand sanitizer available for staff and patients, and limiting the number of people in the office at a time.

If you’re feeling the strain of the stress and working from home has your back crying out in pain, call today to schedule an appointment with Dr. Foster today. He’s considered essential and your health is too.

Affordable Spinal Decompression to Relieve Your Back Pain

Are you one of the more than 31 million Americans who experience lower back pain? If you’re experiencing pain that’s keeping you from playing the sports you love, completing household chores and even getting a good night’s sleep, you’re probably looking for a non-surgical option to help ease your pain and get you back to the activities you enjoy. 

Foster Chiropractic Sports and Wellness Clinic is one of the few offices in the Clemmons and Winston-Salem area that offers patients the option of spinal decompression therapy, a non-surgical option for treating back and neck pain. This motorized decompression table is a treatment of choice for people with bulging or herniated disks or degenerative disk disease who have been treated with traditional traction and found little improvement.

How it Works

The motorized spinal decompression table uses the same theory of spinal traction practiced by chiropractors for decades. You (the patient) lie down on the table, and a harness is fitted around your pelvis and another one around your trunk. The device is controlled by Dr. Foster through a computer which moves the table incrementally, gently stretching the spine. 

Stretching the spine takes pressure off your spinal disks. These disks are like cushions between the bones in your spine, and when under pressure they in turn put pressure on your nerves. Opening up the space creates negative pressure between your disks, allowing the flow of water, oxygen and fluids into the disks, for better spinal health.

Plan for Success

Each session for spinal decompression treatment takes about 30 to 45 minutes. Plan for anywhere from 15-30 treatments over the course of six weeks to see the full results of this treatment. 

Here at Foster Chiropractic, we see many patients who are hoping to avoid the risks and downtime of surgery choose spinal decompression therapy. We offer affordable pricing, much lower than our competitors, to help make this a viable option. We also treat each patient holistically, and will talk with you about stretches and lifestyle modifications you can do at home to help ease your pain.

Call today to learn more about spinal decompression therapy. With our help, you can be on your way to less pain in no time.

Winter Workouts Don't Disappoint with These Tips

Do you find yourself resorting to workouts at the gym or jumping on the stationary bike in your basement during the winter months, rather than going outside for a run or taking your bike out to the trails? Colder weather and darker days might make us feel like hibernating, but we’re here to promote outdoor exercise, even in the coldest winter months!

For one thing, here in the Winston-Salem area we’re lucky to have winter days where the temperatures get up above 50 degrees and the sun comes out, making it feel even warmer. But even on days when the temperatures don’t make it out of the 40s, you can still enjoy the benefits of fresh air and sunshine. 

Why Exercise Outside?

·      Vitamin D. Getting out in the sun for as little as 15 minutes can provide the amount of Vitamin D needed for the day. Just be sure you’re also eating a diet rich in calcium to help promote absorption! 

·      Immune boost. Forget about all those old wives’ tales of getting a cold from being out in the cold weather. Exercise actually helps boost your immune system, giving your body the strength it needs to fight off winter’s colds and flu.

·      Burn more calories! When you exercise in cold weather, your body is working to keep itself warm at the same time you’re going on your jog or walk.

Stay Safe and Healthy During Cold-Weather Workouts

It’s important to prepare for the weather just as much in the winter as you would in the summer. Just as you would in the hottest parts of July, remember to stay hydrated during your winter workouts, and wear sunscreen if you’re going to be outside more than 15 minutes. In addition to that water bottle, here are a few other things to remember on your winter workout.

Dress in Layers. You want to be prepared for the cold, but also be able to adjust as you get warmer the longer you’re active. Whether you’re skiing in the mountains of North Carolina or taking the dog for a walk at Salem Lake, you want to be prepared. Start with a synthetic layer to help draw moisture away from your body. Avoid cotton t-shirts and other natural fibers, as they will absorb sweat and keep that cold, wet layer up against your skin. Next layer on a wool sweater or fleece jacket for warmth. Top it off with a water proof/wind blocking shell. Don’t forget a hat and gloves to keep your extremities warm.

Prioritize your warm up and cool down. It’s even more important in cold weather to get the body loose and limber before a workout to prevent twists, sprain, tears and other injuries. Make sure to warm up about 10-15 minutes. Start with some low-intensity aerobic exercises, such as a slow jog or jumping jacks, to raise your core body temperature. Then do some stretches, but make sure they’re dynamic stretches such as lunges, high knee kicks or leg lifts. If you do static stretching you run the risk of your body temperature cooling back down.

After your workout, make sure to cool down to reduce the effects of blood pooling in your muscles. If you’ve gone on a run, walk for about 3-5 minutes. If you’re lifting weights, do some more lunges and dynamic stretches.  

Warm ups and cool downs can be done indoors, where it’s warm. Just be sure you’re not sweaty from your warm up when you go outside and face the cold temperatures.

Keep your chiropractic appointments. Winter often makes ailments such as a stiff neck or sore joints ache even more. That’s because the drop in barometric pressure that makes the atmosphere colder also puts pressure on our body, causing the fluid in the joints (the synovial fluid) to move less freely. Here at Foster Chiropractic Sports and Wellness Clinic we are especially in tune with athlete’s changing needs in the winter months and can help adapt your treatments for the weather. Chiropractic adjustments can help keep joints moving properly, helping prevent injuries and keep you in top shape for all the winter sports you enjoy.

New Relief in the New Year with Normatec

Every day we see athletes in our office needing relief from the aches and pains that often come with workout and participation in sports. Whether your workout of choice is Crossfit or the Peloton, bootcamp or a traditional workout that gets you sore, we now have a new treatment at Foster Chiropractic to provide relief. We have seen great benefits from the high-tech compression massage from Normatec. In a pattern that mimics the body’s natural recovery process, this compression massage helps relieve the pain and inflammation that occurs after an intense workout.

Why Compression Massages are Beneficial

You may have heard many professional athletes talk about massage therapy as a form of recovery, and wondered why this helps your body after a workout. After all, isn’t a cool-down routine and a few stretches all you need to do? 

When your muscles are working, especially in vigorous exercises or activities that aren’t in your normal daily routine, it can cause tiny tears in the muscle fibers. As the body works to repair those cells, the result is the pain and inflammation you feel post-workout. A compression massage will help improve the blood flow to those areas, reducing muscle tightness and easing inflammation. 

If you’re looking for an alternative to pain medications to help you ease the post-workout aches and pains, or you’re just looking for a good solution to post-workout recovery to help your muscles adapt to new workouts, come in to Foster Chiropractic Clinic to try out the Normatec recovery system. This compression massage is just one part of our holistic approach to better health for athletes and everyone in the Winston-Salem area who wants to feel great and live an active lifestyle.

Foster Chiropractic Clinic teams up with Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina

The holiday season is here! For most of us that means rushing around from one event to another, running errands in busy traffic, shopping for the perfect gifts for our loved ones, and of course, eating lots of great food at parties and family gatherings. Here at Foster Chiropractic Clinic, we love the holiday fun as much as anyone! We also want to make sure we take this time to be thankful for what we have and remember those in our community who are less fortunate. There are too many in our area who are “food insecure” – not sure where their next meal will come from. 

This holiday season, Foster Chiropractic Clinic has teamed up with Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina to hold a food drive in our office. We invite our patients and the community to bring non-perishable food items to our office to be donated to the food bank. This food will go to help some of the people right here in Forsyth County, where 1 in 7 adults and 1 in 5 kids face food insecurity. 

Helping out in the community has always been important for us, and programs that help the hungry hold a special place in my heart. You know the Foster family has volunteered with @OperationBBQRelief, volunteering time to go with this organization to help feed people after disasters such as hurricanes and floods. Through the years, we’ve also helped out with food drives for organizations including the Ronald McDonald House and the Clemmons Food Pantry.

“Our patients are all so generous and I’m so proud of the support they’ve shown each time we hold a food drive,” Foster said. “We’re really excited to be partnering with Second Harvest Food Bank this year, as this organization is such a great resource in our community and really reaches the people who need help most, in Forsyth County as well as the entire 18 county region.”

Next time you’re in the office for an appointment or even if you’re just in the area, drop by and help us fill our donation boxes with lots of great items for Second Harvest Food Bank. It’s an easy way to help out during this holiday season and support those in need..