New Forrest

Bone Spurs:
Many patients are told that they have bone spurs in their back or neck, with the implication that the bone spurs are the cause of their back pain. However, bone spurs themselves are simply an indication that there is degeneration of the spine. They are not necessarily the actual cause of the patient's back pain. Bone Spurs can also be known as Wear and Tear or Arthritis and are relatively normal in anyone over the age of 40. Degenerated discs are usually due to the joint being locked up or misaligned for periods at a time

The medical term for bone spurs is osteophytes, and are by and large a normal finding as we age. Degeneration of the spine occurs in all persons to some degree. However, for 42% of the population, degeneration and development of bone spurs will lead to symptoms of neck and back pain, radiating arm and leg pain and weakness in the extremities during their lifetime.

Anatomy and formation of bone spurs
The human spine is made of thirty-two separate vertebral segments that are separated by intervertebral discs made of collagen and ligaments. These discs are shock absorbers and allow a limited degree of flexibility and motion at each spinal segment. The cumulative effect allows a full range of movement around the axis of the spine, especially the neck (cervical) and lower back (lumbar spine).

Motion between each segment is limited by the tough outer disc ligaments and the joints that move (articulate) at each spinal level (the facet joint). Under each joint, just behind the disc, is a pair of nerve roots that exit the spinal canal. The exiting hole (foramina) that surrounds the nerve (disc in front, joints above and below) is relatively small and has little room for anything besides the exiting nerve.

Normal life stressors compounded by traumatic injuries to the spinal architecture cause degeneration in the discs and the joints of the spine. With age, injury, poor posture there is cumulative damage to the bone or joints of the spine:

• As disc material slowly wears out, ligaments loosen and excess motion occurs at the joint.
• The body naturally and necessarily thickens the ligaments that hold the bones together.
• Over time, the thick ligaments tend to calcify, resulting in flecks of bone or bone spur formation.
• As the central spinal canal and the foramina thicken their ligaments, compression of the nervous system causes clinical symptoms.

Degenerative changes to normal vital tissue begin in early adulthood, but usually this slow process does not present with nervous system compression until we are in our sixties or seventies. Factors that can accelerate the degenerative process and bone spur growth include:

• Congenital or heredity
• Nutrition
• Life-style, including poor posture
• Traumatic forces, especially sports related injuries and motor vehicle accidents

To help avoid or minimize back pain it is generally advisable to stay well conditioned (both in terms of aerobics and strength) and to maintain good posture throughout one’s life. It is also advisable to have regular adjustments and keep your chiropractic appointments

STROKE remember the first three letters:


STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE
Remember the 3 steps, STR. Read and Learn!
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S *Ask the individual to SMILE.
T *Ask the person to TALK . To speak a simple sentence (coherently) (i.e.  It is a sunny day today)
R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

{NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out their tongue... if the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke}

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 999 immediately and describe the symptoms to the operator.

Heart Attacks:
People should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line. You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. Sixty percent of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up. The pain in the jaw will be so severe it should waken you. Given a choice between natural child birth and a heart attack, pain-wise; it's much easier to have a baby.
Let's be careful and be aware, the more we know the better chance we could survive. Let's say it's 6:15pm and you're driving home (alone of course), after unusually hard day on the job. You're tired, upset and frustrated. Suddenly you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to radiate out into your arm and up into your jaw. You are only about five miles from the hospital nearest your home. Unfortunately you don't know if you'll be able to make it that far. You have been trained in CPR, but the guy that taught the course did not tell you how to perform it on yourself.

How to survive a Heart attack when alone:
Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, without help, the person whose heart is beating improperly and who begins to feel faint, has only about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness. However,these victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very vigorously.

A deep breath should be taken before each cough, and the cough must be deep and prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest. A breath and a cough must be repeated about every two seconds without let-up until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again. Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating.The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can get to a hospital. Tell as many other people as possible about this. It could save their lives