Patient Appreciation Week

Monday, March 22nd thru Saturday, March 27th

New and Existing Patients are invited for food, fun and the following specials:

$25 for One Adjustment

$25 for A Chiropractic Examination

$75 X-Rays (as needed)

$10 Off A One Hour Massage (cash rate)

Hope you and your friends and family can join us!!

A New Era…

by Dr. Amy VanQuaethem

We are very excited to welcome

Dr. Kris Sasaki to VanQuaethem

Chiropractic and Massage!  Dr. Kris

has been a chiropractor for 9 years

and joins us from Bend, OR.  Prior

to practicing in Oregon, Dr. Kris

opened and still manages seven

chiropractic clinics ranging from Peru to Brazil to Spain.  He is fluent in Spanish and is a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician, which means he specializes in care for athletes and is amazing at managing extremities and muscular complaints.  Dr. Kris enjoys surfing, skiing, soccer, biking, and spending time with his beautiful wife, Sandra, and his 5 month old daughter, Zoe.

As many of you are aware, I have been spending a lot of time in

Maui.  After much thought and consideration, my husband, Streiter

and I have decided to relocate.  We figured it would take a while to make the transition as we wanted to find the perfect person to replace us.  Fortunately, early into our efforts we had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Kris Sasaki.  He is as passionate about caring for families (from infants to elderly) as we are and is an amazing adjuster.  Spending time with him in the office these last few weeks has made it clear that he is the person to carry on the wonderful practice we have established here in Madison Valley.  Dr. Kris will be working with me through the month of March to learn about each of you and your special chiropractic needs.  We will be having a huge Patient Appreciation Week from March 22^nd through March 27^th to celebrate the transition and my last week here at VanQuaethem Chiropractic.  Dr. Kris will be maintaining all patient files and x-rays and have them available to continue your care with ease. 

We have appreciated each and every one of you over these last 9 years and wish you continued health and happiness!  Come visit us in Maui, we are going to miss you J

Did you know for that for the first time in the history of the Olympics, Chiropractic has been added to the Olympic Village Polyclinic?  Pretty cool!  Chiropractors have always worked with athletes to improve performance, balance, coordination, reaction times and more.  It’s great to see that care is accessable to these world class athletes.  Read more at the link below…

http://eon.businesswire.com/portal/site/eon/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100205005515&newsLang=en

I came across this great chiropractic testimonial by Jerry Rice on YouTube today.  It’s a warm introduction to some of the benefits of chiropractic care for athletes.  Check it out!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CAsGNlQEnI

Stop Dreaming About Quality Sleep and Do Something!
 An old Chinese proverb states, “Only when one cannot sleep does one know how long the night is.” Anyone who’s ever experienced an occasional bout with insomnia—and that’s most of us—can relate to this all too well.

In fact, surveys have shown that between 40 and 60 percent of the general population has trouble sleeping. Daily stress and worries, pressures from job and family, body aches and pains caused by uncomfortable beds or pillows, and a host of other issues can keep a person from getting enough quality sleep.

Sleep is critical to good health and functioning, so lack of it is a serious matter. “Sleep is one of the most important functions of the brain,” says Frederick R. Carrick, DC, PhD, president of the American Chiropractic Association’s Council on Neurology. Through it, our bodies recharge and renew for the next day’s challenges.

As wellness experts, doctors of chiropractic can provide patients with a different approach to their sleeping problems— without the use of sleeping pills, which leave many people in a mental haze the next morning. To start, here are a few helpful tips they would recommend for the sleepless in Seattle (or any city, for that matter):

• Exercise regularly. Exercising in the morning is best, but if you must exercise in the evening, do so at least two or three hours before bedtime. Any later, and your increased heart rate can interfere with your sleep.
• Limit your intake of caffeinated beverages such as coffee, colas and tea—try to avoid them altogether late in the day and near bedtime. In addition, for each cup of caffeinated beverages you drink each day, drink an equal amount of water.
• If you have trouble sleeping and then get thirsty, drink tap water at room temperature (cold water may disturb the digestive system).
• Eat an early dinner. Eating after 6 p.m. may interfere with sleep as your body works to digest the food you’ve eaten.
• Go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning. The routine will help your body know when it is time to rest.
• Keep your bedroom at a cool, comfortable temperature and try to make it as dark as possible when you’re ready for bed.

Creating a comfortable place to sleep by choosing the correct mattress and pillow is also essential to getting the quality sleep that your body needs to function at its best.

A mattress, for instance, should support the body’s weight evenly and allow the spine to stay in its natural alignment. Choosing the right one is a personal matter.

“There are a wide variety of comfort preferences. It’s very subjective,” says Brian Darcy, operations manager for Springwall, the manufacturer of premium-quality Chiropractic® sleep sets that ACA has endorsed for the past 38 years.

But regardless of whether you like your mattress firm or soft, give it a good trial run before you buy. Darcy recommends lying down on a mattress for a minimum of three to five minutes to get a good feel. Sitting on it simply won’t do.

Useful mattress facts…

• A mattress should provide uniform support from head to toe. If there are gaps between your body and your mattress (such as at the waist), you’re not getting the full support that you need.
• If you do have back pain and your mattress is too soft, you might want to firm up the support of your mattress by placing a board underneath it. But do this just until the pain goes away; such firmness is not good for “routine” sleeping.
• Every few months, turn your mattress clockwise, or upside down, so that body indentations are kept to a minimum. It’s also good to rotate the mattress frame every so often to reduce wear and tear.
• If you’re waking up uncomfortable, it may be time for a new mattress. There is no standard life span for a mattress; it all depends on the kind of usage it gets.
• Be aware that changes in your life can signal the need for a new mattress. For example, if you’ve lost or gained a lot of weight, if a medical condition has changed the way you sleep, or even if you have changed partners, it could mean that it’s time to find a new mattress that will accommodate those changes and help you sleep more soundly.
• If you’re not in the market for a new mattress, and your current mattress is too firm, you can soften it up by putting a 1- to 2-inch-thick padding on top of it – usually available at mattress and bedding stores.

Next, pillow talk…
After investing in a quality mattress, don’t forget to choose an equally supportive pillow, advises Peter Mckay, DC, who is in private practice in San Diego and also works as a consultant for Innovative Choices, the maker of the Therapeutica Pillow-another ACA-endorsed product. “People will spend thousands of dollars on a mattress and then skimp on a pillow that doesn’t support their head and neck properly,” he observes. A good pillow will keep the cervical (neck) section of the spine aligned with the thoracic and lumbar (chest and lower back) sections. “[The sections] move together and should be supported together.”

• When choosing a pillow, be selective. When lying on your side, your head and neck should remain level with your mid and lower spine. When lying on your back, your head and neck should remain level with your upper back and spine. In other words, your pillow should not be so thick that it causes your head and neck to be propped up or angled sharply away from your body.
• Be wary of pillows that are made out of mushy foam materials. The weight of your head can displace this kind of foam, leaving little support. Choose firmer foam and materials that press back and support the head.
• If you find yourself sleeping on your side with one hand propped under your pillow, that’s a clue that you’re not getting the support you need from that pillow.
• There is no such thing as a universal fit when it comes to pillows. Find one that is consistent with the shape and size of your body.

Chiropractic Care Can Help…
If you continue to experience pain and discomfort at night or have difficulty falling asleep, visit your doctor of chiropractic. Doctors of chiropractic are trained to treat spinal problems that can interfere with a restful night’s sleep. They can also offer nutritional and ergonomic advice that can help improve the quality of your sleep.

Download the Better Sleep Guide
The Better Sleep Council’s Better Sleep Guide provides simple solutions that can help improve the quality of your life by improving the quality of your sleep. Find out why you should make sleep a health priority, how much sleep your body needs and how your bedroom and mattress affect the quality of your sleep. Click here to download a PDF copy of the booklet

We are very excited to Welcome Stephanie Koscelnik, LMP to our office!!

She is our new Massage Therapist and will be joining us Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.  Read more about Stephanie on our Staff Page!

Chiropractic and Menopause

Menopause without interference
by Dr. Madeline Behrendt

Last summer a common treatment for hot flashes was stopped cold. A Federal
study designed to evaluate combination Hormone Replacement Therapy
(Prempro), was terminated three years early because the results demonstrated a 26% increase in breast cancer among participants, as well as increases in blood clots (100%), strokes (41%), and heart attacks (29%).

For those of us tuned into women’s health, this is not a surprise, information about these concerns has existed, and many chiropractors educate women using quality resources and evidence to support a healthy menopause.

Also, as part of a chiropractic panel presenting at the United Nations Conference on Women in 2001, we heard representatives from developing nations discuss how companies were approaching them with strong promotions for menopause products. Their response? “We have been going through menopause for hundreds of years, and you’re going to tell us we don’t know how!”

Like these leaders, many approach menopause as a life cycle, not a deficiency,
turning away from hormone “replacement” therapy and the pill.

And, while waves of women on HRT reacted to the Federal study with anxiety and anger, women living the chiropractic lifestyle were not shocked, anxious or depressed. Instead, they were relieved, grateful and confident — and they’re healthy.

When does the first interference in menopause begin? Does it start:

 — With perception, with commercials promoting hormone products?

 — With a doctor who has guidelines to treat an age group or statistic, not an
      individual woman?

 — With unsuccessful lifestyle choices that promote stress and body/mind
      disorganization?

 — In a young woman, when she alters her hormone function by using birth control
      pills?

 — In childhood, when sensitive, developing bodies are exposed to sex hormones in their food?

 — With what a woman is doing or not doing?

In order to discover more effective answers about function and quality of life during menopause, we must ask better questions, questions beyond, “What drug will change this symptom?”

There’s no doubt that Baby Boomers are looking for choices that benefit them as they mature, or if they have a specific concern, they are looking for an answer that can change their lives.

Reports indicate that most women start hormone therapy to address the symptoms of hot flashes and/or night sweats, and some M.D.s to this day state that nothing else effects hot flashes. However, one perspective cannot accurately claim to have all the answers, and we halt progress if there are limits on a doctor’s awareness and a woman’s choices.

Access to more complete information is shifting. During a recent panel appearing on the Charlie Rose show to discuss women’s health, a journalist from The Wall Street Journal chided M.D.s for not wanting to hear about recognizing the benefits of other choices. She’s right. Imagine if all the women who developed breast cancer due to HRT, women who are now splitting their time between hospitals and lawyers’ offices, had access to better information years ago, how much suffering could have been avoided?

Chiropractic has an important and unique role in women’s health, including during menopause. Its benefits warrant exploration and consideration, by all women and by those who do research, make health care news or report it.

The essence of chiropractic is organization, and care serves to promote function, repair, communication and coordination of the nervous system through subluxation detection and correction. These factors can influence the success of our complex hormonal system, our stress response system and our immune system, to name a few areas important to women’s health.

It’s easy to relate to organization or disorganization. Think cars keys found/car
keys lost. Imagine the impact of “car keys lost” (subluxation) on the nervous
system during menopause, a time when the body requires energy and coordination while our systems are “rewired” for a new life cycle.

Chiropractic has the clinical results. Millions seek care because chiropractic
works. Yet, we want more research and look for the research funding culture to
support other approaches besides pharmaceutical projects. We also look for
collaboration with other professionals who share our awe at the innate wisdom and amazing feats of the body/mind and seek to explore it.

The topic of mass hormone therapy is now being considered for men. I’d like to
recommend to everyone an excellent article by Jerome Groopman, which appeared in the July 29, 2002 issue of The New Yorker, titled “Hormones for Men.”

In closing, for menopause without interference consider the chiropractic approach.

Unless involved in a trauma, no one develops interference overnight, lifestyle
choices affect daily and long term health, and as health simply reflects you, learn to understand your body’s feedback (including symptoms) and choose wisely.

Treating a symptom “naturally” is still treating a symptom. To truly promote health and evolve past repetitive episodes of symptoms, look for care that addresses the cause.

The World Chiropractic Alliance’s Council on Women’s’ Health is a non-profit council functioning at a national and international level. The Council is dedicated to supporting women of the world attain health and wellness through the application of the science, art, and philosophy of chiropractic.

Happy Holidays From VanQuaethem Chiropractic!

Our Office will be CLOSED

Thursday, December 24th thru Saturday, December 26th

& Thursday, December 31st & Friday, January 1st

We wish you and your family a healthy and joyous season!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We will be CLOSED on Thursday, November 26th

We will be OPEN for MASSAGE ONLY on Wednesday, November 25th and Friday, November 27th

We will resume normal business hours on Saturday, November 28th

Families and children are very important to us.  Having your child’s spine checked and gently adjusted may help with weakened immune systems, colic, ear infections, aches/pains, sleep problems and more!  Call our office to schedule your little one for a chiropractic check up with Dr. Amy today

Josephine getting her spine checked with Dr. Amy

Dr. Amy checking Josephine for subluxations!