You would probably do anything to make it go away when the pain is at its worst.
Fortunately, the best treatment for sciatica is as close as your chiropractor’s office. Surgery is not usually needed.
Before we get into treatment, let’s look at how sciatica happens.
While massage therapy can be great for melting away the troubles of everyday life, there’s more to it than mere relaxation. It can also be an essential part of maintaining overall wellness. Often, it plays a significant role in stress relief and pain management for a variety of conditions. Although, if you’ve never had a clinical massage before, you might not know what to expect. It’s possible you even have several questions.
That’s perfectly natural!
To satisfy your curiosity, Algonquin Chiropractic’s very own Dr. Galante answers some of the questions you might be asking yourself.
By: Anthony Galante
Eat Chocolate, Live Better
You heard us right, Dark chocolate is actually beneficial for your over all health. Keep in mind we are talking about pure cacao, not that processed stuff you will find at the checkout like of most grocery stores. Here are some benefits of regularly indulging on this delicious treat:
1. Reduces Risk of Heart Failure, Stroke, Diabetes and Cancer!
2. Improves Brain Power
3. Reduces Stress
4. Protects Skin From UV Rays
5. Suppresses Coughs
There are a couple known properties found in cacao that are very beneficial to our bodies like:
1. Flavonoids—Flavonoids control insulin sensitivity and cut risk for diabetes in half! Flavonoids also improve blood-flow to the brain and increase alertness and performance. Chocolate contains 5 times the amount of flavonoids of an apple!
2. Theobromine— Theobromine, which is responsible for the “feel-good” effect of chocolate, actually suppresses the Vagus Nerve, which is responsible for coughing fits.
3. Pentamer— Pentameric procyanidin, or pentamer, disturbs caner cells’ ability to spread.
One or two servings per week can reduce risk of heart attack or stroke by one third! Dark chocolate’s thick bitter-sweetness is satisfying as well as filling in small amounts, and helps suppresses cravings for other fattening foods and helps keep weight in control. Cacao also significantly reduces stress and protects skin against UV rays.
Even though we know dark chocolate has impressive benefits, this doesn’t mean you can skip meals. Also remember when we say dark chocolate, we are talking about chocolate containing at least 70% cacao. Anything below that is probably loaded with sugar and other additives.
If you still feel that you are struggling in creating a healthy living plan, or would like to learn more about nutrition in Algonquin, you will be thrilled to know that Dr. Galante has powerful programs that will teach you the specific steps that will help you to become and stay healthier.
Call for your consultation 847-854-2000 today!
Algonquin Chiropractic Center
2210 Huntington Drive North
Algonquin, IL 60102
847-854-2000
It’s difficult to ignore the health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity. The energy you derive from maintaining any sort of exercise plan is obvious and 
wonderful enough to keep many people motivated. But exercise offers far more benefits than just an extra pep in your step. Exercise has the power to help you maintain a healthy weight, improve your mood, promote more restful sleep and even combat health conditions and diseases. The benefits of exercise deserve another blog in itself, but today we’re here to talk about exercising –and recovering- the RIGHT way.
Dr. Galante is committed to helping you!
As important and beneficial as exercise is, it’s not going to be effective, or healthy for that matter, if you aren’t treating your body with respect and care in the process. There are a number of things to factor in before, during, and after your exercise to not only achieve optimal results, but keep your body safe and healthy throughout.
The best way to protect your body is to do so from the start, building a strong foundation for a great exercise and easier recovery.
Warming up is vital to preparing for a work out, sending the necessary blood flow and nutrients where they are needed to avoid pulling or tearing tight muscles. Ten minutes of gentle cardio such as jogging, jumping jacks, or cycling is adequate time to get your circulation where it needs to be.
Stretching your muscles once you have warmed them up will greatly affect your body during and after your work out. Keeping your muscles stretched will allow for more integrity in your exercise performance as well as protect you and minimize your risk for injury. As far as results are concerned, keeping your muscles stretched and loose will allow you to best utilize the strength you’ve built and give you a longer, leaner appearance.
Hydration should really go without saying. Drinking adequate amounts of water before and during your workout is absolutely vital to maintaining your stamina as well as allowing your body to reap the benefits of your work and recover seamlessly.
Eating Right goes right along with hydration as it should go without saying. But in reality it is an area that so many seem to over look or excuse BECAUSE they are making up for it by staying active. Without the proper nutrients, your body will not have the fuel it needs to maintain itself during a work out which can lead to injury. Post workout it is also vital to restore your body with the necessary protein it needs to repair any muscle fiber damage from your workout.
Recovery time is just as important as all aspects of exercise itself. When you are feeling extremely sore or exhausted it is vital to give your body the rest it needs 
to best perform in a healthy manner rather than diving back in and increasing your risk of injury. When you exercise, your muscle fibers break down, which is a good thing as long as you give them adequate time to rebuild before putting them to work again.
BE WELL!
If you still feel that you are struggling in creating a healthy living plan, you will be thrilled to know that Dr. Galante has powerful programs, such as sports medicine in Algonquin, that will teach you the specific steps that will help you to become and stay healthier.
Call for your consultation 847-854-2000 with an Algonquin, IL chiropractor.
Algonquin Chiropractic Center
2210 Huntington Drive North
Algonquin, Il 60102
847-854-2000
Mention this article and receive $25 off your initial visit.
Our Mission – To educate and inform patients so you can make educated decisions to improve your health.
By: Anthony Galante
A Simple Fix for a Chronic Condition: Orthotics in Algonquin
Did you know that 25% of all the bones in the body are located in the feet! A very complex mechanism that enables proper locomotion and can have enormous effects on posture.
Dr. Galante is Committed to Helping You!
We are sharing this information with you to keep you informed, improve your health and well-being and help you understand critical health care information and how it impacts your health and your wallet. So what are the implications?
Faulty foot bio-mechanics can cause numerous painful conditions not only in the feet but also in the knees, hips, back and neck.
The most common distortion is when the foot rolls inward (pronation) which causes the knee to roll inward, internally rotates the hips and may cause the pelvis to be un-level with resultant spinal curvatures. The body is very good at compensating for these bio-mechanical imbalances, and sometimes for a long period of time, but when these compensatory mechanisms fail, that’s when the neck, back, knee or hip pain starts.
Try this: Stand up with you weight equal on both feet, put your index finger on your hip bones (the large bones on side of your upper leg), now stand with your weight on the inside of your foot, then roll to the outside of your foot. You will feel that bone move, now you can “feel” the connection between your foot alignment and your hips (and also your knees and low back.)
The only way to “correct” pronation is to properly support your feet with custom made orthotics (shoe inserts). Since your foot alignment is 
abnormal, we “bring the shoe to your foot,” to properly support the 3 arches of your feet. Orthotics will not only be beneficial for your feet, but they will also improve posture.
In my experience, after patients get used to their orthotics, which can be anywhere from immediately to 3 weeks, they LOVE them. They have never been properly supported in the past, for the first time there is proper support in all 3 arches of the foot, which will also put the knees, hips and spine in better alignment.
A few orthotic guidelines:
*Ask if your orthotic supports all 3 arches of the foot, not just the inside arch.
*They MUST be comfortable. Be very leary of hard plastic orthotics, they are often very uncomfortable.
*Wearing orthotics should go through a “break-in” period which usually doesn’t last more than a few week.
*Orthotics are very low maintenance, put them in your shoes and forget them! 
Be Well!
If you still feel that you are struggling in creating a healthy living plan or are interested in orthotics in Algonquin, you will be thrilled to know that Dr. Galante has powerful programs that will teach you the specific steps that will help you to become and stay healthier.
Call for your consultation today at 847-854-2000!
Algonquin Chiropractic Center
2210 Huntington Drive North
Algonquin, Il 60102
847-854-2000
Mention this article and receive $25 off your initial visit.
Our Mission – To educate and inform patients so you can make educated decisions to improve your health.