Tag Archives: health

Bourdage Chiropractic

Top Healthy Habits

It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life and forget to take care of our bodies. But by incorporating healthy habits into our daily routine, we can ensure that we are doing our best to keep our bodies in top shape. Here are some of the top healthy habits to help you stay on track:

1. Eat a Balanced Diet: Eating a balanced diet is essential for maintaining your health. Choose fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Avoid processed foods and sugary snacks that can lead to weight gain and other health issues.

2. Exercise Regularly: Exercise is one of the best ways to stay healthy and fit. Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day and vary the type of exercise to keep it interesting.

3. Get Enough Sleep: Sleep is essential for your body’s natural healing and recovery process. Aim for 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night to make sure you are well-rested and ready to take on the day.

4. Manage Stress: Stress can have a major impact on your physical and mental health. Make sure to take time to relax and unwind each day to help manage stress levels.

5. Stay Hydrated: Drinking plenty of water is essential for your body to function properly. Aim for 8 glasses of water a day to stay hydrated and healthy.

6. Get adjusted. Chiropractic adjustments keep your spine, posture and body functioning at its best.

These are just a few of the top healthy habits that you can incorporate into your lifestyle. By making changes to your daily routine, you can ensure that you are doing your best to stay healthy and fit.

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Movement For Health

How much movement do you have in your day? Do you get your 10,000 steps a day? Do you workout or exercise? These are questions I like to ask of my patients because movement is so important, and most of us do not get enough of it. Movement for health is imperative. You cannot reach your full potential without movement.

The human body is a perfectly designed machine. And this machine is designed to move. Never has there been a time in evolution where we have been as inactive as we are currently. We used to walk miles per day just to get to our food or water sources. We used to have to carry things. We used to have to squat (to poop). Our jobs used to be phsically demanding. Now we go from our beds to the kitchen table to our car and then to our desk. Because of the comforts of modern society our health is suffering! We are softer, more sick and less happy than ever before. It is my opinion that this is because of our lack of movement in our day.

There is a great book called “The Comfort Crisis” by Michael Easter that I highly recommend that dives into this on a deeper level. BOOK – Michael Easter (eastermichael.com)

What to Do?

If you spend one hour a day exercising, that is still 23 hours of your day that you are sedentary. In my opinion that is still considered a sedentary lifestyle! I’m not saying you should not workout, but what I am saying is you have to find ways to incorporate movement into your day throughout the day. The only way to do this is to be intentional about it.

Some examples of things you can do are:

Park further away

If it’s a mile or less away find another way to get there besides your car.

Take the stairs instead of an escalator or elevator. (only 2% of the population take the stairs if there is an escalator nearby) Be a 2%er!

Do some pushups while you wait for your coffee to brew or your shower to warm-up.

Walk around the block while you wait for your oil change or yours kids activities to finish.

Play at the park with your kids.

Learn a new physical skill like a cartwheel, handstand, archery, stand up paddleboarding, kayaking, rock climbing, salsa dancing etc… the list and possibilities are endless.

Movement is Not OnlyExercise

When I ask my patients about their movement they often answer me with the status of how often they go to the gym. Like we talked about above, movement doesn’t only happen in the gym. As a matter of fact, the movement that is happening outside of the gym is more important! Depending on what you do in the gym it may not even be that functional. Functional movement is movement that occurs that is useful in everyday life. Many exercises at the gym are very unnatural and not a pattern of movement that even happen in everyday life.

Let’s take a look at the bench press exercise. How often in real life do we have to lay on a flat surface and push a weight or object away from us? Pretty much never! But many people do this exercise in search of becoming stronger or having a better-looking chest. I find for many people that excessive bench pressing causes more problems than creating a benefit. Shoulder pain, poor posture and neck pain can result from excessive bench pressing. It doesn’t jive with our modern lifestyles which already create excessively rounded shoulders and tight chest muscles.

If you need help finding ways to add more movement into your daily routine, let’s talk. When you are in the office for your next adjustment I can help. I love assisting people in finding ways to better their health. Better movement for health is the goal, I can help you achieve it.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Steven Bourdage DC

Lincolnwood Chiropractor

Bourdage Chiropractic

Bourdage Chiropractic in Lincolnwood

What makes us different? Here at Bourdage Chiropractic we are a family-owned chiropractic office. My kids grew up here. My wife Bing worked in the office full time during our early years. Often our little babies had to come to work with us. Many of our long-time patients remember these days…as do I. We have grown over the years and Bing is not here as much now that those little babies are growing up. But we still maintain the family office feel. Our employees are often with us for a long time. We treat our employees like we do our patients…we are all family. Bourdage Chiropractic in Lincolnwood is the premier chiropractic office on the northside.

People come to our office in pain. They are not themselves when we first meet them. They are hurting, scared, angry and oftentimes frustrated. To be able to heal, you need to feel at home. That is what we strive to provide here at Bourdage Chiropractic. If you feel at home at our office, you will have better results. We are approachable, relaxed, and easy-going. Yet, we are serious when it comes to your health.

We want what is best for you. If for some reason we are not a good fit for you, or we cannot help you with your condition, I will let you know and help you to find the right doctor’s office for you.

Everyone deserves to live life at their fullest potential. Our job is to help maximize that potential. The better health your spine is in, the less pain and the more enjoyment you will have in life.

Convenient Care Options

Research shows that the number one reason people avoid doctor’s offices is because it is so time consuming. Very rarely are you taken on time for your appointment, and a simple appointment can eat away at your whole day’s plans. Who has time for that? Here at Bourdage Chiropractic we respect your time. When you chose our office, I promise we will respect your time, and deliver results. We are meticulous with our schedule, and 95% of the time we run on schedule. Very rarely will you ever wait in our office, and if you do it will not be longer than 15 minutes.

It is also very convenient to communicate with our office. You can request an appointment via our website here, or you can call or text us directly at 773-545-9379. If you prefer email, we’ve got that covered as well: info@bourdagechiropractic.com.

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I look forward to connecting with you and becoming the chiropractic office for you and your family! Bourdage Chiropractic in Lincolnwood is ready to serve you!

Yours in Health,

Dr. Steven Bourdage DC

Lincolnwood Chiropractor

chiropractic is natural

Which do you take better care of, your Car or your Body?

Why so many people are drawn to chiropractic is because chiropractic is natural. Chiropractors don’t add or subtract from your body. We work with you in your current state. We help you to improve your health by optimizing your structure.

The body’s structure dictates how it functions. If you have poor structure in the form of bad posture, tension, arthritis, poor walking pattern and/or subluxations in your spinal column you will not be at 100% health.

You want 100% health, don’t you? I find most everyone answers yes to this question. Health is the new wealth. If you do not have your health, does it really matter how much wealth you have?

Do you maintain your car? Do you change your oil regularly? If your tires are worn out and winter is coming, wouldn’t you change your tires? Do you flush the fluids, change the spark plugs, etc…? Why do you do these things? The answer as you know is to extend the useful life of their automobile. Do you maintain your body as good as you do your car? Do you perform body maintenance at all?

Chiropractic is such an easy and effective way to keep your body running at its peak. It is one of the simplest things you can add into your routine that will pay dividends over the years.

Chiropractic is natural, safe, effective and a cost-effective way to optimize your health!

If you have questions about chiropractic and how you can best start incorporating this great service into your health improvement schedule, please give us a call or email and I would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

Dr. Steven Bourdage DC

Click https://bourdagechiropractic.com/appointment-request/ to request an appointment.

Chiropractic and Exercise

A lot of patients ask me if chiropractic and exercise should be done together? Did you know receiving chiropractic adjustments can help you to make the most of your exercise program. Chiropractic helps exercise, and exercise helps chiropractic. Let me explain more..

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5 Tips for Optimal Health

There is so much information out there about what’s best for your health. Trends will come and go, but there are foundations which everyone should practice. Like building a house, having these foundations in place will give you a solid start. Here are my 5 tips for optimal health.

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Meditate for Better Health

Meditate

I am going to switch gears in this blog post away from chiropractic. Chiropractic is amazing at helping you to build better health. Most of my readers already know this. Another topic that is near and dear to my heart is encouraging people to meditate for better health.

Health is physical, chemical, mental and spiritual all in one. It is beneficial to work on all these areas of your life to have the best health possible. Chiropractic is all about the physical. In the craziness of the world, we could all use some mental health improvements. This is where meditation comes into play. Meditation can also be a spiritual experience, but that is not the topic of this post. I’d like to focus on the mental (and physical) benefits of meditation and then give you some tips on how to implement this in your routine.

This post is not meant to be a how-to article….but more of kick in the butt for you to learn more about it and start doing it. There are plenty of how-to resources available to learn how to start a meditation practice.

There are studies that show mediation can help lower blood pressure, lessen anxiety and symptoms of depression, help you sleep better, lengthen your attention span, and even help control pain. Who doesn’t want these benefits? And it does not take a huge investment of time and it’s free. It’s too good not to do.

The most common barrier I hear from people on why they don’t meditate is because they just can’t do it. They can’t turn their mind off. I have two responses to that.

  1. You are exactly the kind of person who desperately NEEDS to meditate.
  2. The goal is not to turn of your thoughts.

Let’s discuss point #2. The goal of meditation is to be more aware. Aware of your body, aware of your thoughts. Not to turn off your thoughts. Again check out some of the resources out there that help you with the how to.

Here are a few tips for beginners.

  1. Consistency is the key. I personally try to meditate at least 20 minutes every day. If you find you don’t have 20 minutes, even a 3 minute session can be very refreshing. Do it EVERY DAY!
  2. Do it first thing in the morning. I find later in the day my mind is racing with all the other things I need to get done. First thing in the morning I still have control over my day.
  3. Minimize distractions. Don’t have your phone with you, and position yourself in a way that your kids or spouse won’t interrupt. For me, this is also why I do it in the morning, before anyone else is awake.
  4. Give yourself some grace. It takes time to learn. your mind has been thinking for however many years you’ve been alive. It takes time, patience, and repetition. Some days will be better than others.

I hope this helps inspire you to try out meditation for better health. If you have questions please ask!

Check out these popular apps if you prefer a guided meditation or don’t know where to start.

https://www.headspace.com/

https://www.calm.com/

Being Healthy is Hard

Being Healthy is Hard

To be healthy requires you to make healthy decisions. Being healthy is hard. You have to decide to get enough sleep, eat healthier, exercise, fill your mind with positivity, and all the other habits that create health.  Being healthy can also cost you money. Visits the the chiropractor, gym memberships, at home exercise equipment, vitamins, organic food, massages, etc… These things all cost money. I can promise you this though, being sick is a lot harder and more expensive than being healthy.

Any time or money you spend on your health is a wise investment in you! When you are sick or in pain most people are willing to spend whatever time or money it takes to regain their health. Be more proactive and spend it upfront.

The most common time people start to think about their health is once a crisis hits. We’ve all been there, or know someone who has. A person has a heart attack and then decides it’s time to start an exercise program. Or you get diagnoses with Diabetes and then decide it’s time to eat better. Or you throw your back out and can’t move and then decide it’s time to start strengthening your core. All these scenarios are OK, but wouldn’t it make so much more sense to avoid the crisis all together?

Chiropractic should be an integral part of your healthcare plan. Chiropractic can not only help you get out of pain, it helps you stay out of pain, keep you mobile, functioning and full of energy…who doesn’t want that?

Are Chiropractic Adjustments Painful

Are Chiropractic Adjustments Painful

Have you seen videos on YouTube of chiropractic adjustments? Most people have as there are videos out there that have hundreds of thousands of views. If you have never been adjusted, seeing these videos may leave you wondering, Are chiropractic adjustments painful?  Continue reading