Ridgefieldchiropractic

7 Reasons You Should Start Using Cold and Heat Therapy

dr chris mascetta | ice and heat therapy | chiropractor ridgefield ct

Most people enjoy taking a hot bath or shower or using a heating pad when they are in pain or after a long day or hard workout. Heat feels much better than cold or ice, given the choice most of us would choose to use heat therapy instead of cold therapy. However; both are essential in helping your body heal injuries and help you recover from hard workouts,here’s why you need both: Heat and cold therapy are great ways to help you feel your best and recover from a hard workout, a hard day, or an injury. If you have any questions on how to best use these practices in your life call us today!

Why You Should Ride Your Bike to Work

Ridgefield Chiropractor | Dr Chris Mascetta

The average American spends half of their day sitting, and it’s even worse for those who have a long daily commute. Sitting that often can be detrimental to your health, the good news is that there are ways to combat sitting so much! One great way to help yourself out is riding your bike to work everyday, here’s how: Take charge of your health today and take that bike to and from work, if you have any pain or hesitation about cycling call our office today and we would be happy to help you cycle pain free!

Up Against the Wall: How to Break Up Your Day so You Feel Great

Dr Chris Mascetta | Ridgefield Chiropractor

Think you have to get up at 5 am to be uber-productive? Think again! Sure, some high-performers rise at the crack of dawn and like doing so, but that’s not the only way to enjoy streamlined, simplified, enjoyable days. In this post, we’re going to share a few top tips to break up your days for maximum physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Let’s dive in! The Origin of the 8-Hour Workday Before we talk about productivity, let’s talk about why it’s so hard to attain it in our current, 9-5 workday structure.  Once upon a time, workdays routinely ran 10-12 hours, if not longer. American society was primarily agricultural, and people did have to rise at 4, or 5 am to create enough hours in the day to get everything done.  In 1914, however, Ford Motor Company came along and tipped things on their head. To boost productivity and increase morale, Ford doubled its employees’ wages and reduced the length of their shifts to just eight hours. Why? Here’s how BitBounce describes it: “Ford found that its workers’ productivity increased when they had longer to recuperate. The idea soon caught on, and the rest is history. But as business moved into the information age, a problem emerged: people can’t work productively on intellectual tasks for eight hours straight. In fact, research indicates that during a typical eight hour day, office workers generally spend less than three hours working productively. Hence, the working day is once again poised for massive disruption. Companies, governments, and policy-makers are actively researching ways to increase productivity, and this is generating some surprising statistics.” While this shift was a humane one almost 200 years ago, it holds little relevance to our modern work structure. Today, the majority of U.S. employees work in cubicles rather than assembly lines, and the fact that work structure is that it simply doesn’t take as long.  In 2016, Forbes called the 8-hour workday “outdated and ineffective,” and we tend to agree. The 8-hour workday is not the most productive way to work, but it’s often unavoidable. That said, it pays to get creative about how you structure your day so that you can squeeze as much productivity as possible out of each hour.  4 Smart Ways to Optimize Your Day, so You Feel Your Best Even if you have to be in the office for eight hours a day, you do have some control over how you use those house. Here are our top tips: 1. Identify Your Peak Energy Hours Some people are at their best in terms of focus and productivity in the morning, while others peak in the afternoon. No matter what works for you, it’s critical to identify the times when you feel most alert and active, and then optimize around that. For example, if you know that you’re awake and alert around 9 am, plan to front-load your day with your most demanding tasks. This is a great time to schedule meetings, deep project work and reading, research, and anything else that requires you to give 100% of yourself. That way, you can plan your administrative and less-demanding tasks for later in the day, when your energy dips. 2. Utilize Time-Blocking While “time-blocking” has been around for years, Elon Musk put it on the map a few years ago, when he touted it as his method for incredible productivity.  Time blocking is a pretty simple process. It works like this: you take a look at your day and break your activities down into designated “blocks” of time. Here’s how Forbes describes it: “For example, instead of checking your emails throughout the day, you set a block of time, let’s from 8:00 am to 8:30 am, to clear your inbox and respond to messages. Once your inbox is at zero, you move on to the next task. The key to time blocking is organizing the tasks that need to be completed and then set aside a specific timeframe to focus only on those items. This prevents multitasking and interruptions from dictating your day. As a result, you’ll cross off items from your to-do-list faster, and you’ll be more productive.” Time blocking is critical for a few reasons. First of all, it keeps even the busiest days from sliding into chaos. When you have ample time allotted to everything on your calendar, you know you have space to get it done.  Additionally, it saves you the stress of multi-tasking and project-switching, which is a major killer of productivity. According to recent studies, juggling even three tasks at a time (phone calls, email, and research, for example) results in a loss of 20% of productive time for each task, and a whopping 40% loss of overall productive time, thanks to context switching.  3. Get Away From Your Desk When you have a break, get away from your desk, phone, and all other screens. Instead, grab a book and head outside. Not only will the fresh air energize you and help you beat the mid-afternoon slump, but taking regular breaks from your desk boosts engagement and creativity.  According to a survey conducted by Tork, upwards of 90% of American employees say that taking lunch breaks helps them feel refreshed and ready to get creative when they return to their desk.  4. Take Care of Yourself Good self-care goes beyond time management. To be your most productive self, make sure you’re taking care of your body, as well.  Eat healthy, nutritious meals and snacks throughout the day to prevent blood sugar dips, drink plenty of water (bring a refillable bottle to your desk to stay hydrated), get plenty of exercise, and see your chiropractor regularly. While these seem like small things, they can go a long way to help you feel your best.  Your Most Productive Days Start Here Stop slogging through days where you don’t feel like you get anything done. These simple tips will help you optimize your days and feel your best throughout. Need a bit of

How Your Chiropractor Can Help Relieve Sinus Issues

Sinus Pain Relief with Chiropractic Care | Dr. Chris Mascetta

Sinus issues are no fun, depending on what area you live in and your allergies a lot of sinus sufferers go a decent part of the year dealing with sinus headaches, constant runny noses, and a constant stream of medicine.  The great part is that you have options, great natural options to help with those sinus issues. Seeing a Chiropractor, getting a massage, and using essential oils can really help sinus sufferers! There is good news for sinus sufferers, you can feel better and start to enjoy being outside during allergy season again! Don’t let your sinus problems control your life, call your Chiropractor today! 

6 Ways to Help with Hip Pain while Pregnant

6 ways top help with hip pain while pregnant | Dr. Chris Mascetta

Pregnancy is an amazing and exciting time, however; it can come with some pains and aches.  Most pregnant women will end up with a lot of hip and pelvis pain once they are later in their pregnancy this can lead to uncomfortable sleep, issues walking, and generalized pain. The good news is that there is relief that is safe for both mom and baby! Pregnancy pains are not something you just have to deal with and feel miserable, you and your baby deserve a fun, painless pregnancy. Our office would be happy to help you feel your best as baby grows and after!  

5 Reasons You Need a Sit/Stand Desk

5 reasons you need a stand up desk | Dr. Chris Mascetta

Those of us who work at a desk all know the neck and shoulder pain that can go with it, sitting all day is not only bad for your health, it’s bad for your neck/spine/head. Years ago sitting all day was the only real option for certain kinds of work, the good news is there are several options for being able to sit or stand at work. Taking breaks from sitting during the day is vital, being able to take breaks from sitting and still get work done is not only good for you but your work as well. If your boss isn’t set on getting you a standing desk just let them know of all the benefits it can have on the health of their employees. If you do sit all day and suffer from back or neck pain call our office today and we can help you feel better!