Page 11 - Family Wellness - Spring/Summer 2016

BOTOX OR BED?
Migraines often leave victims bedridden.
But what if a little BOTOX® is just the thing you need to battle the pain? According to Dr. Rizkalla, BOTOX® is a therapeutic muscle- relaxing agent that works at motor nerve endings (nerves that lead to muscles). It’s in
a class of drugs called neurotoxins. Normally your brain sends electrical messages to your muscles so that they can contract and move. The electrical message is then transmitted to the muscle by a substance called acetylcholine. BOTOX® works to block the release of acetylcholine and, as a result, the muscle doesn’t receive the message to contract. This means that the muscle spasms stop or are greatly reduced after using BOTOX®, providing predictable and reliable relief from symptoms.
Since 2010, the FDA has also approved BOTOX® to prevent headaches in adults with chronic migraines. Chronic migraines are defined as having a history of migraine and headaches on most days of the month. If your headaches are pulsating or throbbing on one side of your head, are debilitating, accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light or sound, you could be battling migraines.
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STUDY SMARTER
Successful habits to start right now
Some students use flashcards, some re- write their notes, and others simply pay attention in class. Here are a few tips for surefire studying habits every student can benefit from.
1 Go With the Group
Staring at a textbook and memorizing sentences may lead you to a better test
score, but all students are better off
applying what they are reading by testing their knowledge. Dr. Michael Pisarov,
D.C., a Chiropractic Sports Practitioner at Performance, says when tackling large blocks of information, a discussion or even trying to teach the information to someone else can be extremely helpful. No group? No worries. He says you can start with a blank piece of paper, or even just try aloud to explain what you are studying to yourself, and very quickly you’ll see what information you know best.
2 Crunch-Time Calendar Cramming, typically a phenomenon that occurs during final exams, increases anxiety and leads to lack of confidence and second- guessing. Dr. Pismarov has a simple tip
every student can implement to avoid being crushed during cram time. For finals, create
a calendar, and schedule the right amount
of study time per subject. In many cases, a student’s time is focused on the final they have first, thus neglecting their other classes. Staying on a schedule, including adequate downtime for your brain to unwind, will allow you to better process the information.
3 Summer Savior
Summer months and school breaks are crucial for students to re-fuel, but too much slacking makes back-to-school that much harder. According to our guru, every student’s saving grace is a good book. Keeping up reading skills helps increase comprehension and reading speed; both are imperative to maintaining good study habits.
SEAFOOD = BRAINFOOD
Oil-rich fish, those contain- ing the Omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, have been proven to be beneficial for brain develop- ment. Research shows these
fatty acids help improve cognitive function and may facilitate progress in social and ver- bal skills in young kids. Some sound advice from Dr. Susann Clothier, chiropractor at Performance, is to eat seafood that is wild and not farmed. Salmon is her go-to choice.
She recommends eating fish once
a week, baked
or broiled, not fried, for a healthy meal choice.
BOTOX®
BEYOND BEAUTY
WHILE BOTOX® IS BEST KNOWN FOR FREEZING WRINKLES, IT’S ALSO ONE OF DR. RIZKALLA’S FA- VORITE TREATMENTS FOR CHRONIC MIGRAINES.
A PLUS IS THAT IT’S COV-
ERED BY MOST INSURANCE
PLANS. MIGRAINE SUFFER-
ERS OFTEN ARE LIVING LOWER THAN THEIR OPTIMAL QUALITY OF LIFE. MIGRAINES CAN LEAD TO MISSED WORK, MISSED LIFE EVENTS, AND EVEN DAYS AT A TIME SITTING ALONE IN A DARK, QUIET ROOM. DR. RIZKALLA CAN ATTEST TO BOTOX TREATMENTS GIVING HIS PATIENTS THEIR LIVES BACK. IF TRADITIONAL THERAPY HASN’T HELPED, HE SUGGESTS SPEAKING
TO YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT THE CRITERIA FOR CHRONIC MIGRAINES AND WHETHER YOU’RE A CANDIDATE FOR BOTOX TREATMENTS.
Spring/Summer 2016
We think of Botox for smooth- ing wrinkles, but it 's also effective in treating chronic migraines.