Dr. Kirk James

I just finished up a 10 day green smoothie juice cleanse. I have never done something like that but I thought I would try it. Basically it is kale, spinich and mixed greens blended down then you add various friuts into it, kind of like a Jamba Juice. It will make enough for all day and I can snack on nuts, friuts and I would do a hard boiled egg for some more protein. 10 days of that. First day was the hardest becasue I did not snack and that day was the hardest. After ...that it was kind of easy. Lost 15 pounds in 10 days. Funny thing is that I tried coffee on the 11th day and was totally jittery. So I am still doing the smoothies for breakfast and lunch and then I will have a regular dinner. The other thing that I have noticed is that I sleep so much better. It is more of a deep sleep than what I used to do which is light and wake up at every sound outside my house. See more

Everyone is looking down these days, mostly because of our phones. Your head weighs about 12 lbs. Look at how much weight that stick with a bowling ball on it takes when you look down just 30 degrees. Most are looking down at a 45 or more. That will start to wear out the discs in the neck by placing too much stress in the front of the discs. Then people will start getting upper back and shoulder tightness and soreness then leads to numbness and tingling into the arms. We can help you get back to how you were mechanically meant ot be which will lead to less pain and better quality of life. This is reversable in the early stages, long term is not a good outcome. Ask me when you are in next time about this and what to do for you or your family.

My daughter is 11. In a blink she will be 21. Slow down and enjoy what is in front of you.

I hope to be doing this when I am that age. Staying healthy with eating right, sleep and exercise is what will help to let you be able to do this. Another major step is to get adjusted so as to keep your spine working correctly and keep the nervous system working at optimum levels. I am getting mine adjusted weekly. How about you?

Allergies, they are starting up again with all of this blooming of the trees and flowers (in Feb!!) Sneezing and coughing are soon to follow. Then the neck and upper back pain will start. Your traps and upper back muscles will be tight and start causing neck pain and headaches. All this from a pretty tree and flower bloom!! Take care of yourself, sleep, eat healthier and get an adjustment to help your body work better and be in less pain.

I did something similar to this when I was a kid and it shot me across the room. Plus it blew the old time circuit breaker. I wonder why my mother did not put the fact that I had a fan motor in my room with two bare wires next to the outlet and a breaker being blown. Make yourself a great weekend.

I treated a 11 year old girl with migraine headaches the other day. And when I say migraines, she had MIGRAINES, dark room, miss school, throwing up crying, just terrible. I have been adjusting her for the past 2 years. Her mother brought her in because she has taken her everywhere and all the test and scans showed really nothing so they medicated her. But her mother told me her daughter was just a zombie and she was 9 years old at that time, she did not want to keep her on meds. So she comes in and I find that her upper cervical is the problem and after two to three visits, the migraines were gone, and now I treat her about once every three to four months for a "tune up". I love it when she comes in because she is so happy and is really funny. I love my job because of these types of success stories.

Since Thanksgiving is over, now its time to think about Christmas. What I am noticing is that EVERYONE and their mother is driving crazy. With the wet weather, driving is going to be hazardous. Slow down a bit, know that other people are crazy drivers (not you, of course) and watch out. You don't want to spend Christmas break with a sore neck and back from an auto accident. If you do get in an accident, get to someone who specializes in soft tissue injuries, like me. Chiro's have so much training in these types of injuries, it is silly not to start here. If something is totally out of the realm of chiropractic care, then I will refer out to a specialist. But get yourself treated. And be careful out there.....

Thanksgiving is a great time for family and food. But here are some things to think about. A slice of pecan pie is about 500 calories. That means about 45 minutes of moderate treadmill!! Or 1 cup of stuffing, which is 330 calories, that is about 25 minutes of moderate treadmill. A total Thanksgiving dinner is about 2500 calories. Go eat a have fun, just don't over do it. Have smaller portions so you can have it and enjoy it and not stress about it.

We had a few questions at the office about health insurance. And it seems it is mostly with detectable and co-pays. This will be important with the changes in the Affordable Care Act and open enrollment right now. You pay a monthly premium to have the insurance. But a deductible is the amount you have to pay out of your pocket before the insurance will pay anything to the doctors office. A co-pay is an amount that you pay every visit, weather the deductible is met or not.... When you look at what your insurance plan you are thinking of getting, the cheapest plan to pay for might have a very high deductible (I have a $4000.00 deductible. That means if I go to a doctors office or an ER, I have to pay out of my pocket 4000.00 before the insurance will cover anything.) So look at that cheap plan and see what it is. It might be that the next plan up which may cost slightly more per month but a lower deductible. If you go to the doctor several times per year, you might want to lower your deductible. If you don't go at all, then a higher one might be good for you. One more thing, deductibles start over again in January (most do). See more

Its getting cold and rain is in the forecast. That's great but it seems that every year, people will have neck and trapezius muscle pain (upper back) that will come on with little or no warning. Every year this happens at this time. Why? I think it has to do with the cold weather which makes the muscles tighten up and stay tight. Then at night we sleep with a cold room or a window open which makes it even colder. And unless you sleep with the covers over your head, the ...cold air hits the neck and upper back muscles making them tight. So what do you do to minimize the risk or waking up with a stiff neck ? Keep warm, scarf around the neck or a sweatshirt with a hood to keep the cold off. And strengthen the muscles in the neck and upper back, stretch the area daily and I find that the patients that stay regularly adjusted have less of a problem with neck and upper back problems. See more