February is American Heart Month, which is a great time to think about what you can do to ensure your heart is as healthy as possible. Cardiovascular disease kills as many people in this country every year as cancer, chronic lung disease, and accidents combined, and someone dies of cardiovascular disease every 37 seconds in the United States. Because there are so many preventable factors that are involved in cardiovascular disease, there is a lot that we all can do to reduce our risk. 

December brings us annual holiday cheer, with lights, decorations, gatherings, breaks from school and presents. January brings us sleds, ice fishing and skiing. However, many of us find it more difficult to get going, and a little harder to maintain the good cheer.

Enter to win a shopping spree at the Chequamegon Food Co-op in Ashland. Details in the flyer in the blog post.

Open Enrollment for the 2022 Health Insurance Marketplace (also known as ‘Marketplace’ or ‘Exchange’) has officially begun!  This is an opportunity for many individuals and families to sign up for health insurance for next year or to change plans. Open enrollment typically runs from Nov 1- Dec 15. This year Open enrollment is open through January 15. Plans selected before Dec 15 and earlier will have coverage that starts on Jan 1st, 2021. Plans selected by Jan 15 will start Feb 1 2021.

In addition to the kick off of the holiday season, November is also Diabetes Awareness month. National Diabetes Day, which is November 14, is also the birthday of Dr. Frederick Banting, the discoverer of insulin in 1921.  Prior to his discovery, anyone who developed Type 1 diabetes did not survive. Type 1 diabetes is a condition where the body is no longer able to make insulin so the body completely loses its ability to control its own blood sugar. It usually starts in childhood but can start at any age.

Although pain is the most common reason people see a chiropractor, there are many other reasons why a person should receive chiropractic care. Chiropractic can also improve sports performance, range of motion, mobility, numbness and tingling, posture and chiropractic can help you be overall healthy and well through nutritional and healthy lifestyle counseling. Another very important piece to chiropractic is preventative care. As I mentioned, pain is the most common reason people see me, but often times there is something going on long before symptoms like pain show up. Pain can be the last symptoms of a condition that may have been developing for a while. So it’s important to be checked on a regular basis to make sure everything is functioning well and to catch problems while they are small and easy to correct.

Family Health Center of Marshfield made two maps about Dental Patients Treated by Zip Code in Wisconsin. The yellow dots on these maps represent locations of a Federally Qualified Health Center like NorthLakes. Click to see them and learn more.

Dr. Tenpas, a Chiropractor at our Park Falls Clinic, offers up his advice on maintaining good chiropractic care when engaging in fall activities.