My Wellness Team, Part 2 - Dr. George Keogh

I've long been an advocate of chiropractic care as a means of improving and maintaining health and I believe finding the RIGHT chiropractor for you is especially important. Over the years I've worked with several different chiropractors, but found Dr. George Keogh of Proctor Chiropractic to be the ideal practitioner for me. Dr. George isn't merely a crack you and your on your way type of chiropractor. It's no surprise he was voted "Best Chiropractor" in KING 5's "Best of Western Washington" for 2013. 

At the beginning of each appointment he solicits an initial self-assessment from you about how you feel. He wants to know how you think your body is doing and where you believe potential problems may lie. Since I see him for monthly maintenance care, meaning I don't currently have any acute issues we're trying to correct, these queries can give him quick indicators of where to begin as he performs his physical assessments. I feel he trusts me to know my body well enough to give him a starting point. Then he takes it from there.

A few years back, I was rear ended on my scooter. Since I'd already been seeing Dr. George for a while, I was in a much better place to recover from the soft tissue injuries which occurred. He knew my back's history and was able to develop a plan for getting me back to proper function within a couple of months. And because I trusted his judgement and trusted what chiropractic care could achieve, I knew what to expect from the process. I will always be grateful that my health journey already included routine maintenance chiropractic care when that accident happened.

And those videos I send to EPLifeFit? I also show them to Dr. George. He provides feedback and suggests corrections to make or supportive stretches to for better positioning. After that, he EXPECTS to see another video with improved form. In this way, I've created another feedback loop for assisting me lift as heavy as I can as safely as I can. I like to think of Dr. George as the "structural care" component of my wellness team. 

My Wellness Team, Part 1 - EPLifeFit

One of the features of a Paleo lifestyle is movement. Lifting heavy things and full functional body movements dominate the exercise philosophy. I LOVE to lift weights and as I've gotten wiser my focus shifted toward lifting with proper form. I've subscribed to EPLifeFit, a subsidiary of Everyday Paleo, since February. There I have access to a suggested workout every other day, forums and other valuable information. I don't always do their workouts in the prescribed order. Much depends on which equipment is available to me on a given day and which exercises I feel I can muster up the enthusiasm to give the necessary intensity to. But it's nice to have workouts laid out for me and not need to organize myself to put one together. 

What I personally find most valuable, their "Critique My Movements" feature in the forums. I send in video of my squats, deadlifts and other movements. The trainers review my lifts and make suggestions on how to improve form in order to prevent injuries and lift stronger.

Another feature of EPLifeFit is their videos. You can view videos of each movement suggested in each workout. You can also watch videos for their Advanced Mobility exercises. These exercises go beyond stretches for increasing mobility and preventing injury due to a lack of range of motion in your joints. The exercises usually require a foam roller or a lacrosse ball to perform.

I think if I had specific goals, such as a competition or a specific sport, I would consider a local trainer to work with. But for my general "be healthy" aspirations, EPLifeFit works great.