Ben Griffes DC

02/16/2024

If Chiropractic is good enough for the champion K.C. Chiefs, it should be good enough for you, too.

Proud to be a Kansas City dynasty! ⭐ Congratulations to the Chiefs on their Super Bowl title win and a huge shout out to CUKC alum, Dr. TJ Hackler, a chiropractor for the Kansas City Chiefs! From training camp to the sidelines on game day, chiropractic has continued to have an impact in professional sports, and CUKC is proud to be a part of that journey.

01/12/2024

This is an amazing demonstration of unfettered imagination.

08/07/2023

Just so you know, pro athletes use chiropractic care to help keep them in optimal shape. Will work for you, too.

Olivia Athens, professional soccer player and midfielder on OL Reign, shares how chiropractic care helps her recover faster and optimize her performance on t...

03/07/2022

March 2022 newsletter

WHAT IS TRUE MEDICINE?

When you think of the word “medicine”, what comes to mind? Childhood cough syrup? A shot in the arm? Bactine or iodine on your scraped knee? Tylenol and ibuprofen? All these are types of medicine, but they are basically man-made concoctions that mask pain and help alleviate dis-ease. What did our ancestors do to stay healthy or use to recover from illness prior to modern medicines? https://www.bengriffesdc.com/march-2022-newsletter/

True medicine is Breath;

March 2022 newsletter - WHAT IS TRUE MEDICINE? When you think of the word “medicine”, what comes to mind? Childhood cough syrup? A shot in the arm? Bactine or iodine on your

02/05/2022

Ne-go-ti-ate: to get over, around or through (something) successfully; to deal with (some matter or affair that requires ability for its successful handling): manage.

So here we are, starting the second month of 2022, and how are your negotiations going so far? I’m talking about negotiating gravity, the pandemic, restrictions, work, play, exercise and diet, to name a few. I am negotiating a new schedule and a new office; for those of you who do not know, I’m am now only working Wednesdays in Tarzana, 7:30 am to 5:30 pm, using a new table and different room in the same office. My Thousand Oaks office moved the end of last month to 390 Lombard St., TO, 91360, and I now have my adjusting tables from Tarzana to help serve you in this office. I’m negotiating through a new set of patterns and a new rhythm.

The negotiations I want to focus on are your habits and patterns. For example

01/08/2022

Happy new year to you. As we greet 2022 with mixed feelings (depending on whether you’re an optimist or pessimist) I want to address one issue that we all have to recognize whether we want to or not, and that is the risk factor. Having dealt with the coronavirus for nearly two years now, we all have heard plenty about risk and ways to reduce it. What has been pushed to the side are the other risk factors that determine the level of our health like heart disease, diabetes, strokes, obesity and cancers.
Unlike the coronavirus, these other threats to our health are lifestyle issues and are within your power to control. They also play a role in the amount of risk you face against the coronavirus. It is quite obvious, and the research supports it, that the healthier you are the lower your risk for contracting the virus, or any virus actually.
The two most powerful strategies you can employ are eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly. Even the smallest improvements in these two areas will 1) strengthen your heart and lungs, 2) help you maintain a healthy weight, 3) increase your energy levels, 4) improve your mood and mental health, and 5) strengthen your immune system. The difficulty we all face each day is the procrastination, inertia and laziness inherent in all of us. If we’re comfortable and happy where we are, then why bother? If you truly want to make a change, then it helps to have a spouse, coach, friend or trainer who will help hold you accountable.
Decide whether it’s important enough for you to want to make a change, and then take a step. If you want any help or encouragement, give me a call and I’ll be glad to help. Reducing your risk for contracting any number of diseases doesn’t have to be dreary or a chore, but actually can be fun and fulfilling. Go ahead, give it a shot and see. What have you got to lose? Cheers, Dr. Ben

11/24/2021

President Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation
http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/thanks.htm

Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on September 28, 1863, urging him to have the "day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival." She explained, "You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest...

10/22/2021

Get out of that chair, now!
We weren’t designed to sit in chairs. As upright, bipedal locomotors, our spines are a flexible chain of boney vertebrae that give us mobility, shock absorption and protection of our spinal cord, and when we’re not moving, we reside best by sitting on the ground with legs crossed or squatting. Our muscles were meant to move; to hunt and gather, to explore and to play. Instead, we sit for hours on chairs, seats or sofas hunting on our computers, driving our horses or playing video games, placing our spines in a “C” curve (C is for compression) instead of moving around with our natural “S” curves (S is for springy).
Since I doubt any of you are going to switch to sitting or squatting on the floor, the next best thing is to get up from sitting as often as you can, if only for a minute or two. Taking a break every 30 to 60 minutes and stretching and moving will help relax your muscles, improve blood flow, improve your thinking, and prevent adaptive shortening, which leads to tight, stiff muscles with restricted range of motion.
The best exercises you can do, easily and quickly, are 1) squats – bending your knees and raising your arms over your head, 5 to 10 times, 2) back extensions – raising your arms above your head, lean slightly backward, and stretch our your back and shoulders for about 30 seconds, 3) the Lunge – placing one leg behind you as far as you can go, bend the front knee to 90 degrees and stretch the front of the back leg (your hip flexors) for 30 seconds each side. There are many more stretches you can do, but these three are a start.
Other alternatives include using a variable standing desk, where you can stand or sit throughout the day. Additionally, set up walk and talk meetings instead of sitting, stand during conference calls or get up from the desk when you’re talking on the phone. Take advantage of every opportunity to get off your butt and move. This will most certainly reduce your risk of creating stiff and sore muscles and joints, help increase your energy levels, and improve your mental cognition (more blood to the brain). For more ideas on how to move, check out the Health & Fitness section on my website: www.bengriffesdc.com. Be well. Dr. Ben

Chiropractor in Tarzana & Thousand Oaks, CA - Visit our skilled Chiropractor in Tarzana & Thousand Oaks, CA. Accepting new appointments. Call today or request an appointment online.

03/25/2020

So, while we all practice social distancing, there is no reason not to stay healthy, or get healthier.
First, stay hydrated. It's easy to stop drinking water if you're just lying around, so stop lying around.
Second, move 30 to 60 minutes every day. Here is my video of suggested exercises you can start doing:
Video link
https://youtu.be/IIhJo0G7G_I

Third, take Vitamin D3. This is important anyway for healthy bone growth, but getting at least 15 minutes of sunshine a day, and eating yogurt and fatty fish are good habits to employ.
Fourth, take Vitamin C, also. It helps boost your immune system, kind of important right now, so aim for 500 to 1,000 mgs a day. Foods high in Vit C are kiwi, red peppers and oranges.
Fifth, reduce your sugar intake. Sitting around being bored lends itself to eating sweet and fatty foods for comfort, so aim to eat more nuts, fruits and vegetables.

If you have any questions about health, fitness or your relative safety during this time, please feel free to contact me. I still am seeing patients, in an extremely sterile office. Dr. Ben

This is the first of a few short videos showing you easy-to-do exercises at home using everyday household items. It is very important that you keep moving du...

03/20/2020

Hi beautiful people,

This is an absolutely strange time we are in right now, but it doesn't have to be scary. Now is the time to rediscover books, board games and talking face to face with your teenager.

Here are some things to know:

Vitamin C and Zinc are two natural products that help boost your immune system, and you want a strong immune system. I strongly recommend them.

I learned today that soap molecules have two parts; a water-loving "head" and a water-hating "tail", so when you use soap with water, half dissolves with the water while the other half surrounds the fat, oil, dirt, bacteria, etc, and removes those molecules from the surface of your skin. So soap doesn't kill the bacteria or oil or dirt, it removes it. This is why it's important to wash your hands for 20 seconds; time enough to remove all foreign particles. Also, in the case of viruses and other little nasties, the soap's chemical make-up easily destroys the thin, lipid membrane of the virus, so it doesn't have a chance of surviving against soap and water. Much, much better than hand sanitizer.

Maintain a routine while quarantined at home. If you exercise at the gym, workout in the house or outside. (Watch for an upcoming video on how to exercise at home, using what you have) Go for walks, just stay six feet from other people who are not your family. If you're working from home, block out distractions and don't be in the same room as your refrigerator. Call up friends and family you haven't seen in awhile. Maintain some social contact, even if it is by phone. You can also use Zoom or Facetime and see the other person on your computer.

It's not the end of the world, it's just a major hiccup in our normal routine of life; it will resolve itself, hopefully in the next month or so.

Be patient, gracious, forgiving and understanding. Stay calm and don't panic. Be the clock in the thunderstorm.

Stay healthy, my friends,

Dr. Ben

05/22/2019

I have decided to ride 500 miles to raise awareness for children's cancer research and to raise $500 as well. The money raised has already exceeded $500, so I've changed it to $1000. That was the easy part. I don't usually ride beyond 50 miles in a week, so averaging 125 miles for the four weeks in June is going to be a push, but I said I would ride to bring awareness about children's cancer, so I'm going to give it my best shot. You may visit https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/BenjaminGriffes to read my profile and donate if you wish. Or join up and ride, too. I am riding for Grayson Miller, a 7 year old with leukemia, and for two great men who succumbed to cancer in the past 3 years - Steve Schoenbaum and Eric Webster. My challenge to you today is whether you are comfortable where you're at now, and is there anything - a goal, a cause, a challenge that would push you and take you out of your comfort zone? Find something bigger than yourself; look for the needs within your community and ask if there is something you could do to help make things better; and what about you and the way you take care of yourself and others? Can you do better? Today is the day, this is the place and you're the one.

Benjamin Griffes is riding in the Great Cycle Challenge this June to fight kids' cancer! Please sponsor Benjamin and show your support to help these kids beat this terrible disease. CLICK to view Benjamin's fundraising page!