If you're looking for the best overall fitness tracker, look no further. The Garmin Vivosmart is currently as good as it gets for activity trackers. I've tried the Fitbit Charge, Fitbit Charge HR, Misfit Shine, Garmin Vivofit 2, Mio Alpha 2, Mio Fuse and now have held onto the Garmin Vivosmart.

The others came close, but possessed certain flaws that turned out to be deal breakers for me. The Misfit Shine came in at second place. It's comfortable, simple and records just about any activity including sleep. The deal breaker: the circular tracker has the ability to fit into a wristband, pendant or shoe fob. Unfortunately, it comes out of the wristband quite easily and can easily be lost.

The Fitbit Charge and Charge HR had great potential. The app was the most fun to use out of the bunch and it tracks extra stats like stairs climbed and constant heart rate (with the HR version). However, the screen scratches easily, the band is rather wide and you're not able to shower or swim with it on.

The Mio Alpha 2 and Fuse are very convenient heart rate monitors but poor fitness trackers. The wrist based heart rate monitor worked very well even at high activity levels and with weight lifting. The Fuse tracks daily activity fairly well but currently misses out on sleep tracking. The app is rather useless and basic. Both are bulky units and thus usually sat on my desk until I was ready to go to the gym. If you're looking for a workout tracker they're great, but if you want a daily activity and sleep tracker I'd look elsewhere.

Now to the Garmin products. I really wanted to love the Vivofit 2. It has a battery life of over a year, is waterproof, has an always on screen and features an innovative clasp which should stay on through any activity. The device, unfortunately, sits rather high on your wrist and isn't quite as streamlined as something like the Shine or Fitbit. While at the gym or working on patients I noticed it would press very hard into my wrist because of that.

The Vivosmart does much more than Vivofit 2 while also shedding the bulk. The Vivosmart is thinner and sits lower on your wrist. I noticed right away that it was much more comfortable than the Vivofit 2. The Vivosmart receives smartphone notifications including texts, email, Facebook and Twitter. The Fitbit Charge only notifies of calls. The Vivosmart has less battery life than the Vivofit 2 and Misfit Shine but I've noticed better life (8 days) than the Fitbit or Mio units. The "move bar" gets you off your butt by vibrating if you're sitting too long. The device also vibrates for notifications and with the alarm clock feature. The touch screen on the Vivosmart works flawlessly even in the shower and blows away the lousy touch screen of the Mio Fuse. The Garmin sleep tracking graph isn't quite as nice as Misfit but I think it's more detailed and useful compared to Fitbit. The Garmin Connect app isn't nearly as pretty as Misfit or as socially connected as Fitbit, but all in all it gives me the information I'd like to know.

Best of the bunch: Garmin Vivosmart

Pros: Waterproof. Smartphone notifications. Comfortable. Good battery life. Sleep tracking. Vibrating alarm clock.

Cons: Lack of strong social network. Screen not always on.

In the month of June, refer the most friends and family to ChiroElite Chiropractic of Altoona WI and win! We've been open just a year and have already changed hundreds of lives in the Chippewa Valley community. You've let us know how much that means by voting us best chiropractor two times in less than a year! To thank our great patients, Dr. Pellatt is giving away a great little activity tracker: the Misfit Shine. It tracks your steps, exercises, sleep, food consumption and so much more! The Shine is completely waterproof and lasts over six months on a single charge. It's one of Dr. Tom's favorites and he's sure you'll love it as well. So refer friends, family and any strangers you meet to ChiroElite to increase your chances of winning this great little activity and sleep tracker.

Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest

ChiroElite Chiropractic and Dr Pellatt have once again been ranked. This time, Best of Wisconsin has listed us as the Winner in the chiropractor category for Eau Claire. This is a great honor being voted number one out of all the Eau Claire WI chiropractors out there. We'll keep doing what we're doing and getting patients better quickly. Hopefully you guys keep voting us best. Thanks to all!!

http://www.votedbestofwisconsin.com/eau-claire.html

During the offseason, Predators owner Matt Risen and Dr. Pellatt of ChiroElite Chiropractic in Altoona, WI agreed to have sports chiropractic services available to the athletes before practice and home games at Carson Park. The positive outcome of this is twofold. The football players will have the ability to treat their aches, pains and other health conditions with a completely natural from of health care known as chiropractic. Secondly, with less problems slowing them down, the players will be able to perform at a higher level on the field. We look forward to providing this competitive edge to the Chippewa Valley Predator Football Team and wish them good luck this season.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ 

Good luck tonight Badgers! #OnWisconsin

Dr. Pellatt is now a Certified Medical Examiner for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. If you're a CDL driver or motor carrier, DOT physicals are required every two years or even sooner depending on health conditions. Stay safe and keep your drivers on the road by making sure they stay up to date. 

Our DOT Physicals Consist of:

• Urine Analysis - to check blood sugar levels and/or detect blood in urine 
• Vision Screening
• Blood pressure check and physical examination

Click on the button below or call 715.832.9725 to schedule your Department of Transportation Physical Examination

ChiroElite Chiropractic is having a new patient challenge/competition: Core Strength. A good majority of patients and public alike sit for most of their work day. Sitting has been labeled the new smoking. It not only tightens muscles in your back and legs but also prevents many muscles from being used. This tightness and weakening can wreak havoc on your back, SI joints and even cause issues such as sciatica and digestive problems. 

Over the years I've done quite a bit of core strengthening both at the gym and in my living room. Many exercises require equipment of some sort but there are also quite a few which don't need anything. The latter just call for yourself and a soft surface incase you lose your balance and take a tumble. However, to really be able to do a full assortment of exercises,  a few basic pieces of equipment are handy to have. This includes a yoga/exercise mat, swiss ball, stabilizer platform and the optional kettle bell weight.

Here are the three core challenge exercises we're doing at the clinic:

Stand on one leg. Reach down with both hands to touch the floor, keeping the weighted leg straight. Kick your other leg straight behind you so you make a horizontal line with the ground from head to toe. Come back up and repeat a total of 15 times per side.

Standing on an uneven surface, stabilizer platform or bosu ball; bend your knees as far as you can into a seated squat position. Be sure to keep your back straight by looking up the entire time. Slowly go back to standing and repeat a total of 15 times.

Using a yoga mat and swiss ball, climb onto the ball with your feet until you can securing wrap them around the ball to stabilize yourself. Keep your arms extended at all times and look forward to keep your back straight. Bring your knees to your chest as far as you can, being sure your pelvis doesn't rock down or back while do so. Extend back out and do 20 times total.

Our challenge comprises a before and after tally. Counting how many floor touches, squats and tucks patients can do at day one and comparing the improvement at day 30. I encourage everyone to do the same and see how much stronger and more balanced you can become.

Yours in Health,

Dr. T

Remy is the latest addition to the staff here at ChiroElite Chiropractic in Altoona, WI. He jumped right into action on his first day; greeting patients and giving plenty of love with the occasional paper shred when he felt the need. Currently his schedule is Tuesday and Thursday but he is already showing full-time employment potential.

Remy was born December 11 to a Black Lab/German Shepherd female and purebred Black Lab male. There were nine in the litter and he was the first one born. Early on, he showed his leadership skills by masterminding an escape with all his siblings from their pen only to be stopped by the breeder as he led them down the hallway. 

Stop by for an adjustment and say hi to Remy while you're here!

ChiroElite Chiropractic Website

Facebook

Google+

"You are STRONGER than you realize. You are more capable than you can imagine."

The New York Times analysis of 2009 death statistics showed:

• For the first time ever in the US, more people were killed by drugs than motor vehicle accidents
• 37,485 people died from drugs, a rate fueled by overdoses on prescription pain and anxiety medications, versus 36,284 from traffic accidents
• Drug fatalities more than doubled among teens and young adults between 2000 and 2008, and more than tripled among people aged 50 to 69

These facts are based off of legal prescription drug statistics. An estimated 450,000 preventable medication-related adverse events occur in the U.S. every year. The costs of adverse drug reactions to society are more than $136 billion annually — greater than the total cost of cardiovascular or diabetic care. Looking over records from 1976 to 2006, researchers found 62 million death certificates related to prescription drugs, almost a quarter-million of these deaths were coded as having occurred in a hospital setting due to medication errors. How is this considered normal? -Jeff Roberts, www.collective-evolution.com

www.chiro-elite.com