Archive for December, 2010

As we near the Christmas holiday, I wanted to pose a question, “Does Santa have increased risk of back pain?” Let’s ignore Santa’s age and also that he travels up/down chimneys (which can’t be good for the spine). Instead, let’s look at his physical build and posture.

Santa traditionally has a large belly from eating too many cookies. We see this same posture/physique on a daily basis in our office. Think about a 8 month pregnant woman or a gentleman with a “Budwiser Tumor” — they have a similar weight distribution to Santa. Having more weight in front of the body’s center of gravity increases the forces placed on the low back joints and the muscles that run along the spine. This is part of the reason why pregnant women often have low back pain late in their pregnancy.

When your body gets used to this increased pressure over a long period of time, your posture changes and there is an increased curvature in your low back. We commonly call this sway back or doctors call this an increased lumbar lordosis. This postural change contributes to arthritic formation along the facets, or small joints, of the low back.

Most patients with a large belly probably are not doing as many “core exercises” for their deep abdominal muscles as their fitter colleagues. I’ve never seen Santa at the gym or on his exercise ball. Having decreased strength in the deep muscles of the abdomen increase your risk of injury by creating muscle imbalances that put even more pressure on the joints of the low back.

The evidence doesn’t look too good for Santa. It’s my guess that he is at his chiropractor’s office on a frequency basis and isn’t too good about doing his at-home rehab exercises. Let’s learn from his example and make 2011 a happy and healthy new year!

Most people view pain as plain old pain. It hurts. It is annoying. We try to run away from it. The truth is that there are several kinds of pain, each one stemming from a different source. Understanding these different types of pain can help you understand where your problem is coming from.

Muscle pain is the achy, sore pain that increases with movement or with pressure on the affected muscle. Stretching can create increased pain, but it often feels better afterwards. Walking or exercising can also ease muscle pain, but doing too much can actually increase it and make it feel sharp. Muscle pain is caused by tight, overworked muscles and muscle knots.

Joint pain is also achy, but feels like it is deeper than muscle pain. Many times joint pain hurts as much or even more when we are still, such as sitting at a computer or laying down at night. Instead of being focused over a large, muscular area, it is often focused around a particular bony joint. Joint pain is caused by fracture, degeneration or arthritis.

Nerve pain is sharp, electric, traveling pain that zaps down your arm or leg. It is caused by compression of the nerve coming out of the spine or in the arms/legs. Sometimes it is accompanied by numbness, tingling or weakness due to nerve damage. Most over the counter NSAIDs do not work very well on nerve pain and nothing seems to get rid of it. Sometimes changing positions or streatching can take some of the pressure off, but this type of pain takes a long time to get better.

No matter which type of pain you have, it is important to see you chiropractic physician quickly after the onset of the symptoms to get quick resolution. The longer you have pain, the more damage is done to the area and the more work it will take to get you better!

If you are obese, your health care costs nearly $5,000 more per year if you are a woman and more than $2,500 if you are a man.  That’s what a recent study by the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services said.  If you are overweight, it costs $524 more per year for women and $432 for men.  Add to that the days of lost work, productivity and the inability to do the activities that you love.  Being heavy is starting to get expensive!

For most people losing weight isn’t about a new diet or drug.  It’s about burning more calories than you eat.  The easiest way to get started with a lifestyle change is to start moving.  We help patients do that here at our office on a daily basis.  We teach them how to stretch, how to safely begin and exercise program and even help them get to the point where they can start walking, running or swimming.  If they get injured or start feeling pain, we’re able to help them get back on the exercise wagon.

Once you are moving, you will start feeling better about yourself and your body.  This is the perfect time to make small changes to your diet.  Don’t ever exclude an entire group of foods (such as fat or carbs).  Your body needs a wide variety of nutrients to properly function.  Simply don’t eat the second serving at dinner or skip dessert.  Try switching to whole grain pasta that fills you up faster and has more fiber.  Eat a new veggie or fruit today.  Small changes will make a difference in a few months and are much easier to keep up with than a fad diet.

Even a small weight loss of 5-10 pounds can make a big difference for your health.  If you need help getting started, please give us a call at 224-653-8094 and we’ll schedule you a time to speak with me about your particular needs.  Remember, there is no time like the present.  Start making plans now to make a change in 2011!