Archive for January, 2011
Do you suffer from Text Neck?
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011As we all become more dependent on hand-held electronics such as cell phones, iPads and laptops, we are starting to see more and more injuries in the neck, shoulders and arms in chiropractic offices. It isn’t the devices that are hurting us, but instead the posture and ergonomics that cause us to overuse the muscles along the back of our neck and into our shoulder blades as well as the muscles across the front of our chest.
One of my colleagues, Dr. Amy Gabrowski, produced a short video on You Tube that describes some of the common posture pitfalls along with a few stretches to help you stay loose as you text. If you continue to have pain for more than two weeks after making these posture changes and stretching, please call our office. You might need some hands-on care to get you back to 100%!
Do you do the “old man shuffle” in the morning?
Tuesday, January 18th, 2011
Is it my bed? Is it my pillow? Why am I so stiff in the morning? These are some of the most common questions that I hear my patients asking during treatment at my office. They feel the stiffest in the morning, when getting out of bed, and then start to loosen up as the day goes on. Often a patient will even demonstrate their bent over walk to the bathroom in the morning, which I affectionately call the “old man shuffle,” in the treatment room.
So why are we so tight in the morning? Most of the time, it isn’t your bed or pillow that is making you stiff. Instead, there are changes occurring in your muscles, joints and spinal discs overnight as your body tries to heal from injuries.
One of the most common changes that happens in your muscles is the formation of “fuzz” or adhesions, in between the fibers of injured muscles as they try to heal at night. This occurs after an acute muscle injury (such as a sprain/strain) or after repetitive use injuries from having some muscles too tight and other muscles too weak. If these adhesions form in your muscles overnight, you feel tight and sore in the morning as you try to move and end of tearing some of the fibers. There really is no way to prevent this type of tightness except to keep your muscles properly balanced and to stretch on a regular basis.
If you feel like the stiffness is more in your joints and not in your muscles, you likely have some osteoarthritis causing you trouble. Arthritic joints can become swollen and stiff when they are not in motion — such as when you are sleeping. Because of fluid build-up, they joints stay stiff when you get up in the morning and often work themselves loose within a few steps. To prevent this type of tightness, try stretching before bed and also first thing in the morning to get your circulation going.
Spinal discs can also cause pain and stiffness in the morning. Since these discs are soft and squishy, they soak up extra fluid and moisture during the night when your spine is not under the compressive loads of gravity. When you stand up in the morning, gravity kicks back in and compresses all of the discs in your neck and back at once — causing stiffness, pain or even radiating pain down an arm or leg if there is disc disease present. If you have this type of morning discomfort, you must first treat the disc disease before you can expect the pain to go away. Most often, disc disease can be treated with Flexion/Distraction Chiropractic Manipulation, soft tissue manual therapies and therapeutic exercise to strengthen the muscles supporting the discs.
The next time you have to do the “old man shuffle” in the morning, try to figure out where your problem is coming from and see if you can get some relief by following the suggestions above. If you have any questions or seem to have morning stiffness on a frequent basis, feel free to ask questions by emailing me at drerin@ducatchiropractic.com.
Taking More Medications Is Not The Answer
Wednesday, January 12th, 2011Instead of my own weekly words of wisdom, I’ve decided to reprint an article by Dr. Patrick Massey that I read in the 01/10/2011 issue of the Daily Herald. See view the original article online, click here.
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Last week, I read an interesting article about health care. The author believed the problems with health care, including rising costs and the increased incidence of many illnesses are because we have become complacent.
Although most Americans do not like the idea of having illness, they feel helpless because they do not know what to do other than taking more and more medications.
The author believed that we need a new American revolution. I agree.
Every year, we throw billions of dollars into the medical system and people are less healthy now than one or two generations ago. Medical providers have come to believe that every diagnosis must be treated with a medication and that medications are the only real solution to illness.
Over the past 30 years, hundreds of new medications are used earlier in the illness process and yet, Americans are increasingly less healthy. Most of us are overweight, have too much stress, too little sleep, eat all the wrong foods and do not exercise enough. We do not need more medications, but a new understanding, a new approach.
Medications save lives, but rarely cure. Rather than address the root causes of our illnesses, the answer from the medical community is more medications, surgery and other therapies. High cholesterol is not fixed with statin drugs. High blood pressure does not go away with diuretics. Cardiac bypass does not cure coronary heart disease. These are all band-aids that require continuous use of the medical system.
We, independent and self-reliant Americans, have quietly become conditioned to believe that our health is incontrovertibly bound to the medical system.
Who is responsible for this state of affairs? Well, to a great extent, the current health system is responsible. It has become a supporter and enabler for the idea of living with illness rather than trying to achieve optimal health.
Truth be told, medical professionals including physicians, are taught almost nothing about health. They learn about pathology, anatomy, physiology and pharmacology. How to stay healthy is an afterthought. However, it is us who are our greatest impediments to health. We have come to accept our illnesses as the result of poor genes, bad luck and growing old. It simply is not true.
We need a grass-roots, old-fashioned American Revolution for health. This means that each of us takes complete responsibility for our own health and make those lifestyle changes that will allow us to become healthy.
• Patrick B. Massey, M.D., Ph.D is medical director for complementary and alternative medicine for the Alexian Brothers Hospital Network.
Read more: http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110109/entlife/701109997/#ixzz1ArAvD78n
Why do my calves and hamstrings get so tight?
Tuesday, January 4th, 2011
The most commonly tight areas in the American population are the gastrocnemius and hamstring muscles, which run along the backside of your calf and thigh. What’s interesting is that these muscles are tight in children, sedentary adults, high school athletes and ultra-marathoners. It doesn’t seem to matter how “in-shape” you are — most of us get tight in this particular area. Tightness in the calves and thighs have been linked to back, hip, knee, ankle and foot problems. Because of this association, there has been a lot of research on why we tend to get tight in these muscles.
The first cause that was discovered was that both the calf muscle and hamstring muscles are in a shortened position when we sit. Since the hours that we sit has been increasing every decade here in the U.S., it makes sense that these muscles will get tight over time.
A second cause of tight hamstrings and calves is that most people (including athletes) have very weak gluteus maximus (butt) muscles. When you walk or run, your body should use the gluteus maximus to extend the leg backwards. If this muscle is weak, your body will subsitute hamstring and calf muscles — causing them to be overused and become tightened.
Lastly, people who wear heels and/or cowboy boots overuse their hamstrings and calf muscles every time they take a step. Over time, this also causes the muscles to be overused and become tightened.
Once your calves and hamstrings become tight, it is important to start stretching these muscles right away. Research shows that if these muscles stay tight for 2 weeks or longer, manual therapy such as Graston Technique, Deep Tissue Massage or PIR assisted stretching along with therapeutic exercise is required to gain your flexibility again. This is because the body will start to create adhesions or scar tissue in the overused muscle, stopping you from being able to stretch properly.
If you have back, thigh, knee, ankle or foot pain and think it may be coming from your tight hamstrings or calves, feel free to email me at drerin@ducatchiropractic.com and I’ll be glad to help you start on your journey to better flexibility.