Category — Chiropractic

I specialize in balancing the spine and body.  That’s my job.  Drop by our office… you relax, and I’ll do the work.  But what about your life?  Is it balanced?  Are you putting forth the effort to have a balanced life?  What are you doing to help establish or maintain a healthy and balanced life?

On July 17th and 18th I had the privilege of attending an amazing seminar in Philadelphia, PA.  It was called “The Y-Files”… because the instructor wanted us to be able to ask “Why?” and then figure out the answers to many common ailments that plague humanity.  The course was led by Dr. John Donofrio, a chiropractor with extensive study in neurology.  The seminar was more of a workshop that allowed a good amount of interaction with the instructor.

Some of the topics we covered were:

• Brain Hemisphericity
• Vitamins/Supplementation/Natural Remedies
• The Causes of Leaky Gut Syndrome and Antibiotics
• Risk Factors For Disease
• The Cardiovascular System, Cholesterol, Blood Pressure
• Children’s Health, ADHD, Autism
• Vaccines
• Diabetes
• Alzheimer’s
• Pharmaceutical Deception
• Nanotechnology Chemicals
• Parkinson’s
• Infections
• Diet and Exercise
• Laser Techniques

The information covered by Dr. Donofrio really stretched me as a chiropractor.  He explained the “big picture” concept of the subluxation – expanding the concept to include imbalances in the brain.  I was able to learn quite a bit and continue to study more on the topics he covered.

Don’t be surprised if when I see you on your next visit, I may perform a new 1-minute test to check for brain imbalance, which will help me focus my care and help with your improvement.  I may also recommend a new nutritional protocol to support the care we are providing.  If you are interested in more, feel free to ask the next time you’re in for a visit!

This past weekend, I completed a thought-provoking 12-hour continuing education seminar.  The seminar was on Modern Diagnosis, Treatment & Documentation.  The course was taught by KSJ Murkowski, a prominent chiropractic doctor who is known for his expertise in his field.

Dr. Murkowski instructed our small class on the latest technology and protocols to be used during patient evaluation.  He also covered different modern documentation procedures.  I have already been able to apply several new chiropractic techniques and procedures that I gained from the seminar.

The seminar featured a lecture and hands-on demonstration of functional protocols, documentation information, and new research.  The practical nature of the seminar enabled me to immediately apply these new protocols to our wellness center.

Have you ever wondered why some physical problems never seem to get better? Perhaps you have an injury that has become “chronic”.    Maybe it’s a “bad” back… or a stiff neck… or a sore shoulder.  Whatever it is, you know that something’s wrong.  You should be feeling better by now.  You would love to get out and enjoy the Spring weather.  Or start going to the gym.  Or begin that new exercise class.But you hurt too much.  So why isn’t your body healing normally?  Some days you feel like there’s an improvement, but then the pain is back again.  Why?

I put together the simple diagram at the top of this post to help you understand why. The diagram describes a concept called “The Vicious Cycle of Injury or Trauma”.  This diagram explains the process of an injury and the reasons why you may not be healing properly.

The top of the diagram is where things begin.  Your injury may be mild, severe, or somewhere in between.  But whatever your injury, cellular death occurs at the tissue level.  Muscle fibers tear, ligaments stretch, discs bulge, etc.

Going clockwise, the next circle shows that your injury results in pain, inflammation, and spasm:

• Pain is your body’s “alarm system” letting you know that your body has passed it’s limit.
• Inflammation is your body’s response to the damaged tissue.  Inflammation is the beginning of the healing process.
• Spasm (uncontrolled muscle tightening) is your body’s way of putting a “natural splint” on the area to prevent further injury.

Next you suffer a loss of range of motion.  Examples of how this could manifest include:

• Low back stiffness in the morning.
• A tight neck while in the car.
• An inability to reach behind yourself and scratch your back.

Any of your joints can suffer a loss of motion if there’s local swelling, pain, or muscle spasm. When you have a loss of normal motion for some time, two things happen:

• Your muscles will shrink and weaken (atrophy).
• Adhesions (tough patch-up tissue) will develop in and around the injured area.

Unfortunately, chronic pain results in fatty infiltration into the supporting muscles.  You can get a sense of this by inspecting a cheap cut of meat.  The marbling of fat is the “fatty infiltration” into the muscle.  The tough gristle areas are the adhesions that can develop in and around your muscles.

When you suffer a loss of motion, adhesions and spasm, your normal blood flow will be restricted.  Limited blood flow means that your injured site is receiving less oxygen and less nutrition than normal.  This leads to more tissue death, and the cycle starts all over again.

So how can you get out of this cycle if you feel you’re trapped?

It all starts with coming in to our center for a visit.  After a thorough exam, I will develop a reasonable wellness strategy to help you break the cycle.  Always remember that physical problems can be best fixed with physical solutions.  It can include:

• Chiropractic care
• Massage therapy techniques
• Trigger point therapy
• Laser therapy
• Weight loss techniqes
• Rehabilitative exercises

Please understand that we can’t make you heal, but we can ensure that as you heal, you’ll heal more perfectly.

In your care, we’ll use natural techniques to “attack” each area of the Vicious Cycle.  We have found that the combination of natural therapies works the best to break the vicious cycle because we target multiple points of the cycle at once.

With the help of natural therapies we can:

• Reduce your pain, inflammation and spasm
• Improve your range of motion
• Restore muscle strength and endurance
• Reduce adhesions and trigger points
• Improve blood flow to your tissues

If you’re in pain due to a big or little injury, don’t ignore the problem.  It is critical that healing start as soon as possible.  By getting treatment early, you can prevent abnormal chronic pain patterns from taking root.

With natural therapies you can finally be free of your pain and be the best you can be.

We are pleased to announce the introduction the Posture Pump – Back Model 2000.  This device is designed to be used at home to help relieve back pain and stiffness.  It is painless and easy to use and can physically decompress, shape, and lubricate your spine.   It is portable and can be used at home, in the office, or when traveling.

In February we first introduced the Posture Pump – Neck Model 1000 for the neck.  (For more information on the Neck Model 1000 click here.)

Since then we have had great results with several clients.  So I started exploring the Back Model 2000 and was very impressed with the research behind the product.

This Posture Pump – Back Model 2000 device provides effective relief and lasting correction for:

• Acute back pain
• Chronic back pain
• Sciatica
• Disc bulges
• Disc herniations
• Slouching posture

You can learn more on the Posture Pump web site by clicking here.

You will also be happy to know that both models of the Posture Pump are covered 100% by most major medical insurance if prescribed by a licensed chiropractic doctor.

Please let us know if you are interested and we will schedule a time for a quick evaluation to see if you are a good candidate to for Posture Pump therapy.

From the American Chiropractic Association (ACA)…

Although many uncertainties remain – it remains entirely possible, perhaps likely, that Congress will soon enact into law a comprehensive legislative package of health care reforms.

Should this occur, it is critical for your welfare and that of your family, that Congress does the following:

1. Ensure that any new legislation includes provisions that place a heavy emphasis on “wellness” and “prevention” of disease – and thus substantially improves on the deficient “sick care” oriented system that now exists.

2. Ensure that you have fair, unimpeded and direct access to essential chiropractic health care services as an accessible “alternative” to routine forms of covered care provided by insurance companies.

3. Ensure that your freedom to choose the individual and type of doctor of your choice is guaranteed without discrimination, including your chiropractic physician.

4. Ensure that “patient friendly” provisions, including important non-discrimination provisions, are retained or inserted in any bill Congress enacts into law.

5. Ensure that the special privilege (anti-trust provisions) that allows health insurance companies to conspire together in order to fix prices and dominate markets to the detriment of patients and providers is repealed.

It is urgent you TAKE ACTION NOW to persuade Congress to protect your rights and interests when they finalize health reform legislation.  Accordingly, PLEASE GO HERE in order to SEND A STRONG AND IMMEDIATE MESSAGE TO CONGRESS regarding your concerns.

Please do not delay – time is of the essence – CLICK HERE NOW TO TAKE ACTION.

We now have available a special type of cervical (neck) traction, called The Posture Pump.  This device provides effective relief and lasting correction for:

• Acute neck pain
• Chronic neck pain
• Headaches
• Disc bulges
• Disc herniations
• Forward head posture

In many cases, the Posture Pump device adds a needed complement to your in-office care.  A thorough evaluation will provide the necessary information to determine if the Posture Pump is right for you.  If you are interested in this device or have any questions about it, just ask.  You can learn more on the Posture Pump web site by clicking here.

The Posture Pump is safe, easy to use, and is covered by most insurance carriers.  It may be the missing piece of the puzzle to your optimal recovery.

If you suffer from chronic low back pain and want to experience freedom from your pain, you will want to pay particular attention to your core.  To finally gain control of your back pain and reduce the chance of a relapse, you have to improve the condition of your core.  The term “core” may have you thinking of Pilate’s, Yoga, or doing sit-ups until your six pack burns.  Unfortunately the term “core” is frequently misused and the true nature of the core is greatly misunderstood.

To understand the true nature of your core, you need to understand your body design.  Your bones, ligaments, and joint capsules (passive restraints) provide stability toward the end of joint motion (ROM).  They don’t provide much stability in the neutral position.  That’s where the muscles come in to play, and provide support and stiffness.  Your body muscles are set up in three basic layers.

The outer layer of muscles are your large muscles.  These are big, strong muscles that are designed to move your skeleton.  They also are the muscles that give your body its shape.  The rectus abdominus muscles (the “six-pack”) is an outer layer muscle, and technically not part of your core.

You have a middle layer of muscles that lie beneath the outer layer of muscles.  These muscles connect to your spine and are designed for stability and control.  These are muscles of endurance that allow you to maintain good posture while you go about your day.  These middle layer muscles work continually to protect your spine as you put your body through its many different positions – sitting, bending, twisting, running, jumping, etc. If your core is weak, you will be susceptible to injury as you try to sustain static postures (i.e. sitting), or try to perform dynamic activities (i.e. playing soccer).

You also have a deep layer of muscles that act as “sensors” for your nervous system.  These small muscles attach to your spine and give continual feedback to your brain with each joint movement. These deep muscles are muscles of endurance and enable you to maintain good posture, balance, and position sense.

The muscles of your middle layer and deep layer make up your true core.  And because your core is composed of muscles of endurance, you must work it differently.  You can’t just do the normal exercises promoted in most health clubs or gyms.  Focusing on strength doesn’t help the true core.  Muscular endurance, posture, and balance must be your focus if you want to improve the condition of your core.

Your body stability is a dynamic function and includes:

• Static positioning
• Controlled movement
• Alignment in sustained postures
• Movement patterns that reduce body strain, avoid injury, and allow efficient muscle action

Your body stability and movement patterns may be altered by any combination of the following:

• Injuries
• Insufficient muscular strength or endurance
• Poor neuromuscular control
• Fatigue

To improve the condition of your core, research has shown that very moderate levels of muscle activity can be enough to create stable joints.  To work the endurance muscles of your core, only about 10% of your maximum contraction is needed to provide joint stability.  In contrast, when doing strength training you have to work at 70-80% of your maximum contraction in 1-2 sets of 8-12 repetitions.

This is great news!  Even if you are suffering from chronic back pain today, you can take active steps towards recovery.  I have been working with patients with chronic back pain since 1992, and have seen many amazing recoveries from patients following our easy program.  If you are committed to our program of core stabilization exercises, you will in most cases be able to gain control of your back pain within 4 to 6 weeks.

No drugs.  No surgery.  No expensive traction devices.  No high-tech computerized exercise devices.

Just a series of core stabilization exercises that are so simple, I’ve pictured the basic part of the program on this site.  Sounds simple?  That’s because it is.

Just click here to see the core stabilization program.

I just received this email from ChiroVoice.org.  Please invest a few minutes and help chiropractic to be included in our health care system.  Thanks!

Earlier this year, we asked you to join the chiropractic patient advocacy network, ChiroVoice.  Why?  Because who better to speak up for the need to protect chiropractic in health care reform than the patients who have actually benefited from chiropractic treatment.

As the health care debate continues in Washington, it is vital that we all continue to remind our legislators that they need to ensure that the freedom to choose chiropractic care as a treatment option is not denied under any national health care reform legislation Congress might enact.

Click here to send a message to Washington that chiropractic is an essential core benefit, and that we cannot achieve a wellness and prevention based-system without guaranteed access to the essential services delivered by a Doctor of Chiropractic.

Thank you!  And from the ChiroVoice team, we wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday season.

On your initial visit to our office, you will meet our team and receive a detailed examination.  After the exam, I will let you know what’s wrong and if I think I can help you.  If your problem is beyond the scope of our practice I will let you know and discuss the possible referral to another healthcare professional.

If you decide to become a patient, I will design a personalized care plan for you to help you experience freedom from pain and superior health naturally.  Your care plan will detail all of the services we recommend and an estimate of your time and financial investment.  Your care plan will be detailed, but will be flexible enough to give you the  freedom to choose one of several options that best fits your lifestyle.

At this point you’ll have to decide what you want out of care.  What’s your goal?  You’ll have to decide if you want a PATCH or a FIX.

“PATCH-up-care” is pain relief focused only.  The goal is fast pain relief.  Once we have achieved an acceptable level of relief, your care plan will end and then you have the option to switch to a maintenance plan or to go on an as-needed basis.  In my experience, if you don’t get to the root of the problem and fix it internally, the problem returns and can be worse than at the start.

“FIX-up-care” is focused on the big picture.  Not only do we want fast pain relief, but we strive for improved function and whole body wellness.  After an acceptable level of relief has been attained, you will begin a program of personalized therapeutic exercises.  The purpose is to regain any loss of function such as range of motion, strength, muscle endurance, core stability, balance or coordination.  By the end of FIX-up-care, you will have a reduced risk of your problem returning.  When your function has been restored to an acceptable level, your care plan will end and you then have the option to switch to a maintenance plan or to go on an as-needed basis.

I see our job as to provide you the finest chiropractic wellness care possible.  I see your job as to decide on how much care you want and how fast you want to proceed.

PATCH or FIX… it’s your choice.