Neck Pain From Texting?

Text messaging is a quick way to communicate, but it can also be a real pain in the neck! Tightness across the shoulders, headaches, and neck soreness are common symptoms that can result from frequent texting.

Why does this happen?

Weighing anywhere from 10-14 lbs, your head resembles a bowling ball. It’s designed to be held in balance, and should sit squarely over your shoulders. Routine habits and behaviors such as looking downward to send/read text messages puts an unhappy demand on the muscles, joints, and ligaments of the neck.

This position shifts the head forward and away from the sturdy support of your shoulders. The forces of gravity then require spinal tissues to adapt and compensate for the new mechanical demand. This scenario leads to a condition called Forward Head Posture (FHP).

With the growing popularity of smart phones, texting isn’t the only activity that can cause pain and discomfort. In-phone apps enable users to spend even more time in this position.

Prolonged displacement of the head applies abnormal forces to the entire spine, and compounds the damage to your cervical vertebrae. If left uncorrected, it will lead to a loss of cervical curve and irreversible arthritic degeneration.

Translation:

You’ll feel a lot older than you are, become limited in doing the things you love to do, and may develop an uncomfortable dependency on pain relieving drugs.

It’s tempting to believe that if the pain isn’t “that bad” yet, there must be nothing to worry about… In reality, the sooner you fix the problem, the easier/cheaper/faster it is to address. If detected early enough, your chiropractor can help correct the problem and prevent significant damage from occurring down the road.

Cold Laser Therapy For Back Pain

Erchonia Laser Healthcare

In January of 2002, after groundbreaking studies in laser therapies the U.S. granted F.D.A. clearance for the treatment of chronic neck and shoulder pain. Their commitment to forms of laser therapy has led them to research laser treatment for back pain, with very successful findings.

Laser therapy for back pain utilizes many similar techniques of biostimulation as other low-level laser therapies, and can greatly increase a patient’s quality of life as an alternative pain solution.

Rather than turning to heavy doses of pain medications, patients are able to achieve relief through non-invasive and painless cold laser therapy for back pain. Cold lasers work much differently from other lasers in that they do not utilize heat whatsoever. The beams are able to penetrate the skin and biostimulate on the cellular level; the pain relief comes without the cost of scars or nerve damage.

Back Pain

Common treatments for back pain include pain medication, physical therapy, chiropractic, and in some cases, surgery. Pain medication leaves patients feeling groggy, and they can easily build up a tolerance to them, while surgery always opens the door to the risks of complications and infections.

Back pain laser treatments utilize biostimulation, which means that after each session, patients will feel considerably better for longer periods of time. Low-level laser therapy for back pain is an effective alternative solution to the temporary and potentially dangerous options that are mostly commonly prescribed and utilized. Once patients are able to experience the relief of cold laser therapy, they will never choose habit-forming pain medications again.

Golf and Chiropractic

Common golf injuries treated by chiropractors

There are a number of ways a golf chiropractor can treat the golfer and enhance his golf experience. Spinal and shoulder adjustments, preventative swing advice, rehabilitation exercises, electric muscle stimulation, chiropractic massage or Graston, deep heat therapy, laser therapy and anti-inflammatory nutrition are just some of the ways that golf chiropractors can treat golfers who are injured and who are trying to prevent injury. Basically, a golf chiropractor will treat the golfer who wants to play the game pain-free.

"Seeing a chiropractor on a regular basis has made me a better golfer. I've been going to chiropractors for as long as I can remember. It's as important to my training as practicing my swing"

-Tiger Woods, 14 time PGA Championship golfer

Golfer's Elbow

People that suffer from golfer’s elbow are often involved with racquet sports or golf. As with tennis elbow, they may overuse the forearm, traumatize the elbow by hitting several “fat” golf shots, or have poor swing technique.

Pain at the inner aspect of the elbow and reproduction of symptoms with resisted wrist flexion are common.

Shoulder Pain

Rotator cuff and general shoulder problems can occur from golf for the same reasons as shown above for golfer's elbow.

Wrist Tendonitis

Wrist tendonitis can set in even of you have good swing technique. This is often called "golf wrist" by golfers.

Patellar Tendonitis

Knee injuries like Infrapatellar Tendonitis (jumpers knee) are very common in golf for a multitude of reasons.

Achilles Tendonitis

Injuries to the achilles tendon are a common problem for golfers.

Low Back Pain

Last but not least, the most common injuries suffered by golfers are to the lower back and the sciatic nerve or "sciatica" as it is commonly called.

Chiropractor for an Ankle Sprain

Physiotherapy/Chiropractic for High Ankle Sprains

An ankle sprain is one of the most common sports injuries. The majority of ankle sprains are inversion sprains wherein your foot is turned on the lateral border damaging the ligaments and joint structures on the outside of the joint. A syndesmosis sprain is a different type of ankle sprain which affects ligaments higher up in the ankle when compared to those ligaments affected with common inversion ankle sprains. For this reason, syndesmosis sprains are frequently referred to as "high ankle sprains".

High ankle sprains are not as common as inversion ankle sprains and they often take longer to heal. The primary structures that are damaged with high ankle sprains are the anterior inferior tibiofibular ligament, the posterior inferior tibiofibular ligament and the interosseous ligament. In simple terms, these are some of the ligaments at the very bottom of your tibia and fibula (the bones in your leg) including the long thin membrane that separates these two bones. There are various mechanisms for a high ankle sprain but external rotation of the foot, dorsiflexion (bringing your toes toward your shin) or a combination of these movements are the most common. It is usually painful to walk after a high ankle sprain. In some instances the patient with a high ankle sprain will prefer to walk on the forefoot as dorsiflexion causes pain (since it mimics the mechanism of injury). X-ray imaging can be helpful for ruling our fracture or assessing the severity of the sprain. (For any chiropractors or medical practitioners reading this blog, we can check the tibia-fibula clear space which should be less than 6mm if undamaged and we can check the tibia-fibula overlap which should be greater than 1mm in the mortise view).

Treatment of a high ankle sprain depends on the severity of the case. Immobilization and non-weight bearing is sometimes necessary in more severe cases, while others can continue walking during the course of recovery. Initially passive modalities can be helpful in reducing inflammation and promoting tissue healing. Examples of these treatments include laser therapy, ultrasound,microcurrent and interferential current (IFC). Restoration of normal joint motion and proper tissue function can be accomplished through such treatments asActive Release Technique and Graston Technique. Combining these treatment approaches with the proper strengthening, proprioception and bracing is an effective and efficient way to recover from a high ankle sprain.

Chiropractic Manipulative Therapy and Low-Level Laser Therapy in the Management of Cervical Facet Dysfunction: A Randomized Controlled Study

Chiropractic Manipulative Therapy and Low-Level Laser Therapy in the Management of Cervical Facet Dysfunction: A Randomized Controlled Study

Lindie Saayman, MT (Chiro)a, Caroline Hay, MT (Chiro)b, Heidi Abrahamse, PhDc

Received 7 May 2010; received in revised form 31 January 2011; accepted 10 February 2011.

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to determine the short-term effect of chiropractic joint manipulation therapy (CMT) and low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on pain and range of motion in the management of cervical facet dysfunction.

Methods

Sixty ambulatory women between the ages of 18 and 40 years with cervical facet joint pain of more than 30-day duration and normal neurologic examination were randomized to receive 1 of 3 treatment options: (1) CMT of the cervical spine, (2) LLLT applied to the cervical facet joints, or (3) a combination of CMT and LLLT. Each participant received 6 treatments in 3 weeks. The main outcome measures were as follows: the Numerical Pain Rating Scale, Neck Disability Index, Cervical Range of Motion Instrument, and Baseline Digital Inclinometer. Measurements were taken during weeks 1 (baseline), 2, 3, and 4.

Results

No differences existed between the 3 groups at baseline. A significant difference was seen between groups 1 (CMT) and 2 (LLLT) for cervical flexion, between groups 1 (CMT) and 3 (CMT + LLLT) for cervical flexion and rotation, and between groups 2 (LLLT) and 3 (CMT + LLLT) for pain disability in everyday life, lateral flexion, and rotation.

Conclusion

All 3 groups showed improvement in the primary and secondary outcomes. A combination of CMT and LLLT was more effective than either of the 2 on their own. Both therapies are indicated as potentially beneficial treatments for cervical facet dysfunction. Further studies are needed to explore optimal treatment procedures for CMT and LLLT and the possible mechanism of interaction between therapies.

Running Backs Need Chiropractors!

Running Backs and Chiropractic Care

In the year 2000, LaDainian Tomlinson won the Doak Walker award for being the nation’s top running

back as a senior at Texas Christian University. At the awards ceremony, he spoke to Emmitt Smith, the National Football Leagues all-time leading rusher. Emmitt gave him his phone number and ask that he call if LaDainian ever needed any advice. Shortly after, he made the call.

The Phone Call

Tomlinson called to ask Smith about his longevity, how he'd rushed for 1,000 yards for 10 straight seasons, where he eventually ended with 11 over his career. Smith's advice? Massages on Monday and Friday and ''find a good chiropractor.''

That's good advice from one of the top athletes of all time. Give Dan O'Brien, Lance Armstrong, or Tiger Woods a call and ask them if regular chiropractic care is an important factor to being at the top of their sport. Don't have their numbers? I'll tell you the answers are Yes, Yes, and Yes.

Fast-forward to January 2011:

LaDainian Tomlinson was recently interviewed by TMR Newswire just prior to what he called, “The biggest game he has ever been in.” This past season his team, the New York Jets played the eventual Superbowl loser, the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game. During the week of preparation he was asked a number of questions including his input on how he was so durable throughout his career. This is what he said:

“It’s all about taking care of yourself and the things that you have to do every week to prepare yourself to take a beating and get ready for the next week – the cold tubs, the hot tubs, the massages, the chiropractor. Whatever has worked for me, which all of these things have over the years, it’s about sticking to it. It is a routine that you have to do it every week. You can’t slack off on it because the little bumps and bruises that you get every week, they pile up, so you’ve got to stay on top of that stuff so you can be able to play next week.”

How has LaDainian Tomlinson faired with the advice of Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith? Regular chiropractic care has been an integral factor in Tomlinson’s 10 year career. He has rushed for 1000 yards 8 times, and has achieved over 15 NFL records, eclipsing many that were set by Smith.

NFL All-Pro Running back Maurice Jones Drew's Chiropractic Experience:

NFL All-Pro Running Back Michael Turner on the Chiropractor:

Michael Turner realizes that collisions come with a heavy physical price. That's why he is taking far better care of his body with a masseuse and chiropractor as well as spending more time in the hot tub than in 2008, when Turner admits he was "young and dumb."

"I had no idea how many carries I was going to get, the toll it takes on your body and how to take care of yourself over the course of a whole season as opposed to being a backup," said Turner, who turns 29 in February. "I now take care of every nick and bruise in the training room. It might seem minor, but you don't want that to build up through the course of a season."