If you have ankle pain that just does not go away, it may be because your ankle has lost the ability to pull upwards enough. Your ankle should have enough range of motion to point your toes upwards by 20 degrees. If you can't walk on your heals for example and maintain at least 2 inches between the ball of your foot and the ground, you may have this problem.
This can be easily fixed with adjustments and stretching. The adjustment creates a gap between the ankle (the talus bone) and the shin (the tibia bone). Almost instantly the normal range of motion is restored.
Stretching the calf in the back of the lower leg and the soleus muscle (that's in front of the achilles tendon) often allows the ankle to maintain the range of motion.
Problem solved.
Lack of motion in the ankle can lead to chronic pain in the ankle and often knee pain.
It seems last week I had a number of patients with this problem and each and every one of them responded beautifully to this technique.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Statin Myalgia
There’s a new condition that many of you should be aware of. It’s called statin myalgia. It’s caused from taking drugs for cholesterol. This is a common problem as many people have high cholesterol. These drugs can cause lower back pain, leg pain and magnify any pain by 50-60%. This has very important implications for chiropractors.
Since I see patients all the time for lower back pain and leg pain, it is important to tell me if you are taking these drugs. These drugs can slow the improvement that you would normally expect. I have found that some patients take longer than others to heal. This could be for a number of reasons, but this recent information regarding the dangers of cholesterol drugs makes me wonder how many people are not getting the results they want because of the side effects from the statins.
Since I see patients all the time for lower back pain and leg pain, it is important to tell me if you are taking these drugs. These drugs can slow the improvement that you would normally expect. I have found that some patients take longer than others to heal. This could be for a number of reasons, but this recent information regarding the dangers of cholesterol drugs makes me wonder how many people are not getting the results they want because of the side effects from the statins.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Spondylolisthesis
If you’ve been diagnosed with a spondylolisthesis, here is an outline of the treatment that helps. We call this problem a “spondy” for short for obvious reasons.
Adjustments are performed to the area under the spondy. If you have a problem at the L4 vertebrae, we might adjust L5 underneath it. If the problem is L5, we might adjust the sacrum. The purpose of this is to take the stress off the joints of the spondy.
Avoiding certain exercises that cause arching of the back. Certain yoga postures that arch the back will further damage the joints. Don’t do them. I know this will upset all the yogis out there, but haven’t you ever wondered why some people get worse with yoga? I’m all for yoga, but if there’s a spondy it’s not going to work.
Stabilization exercises are useful. If you can learn to contract the muscles of your torso and keep your spondy still while you move your arms and legs, you are on your way to fixing your pain.
It can take 2-3 weeks before you begin to notice pain relief. It may take up to 3-4 months to fully stabilize the spine so that we are done with treatment. Periodic adjustments to the area are beneficial because this is a chronic condition. There is no cure for a spondy but with proper treatment you can live a normal life with minimal pain.
Adjustments are performed to the area under the spondy. If you have a problem at the L4 vertebrae, we might adjust L5 underneath it. If the problem is L5, we might adjust the sacrum. The purpose of this is to take the stress off the joints of the spondy.
Avoiding certain exercises that cause arching of the back. Certain yoga postures that arch the back will further damage the joints. Don’t do them. I know this will upset all the yogis out there, but haven’t you ever wondered why some people get worse with yoga? I’m all for yoga, but if there’s a spondy it’s not going to work.
Stabilization exercises are useful. If you can learn to contract the muscles of your torso and keep your spondy still while you move your arms and legs, you are on your way to fixing your pain.
It can take 2-3 weeks before you begin to notice pain relief. It may take up to 3-4 months to fully stabilize the spine so that we are done with treatment. Periodic adjustments to the area are beneficial because this is a chronic condition. There is no cure for a spondy but with proper treatment you can live a normal life with minimal pain.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Why are these things on the side of the road?
During a bicycle ride, I have plenty of time to think. Sometimes I will have a concern or problem, only to come home with the exact solution. Sometimes I’ll solve a problem within an hour and I’ll use my cell phone to call my answering machine and leave a message. It’s during these epic rides that I might appreciate the landscape, suffer a little to improve my fitness, clear my mind of the world’s stresses…and then I notice it. There’s something on the side of the road that catches my eye. I can only wonder how it got there. You’d never notice these things in a car because you’re going too fast. For fun, I thought I’d share with you (and ask because maybe it’s YOUR fault) what I see. I’m very curious why these things are on the side of the road.
Beer bottles: I would like to know why there are so many beer bottles and cans on the sides of our roads. They’re not on our main streets, they’re on the back roads in Somis, Ventura, Ojai, and the Santa Monica Mountains. I know HOW they got there…people threw them out of their car windows when they were done with them. My bigger concern is that someone was drinking it before they threw it out. I mean, who’s going out and driving and throwing their empty beer cans on the side of these roads?
Wheel balancing metal thingies: You don’t know this, but a number of you are missing those metal things on the front wheels of your cars. I know this because I see them on the ground all the time. Your spine is out of alignment and so is your car.
Flattened animals: I know why these are there. Remember the jokes about why the chicken crossed the road? Maybe the chicken made it, but the snakes, frogs, possums, squirrels, raccoons, and other assorted fauna didn’t make it across the road.
Glass: This goes without saying, but if you can please stop throwing glass on the side of the road 25 miles away from my house I would really appreciate it. I do not like changing a flat tire.
Under garments: Now this is a funny one. Who is driving 30 mph on winding/twisting roads and suddenly decides to throw their underwear out the window? They may lead interesting lives, but geez. Also, sometimes you’ll see a single shoe. I always wonder where the rest of the body is. Is it in a bag and it’s been thrown over the edge of the cliff? I mean, how did that shoe get there?
Car tire hubs: These just fall off. If you’re missing one, I can probably tell you where it is.
Memorials: This one scares me because I don’t want to have one for myself. I know exactly why these are there. Someone died at this exact spot. It reminds me to be careful and ride safely. I remember when I was riding in Solvang a couple of years ago and the route called for us to ride up this one hill that was a popular with motorcyclists. Just on the incline of the mountain, I passed by like 12 memorials. I started thinking to myself that maybe this isn’t the place to be riding.
Beer bottles: I would like to know why there are so many beer bottles and cans on the sides of our roads. They’re not on our main streets, they’re on the back roads in Somis, Ventura, Ojai, and the Santa Monica Mountains. I know HOW they got there…people threw them out of their car windows when they were done with them. My bigger concern is that someone was drinking it before they threw it out. I mean, who’s going out and driving and throwing their empty beer cans on the side of these roads?
Wheel balancing metal thingies: You don’t know this, but a number of you are missing those metal things on the front wheels of your cars. I know this because I see them on the ground all the time. Your spine is out of alignment and so is your car.
Flattened animals: I know why these are there. Remember the jokes about why the chicken crossed the road? Maybe the chicken made it, but the snakes, frogs, possums, squirrels, raccoons, and other assorted fauna didn’t make it across the road.
Glass: This goes without saying, but if you can please stop throwing glass on the side of the road 25 miles away from my house I would really appreciate it. I do not like changing a flat tire.
Under garments: Now this is a funny one. Who is driving 30 mph on winding/twisting roads and suddenly decides to throw their underwear out the window? They may lead interesting lives, but geez. Also, sometimes you’ll see a single shoe. I always wonder where the rest of the body is. Is it in a bag and it’s been thrown over the edge of the cliff? I mean, how did that shoe get there?
Car tire hubs: These just fall off. If you’re missing one, I can probably tell you where it is.
Memorials: This one scares me because I don’t want to have one for myself. I know exactly why these are there. Someone died at this exact spot. It reminds me to be careful and ride safely. I remember when I was riding in Solvang a couple of years ago and the route called for us to ride up this one hill that was a popular with motorcyclists. Just on the incline of the mountain, I passed by like 12 memorials. I started thinking to myself that maybe this isn’t the place to be riding.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Sports Injuries in Kids: What You Need to Know
A recent article indicated the most high risk sports for children. It’s already September and I’ve had lots of parents bring their kids in for injuries due to sports.
Here’s the top four sports in order based upon the number of injuries per year:
Football 350,000
Basketball 300,000
Soccer 140,000
Baseball 120,000
The main injury you need to worry about as a parent is a concussion.
Concussions can have long-lasting effects. Kids can develop memory problems, headaches, trouble concentrating and even depression. In sports where ego drives the athlete (football in particular), the young person is likely told to “shake it off.” The problem is only 5% of all concussions result in the kid being knocked-out. You think they’re okay until later when they start developing problems.
You can’t “shake off” a concussion.
What needs to occur is to have the kid pulled from the game if there is a head injury. No debate necessary. Let the child complain. Let them explain that “I’m okay.” Let them fear the teasing from their peers. It’s not worth talking the risk to let them continue to play.
If you suspect a concussion, watch your child and how they act. If there’s any question, take them to the emergency room.
Here’s the top four sports in order based upon the number of injuries per year:
Football 350,000
Basketball 300,000
Soccer 140,000
Baseball 120,000
The main injury you need to worry about as a parent is a concussion.
Concussions can have long-lasting effects. Kids can develop memory problems, headaches, trouble concentrating and even depression. In sports where ego drives the athlete (football in particular), the young person is likely told to “shake it off.” The problem is only 5% of all concussions result in the kid being knocked-out. You think they’re okay until later when they start developing problems.
You can’t “shake off” a concussion.
What needs to occur is to have the kid pulled from the game if there is a head injury. No debate necessary. Let the child complain. Let them explain that “I’m okay.” Let them fear the teasing from their peers. It’s not worth talking the risk to let them continue to play.
If you suspect a concussion, watch your child and how they act. If there’s any question, take them to the emergency room.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
How we fix elbow tendonitis
For most people the pain is on the outside of the elbow. A minority of the time it is on the inside of the elbow. If it’s on the outside of the elbow, it’s called tennis elbow and if it’s on the inside, it’s called golfers elbow. You don’t have to play tennis or golf to get tendonitis in the elbow. In fact it’s often caused from typing.
Most patients will complain of pain, fatigue, and tenderness in the muscles. X-rays are not necessary unless there’s been a forceful injury that caused it. How we come to the conclusion of muscle/tendon pain is by stretching the muscle and having you pull against it. Normal muscles and tendons don’t produce pain when you do that. If there’s tendonitis it will be painful.
The way to get rid of it is to perform cross friction massage. With my thumb I will rub the tendon 90 degrees to the direction of the tendon. This can last up to 10 minutes. Within the first 3 minutes you will usually feel the tendon become numb to any pain. Often we will see a patient twice a week for 4-6 weeks. That’s usually enough to resolve it.
Ultrasound and cold laser therapy can help this condition. Athletic taping is helpful but only if there is not an excessive amount of hair on the elbow. The tape doesn’t stick to the skin otherwise.
Exercises for the elbow include doing extension curls. You would use a 5-10 pound weight and rest your forearm on a table. You would lift the weight using both arms and then slowly lower the weight to the bottom position. Three sets of 15 repetitions done twice a day for three months often is enough to fully rehabilitate the condition.
Most patients will complain of pain, fatigue, and tenderness in the muscles. X-rays are not necessary unless there’s been a forceful injury that caused it. How we come to the conclusion of muscle/tendon pain is by stretching the muscle and having you pull against it. Normal muscles and tendons don’t produce pain when you do that. If there’s tendonitis it will be painful.
The way to get rid of it is to perform cross friction massage. With my thumb I will rub the tendon 90 degrees to the direction of the tendon. This can last up to 10 minutes. Within the first 3 minutes you will usually feel the tendon become numb to any pain. Often we will see a patient twice a week for 4-6 weeks. That’s usually enough to resolve it.
Ultrasound and cold laser therapy can help this condition. Athletic taping is helpful but only if there is not an excessive amount of hair on the elbow. The tape doesn’t stick to the skin otherwise.
Exercises for the elbow include doing extension curls. You would use a 5-10 pound weight and rest your forearm on a table. You would lift the weight using both arms and then slowly lower the weight to the bottom position. Three sets of 15 repetitions done twice a day for three months often is enough to fully rehabilitate the condition.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Should you reduce inflammation?
I told a patient to use ice to reduce inflammation and she was hesitant to do so. She brought up an interesting concept. This patient felt that if inflammation was a natural response to an injury, wouldn’t it make sense to let it happen? Doesn’t reducing inflammation prevent proper healing?
To some degree she has a point. If the inflammation is tolerable meaning that you can tolerate the pain, it may be worthwhile to allow the natural process to happen. Inflammation is how the body initially handles an injury.
However in many cases inflammation becomes excessive. This happens for a number of reasons. Firstly many foods we eat are fuel to the fire of inflammation. Go to the zone diet website to learn more. Food allows our body to produce more inflammatory hormones that cause an excessive amount of inflammation.
Using ice doesn’t eliminate inflammation, it reduces it.
Lastly, people come to a doctor to reduce their pain. Ice works good for that. While it may be temporary, so is every drug you take. Ice doesn’t destroy your liver and kidneys. It’s much safer.
Clinical experience has shown that patients with new injuries have increased pain when applying heat. Ice has shown to help the pain.
To some degree she has a point. If the inflammation is tolerable meaning that you can tolerate the pain, it may be worthwhile to allow the natural process to happen. Inflammation is how the body initially handles an injury.
However in many cases inflammation becomes excessive. This happens for a number of reasons. Firstly many foods we eat are fuel to the fire of inflammation. Go to the zone diet website to learn more. Food allows our body to produce more inflammatory hormones that cause an excessive amount of inflammation.
Using ice doesn’t eliminate inflammation, it reduces it.
Lastly, people come to a doctor to reduce their pain. Ice works good for that. While it may be temporary, so is every drug you take. Ice doesn’t destroy your liver and kidneys. It’s much safer.
Clinical experience has shown that patients with new injuries have increased pain when applying heat. Ice has shown to help the pain.
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