Looking for new ways to treat muscle spasms are important in any Chiropractic office.  Muscle spasms have been historically treated with heat, electrical stimulation and or ultrasound. And this can be effective to a certain degree. But there are new ways to treat spasms that we use in our Chiropractic office.

New ways to treat muscle spasms inclue using the bodies own neurologic and physiologic mechanisms to reduce the spasms. What that means is that our bodies understand that while spasms can be protective, they are not something that should continue and we have inborn ways of reducing them.

One of the new ways we use to treat muscle spasms is called reciprocal inhibition. This uses the theory that by contracting one muscle it will relax the opposite muscle. For example, by contracting the biceps arm muscle, the triceps muscle in the back of the arm relaxes. We frequently use this and other similier techniques to relax the hamstring muscles which can help with back pain.

If you have pain that is not responding to typical treatments feel free to contact us or visit our web site at www.southingtonchiropractor.com for more information.

Frequently, people that have had trauma come to our Chiropractic office with reversed curves seen on x-rays.  The posture curve in the neck is very important for proper alignment and functioning of the spine. If the curve straightens out, the muscles are affected, the joints are stressed and the nerves get irritated.

Changing the reversed neck curve to the proper posture curve can be accomplished with Chiropractic adjusting, traction and home exercises. But it won’t happen overnight. The longer your neck has been straightened, the longer it will take to retrain the muscles and stretch the ligaments. Unfortunately, this process may be a little uncomfortable but quickly improvement should be seen.

If you have been in an auto accident or had a fall or sport injury, your neck posture may have been affected. The only way to know is to have a thorough evaluation by a Chiropractor. Our office specializes in these types of problems. Visit us at www.southingtonchiropractor.com for more information.

In my Chiropractic practice, I frequently see patients with spinal stenosis. I want to use this column to explain what it is, what some symptoms are and review the treatment options available.

By definition, spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal, nerve root canal or intervertebral foramina of the spine. Wow, what does all that mean? The brain sends information down to the body by way of the spinal cord. This structure is about the size of your little finger and extends all the way down your spine to a little above your waist. Actually it ends at the bottom of the thoracic spine, the rest of the spinal column contains individual nerves. If the hole that the spinal cord travels through gets smaller that is stenosis. If the hole that the nerves pass through in the lumbar or low back area gets smaller or if the hole that the nerves exit the spinal canal from gets narrower, that is also stenosis.

Imagine wrapping elastic around your finger. The tighter the elastic is, the more irritated your finger will be. The circulation gets cut off and your finger may swell and become painful. The same thing happens with stenosis. As the opening the nerves or cord pass through gets smaller, the little blood vessels associated with the nerve structures will get irritated and symptoms will occur.

The most common area of stenosis includes the L4/5 region of the lumbosacral spine. While no one is really sure what the cause is, some believe it is due to the blood vessel issue I described above while others think it is because of actual pinching of the nerve. The most common symptoms are sciatica, neurogenic claudication (pain, aching, cramping and tingling with walking relieved by sitting), leg fatigue, abnormal sensation in one or both lower extremities and fear of falling. These symptoms are increased during extension and are relieved with bending forward or again when seated.

Conservative care is appropriate for people with mild to moderate symptoms while surgery is reserved for patients with severe symptoms. You and your doctor would need to work together to decide which course of treatment is best for you. I will tell you that while I am an advocate for conservative care, I have observed spinal stenosis surgery and for the most part it is as mild a surgery as any surgery could be. But because there are always risks associated with surgery, unless there is a condition called Cauda Equina Syndrome (bowl or bladder incontinence) trying conservative treatment is always the first way to go.

While alternative treatment will not eliminate the arthritis or other cause of the narrowing, the goal of chiropractic care or what ever other type of care you choose is to decrease the symptoms and improve the quality of life of the patient. In my office we work on weight loss, exercise, orthotic arch supports, physiologic therapeutics and chiropractic adjustments to reduce any other irritation that might add to the problem. There are no guarantees that conservative care will work for you, but it is always less risky to take that approach before undergoing more invasive procedures.

Many people suffer from CTS (Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) and unfortunately, avoid prompt treatment and often ignore the initial symptoms of numbness or tingling in the hand(s). These early symptoms are typically not too alarming and hence, they often do not raise the level of concern until more intense symptoms occur; such as waking up from sleep due to numbness, dropping items, difficulty buttoning clothing, needing to switch hands when driving, difficulty writing, typing, knitting, as well as work related pain. There may also be fear of job loss associated with CTS, especially in these hard economic times with frequent lay offs, prompting CTS sufferers to postpone initial care. Unfortunately, delaying treatment is associated with a longer recovery time when compared to prompt management which usually results in a quicker, less complicated and more satisfying recovery.

There are many causes and contributing factors of CTS. The most prevalent cause is mechanical irritation from simply moving the hands too fast for too long, without enough rest. Another risk factor is age (over 50 years old). In this era of an aging workforce, this may be a significant issue. Fast, repetitive movements of the arms and hands are often a direct cause and can be appreciated by watching someone knit rapidly and/or performing line work using fast, repetitive movements. If the hands/wrists have to bend in awkward positions to accomplish a work task, or if a tool that is frequently used places pressure in the palm of the hand, these can also contribute to the onset or perpetuation of CTS. Other conditions can also contribute to CTS including inflammatory arthritis like rheumatoid, diabetes, pregnancy, the use of birth control pills, obesity and hypothyroidism.

The management of CTS is case specific, and is dependant on which of the above mentioned causes or contributors are present. Management of any metabolic disorder such as diabetes or hypothyroid is important, especially compliance with taking appropriate medication, when indicated. The management of weight, hormone replacement therapy, and fluid retention all play a roll in CTS management. Ergonomic or job-related management strategies are very important and can include work station modifications so that unnecessary awkward arm/wrist/hand positions can be avoided. This may require moving the item being worked on to a less stressful position, using a different type of tool handle (screw driver, etc.), changing the height or reach distance at which the material is worked on, and taking “mini-breaks” every ½ to 1 hour when the lack of rest is a contributor. Frequently, the combination of pinching a phone between the head and shoulder, typing data into a computer where the monitor is positioned too high or off to one side, and excessive arm motions using a computer mouse can contribute to pinching the nerve in the neck and/or arm, resulting in CTS. Remedies for this situation include the use of a head set, repositioning the computer monitor so that it is in front of the worker, and using a trackball type of mouse to eliminate arm motion can be extremely helpful.

Treatment strategies offered by chiropractors include the use of night splinting to avoid awkward wrist/hand positions during sleep. In addition, manual therapy to the wrist and the tight muscles in the front of the forearm, as well as other nerve constriction areas such as the elbow, shoulder, and neck, manipulation of the joints in hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder, and/or neck, depending on what is unique and needed for that patient, and the use of physiological therapeutics such as low level laser light therapy, electrical stimulation, and/or ultrasound have all been shown to offer beneficial effects. Nutritional recommendations include Vitamin B6 (150mg/day), magnesium, calcium, Co-Q10, omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin D3. Reducing glutens (wheat, oats, barley, and rye) is also very important due to the inflammatory response of these foods. Surgery is typically, the last treatment resort and is appropriate, “when all else fails.” We welcome you to our clinic and are proud to offer you a non-drug, non-surgical solution for CTS and its disabling symptoms.  Visit our website at www.southingtonchiropractor.com to find out more about us.

Patients that present to my Chiropractic office with neck pain along with arm numbness, pain, and/or weakness, often ask, “…what’s causing this pain down my arm, is it a disc herniation?” The condition is often caused from a bulging or herniated disk pinching a nerve in the neck. The cause of this complaint can include both trauma as well as non-traumatic events. In fact, sometimes, the patient has no idea what started their condition, as they cannot tie any specific event to the onset.

The classic presentation to a chiropractor of a neck disc herniation, includes neck pain that radiates into the arm in a specific area as each nerve affects different parts of the arm and hand. Describing the exact location of the arm complaint such as, “I have numbness in the arm and hand that makes my 4th and pinky fingers feel half asleep,” tells us that you have a pinched C8 nerve. This nerve can also be pinched at the elbow and make the same two fingers numb. The difference between the two different conditions is when the nerve is pinched in the neck, the pain is located from the neck down the entire arm and into digits 4 & 5 of the hand. When the nerve is pinched at the elbow, the pain/numbness is located from the elbow down to the 4th & 5th digits, but no neck or upper arm pain exists.

The Chiropracic examination for people that we suspect with neck disc herniations, usually include limitations in certain cervical (neck) ranges of motion (ROMs) – usually in the direction that increases the pinch on the nerve. Another common finding is the arm is often held over the head because there is more stretching on the nerve when the arm is hanging down and pain in the neck and arm increases. Hence, raising the arm over the head reduces the neck/arm pain. To determine where the nerve is pinched, there are a number of different compression tests that can recreate or increase the symptoms. Some compression tests include placing downward pressure on the head with the head pointing straight ahead, bent or rotated to each side. Other compression tests are performed by pressing in areas where the nerve travels such as in the lower front aspect of the neck, in the front of the shoulder where the arm connects to the chest/trunk, at the elbow and at the wrist. If there is a pinched nerve, numbness, tingling and/or pain will be reproduced when pressure is applied to these regions. Other tests include testing reflexes and muscle strength in the arm. When a nerve is pinched, the reflexes will be sluggish or absent and certain movements in the arm are weak when compared to the opposite side. Another very practical test is called the cervical (neck) distraction test where a traction force is applied to the neck. When neck and/or arm pain is reduced, this means there is a pinched nerve. This test is particularly useful because when pain is reduced, the test supports the need for a treatment approach called cervical traction. It has been reported that the use of cervical traction when applied 3x/day for 15 minutes each, at 8-12 pounds, 78% of 81 patients reported a significant improvement in symptoms, which is very effective. Other forms of care that can be highly effective include spinal manipulation, spinal mobilization, certain exercises, physical therapy modalities, and certain medications.

If you, a friend, or a loved one are struggling with a herniated disk in the neck with associated arm complaints, we will properly assess your condition, run the appropriate tests, and administer the appropriate care that is needed. We also coordinate services with other health care providers when necessary. This recommendation may represent one of most significant acts of kindness you can give to those that you care about.

In my chiropractic office still find myself surprised when I see a person with a brace on their wrist because of Carpal Tunnel, it never fails. It could be the waitress at my favorite restaurant or the cashier at the supermarket, but that little wrist brace always gives me pause and compels me to ask the question, “what’s wrong with your wrist?”

Almost to a person the answer is: carpal tunnel. But the thing that surprises me more is that the person usually says how much pain they’re still in, despite the brace. Maybe it’s because their work is so stressful on the wrist. Serving tables is hard work and holding a couple of heavy plates with one hand can put a considerable strain on the wrist.

For many patients, the brace can be a life saver, getting us back to work and providing for our families. But for many others, they don’t solve the problem. That’s because simply limiting motion, while good in theory, could make the muscles of the wrist weaker. Also, wrist problems aren’t always just a problem in the wrist. If the wrist and hand pain is actually coming from a pinched nerve in the neck, then the wrist brace will do little to help.

The important thing is to get the problem checked out. Is a small bone of the wrist out of its normal position? Is the mobility of the wrist asymmetrical and uneven? Is there a double-crush problem, with a pinched nerve not just in the carpal tunnel, but also where the nerves exit the neck area?

Our clinic does our best to help the pain of carpal tunnel. Usually a comprehensive approach is needed and we may need to adjust the bones of your neck and wrist to help restore proper alignment. If the vertebrae are twisted in the neck, they can narrow the openings where the delicate nerves emerge and travel down the arm to the hand. Sometimes the posture of the neck is affected and there is a loss of the normal forward curve of the neck. This can cause a stretch to the spinal cord and nerve roots.

If possible, we try to limit the use of braces and instead focus on strengthening the muscles of the forearm, or use deep tissue massage and stretching to increase muscle flexibility.

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This information is solely advisory, and should not be substituted for medical or chiropractic advice. Any and all health care concerns, decisions, and actions must be done through the advice and counsel of a health care professional who is familiar with your updated medical history.

Avoiding disc surgery can be accomplished with Chiropractic care. Disc herniations with the resulting sciatic nerve pain can be very painful and debilitating. But treating the injury with surgery before trying all types of care may make the problem worse.

In my chiropractic office we treat disc herniations with gentle non invasive techniques. My website: www. southingtonchiropractor.com has examples of the types of treatment that we perform to help these types of people. Things like flexion/distraction has an over 80% success rate which is just as effective as the expensive spinal decompressive programs.

If you have symptoms including low back pain, leg pain, weakness, tingling etc, you may have a disc herniation but you could have something else as well.  A Chiropractor is well trained to identify the types of problems causing disc herniations from conditions that require medical intervention.   If you have symptoms such as bowl or bladder problems, that may require emergency intervention.  Discuss your symptoms with your Chiropractor or call 860-620-9523 and one of the doctors would be happy to give you some guidence.

There has been a debate for years regarding the use of Chiropractic care and spinal manipulation and its benefits in the treatment of low back pain. Since the founding of chiropractic in 1895, the initial reaction against the early pioneer chiropractors resulted in doctors of chiropractic (DC’s) being incarcerated for “…practicing medicine without a license.” But chiropractors kept forging ahead and because of obtaining good results and helping millions of people, by 1971, Medicare adopted coverage for chiropractic – a first in chiropractic’s history. In 1975, the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare invited an international group of health care provider types (MD’s, DC’s, DO’s, etc.), to share with each other at the National Institute of Health, and determine what the “current” research status of spinal manipulative therapy was at that time. Recommendations for future needed research resulted and the proceedings were published in: The DHEW Publication No. (NIH) 76-998 “The Research Status of Spinal Manipulative Therapy.” That landmark gathering stimulated a plethora of research that was to follow over the course of the next 30+ years and continues today. Due to the overwhelming positive benefits of chiropractic published in many research studies, by the late 1980’s, most insurance companies included coverage for chiropractic care. Today, many chiropractors practice in multidiscipline health care centers that include DC’s, MD’s, and PT’s others. The following list of research studies has had a significant impact in vaulting chiropractic to its current accepted status in the health care system (the URL is included for further study):

•1) Meade TW, Dyer S, Browne W, Townsend J, Frank AO. British Medical Journal 1990 (Jun 2); 300 (6737):1431-1437. http://www.chiro.org/LINKS/ABSTRACTS/LBP_of_Mechanical_Origin.shtml

•2) Manga P, Angus DE, Papadopoulos C, Swan WR. A Study to Examine the Effectiveness and Cost-effectiveness of Chiropractic Management of Low-Back Pain. 8/1993; Ontario, Canada. http://www.chiro.org/LINKS/GUIDELINES/Manga_93.shtml

•3) Bigos S, et. al., 1994, Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=hstat6.chapter.25870

•4) Meade TW, Dyer S, Browne W, Frank AO. Randomised Comparison of Chiropractic and Hospital Outpatient Management for Low Back Pain: Results from Extended Follow up. British Medical Journal 1995 (Aug 5); 311 (7001): 349-351 http://www.chiro.org/LINKS/ABSTRACTS/Chiropractic_and_Hospital_Outpatient.shtml

•5) Luo X, Pietrobon R, Sun SX, Liu GG, Hey L. Estimates and Patterns of Direct Health Care Expenditures Among Individuals With Back Pain in the United States. Spine 2004 (Jan 1); 29 (1): 79-86. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14699281

At this clinic, we are most appreciative to have the opportunity to provide care to our patients and strive to make the experience highly satisfying. If you, a family member or a friend requires care, we sincerely appreciate the trust and confidence shown by choosing our services. We are proud that chiropractic care has consistently scored the highest level of satisfaction when compared to other forms of health care provision and look forward in serving you and your family presently and, in the future.

Want More?

•To Receive The “Weekly Health Update” Every Monday Via Email, Go To www.WeeklyHealthUpdate.com – Code: 06467GRANT
•To Sign Up For Our Free Email Newsletter, Go To: www.InGoodHandsLetter.Com – Code: 06467GRANT
•Visit Me At www.Spine-Health.com
This information is solely advisory, and should not be substituted for medical or chiropractic advice. Any and all health care concerns, decisions, and actions must be done through the advice and counsel of a health care professional who is familiar with your updated medical history.

As a Chiropractor and health care provider, when patients are interested in there nutritional status, I give them a questionnaire which helps me assess their nutritional health.  There are a number of well established clinical signs and symptoms associated with vitamin and mineral deficiencies.  Additionally, certain nutrition and lifestyle behaviors and the use of certain medications can promote vitamin and mineral deficiencies, usually from a lack of intake or accelerated depletion of specific nutrients.

Studies indicate that 91 percent of North Americans are nutritionally deficient and do not ingest the RDA levels for each vitamin and mineral on a daily basis. Further, those levels for many nutrients are considered to be suboptimal according to many anti-aging and nutrition experts, especially in regard to certain antioxidants, vitamin D and selenium. An additional complicating factor is that many people engage in dietary and lifestyle behaviors which encourage nutrient loss and/or take mediations that impair absorption, or promote excretion and accelerate loss of vitamins and minerals from the body. This becomes very important considering the role that vitamins and minerals play in the prevention of cancer heart disease, dementia, osteoporosis, cataracts, macular degeneration and other health problems.

The questionnaire I use in my chiropractic office to assess nutritiona deficiencies is in two parts and is too long for me to reproduce in this column. The first part deals with lifestyle factors while the second part addresses drug and medication intake. If you are interested in the questionnaire, please call the office. I would be happy to have you come in and take the “test” and have me review it with you. Some of the questions address the following.

Drinking more that 3 alcoholic beverages per week will deplete Vitamin A, all the B’s, Vit C, D, E and potassium. More than two cups of coffee or caffeinated tea of any kind per day will deplete the body of Vitamins C, B and minerals. B vitamins will also be depleted if you smoke, have cracks at the margin of your lips or scaly skin at the outer margin of your nose above your lips. Of course, stress is a major problem for not only your nutrition as it creates hormonal imbalances leading to decreased Vitamin C, B and many minerals, but it also creates changes in your skeletal system. This can cause headache, neck pain and back pain.

In terms of drug and medication use, you are probably aware that medications have side effects. What you may not realize is that the side effects may not be noticeable until way down the road.
Regular use of laxatives will deplete your body of Vitamins A, D, E and Calcium. Over the counter anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin will lower your levels of folic acid, iron and Vitamins C and K. Even Antacids like Maalox, Tums, Mylanta and Rolaids will affect your levels of Vitamins A, B1, B12, folic acid, chromium and iron. Contraceptives, Sedatives, estrogen replacement drugs, antidepressants, heart medications such as those for blood pressure and cholesterol will all affect vitamins and minerals in your body. As a chiropractor, I try to encourage people to take supplements to counter these effects. I am not convinced that diet alone will counter these issues. So try to eat well and take a good quality supplement if you have to take medication.

I have noticed over the years as a chiropractor that people who exercise, have good nutritional habits and receive regular Chiropractic care are is great shape.  Have you ever noticed that people who are in good physical shape are in better mental shape? I see that in my office especially with the older population of people. And from an evolutionary perspective we are better equipped to adapt to stress and change if we are mentally and physically in shape.

Exercise and good nutrition benefits the brain in two major ways. First, it helps generate new brain cells. And second, it strengthens the connections between those cells, providing more mental agility and actually allowing the brain to stay young even as the body ages. There has been scientific research showing that the body continues to make new brain cells later in life. The general assumption was that around 50 we stop making new cell but now it is understood that neurogenesis (making new brain cells) can occur throughout life even as we advance into old age.

However, neurogenesis doesn’t occur at an equal rate in every person or throughout the different times in one’s life. Among the variables affecting the rate of production is exercise. Each time a muscle tenses and relaxes, it releases various chemicals into the body. Among these is a protein called IGF-1 that helps to organize the production of other chemicals that prompts brain cells to reproduce with remarkable speed. The more of these chemicals there are the more brain cells grow equipped to process new information. A brain with little of these chemicals closes itself off to new information and memory tend ot suffer as well.

It is all well and good to have lots of new cells but they need to connect together to work together. Exercise also aids in maintaining and improving these connections, the synapses. Researchers have found that the positive impacts of exercise on the brain come quickly. In under an hour, improvements in mental fitness often kick in, with synapse firing more efficiently. The bad news is that the benefits of exercise tend to fall off fairly quickly. People have to keep at it and these days Americans often don’t place much of a premium on physical fitness. We may be getting not only slower, but also slower on the uptake.

If the allure of remaining mentally sharp into old age isn’t enough to get you off the couch, think about this: recent studies suggest (not proved) that some of the same benefits may also slow the onset of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Fortunately, good results don’t require an extreme amount of exercise. Even just a few hours a week of brisk walking can help sustain body and mind. Any amount of exercise is better than none. I will also add that diet and sound sleep are also extremely important for mental alertness. There are many ways to stay healthy, active and mentally sound. And isn’t that what we want as we live longer.