December Massage Gift Certificate Promtion

Can't think of that perfect gift for a friend or family member?  During December, buy a one hour massage gift certificate for $65 and  receive a half hour gift certificate for free.   This is a great way to stretch your Holiday dollars or to give yourself a little bonus.

Smoking and your back

News about the negative aspects of smoking streams in every day.  Current research shows that smoking has a detrimental effect on the spinal discs.  Nicotine inhibits the synthesis and growth of disc cells.  Tobacco smoke may have a role in disc degeneration.....one of the primary reasons for back pain.  

My rule of thumb is that a smoker will take twice as long to recover from low back pain and is more likely to have multiple relapses.  

Back Pain....You are not alone! But what you do about it matters.

Sooner or later, almost everybody experiences back pain.   Eight out of ten Americans will suffer with back pain.  Of course, chiropractors are typically thought of as back doctors, even though we treat many other things. 

Because so many people do suffer from back pain, the government appointed a panel to discuss the most EFFECTIVE treatments for low back pain.  They found that chiropractic care "can be helpful with acute low back pain" while bedrest, many types of injections and several presciption medications were found to be not as effective or ineffective. 

Most people understood this concept innately....that when your back hurts going to the chiropractor helps.
But  people often question the need chiropractic for ongoing, chronic low back pain because you usually don't see the same dramatic results.  

The truth is there is no silver bullet that will give you those dramatic results. Chiropractic has been studied against home exercise programs, medication, back pain school and other treatment options in the treatment of these tough chronic cases.

An article in the medical journal, Spine, found chiropractic care beneficial for ONGOING CHRONIC back pain.  "Spinal manipulation is clinically useful for chronic pain patients who have been suffering seven weeks or more."  Another study has also found chiropractic care of low back pain superior to medical management in terms of safety, evidence of effectiveness and in patient satisfaction.

Nerve Compression Signs

We've all heard of the "pinched nerve" but what is pinching it, how do you know that's what it is and how do you fix it.   Many patients have minimal MRI findings and lots of pain......why?

Nerve compression (pinched nerve) usually presents with patient complaints of numbness, tingling, pain which may be accompanied by weakness in an arm or leg.   The patient is referred to a neurosurgeon who says no surgery will work and  then to pain management for injections.  Eventually, they come into my office with tons of questions.

It is a common misconception among the general public that the nerve is always technically pinched.  In fact, many times, there is no direct pressure on the nerve but the disc next to the nerve is inflamed and this causes a chemical irritation to the nerve that mimics direct pressure.   I tell patients this is like standing next to a man who is constantly spitting on you, you would become irritated too. Unfortunately, your nerve doesn't have the option of walking away from the spitter!

Many times this chemical irritation is much harder to correct than direct compression.  Surgery doesn't usually help in this scenario and injections only work half the time.  I have found that while difficult to work with, a treatment plan than includes chiropractic, non-surgical decompression and acupuncture in addition to traditional medical treatments has a much higher success rate in resolving the situation.

The important thing to remember is that this problem is real no matter if it is from direct compression or from inflammation and you must deal with it before it becomes worse.

Bone health....is milk really the answer?

Most of us think of bones as those things we see at Halloween. In truth, bone is a living matrix that is constantly changing.   Bone health is more than taking calcium or drinking milk.  Good bone health requires several things to be in balance.
First, body pH that is slighly alkaline.  Green leafy vegetables and fruit are good examples of alkaline foods while sugars, meats and processed foods are acidic.  In studies, increasing green leafy vegetables actually increased bone density while drinking milk did very little.  So decreasing meat, sugar and milk while increasing fruits and vegetables will strength bones over time.

Second, a balance intake of calcium, vitamin D and magnesium is essential.   The standard American diet that is high in sugar and neglects vegetables actually causes the body to shed magnesium into the urine.  Most Americans in the northern states do not get enough sunshine most months of the year to maintain their minimum standards of vitamin D without supplementation.  Even taking extra calcium, your bone health can be very poor due to a lack of intake of magnesium or this shedding phenomenon combined with a lack of vitamin D.

Physical exercise, especially band exercises or weight bearing exercises like walking and water exercise are essential to balancing the way the body recycles bone.  Getting consistent physical activity that contracts muscle through a full range of motion helps the body maintain bone density even in the elderly.

Finally, chiropractic adjustments that encourage proper joint alignment and good joint range of motion are an integral part of the "feeding" of the bones.   Osteoarthritis is exacerbated by poor joint alignment.   The joint "locking" that occurs with osteoathritis is very painful and may be exacerbated by poor dietary choices, poor alignment as well as the tendency not to move a stiff joint.

No bones about it....just as your waistline reflects how you move and eat, your bone cells also are a direct reflection of your nutritional choices and physical activity.

Glucosamine Increases Ibuprofen’s Pain Relief

Glucosamine Increases Ibuprofen’s Pain Relief

   The supplement glucosamine seems to boost the pain relief from ibuprofen, suggesting a way to help people with arthritis.

   With this combination the patient can use a lower dose of ibuprofen which should cause less stomach irritation.

   In recent years, glucosamine has been extensively studied as an arthritis treatment and it has been shown to greatly relieve the mobility problems of those with osteoarthritis, a painful degenerative disease of the joints.  It also helps slow the deterioration process, repairing bone and cartilage damage and reducing inflammation.  (Source:  The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.)

Bone health tips

Concentrating on Calcium

   If you’re over 55 – and especially if you’re a woman – you’re likely to be at risk for osteoporosis since 55% of people in this age group have low bone mass (thinning of the bones).

   Men shouldn’t ignore their calcium intake either because 20% of osteoporosis sufferers are male.

   Over the age of 50, women have an escalated rate of bone loss.  The recommended daily value of calcium jumps to 1,200 mg daily for women and men over 50.  Obviously, you should try to obtain calcium within your diet, but calcium supplementation may be necessary to meet your increased needs and prevent bone loss.

   You can get your daily dose of calcium from milk products like yogurt, from broccoli and from juices and cereals that are fortified with calcium.

  

Don’t Forget Vitamin D

   Vitamin D is essential for proper absorption of calcium but as we get older our ability to synthesize vitamin D from sunlight through our skin diminishes.  For this reason, we usually have to get it through supplements.

   Adults between 50 and 70 should be getting 400 to 800 IU of vitamin D per day.  Once you’re over 70 you may need 600 to 1,000 IU per day.

Tylenol dosages changed

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Johnson & Johnson said Thursday that it's reducing the maximum daily dose of its Extra Strength Tylenol pain reliever to lower risk of accidental overdose from acetaminophen, its active ingredient and the top cause of liver failure.

The company's McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division said the change affects Extra Strength Tylenol sold in the U.S. -- one of many products in short supply in stores due to a string of recalls.

Starting sometime this fall, labels on Extra Strength Tylenol packages will now list the maximum daily dose as six pills, or a total of 3,000 milligrams, down from eight pills a day, or 4,000 milligrams. Beginning next year, McNeil will also reduce the maximum daily dose for its Regular Strength Tylenol and other adult pain relievers containing acetaminophen, the most widely used pain killer in the country.

Besides Tylenol, acetaminophen is the active ingredient in the prescription painkillers Percocet and Vicodin and in some nonprescription pain relievers, including NyQuil and some Sudafed products. It's found in thousands of medicines taken for headaches, fever, sore throats and chronic pain.

But people taking multiple medicines at once don't always realize how much acetaminophen they are ingesting, partly because prescription drug labels often list it under the abbreviation "APAP."

Two years ago, a panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration called for sweeping restrictions to prevent accidental fatal overdoses of acetaminophen.

Then in January, the FDA said it would cap the amount of acetaminophen in Vicodin, Percocet and other prescription pain killers at 325 milligrams per capsule -- just under half the 700 milligram maximum of some products on the market then. The agency also said it was working with pharmacies and other medical groups to develop standard labeling for acetaminophen.

"Acetaminophen is safe when used as directed," Dr. Edwin Kuffner, McNeil's head of over-the-counter medical affairs, said in a statement. "McNeil is revising its labels for products containing acetaminophen in an attempt to decrease the likelihood of accidental overdosing."

Excessive use of acetaminophen can cause liver damage. In the U.S., it's blamed for about 200 fatal overdoses and sends 56,000 people to the emergency room each year.

(Emphasis is mine)

Comments

Please be careful when using over the counter medications for life's aches and pains.  All drugs including even the "safest" over the counter non-prescription drugs have serious side effects.  As stated in this article, it is difficult at times to understand when you are doubling or even tripling the safe dosage. 

Taking an occasional dose of over the counter pain killers is not an issue but when you are buying Maximum Strength painkillers in the economy package, it is really time to think about the side effects and may be time to give us a call.   Chiropractic is a drug-free treatment for many conditions.  

Some interesting studies on chiropractic

For Low Back Pain Chiropractic Care is More Effective than Muscle Relaxing Drugs

Following two weeks of treatment, chiropractic patients have more than a 50 percent greater decrease in low back pain, compared to patients treated with muscle relaxant drugs.  (Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, July-August 2004.)  

Chiropractic Care May Reduce Neck Pain by Nearly 80 Percent

A single 30-second treatment with manual therapy has been shown to decrease neck pain, on average, by 78 percent. Source: Physiotherapy, 2003 November; 89(11):666-674.

Research Shows Migraine Headaches are Relieved by Chiropractic

   Participants in a migraine research trial were reviewed for symptoms and clinical features and their response to chiropractic spinal adjustments. 

   The subjects who received chiropractic spinal adjustments responded dramatically with numerous symptoms either eliminated or substantially reduced.         

   Average frequency of migraine headaches was reduced on average by 90%, duration of each episode was reduced by 38%, and use of medication was reduced by 94%.

Tension Headaches???

Tension headaches are one of the most common types of headaches.  Everyone has occasional tension headaches but if the headache occurs two or more times weekly for several months or longer the condition is considered chronic.
Tension headaches are dull, pressure-like and are worse in the scalp, temples of back of the neck.   They can become as severe as a migraine but are different in that they are usually not one-sided and rarely involve visual distrubances.

They result from contraction of the scalp and neck muscles.  One cause is a response to emotional stress but physical stress that causes vertebral misalignment  or muscle tension is more often the culprit.  Any activity that causes the head to be held in one position for a long time without moving can cause a tension headache. 

In chronic tension headaches, the vertebral misalignments and muscle contractions become cyclic aggravated by many daily activities like typing, driving or knitting.  Stressors such as smoking, alcohol use caffeine or sinus irritation compound the problem.  Most home therapies will not break the cycle at this level. 

However, there is no reason to suffer with tension headaches. Tension headaches respond quickly to chiropractic treatment, massage and acupuncture. 

Stretch the opposite way first

To properly strengthen the muscles of your upper back, which help pull your shoulders and head back for better posture, you should stretch your chest muscles first. Most people have overly contracting chest muscles that inhibit or turn off the upper back muscles. If you stretch the chest first, this will allow the upper back muscles to fire at a higher rate. Try it.

If it's time to tune up your car then what about your body?

I just had a patient say something interesting to me.  The essence was that people are keeping their cars longer so they need more mechanical work.

There is no machine more complex than the human body. At that body's core is the spinal cord and nervous system.  

When you think about it, you only keep a car ten to fourteen years and you keep this body for seventy five to ninety.  

Isn't it time for a tune-up?

Back pain is almost entirely at your control

All the time I hear patients say, "I was born with a bad back"  or "I go to the chiropractor and it helps but it comes back". 

Studies of 2000 twins have determined that rarely is back pain genetic.  The findings indicate what largely determines whether we are likely to suffer from back pain relies heavily on what stresses we expose our spines to and how we choose to treat injuries should they occur.

The truth is that your spine is under constant wear and tear type stress.   It is the miracle of the spinal column's construction that keeps most people from constant pain and allows us the thousands of different movements we do every day.   Regular "spinal hygiene"(including  proper sitting and lifting techiniques, exercise and weight control) is the true key to  decreasing back pain.  

Finally, it is essential when you are injured that you treat the injury until it is completely healed and you continue to rehabilitate that injury.  Most patients feel if the pain is gone, the injury is healed.  That is far from the truth.  The muscles, ligaments and cartilage need weeks to heal.   Dropping out of your care before the healing is complete or not performing your daily back exercises will set you up for re-injury.    After as few as three poorly treated minor injuries or one poorly treated major injury, your chances for experiencing pain for the rest of your life is dramatically increased.

Although I can advise you, I cannot force you to follow my directions.  In the end, YOU and the choices you make in life are ultimately responsible for the amount of back pain you suffer.   

A Happy Gardener is a Pain Free Gardener

Gardening can provide a great workout, but with all the bending, twisting, reaching and pulling, your body may not be ready for exercise of the garden variety.  Gardening can be enjoyable, but it is important to stretch your muscles before reaching for your gardening tools. The back, upper legs, shoulders, and wrists are all major muscle groups affected when using your green thumb.  A warm-up and cool-down period is as important in gardening as it is for any other physical activity. Performing simple stretches during these periods will help alleviate injuries, pain and stiffness. To make gardening as fun and enjoyable as possible, it is important to prepare your body for this type of physical activity. The following stretches will help to alleviate muscle pain after a day spent in your garden.

 

 

Garden Fitness Stretches

• Before stretching for any activity, breathe in and out, slowly and rhythmically; do not bounce or jerk your body, and stretch as far and as comfortably as you can. Do not follow the no pain, no gain rule. Stretching should not be painful.

• While sitting, prop your heel on a stool or step, keeping the knees straight. Lean forward until you feel a stretch in the back of the thigh, or the hamstring muscle. Hold this position for 15 seconds. Do this once more and repeat with the other leg.

• Stand up, balance yourself, and grab the front of your ankle from behind. Pull your heel towards your buttocks and hold the position for 15 seconds. Do this again and repeat with the other leg.

• While standing, weave your fingers together above your head with the palms up. Lean to one side for 10 seconds, then to the other. Repeat this stretch three times.

• Do the "Hug your best friend." Wrap your arms around yourself and rotate to one side, stretching as far as you can comfortably go. Hold for 10 seconds and reverse. Repeat two or three times. Finally, be aware of your body technique, form and posture while gardening. Kneel, don't bend, and alternate your stance and movements frequently.

Memorial Day Weekend Hours

Happy Memorial Day! The office will be closing today at 12:30 and will be closed Monday in observance of the holiday. However, if you have an urgent matter or an injury, please call the office. I will be in town over the weekend. As always, it is better to treat it immediately than to wait.

Beware of those "comfy" summer shoes

Walking in backless shoes can cause a real backache!   Flipflops and summer sandals cause a change in the way that your foot sits in the shoe and your foot moves differently than it does in a walking shoe.  That mechanical change works itself all the way up to the spine and the neck and could be the culprit for increased lower back pain or even neck discomfort.

If you are going to be walking alot this summer, you will be doing your spine a big favor by choosing  either a walking shoe or a sandal with a back strap.

Happy Spring!

Wow what a gorgeous day!  I sincerely hope you all are out having a wonderful time.

There is nothing I wish more than that my patients can live life to the fullest.   People usually come to us with painful conditions that are restricting their activities and limiting their lives.  Of course, our first goal is to get rid of your pain.  But our overall goal is to help you learn to take up healthy habits so that you can enjoy days like today . 

So get off that computer and get outside because that's what Im going to do today

Til the next time

Dr Hovi

Improve that Golf Game

If you have ever golfed, you'll likely know the importance of a full golf swing.  Whole magazines seem to be dedicated to techniques to improve your swing.  What if something as safe and easy as a chiropractic adjustment could improve that golf swing?   A new study shows just that!  Chiropractic adjustments when combined with specific stretching improved golf performance and scores more than  just specific stretching.

For a growing number of  professional athletes, chiropractic care has been the tool they've usesd to increase their overall performance in their particular sport.   So before you go on those links, stop by to get adjusted

April is National Backpack Safety Month

Research shows the majority of students carry more than the recommended weight in their packs.

Low quality backpacks and/or improper backpack techniques can cause serious short term and potentially long-term back and spinal problems.

Here is a checklist for parents:

Is the backpack the correct size for your child?  The backpack should never be wider or longer than your child's torso and the pack should not hang lower than 4 inches below the waist.

Does the backpack have two wide, padded shoulder straps?  Lugging a heavy backpack by one strap can cause neck muscle spasms, as well as low back pain.

Is there a waist belt?  This will help distribute the weight of a heavy load from the back and shoulders to the hips and torso.

Does the pack have several compartments?  A backpack with individualized compartments helps position the contents more effectively

(excerpted from an article by the ACA, August 2005)

In addition to the great hints listed above, I would like to add a couple of thoughts.  First, most people have one leg that is slightly shorter than the other.  This is due to either a true short leg or a discrepancy in muscle balance.  Secondly, in the middle school years is when scoliosis, curvature of the spine, starts to become an issue, especially with girls.

A child carrying a heavy pack with the altered gait caused by a true leg length difference, muscular imbalance or a spinal curvature is increasing their risk for injury even with the best backpack.

Checking for a leg length difference or spinal curvature is fast, easy and absolutely painless.   We provide this service for our patient's children at no charge.   I advise that before your child carries a heavy backpack that you bring them in for this simple check. 

My Neck is Killing Me

One of the most common complaints in our office is neck pain.  

Most people will start the conversation with "My neck is killing me.  I must have slept wrong."   Sleeping in an odd position is a frequent culprit, especially when the neck pain is a rare occurence. 

However, the more likely cause for ongoing or frequent bouts of neck pain is poor posture combined with weak muscles.  In today's society, increased abdominal weight pulling the body forward or hours of sitting at the computer (or driving especially in McHenry County) are the most common scenarios causing poor posture.  

For every inch that your head slouches forward, the pressure on the vertebrae and discs is increased exponentially.   The discs tend to "creep" or bulge because of the sustained increased pressure. Muscles are stretched so taunt that they ache constantly.  And finally after years, the vertebrae will actually compress due to the constant pressure.

All of this is easily avoided by doing basic postural exercises like yoga, using proper ergonomics and controlling weight.    Basic neck exercises are located in exercise section of both of the websites, http://www.advancedchirocareplus.com/ and http://www.chiropracticclinicofmarengo.com/.

If you need more help with these issues, come into the office and we can review your situation.

Vacation

The clinics will be closed April 7-10.  

Mr Hovi is attending the Illinois Chapter of the American Massage Therapy Association Convention in Itasca while I have a girlfriend's weekend scheduled.

We will be back on Monday April 11 ready to take care of any of your problems.

Study finds chiropractic saves 40% on care

A new study finds that low back pain care initiated with a doctor of chiropractic (DC) saves 40 percent on health care costs when compared with care initiated through a medical doctor (MD), the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) announced today. The study, featuring data from 85,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield beneficiaries, concludes that insurance companies that restrict access to chiropractic care for low back pain treatment may inadvertently pay more for care than they would if they removed such restrictions.

Low back pain is a significant public health problem. Up to 85 percent of Americans have back pain at some point in their lives. In addition to its negative effects on employee productivity, back pain treatment accounts for about $50 billion annually in health care costs—making it one of the top 10 most costly conditions treated in the United States.

The study, “Cost of Care for Common Back Pain Conditions Initiated With Chiropractic Doctor vs. Medical Doctor/Doctor of Osteopathy as First Physician: Experience of One Tennessee-Based General Health Insurer,” which is available online and will also be published in the December 2010 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, looked at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee’s intermediate and large group fully insured population over a two-year span. The insured study population had open access to MDs and DCs through self-referral, and there were no limits applied to the number of MD/DC visits allowed and no differences in co-pays.
Results show that paid costs for episodes of care initiated by a DC were almost 40 percent less than care initiated through an MD. After risk-adjusting each patient’s costs, researchers still found significant savings in the chiropractic group. They estimated that allowing DC-initiated episodes of care would have led to an annual cost savings of $2.3 million for BCBS of Tennessee.

“As doctors of chiropractic, we know firsthand that our care often helps patients avoid or reduce more costly interventions such as drugs and surgery. This study supports what we see in our practices every day,” said ACA President Rick McMichael, DC. “It also demonstrates the value of chiropractic care at a critical time, when our nation is attempting to reform its health care system and contain runaway costs.”

                                           http://www.acatoday.org/press_css.cfm?CID=4178

This study reinforces a concept that many resolute chiropractic patients have known for years.  

As a chiropractor, I treat back pain all day long, every day.  I do most of my continuing education in spinal related issues, learning the newest concepts in this specific field.  I have built relationships with specialists in the medical arena to confer with in situations where chiropractic alone may not be the answer.   Since the vast majority of spinal pain does not require surgery or expensive testing, this means more "one stop" access to care for the patient versus the traditional medical system in which you visit the family practitioner who then may autonatically refer you for expensive testing, physical therapy and a specialist consultation.

A visit to the chiropractor should be your first choice when confronted with back pain.   This small step can save time and money.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call the office and we will be happy to help you.

Why does it keep “going out”? I wasnt doing anything.

If this is more than the third time that you have had a similar problem, you need to realize this condition is not stable and may always be weak. 

When the first injury occurred, if you did not treat it immediately and follow through to full recovery, the tiny muscles in your spine called the multifidus shrank on the side of the injury.  These multifidus muscles are the stabilizers of your spine.   They allow you to do complex motions like bending over and picking up a Kleenex or dancing or a thousand other things we do every day. 

If the muscle shrank on only one side, then that side will always be weaker and the vertebra will “go out” much easier and more frequently.   The solution is to do specific home exercises to stabilize your spine.  For more information on these exercises, you can consult our website at www.advancedchirocareplus.com, look under Chiropractic and then Home Exercises and Stretching.

Ice or Heat--I am so confused!

This is probably the most frequent question that I answer and why I feel it should be the first post on my new blog.

With nearly any injury, like a sprained ankle or if you bend over and feel your back pop, use ice to reduce inflammation.  The way to remember this is to think about the Super Bowl.    Along the side lines, do you see huge ice containers or large heating pads.  Well, of course, we all know it is ice buckets.  If it is good enough for the NFL players, then it is what you should use.

The rule of thumb recommendation is twenty minutes on and twenty minutes off until the pain or swelling subsides.   As an alternative, you may want to use this method to determine how long to keep the ice on.   The ice application will initially feel cold, then hot or you will experience a burning type sensation, after that you feel an achiness and finally numbness.    Once you get to numbness, you can remove the ice pack because you have acheived your treatment goal.   You then let the skin warm up to room temperature and you can repeat the process.

For small areas or very swollen areas, an ice massage is recommended.  Ice massage is using an ice cube to massage the area.  Remember to apply warm water to the area so the ice cube can glide.  Also use a paper towel to hold the ice cube.  You should go through the same stages to get to numbness. 

Ice is the preferred treatment for almost every situation a layperson runs into and should be your "go to" choice.

Yes, heat feels better.  But it is not nearly as effective and will often cause a delay in healing time if applied improperly.   Heat should NEVER be applied to a brand new injury.  Heat is only for specific problems. Even then has to be applied and monitored carefully.   I always tell patients that if you are not a turkey do not cook yourself.   Application of heat for long periods of time will "cook" the tissue and cause damage that may double or triple healing times.

Heat brings blood and fluid to the injured area.   You would use heat on old problems that are aching, like an old footbal knee, or you could use it to relax large muscles.    Heat should not be used by the layperson without professional advice if there is numbness, tingling or "nerve pain".

A good rule of thumb is to use moist heat for no more than 10 minutes on an area.   Warm moist towels, hot tub, bath or a hot water bottle will all do the trick.   If the area turns pinkish-red then you are doing it right.  If it turns bright red, that is too hot or applied for too long.

Finally, alternating ice and heat applications is a great solution for that painful area which has started to heal.  Most authorities state that you can start alternating ice and heat after 48-72 hours.   I usually recommend starting with an ice/heat/ice regimen if you are starting alternating therapies that early.

Another great solution for temporary  pain relief is a topical analgesic like BioFreeze or those analgesic pads sold by various companies such as Icy Hot. 

If these simple home care solutions do not help in just a few applications, it's best to call the office and get the situation checked out. 

Hope this answered your questions.   Til the next time, Dr. Hovi