Condition Of the Week From Your Chiropractor: Shoulder Pain

Your son wants to throw the ball around? Not today. Laundry piling up, but it’s too painful to separate whites from colors?
Life can get pretty rough when you have Shoulder Pain. You never think about how important your arms are until you can’t use one of them because of the searing, pinching pain that shouts into your shoulder at even the slightest movement. Shoulder pain affects an estimated 27 million people each year.

What are the causes of shoulder pain?

Some of the most common causes for shoulder pain include:

• Neck and midback pain that’s trickling down
It may surprise you, but when you have excruciating neck
and midback pain, it can sometimes be felt in the shoulder. That’s why it’s so important to have an examination to truly pinpoint where your problem is.

• Impingement syndrome
When the tendons of the rotator cuff muscles become irritated and inflamed it causes this common affliction. Shoulder overhead movements are made all but impossible.

• Frozen shoulder
Also known as adhesive capsulitis, this condition severely restricts movement. Using Progressive Rehab® will strengthen
the area around the pain while also relieving spasms and reduce swelling that are symptomatic of the area.

• Arthritis
While not as common as hip or knee arthritis, shoulder arthritis is no less painful and debilitating.

For more information regarding shoulder pain contact your local HealthSource Chiropractor.

Dr. Matthew Fiebelkorn is a Stillwater Chiropractor who teaches, speaks, and writes about wellness and health issues for adults and children and on improving their quality of life through healthier lifestyle choices.  For more information on Dr. Fiebelkorn, visit his web site. Or Call Today (651)300-0150!

@HSStillwater

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Jerry Rice 4 Chiropractic!

Jerry Rice 4 Chiropractic!

Health Benefits of Playing Basketball From Your Chiropractic Office.

With March Madness right around the corner we thought it would be a great time to find out just how beneficial basketball is to your health.  It can be played as a team competitively, as a recreation sport or even by yourself! All that running and jumping is a great cardiovascular workout, not to mention you use your whole body.  Basketball specifically strengthens your muscles and increases flexibility and burns fat. Just 1 hour of this wonderful sport can burn anywhere from 630 to 750 calories! Imagine that?

Some additional benefits to playing ball are that it builds endurance while also improving balance and coordination. We say it is an overall WINNER and it sure is fun! So get a team together, play inside or outside (weather permitting) or heck just play a good ole game of P-I-G.

Fun Facts about Basketball:

• James Naismith published the rules for “Basket Ball” in 1892 for the game that he invented the year before.
• In 1900, five players became the norm on the court.
• Dribbling was introduced in 1901; it was not part of the game originally.
• In 1985, the free throw line was placed on the court.

Before taking up the sport of basketball, please consult with your doctor. Big thanks to http://livehealthy.chron.com and www.10-facts-about.com  for providing really great facts.

Dr. Matthew Fiebelkorn is a Stillwater Chiropractor who teaches, speaks, and writes about wellness and health issues for adults and children and on improving their quality of life through healthier lifestyle choices.  For more information on Dr. Fiebelkorn, visit his web site. Or Call Today (651)300-0150!

@HSStillwater

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Chiropractic: Back Pain Facts & Statistics

Back Pain Facts & Statistics

Although chiropractors care for more than just back pain, many patients visit chiropractors looking for relief from this pervasive condition.  In fact, 31 million Americans experience low-back pain at any given time.¹

A few interesting facts about back pain:

• Low back pain is the single leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the Global Burden of Disease 2010.
• One-half of all working Americans admit to having back pain symptoms each year.²
• Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work.  In fact, back pain is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections.
• Most cases of back pain are mechanical or non-organic—meaning they are not caused by serious conditions, such as inflammatory arthritis, infection, fracture or cancer.
• Americans spend at least $50 billion each year on back pain—and that’s just for the more easily identified costs.³
• Experts estimate that as many as 80% of the population will experience a back problem at some time in our lives.⁴

What Causes Back Pain?

The back is a complicated structure of bones, joints, ligaments and muscles. You can sprain ligaments, strain muscles, rupture disks, and irritate joints, all of which can lead to back pain. While sports injuries or accidents can cause back pain, sometimes the simplest of movements—for example, picking up a pencil from the floor— can have painful results. In addition, arthritis, poor posture, obesity, and psychological stress can cause or complicate back pain. Back pain can also directly result from disease of the internal organs, such as kidney stones, kidney infections, blood clots, or bone loss.

Manipulation as a Treatment for Back Problems

Used primarily by Doctors of Chiropractic (DCs) for the last century, manipulation has been largely ignored by most others in the health care community until recently. Now, with today's growing emphasis on treatment and cost effectiveness, manipulation is receiving more widespread attention.

Chiropractic spinal manipulation is a safe and effective spine pain treatment. It reduces pain, decreases medication, rapidly advances physical therapy, and requires very few passive forms of treatment, such as bed rest.⁵

In fact, after an extensive study of all currently available care for low back problems, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research—a federal government research organization—recommended that low back pain sufferers choose the most conservative care first. And it recommended spinal manipulation as the only safe and effective, drugless form of initial professional treatment for acute low back problems in adults.⁶

A patient information article published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association also suggested chiropractic care as an option for people suffering from low back pain--and noted that surgery is usually not needed and should only be tried if other therapies fail.⁷

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) urges you to make an informed choice about your back care. To learn more about how the services of doctors of chiropractic may help you, review the results of recent research studies and contact a Doctor of Chiropractic in your area. Search our online database of ACA members to find a doctor of chiropractic near you.

Tips to Prevent Back Pain

• Maintain a healthy diet and weight.
• Remain active—under the supervision of your doctor of chiropractic.
• Avoid prolonged inactivity or bed rest.
• Warm up or stretch before exercising or other physical activities, such as gardening.
• Maintain proper posture.
• Wear comfortable, low-heeled shoes.
• Sleep on a mattress of medium firmness to minimize any curve in your spine.
•  Lift with your knees, keep the object close to your body, and do not twist when lifting.
• Quit smoking. Smoking impairs blood flow, resulting in oxygen and nutrient deprivation to spinal tissues.
• Work with your doctor of chiropractic to ensure that your computer workstation is ergonomically correct.

Dr. Matthew Fiebelkorn is a Stillwater Chiropractor who teaches,speaks, and writes about wellness and health issues for adults and children and on improving their quality of life through healthier lifestyle choices.  For more information on Dr. Fiebelkorn, visit his web site. Or Call Today (651)300-0150!

HealthSource of Stillwater

http://www.healthsourceofstillwater.com

651-300-0150

Chiropractic and Sports Injuries: Stillwater, MN 55082

Sports Injuries

Participation in sports or exercise is an important step in maintaining your health. Exercise strengthens your heart, bones, and joints and reduces stress, among many other benefits. Unfortunately, injuries during participation in sports are all too common. Often, these injuries occur in someone who is just taking up sports as a form of activity, doesn’t use proper safety equipment, or becomes overzealous about the exercise regimen.

The more commonly injured areas of the body are the ankles, knees, shoulders, elbows, and spine. Remember that you should discuss any exercise program with your doctor of chiropractic before undertaking such activities.

Strains and Sprains
Although bones can sometimes be fractured with acute sports injuries, the most commonly injured structures are the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Tendons attach muscles to bones, and ligaments attach one bone to another.

An acute twisting or overextension of a joint can lead to tears of muscles and tendons, called “strains,” and tears of ligaments result in “sprains.” These tears range from mild to severe. In mild injuries, just a few fibers are torn or stretched. Severe injuries, where there is a tear through the full thickness of the structure, are most often considered unstable injuries and frequently require surgical intervention. The intervertebral disc, a ligament between the vertebrae of the spine that works as a shock absorber, can also be torn, resulting in a disc bulge and/or herniation.

Ankle sprains most often involve tears of one or more of the ligaments along the outside of the ankle. Knee ligaments, including the larger external supportive ligaments and the smaller internal stabilizing ligaments, can also be torn. The cartilage on the back of the patella (knee-cap) can also become eroded from overuse, leading to a condition termed chondromalacia patella.

Tendinosis
In those who are training too much, overuse of a particular joint or joints in the body can result in pain and dysfunction. These injuries are called “overuse syndromes.” A common overuse injury is tendinosis, also called tendinitis. In this condition, the tendon becomes inflamed from repetitive use. In the shoulder, the rotator cuff (a complex of muscles that stabilizes and moves the shoulder) becomes inflamed, resulting in rotator cuff tendinitis. Tennis elbow is another form of tendinitis that occurs along the outside of the elbow, most commonly in tennis players. In golfer’s elbow, the tendons on the inside of the elbow are affected.

Stress Fractures
Some athletes may experience a stress fracture, also called a fatigue fracture. This type of fracture occurs when an abnormal amount of stress is placed on a normal bone. This might occur in a runner who rapidly increases the amount of mileage while training for a race. Stress fractures also occur in people who begin running as a form of exercise but overdo it from the start, rather than gradually progress to longer distances.

One final common injury is worth mentioning, and that is shin splints. This overuse injury is caused by microfractures on the front surface of the tibia (shin bone). This is most often seen in runners, although other athletes can also be affected.

Diagnosis and Treatment
Sports injuries are most often diagnosed from the history of the activity that brought on the pain, along with a physical examination. In some cases, x-rays are necessary to rule out a fracture. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diagnostic ultrasound are also used in finding soft-tissue injuries, like tendinitis and sprains.

Fractures require the application of some stabilizing device, such as a cast, after the bone is put back into position. Rarely, surgical intervention is required. There is a relatively standard treatment protocol for most of the other overuse types of injuries. This protocol involves the following:

Rest
Generally no more than 48 hours of rest and/or immobilization is needed, depending on the severity of the injury. In most cases, the sooner the person becomes active after an injury, the more rapid is the recovery. In fact, long-term immobilization can sometimes be harmful to recovery. Your doctor of chiropractic will guide this process, as too early a return to activity, choosing the wrong type of activity, or excessive activity can be detrimental.

Ice or heat
Ice or heat can be helpful with pain reduction and tissue healing.

Compression
Compression of the area may reduce the amount of swelling from the injury. Your doctor of chiropractic will determine if this will be beneficial in your case.

Elevation
Elevation of the injured arm or leg above the level of the heart is thought to be helpful in reducing swelling.

Pain relievers
Recent research has demonstrated that some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may actually slow the healing process by restricting the body’s natural healing mechanisms, so they should be used sparingly.

Joint manipulation
Recent research has shown us that, in some cases, joint manipulation can be helpful with pain reduction and more rapid recovery. Your doctor of chiropractic will determine if this procedure will be helpful in your case.

A Word about Prevention
In many cases, sports injuries can be prevented. Proper conditioning and warm-up and cool-down procedures, as well as appropriate safety equipment, can substantially reduce injuries. Understanding proper techniques can also go a long way toward preventing injuries.
Sufficient water intake is also an important preventive measure.

Dr. Matthew Fiebelkorn is a Stillwater Chiropractor who teaches,speaks, and writes about wellness and health issues for adults and children and on improving their quality of life through healthier lifestyle choices.  For more information on Dr. Fiebelkorn, visit his web site. Or Call Today (651)300-0150!

HealthSource Chiropractic of Stillwater

http://www.healthsourceofstillwater.com

651-300-0150

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