This is part 3 in a 7-part series on how to find the best chiropractor.
You may be in pain now and not quite sure how to find a chiropractor that can help. Lucky for you, this blog can help.
At SpinalWorks, we’ve discovered many secrets for eliminating all different kinds of pain – headaches, migraines, neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain, leg pain – you get the idea.
And, along the way, we’ve compiled a checklist of the Seven Most Important Items that you need to know.
Here is Tip #3 to finding the right Chiropractor in Phoenix (or anywhere else for that matter). Make sure to go over this checklist with your chiropractor – getting out and staying out of pain depends on it!
TIP #3 - Force the Doctor to Set Expectations
No matter how major or minor your pain may be, your doctor should always be able to explain what results are expected and in what time frame!
Many doctors will try to avoid this, but if your doctor is experienced, he or she should normally be able to explain what progress is expected, and within what time period.
So put your doctor on the spot!
And while you’re at it, ask for a copy of the treatment plan and costs in writing, along with the doctor’s financial policy so that there is no confusion later.
Want to learn more? Then visit the website of the best Phoenix Chiropractor Dr Steve Van Laecken.
This is part 2 in a 7-part series on how to find the best chiropractor.
You may be in pain now and not quite sure how to find a chiropractor that can help. Lucky for you, this blog can help.
At SpinalWorks, we’ve discovered many secrets for eliminating all different kinds of pain – headaches, migraines, neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain, leg pain – you get the idea.
And, along the way, we’ve compiled a checklist of the Seven Most Important Items that you need to know.
Here is Tip #2 to finding the right Chiropractor in Phoenix (or anywhere else for that matter). Make sure to go over this checklist with your chiropractor – getting out and staying out of pain depends on it!
TIP #2 - Make Sure You Get Full Disclosure
No matter how major or minor your pain may be, your doctor should always explain the findings of his/her analysis and the rationale behind the recommended treatment plan.
It is important for you to know exactly what the problem is and how the proposed treatment plan will help. This will show that the doctor knows his/her stuff and doesn’t just start treating you without a focus on resolving your complaint.
NOTE: this review of the doctor’s findings should never take place on the same visit as your x-rays and/or scan – otherwise, the doctor would have no time to study your results and develop a treatment plan tailored to your specific problem.
Remember, that there is no “one size fits all” solution! So please make sure that you hear back the details of what treatment is planned and how that will help your specific complaint BEFORE you start with any chiropractor.
Want to learn more? Then visit the website of the best Chiropractor in Phoenix Dr Steve Van Laecken.
This is part 1 in a 7-part series on how to find the best chiropractor.
You may be in pain now and not quite sure how to find a chiropractor that can help. Lucky for you, this blog can help.
At SpinalWorks, we’ve discovered many secrets for eliminating all different kinds of pain – headaches, migraines, neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain, leg pain – you get the idea.
And, along the way, we’ve compiled a checklist of the Seven Most Important Items that you need to know.
Here is Tip #1 to finding the right Chiropractor in Phoenix (or anywhere else for that matter). Make sure to go over this checklist with your chiropractor – getting out and staying out of pain depends on it!
TIP #1 - Get A Background Check
Even if your pain is so bad that you just want to try anything, your doctor must always take the time to perform a complete neurological, orthopedic, and muscular exam so that he/she knows exactly how best to treat you.
If your chiropractor wants to start treating you right away – without taking the time to study your situation – then walk the other way!
Since pain in one area is often related to issues elsewhere, a comprehensive investigation is the best start to eliminating your pain.
In addition, full spinal x-rays and a surface EMG scan should be used to reveal hidden neurological or muscular issues.
So make sure that your chiropractic treatment starts with a comprehensive exam.
Want to learn more? Then visit Phoenix Chiropractor Dr Steve Van Laecken.
The next misconception of chiropractic we are going to look into is a common complaint, one that is used so frequently it is nearly comical. Each of us, at one point in time or another, has heard someone we know complain of their “back going out.” In many of these cases, this is exactly how the back may feel. In reality, that is almost never the case. Read on to find the real cause of “your back goes out more than you do!”
The Group of Seven
In actuality, there are seven – count them, SEVEN – different reasons behind that painful, locked-up and stuck feeling that puts the body in so much pain and makes us grouchy people. Some of the reasons will seem pretty obvious, while others are not.
The 7 reasons for your back feeling stuck and in horrible pain include:
- Low-grade spasm – muscles twitching in your back
- Pelvis torque and tension – generating unnecessary twist
- Imbalance of hips – leading to a crooked back
- Fallen and dropped arches – yes, the arches in your feet – giving unnatural curve in your back
- Stiff or misaligned vertebral joints – making movement difficult and painful
- Adhesions in the leg muscles – pulling on your lower back
- Pinched nerves – for whatever reason, but generating very specific pain
Seven Reasons Give One Result
Each one of these may leave you feeling like your back has “gone” out, when in reality, that is not the case at all. Your “back” is still largely in the same position – only minor changes have been made, but do those minor changes ever bring about major pain!!!
And in almost every case, the back pain you feel is neither just pain from your spine or pain from your back muscles, but a combination of both.
Second-Stringer Backup Plan
Think about it like this: If one of the primary muscles that stabilizes the spine is partially spasmed, the “back-up” or “second-stringer” muscle has to carry the full load. This is less than ideal…in fact, this is a serious problem!
The second-stringer is not equipped to play a lead role, gets tired and sore. On top of that, the secondd-stringer can’t do the job the way the primary muscle does, and this leads to improper posture, weakened support or just plain old crookedness in your back. Finally, the second-stringer gets too tired to do much of the job at all and gives up as well. And when that happens, it feels like your whole back has gone out!
You Need a Chiropractor!
Chiropractors specialize in detecting the real cause of your back pain, and work to eliminate the pain by restoring spinal position and muscle ability. A chiropractor will know if a bone is out of place, even by a few millimeters, and will also be able to detect if a primary muscle is not doing the job the way it should, or if a second-stringer is doing more work than it should. With that information in hand, the chiropractor can make the necessary adjustments and prescribe the necessary exercises to help correct what’s wrong and keep your back from going out and hurting like it does.
Even better, your chiropractor can help correct the problems causing pain today to avoid them turning into long-term issues such as spinal degeneration, disc herniations, disc bulging, bone spur growth, and osteoarthritis.
What You Should Do Now
Never been to a chiropractor, even if your back has gone out? Shame on you!!! Now you know what to do, so get on with the business of finding a professional to help you!!! Phoenix Chiropractor Dr. Steve Van Laecken is just the man for you…
In all of Dr. Steve’s experience and working with back pain, he always looks at the seven reasons listed above. In addition to those seven factors, Dr. Steve examines a complete set of spinal x-rays, orthopedic, and chiropractic testing. By studying these different factors, Dr. Steve can almost always identify and correct the root of what is causing your pain. And looking at these causes, Dr. Steve can help reduce and permanently get rid of your pain altogether!
Stay tuned for some common muscle misconceptions that have a huge effect on your back pain and general health!
Strength training is an essential element of fitness for virtually every sports man and woman. Long gone are the days when coaches believed resistance exercises only added unnecessary bulk to the athlete, hindering their ability to execute skill.
The principles of training promote a steady and specific increase in strength and other abilities by specifically adapting the routine to the needs of the sport and, most importantly, to the physical capacity of the individual athlete. The rules and principles work hand in hand in the quest to develop superior programs of strength.
The benefits of strength training to athletic performance are enormous and many. Not only is it an integral conditioning component for power athletes such as football and rugby players, performance in the pure endurance events can be improved with a well-structured strength routine.
However, aside from perhaps bodybuilders, sport-specific resistance training requires a more refined approach than simply lifting heavy weights to complete exhaustion. A physiological analysis of any game or event will confirm that most athletes require explosive power, muscular endurance, maximal strength or some combination of all three in order to excel. Rarely is pure muscle bulk the primary concern and when it is, other elements of strength are equally as important.
The past few years the sport and fitness market has been invaded by many products that claim to improve athletic performance greatly. An understanding of biomechanics and exercise physiology, however, reveals that many of the products intended to improve strength, speed, and power actually inhibit them…In many instances…new exercises and promises of miraculous improvement. Not very often, however do they address the issues of anatomical and neuromuscular adaptation, which are central to performance improvement and should be the foundation for all sport-specific programs.
SPORTS SPECIFIC
No matter what sport a person participate in their development and abilities include strength training. While many strength training programs are designed for overall muscle strength, sports trainers focus on the muscles needed to excel in a particular. Therefore, a golf strength training program will differ from that for football or baseball, strengthening the muscles used in the specific sport.
While there is no specific muscle that has to stand out like those of a body builder, those used in golf need to be trained to work together as one unit. With the twisting and turning involved in hitting a golf ball during the swing, having all the muscles strong and working together can provide a longer hit either from the tee or from the ground. Through golf strength training the muscles are defined as a group rather than individual muscles.
The benefit of strength and strength training for footballers is well supported by research. For example, De Proft and colleagues had one group of Belgian professionals perform extra weight training during the season. Compared to a control group of colleagues who did no extra training, the players improved their kicking power and leg strength. In addition, British researcher Thomas Reilly showed that the stronger players outlasted the weaker players in terms of a regular place in the team, and had reduced injury risks. He recommends that leg strength in particular is developed, especially in the quadriceps and hamstrings, to help stabilize the knee joint, which is the most frequently injured joint in football. Peter Apor, a Hungarian researcher who has been involved in long-term studies of Hungarian professionals, agrees, saying that knee-extension torque has been associated with success in the game and that strong hamstring muscles in relation to quadriceps are crucial to knee injury prevention. Another common football injury is hernia, for which the best protection is developing strong abdominal muscles.
RESEARCH
In 2006, a research study was performed to assess whether chiropractic adjustments increased muscle strength in leg muscles and the results were conclusive and imperative for any athlete; either professional or recreational. The implications go well beyond sports as this also affects the workplace and manual labor of any kind.
Simply put, the brain has to communicate, or talk to muscles in order to fully function, or recruit all motor units (individual parts of the muscle) during a maximal voluntary contraction. The adjustment activates mechanoreceptors (parts of the nerve responsible for firing the muscle and causing contractions.)
The results of the study showed a significant (10%) increase in quadricept (leg muscle) strength in the treatment group after the chiropractic adjustment, while prior to the adjustment there was no statistical difference between treatment groups. This clearly indicates that chiropractic care increases muscle strength in any individual and has far reaching affects in every type of athlete as well as every other activity of daily living.
These studies, along with many others conclude that a drug-free approach of chiropractic care is one of the best solutions to increase muscle strength. To find a qualified doctor of chiropractic near you, go to the US Chiropractic Directory at www.USChiroDirectory.comand search your state.
The first myth in a series of five that we are going to bring up involves that excruciating pain down your leg.
Sciatica – That Huge Pain in My Leg!!
You (or someone you know) are probably more than familiar with that horrible pain that runs the length of your leg. Maybe you have had it checked out before by your family practitioner, a specialist, or a sports doctor. Each time, expensive tests led to no conclusive results, which right where you started: still in pain, but now feeling frustrated.
Feel frustrated and in pain no longer! What your doctor is not telling you – and may not even know – can make all the difference.
The Small Muscle Did It!
The human body has a small muscle, approximately 5 inches in length, in the hip. This tiny muscle is often the cause of the pain you feel! The muscle squeezes the sciatic nerve, which causes this excruciating leg pain. Symptoms of sciatica may also include tingling, numbness or weakness that travels down the sciatic nerve to the back of the leg. It may feel like you have a slipped or herniated disc, but that simply is not the case.
The Inside Scoop…
We have bad news and good news for you. The bad news is that there is no expensive medical test or MRI that can reveal this. The good news is that there is a much simpler solution! The problem itself is much smaller than your previous doctors, maybe even including other chiropractors, have made it out to be. With that said, it is also has a much easier (and cheaper!) to correct.
So What Do I Do Now?
Do you experience sciatica? Has it left you in pain and despair? Your first step should be to contact Dr. Steve Van Laecken at www.spinalworks.com to have him do a quick exam TODAY! While you are there, be sure to pick up some of our Client Testimonials to read about the benefits they have received from chiropractic care.
Don’t live in Phoenix Arizona? No problem. Dr. Steve is delighted to refer you to another chiropractor in your hometown so you can get your whole family checked out and in their best health yet. Be sure to check out all five of Dr. Steve’s “Myth” articles… you’ll be glad you did!
Introduction
As Doctor of Chiropractic in north Phoenix at SpinalWorks Chiropractic, I’ve discovered what may be the best healing secrets for “bad backs”—ever! This paper exposes the “FIVE MYTHS” of back pain that doctors, medical professionals and, yes, even other chiropractors, just wish you didn’t know.
Now, I would never make a claim that I couldn’t back up. But my claim is backed by many, many people that I’ve already helped. In fact, at the end of this short article, there’s a quick checklist to see if we can help you, backed by our 100% SpinalWorks satisfaction pledge.
I hate empty promises, and I also hate the lies most folks have been told about their backs. That’s why I go out of my way to expose these myths about back pain.
I hope you find this short article interesting, informative and – ultimately – helpful!
It’s All About Your Posture!
Most of us don’t think about our posture during the course of a day, week or even at all. This lack of self awareness can ultimately result in neck pain or shoulder pain or headaches, that can interfere with our activities and even affect our health.
Many of us spend hours in front of our computers, craning our necks forward as we peer closely at our work. This forward position creates immense stress and strain on our neck muscles as they work to accommodate this unnatural position. The best posture position for our heads is squarely between your shoulders, which allow your neck muscles to stay in a relaxed and neutral position, and when, week after week we work in the head forward position the result in pain, and discomfort.
Fortunately, you do not have to continue suffering, as there are solutions to the problem.
Step 1 – Read This!
The very fact that you are reading this is the first step! Understanding that the issue may be posture related is significant. An evaluation of your posture by a chiropractic professional may result in time and money savings as they deal with the offending issue, your posture, rather than you trying to adjust your external environment with a chair, or back support. So Step 1 is to get a professional opinion – by someone specializing in musculoskeletal issues – your chiropractor!
Not Sure You Have A Problem – Check Out This Simple Test!
You can perform a quick posture check on yourself using a wall. Stand approximately 6 inches from the wall and back up, paying attention to which body part touches the wall first. Ideally your head, shoulders, derriere and heels touch at the same time, if they don’t you could benefit from some simple stretching and strengthening!
If your shoulders failed to touch during your posture test, a simple stretch to loosen rounded and slumped shoulders focuses on your pectoral or chest muscles. Stand in a doorway and hold one arm up, with your elbow against the door frame. Slowly step forward while keeping your elbow braced by the door frame.
Or if your head did not touch first, you can lengthen the muscles in the front portion of your neck and strengthen the muscles in the back of your neck with the chin tuck. While sitting or standing straight up, use your neck to pull your chin straight back. Hold for 5-15 seconds and return to the starting position.
Step 2 – This Is Almost Too Simple!
These simple exercises will help correct your posture issues. Once you make progress towards a proper posture, you will be reminded how neutral posture feels, and being mindful of your posture is necessary to improving your pain and discomfort.
So what is Step 2?
The second step is performing the stretching and strengthening exercises as your chiropractor may suggest. Please be aware, however, that if the issue has been long-standing, further personalized treatments may be warranted to achieve the long term results of posture correction, with decreased pain and discomfort.
Being mindful of our head and shoulder positions can awaken us to our posture issues, and with these 2 steps you are on your way to a pain-free future.
So What Do I Do Now?
Whether you are in pain, flunking out the posture test, or just not feeling straight, your first step should be to contact Dr. Steve Van Laecken at www.spinalworks.com to have him evaluate your posture TODAY! While you are there, be sure to pick up some of our Client Testimonials to read about the benefits they have received from chiropractic care.
Don’t live in Arizona? No problem. Phoenix Chiropractor Dr. Steve Van Laecken is delighted to refer you to another chiropractor in your hometown so you can get your whole family checked out and in their best health yet. Be sure to check out Dr. Steve’s next article to get the details on how chiropractic care can increase your strength and immune system!
An interesting study dating back to 1921 that was done by Dr. Henry Winsor, a medical doctor from the University of Pennsylvania. In the study, he was interested in finding out whether there existed a relationship between curvatures in the spine (bones out of place) and diseased organs. Dr. Windsor took 50 cadavers from the pathology department, dissected them and looked for diseased organs. In the 50 cadavers, he found 139 organs that were in various stages of disease. He found diseased hearts, livers, gall bladders, etc,etc. He then did something very interesting. He took the nerves from the diseased organs and traced them back to the spine. Dr. Windsor found.:”Therefore, in 50 cadavers with disease in 139 organs, there was found curve of the vertebrae belonging to the same sympathetic segments as the diseased organs 128 times, leaving a apparent discrepancy of 10 in which the vertebrae in curve belonged to an adjacent segment to that which should supply the diseased organs with sympathetic filaments” The author noted that the 10 “apparent discrepancies from adjacent segments” can be accounted for by “nerve filaments leaving the spinal cord and traveling for a few segments.” The author stated that if he included the cadaver with “faint curve and slight visceral pathology” that the correlation was 139 out of 139 for 100%. Basically, here is what happens:
- Bones shift out of place, and the spine becomes misaligned
- This results in nerve irritation
- The nerve irritation leads to increased sympathetic tone, vasomotor spasm and reduced blood flow.
- This leads to organ disease (visceral pathology!)
Windsor goes on to state: “The disease appears to precede old age and to cause it. The spine becomes stiff first and old age follows. Therefore, we may say a man is as old as his spine, the arteries becoming hardened later from constant vaso-motor spasm, following sympathetic irritation.” After reading this article, one realizes the importance of regular chiropractic care. Not just for pain, but for an optimally functioning spine and nervous system. Chiropractors lead the way in re-aligning misaligned spines. Dr. Parkes is the owner of Bordentown Chiropractic clinic and Bioveda Health and Wellness Center of Yardley.
References
Winsor, H. Sympathetic segmental disturbances-II. The evidence of the association, in dissected cadavers, of visceral disease with vertebrae deformities of the same sympathetic segments. Medical Times, Nov. 1921, 49, pp. 267-271. Dr. Thomas Parkes, BioVeda Health and Wellness Center of Yardley, PA !
