Health

The Dreaded Lateral Ankle Sprain

~ Dr. Robert Speirs DC ~ Leave a comment

“Ligaments” are made up of many individual fibers running parallel to each other and bundled to form a strong fibrous band. These fibrous bands hold your bones together. Just like a rope, when a ligament is stretched too far, it begins to fray or tear. “Sprain” is the term used to describe this tearing of ligament fibers.

Sprains are graded by the severity of damage to the ligament fibers. A Grade 1 sprain means the ligament has been painfully stretched, but no fibers have been torn. A Grade 2 sprain means some, but not all, of the ligaments’ fibers have been torn. A Grade 3 sprain means all of the ligaments’ fibers have been torn, and the ligament no longer has the ability to protect the joint.

Ankle sprains are the most common soft-tissue injury and will affect up to 20% of active people at some point in their life. Most ankle sprains occur because you have “rolled your ankle” inward. Sprains on the outer side of your ankle are much more common than sprains on the inner side. People who have suffered a prior ankle injury are more likely to suffer subsequent ankle injuries.

Ankle sprains cause pain and swelling over the outside of your ankle. Walking may be difficult, and bruising is common. Be sure to tell your doctor if you experience numbness, tingling, or a dramatic cold sensation in your foot, as this may indicate more significant injury.

Ankle sprains can be successfully managed but will require some work on your part. You can help reduce swelling by elevating your ankle by lying or sitting with your foot elevated or by using an ACE wrap for compression. Applying ice or ice massage for 10 minutes each hour may help relieve swelling. Depending upon the severity of your sprain, you may need to wear an ankle brace to help protect you from further injury. If walking is painful, crutches may be necessary.

Initially, a period of rest may be necessary in order to help you heal. Mild Grade 1 sprains may allow return to sport in a couple of days, while more severe injuries may take six weeks or longer to recover. Surgery is rarely necessary.

Trigger points in the infraspinatus

~ bryancobb ~ Leave a comment

The infraspinatus muscle is one of the muscles that makes up the rotator cuff. It originates on the infraspinous fossa of the scapula, and inserts on the middle facet of the greater tubercle of the humerus. It functions to externally rotate the humerus and to stabilize the head of the humerus in the glenoid cavity during upward movement of the arm. Trigger points in this muscle refer pain deep into the anterior shoulder joint and down the anterior arm. Trigger points near the lower medial border refer pain into the rhomboids. This muscle is often injured during throwing motions.

Is there an actual cure all?

~ Dr. Robert Speirs DC ~ Leave a comment

​Exercise Tip

No; but exercise seems to be as close as we will ever get! 

Some of you may have heard about how a modified form of boxing is helping patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). If you haven’t, it’s been observed that people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) who engage in this boxing-like exercise routine can enhance their quality of life and even build impressive gains in posture, strength, flexibility, and speed. Proponents of the program report that regardless the degree of severity of PD, participants have a happier, healthier, and higher quality of life.

But must it be boxing? Maybe not. A report presented at the International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders in San Diego in June 2015 found that patients with Parkinson’s disease who began regular exercise early into the PD process had a much slower decline in their quality of life when compared with those who started exercising later. The researchers found just 2.5 hours per week of exercise is needed to improve quality of life scores. According to the report, it didn’t matter what exercise the participants did — simply getting up and moving for a total of 2.5 hours/week was reportedly enough (that’s only 20-25 minutes / day)!

Looking beyond Parkinson’s, other chronic conditions also benefit from adding exercise into a person’s lifestyle. Studies show that regular exercise as simple as walking helps reduce one’s risk for memory loss, and it slows down functional decline in the elderly. Incorporating aerobic exercise into one’s lifestyle can also improve reaction time in people at ALL AGES. Exercise has also been shown to improve both physical and emotional well-being in those afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease with as little as 60 minutes/week of moderate exercise! Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have also reported less stiffness and less muscle wasting when using exercise machines, aquatic exercise, and/or walking.

Research has shown just 30 minutes of brisk exercise three times a week can help reduce depressive symptoms in patients with mild-to-moderate depression. In a study involving teenagers, those who engaged in sports reported a greater level of well-being than their sedentary peers, and the more vigorous the exercise, the better their emotion health! In kids 8-12 years old, physical inactivity is strongly linked to depression.

Even anxiety, stress, and depression associated with menopause are less severe in those who exercise! So LET’S ALL GET OUT THERE AND EXERCISE!!!

What is Scoliosis?

~ Dr. Robert Speirs DC ~ Leave a comment

Your spine is made up of 24 bones that stack on top of each other- normally in a straight line. “Scoliosis” means that your spine is curving from side to side, rather than being straight. Scoliosis affects between 1-3% of the population. Scoliosis may begin at any time between birth and adulthood but is most common during times that your skeleton is growing rapidly. Most cases of scoliosis begin between the ages of 13 and 18. Researchers are not completely certain why some people develop scoliosis, but they have found that the problem tends to run in families.

The curve of your scoliosis may be measured with an x-ray. Although some curves get worse, most do not. In fact, only ¼ of all adolescent idiopathic scoliosis curves will progress. Small curves in mature patients have a low risk of progression (2%), while large curves in younger patients progress more frequently. (70%) Curve progression is more common in girls, especially those with larger curves (greater than 20 degrees). Your doctor may need to monitor your scoliosis for progression by performing x-rays every 6-18 months.

Scoliosis may cause your shoulders, hips, or waist to be unlevel. Most curves are classified as “right thoracic”, which means that the peak of your curve protrudes toward the right. This is often accompanied by a forward rotation of your right shoulder and “winging” of your right shoulder blade. Many patients have a secondary curve in their lower spine that helps to balance their body. The majority of patients with mild to moderate scoliosis have no symptoms, but approximately ¼ report back pain. Unfortunately, scoliosis increases your risk of developing back pain later in life.

The primary goal of treatment is to stop curve progression. While many cases can be slowed or even reversed through appropriate management, it is important to recognize that others may progress in spite of the best care. Conservative care, including spinal manipulation (like the type provided in our office) has been shown to help some patients with scoliosis. Exercise is another effective treatment for scoliosis. It is important that you clearly understand your home exercise program and that you perform it consistently.

Patients with larger curves (30-40 degrees), or those who are at high risk for progression may benefit from wearing a brace. Braces have been shown to decrease the need for surgery in about three out of four patients. Fortunately, less than 0.3% of all scoliosis cases will ever require surgery.

You should avoid carrying heavy back packs and consider switching to a wheeled version, if necessary. Sports and exercise will not worsen most cases of scoliosis, and you should continue to participate in the things you enjoy unless directed otherwise by your doctor. The diagnosis of scoliosis is always discouraging, but you must focus on what it is really most important. Be confident in who you are! Don’t let something like a curved spine (or any other medical condition) define you as a person.

Exercise Tip Of The Month

~ Dr. Robert Speirs DC ~ Leave a comment

10-reasons-every-woman-should-try-crossfit-promo-image

Women are often afraid to lift weights for fear they will look too “bulky”, but actually

that’s not what happens.

 

Women can and should do weight lifting exercises if they want to shed body fat and achieve a toned physique. Strength training 30 to 40 minutes twice a week for 4 months, could increase an average woman’s resting metabolism by 100 calories a day, meaning you’ll be burning calories even when you’re not exercising.

Trigger points in the triceps muscle.

~ bryancobb ~ Leave a comment

The tricep muscle is named for its three heads long, medial, and lateral. The long head originates on the infraglenoid tubercle, the medial head on the posterior humerus, and the lateral head on the posterior humerus as well. They join together to insert on the Olecranon process of the ulna. The triceps function to extend the elbow. Strong extension under resistance can cause trigger points to form. Pain referred from triceps trigger points can be felt in the posterior shoulder and down the posterior forearm, as well as in in the olecranon process and the lateral epicondyle which can cause “tennis elbow” pain.

Some Sleep Habit Tips

~ Dr. Robert Speirs DC ~ Leave a comment

SLeep Tip

Researchers recommend sleeping for 7-9 hours per night. Even small deficits can pose problems like decreased athleticism, diminished brain function, increased inflammation and a greater likelihood to get sick- sleeping only 6 hours per night makes you four times more likely to catch a cold when compared to sleeping 7 or more hours. Follow these additional tips for better sleep:
✓ Limit screen time before retiring- the blue light emitted from computer monitors, phones and TV’s can limit melatonin production and adversely affect sleep. Try reading from a book or magazine instead.
✓ Ideally, eat your last meal 3-4 hours before bedtime and especially limit heavy, spicy or high-fat foods. Ration how much you drink before bedtime to minimize bathroom breaks. Particularly limit caffeine in the afternoon and evening- caffeine has a half-life of 6-9 hours and can keep you awake long after the last sip.
✓ Stick to a sleep schedule, trying to retire and arise at the same time each day, including weekends.
✓ Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillow. Choose 100% cotton sleep clothes and sheets over synthetic materials (i.e. polyester). Some research has suggested that your “deep” REM sleep improves when your mattress is oriented so that your body is aligned North and South as opposed to East and West.
✓ Most people sleep best in a cool room; ideally between 60-67 degrees F.

Pathophysiology of trigger points.

~ bryancobb ~ Leave a comment

A large number of factors have been identified as causes of trigger point activation. These include acute or chronic overload of muscle tissue, disease, psychological distress, systemic inflammation, homeostatic imbalances, direct trauma, radiculopathy, infections, and lifestyle choices such as smoking. Trigger points form as a local contraction of muscle fibres in a muscle or bundle of muscle fibres. These can pull on ligaments and tendons associated with the muscle which can cause pain to be felt deep inside a joint. It is theorized that trigger points form from excessive release of acetylcholine causing sustained depolarization of muscle fibres. Trigger points present an abnormal biochemical composition with elevated levels of acetylcholine, noradrenaline and serotonin and a lower ph. The contracted fibres in a trigger point constricts blood supply to the area creating an energy crisis in the tissue that results in the production of sensitizing substances that interact with pain receptors producing pain. When trigger points are present in a muscle there is often pain and weakness in the associated structures. These pain patterns follow specific nerve pathways that have been well mapped to allow for accurate diagnosis or the causative pain factor.

Diagnosis of trigger points.

~ bryancobb ~ Leave a comment

Diagnosis of trigger points typically takes into account symptoms, pain patterns, and manual palpation. When palpating the therapist will feel for a taut band of muscle with a hard nodule within it. Often a local twitch response will be elicited by running a finger perpendicular to the muscle fibres direction. Pressure applied to the trigger point will often reproduce the pain complaint of the patient and the referral pattern of the trigger point. Often there is a heat differential in the local area of the trigger point.

Trigger points in the biceps Brachii muscle.

~ bryancobb ~ Leave a comment

The Bicep Brachii is perhaps the most recognizable muscle in the body. It’s the muscle that is most often flexed when someone says ” show me your muscles”. It is composed of two heads, the long head and the short head. The short head originates on the coracoid process of the scapula, and the long head on the supraglenoid tubercle. Both heads merge to insert on the radial tuberosity and bicipital aponeurosis into the deep fascia on the medial part of the forearm. The main actions of this muscle are elbow flexion and forearm supination(rotation with the palm of the hand going upward). This muscle also assists shoulder flexion. Trigger points in this muscle mainly refer pain into the shoulder, with spillover into the posterior aspect above the scapula. A less common referral is into the anterior elbow and forearm.