Mendez Chiropractic Center

Fibromyalgia: I Have It… Now What?

2012-02-20T07:52:00.002-08:00

Brought to you by: Mendez Chiropractic Center

“…I was told by my doctor that I have fibromyalgia and I don’t know what to do. I’ve noticed that over the last couple of years that I’ve been having a progressively harder time doing simple tasks that I used to take for granted like folding laundry, ironing, cooking, cutting up vegetables, sewing, driving a car, holding a book, and even sleeping has become very challenging. I have to take many breaks while I’m doing these tasks and even take a nap in the middle of the day. I never used to have to do that! My family doctor initially seemed interested in helping me. He listened to me, took some blood, took some x-rays, and then said ‘….everything looks fine.’ His conclusion was that I must have fibromyalgia – I’ve never even heard of that! He prescribed many different drugs. One was to help me sleep but all it did was knock me out to the point where I couldn’t get up in the morning and felt so groggy that I couldn’t function. Then, he tried this other one and I felt like I wanted to crawl out of my skin! I’ve tried 3 or 4 different drugs and the side effects were all worse than what I’m dealing with, without the drugs. He finally concluded, ‘…you’ll just have to learn how to live with it.’ Well, thank you very much, doctor! Tell me HOW to do that?”

That feeling of helplessness and not knowing what to do next is a common complaint among fibromyalgia (FM) sufferers and the fact is, many patients with FM simply CAN’T just “…learn to live with it,” and need guidance.

One such patient recently presented in such situation. After a detailed history, the chiropractor checked her vital signs, performed a physical exam that included observation, palpation, range of motion, physical performance testing, orthopedic and neurological tests and then sat down to discuss the findings and what specific things chiropractic could offer her. The chiropractor laid out a treatment that consisted of the following:

· Leg length correction: she had a 12mm short right leg, a tipped pelvis with a compensatory curve in the low back. Heel lifts were recommended.
· Foot orthotics: she had flat feet and rolled in ankles that were altering her gait pattern.
· Exercises: she was quite deconditioned (out of shape) and needed help with flexibility, strength and endurance, balance/coordination, and aerobic function.
· Spinal manipulation: She had areas in her spine that were not properly moving and she had to compensate and use other parts too much, setting up faulty movement habits.
· Nutritional counseling: She was consuming too many glutens (wheat, oats, barley, rice) which can make you feel tire/fatigued/”wiped out” all the time. She was placed on a strict gluten-free diet and encouraged to use of several nutrients.
· They discussed “realistic goals.” This was probably the MOST important part for her. She was told NOT to expect a “cure” but rather, a means of “controlling” FM. It was emphasized that expecting “too much” will set her up for disappointment and treatment failure. They discussed ways she could control or minimize the symptoms of FM and what the role of chiropractic played in that management process. They also discussed finding a family doctor who was willing to work with her chiropractor.

Her doctor reports she is doing very well, independent of regular doctor visits, and is for the first time in a long time, happy with her ability to control her FM condition.

What Is This Pain in My Neck!

2012-02-13T08:28:00.000-08:00

Brought to you by: Mendez Chiropractic Center

“When I woke up this morning, I couldn’t move my neck! Every time I try to move it, I feel sharp pain on the left side of the neck shooting down into the shoulder blade. It just came out of nowhere!”

Chances are, you are suffering from a common condition called torticollis, which literally means, “twisted neck” after the Latin terms of “torti” (twisted) and “collis” (neck). The common name for this is “wry neck,” and it’s basically a painful muscle spasm, like a “Charlie-horse” but located in the neck muscles. Usually, a person wakes up in the morning with this and the cause is often related to sleeping with the window being open or a fan or air conditioner blowing on you. It can also relate to a “cold settling in the muscle” after a cold or flu virus. Trauma such as falling or a car accident can also cause torticollis. However, most of the time, patients with torticollis are not sure what caused the abrupt onset of symptoms.

Usually, torticollis will gradually improve over a 2 week time frame. However, it only takes a few days to a week (at the most) if you receive chiropractic adjustments. Most importantly, without treatments, the sharp pain can last a week and can severely limit your activity, often prohibiting work as well as your desired “fun” activities. Hence, most people prefer having this treated as opposed to “waiting it out.” In some cases, it can last longer than a month and in rare cases even longer, so getting this treated is highly recommended. Also, try to get in for a treatment immediately before the muscle spasm really sets up. We find this to be the most effective approach. Here are a list of symptoms and treatment suggestions for torticollis:

Acute Torticollis Symptoms
· Muscle spasms
· Neck and shoulder pain
· Neck and spine contortion (neck twisted to right or left side of body)

Pain Relief Treatments for Acute Torticollis
· Chiropractic neck and spinal adjustment
· Analgesics
· Heat packs
· Muscle relaxants
· Rubs and ointments (Icy Hot, BioFreeze)
· Massage with essential oils
· Reiki
· Sleep / Relax
· Supportive cervical collar

4 Simple Exercises To Help Relieve Minor Back Pain

2012-01-31T12:25:00.000-08:00

Brought to you by Mendez Chiropractic Center
Go on our site for videos demonstrating these exercises.(www.687-pain.com)

While the idea of rest is a great one for the first 24 hours after injuring your back, prolonged inactivity can actually stiffen those injured muscles and make healing more difficult. Exercise on the other hand helps to strengthen the surrounding muscles and helps increase major blood flow to the injured area which promotes healing and often relieves the back pain making it more bearable. Exercising your back does not mean lifting weights or running a marathon. It means gentle exercise that helps stretch and strengthen your muscles. That being said here are 4 simple exercises that you can do at home that will help to relieve that back pain and strengthen your muscles to aid in healing and help prevent further injury.

The Reach

Stand with both feet together or slightly apart in front of a door. Slowly extend your arms over your head and reach as far as possible over the door jam while keeping your feet flat. Hold that position to the count of 10. You should feel the muscles in your back begin to stretch which is the entire purpose of this exercise. By stretching the muscles slowly, you can alleviate lower back pain and strengthen your muscles in the bargain.

Heal Raises (Also Called Tip Toes)

Once again stand straight up with your feet flat on the floor, shoulders back and head up. Slowly raise your heels up and down about 10 times. This exercise will provide a gentle pull and strengthening of the muscles in your thighs, buttocks and lower back region. Helping to reduce pain and aid healing.

Heel Slides

Lie flat on your back on the floor, slowly bend and straighten your knees one knee at a time alternating the legs. Bring your heel as close to your body as possible with each slide. Repeat 10 times. This exercise can be gradually increase to 20 times as the muscles become stronger and the pain lessens.

Straight Leg Raises

Once again lie flat on your back with one knee bent and the other leg straight. Tighten your abdominal muscles and slowly lift the straight leg about 6 to 8 inches off the floor. Hold it to the count of 6 and slowly lower it. Repeat changing legs. When starting out don't overdo this exercise start at about 5 repetitions or less and gradually increase to 10 repetitions.

Helpful Hints

Using a heating pad for 20 minutes followed by an ice pack for the same length of time both before and after doing these strengthening exercisers may help you to get through them easier. If any of these exercises causes the pain to drastically worsen stop immediately and call your chiropractor. However, keep in mind that there will be some discomfort initially which will fade as your muscles heal and gain more strength. Continuing these exercises after your back heals as part of a regular routine may help prevent re injury to your back muscles.

Neck Pain – Can Chiropractic Really Help?

2012-01-25T08:07:00.000-08:00

Provided by: Mendez Chiropractic Center

Neck pain is a very common problem affecting up to 70% of the adult population at some point in life. Though there are specific causes of neck pain such as arising from a sports injury, a car accident or “sleeping crooked,” the vast majority of the time, no direct cause can be identified and thus the term nonspecific is applied. There are many symptoms associated with patients complaining of neck pain and many of these symptoms can be confused with other conditions. Wouldn’t it be nice to know what neck related symptoms are most likely to respond to chiropractic manipulation before the treatment has started? This issue has been investigated with very favorable results!

The ability to predict a favorable response to treatment has been termed, “clinical prediction rules” which in general, are usually made up of combinations of things the patient says and findings from exams. In a large study, data from about 20,000 patients receiving about 29,000 treatments, was collected and analyzed to find out what complaints responded well to chiropractic treatment. The results showed that the presence of any 4 of these 7 presenting complaints predicted an immediate improvement in 70-95% of the patients: 1. Neck pain; 2. Shoulder, arm pain; 3. Reduced neck, shoulder, arm movement; 4. Stiffness; 5. Headache; 6. Upper, mid back pain, and 7. None or one presenting symptom. Items not associated with a favorable immediate response included “numbness, tingling upper limbs,” and “fainting, dizziness and light-headedness in 4-12% of the patients. The “take-home” message here is that was far more common to see a favorable response (70-95%) of the patients compared to an unfavorable response (4-12%), supporting the observation that most patients with neck complaints will respond favorably to chiropractic treatment.

So, what do we do as chiropractors when a patient presents with neck pain? First, after gathering preliminary information such as name, address and insurance information, a history of the presenting complaint is taken. This consists of information including what started the neck complaint (if you know), when it started, what makes it worse, what makes it better, the quality of pain (aches, stiff, numb, etc.), the location and if there is radiating complaints, the severity (0-10 pain scale), timing (such as worse in the morning, evening, etc.), and if there have been prior episodes. Various questionnaires are included that are scored so improvement down the road can be tracked and a past history that includes a medication list, past injuries or illnesses, family history and a systems review are standard. The exam includes vital signs (BP, pulse, height, weight, temperature and respiration), palpation, range of motion, orthopedic and neurological examination. X-ray and/or other “special tests” may also be included, when needed. A review of all the findings are discussed and after permission to treat is granted, a chiropractic adjustment may then be rendered. A list treatment options may include:

1. Adjustments;
2. Soft tissue therapy (trigger point stimulation, myofascial release);
3. Physical therapy modalities;
4. Posture correction exercises and other exercises/home self-administered therapies;
5. Education about job modifications;
6. Co-management with other health care providers if/when needed.

How much water should I drink?

2012-01-18T14:06:00.000-08:00

This information brought to you by: Mendez Chiropractic Center

How to Stay Hydrated:
It is extremely important to keep your body hydrated at all times to avoid dehydration and its resulting health consequences.
A good rule for drinking the right amount of water is to drink one glass with each meal, one glass between each meal, and extra glasses following exercise.
You should also take care to drink a glass of sparkling water or other beverage during social gatherings to supplement your daily intake. While most foods and all beverages contain some water, drinking pure water is generally the best for your body.

Symptoms of Dehydration:
Water is essential for your body to function properly. It flushes toxins out of your organs, carries nutrients throughout the body, and provides a moist environment for sensitive tissues and organs. When your body is not properly hydrated, it will begin to send signals to your brain and produce the following symptoms:
Headache
Thirst
Dry mouth
Muscle weakness
Fatigue or Lethargy
Dizziness
Lightheadedness

Pregnancy:
Aim for eight 8-ounce glasses per day (64 fluid ounces) of fluid, plus one 8-ounce cup for each hour of light activity. Milk, juice, decaffeinated drinks, and caffeinated drinks all contain plenty of water and "count" toward your fluid intake. Keep in mind that juice and sweetened drinks also provide a lot of extra calories, so don't rely on them too much. It's best to limit caffeine, too – including caffeinated teas and colas – to 200 mg (about one 12-ounce cup) per day. More than that raises the risk of miscarriage, according to a 2008 study. (It's a myth that caffeinated drinks dehydrate you. Yes, caffeine makes you pee more. But the amount of fluid you actually lose because of this diuretic effect is so small that it's insignificant.)
Don't hesitate to drink water and other fluids because you're afraid of retaining water, either. Oddly enough, the more fluids you drink during pregnancy, the less your body retains. So if your feet and ankles are swollen, drinking more water actually helps.
Water carries nutrients through your blood to your baby, and drinking plenty of fluids helps prevent dehydration, too. This is especially important in the last trimester, when dehydration can cause contractions that can trigger preterm labor.
Water also helps prevent some common pregnancy problems such as constipation, hemorrhoids, and bladder infections (drinking water helps dilute your urine, which reduces your risk of infection).

If you need to drink more fluids, you don't want extra calories, and you don't like the taste of water, try adding a wedge of lemon or lime to your water, or a little juice, for additional flavor. If you're not sure how much water you drink each day, fill a container with your target amount and try to finish it by the end of the day.

Dangers:
However, there is a different story emerging, especially amongst people who exercise. According to researchers almost as many exercisers are putting their health at risk by over-consuming water as drinking too little.
Drinking water at every opportunity can cause serious problems, such as hyponatraemia or water intoxication. As the water content of the blood increases, the salt content is diluted. Consequently the amount of salt available to body tissues decreases, which can lead to problems with brain, heart and muscle function.

ADHD

2012-01-11T15:15:00.000-08:00

Mendez Chiropractic Center

According to a recent study from the CDC, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder now occurs in 1 out of every 10 children. I was shocked to read this! One in 10 children have ADHD?

Are you kidding me? Does this blow your mind? It should.

I have found that in most cases, children with ADHD will be helped with improved diet and chiropractic adjustments.

When the nerves in the cervical spine are aggravated, this can cause your body to react in several different ways. For our purposes today, the most important is a tightening of the muscles in the neck and upper back. This tightening in adults can cause increased tension, headaches, and insomnia. The muscle tightening in children will make it nearly impossible for them to relax, pay attention, get adequate sleep, or concentrate.

Your next question should be, is chiropractic care safe for children? The answer is a resounding YES. Over the last 20 years we have treated children of all ages, the youngest was a boy 3 weeks old, (shoulder dislocation).

I suggest talking to your chiropractor about his knowledge and comfort level with adjusting children.

Ear Infections and Children

2012-01-06T09:13:00.000-08:00

Chiropractic care has a long history and excellent results in the treatment of childhood diseases. One that is significantly troublesome in young children are ear infections. Along with chiropractic care, the following are home remedies that can be used by the parent to alleviate and sometimes prevent this condition.

Many children suffer with recurrent infections of the middle ear. Antibiotics are frequently used, but according to some research are not affective. Likewise, inserting tubes surgically into the ear - another common conventional treatment - have not consistently provided any long-term benefits.

Dietary changes that may be helpful.
The incident of allergies among children with recurrent ear infections is much higher than among the general public. In one study, more than half of all children with current ear infections were found to be allergic to certain foods. Removing those foods lead to significant improvement in 86% of the allergic children tested.

Although sugar intake has not been studied in relation to recurrent ear infections, eating sugar is known to impair immune function. Therefore, many nutritionally oriented doctors recommend that children with recurrent ear infections reduce or eliminate sugar from their diets.

Lifestyle changes that may be helpful.
When parents smoke, the children are more likely to have recurrent ear infections. It is important that children not the exposed to passive smoke.

Nutrients that may be helpful.
Vitamin C stimulates immune function in most studies. Vitamin C has not been studied in regard to ear infections specifically; nevertheless, nutritionist have recommended between 500 mg and 1000 mg of vitamin C per day for ear infections.

Zinc supplements increase immune functions, although the studies showing this have not focused on ear infections. Some recommend zinc supplements for anyone with recurrent infections suggesting 25 mg per day for adults and lower amounts for children for example a 30 pound child could be given 5 mg of zinc. People taking zinc for more than a few weeks should take copper as well. Taking too much zinc (several hundred milligrams per day for adults) actually depressed immune function and must be avoided.

Vitamin A is needed by the immune system. Vitamin A supplements have helped vitamin-A deficient children with measles or infectious diarrhea in many studies. Vitamin A supplements have not been studied as a treatment for ear infections in children who are not vitamin A deficient. Nevertheless, some nutritionist give children with ear infections 5000 to 10,000 IU of five and eight per day. Women who could become pregnant should not take more than 10,000 IU of vitamin A per day.

Herbs that may be helpful.
Some children with recurrent ear infections benefit from Echinacea, which helps support healthy immune function. Echinacea lowers the risk of colds and upper respiratory tract infections, which are common in children experiencing the current ear infections. Many people use 40 drops of the tincture 2 to 3 times per day for 6 to 8 weeks. Children can be given half the adult dose.
Ear drops with Mullein, St John's wort, and garlic in an oil base our traditional remedies used to alleviate the pressure in the middle ear during acute ear infections.
Because of its antimicrobial activity, Goldenseal has a long history of use for infections, including current ear infection.

As with any of these suggestions/recommendations it is always very important to incorporate your doctor/pediatrician in the treatment of any childhood diseases.

Stroke Symptoms

2011-12-20T14:07:00.001-08:00

It is crucial to recognize the symptoms of a stroke due to the recovery being that much better the earlier the person having a stroke is treated.

Syptoms are as follows,

Sudden numbness, tingling, weakness, or loss of movement in your face, arm, or leg, especially on only 1 side of your body.

Sudden vision changes.

Sudden trouble speaking .

Sudden confusion or trouble understanding simple statements.

Sudden problems with walking or balance .

If you have any symptoms of a stroke call 911 or other emergency services right away .

When the body supply to the brain is interrupted or blocked for any reason, the consequences are usually drastic. Control over movement, perception, speech, or other mental or bodily functions is impaired, and consciousness itself may be lost. Disruptions of blood circulation to the brain are known as stroke, a disorder that occurs in two basic forms, both potentially life threatening. One is a clot which is a blockage of blood circulation, the other is a hemorrhage which is the bleeding of a blood vessel in the brain.

With both these conditions, time is of the essence, calling emergency/rescue is critical for the persons' survival.

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Why see a Chiropractor for headaches?

2011-12-16T06:56:00.000-08:00

Headaches are considered one of the most frequent complaints, and have been identified as the fifth most common reason for chiropractic treatment. It is estimated that one person in three suffers from severe headaches at some point in life. But did you know that chiropractic treatments can reduce the number of headaches by treating the cause of the pain?

Most persons afflicted with mild recurrent or isolated headaches do not consult physicians, (evident by a huge over the counter headache relief business) therefore, the true incidence is unknown. Did you know that chiropractors treat headaches sufferers with great results?

Your question might be, why go to a chiropractor, if I can deal with a headaches with a bottle of Tylenol? In most cases, an occasional headache is really not that serious. What about the ones that occur 2-3 times per week and are getting even more frequent? Pain is your body's warning sign that something is wrong. Ignoring these signs can lead to more serious health problems in the future. If the smoke detector in your home stated beeping, would you just pull out the batteries? Same thing happens when headache pain is "silenced" by headache medication.

World-wide, more than 13,000 tons of aspirin are consumed per year, with a major portion utilized for the relief of headache. Unfortunately this is a temporary solution that masks a much more complicated condition.

Find out what is the cause of your headache pain, and fix it, contact us for a free evaluation