Football season is upon us, and a topic of interest as of late is concussions. These injuries occur in all age groups; from high school athletes to professional NFL players. Continued head trauma has been shown to be detrimental for brain and spinal health. Football demands consistent head to head contact, and with this excessive contact brain and neck injuries can occur. In addition to concussions, head to head trauma can cause: headaches, cervical sprains and strains, and disc herniation.
Treatment for these injuries is possible. Cervical chiropractic adjustments have been shown to be helpful for all of these injuries. Additionally, myofascial therapy in conjunction with chiropractic care has been shown to be a superior treatment plan for head and neck injuries.
While it is possible to recover from these injuries, prevention is the best way to combat them. The best way to prevent these injuries is to use sufficient head protection and taking adequate precautions to head trauma. It is important to replace a helmet every 2 to 3 years to maintain sufficient protection.
Football isn’t the only sport that utilizes a helmet. With the winter season upon us, the winter sports come with it. The use of helmets by those who ski and snowboard is a must. Whether you are a casual skier or an aggressive snowboarder who visits the terrain parks, head injuries can occur. A slip and fall on ice can be detrimental for winter athletes. Use of helmets can help prevent these injuries and keep your head warm.
Happy Day of the Dead everyone! When I lived in the San Antonio region as a younger man, Dia de Muertos was more popular than Halloween. This is a widely known celebration in Mexico and other Mexican influenced regions of the Southwest. Crazy thing is, earlier when I lived just 200 miles to the east outside of Houston I had never heard of it. Similarly having lived for 15+ years off and on, on the Texas Gulf Coast, home to most of the off-season blue crabs, never had a steamed one till I moved here.
It all comes down to familiarity and what you’re used to. Even though chiropractors have been around for a long time now (some say spinal manipulation dates back to Aristotle), not everyone is all that familiar with us. You should be though. If I included every study showing how cool we were in this email, I’d crash your server. Sure, there are nay-sayers; but they’re mostly jealous haters and weirdos (like us Texans that would clean then boil our crabs in pieces).
So don’t be weird, if it hurts, call your chiropractor. If it doesn’t work, call your chiropractor. If you need physical therapy, call this chiropractor and for DOT exams, you guessed it.
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So in a last hurrah for the end of summer we took the kids to an unnamed but local chocolate themed park that shall remain nameless.
The Thrill Seeker
As a younger man, I was quite the thrill seeker, but as I’ve grown older and wiser my disdain for thrill rides and their associated lines with $8 flat, watered down sodas has exponentially kept pace; but the things we do for our kids, right? Well, like every other day this past summer, it rained that day. We took a dinner break and the girl’s friends and ride seat partners weren’t as brave as us and bailed for warmer, dryer land; leaving only Mrs. Spine to accompany them on the “The Neck Sprainer” or whatever it was called. I watched from below as longtime fans will remember I was still suffering from an auto accident-related concussion.
Mrs. Spine
Well, like many untrained spouses, I mean patients, instead of letting me know about it right away and have me treat it soon so it’s quick and easy, she decided to wait it out and let it fester. Just a little soreness turned to spasm which turned to headaches. Low back stiffness turned to pain then turned to skipping 2 weeks of yoga.
Be the Cool Kid
Everyone gets these small injuries. Sometimes the symptoms are immediate, sometimes weeks later, sometimes years later. What can you do? I’d say never ride a roller coaster again, but you’re much more likely to injure yourself vacuuming than riding rides. Coming to see us when you are not in terrible pain can heal the injuries before they get bad (or crazy idea-BEFORE you even feel anything). Just like most people do not only see a dentist when they have tooth pain; or take their blood pressure meds after a heart attack, they go before. Most in fact, go to the dentist biannually in a preventative or wellness manner. The cool kids also go to the chiropractor on a regular, preventative plan too. Be cool, just like me.
My oldest just finished up taking Driver’s Ed. According to her, the class was just about all the many ways you can have an accident. Like Forrest Gump says, it happens.
So the other day I was stopped at a red light at a major intersection. When the light turned green the car in front of me did not move, nor did I; but the car behind me did, and did so with haste. The Bumper is jacked up, trunk won’t shut right but it is still drivable. A minor accident however does not mean there is no injury. My head struck the head rest giving me a headache almost immediately. Over the next few minutes, hours and days the symptoms of a mild concussion, as well as muscle stiffness in neck, back and left knee settled in.
It has been proven time and time again that there is no direct correlation between the severity of the property damage and the severity of the physical injuries sustained in an auto accident. Injuries can and do occur with little property damage, especially in rear end collisions. This is because an injury such as whiplash affects the soft tissues, ligaments, and tendons which are often injured when force is applied.
According to a study commissioned by General Motors (GM), whiplash can occur in car accidents at speeds of less than 8 miles per hour. Whiplash and soft tissue injuries if left untreated can cause medical problems for years following the accident.
As with all other injuries and illnesses, the key is early treatment, to not only limit the pain and disability, but to ward off future issues. Immediately following my accident, I treated with ice and continued to do so for the next 36 hours. The next morning, I began with therapy at my office, including electric muscle stim and Range of Motion exercises to help the muscle issues. For the concussion, I began active rehab including vestibular exercises. Chiropractic adjustments and massage have also been key for me. Our associate is not only my employee, he is my chiropractor. He has been adjusting me multiple times a week since the accident.
I am happy to say treatment worked! Symptoms of the concussion have subsided, pain and stiffness in the back has decreased and my treatment frequency has been able to decrease. Don’t let the insurance company, your Facebook friends or your husband’s brother’s uncle tell you you’re not hurt when you are. If you’ve been involved in an accident, call today! (443) 512-0025
The following is a guest blog by an employee of Susquehanna Spine & Rehab…
“Headaches are always the worst,” said Amanda.
No matter who you are, you’ve had at least one headache. The crazy part is that not all headaches are the same. Headaches can be occasional or frequent. Some are dull and throbbing and some cause debilitating pain and nausea. They can be light or sound sensitive. I literally have lived off Excedrin this past year. Every morning I woke up with a throbbing headache that would not go away no matter what I tried. Excedrin was the only thing I found to work. I carried a 120-capsule bottle everywhere with me. I know that sounds crazy, but it was the only way to tolerate the pain and make it through the day recently.
What changed? I started working at Susquehanna Spine & Rehab. I have been working for Dr. Lee for about 6 months now and 4 of those 6 months I have been headache free. At the beginning, I would wake up with a headache and take Excedrin and go about my day. One day, I forgot the bottle at home and I was completely miserable. It felt like my head was about to explode. I was trying to grin and bear it until Mrs. Wendy said. “Go get adjusted.” I kid you not; Dr. Lee adjusted me and immediately the headache I’ve been living with just disappeared. I literally could not believe it. Not everyone believes in chiropractors and I admit to being a little skeptical until that moment. I now get adjusted regularly, no Excedrin needed. I guess my head wasn’t on straight as Dr. Lee says all the time.
Just as there are many types of headaches, there are just as many different treatments for headaches. As with most things, all treatment plans need to start with a thorough exam and diagnosis. At that point Dr. Lee can prescribe the best path for you. Be it chiropractic care to restore alignment and mobility to pain generating joints of your head and neck, massage and physical therapy to treat ailing muscles or even acupuncture. The goal is to stop the headaches or migraines, heal the area, and prevent them from happening. So if you’re getting constant headaches like I was don’t just take medication. Try and get to the source of the headache and fix it. You so you can be headache free too.
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My uncle’s knee can better predict rain than the weather channel. Many of you may have noticed this past month that their joints have been a little off too. Joints that move are called synovial joints. Inside the synovial joints is synovial fluid, it’s similar lithium or bearing grease. The viscosity of Synovial fluid is sensitive to barometric pressure. As we age (it’s not always the model year, sometimes it’s the mileage) we lose fluid and our joint spaces will also start to shrink, compounding the problem. So grandma might not be all that crazy after all.
So what do we do?
We can either petition Moulder and Scully to find who’s controlling the weather, or take better care of our joints.
What is the best way to take care of joints?
Number one chiropractic adjustments create healthy joints. Make sure you eat an anti-inflammatory diet. Inflammation also affects the viscosity of synovial fluid. An anti-inflammation diet is high in vegetable proteins and Omega 3 fatty acids. Acupuncture can also be sued to reduce internal, systemic inflammation like. Cold laser is phenomenal in calming down aggravated joints. These are all great tools for joint all over the body. Joints of the spine are a little special as they have discs between them.
What is good for spinal joints affected by low viscous synovium?
Decompression traditionally is used to treat herniated, bulged, degenerative or torn discs and pinched nerves. It work by providing relief to severe back and neck pain sufferers by gently reducing the pressure within the spine creating a vacuum that reduces or reverses bulging, degenerative or herniated discs taking pressure off the joints and any “pinched” nerves. This vacuum also pulls much-needed oxygen, nutrients and fluid into injured and degenerated discs allowing the healing to begin. The treatment is computer controlled to provide gentle and painless oscillations. These oscillations also circulate synovium fluid keeping it operating at optimum temperature and pressure.
Coming soon…Coming in the next few weeks we are getting a new decompression table loaded with the newest protocols and algorithms. We are updating the older one too, so it’ll be up to date, and have room for your friends to come with. The newer table allows for many more treatment positions making it more comfortable and ergonomic for patients of all mobility and positional limitations and acute stages.
So if you would like to be surprised when it rains and turn off your body’s weather vain give our office a call on (443) 512-0025
Anyone that listens to me, so that excludes my wife, kids, dogs and employees; has heard me mention that along with Chiropractic & Physical Therapy, I am a Nationally Registered Certified Medical Examiner for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a division of the Department of Transportation (NRCME-FMCSA-DOT, obviously a government job with all those letters). Meaning, I do truck driver physicals or commonly referred to as DOT physicals.
Who needs a DOT medical card?
Everyone that has a CDL, regardless of class must have a DOT medical card. In Maryland, because Maryland is Maryland; anyone who operates a vehicle over 10,000 lbs. for commercial purposes must also have a DOT card, regardless if you cross state lines or not. If you drive a F250 or similar vehicle you need a DOT card. If you operate any vehicle over 10,000 lbs. registered to a company, you need a medical card.
Why require a medical card?
The whole point of the card is to ensure those operating large vehicles do not have a medical condition that may lead to immediate incapacitate. The main goal is reducing potential for a truck to become an involuntary weapon of mass destruction.
There are strict federal regulations regarding who qualities for DOT cards. There are exclusions, federal exemptions, and releases from specials that may apply.
Few tips to make your DOT go smoother
If you’re on high blood pressure meds, take them. If you’re on metformin, take it. If you have a CPAP, use it; it’s all tested for. If you’ve ever had a heart attack, stroke or any type of cardiovascular surgery, there’s a wait period and you must provide documentation. Come with a full bladder because you WILL have to pee in a cup. And don’t lie, they’ll toss you in jail.
They say sitting is the new smoking. I’m old enough that I remember smoking sections in restaurants and on planes that were nothing more than just the next aisle over. I’m probably even old enough that my mom’s OB told her which brand of cigarettes to smoke when she was pregnant (that’d explain my brother). While I don’t think that they’ll start instituting no sitting areas, make employees go outside in the dead of winter to have sit breaks; I do though think we should get off our rumps a bit more.
Sitting leads to forward head posture, elongation and deactivation of the spinal muscles, reduced hip flexion, deregulation of the glutes, short hamstrings, shoulder rotation and short pectoral muscles. All of which leads to about 1000 different physical ailments. Sitting also influences biomarkers of obesity, heart and other chronic diseases.
Try the following:
If when you look in the mirror and your posture appears to be “off” it’s time to take a trip to my office and get the professional help you need.
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One of the most common retorts I hear is “I must have slept wrong.” Well, let me put this to bed right now. Steps for sleeping not wrong: 1. Lay down 2. Close your eyes. That’s it. I don’t know what all you people are doing wrong to hurt yourself, but stop it. Now, it’s not covered by insurance and it’s creepy as all get out; but for a fee we’ll have Dr Hicky come over. He will watch you while you sleep and he can take notes on what you might be doing to get hurt. But here are a few pointers that might reduce your risk of injury from just lying there:
Mattress: At one point the thought was the harder the better. People would even put a door under their mattress to firm it up. But at one time your doctor used to recommend what brand of cigs to smoke too. The best mattress is the one that is the most comfortable. You want to Baby Bear it. Not too hard, not too soft, just right. You don’t have to buy the most expensive one on the market, but cheaper is not better either. With mattresses name brands are better. If you’ve never heard of it, you don’t want it. And no matter what they tell you, they don’t last as long as you think. Like tires, 40k mile tires are shot by 30, a 20 year mattress is only good for 15.
Pillows: If you’re throwing down 5 grand on a good quality mattress, you should invest more than $7 on a pillow. Pillows are specially made for either side or back sleeping. They don’t make stomach sleeping pillows because you should never sleep on your stomach. I’m sure they probably do make them, but they shouldn’t. It takes about 2 weeks to break in a pillow, and they last just a couple years, not decades. Pillows also come in sizes. If you are 5 foot and weigh 100 pounds your neck is not the same size as a 6 foot tall 250 pound person.
Now, if you have a good mattress, a good pillow and you didn’t over-indulge the night before; any pain or stiffness lasting more than an hour or two after rising isn’t because of the way you slept. It’s from one of the stressors (physical, chemical, emotional) in your life. And we can fix that. What is happening that you are suffering from micro injuries from the stressors in your life and that is the pain or stiffness you are feeling when you wake up.
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How many of us were told growing up our heads weren’t screwed on straight? I hate to be the one to tell you your mom was probably right, but she was probably right. Literally your head may not be on straight. I want you to stop what you’re doing right now and go look in the mirror. Better yet, take a selfie. But no snapchat filters, duck lips, weird angles to minimize the double chin; just a straight face. Look at your ears. Is one higher than the other? Is one rotated forward or back? If so, you have a skull on spine misalignment; essentially your head is not on your spine straight.
Why is alignment important?
When the alignment between the head and spine is not correct it pre-disposes one to headaches, TMJ issues, migraines etc, but in many cases it can screw with your neurology. There are only 2 cranial nerves (nerves whose nucleus originate in the brain and control our most basic functions) that come out the skull. Their exit path is right where head hits neck. If the alignment of the head to spine is not straight these two nerves can get aggravated and when aggravated do not fire correctly.
What do the 2 cranial nerves do?
#1- Cranial Nerve XI aka The Accessory Nerve controls the trapezius muscle. When this nerve goes wonky (that is technical for not working properly), your trap has difficulty dipping your shoulder blade. This prevents you from raising your arm above 90 degrees horizontally and eventually leading to frozen shoulder syndrome. When you go to raise your arm, the rotator cuff muscles do the first 100ish degrees then after that, the trapezius muscle rotates the shoulder blade allowing the last half or so of motion. Key to frozen shoulder; fix your head, fix your arm.
#2 Cranial Nerve X, the Vagus nerve controls all the autonomic functions of the organs and body. The brain tells your body what to do through the Vagus. If the Vagus isn’t right, you’re not right. Common presentations seen with this are: Bell’s palsy, Child development delays, Headaches, Insomnia, MS, POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), Tourette’s, Thoracic outlet syndrome, Upper and lower cross syndrome, Vagal Nerve Disturbances (Digestive, Heart and Lung, Sympathetic and parasympathetic regulation).
How can you fix my alignment?
When the skull on spine misalignment is corrected with a very specific adjustment, many of these symptoms can disappear if not moderated. This may sound too good to be true. But I’ve seen the power of this adjustment with my own eyes; a colleague of mine from Pampa, Texas whose wife suffers from MS. She has been wheelchair bound for 6 of the 10 years I have known them. She uses the wheel chair because she is just not stable enough to walk. True story I helped her out of the wheelchair and a colleague of mine preformed the adjustment. I helped her off the table and she then felt stable enough to walk. She proceeded to walk behind the wheel chair for the remainder of the weekend conference we were attending. Now with regular specific adjustments to her head on neck relationship, she is out of the wheelchair. She’s not cured, they didn’t remove the plaques from her brain, but her nervous system has been optimized allowing her relief.
For the last year now, I’ve attended seminars in Orlando, Dallas, Chicago, and New Orleans perfecting this specific adjustment. If you or a loved one has frozen shoulder, odd neurologic symptoms that can’t be defined or treated, give me a call.
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