Why use a therapy ball for exercise.  I see low back pain daily in my office.  Most every patient I see with low back pain has some weakness in their core muscles of the spine.  The lumbar spine is a very vulnerable area.  The spinal bones do not give much support for you when you stand or sit. The support comes from the muscles that wrap around your waist, from the spine and into the abdominal muscles.  These are your core muscles. Think of a piece of paper.  If you stand it up and apply pressure to it, it will crumple.  If you roll it up and make it into a cylinder and then apply pressure to the top of it, it can withstand more pressure before it buckles.  That is what we want the core muscles to be like; a cylinder to support your low back (lumbar spine) to help prevent or get rid of low back pain.

There are numerous ways to exercise the core, I have found that the most efficient way is with small daily exercise that you can do any place at any time and then some on a therapy ball.

Here is one you can start today.  Stand up straight, but in a relaxed position and pull your belly button into your spine and then count to ten out loud. You should feel the muscles of your abdomen and lower back doing some work.  Then with the belly button pulled into the spine walk for about 3 or 4 minutes without looking at the ground.  You should feel as if you are standing taller and are a little tired after getting done. You can do this for 3o seconds or a few minutes. Do this multiple times a day and you will strengthen your core.

If you have a therapy ball and want a quick exercise just sit on the ball, pull the belly button to the spine and then slowly push one leg out in front of you while looking straight forward for about 15 seconds.  Do not let your body bend to either side as you do this.  Doing this a couple times a day with each foot a few times will start to strengthen your core.

If you are having acute low back pain or have had low back pain for years a good core work out program can help you.  My office is Advanced Chiropractic and I am located in Everett Wa.  If you would like to find out more about low back pain and the therapy call or about chiropractic please give us a call at 425-353-7246 and set up an appointment.

I have listed a couple web sites that also offer good therapy ball exercies.

http://www.ball-exercises.com/exercises/index.html

http://exercise.about.com/cs/abs/l/bl_core.htm

If your collision was today or six months ago the following information is vital to your healing. Studies suggest somewhere around 15% of the victims in an MVC do not completely heal. Your goal is to get out of pain as soon as possible. My goal will be to help you do this, but also help you not become one of the 15%.

Stages of healing: You will go through three stages of healing.

1: The acute inflammatory stage. This last from the time of injury to 72 hours. Over this time your pain will rise. Activity is important as to not loose too much range of motion in this stage but you will also need to rest. Control pain with ICE. You will be tempted to take anti-inflammatory medicine although in the first 72 hours this has been shown to suppress healing. Therefore wait to take medications like Ibuprofen and Aleve.

2: The repair stage. This stage will last from 72 hours up to 6 months. During this stage anti-inflammatory products are important… Ice is still important for the first few weeks along with activity. During this whole repair stage the tissue is still weak, even at three weeks post injury the injured tissue only has 15% of it’s normal strength. Chiropractic adjustments are very important in this stage to decrease scar tissue and maintain ROM.

3: The Remodeling Stage: This stage can take from 14 weeks to 12 months. During this phase the injured tissue is laying down more collagen to remodel and reinforce the injured tissue. This is when most the scar tissue is laid down and therefore treatment is very important in this stage. There is always home care, yet in this stage what you do out of the office in regard to home exercise and stretching is just as important as your adjustments here.

Depending on the severity of your injuries from the MVC you have or will be graded from a grade I to a grade IV. Your grade will be based on your limits of motion, ligament injury, neurological signs, fractures or disc injury. Your grade will determine your course of treatment. No matter what stage you have entered the office, your care is important and there are specific things that must be done to help you heal to your ultimate potential.
Ice: No matter what stage of healing you are in, ice will help decrease pain. Place a protective paper towel or shirt between you and the area that is in pain for 10 min. For stage one repeat hourly if you can. For the other stages use ice for pain control.

Heat: Do not start any heat treatment for at least one week after treatment. Heat for up to ten minutes. I always caution using heat. Only use moist heat, not a dry heating pad. Remember heat will bring in more inflammation which increases pain and tissue damage. You can repeat this a few times for an inflammation pump. Always end in ice! You may also use a short (5 min) of moist heat before you stretch or exercise the effected area. Do not heat and then go to bed.

Active rest: During the first few weeks your head will feel heavy. Rest on a rolled up towel laid under your neck while lying on a hard floor with legs bent for about 10. You can do this a few times a day all the way through your treatment. Do not rest too much or your neck muscles will start to splint and you will loose range of motion of the neck. It is much easier to keep range of motion than it is to regain it.

Stretching: You will be given range of motion exercises and stretches. Do them at least once an hour the first week after the MVC.

Chiropractic adjustments: The chiropractic adjustment is very important in regard to your healing. This treatment to fixated joints will promote healing by decreasing inflammation in the area, increase joint mobility, decrease scar tissue and increasing the fluid that is produced in the joint. For many patients treatment is daily for the first week in order to limit splinting of the muscles and help keep the cervical spine’sROM.

I have had the privilege of treating thousands of whiplash patients since becoming a chiropractor in 1993. I have witnessed that patients that are consistent with care reach their fullest potential of healing much faster than those that are inconsistent with treatment in the office.  Your treatment plan is well thought out to promote healing in a timely fashion.  Missed appointments will slow your healing and may result in prolonged or chronic pain.

With over 19 years experience in treating low back pain I have seen it all.  The worst case scenario for low back pain is to injure the low back and then sit around and rest hoping it will go away.  Most of the people I see with chronic low back pain were treated with a very conservative wait and see approach for a couple weeks with rest and pain medication.  What will happen with this approach is the muscle of the spine will weaken and the body will develop secondary problems away from the injury. Once the spinal muscle start to weaken due to the non use of them it will take a long time to regain the strength.

So what to do?  Immediate care with mobilization of the injured area, ice, stretching and walking is what I have personally witnessed over the years as the best course to take a patient from an acute injury and get them back to their normal life in about a four to six week period.  Some factors can delay this for low back pain, such as prior injury, prior surgery, disc degeneration or herniation, lack of muscle tone before the injury or some social issues to name a few.  Although even with these the worst thing for acute low back pain is rest. 

If you or someone you know is suffering from low back pain and do not know what to do please give us a call at Advanced Chiropractic in Everett Wa.  We treat low back pain very seriously and will get you in the office usually on the same day you call.

There is a lot of different information on Coffee and weight loss and mental clarity.  The one fact is that caffeine blocks one of the brain neurotransmitters called adenosine.  This adenosine tells brain cells to calm down. When you drink coffee this adenosine cannot tell the brain to calm down and you feel more alert.   BUT, what happens when the coffee wears off?  All the adenosine that is floating around in the blood now has a place to land and you feel very, very tired.  This is because the adenosine does not go away with the coffee, the caffeine only blocks the adenosine from doing it’s job.  Think of damning up a river.  The water is still there, take away the damn and you have rush of water.

This in only a quick look at Coffee and mentality clarity. For a lot of people headaches, neck pain and back pain will also come with coffee consumption.  I have listed another blog of information on this and you can find tons more with Google.  If you want some face to face discussion and are looking for a chiropractor in Everett please give us a call.  425/353/7246.

So here is the link.

http://genesistransformationblog.com/2010/01/22/coffee-and-fat-loss-samantha-gilman/

What you put in your mouth has a tremendeous effect of your pain. This relates to acute (new back pain) or chronic (long term back pain).  Chronic pain is usually accompained with a low grade inflamantion process in the body.  Decrease the inflamantion and you will decrease the pain you are in. This can apply to headaches, disc pain, neck pain and low back pain.

There are many diets out there that are anti inflammatory.  In short if you cut out one indegrient in a lot of foods you will be on your way to an anit inflammatory diet.  What is that inderient?  Partially hydrongenated oils.  This type of fat is known to increase inflammation in the body.  Look at the lables of the food you buy and you will be amazed at how many foods contain this type of fat.  Eliminate it or just cut out most of it and you will feel better.

I have listed a couple links in regard how eating an anti inflammatory diet can help necka and back pain.  I would also encourage you to Google, anti inflmmatory diets and do some reseach yourself.

http://theconsciouslife.com/top-10-inflammatory-foods-to-avoid.htm

http://sock-doc.com/2011/03/dietary-danger-partially-hydrogenated-trans-fats/

If you are reading this and looking for a Chiroprac

Here are some reasons:

1. X-rays only show bone and an MRI shows muscles, disc, blood vessels, nerves, tendons and ligaments to name a few.
2. If I know you have a herniated disc and want to see how large it may be and if it is pushing on a nerve an MRI is best way to see this.
3. If there is a suspected fracture an MRI can pick this up. CT scans also see fractures and if there are no other concerns a CT scan is great for this.
4. If there is a chance of a pathology like cancer in the bone or a soft tissue tumor an MRI will be a great way to visualize this.
5. If you are not progressing and there is not a good reason that you are not progressing and MRI can give us more information.
6. If I am going to send you to an orthopedic surgeon or a physiatrist they will, most times, require an MRI of the area.

This is just a small list of why a Chiropractor would use an MRI.  In my practice I see whiplash victims, patients with headaches, people with disc herniation and sciatica daily.  Each of these type of patients may benefit from an MRI if any of the above is suspected.

If you are curious about your back or neck pain, give Advanced Chiropractic a call and I will be happy to discuss your back and neck issues.

Not really the first thing you want to read if you are searching the web for information on headaches, or especially if you are searching for headaches related to a whiplash type accident.  But sadly this is a true statement for a lot of car accident victims. When the head is thrown back and forth it can disrupt the top few vertebra and the joints associated with them.  This will effect the muscles and the nerves in the region.  Once this area is injured it can refer headache type pain over the top of your skull or into the eye. Most of long term headache patients do nothing their first few weeks after the accident.  This is dangerous because that is the most important time for care.  Early care with chiropractic, home stretching, ice and exercise can help prevent long term headaches in a lot of the victims of car accidents.

My name is Dr. Greg Beasley and I am a chiropractor in Everett Wa.  I have been treating whiplash patients since 1993.  And thankfully a majority of the whiplash victims that I treat do not take a year to get better! We have on site X-rays and massage therapy and we will take care of all the bothersome insurance needs you will have.  If you have headaches from a whiplash type injury please give us a call so you and I can determine if chiropractic care is right for you.

The reason is because the patients were having what is termed a Cervicogenic Headache.  This is a headache that originates in the neck (cervical spine). This is a very common cause of headaches and can be from an old or new whiplash, poor posture, old injuries, poor sleeping or work habits or from self manipulation of the spine. Headaches can also be a cause of depression, work loss, general back pain and loss of sleep to name a few.

The good news is it does not matter how you injured your neck, if the headaches are coming from the neck then you most likely will be helped by chiropractic care.  I have included a few links to articles concerning Cervicogenic Headaches. Only one is specific to chiropractic treatment but they do have good information in regard to headaches occuring from neck pain.  Take a look and then give us a call at 425.353.7246 so you can set up an appointment to for an exam to see if Chiropractic care can help you.

http://www.frequent-headaches.com/cervicogenic_headache_symptoms_exposed.html

http://www.jaoa.org/content/105/4_suppl/16S.full

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15614241

You may be told that this cannot cause neck pain, headaches or upper back pain because the impact was small or the head did not move much. But how often do you see professional football players blow out a knee without even getting hit because their body moves one way and the knee joint moves another way.  The size of the impact does not matter.  What matters is the angle of the impact, type of vehicle, direction you were looking at the time of impact and your position in the car seat to name a few.

This is a very brief discussion on whiplash and how it can create neck pain, headaches and back pain.  If you have any other questions or have been in a recent car accident please give us a call.  My name is Dr. Greg Beasley and I have been treating whiplash victims for 19 years.  We offer massage therapy in office along with X-rays if you need them.

http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/exercise-depression