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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

16 Jun

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) develops from a nerve problem in the wrist (the median nerve) and is NOT a “muscle problem” like some people believe. That is not to say the median nerve cannot be trapped and pinched by muscles. When this occurs, the condition is labeled with a different name, depending on which muscle(s) are pinching the nerve or where the entrapment is located. Here are some more FACTS about CTS that you need to know:

SYMPTOMS: CTS complaints include numbness, pain, tingling, and/or weakness of the hand (especially fingers two, three, and four), and while this can be constant, it usually comes and goes.

ONSET: CTS usually comes on gradually. However, the length of time over which it progresses can be HIGHLY VARIABLE. It can take weeks, months, or even years before the patient consults with their chiropractor or family doctor.

CAUSE: There are MANY reported causes of CTS, but it is not completely known how the process starts out or how it evolves for different people. Risk factors include age greater than 50, obesity, genetics (family history of CTS), gender (as it favors females over males), work type (highly-repetitive, hand-intensive work), pregnancy, birth control pill usage, thyroid disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and more. In general, swelling is the culprit that results in pressure on the median nerve. This most commonly occurs from overuse of the hands and fingers. Playing musical instruments, sewing, crocheting, basket weaving, assembly/line work, meat processing work, typing/computer work, and waitressing are common over-use activities.

CLINICAL COURSE: Early into the disorder, CTS is usually easily managed and reversible. However, if the amount of pressure on the nerve is too much, the symptoms can become permanent. Think of a wire and how wearing away the plastic coating will “short” the wire. There are multiple layers to our nerves and the wearing away of the outer layers over time can become a problem resulting in permanent numbness and/or weakness.

BIGGEST MISTAKE: Don’t wait until your symptoms are terrible! If you feel periodic numbness and tingling and you find yourself shaking your hand and “flicking” your fingers in attempt to “wake them up,” NOW IS THE TIME TO COME VISIT YOUR CHIROPRACTOR before nerve damage occurs and the risk of permanency increases.

HOW CHIROPRACTIC HELPS: Treatment guidelines for CTS recommend a non-surgical approach, and this is where chiropractic comes in! A wrist night splint is typically recommended since sleep interruption due to numbness is VERY common as we cannot control our wrist position when we sleep. Ice (not heat) is best as it reduces swelling (see #3 above). Rubbing an ice cube (or Dixie cup of ice) over the palm-side of the wrist works well. First, you will feel COLD followed by BURNING, then ACHING, and finally NUMBNESS (“C-BAN”). At this point STOP, as the next stage of cooling is frost bite! Do this three times a day or as directed. Your doctor of chiropractic will also talk to you about taking “mini-breaks” at home and/or at work and teach you exercises or stretches that can be performed during these breaks! A work station assessment is often very helpful as sometimes a simple change in work position or method can reduce wrist strain considerably. Your doctor of chiropractic may also perform manipulation to the small joints of the hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder, and neck as indicated in each specific case. He or she may also perform soft tissue release techniques to the muscles and soft tissues of the forearm, shoulder, and neck regions as needed. Surgery should be the LAST step in the treatment process, used only if all other non-surgical options have been tried without success.

We realize you have a choice in whom you consider for your health care provision and we sincerely appreciate your trust in choosing our service for those needs.  If you, a friend, or family member requires care for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, we would be honored to render our services.

Spinal Manipulation AFTER Surgery HELPS!

15 Jun

Unfortunately, low back pain (LBP) is something MOST of us cannot avoid. There is solid evidence that chiropractic care is one of the most effective methods of treating LBP, but there are times when a referral for surgery is needed. What about manipulative therapy (MT) AFTER surgery? Is this a good idea? Does it help?

In March 2015, an article published in the Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation discussed the pros and cons of MT after lumbar open laser microdiscectomy, a common surgical technique used to treat patients with a pinched nerve due to a herniated lumbar disk. Unfortunately, patients who undergo this procedure can experience early post-surgical physical disability that reduces their ability to perform required daily activities. For this reason, the objective of this study was to look at whether early individualized spinal manipulation would reduce the occurrence of post-surgical disability. To do this, 21 patients (aged 25-69) who had a microdiscectomy were randomly placed into either a spinal manipulation or an active control group. Manipulation was performed two to three weeks after surgery, at two times a week for four weeks.  The researchers found patients in the MT group experienced a 55% reduction in disability while those in the control group reported a 5% increase in disability! Also, leg pain was reduced by 55% in the MT group compared with only 9% in the control group. This pilot study concluded that while a larger-scale study is recommended, the findings indicate that manipulation “…may be an important option for post-operative management after spinal surgery.”

This is yet another testimony that spinal manipulation can not only help many people avoid surgery, but it can also significantly reduce or eliminate back pain and disability AFTER surgery! Spinal manipulation is the most common treatment approach performed routinely by chiropractors. And although other healthcare professionals are showing an increasingly greater interest in learning this skill, manipulation must be performed on a regular, concentrated basis in order to obtain the best outcomes or therapeutic results for patients. So, regardless if you have or have not had surgery for LBP, the benefits of chiropractic and spinal manipulation are recognized as a recommended course of treatment!

 

We realize you have a choice in whom you consider for your health care provision and we sincerely appreciate your trust in choosing our service for those needs.  If you, a friend, or family member requires care for back pain, we would be honored to render our services.

New Study Claims Adolescent Drinking Alters Adult Behavior

11 Jun

Here is the shocking first sentence of a recent study abstract:  “Binge drinking is common during adolescence and can lead to the development of psychiatric disorders.”

Furthermore, binge drinking during adolescence may alter brain development during this important time, leaving lasting effects on genes and behavior that will continue into adulthood. In a recently published study in the journal Neurobiology of Disease, researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Medicine provided alcohol to rat subjects on-and-off in two day increments during their adolescence. Then, they observed them during adulthood. The rats given alcohol displayed much higher levels of anxiety than the control rats who were not given alcohol during development. Also, when given the choice between alcohol and water during adulthood, the rats given alcohol during adolescence drank more alcohol than the rats in the control group.

When researchers looked at the brains of the rats in the study, they found the rats in the alcohol group had higher levels of a protein called HDAC2 in the part of the brain called the amygdala. Previous studies have linked elevated levels of HDAC2 in the amygdala to higher levels of anxiety and alcohol-drinking behavior. This suggests that alcohol exposure during adolescence activates the gene/s responsible for increased HDAC2 expression.

Lead study author Dr. Subhash Pandey, a Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Neuroscience Alcoholism Research at UIC writes, “This may be the mechanism through which adolescent binge drinking increases the risk for psychiatric disorders, including alcoholism in adulthood… On-and-off exposure to alcohol during adolescence altered the activity of genes needed for normal brain maturation… [The gene alterations] increased anxiety-like behaviors and preference for alcohol in adulthood.”

Which Is Worse, Eating Junk Food During Early or Late Pregnancy?

9 Jun

Does it matter if a mother eats junk food during pregnancy?  A recent study claims that eating junk food has different effects on the developing fetus depending on which stage of pregnancy an expectant mother eats junk food.

According to Dr. Jessica Gugusheff, post-doctoral researcher in the School of Agriculture, Food, and Wine at the University of Adelaide, “Our research suggests that too much junk food consumed late in pregnancy for humans has the potential to be more harmful to the child than excess junk food early in the pregnancy… Importantly, it also indicates that if excess junk food was consumed by the mother in those early stages of pregnancy, there may be a chance to reduce those negative effects on the baby by eating a healthy diet in late pregnancy.  The second critical window is adolescence and we’ve found differences between males and females. Our experiments showed that eating a healthy diet during adolescence could reverse the junk food preference in males but not females.”

Dr. Gugusheff also mentioned that the brain grows the fastest during these critical windows, which is probably why it is so susceptible to the effects of junk food at these times.

 

The Secret to a Happy Life

4 Jun

How a Fisherman from a Small Mexican Village Taught a Harvard-Educated Investment Banker the Meaning of Life

Fables are short, fictitious stories that convey a moral intended to teach a lesson to help you live a better life.  What you are about to read is an incredible modern fable, especially if you want to live a happy life. An American investment banker was at the pier of a tiny coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.  Inside the boat were several large yellowfin tuna.  The investment banker complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.  The man replied, “Only a little while.”

The American then asked why he didn’t stay out longer and catch more fish.  The fisherman said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.  The banker then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?” The fisherman laughed and replied, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos.  I have a full and busy life.”

The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you.  You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat.  With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats.  Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats.  Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery.  You would control the product, processing, and distribution.  You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA, and eventually New York City where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But how long will this all take?”
“15 to 20 years.”
“But what then?”

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part.  When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions!”

“Millions? Then what?”

“Then you would retire, move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine, and play your guitar with your amigos.”

That’s a pretty incredible life lesson, isn’t it?  Surprisingly, too many people get trapped in a self-made prison because of what they think they want, and what they think they want is simply what they think everyone else wants them to do.  Their lives become a blur as they constantly chase a “dream” that is unattainable and will never lead to happiness. Clearly, small inexpensive (or even free) things can provide a beautiful life.  You don’t need an impressive title, big car (or boat), or big business to live a beautiful life and be a beautiful person.  In fact, in most cases, a smaller home and fewer obligations can make life easier and much more enjoyable. If you have a nagging feeling that you could do better, make more, and deserve to upgrade, then remember that the secret to having it all is recognizing that you already do.  You just have to start recognizing it.  Life is what you let slip away while you are endlessly chasing things you wished you had but don’t need.

Want To Live Longer? Doing This Amount of Exercise Will Probably Prolong Your Life, But More Doesn’t Seem to Help.

4 Jun

The idea that exercise can help you live longer isn’t a new one. Experts have touted the benefits of exercise for decades. What is new is that researchers may have found the optimal amount of exercise needed to extend your longevity…

In a study published April 6, 2015 in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers analyzed information from more than 660,000 people ages 21 to 98 in the United States and Sweden who answered questions about how much time they spent doing physical activity, including walking, running, swimming, and bicycling.

The most interesting findings were that doing just a little exercise showed quite a bit of benefit and doing a lot more exercise provided only marginal returns. People who exercised a little, but not enough to meet current physical activity recommendations (150 minutes of moderate activity per week or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week), were still 20 percent less likely to die during the 14-year study than those who did not perform any physical activity.

People who engaged in the recommended level of physical activity saw even more benefit. According to the data, they were 31 percent less likely to die during the study than those who did not engage in any amount of physical activity. The maximum benefit was seen by people engaging in three-to-five times the recommended levels.  They were 39% less likely to die over the study period than people who did not exercise.

Here is something interesting:  Many believe if some exercise is good, then more is better.  But there appears to be a ceiling on the amount of exercise that has a beneficial effect on your health.

According to the study, exercising more than three-to-five times the recommended levels did not show any significant additional health benefits. (In fact, previous research indicates that excessive exercise can even be harmful to the heart.) The authors of the study write, “In regard to mortality, healthcare professionals should encourage inactive adults to perform leisure time physical activity and do not need to discourage adults who already participate in high-activity levels.”

Here’s the Biggest Take-Home Message from This Study:

While many people shy away from exercise because they do not feel like they have enough time to exercise enough, this study shows that the people most likely to benefit from increasing the amount of exercise they do are those who do not currently exercise at all.  In other words, if you are not doing any exercise, you can see quite a big potential benefit from just doing a little. You do not have to go crazy and start running marathons.  You just have to get moving and do something.

And the best part is: if you do a little exercise, then you will start to feel better and be able to do more.  Who knows, soon you may find yourself exercising the recommended levels and then one day you’ll look at your journal and realize you are actually exercising the maximum beneficial amount, as uncovered during this study. But reaching the maximum level is not the important thing, and if you are not doing any exercise right now, then you should not even think about that much physical activity.

Probably the biggest reason for failure is setting goals too high.  (I know goal-setting experts often say to set high goals and REACH FOR THE SKY!) If that is working for you, awesome.  But if you are like most people and do not reach a majority of the goals you set, let’s try something a little different.

Let’s set a very small goal, one that you can reach relatively easily and in a short time.  When you do, you will not only feel great, you will gain a little momentum. Once that first little goal is reached, set another small goal and so on… For many people, this is the best way to actually reach their big goals.

So, if you are not exercising now, then make a small goal.  Write down some small thing you are going to do TODAY just to get started. Make it easy.  Make it quick.  Then, just do it.  Tomorrow write down another one.  One of the best techniques is to write down your exercise goal the night before so when you wake up you know exactly what you are going to do that day. But let’s make this very clear:  make your goal very easy so you can get the ball rolling.  Remember, you are going to get quite a bit of benefit from just a small amount of exercise.

While We Are on the Topic of Exercise, Here’s Something You Should Think About:

Do you know how much television you watch every day?  According to recent research, the average American watches five hours per day!  And get this, the number increases with age.  By 65, the average American watches an average of seven hours of television per day. That kind of blows the whole, “I don’t have enough time to exercise” excuse right out of the water, doesn’t it?  But here is something else you should know: a study published in Diabetologia (the Journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) found that each hour spent watching TV daily increases an individual’s risk of developing diabetes by 3.4%.

It’s no wonder why the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported in 2014 that 29.1 million Americans, or 9.3% of the population of the United States, have diabetes.  What’s incredible is 8.9 million of that 29.1 million (27.8%) are undiagnosed.  That means almost 9 million people are pretty much ticking time bombs for all kinds of serious health problems and do not even know it. The good news is that many type 2 diabetics can benefit from diet and exercise.  (There is that “exercise” thing again!)

Advice for this month:  Take 20 minutes out of the five-to-seven hours you may spend watching  television and instead do a little exercise and watch what happens!

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