This Denver Chiropractor’s son is allergic to peanuts
We found this amazing peanut butter stand-in for Andrew, our oldest son, who is allergic to peanuts (so sayeth the lab test, he’s never had them). Anyway, this stuff is awesome:
Did a rib pop out?
Another Denver Chiropractic Center blog:
Today I had another new patient who came to me thinking she had
popped a rib out of place. She had severe mid back pain that traveled
under her shoulder blade. It started on Saturday while she was
shoveling snow. She called first thing in the morning today (Monday)
and of course we got her in as soon as we could.
Here’s an article on the site:
http://www.denverback.com/q_midscapulae.html
Ribs rarely actually move out of place unless there is a severe
trauma, like a car accident. For some reason, people with mid
back pain almost always thing that a rib is out place.
Think about it for a second. Those ribs are there to protect
your heart and lungs. They’re strongly attached to both your
spine and sternum, and are very difficult to move ‘out of place.’
There are several layers of muscle between the shoulder blades,
also known as the scapulae. These muscles include the traps,
rhomboids, and spinal muscles.
Sharp mid back pain is almost always muscular, and usually is
dramatically better with just one Active Release treatment, and it’s
almost always gone after two or three sessions.
Chronic mid back pain can frequently be traced back to those
same muscles. I regularly see patients who’ve had pain between
the shoulder blades for years. These cases require a few more
treatments, but they also resolve nicely with Active Release. And
yes, these people also think that they have a rib that’s out.
Sometimes I fail
Yesterday I had to tell a new patient that I couldn’t
help him. It’s a tough thing to do, but it happens,
even at Denver Chiropractic Center; even with
Active Release.
.
This particular patient was referred to me by
another chiropractor. He had low back pain
that radiated down the back of his thigh since
last November. He rated it as a 9 on a scale of
10 (10 is the worst). It started when
he was hiking in the Andes with a very heavy pack.
.
This is a classic herniated disc.
When I treat disc cases with Active
Release, the goal is to relieve the tension on the
muscles that cross the involved joint.
I was his last hope. I worked on him for about 30 minutes.
.
If Active Release is going to help, usually the
patient will feel a little better right away. This
man felt exactly that same. Considering that
he’d tried just about everything under the sun,
and considering that his pain had been the same
for 5 months, I told him he should speak to
a surgeon.
.
I hate to do that, but sometimes giving a
person an honest opinion, even if it’s one they
don’t want to hear, is the best I can do.
I never try to work with someone if I don’t
think that I can help. Luckily, it doesn’t happen
often.
.
This man was grateful that I was honest with him.
He left my office understanding why it was time to
speak with a surgeon. In the long run, he’ll
recover and move on with his life.
.
Just thought I’d share that one with you.
.
Glenn Hyman
Denver Chiropractic Center
16 Years of hip pain? Really?
OK, so all of the staffing chaos is behind me. The new
office manager, Amy, is on board and doing a great job.
Massage therapist Erin has been seeing clients and
getting rave reviews. So, on to this week’s question.
Once again, the person is real, and the question is
too:
“I was in a car accident 16 years ago, and I’ve
had hip pain ever since. I’ve had X-rays, and the
bone is fine. I have trouble lifting my leg to
climb in and out of the bathtub. Is this something
that you can help me with?”
The answer:
“Yes, I can probably help you. When muscle gets
injured, whether it’s a car crash, sports injury,
or repetitive motion, the healing process creates
scar tissue. This scar tissue changes the way that
muscle works – it doesn’t contract and relax as
efficiently as it used to. This leads to pain,
tightness, weakness, and other problems.
This condition can linger on for years, even decades.
Since nothing breaks up scar tissue as effectively as
Active Release, patients with long term problems
start to finally get relief. I have actually treated
injuries that were 20 years old and made dramatic
improvements.”
In this case, I treated the lumbar muscles, hip flexors,
glutes, and the piriformis. They were heavily scarred,
and the patient started noticing improvement after
the first visit. I’m still treating her (3 times as
of this wiriting) so I can’t yet claim success, but
I’m confident this patient will feel about 90% better
when we’re done.