How one Denver Chiropractor’s son recovered from a broken foot in under a week & why Active Release is great for headaches.

My middle son, Jason, turned 4 a couple of weeks ago. The day after his birthday, he woke up limping. We took him to the pediatrician, and after an xray of his hip and another of his foot, the diagnosis was a broken second metatarsal (those long bones that start just after your toes).

The treatment? Wear a walking boot for 10 days then another x-ray. Well, after 6 days, he declared himself all better and refused to wear the boot. Since he figured out how to work the velcro on it, we pretty much couldn’t stop him. So he ran around without it.

At his re-exam and re-x-ray, the doctor (a pediatric orthopedist) declared him healed.

From limping badly on a broken foot to running around like a maniac in 6 days. 6 days! Oh, to be so young & quick to heal.

For the rest of us, the sooner you can do something about that painful problem, the sooner you can get on your (slightly longer) road to recovery. Anyway, here’s Jason in the boot, preparing for his dream job as a Jedi Knight:

Interesting Image
Health News For You…
Mental Attitude: Fat and Happiness. Humans have an intimate relationship between their emotional state and what they eat. In this study, researchers found the levels of sadness among the subjects who received fatty acids were 50% lower than those who had not. Eating fat appears to be a mood-lifter.Journal of Clinical Investigation, July 2011

Health Alert: Rising Health Costs. The United States spent $2.3 trillionon health care in 2008, more than three times the $714 billion spent in 1990, and over eight times the $253 billion spent in 1980.
Kaiser Family Foundation, March 2010

Diet: Blueberries and Cancer. Blueberries are full of antioxidants, flavonoids and other vitamins that help reduce free radicals in cells. Free radicals can cause cellular damage, one of the factors in the development of cancer. Blueberries are rich in vitamin C, which helps the immune system and helps the body absorb iron. Blueberry juice and other products may be nutritious but often contain less fiber than the whole fruit, and added sugar or corn syrup may decrease their nutritional value. University of Alabama at Birmingham, July 2011

Exercise: Eating Before Swimming? A review of 536 autopsies revealed 79.4% of those who had accidentally drowned had visible stomach contents. It’s suspected there may be a link between eating before swimming and drowning as blood is diverted to the intestine during digestion, possiblycausing circulation problems while the individual is swimming. This may reduce blood flow to the brain, resulting in loss of consciousness and potentially drowning the swimmer. Medicine, Science and the Law, July 2011

Chiropractic: Effective For Whiplash. 26 of 28 patients (93%) with chronic whiplash syndrome improved following chiropractic treatment.According to the authors, before the publication of this article, no conventional treatment was proven to be effective for treating whiplash.Injury, November 1996

Wellness/Prevention: Investing With Prevention. Preventing heart disease before it starts is a good long-term investment in the nation’s health. Every dollar spent on building trails for walking or biking saves $3 in medical costs. Companies that invest in workers’ health with comprehensive worksite wellness programs and healthy work environments have less absenteeism, greater productivity and lower healthcare costs.
American Heart Association, July 2011

Quote: “Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.”
~ Albert Einstein

Active Release Technique: Headaches Active Release is a great treatment for headaches. By releasing scar tissue that’s putting pressure on the small nerves that go up to the head (occipital nerves) even long-standing headaches can resolve. If you or someone you care about is suffering from headaches, email or call us today!

How our Denver Active Release chiropractors treat shin splints.

By Dr. Jeff Stripling, Denver Chiropractic Center

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home: that wildness is a necessity; that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.”
– John Muir

After my  run last night, the pain in my lower leg is not feeling too bad.  I am still experiencing ‘tibial stress syndrome’ or shin splints but it is nothing to prevent climbing Mt Quandry tommorrow.  Shin Splints are most often caused by overuse, increasing intensity/duration of training, and activities that require sudden stops and starts.  Shin splints happen when muscle fibers in the muscles that stabalize and move the ankle/foot tear from their periosteal attachment.  After the initial injury, these muscles become fibrotic during the healing phase which can exacerbate the pain with increased activity.

The best thing that can be done for shin splints is Active Release Technique (ART).  ART will break up the fibrotic tissues, scar tissue, and adhesions that limit range of motion and cause pain.  Icing can also be used to relieve pain and inflammation, using a styrofoam cup filled with frozen water, tear off the top edge of cup so the ice is exposed and gripping the covered bottum, massage painful areas for 8-10 minutes.  Rest for 30 min and repeat for another 8-10 min.

Stretching and strengthening are also great ways to decrease the amount of discomfort you feel and to prevent recurring shin splints.  One stretch that I use is  get into a forward lunge position and plantar flex your back foot (so the top side of foot is on the ground), you should feel a stretch on the front side of your lower leg.  Hold for 15 sec and repeat 5 times on each leg.  There are many exercises to do prevent shin splints, one exercise is the 4 way range of motion exercise.  Move your foot/ankle into dorsiflexion (toes pointing up), plantar flexion (toes pointing down), eversion, and inversion.  Complete all 4 movements 10x each on both legs.

To prevent shin splints from overuse, it is a good idea to only increase your milage 10% each week.  This will allow the shin muscles (tibialis anterior, extensor hallicus longus, extensor digitorum longus) to strengthen without creating microtears in the tissue.  Shin splints are not something that you “just have to put up with,”  come in the office and we will get you back to living/training without pain. DONT PUT UP WITH PAIN!

Yes, we accept Med Pay for patients in auto accidents

We get a lot of questions about whether or not we accept Med Pay for patients who’ve been in car accidents. The answer is yes. The truth is that our approach, which combines Active Release, chiropractic, and physical therapy (all here in the clinic) is probably the best way to recover from your injuries and get back to your life. Call us @ 303.300.0424 or email us to make an appointment today.

Getting ready for next season

Well, after three seasons of training for Xterra triathlons by myself, I’ve decided I don’t really know what the hell I’m doing. So I’ve begged my friends at Mile High Multisport (www.milehighmultisport.com) to coach me.

Lucky for me, Pete and Kathy Alfino agreed. So Kathy Alfino is going to serve as my coach. I can’t describe how excited I am.

After 3 years of finishing at the back of the pack (yes, I know that finishing is an accomplishment) it’s time to start moving up. So I’ll keep you posted in the ol’ blog about my progress. I’m planning on training through the off season so I can get better. I’m going to keep swimming, biking, and running all winter long.

Kathy Alfino qualified for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, and she’s one of the main reasons my family and I have decided to go out there for the big race. As an official ART Ironman Provider (one of 2 in Denver) I’m looking forward to working on the athletes on the Big Island.

How will Meredith and I survive a 6-hour flight with the boys (ages 5,3,1)? That’s a damn good question.

I’ve been doing a little lifting in the interlude here. Did the P90x Shoulders and Arms workout today. I went kind light on the weights as I’ve been incredibly busy at work. Thanks for reading!!

By the way- Happy 3rd birthday to Jason!

L to R- Zachary, Meredith, Jason, Me, Andrew

Clinic newsletters now on the Denver Chiropractic Center site!

For those of you (and there are many) who’ve asked for copies of the paper and ink newsletters, we’ve decided to post the pdf files on the site. http://www.denverback.com/articles.html

The January issue is up, and February is coming soon.

Inside the January 2010 issue:

My New Year’s Resolution – to take time off!

Strengthening your feet with bodyweight exercises.

Mastering the Pushup for strength

The Top 10 problems that I treat in my office

Insurance we accpet / office hours

http://www.denverback.com/pdf/2010_Jan.pdf

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

Changes for 2009 at Denver Chiropractic Center

We’re back in the office after a nice 2-week break. We
hope you enjoyed your holidays, too. Here are a couple
of things to look forward to in 2009:

1. As you know, Brittany is now running the office. She’s
been doing a great job and will keep doing a great job in ’09.

2. No price increase for 2009. Considering how bad the
economy seems to be, we’ve decided to keep our prices
the same this year.

3. Massage therapy starting February 2nd. We’re presently
interviewing therapists, and are looking forward to offering
massage therapy in the office. If you know of any we should
consider, please let us know.

4. A 1-week extension on the end of the year package
special. Many of you wanted to take advantage of the $50
discount on package renewals at the end of 2008. We decided
extend that discount until the end of business on Friday
January 9.

5. The formation of the Denver Chiropractic Center
triathlon team (Team DCC). I’m looking for some beginner
level triathletes who are interested in coaching and
support. I’ll become a USAT certified level-1 coach next
week, and I’d like to specialize in working with beginners.
So, if you’ve thought about doing a triathlon, I might be
your guy. You should be willing to commit to doing either
the Buffalo Creek Xterra Short Course on June 20
http:// www.youtriit.com
or the Crescent Moon Sprint September 19
http://www.racingunderground.com/crescentmoontri/

For $300, you will get a complete coaching program with
ongoing support, group training rides & runs, and a super-
cool Denver Chiropractic Center cycling jersey. All
profits will be donated to charity. I’ll accept a maximum
of 5 athletes for 2009. If you want in, let me know soon.

That’s it for now!