Insurance Archives - Page 13 of 14 - Denver Chiropractic Center

Back from teaching for Active Release Techniques & NEW summer hours.

I just got back from sunny San Diego last weekend, where I was teaching for Active Release Techniques. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been an ART provider for 11 years, and an instructor for 9 years. I’m still the only ART instructor in Denver.

Anyway, the weather was beautiful (I flew out in rain and snow here) and the hotel was right on the bay. Here I am in front of some sort of famous racing sail boat that seemed to be a big deal to boat-savvy people (I get seasick so I’m no boat guy).

As always, working hard in tough places

The sunny, breezy weather got me thinking about summer time, and summer hours. So, starting May 31 (the day after Memorial Day) our office hours will be as follows:

Monday: 9-5

Tuesday: 9-7

Wednesday: 9-5

Thursday 9-7

Friday 9-3

The catch here is that I, Dr. Glenn Hyman, won’t be in on Fridays during the summer, but I WILL be here Monday through Thursday (until 7 Tuesdays and Thursdays). A lot of you have been asking for later hours with me for years, and I’m happy to oblige.

As many of you know, I have 3 little sons, ages 5,3 & 1, and I just want to spend a little more time with them this summer. So that’s why I’m going to take some Fridays off. But don’t worry, we’ll still be open on Fridays, Dr. Stripling will be here on Fridays (and the other days, too.).

Why you should be doing deadlifts (start today, we’ll show you how).

Many of you have been asking about Meredith’s knee after reading about her recent surgery in the last DCC newsletter. We certainly appreciate all of the interest you’ve shown.

Meredith is on the road to recovery. She’s doing all of her normal everyday activities, and her rehab continues.

While a big part of her recovery is having me do Active Release to normalize her muscles (quads, calves, shin muscles, etc), as well as working on her IT band, lateral meniscus and Lateral Collateral Ligament, doing her rehab is just as important.

The deadlift is at the center of her rehab program. That’s right, good old-fashioned deadlifts (with a little twist).

The deadlift is a classic weightlifting exercise that can fit into anyone’s training program. You certainly don’t need to use a barbell to do it. In fact, Meredith and I got rid of all the barbells in the basement (to make room for the kiddos) years ago and have NEVER missed them.

This exercise activates and strengthens just about everything in your legs, including the glutes, hamstrings, adductors, and spinal extensors. You want all of these muscles working together, and the deadlift teaches them to do that. It’s great for preventing injuries in runners, triathletes, hikers, climbers, and even relatively sedentary people. Of course, clear this with your doctor first, as you could get hurt if you do it wrong.

We’ll demonstrate here with a pair of kettlebells, and they allow for the most optimal mechanics.

1. Stand with your feet about hips’ distance apart. Have the kettlebells between your feet.

Deadlift 1

2. Looking forward, arch your back slightly and start moving your hips backwards. Maintaining that arch is important, as the muscular tension directs forces away from the discs and ligaments in the back.

deadlift 2

3. Start bending your knees as you reach for the bells.

Deadlift 3

4. Grasp the bells, brace your abs, and use your legs (NOT your back) to lift the weights. Think about pushing your heels into the floor. Come to a full upright position.

deadlift 4

5. To lower, start the motion with your hips moving backwards and lower the weights all the way to the ground. Let them come to rest on the ground before setting yourself up for the next rep. This allows you to correct your form for each rep.

deadlift 5

Start with 3 sets of 5 reps with moderate weights 2-3 times per week. Over time, you can work your way up to 5 sets of 10-20 reps. Just make sure you progress slowly. Remember, the goal is to get stronger safely.

If you’re having hip pain, back pain, hamstring problems or (like Meredith) knee problems, your best bet is to get the problem checked out by us. Call 303.300.0424 today to schedule your next appointment.

The very popular barefoot running article is now online

Those of you (over 1000!) who get our paper newsletter already have the barefoot running article from the June / July 2010 newsletter.

We sort of goofed and never managed to put it online. Well, here it is:

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

For those of you who like to follow my training, I did a workout I picked up from top strength guru Mike Mahler’s facebook page. P90X is starting to seem a little too easy for me.

It looked a little something like this:

10 sets of 10 reps of the following (in giant-set formation):

Heavy Kettlebell Swings (72 pounder)
Dumbbell Presses (65’s)
Double Kettlebell Rows (62 pound KB’s)

‘Twas quite brutal. Look for Mike Mahler on Facebook, or go to www.mikemahler.com

Ankle sprain / calf injury while training for the Denver Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon

I had a patient call the office in a panic today.

She’s been training for her first marathon – the Denver Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon. Today, during a 15-mile run she felt some calf and ankle pain.

“I found Dr. Hyman after doing a google search. Can he help?”

Well of course, the answer is yes. Using Active Release Technique here at Denver Chiropractic Center, I treat ankle and calf pain all of the time.

These issues usually arise from cumulative trauma – the normal damage that occurs from training. Basically, if an ankle and/or calf is unstable, forces are not properly absorbed. This causes damage to soft tissues,scar tissue formation, and eventually painful dysfunction.

There are two ways to deal with this. 1. Call 303.300.0424 and make an appointment as soon as you notice symptoms. I have saved many a race at the last minute. Don’t let calf pain ruin your race.

2. Do some preventative stability work and prevent this from happening in the first place. I covered this in detail in my January 2010 patient newsletter. You can download it here:

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

(If Brett Favre had this information, he wouldn’t be dealing with ankle problems right now. If you know him, go ahead and forward. I like to see guys (almost) as old as me do well in the NFL!)

Anyway, we have plenty of time to get this racer to the start line. No worries.

Happy training!

Denver Chiropractic Center February 2010 Newsletter

The Feburary 2010 Denver Chiropractic Center Newsletter – The Dr. Glenn Report – is on the website.

You can download it here:

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

In this issue-

Dr. Glenn, Triathlon Season 3

Pull-ups, Bodyweight training for a strong back and healthy shoulders

How to get your aging hips moving in the morning

Who else wants 2 FREE massages?

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

Denver Chiropractic Center sponsors Denver Athletic Club Tri!

We’re proud to be on boards as sponsors for this years Denver Athletic Club Tri the Creek Sprint Tri. Check it out here.

Denver Chiropractic’s Top 3 Hips Stretches

‘Tis the season to get outside and start running, riding, hiking, climbing, etc. Here are 3 critical stretches that, if performed daily (or almost daily), will keep your hips happy all summer long. Tight hips can evolve into hip problems, knee pain, and plantar fasciitis.

For more info, look for the May-June issue of the newsletter coming soon to a mailbox near you.

Glute Stretch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

glute stretch

The glutes are the biggest muscles in your body. They propel you forward in all athletic endeavors. If they start to scar up, they lose power, and other muscles start to take up the slack, particularly the hammies and the hip rotators. Back pain and hamstring problems usually follow.

To stretch: Just lay on your back and flex your hip to around 90 degrees. Use your left hand to pull your right leg across your body. Reach that right arm away to maximize the pull on the fascia. Hold for about 20 seconds and switch sides.

Hip Rotators
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hip ro 1

The hip rotators include muscles like the piriformis. Problems in these muscles lead to sciatica and lateral knee pain.

To stretch: Lay on your side, preferably on a bench or the edge of a bed. Flex your hip to 90 degrees, grab your left knee with your left hand, and rotate your shin with your right hand. Make sure that your knee doesn’t move up towards the sky/ ceiling. Hold for 20 seconds, then flip over and do the other side.

hip ro 2

Hip flexors ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The hip flexors oppose the glutes. They bring your leg forward in running, are obviously important in climbing, contribute to 360 degree pedaling, and more.

As they are overused, they totally screw up mechanics, leading to hip pain, knee pain, and back pain.

To stretch: get down on one knee, keep your torso upright, and move forward. See how I maintain that arch in my back instead of rounding forward? That’s how you get the hip flexors to stretch.

Remember- a tight muscle will become a scarred muscle. And noting breaks up scar tissue like Active Release Technique. So, you if need help, come on in. I can help you.

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.

How many surgeries have I ruined?

One of the best things about being an Active Release provider is fixing patients who are already scheduled for surgery. I don’t keep formal score, but there are at least 2 of these cases a month. And I’ve been doing this for about 10 years. So that adds up to over 200.

Many of these cases involve carpal tunnel syndrome, and some involve rotator cuffs.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by pressure on the median nerve. This nerve runs through the forearm and ends at the thumb and first two fingers. In many cases, the pressure in the nerve comes from scar tissue that’s accumulated in the muscles. By releasing the scar tissue with Active Release, the pressure on the nerve resolves. Then there’s no reason to do surgery.

Now, I can’t claim a 100% success rate. Sometimes surgery is indeed necessary. But most patients who come to me are willing to try. I’d estimate that 8/10 cases resolve with ART. It’s proabably higher, but I don’t want to run the risk of over-estimating.

So if you’ve been told that you need carpal tunnel surgery, maybe coming to see me is worth a shot? Check back soon for a video clip featuring a real patient who was scheduled for Carpal tunnel surgery and had her symptoms resolved by me.