Tag Archive for: chiropractor

How and why to avoid knee replacement surgery and this week’s !-Page Health News

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
~ Hippocrates

Health Alert: Hip/Knee Replacement?
Joint damage from osteoarthritis is responsible for 80% of hip replacements and 90% of knee surgeries. Only 50% of individuals with arthritis who had a hip or knee replacement reported a significant improvement in pain and mobility after surgery. 25% of patients who get a single joint replacement will have another within two years.
Arthritis & Rheumatism, April 2013

“Did you know that if your spine is not moving well or is not aligned (known as subluxation of the spine), you could easily get an injury in your hips, knees, calves or ankles? This is because spinal subluxations inhibit the nervous system, leading to poor motor control. Reference- Seaman et al, JMPT; 18;21(4): 267-280.

Getting your spine adjusted regularly is the best way to keep your body moving well and keep those muscles firing. Our athletes who get adjusted regularly hold up better than the ones who wait for the pain to set it. Call us – 303.300.0424 – or just reply to this email.

Diet: Unleaded Please!
Levels of lead in rice imported into the United States (US) ranged from 6-12 mg/kg. For adults, the daily exposure levels from eating imported rice are 20-40 times higher than the Food and Drug Administration’s accepted levels. For infants and children, the daily exposure levels are 30-60 times higher. Lead is a neurotoxin that can damage the brain, and in young children whose brains are still growing, it can seriously diminish their capacity to learn and develop. It can disrupt children’s behavior, such as make them more aggressive, impulsive, and hyperactive. Lead increases blood pressure and causes cardiovascular diseases in adults.
American Chemical Society, April 2013

Exercise: Walking vs. Running.
Brisk walking can reduce a person’s risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol just as much as running can. The risk for first-time hypertension was notably reduced 4.2% by running and 7.2% by walking. The risk for first-time high cholesterol was reduced 4.3% by running and 7% by walking. The risk for first-time diabetes was lowered 12.1% by running and 12.3% by walking. The risk for coronary heart disease was lowered 4.5% by running and 9.3% by walking.
Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, April 2013

Chiropractic: Lowering Blood Pressure.
Chiropractic adjustments to the upper neck were shown to lower high blood pressure. Researchers found a 14 mm Hg greater drop in systolic blood pressure, and 8 mm Hg greater drop in diastolic blood pressure following a cervical adjustment. This effect was greater than would result from two blood pressure medications given in combination, and it was adverse-event free.
Journal of Human Hypertension, March 2007

Wellness/Prevention: Vitamin D.
A hormone produced in the skin with exposure to sunlight, Vitamin D is also found in fish, fish liver oils, and egg yolks. Muscle function and recovery from fatigue has been shown to improve with Vitamin D supplementation, which is thought to enhance the activity of the mitochondria – the power plants of the cell.
Newcastle University, April 2013

Confessions of a barefoot failure


Me & Bobby McGee. Trying to solve the problem.

In early 2010, I drank the barefoot running Kool Aid. I’ve written about that part of the story before, but I’ll briefly review it for those of you who may not remember.

After reading the book Born to Run, I decided to start running barefoot on my treadmill. I felt good, so I bought some “Barefoot Shoes”. My knee pain went away, I started telling all of you to try it, blah, blah, blah. I tried to go from running as a heel striker to running as a mid-foot striker. It worked for about a year. And then some new injuries set in.

Last week (as I sit writing this) I spent Friday at my 1st grader’s field day. For those of you who don’t know, it’s like a kiddie Olympics held outside at school on a nice spring day. The kids do all sorts of things, like tug-of-war, throw the ball as far as you can, and a round-the–bases relay race.

The round-bases-race was interesting, because I got to watch kid after kid after kid run. As a student of running mechanics, it was quite enlightening.

After observing about 30 kids, I can tell you that only about 1 in thirty kids is a heel-striker. They’re almost all mid-foot strikers, and their feet are quick – touch down, pull up. They all looked smooth and efficient.

So why do the people who gather data on such matters say that about 75% of adult runners are heel strikers*? What happens? Should we all be mid-foot striking or do what comes naturally?(*reference- Foot Strike Patterns of Runners At the 15-Km Point During An Elite-Level Half Marathon HASEGAWA, HIROSHI; YAMAUCHI, TAKESHI; KRAEMER, WILLIAM J. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, August 2007 – Vol. 21 – Issue 3.)

The answer? I have no idea.

So I decided to go see expert running coach Bobby McGee for a 90 minute mechanics evaluation / lesson. Here’s what Bobby had to say (paraphrasing):

“For most runners, unless they want to be elite runners, it doesn’t make any sense at all to try to force a style of running. If you’re a heel striker, don’t try to force yourself to be a mid foot striker. If you are strong enough to run barefoot, great. But if you’re not, it’s a disaster waiting to happen.”

The conclusion – be who you are, and work to optimize the mechanics that you’re used to. So instead of forcing yourself out heel striking, work with it. Remember, we’re all individuals, and your unique running style is just that- yours. Don’t go changing for the sake of change. Like I did.

For the record, Bobby spent more time working on what my upper body was doing than he spent on my lower body. This made a huge difference. He also told me that my feet were not strong enough for running in so-called barefoot shoes. So there you go, I’m a barefoot failure. If you are serious about running, you might want to go spend 90 minutes with Bobby. He’s brilliant.

Denver Chiropractic Center is proud to be an authorized dealer for the A-Line foot suspension system. Do you have foot, ankle or shin pain?

A-Line foot suspension system is unlike any other insole. It is designed as a foot suspensions system, to balance the foot and let your leg align itself while you move. We are one of the few authorized A-Line dealers in Denver. We offer free fitting and reasonable prices ($100-$110) per pair, and a 30-day money back guarantee.

Foot pain can be both annoying and debilitating. Anything that affects your ability to move around and participate in sports is a problem. Several factors can contribute to foot pain, and in this article, we’ll look at one of the most common…Poor foot, ankle and knee alignment.

Many of you know that the so-called barefoot running movement became incredibly popular in the last few years. And while many of us were willing to go minimal on the shoes and experiment, most of us couldn’t hack it.

The theory seemed sensible – get rid of supportive shoes and your feet will naturally strengthen. But there was a problem- many of us had spent 30 or 40 years in supportive shoes. Or feet were like lifelong welfare recipients – the simply didn’t know how to support themselves.

So the barefoot running experiment failed a lot of people. Here’s why: The human foot does well if you’re out shoes from an early age (like from the time you start crawling). If you stay away from flat surfaces, like sidewalks, streets, floors, etc, varying terrain challenges your feet. This builds strong feet.

Strong feet have arches that function well, and exhibit good alignment between the foot, ankle, and knee. Appropriately strong ligaments and equally strong muscles support this alignment.

The correct this alignment is start with an assessment. Some people have better alignment than others. The use of a dynamic insole like the A-lines that we carry at Denver Chiropractic Center allows the foot to get some supports, while also allowing the arches of the foot to strengthen. Rigid orthotics weaken the feet and further degrade natural alignment.

Specific low-impact strengthening exercises can help as well. An example is standing on one foot while making circles with the other foot. 10 circles in each direction with the “flying” foot circling in from of and behind the working foot works well. Another great exercise is simply trying to stand on one foot for 3 minutes.

At Denver Chiropractic Center, we use Active Release Technique to address the scar tissue that develops in muscles that are overworked in poorly aligned feet. This can include muscles of the foot, shin and calf. Scar tissue further weakens muscles, making alignment worse.

If foot or ankle pain has been bothering you, we can probably help. But it all starts with the initial exam, including a foot-ankle-knee alignment check. Call us today to schedule yours. 303.300.0424. We’re here to help.

A Question about knee pain

The Question (from a real patient):

Hi, Glenn

You sucessfully treated me over a year ago for tarsel tunnel syndrome. I had my left knee scoped about four months ago to remove torn cartilage. I went through several months of PT and regained reasonable strength (it took me longer than some people because I had lots of edema and the VMO had been shut down for months.) However, I still have tightness, localized tenderness and restricted range of motion when I attempt to get back into certain yoga poses or do deep squats. My ortho and PT suspect that I have some scar tissue. I’ve been receiving deep tissue massage, which is helping but feel I need to do more to recover normal function. Have you treated similar issues before and do you think that ART would be helpful in my situation?

Dr. Glenn’s answer:

Residual scar tissue often follows arthroscopic surgeries. In my experience, the targeted techniques of Active Release are the best way to access and break up this scar tissue. On average, 4-8 sessions are required, but the results are usually good.