Tag Archive for: Denver Chiropractic Center

Denver Chiropractor back in the office, Rockies Opening Day Hours

We’re back in the office this week after a nice long weekend for the kids’ spring break. If you need to come see us, call us at 303.300.0424 or reply to this email.

Our family got back onto skis for the first time since my wife Meredith blew out her left ACL. It was weird skiing without her (she’s 2 months into her 6-month recovery) but we got back on the horse after her injury.

The snow up high was great, the snow down low, not so much.

Rockies Opening Day.
This Friday (April 7) is Rockies Opening Day. Since our office manager Meaghan is turning 30 soon, she got Denver Chiropractic Center’s Opening Day tickets. This Friday (4/7) we are going to open at 8:30 and close at 11:30 so she and her husband Cody can go party in LoDo.

Rumor has it that we might be giving away 2 tickets to Saturday night’s Rockies game. Stay tuned.

Denver Chiropractor has 2 openings left today (3/23) and 1 tomorrow (3/24)

Our Denver Chiropractor is giving away one more have a pair of tickets up for grabs for the Avalanche game tonight (3/23) at 7PM. Just  email us with the names of the coaches who won the Stanley Cup with the Avs. Hint: there are 2. Random drawing from correct answers.

This is the last game we have tickets for this hockey season, but Rockies tickets are coming!

We have 2 openings left today (3/23) and 1 left tomorrow (3/24) for our Denver Chiropractor.

Next week will be a short week – we’ll be in just Monday-Weds because the kiddos are on spring break, so if you need to see us, call us at 303.300.0424 or email us so Meaghan can get you on the schedule.

(2/27/2017) Short Week Alert and win Rockies tickets

Short Week Alert. We will have a short week this week in our office, so if you need to get in this week please don’t hesitate to call 303.300.0424 ASAP or reply to this email.

 

Monday 2/27: In the office

Tuesday 2/28: In the office

Weds 3/1: In the office

Thursday 3/2: Out of the office

Friday 3/3: Out of the office

 

Coming soon- Win Rockies Tickets!Yep, the Avs ticket giveaways have been so popular that I got Rockies tickets to keep the party going all summer long. Just keep watching for our emails!

 

Here is this week’s 1-Page Health News.

 
Concussions May Accelerate Alzheimer’s.
A new study suggests concussions may speed up mental decline among individuals already at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. In this study, researchers examined 160 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and found that concussions seemed to accelerate Alzheimer’s disease-related brain deterioration and mental decline in the veterans at genetic risk for the disease. Dr. Jasmeet Hayes, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine writes, “Our results suggest that when combined with genetic factors, concussions may be associated with accelerated cortical thickness and memory decline in Alzheimer’s disease-relevant areas.”
Brain, January 2017

Diet: Eating Rare Meat Safely.
If you prefer your meat cooked rare versus well done, it is important that it is prepared safely. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests: use a food thermometer to make sure rare meat is hot enough to destroy any germs; avoid using the color of meat, the color of juices, or the firmness of meat to determine if it’s sufficiently cooked; cook ground lamb, pork, veal, or beef to at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71.11 degrees Celsius) at its center; and cook steak to 145 degrees Fahrenheit (62.77 degrees Celsius) at its center.
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, January 2017

Exercise: Set a Health Goal That Lasts.
Did you make a New Year’s resolution to become healthier? The American Council on Exercise offers the following tips to help one continue to strive towards their goal as the year progresses: set a small, specific, actionable goal, such as going for a walk every other day; view your goal as a positive change that you want to see in yourself; don’t make your goal so challenging that you are likely to get frustrated; reward yourself for meeting the goal; and ask for support from family, friends, and loved ones.
American Council on Exercise, January 2017

Chiropractic: Surgery No More Effective Than Conservative Care for Disk Herniations in the Long-Term.
A recent study sought to compare the effectiveness of surgical and conservative treatment for patients with a lumbar disk herniation in regards to sciatica symptom severity and quality of life. Researchers followed 370 lumbar disk herniation patients for 104 weeks and found that surgical treatment did not show a benefit over conservative treatment during long-term follow-up. The findings suggest that conservative care has the same long-term effects as surgery for lumbar disk herniation but with less cost and associated risk.
BMJ Open, December 2016

Wellness/Prevention: How to Avoid Feeling Tired.
If you’re not getting enough sleep and feel groggy when you wake up, you don’t need to turn to caffeine to stay awake. The National Sleep Foundation recommends the following to feel more alert: avoid alcohol before bed; set a sleep schedule, waking and going to sleep at the same time every day—even on weekends; set your alarm for the time you truly need to wake up; open the curtains to let in natural sunlight as soon as you wake; exercise daily; and eat a nutritious and balanced breakfast.
National Sleep Foundation, January 2017

Feb 23, 2017: 2 Spots Left this week:

2 Spots Left this week: We have just 2 spots open this week, 1 today (Feb 23) and 1 tomorrow (Feb 24). So if you want to get in this week please call asap 303.300.0424 or reply to this email.

Short week next week: Next week is a short week for us as I’ll be out on Thursday and Friday, March 2 and 3. Next week is filling up fast so please on our schedule before it is full.

Back in the office Feb 13, 2017

After taking a few days off last week to help my wife through her ACL (knee) reconstruction surgery – it went very well – I am back in the office today. Thanks for your patience. We have just one spot open today so if you need us, please call asap 303.300.0424.

Feb 6, 2017- Short week alert

I’ll be in just Monday-Wednesday this week as I’m taking Thursday and Friday off for my wife’s ACL reconstruction surgery. So call us ASAP if you want to see us. 303.300.0424

Who would you call? And This Week’s 1-Page Health News.

By now most of you who read these posts know that my wife blew out her ACL a couple of weeks ago and is having knee surgery soon to reconstruct it. But there’s a part of the story I haven’t shared yet.

When she went down on the slopes of Winter Park, I had a wife yelling in pain, 3 kids kind of freaking out, and I had no idea how to get a hold of the ski patrol. I sat there kind of dumbly watching other skiers and boarders going by hoping that maybe a ski school instructor would appear.

Luckily a good Samaritan stopped and had the ski patrol phone number on a laminated piece of paper in his pocket. I called from my phone and they were there in minutes. 

The moral of the story- know the number for the ski patrol where you are skiing or riding. We’re in the process of putting a card together for you all with the popular ski resorts’ patrol numbers on it. (Winter Park’s is 970.726.1480.)

 

Here is this week’s 1-Page Health News.

 

Diet: Are Low-Carb Diets Better for Weight Loss Than Low-Fat Diets?
Physicians at Mayo Clinic say that low-carb diets are slightly better than low-fat diets for weight loss, at least in the short term. An analysis of 41 trials that evaluated the effects of low-carb diets on weight loss showed that participants lost between 2.5-9 more pounds (1.13-4.08 kg) than those who followed a low-fat diet. Lead researcher Dr. Heather Fields adds, “The best conclusion to draw is that adhering to a short-term low-carb diet appears to be safe and may be associated with weight reduction.” However, she recommends that people who follow a low-carb diet should avoid highly processed foods, especially processed meats, such as bacon, sausage, deli meats, hot dogs, and ham.
The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, December 2016

Exercise: Serious Yoga Injuries Are on the Rise, But Rare.
Yoga has become increasingly more popular in recent years and so have yoga-related injuries. According to a new report, nearly 30,000 Americans visited the emergency room for yoga-related sprains, fractures, or other injuries between 2001 and 2014. Despite rising injuries, experts say that overall, yoga appears relatively safe. They add that the potential gains from performing yoga, such as lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, lower heart rate, and improvements in depression, anxiety, and sleep problems outweigh the risk of injury. Dr. Joshua Harris from the Houston Methodist Hospital comments, “My advice to people is to start slow, don’t push too hard, and find a good instructor who emphasizes proper form and technique.”
Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, December 2016

Chiropractic: You Can’t Blame Acute Low Back Pain on the Weather.
A recent study investigated the influence of various weather parameters on the risk of developing an episode of low back pain. Among a group of 981 patients with an acute episode of low back pain, researchers found that precipitation, humidity, wind speed, wind gust, wind direction, and air pressure did not increase the risk of onset for acute low back pain.
Pain Medicine, December 2016

Wellness/Prevention: Depression Hurts Smoking Cessation Efforts.
An analysis of data from a Czech smoking cessation clinic reveals that smokers with depression have a harder time quitting. The study included 3,775 patients and found that those with mild depression were 32% less likely to abstain from smoking for one year than those without depressive symptoms, while patients with severe depression were 43% less likely to quit.
Annals of Behavioral Medicine, December 2016

Update on Meredith’s knee

For those of who who read last week’s email on my wife’s skiing related knee injury, I just wanted to update the story. First of all thanks to all of you who sent good wishes for a speedy recovery. She did indeed completely rupture the ACL in her left knee. She also has two small fractures. Surgery is set for Feb 9th. She’s a tough lady and will be fine in the long run. She’s already started an aggressive pre-surgery rehab program.

Nutritional Post-Surgical Management of CTS

Obviously, the goal of all health care providers, including chiropractic management of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), is to AVOID surgical intervention, but this is not always possible. Last month, we looked at herbal approaches to reduce inflammation with the focused goal of preventing surgical need. But, as chiropractors, we also care for patients post CTS surgery, and one of our treatment approaches beyond manual therapies includes nutritional management (In addition to Active Release Techniques to address scar tissue in the forearm muscles).

As we all know, during the surgical process, tissue damage occurs due to incisions, removal of injured tissue, and other factors. Depending on the “success” of the surgical procedure, damage to the nerves causing numbness, weakness, and/or other nerve related symptoms can occur. Often, nerves will regenerate during the healing process but not always 100%. This may be due to factors such as the amount of tissue damaged during the surgery, the length of time CTS had been present pre-surgery, how well the patient follows post-surgical instructions, as well as the general health and overall condition of the patient. A healthy diet along with certain specific vitamins can play a positive role in tissue healing and nerve regeneration. Here are some examples:

  1. Folate or vitamin B9 has been reported to have beneficial effects on the genes located within the nerve cells that help to regulate the healing process. One study published in 2010 reported that folate helped to promote nerve repair in the central nervous system (CNS) in rats, which is unique as typically nerve damage in the CNS does not usually regenerate. Anti-inflammatory benefits have also been reported with vitamins B6, B9, and B12.
  2. Cobalamin or Vitamin B12 has also been reported to facilitate nerve regeneration after injury. This, along with the anti-inflammatory benefits, supports the use of B12 in the post-surgical CTS patient.
  3. Vitamin D may also play a significant role in nerve regeneration after surgery. In one study, vitamin D2 was found to have a positive effect on nerve regeneration. Another study reported that D3 and calcium together has strong anti-inflammatory benefits.
  4. Vitamin B6: There is evidence that supports the use of B6 both before and after surgery. Some feel B6 acts directly on nerve repair and others report a diuretic (fluid reducing) benefit. One cause and/or complication of CTS is fluid retention, which commonly occurs in conditions such as pregnancy, the use of birth control pills, obesity, diabetes, and others. Thus, keeping fluids in our tissues under control can certainly help CTS patients. Most studies agree that less than 200mg of B6 per day is safe. The dosage should be carefully monitored as numbness/tingling (a common CTS symptom) can be a sign of B6 toxicity.
  5. Vitamin C has long been reported to facilitate in the wound healing process. It also is an effective anti-inflammatory agent, a common problem in the cause of CTS as well as a negative post-surgical side effect. A dose of 1000-3000mg/day spread out throughout the day is beneficial to the post-surgical healing process.
  6. Vitamin E: As far back as 1967, Vitamin E been reported to reduce inflammation. More recent studies report that when used in combination with vitamin C, the two together works even better in reducing inflammation than either one alone. Also, this combination was found to improve the body’s ability to use insulin, which may also facilitate healing in the post-surgical CTS patient.

There are many others we didn’t get to (such as B1, 3, 5; zinc, Bromelain, and Quercetin). Bottom line: Eat healthy, exercise, don’t smoke, and fortify your diet with these nutrients!

We realize you have a choice in who you consider for your health care provision and we sincerely appreciate your trust in choosing the Active Release certified chiropractors at Denver Chiropractic Center for those needs.  If you, a friend or family member require care for CTS, we would be honored to render our services.

Fibromyalgia and the Immune System

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a condition with a polarized audience comprised of those who believe it’s real and those who don’t. This interesting political-like conflict is, in a large part, centered around the topic we discussed last month concerning the causes of FM. This month’s article will focus specifically on the immune system and its relationship to FM.

“EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT! New research published on 12-17-12 in BMC Clinical Pathology describes cytokine abnormalities were found in FM patients when compared to healthy controls.” OK! But what does that mean?

Very simply, this study reports that immune dysfunction is part of the cause of FM. The most exciting part is that this study identified a BLOOD TEST (finally!) that, “…demonstrates value as a FM diagnostic tool.” Looking at this closer, the researchers used multiple methods to examine cytokine (proteins that help regulate our immune response) blood levels in FM patients. They found the FM group had, “…considerably lower cytokine concentration than the control group, which implies that cell-mediated immunity is impaired in fibromyalgia.” This study’s findings of an immune response abnormality strays from previous study findings which largely pointed to the central nervous system (CNS – brain & spinal cord) as the origin of the FM syndrome.

This makes some sense as the study of immunology (in this case, “neuroimmunology” – the combination of neurology and immunology) has only been around for about 10 years, and as such, may hold some important answers as more evidence is uncovered to further support this potential “paradigm shift” in considering the primary cause of FM. The authors offer further excitement as this focus could lead to a better understanding of the cause of other neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS)! They go on by describing how body temperature, behavior, sleep, and mood can all be negatively affected by “pro-inflammatory cytokines” (PIC) which are released by certain types of activated white blood cells during infection. PIC have been found in the CNS in patients with brain injury, during viral and bacterial infections, and in other neurodegenerative processes (like MS)!

To further support this advance in understanding, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported, “…Despite the brain’s status as an immune privileged site, an extensive bi-directional communication takes place between the nervous and the immune system in both health and disease.” They describe multiple signaling pathways that exist between the brain and the immune system that function normally throughout our lifetime. When immune, physiological, and psychological “stressors” occur, cytokines and other immune molecules stimulate interactions within the endocrine (our hormone) system, nervous system and immune system.

To prove this, brain cytokine levels go up following stress exposure and similarly go down when treatments are applied that alleviate stress. They list other conditions such as stroke, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s disease, MS, pain, and AIDS-associated dementia as being similarly affected as well. They also report that cytokines and other neuro-chemicals play a role in our neuro-development throughout our lifespan, help regulate brain development early in life and brain function throughout life, and how this all changes in the aging brain. There are also interactions of these immune chemicals that result in gender differences on brain function and behavior.

Needless to say, it will be very interesting to watch for additional developments along this line of research as it pertains to the FM patient and future treatment recommendations! Also, immune stimulation by chiropractic adjustments has been postulated as a benefit and this too may be better understood using this new research approach!

If you, a friend or family member requires care for FM, we sincerely appreciate the trust and confidence shown by choosing Denver Chiropractic Center!