Distant or Local?

Tingling or numbness in the hand or arm is a sign of nerve impingement, and finding a solution requires differentiating between a local origin, i. e. in the arm, wrist, or hand, or an impingement happening further away, perhaps in the neck or shoulder region.  

The patient’s presentation, orthopedic tests, and careful assessment of the neck and involved upper extremity will reveal the source of the the problem.

In some instances, there is more than one site of impingement, e.g., symptoms in the hand may be due to a “double crush”—-impingement in both the new and the wrist. 

Twist & Lift---A Bad Combination

  Lifting when the body is twisted to the side—either left or right—is a recipe for back pain, often in the thoracic region. 

An example is lifting a child into or out of a carseat. The lift + twist action often necessary to do this can torque the rib cage, stress and misalign vertebrae, & set off muscle spasms, 

As soon as the child is able to climb in and out of the carseat on their own, give your body a break and let them do it.

In the interim, take care to twist as little as possible when getting them in / out, and try to keep your body as close to them as possible while doing it. This creates shorter-lever stresses on the back and spine, helping to make it less likely that you will injure yourself.

Chronic Neck Pain

Successful treatment plans for chronic neck pain should include home care counseling for postures and ergonomics.

There are usually modifications that can be made in the patient’s positions & pastures during different activities—e.g., computer use, kitchen chores, sitting, standing, and sleeping—that will help.

An important key to change is the patient’s developing an awareness of their body’s positioning, and this may take some practice. I often recommend setting a timer, using it as a reminder to “check in”—where is my head? am I slumping? leaning in to see my computer monitor?

Using the right pillow for sleeping, changing the height of one’s computer monitor so that it is at eye level, getting computer glasses with corrective lenses if one is having a hard time seeing the screen, raising the height of one’s work space on the kitchen counter—-all are simple things that can make a big difference.

Accentuated Curve in the Low Back

  An abnormally accentuated lumbar curve, whether congenital or acquired, can result in disequilibrium and vulnerability in the lower back.

Sometimes this is partially alleviated with postural counseling, Activator adjustments, and specific exercises. If the patient habitually “locks back” their knees when standing, changing this habit often helps a lot.

Ergonomic counseling about sitting, sleeping, etc. can also help.

But often these are only partial solutions. A patient with this condition may need more consistent chiropractic treatments, the frequency of which can be judged according to what works for each individual. 

A Torqued Tibia

Rotational stresses acting on the proximal tibia (where the large bone in the lower leg, the tibia, articulates at the knee) are common in people who drive a lot, e.g. for a job.

The tibia is not meant to rotate at this joint, but will tolerate some rotational stresses for short periods of time or if the stress is not repetitive or chronic.

Patients whose work requires a lot of driving often come in with aberrance and pain in their right (gas / brake foot) knee. Usually I find, and adjust to relieve / correct, rotational stress of the involved proximal tibia. 

Medicare "Advantage" Plans

If you are eligible for Medicare, but choose a Medicare Advantage Plan, you have opted for private insurance that is outside of Medicare.

Medicare Advantage plans are offered by private companies, e.g. Humana, United Health, Blue Cross, etc., and often include benefits not provided by regular Medicare, such as vision, dental, etc. 

This type of private insurance plan must conform in certain ways to the rules of Medicare--such as limiting charges for certain services--but is administered by the private companies which sell the plans. Patients still have many of the rights and protections provided under original Medicare.

Whiplash From a Fall

Being rear-ended is not the only way one can suffer whiplash. A fall that “whips” the head and neck will have a similar result, and often takes a similarly extended recovery time.

Though the cause is different, my treatment plan is the same:  rest, anti-inflammatories such as ice and topical arnica, gentle chiropractic adjustments with the Activator instrument, and active care as soon as possible (stretches and exercises) to assist healing.

A Key Headache Solution

Persistent headaches that are unrelieved by clearing the cervicals, the cranial rhythms,, and occipital tension can have a hidden and often unsuspected etiology.

The key, discoverable by a highly trained, Advanced Proficiency Rated Activator Chiropractor like myself, may lie in the position of the posterior arch of C2.

When the arch is abnormally stressed superiorly, it often causes a headache.

This is quickly and comfortably corrected with the Activator instrument, applying the correct contact on the C2 posterior arch, and vectoring the instrument to make the adjustment. 

A "Hitched Up" Hip

Patients often tell me they feel that one of their hips feels “higher” than the other. 99% of the time, they are correct!

A common underlying cause of this is distortion in the pelvis.

The “pelvic girdle,”  or pelvic composite, consists of several movable joints—-the sacroiliac, lumbosacral, hip, and pubic symphysis joints. Distortion of the pelvis can involve one, two, or several being misaligned or aberrant positionally in articulation with their neighbor(s).

After careful assessment of the pelvis, I make precise, directional adjustments with the Activator instrument to correct the distortion and bring relief of discomfort or a “hitched up” hip.

"Knock Knees"

Remember when you were a kid and some other kid you knew had knees that “bent in,” or “bumped” each other? 

Sometimes this was somewhat insensitively referred to as “knock knees.”

This condition, professionally called “genu valgum,” can be due to a rotation of the femoral head in the ball-and-socket hip joint, or to pronation of the foot, both of which result in an abnormal “Q angle” relating to the knee.

Foot pronation, or the falling inward of the medial side at the plantar arch, is the most easily correctable. Appropriate orthotics, often over-the-counter if properly fit, will help.

Orthotics should be consistently worn; going barefoot should be avoided.

As an Advanced Proficiency Rated Activator Chiropractor, I precisely evaluate and adjust the bones of the pelvis, hip, knee, foot, and entire involved lower extremities for this condition.

Prepare for Summer Fun

As summer approaches, patients begin to come in with sequelae of warm weather activities, one of which is water skiing.

Having fun water skiing without appropriate preparation of one’s musculature, especially the muscles of the low back, can lead to unpleasant consequences.

Simple strengthening exercises that prepare the muscles for summer activities can prevent a lot of unnecessary discomfort.

Pain That "Caps" the Shoulder

When there is pain in the deltoid area, around the upper area of the arm at the shoulder, or at the insertion point of the deltoid muscle on the outer upper arm, it often is not due to a problem in the shoulder itself.

Rather, the origin of the pain is in the neck.

Misalignments or degenerative changes in the spine in the lower cervical region, at C6 - C7, can cause this pain that presents this way in the upper shoulder.

No-Till Farming

Want a vibrant, healthy garden that produces nutrient-rich vegetables, herbs, fruits, etc. while sequestering carbon by increasing soil organic matter (SOM)?

Disturb the soil as little as possible.

At Singing Frogs Farm north of San Francisco, a “No Till No Kill” system is an example. 

They cover their planting beds with mulch and compost instead of plowing or using herbicides. New plants are inserted directly into the compost; they use a high biodiversity of cash & cover crops which are continuously rotated to break weed, disease and pest cycles.

This system retains more water, requiring less irrigation, & produces high crop yields. 

It has increased SOM by 400% in under six years, sequestering significantly more carbon.

        The Singing Frogs system is applicable to more than 80% of farms around the world---the majority of farms are under 5 acres.  https://regenerationinternational.org/2021/03/08/best-practices-how-regenerative-organic-agriculture-and-land-use-can-reverse-global-warming/

Listen to a podcast by owners of Singing Frogs Farm at https://www.resilience.org/stories/2015-05-27/paul-elizabeth-kaiser-sustainable-farming-2-0/  

"Noisy" Knees

  If you hear a “crunching” or “grinding” noise in your knee when you bend it, this is a sign of an arthritic, or degenerative, condition called Chondromalacia Patella.

For various reasons, the patella, or kneecap, may begin tracking abnormally as it slides up and down in a groove on the front of the femur with bending of the knee, resulting in abnormal “wear & tear” in the articulation.

If not corrected with the proper treatment plan, the condition can advance to painful and debilitating arthritis.

The patella should be adjusted by vectoring the ACTIVATOR instrument appropriately to correct its tracking. I also give the patient exercises to prevent recurrence.

Nerve "Maps"

      Areas of our skin receive sensory innervation from particular spinal nerves. 

      These sensory areas, called “dermatomes,” are predictable from person to person, and can be “mapped” on a model of the human body.

      An a an example, if a patient presents with pain, or with numbness & tingling, in a specific area of the arm or hand, the doctor can identify the involved spinal nerve(s) based on the dermatome map of the upper extremity.

      As an Advanced Proficiency Rated Activator Chiropractor, once the involved nerve(s) is / are identified, I can make precise, gentle adjustments accordingly to relieve nerve impingement & help relieve the patient’s symptoms.

Gardening With Native Plants to Attract Birds

Have you ever considered that garden plants native to your area have advantages for birds and for you as well?

A landscape of drought-tolerant natives will use less water in your garden, can be more resistant to native pests, and natives provide food suited for area birds.

Find out why “yards with non-native plants create ‘food deserts’ for bugs and birds,” find the best plants for your area, and learn how to create your native plant garden at: 

https://www.audubon.org/PLANTSFORBIRDS?emci=c10dc46c-ff2b-eb11-9fb4-00155d43b2cd&emdi=2b6388a5-d02d-eb11-9fb4-00155d43b2cd&ceid=721242