Unrelieved Rib Pain

 Pain along a rib that has no preceeding trauma, is unresponsive to chiropractic adjustments, and persistently worsens may be the first stage of an outbreak of shingles. 

Anyone who has had chicken pox carries the herpes zoster virus in the nerve ganglia alongside their spine. The virus is dormant until conditions such as hyperthermia or stress trigger an outbreak.

A shingles viral outbreak follows the path of the related sensory nerve, called a “dermatome.” Dermatomes wrapping around from the thoracic spine resemble the paths of our ribs, so initial symptoms of shingles are often misinterpreted as rib pain.

Nature's "Pest Control Experts"

      Owls are Nature's "pest control experts"---they feed on rats, mice, and gophers.

      Rat poisons can sicken and kill wildlife and pets, because after rodents eat the poison, they go back into the wild and can take more than a week to die. Any animal that preys on them also becomes poisoned. 

     "Using poison to kill rodents has the long-term effect of actually increasing the rodent population, since the poison kills off the rodents’ natural predators, allowing the rodents to breed unchecked."

    Owls are one of the best non-toxic methods of rodent control. Attract owls to your property by putting up nest boxes; one owl can devour 1400+ rodents per year!

    Learn more at  https://www.raptorsarethesolution.org

What Does Medicare Cover?

  For Chiropractic care, Medicare currently covers only treatment of the spine. So shoulder, knee, ankle, wrist, etc., problems aren’t covered. 

The Chiropractic profession is working on changing this---on getting Medicare coverage for the whole body---and hopefully, it will happen soon.

In the meantime, when I see Medicare patients, I make careful documentation of their spinal symptoms and treatment, and report these to Medicare on the required forms and according to the specific Medicare coding system. Medicare patients in my office pay my fee at the time of service. 

Typical allowances for Chiropractic patients in Santa Cruz County are between about $48.00 and $33.00 per visit, depending on the patient’s complaints and the concomitant treatment. 

        Of these allowances, Medicare will reimburse the patient 80%, and the typical Medicare supplement policy will cover the other 20%.  Allowances do change annually, but often by only a few cents.

Nerve Impingement in the Neck

 “Impingement” of a nerve simply means the nerve is somehow negatively affected. It might be pressure, abrasion, stretching, or other constriction, causing symptoms such as pain, numbness, tingling, burning, hyper- or hypoesthesia.

In the neck, nerves exit the spine and travel out into the shoulders and down both arms & hands. These nerves are called the “brachial plexus.” Impingement of the brachial plexus is called “thoracic outlet syndrome." 

There are several common sites of impingement of the brachial plexus, including between muscles on either side of the neck, and between the clavicle and the first rib. The patient may complain of pain or numbness or tingling in the arm(s) or hand(s).

This can be due to, among other causes, poor posture, trauma such as whiplash, over-exercising or imbalanced exercising, stress, or unaccustomed activities--often some kind of work with the arms over the head.

Once I identify the site(s) of impingement, I make precise, directional adjustments with the Activator instrument and give the patient ergonomic and home care counseling and appropriate stretches.

A "Winged" Scapula

  A common cause of discomfort and restriction in the upper back and shoulder is an outwardly rotated, or “winged” scapula.

When this occurs, symptoms can present around or underneath the shoulder blade itself, or in the involved shoulder and arm. Muscles may be in reactive contraction; the range of motion of the shoulder and arm is often restricted.

I reposition the scapula to its normal orientation, using the Activator instrument. It is also necessary to adjust the humerus, the upper bone in the arm which articulates with the scapula, as well as the radius or ulna in the forearm, and some of the bones in the wrist, because the “winging” of the scapula reverberates all the way into the shoulder and down the arm.