Persistent Tendonitis

When bicipital tendonitis, which is inflammation of the tendon that attaches the biceps muscle in the upper arm to the shoulder, is not resolving with a full-component treatment plan, as an Advanced Proficiency Rated ACTIVATOR Chiropractor, I look for what may be keeping the patient’s healing from progressing.

Culprit #1 is biomechanical. Specifically, the humerus, the bone in the upper arm, can be rotated, causing stress on the bicipital tendon as it “rides” in a grove on the front of the humerus. The rotation can be medial or lateral. Both cause stress on the inflammed tendon. The solution is a precise, directional adjustment with the ACTIVATOR instrument to correct the rotation. The adjustment may need repeating over the course of several office visits.

The #2, and critically important, culprit is the patient’s nutrition. If (s)he is eating foods that cause inflammation, such a sugar, damaged fats, etc., this will significantly slow or even block healing.

Medicare and Maintenance Care

Medicare guidelines state that it will only pay for chiropractic treatment that is Medically Reasonable or Necessary (defined as treatment that yields a significant improvement in clinical findings and patient functionality). 

To you, and in the clinical judgement of your chiropractor, your treatment may be CLINICALLY APPROPRIATE:  it may enhance your life, relieve your symptoms, support your health and well-being, or prevent the deterioration of a chronic condition. 

But treatment that is CLINICALLY APPROPRIATE may not fit Medicare’s definition of MEDICALLY NECESSARY. 

Your chiropractor, by law. must inform Medicare when your care becomes maintenance care, thus clarifying to Medicare that this care is not reimbursable, and you will be responsible for payment.

Muscle Cramps

Those painful muscle cramps that awaken you at night will often be alleviated by magnesium (Mg). 

If you aren’t getting an absorbable form of magnesium----Mg citrate or Mg glycinate are good--- in your supplement regimen, and there are no contraindications, consider trying it.

The target dose is 400 mg / day, and it’s best to start with 100 mg / day, gradually increasing to  the target level. Slowly building to the target dose will help avoid diarrhea. 

Tale of a Wayward Sacrum

  Persistent pain in the low back may be due to a tilted sacrum. When this happens, it puts stress on the ligaments of the sacroiliac joints, which are broad, weight-bearing joints in the pelvis on either side of the triangular-shaped sacrum. 

The resulting stress on these ligaments causes pain.

When attending to this problem, careful balancing of the pelvic region is critical, and the sacrum must not be overlooked.

Precise, directional adjustments with the Activator instrument solve the problem and relieve the pain.

An Untrustworthy Knee

Patients often come in describing their knee as “feeling like it’s going to give way,” or “fees like I might fall.” 

This is often noticed most when going down stairs or steps.

The problem is likely a posterior proximal tibia----a backward misalignment of the large bone in the lower leg at its articulation at the knee. When this occurs, it causes a pulling on the achilles tendon in the back of the ankle, stressing the heel bone upward.

The adjustment is made to the proximal tibia, and also to the calcaneus, or heel bone. Both must be addressed to alleviate the problem.