The Helpfulness of Hedgerows

    Throughout millennia, farmers have used linear plantings of trees and shrubs, or “hedgerows,” to create windbreaks to protect their crops. A “bonus” benefit was the plants’ roots holding the soil and protecting against erosion.

Today’s farmers know that these plantings of vegetation among their crop fields have multitudes of other benefits to the farm. 

With the right mix of plants, including flowering ones, hedgerows attract beneficial insects that prey on crop pests. They also serve to suppress weeds, because over time they out-compete the weed “seed bank,” and help keep out wind-blown weed seeds.

Hedgerows can be of linear, or other configurations, and can also include grasses and herbs. The root systems improve water quality by acting as filters to catch sediment and filter surface water before it drains into aquatic habitats such as ponds, creeks, or rivers.

Hedgerows create a sheltering habitat for wildlife, such as birds that feed on crop insect pests, and pollinators which fertilize crops.

California native plant hedgerows are said to be easy to establish, and once mature, are drought-tolerant.

Learn more at www.HedgerowsUnlimited.com 

  

Mysterious Shoulder Pain

 There are times when pain in the shoulder may not be due to a local problem in the shoulder, but may be originating somewhere else. To ease the pain, its specific origin must be determined.

Often a patient presents with an unimpeded range of motion, no soreness or tenderness to palpation of the shoulder, and no history of injury or stress to the involved shoulder. Yet the pain is unrelenting; the patient is unable to get relief by changing position or posture.

With this scenario---no signs of local trouble in the shoulder---my attention goes to the neck, where impingement of the nerves going into the shoulder region can cause “referred” pain. Referred pain shows up in one place, but its actual cause is somewhere else. 

My treatment for this kind of shoulder pain includes precisely clearing misalignments in the cervical vertebrae, appropriate neck stretches, and postural counseling. 

        Often a better cervical pillow is also key to lasting relief.

Excessive Extension in the Low Back

 The normal curve in our low back is an “extension,” or forward-facing curve.

In some people, this curve is abnormally pronounced, which can be due to chronic locking back the knees when standing, or the accentuated curve may be part of the congenital anatomy of the low back.

This excessive extension can cause chronic low back discomfort, partly due to posterior compression between the lumbar vertebrae and / or compression between L5 and the sacrum.

My treatment plan for these patients includes precise, gentle adjustments to the spine and pelvis with the Activator instrument, accompanied by exercises to strengthen the abdominal muscles, specific stretches, activities of daily living (ADL) advice, and postural counseling.  

Head-Forward Postures

  Our head should be in line with the center of gravity of our body. Any position of the head that is forward of our center of gravity gets us in trouble.

For example, “craning” the neck / head to look upward / forward toward a TV or computer monitor, or tilting the head backward to see a monitor through the near-focus part of bifocals, is a common cause of neck pain, tension, and headache. 

This posture causes the occiput (the bone across the back of the head, just above the spine) to be stressed inferiorly. This inferiority may be more on one side or the other (unilateral) or global (bilateral). The result is tension across the back of the neck and head.

Working at a desk, at a kitchen countertop, etc., with the head bent forward of the body’s center of gravity leads to similar problems of neck & upper back pain, tension, and headache. 

Note also that when we are sitting, if we lean forward from our hips, our head in this position  is again out in front of our center of gravity; we immediately begin to feel the stress in our neck. Be mindful of this; rest your back against the chair, feel your head comfortably in line with your center of gravity. 

Hiatal Hernia

        In this condition, part of the stomach bulges or protrudes up through the diaphragm and into the chest cavity, at the opening (hiatus) where the lower end of the esophagus passes through the diaphragm into the stomach.

The muscle of the diaphragm becomes weak at this place, allowing the protrusion. This weakness can be congenital, age-related, due to some kind of trauma, or possibly post-surgery. Intense exercising that puts pressure on the diaphragm and abdominal muscles, or repetitive lifting of heavy weights can also cause the weakness. 

Symptoms that may present with hiatal hernia are “heartburn,” also called acid reflux, if food and stomach acid back up into the esophagus. Chest or abdominal pain can be accompanying symptoms, as well as shortness of breath. Obesity is often associated.

As an Advanced Proficiency Rated ACTIVATOR Chiropractor, I have an effective, comfortable adjustment for this condition. The adjustment usually brings immediate relief to the patient, but relief is temporary.   

Specific yoga can help this condition, and sometimes sleeping on a wedge that elevates the upper body can help, as can weight loss, nutritional changes and eating smaller meals.

Harmful Secrets of LED Light

         Many people are converting the lighting in and around their homes from incandescent bulbs to LED  ones, in the interest of energy savings and longer bulb life. This seems like a good idea, right? In fact, before making this conversion, we would do well to consider:

LEDs emit high amounts of blue light; they have very little red, and no infrared, light frequencies. The blue light, without the counterbalancing reds, can damage the cells in our eyes. 

  The red  frequencies, missing in LEDs, are important for repair and regeneration of cellular damage.

LED light impedes sleep because it suppresses melatonin production. Regular exposure, especially after sunset, may contribute to worsening of sleep. 

LED light negatively affects the mitochondria, the energy-producing components of our cells, impeding production of the energy needed for healthy metabolism. 

Incandescent lighting most closely resembles full-spectrum natural sunlight, which is the healthiest for us.

We can make our light environment healthier by using incandescent lighting in areas where we spend the most time---kitchen, office, etc., and only using LEDs in areas such as hallways, closets, garage, etc. 

Learn more at https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side , https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21164152,  https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/90/5/2755/2836826

Thank You--To the Kneecap!

           Our kneecap, aka the patella, gives us a 30% increase in the power production of our quadriceps, the muscles in the front of our thigh that, when activated, extend, or straighten, the knee.

Embedded in the tendon of the quadriceps, the kneecap articulates against the front of the lower end of the femur, the thigh bone. 

Below the kneecap, the fibers of the quadriceps tendon continue as the patellar ligament. The patellar ligament starts from a “bump” on the front of the kneecap and goes down to attach to a “bump” on the front of the tibia, the large bone in the lower leg.

The kneecap holds, or raises, the patellar tendon off the femur, thus improving the angle of approach of the tendon to its lower insertion on the tibia. This is how it increases the power generation of the quadriceps.