As a chiropractor I treat many people who suffer from arthritis, and I also help individuals who have sustained sports injuries. With the former, I use chiropractic adjustments and with the latter, in conjunction with the adjustments, I often use kinesio taping. Now, it appears that athletic tape can also be beneficial in treating patients with arthritis. Read on…

Athletic Tape May Relieve Certain Arthritis Pain

via Current Arthritis News and Research

 

Athletic Tape

Researchers in Australia have found that athletic tape can be used to improve pain from patellofemoral osteoarthritis, a form of osteoarthritis found around or behind the kneecap.

 

This was a small study, to be sure, involving only 28 people, 14 with and 14 without patellofemoral arthritis. Yet the findings may provide another therapy option for people with this knee pain. This finding may also benefit people with chronic patellofemoral pain, which is relatively common in runners and can oftentimes be related to a misalignment in the knee joint.

The researchers from the University of Melbourne enlisted the 28 participants, all adults with an average age of 57. The researchers took MRI scans of the participants knees and discovered that the arthritis sufferers had a higher incidence of misalignment of the knee joint, including an inclination for the kneecap to be positioned toward the outside of the leg.

Using athletic tape to wrap the patient’s knees, the researchers were able to improve that misalignment. This contributed to improvement in reported pain during a squatting exercise.

According to lead researcher, Dr. Kay M. Crossley;

“Our results confirm that patellar taping is an excellent technique which can be recommended for people with (patellofemoral arthritis).”

The tape must be applied correctly to achieve the benefit, and not to worsen the condition. The researchers indicated that a physical therapist would be the most appropriate to wrap the knee, but that with instruction and practice, the patient would be able to successfully tape their own knee.

Using tape may not be the best solution for everyone with patellofemoral pain. Many people may require other forms of therapy or a combination with taping. Dr. Crossley stated that she and her colleagues are currently conducting a clinical trial which is studying the outcomes of knee taping with other treatments.

The results of the taping study were published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.

 

Posted via email from chirohealthnews’s posterous

Headaches can be thought of as internal alarm bells, ringing only when something is going on inside of the body.  Most of us live a life so full of external distractions that our own physical problems get easily over looked.

Headaches that are Warning: “There is Something up Ahead” -

Nearly 70% of women between 20-35 years of age start to develop a “menstrual migraine”.  At first this migraine is easily categorized with normal migraines, but then begins to stand out because of its consistency.

The menstrual migraine will usually show up every month, 2 days before menstruation.  As with other premenstrual symptoms, having advanced knowledge of what to expect can make the occurrence less painful by being prepared.

Your Body’s Natural Volcanic System -

A common phrase that children hear from their mothers is, “You must be sleepy.”  It’s amusing to watch as the child tries to first deny the accusation and then question what brought on such a declaration.

Unfortunately, when a person reaches adulthood there’s no one around to tell you when you should sleep and when you should relax.  Suddenly, the responsibility of knowing what’s best is all yours.

When a body is pushed hard daily and given little to no opportunity of relaxation, something begins to happen.  One of those things that happens is a head pain that feels painfully tight around the circumference of the head.  The very sight of light can become discomforting, as well as noises both soft and loud.

This is a signal your body has sent with almost volcanic violence.  To avoid repeated episodes that can develop to more severe levels, seek a chiropractic doctor.

Talking to a chiropractor about your tension headache is not the same as just going to visit a masseuse, because these doctors will do a thorough examination to find all the root causes of your headache.

The treatment you may receive will definitely be therapeutic, but it will have the added benefit of being preventive as well.  The number one goal of these facilities is to not just get rid of pain, but help you continue living a pain free life.

The Weight of Headache Pain -

A scary thing about weight gain is that there doesn’t seem to be any real internal trigger that extra pounds are being added on.  Usually it’s not until after all the external evidence is before one that they notice their weight gain.

Studies are starting to reveal that overweight people begin having headaches more often and more severely than those that are of a healthy weight.  It’s still unclear as to how the body is triggering this effect, but it is evident in recent researches.

Even when headaches seem to be a part of your life’s package, it’s good to make sure that they’re not coming on for other serious reasons.

Waiting until you reach your breaking point before you get the rest you need is as dangerous as drunk driving.  So taking a moment out of your day to visit a local doctor’s office, or chiropractic health practice shouldn’t be delayed, especially since most of us don’t just want the pain to go away, we want it to stay away.

Source: HealthSource

Posted via email from chirohealthnews’s posterous

Younger generations growing up in the digital age are also joining the ranks of the “typing wounded.” Surveys at two universities found that 40 to 50 percent of undergraduates experienced upper-extremity pain from using their computers. Colleges do not build dormitory furniture to be ergonomically adjustable, said Dr. Benjamin Amick, scientific director of the Institute for Work and Health in Toronto, who was a co-author of those studies. “They build it to be indestructible.”

In addition to repetitive stress problems, sitting at your computer too long places your upper back in a sustained, stressful posture, especially if you tend to lean forward when you’re working. This also puts your neck at an unnatural and strained angle. Lower back pain, in addition to being generated by simply sitting for long periods of time without getting up and moving around, is aggravated by bad posture.

Problems caused by extended computer use can not only lead to an inability to perform your work duties, but can keep you from enjoying the rest of your life, too. Your Mount Laurel chiropractor can assist in eliminating the lower back pain, upper back pain, and/or neck pain that you are currently experiencing. After that, it is important for you to become mindful of your body as you sit at your computer, and to give your body what it naturally needs. You can cultivate the habit of both sitting straight in your chair (as opposed to slouching) and relaxing your shoulders. This will help to relieve tension in your lower and upper back and neck. Take time to stretch periodically to ease muscle tension and encourage healthy blood flow. If your work station permits, sitting on an exercise ball can not only aide in keeping you in a beneficial posture, but can help to strengthen your core muscles as well. (Make sure that the ball is the right size so that when you are seated on it your arms are at a ninety-degree angle to your keyboard.)

Good posture for ease of movement, variety in the motions that you do, and short breaks to relax and stretch will go a long way in keeping your computer work (or play) pain-free.

Partial source: The New York Times, Health Review, June 22, 2009

Technorati Tags: back pain, chiropractor, neck pain, pins and needles

Let’s face it. There are going to be consequences when your body is compelled to stop abruptly and without warning. You might be handed a clean bill of health by an emergency room attendant if you haven’t broken any bones, and you may be given a prescription for drugs to ease the muscle spasms that you are undoubtedly experiencing due to the structural changes in your neck or lower back that you experienced from the impact. But, your situation could go from bad to much, much worse unless you’re treated for the injuries you’ve received. In fact, some individuals undergo problems years after an auto accident as the result of their not getting the help they needed in the first place.

Your Mount Laurel Chiropractor genuinely understands what your body experiences during a car accident. chiropractic techniques include treatment for soft tissue injuries and spinal bio-mechanics dysfunction. And your chiropractor is an expert in rehabilitation strategies.

If you’ve encountered a minor auto accident, you are more likely to need more repair than your car. Neck and back traumas are not only painful in the places in which they take place, but they can also generate pain, tingling, and numbness in your arms and hands and cause headaches days, weeks, even months after an accident occurs.

You can get back on the road to feeling good again with drug-free, natural chiropractic care.  It will go a long way in putting the trauma of your accident where it belongs – in the past. Furthermore, because your chiropractor has experience communicating effectively with insurance companies and lawyers, not only will you experience less physical stress, but less emotional stress, as well!

Technorati Tags: back injuries, car accident, chiropractic, chiropractor, headaches, lower back, neck, soft tissue injuries, Tags: auto accident

The ancient practice of yoga might be based on a philosophy of self-acceptance and non-competitiveness, but plus-size people usually feel too self-conscious to even try a yoga pose, much less try on a yoga philosophy. In addition, most yoga classes, even beginner courses, don’t address the needs of big bodies, says Michael Hayes, the owner of Buddha Body Yoga in New York. Poses considered standard for those who are fit or slim are often difficult or even impossible for heavier students.

So, if your body weight has been holding you back, and if you’ve been waiting for just the right moment to start getting healthy and fit, it looks like that moment has arrived. Check to see if there’s a yoga class for plus-size people in town. If not, maybe you can start one!

For the complete article go to http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/health/nutrition/14fitness.html?_r=1&em

Technorati Tags: excess weight, plus-size, yoga