DAY 82 - Could You Be Stuck and Not Know It?

Even an avid yoga practitioner can have areas of his spine; vertebral joints, that are stuck; and not know it.

The human body is not well designed to assess its own localized, intersegmental spinal mobility/immobility.

The human body is actually poorly designed to monitor many of its functions and conditions. For example, it is not well designed to sense blood pressure, nor a slow loss of vision.

I can guess who’s monitoring your blood pressure, and I imagine you see an optometrist periodically. But, who lets you know if you are stuck?

(photo by Tony George at Flickr)

DAY 48 - Got Knee Pain? Part II

Most chronic knee pain is a result of a combination of factors. Common factors include, 1) food allergies and food sensitivities that result in inflammation in the joint, or in a reaction in which the body attacks the joint, 2) chronic illness in the digestive tract that may have no other symptoms than joint pain, 3) loss of mobility in the low back which may negatively impact gait, or may alter nerve conduction from the spinal nerves of the low back which control leg muscles that stabilize the knee, 4) insufficient stretching exercise to maintain a full range of motion in the lower extremities, which results in restricted motion, altered gait, and poor nutrient delivery to the joints, and 5) insufficient walking which results in weak supporting muscles and poor nutrient delivery to the joint.

Treatment for chronic knee pain can be divided into two types; cover-up and functional.

Cover-up treatments include medications to mask pain and block inflammation, and limitation of use. These treatments may be appropriate for short-term use, but are disastrous when used long-term. Masking body-protecting pain signals leaves an individual at risk of causing further damage to the involved body part. Anti-inflammatory drugs are known to damage joint structures, injure the lining of the intestinal tract, and cause 10,000 deaths a year in the US. Limiting knee use means walking less. While some limitation of use may be important, we all know, when you don’t use it, you lose it.

Functional treatment begins with assessment of factors that influence the knee specifically, and the body generally, and then focuses on creating changes that would enable the knee (and the body) to heal itself. (It is worth noting that the body is designed to repair itself.)

Functional self-care is most important. Examples are listed below. Keep in mind that chronic health problems are usually caused by multiple factors, and therefore often require several simultaneously combined therapies and lifestyle changes in order to relieve pain and restore function.

In my experience, elimination of foods that commonly cause arthritis provides the greatest relief from knee pain. Some of the foods that commonly cause joint pain are: dairy products, sugars, tomatoes, chiles, corn, meats, and shellfish.

Full-body stretching, such as yoga, with attention to the legs and low back, is remarkable for its ability to improve knee function and reduce pain. Stretching should be done for 30 or more minutes one to two times per day.

Baths with epsom salts are often very effective in the treatment of a wide variety of musculoskeletal conditions, including knee pain. I recommend using an entire half-gallon of salts in a warm to hot bath. These magnesium salts can be purchased at drug stores and large grocery stores. They have been used with amazing results for generations.

Essential fatty acids (fish oil and flax oil) taken as nutritional supplements can, in many cases, reduce inflammation and knee pain. Recall that fish oil has been used for generations in the treatment of arthritis. When supplementing with these fats, it is important to also take a fat-soluble antioxidant such as vitamin E to protect these oils from oxidizing (turning rancid) in the body.

Aerobic exercise has proven extremely effective at reducing joint pain. Effects appear to be mediated in part through improvements in circulation, detoxification, and elimination of wastes. In more general terms, balance and wellness in the body is improved by an optimization of turnover/cycling of bodily fluids and gases, and their physiologically active compounds. This occurs with regular exercise.

Significant emotional stress must always be considered as a potential cause of pain, and if present, must be dealt with.

-- coming up ... Parts III, IV and V

DAY 23 - Can You Crack Your Back?

Seems simple enough, but not only is there depth to this question, but understanding what’s behind it could save your health.

So, the question is, can you turn, arch, stretch, or extend your back and have it “crack”?

That “cracking” or popping is technically called cavitation, and occurs when joints are moved slightly beyond their normal range, creating a partial vacuum inside the joint. Collapsing gas bubbles in the joint vacuum create the “cracking” sound.

A large percentage of young people can “crack” their own backs. As people age, they tend to become stiffer, and they usually lose the ability to “crack” their backs. Given that young people are statistically healthier than older people, it could make one wonder if “crackability” is a sign of health, or associated with health. Turns out, it is.

Becoming stiff is not solely a result of aging. While there are many factors that influence flexibility, I have focused on four factors in my chiropractic practice to clearly and quickly demonstrate to patients that how they live, profoundly affects the mobility of their bodies. The four factors are: allergy to dairy products, magnesium, stretching, and spinal adjusting (also called manipulation).

One of the most common allergic effects of dairy products is the tightening of muscles and general stiffening of the body. By removing all dairy from the diet for 1-2 weeks, most people find that their muscles are more relaxed and their joints more supple.

Most Americans are deficient in the mineral, magnesium. One of many effects of magnesium in the human body is to allow muscles to fully relax. Supplemental magnesium (I use magnesium glycinate) usually results in muscular relaxation and greater joint mobility.

We all know that if we don’t use it, we lose it. But when it comes to using and keeping our flexibility through daily stretching, it’s just not happening in our culture. However, after thirty minutes a day of stretching for a few days most people find themselves more limber.

Spinal adjustments mobilize joints and clear neurologic patterns that maintain excessive muscle tightness and joint stiffness. Results are often instantaneous.

Each one of these four factors can independently increase flexibility and suppleness. In combinations or as a complete set they are even more powerful.

Since I began practice in 1983, many of my new patients between the ages of 30 and 70 have reported to me that in years gone by they could “crack” their backs, but they had gradually lost the ability to do so. A large number of these same patients, upon applying any one, or a combination of the four factors, regained the ability to “crack” their backs. This restored “crackability” is always accompanied by healthier and more relaxed muscle tone, and greater joint mobility.

Can you “crack” your back?