To heel spur or not to heel spur?

 Have you ever tried to get out of bed in the morning, and it felt like your heel was bruised and it hurt to walk? Don’t remember injuring yourself, what could that be?

That’s classic for plantar fasciitis-the swelling of the plantar fascia, erroneously known as heel spurs (though over time a spur will form on the calcaneus from chronic stress, it is not a pain generator). The bottom of your foot is composed of 3 arches that act as shock absorbers. They are covered by tissue known as fascia. As you stand and walk, you exert 3-5times the force of gravity on your feet. Over time, the fascia over stretches and becomes inflamed. Not that you expressly did anything to mess it up, it just happens. Like a rubber band that you pull over and over and it eventually frays. This is extremely painful and sometimes debilitating. Though it may seem like it came on overnight, it has actually been brewing for some time. Just like no good wine before its time, there’s no good crippling foot pain before its time (doesn’t rhyme as well).

Ice is a powerful anti-inflammatory and excellent home remedy. Also make sure you are wearing proper fitting, well-made and not over-worn shoes.  However, to prevent it from coming back or getting worse, most people will need a round of rehab to correct the damage followed with customized foot orthotics to help stabilize the foot and ensure proper function.  

Learn more @ http://susquespine.com/custom_content/c_125152_foot__ankleheel_pain.html

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Can chiropractic help with arthritis?

Certainly! Arthritis alone is the general inflammation of joints, which leads to pain, stiffness, and decreased function of the joint.  There are several types of Arthritis.  Each form has its particular symptoms, demographics, and development.  Osteoarthritis is most directly the result of generalized “wear and tear” of joints and their associated structures.  Rheumatoid, Psoriatic, JRA, Septic all are systemic forms of arthritis that develop as a result of the presence of variants in the blood.  Lastly gout and pseudo gout are metabolic forms of joint inflammation that is generally associated with dietary input into the body as well as improper metabolic function of the body.  Each form has its specific signs and symptoms that Chiropractors are trained to recognize during a comprehensive health history, physical exam, and utilization of x-ray diagnostics.    Chiropractors are expert in the operation of joints and in the therapies that keep them working properly. Though the spine is the chain of joints they are best known for working on, their training lets them help with ailments of all the body’s joints. Depending on the type of arthritis you have, the condition can flare and subside. A key to managing the disease is a balance between rest and exercise.   Your chiropractor can give you a regimen of exercise, like stretching and dance moves, that improves range of motion in arthritic joints; strengthening exercises, including weight lifting, which can tone the muscles critical to joint support; and aerobic or endurance exercises, which help improve the cardiovascular system, tone muscle and control weight. A Chiropractor can make recommendations for dietary changes as well as the use of vitamins and supplements to reduce swelling and promote healing mechanisms within the body and joints.  Additionally the mobilization of joints will create a pumping mechanism which aids in the circulation of swelling out of the joint spaces. As always, for more visit www.susquespine.com or on Facebook as Susquehanna Spine N Rehab.

Ironic isn't it?

It’s like Rain…

…On your wedding day. Ironic really. Almost embarrassing. I, Dr. Lee, a chiropractor and self-proclaimed most handsome disc specialist in Harford County if not all of Maryland, threw my back out. I saw it coming. As with most cases, it wasn’t one single event like saving a little girls bunny from a raging river, it developed over time. And obviously so, can happen to anyone anytime.

A few years back I injured my foot skiing. I rehabbed it. But the tendons and ligaments of the leg are very plastic in nature and never go back 100%. I wasn’t the most diligent in my follow up care; so I injured it again running. And I was even less diligent in my follow up care. So I then developed an abnormal gait pattern (hitch in my get-a-long). This caused my spine to over-compensate weakening the joint. Add that to my diminished workout schedule due to my bad foot; the fact I’ve been slacking on my veggie eating now that my CSA is out of season; staying up too late to watch Colberet; only getting adjusted monthly as opposed to bi-weekly-Wham! There goes my disc. Luckily for me, I am the above-mentioned handsome-most disc expert in Maryland. I’ve been on the spinal-decompression machine and rehabbing the heck out of it.

Just like cops have to be tased to carry a taser, it’s good for doctors to be on the other side of the table at least once. I have a better appreciation for what my patients go through and more sympathy for their plight (except somehow female OB’s seem to be more hardened in an “I did it so can you” kind of way).

So, if you or a loved one is suffering back or neck pain, not only am I one heck of a nice guy to refer to, I know where you’re coming from.

All that and good looking too.

Everyday people will ask me what exactly I do. Other than optimizing human performance, increasing vitality, making you look and feel younger, adding life to your years and years to your life along with improving your quality of living; not that much.

I do it all by focusing on disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system, and the effects of these disorders on general health.  Even though it’s mostly to treat neuromusculoskeletal complaints, including but not limited to back pain, neck pain, pain in the joints of the arms or legs, and headaches; through therapeutic and rehabilitative exercises, as well as  nutritional, dietary and lifestyle counseling.

The most common though being a “spinal manipulation,” also called “chiropractic adjustment.”   The purpose of manipulation is to restore joint mobility by manually applying a controlled force into joints that have become hypomobile – or restricted in their movement – as a result of a tissue injury. Tissue injury can be caused by a single traumatic event, such as improper lifting of a heavy object, or through repetitive stresses, such as sitting in an awkward position with poor spinal posture, and through a varying barrage of chemical and emotional stress for an extended period of time. In either case, injured tissues undergo physical and chemical changes that can cause inflammation, pain, and diminished function. Manipulation, or adjustment of the affected joint and tissues, restores mobility, thereby alleviating pain and muscle tightness, and allowing tissues to heal.

Adjustments also remove the affects of the other forms of stress on your body, boosting your immune system and improving performance helping to treat and prevent all forms of disease and disorder (more on this to come).

Healthy Highlight

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Know anyone with headaches? Stop the pounding fast with chiropractic!

More of Me

I've started this blog to further promote health, wellness and prevention. The real thing, not how a politician or salesman uses those words. Quickly, I am a trained chiropractor with physical therapy priveleges in Bel Air, MD. I have thousands of classroom and hundreds of thousands of experience hours in diagnosing and treating all manor of disease along with how to prevent it from a natural model of health. You can visit me on the web at http://www.susquespine.com or http://belairdiskpain.com and be my facebook friend: Susquehanna Spine N Rehab