Good, ol' fashion back pain

Today we’re going to talk about good, ol’ fashion back pain. There’s no such thing. Many of you have heard me say this before, and it bears repeating-pain is not a disease, it’s a side effect of a disease or disorder. Just like the check engine light in your car is not a broken light bulb, but an indicator there’s something wrong with the engine. So when you have back pain, there’s something wrong with your back; and that something could be any number of things.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say that their back pain was “only muscular” so nothing could be done; horse feathers. Lots can be done. We employ a wide array of physical therapy modalities to alleviate muscle spasm such as electric stim, ultrasound, dry needling (really cool, look it up) and now massage from a licensed massage therapist. If you have-great big fancy word of the day-myogenic pain (muscle pain) then you have muscle spasms. And muscles don’t spasm just for giggles, it’s a protective mechanism. In other words, muscle spasms are a side effect.

Muscles spasm to protect an unstable joint; acting like an air cast of sorts. Joints become unstable from two main reasons: trauma and degenerative. Trauma is falling down the stairs, car accidents, sky diving incidents, too many Natty Boh’s and the phrase “hey watch this.” Degenerative is exactly as it sounds. It’s not always age, but time; I’ve seen many people in their 20’s and 30’s with signs of degeneration. Over time we are subjective to physical stresses (what we do to/with or not to/with our bodies), chemical stress (genetics, what we eat/drink/smoke; don’t eat/drink) and emotional stress (how we think and feel) all affects our joints and makes them stop working so well. This, over time, is what causes degeneration. If left un-fixed, this degeneration will become arthritis, herniated discs, stenosis, and worse. And like other diseases, there are just as many side effects you’re not feeling as you are feeling. That’s why you’ve heard me say we don’t treat pain, we fix the disorder causing your pain.

And fixing degeneration by restoring the proper motion and structure of joints is the mainstay of chiropractic care. To caveman up the ending: you have pain then you have problem, me fix problem.

My Favorite Metallica Song...Whiplash

Everyday thousands are injured in auto accidents that they seem to “walk away from” with little to no visible vehicle damage. They erroneously assume that since the car is barley damaged, then they aren’t either. But that’s just not true.  In a large German study of injury producing rear-impact collisions, nearly half were under 6 mph, the same goes for a recent study in New York. Sometimes the pain is immediate and sometimes it may take up to 6 months or longer to surface. While numerous theories have been advanced to explain this delay, no one knows for certain.

Whiplash actually describes the mechanism of injury, not the disease (true whiplash is a rear-end only phenomena); but has become to be known as the broad range of disorders, lesions, syndromes and conditions associated with auto accidents. Those include, but aren’t limited to the usual neck pain, but also: TMJ pain, dizziness, hearing and eyesight problems, ringing in the ears along with breathing problems, stomach pain, post-traumatic stress, back pain, thoracic outlet, carpal tunnel, weakness, herniated discs, sciatica and the list just keeps going and going. A rear-end accident is not the only way to get hurt, just the most common.

So what happens when you’re in an accident? You do your best imitation of a crash test dummy. A lot of it has to do with the laws of physics-energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred from one system to the next; and energy follows the path of least resistance. So a 4000 pound car going 5 miles per hour is generating 4000 X 5= a lot of energy. And it is following along the easiest path…you. It causes your spine to hyperextend vertically then horizontally and to then hyperflex; ripping, tearing, squishing and smashing tissues along the way; all in under a second or two.

In short-if you had an accident, no matter what the car looks like, you’re hurt; and need help. I’m the one to do that.

How I beat, well, am beating Rosacea.

I got the curse of the Celts. People as white as me weren't meant to grow up in sunny South Texas. Mother Nature had assigned us to Northern Europe. Having been exposed to hours of intense sun has allowed me more than one trip to the dermatologist-and the real reason I gave up my previous career as a male model. Rosacea is NOT caused by alcoholism; it's a genetic disorder common in us honkies. It's characterized by acne-like appearance in people over 35. As opposed to acne, it is not an infection, but from flushing-an extreme opening of the blood vessels in the head and face that causes redness. It's worsened by anything that causes an increase in the blood flow to the face and neck (huge list, google it later). Typical acne treatments actually may make it worse due their harshness.

Like other genetic disorders, you can't cure rosacea, but you can render it mute. I'm not really going to touch on the traditional or allopathic treatment protocols; I'll leave that to the dermatologists.
A very common trait amongst us is low stomach acid (or high pH-I know, confusing). This makes what we eat harder to digest; which means we're not getting the nutrition out of our food-just the crap instead. To curb this, I take special enzyme supplements to aide in digestion. Also, no liquids ½ before or 2 hours after eating-it's a chemical thing. Add water or any other liquid to acid, and you dilute it-plus vast amounts of liquids will push the food through too fast. Plus I threw in a little extra fiber to slow intestinal motility to give the food a little more time to break down.

It's been said beauty is skin deep, the truth is though, healthy skin comes from the inside out. What you bring in shows; especially in skin disorders-regardless of your acidity. All disease is manifested through inflammation. To fight disease, fight inflammation. The first thing I did was go to on a complete low inflammatory diet void of dairy and gluten after a Novolife cleanse to rid my body of the toxins. I followed this by a month-long, anti-inflammatory detox vitamin regime to get in deep; then continued on with a healthy dosing of multivitamins, omega fatty acids and continuous chiropractic care to promote health.
Not just Rosacea either-any and all inflammatory disorders, skin or not. Including but not limited to more depressing is suffering from many of the numerous diseases and fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, sinusitis, allergies, acne, asthma, digestive conditions, flu symptoms, dysmenorrhea, endometriosis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, hypertension, depression, insulin resistance syndrome(pre-diabetes), and diabetes and so on (another big list-google it later) are all manage the same way: diet, supplements and plenty ofchiropractic care.

Kind of like those old hair club commercials-I'm not just the president, but also a client. If it works for me and 100's others; it'll work for you too.Are you or someone you know suffering from an inflammatory disorder? Forward them this email for a complimentary consultation!

Did we tell you massage is coming? Just waiting on Gov O'Malley to sign Holly's license and drop it in the mail. The first 20 people who respond to this email with the phrase: "massage" will get $10 off their first massage!!!

Referred Pain

Q:If it's my back that's out, why does my leg hurt instead? A: Referred pain
Referred pain comes in 2 main types (3 really. The third being trigger points, a muscle based problem-but that's a different story for a different day): Sclerotomal and Deramatomal. No, I didn't just make those up, and hopefully they're not as boring to you as they may sound. The difference between the 2 is very important in the diagnosis and treatment of pain generating conditions. They also explain the often counter-intuitive: if it's my back, why does my leg hurt?

Dermatomal is relatively easy. It's neurogenic pain, i.e pinched nerve. Just like when you kink the hose. It affects the water coming out the end, not where you're holding it. When you herniate a disc in your spine, the disc innards push out and kink your nerve. That's why you get burning, numbness and or tingling in your legs when it is in fact your back-All in a very predictive pattern based on which nerve/where is pinched.

Sclerotomal, on the other hand, is not nerve based pain. It's based on the fact that we were all once worms. As we're cooking in momma's oven; we transform from a long, worm-like tube into the handsome devils we are at birth. During this metamorphosis, our tissues twist, turn and intertwine. It puts our backs and upper leg on the same plane; and the same for shoulders and neck. So when something goes wrong in your back, you may not feel it in your back; but in your buttocks and leg and even knee instead.

Hold on, I need some B vitamins, I just put myself to sleep. There, better. Point is pain is not a disease, but a side effect, or sign. Just like the check engine light in the car-doesn't mean broken light bulb that we should drive around and ignore or cover up with a piece of tape. That leads to a $600 tow charge out of the Harbor Tunnel, so I've heard. Just like a problem with the engine makes the light come on; a problem in your back will make your rear-end, thigh, leg, knee, foot and or ankle hurt. Same goes for you neck and shoulder, arm, hand, fingers. And just like covering up the light prolongs and worsens the inevitable; so does covering up the pain with aspirin, oxy and/or Jack Daniels.

"In one year and out the next week"

It’s been said-“A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.”
Last year about this time, I wrote the following on New Year’s Resolutions:

Why Bother?

This is the time of year when people start telling themselves this is the year that they are going to get in shape, eat right and stop stealing office supplies. And most will have failed the first two goals by the end of the Sugarbowl Halftime Report, and #3 by 4:00 on the first Monday after the holiday. So in other words, don’t bother.

The problem with lofty goals is that they are unattainable. Then when you slip, you get depressed and completely give up. Or sometimes people will set these ridiculous goals knowing they can’t do it, giving themselves an “out” of doing what’s right.

You can’t go from doing 12 ounce curls on the couch to training for a marathon on New Years Day. You can’t go from 3000 calories of processed meats and sugars to an 1800 calorie whole food diet (and not want to commit homicide) in just a week. And you’re never going to start buying your own stamps when the Post Office keeps raising their rates.

It was either Shakespeare, Lau Tzu or the cast of Glee that said: ‘a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.’ If you want to change, you’re going to have to make reasonable, attainable, measurable goals. Not just make random cheap champagne fueled wishes on the back of a cocktail napkin.

I propose the 1% solution. It was either me or NY Times bestselling author Tom Connellan who coined the phrase. Instead of setting yourself up for failure with crazy hair-brained ideas; just be a little bit better every day.

Instead of sandwiches, eat salads; water not soda; red wine not beer (1 not 12); stairs not elevator; exercise 30 min not 20; and add or take away a little more over time until you’ve reached your goal. If it takes you 11 months instead of quitting in 11 days, that’s much more than 1% better.

Need help losing weight? Hurt yourself trying to get in shape? Need advice on nutrition and vitamins? We’re here to help!

Let Dead Dogs Lie

Honestly, you shouldn't go around touching dead animals, they could carry disease. Also, who wants to talk about something so depressing right before Christmas anyway?

But anyway, the holidays are one of those times where you have to be around people you may not like (surely not me) or want to be around just because you share their blood (note-sharing blood may also lead to disease) or through that really lame wedding your wife dragged you to last year with all those people you thought you wouldn't have to see again so you broke out your 'best' karaoke.

Eggnog notwithstanding, many do not enjoy this time of year. They dread having to be around that one person who said/asked/did something that offended them, and feelings are still hurt; and/or you're afraid they'll say/ask/do the same thing again. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes on accident: there's what's said, what was meant to be said, what you heard and the intent with which it was said/heard and how much box wine went into the hearing/saying.

We allow the event to play over and over in our head like a top 20 song on the radio. It begins to not only affect but consume us. We will allow this negative energy to damage our relationship with the offender, it will also impact our ability to make and manage other relationships also. It will become a major drag on our mental and emotional health along with a stumbling block to our success and well being.

Overtime, the emotional stress brought on by an offense (real or perceived) will begin to make physiological changes in our tissue. Stress hormones are catabolic, which means they destroy tissue. There will be a change in our muscle tone that will affect the function of our joints. Our body's ability to process oxygen and digest food will also change. These neuro-chemical and hormonal alterations will then lead to diseases from headaches to disc pain to cancer to heart disease.

Life is at best short - so why would we allow these thoughts to steal our precious time and drain our energy? It's time to start looking at letting go of the past. But the question is how?

Try this:

Press the PAUSE Button and Ask:

1. Is it something I can learn from to become a better person?

2. Is it something I can use to motivate me to act?

If the answer is yes, then do it and move on. If the answer is no, take the memory, write it down on a piece of paper and throw it out, light it on fire or be responsible and recycle it. Then it's over, it's done; it's forgotten. And you can move on with your life, move on with your relationship(s) and let dead dogs lie.

Kinda Creepy

Creep-(noun): My college roommate... Why girls never came over.

Creep-(verb): a soft tissue reaction where as a displacement in amplitude or length of collagenous structures over a period of time when a force is applied... Why you’re shorter at the end of the day.

How often do you have to adjust the rear-view mirror on the drive home? Sure, Harford County roads are partially to blame, but by 5pm we’re all about 1-2% shorter.  Blame Darwin; we’re just animals adapting to our environment.

We start our day hunched over simple carbs and neuro-stimulants. Then off to be hunched over the steering wheel, keyboard, not so smart ‘smart’ phone, back to steering wheel  (stopping off somewhere for some extra-high inflammatory processed lunch from McSatan’s) then home again and back to the keyboard (but this time it’s okay because you’re reading this).

This causes a shortening and tightening of our anterior muscles: Rotator cuff/thoracic outlet and carpal tunnel syndromes & decreased oxygen consumption. And conversely a slow over-stretching and weakening of the posteriors: headache, neck pain, back pain & abnormal nerve activity.

That’s why for those of you we performed a Functional Capacity Examination on; we strive for a 1:1.14 flexor: extensor ratio. In other words, your back needs to be a little stronger than your front (except your knees, they’re backwards). So, in short, stretch the front and build up the back. Don’t know how? Try Google. But if you want the right answers, ask me.