Can a Frozen Shoulder Thaw Out?

I have noticed lately an increased number of my patients here in the Salt Lake City area that present with severe shoulder pain and restricted range of motion.  This condition is known as Adhesive Capsulitis or “Frozen Shoulder” and is a fairly common malady. The causes are varied and can develop following some kind of trauma or just randomly occur.  Whatever the cause, it is painful and can be debilitating and the treatment is challenging.

Chiropractors and other manual therapist have traditionally treated Frozen Shoulder with a series of range of motion exercises and stretches along with other modalities such as ultrasound, electrical stimulation and cold laser treatment. There has not been much evidence to support or refute the use of these treatments and there is no clear consensus on how or when to apply different therapies.

I recently read a research paper on a case study of treatment of Adhesive Capsulitis. This was reported in the Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy in February 2012.  The researchers reviewed the treatment of a patient that presented with a classic case of Frozen Shoulder.  They initially treated with the standard stretches and exercises and manipulation focusing on the shoulder joint itself but after 10 visits there was only minimal improvement in the pain and range of motion. Next they added Thoracic spine manipulation to the treatment protocol and after only 4 visits, they noted substantial improvement in the pain and range of motion.

I believe this case is significant in that it shows that Chiropractic adjustment applied to the Thoracic spine can be effective in “thawing out” a Frozen Shoulder. If you or someone you is suffering from this type of shoulder pain, come see us at The Joint Cottonwood Heights in Utah for evaluation and treatment to see if we can help.

~ Dr. Brad Hendricks

Tips to keep your New Year's Resolutions

According to many reports, here are the some of the most common New Year’s resolutions:

•         Lose Weight

•         Get Fit

•         Quit Smoking

•         Learn Something New

•         Eat Healthier

•         Get Out of Debt and Save Money

•         Spend More Time with Family

•         Travel

•         Be Less Stressed

•         Volunteer

•         Drink Less

I'm sure that at one time or another, most of us have resolved to make changes in at least some of these areas.  Unfortunately, studies also show that these same resolutions are frequently broken.  The answer is not to stop making resolutions but is to figure out ways to accomplish your goals.  Helping Salt Lake City residents achieve their health goals is a very rewarding part of my job as a chiropractor in Utah.  Here are a few tips to help you achieve your goals and resolutions.

1.      Make it something that you really want.  Don't make a goal that you really aren't committed to or one that you think you 'should' do. Make it meaningful to you.

2.      Be specific.  Instead of just making a goal to 'Lose Weight', make a goal for example to lose 20 pounds by April 1^st, and then have a plan that breaks it up into daily, weekly and monthly tasks that will 'baby step' you to the end goal.

3.      Limit your list of resolutions to a number that is easier to handle.  This helps focus your efforts on the things you really want.

4.      Allow yourself to fail.  If your goal is something you really want and you have a specific plan, don't throw it all away if you mess up a few times.  Just realize that it is hard to change some habits and if you cannot perfectly follow your plan doesn't mean that you have to quit working at it. Just re-commit yourself and restart.

5.      Write down your specific goals and visualize them regularly.  As you write down your goals, put them in a prominent place that you will see frequently, this will help you keep visualizing the completed goal.

6.      Involve friends and family.  Having someone hold you accountable is a great way to stay on track. Changing your diet or exercising is easier if you have someone to act as a coach or cheerleader for you and you for them.

The bottom line is that whether you have succeeded or failed at keeping resolutions in the past, the new year is always a natural time to re-assess your life and try to make a few positive changes.  Here at The Joint in Salt Lake City, we hope that you will make it a goal to keep your spine and joints healthier, and we are here to help you by making it convenient and affordable to get regular chiropractic adjustments.

~ Dr. Hendricks

Improving your immune system with chiropractic in Salt Lake City

Colder weather and more time spent indoors make staying healthy a real challenge this time of year. Millions of people face getting sidelined or made miserable by the common cold or the flu. Taking steps for prevention could make life a lot more pleasant in the wintertime. Building your body’s immune system with diet, exercise, and chiropractic treatments to help prevention is a good place to start.

Some people’s typical eating patterns are high in sugar and processed carbohydrates, artificial sweeteners, unhealthy fats, and are lacking in fruits and vegetables. These eating habits fail to supply the body with adequate nutrition to truly support immunity. Numerous studies have found that natural vitamins and minerals found in whole foods improve immune function. Excellent food sources of immune boosting nutrients include vibrant green, red and orange vegetables, delicious nuts and seeds, fresh seafood, whole eggs, and poultry. Fresh herbs, such as basil, vegetables, like garlic and scallions add robust flavor to recipes and also add their own infection-fighting properties.

Most people don't realize that the vast majority of the immune system is found in your guts. An imbalance of the friendly bacteria (Probiotics) found in the gut is one of the leading causes of lowered immunity. That is why I recommend supplementing with a good Probiotic that contains several strains of billions of friendly bacteria to re-inoculate your system. Check with your local health food store for a good quality brand. There are many quality probiotic supplements available now in Utah.

Regular aerobic physical activity, about 30 minutes a day, has been shown to improve immune function and decrease the incidence of common viral infections. Most people decrease their physical activity, as the weather turns cold. Your sleep is an active time during which your body restores itself. Sleep deprivation in animals increases susceptibility to viral and bacterial infection, and, in humans, insomnia reduces activity of natural killer cells, your main defense against viral infection. The natural sleep requirement of adults varies from as little as six to as much as ten hours per day, with most people needing seven to nine hours, preferably without interruption.

Chiropractic care has also shown to be effective in boosting your immunity. One of the most important studies showing the positive effect chiropractic care can have on the immune system and general health was performed by Ronald Pero, Ph.D., chief of cancer prevention research at New York's Preventive Medicine Institute and professor of medicine at New York University. Dr. Pero measured the immune systems of people under chiropractic care as compared to those in the general population and those with cancer and other serious diseases. In his initial three-year study of 107 individuals who had been under chiropractic care for five years or more, the chiropractic patients were found to have a 200% greater immune competence than people who had not received chiropractic care, and 400% greater immune competence than people with cancer and other serious diseases. The immune system superiority of those under chiropractic care did not diminish with age.

Dr. Pero stated:

“When applied in a clinical framework, I have never seen a group other than this chiropractic group to experience a 200% increase over the normal patients. This is why it is so dramatically important. We have never seen such a positive improvement in a group…”

Pero R. "Medical Researcher Excited By CBSRF Project Results." The Chiropractic Journal, August 1989; 32

This is why the doctors and staff at The Joint Cottonwood recommend regular, preventative chiropractic adjustments. If you typically struggle with frequent illnesses, make an appointment at The Joint in Salt Lake City and let us work together to see if we can boost your immunity and resistance to disease.

- Dr. Hendricks

How Prevalent is Back Pain in Your Kids?

There have been many studies that indicate that most adults (80%) will have back pain at some point in their life, but not much has been studied in kids, until recently.

The severity and course of back pain is poorly understood in adolescents. A study was designed to determine the prevalence and two-year incidence, as well as the course, frequency, and intensity of pain in the neck, mid back, and low back (spinal pain). The study was reported in the journal BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders in May 2014.

The researchers studied 1,300 5th and 6th graders aged 11-13 in Denmark and followed them for two years.  They found a baseline of spinal pain prevalence of 86%.  What was interesting is that the frequency of pain was strongly associated to the intensity of pain.  That is, that those who reported relatively infrequent back pain also reported that the pain was not too intense; whereas those who reported more frequent back pain also reported that it was more severe.

After two years, the researchers found that the pain was likely to progress from one to more locations, from less frequent to more frequent, and from less intense to more intense.

There are a number of possible causes for back pain in children, teens and young adults. One thing that may lead to back pain is the regular use of a backpack that is too heavy or worn improperly. Many Salt Lake City students are overwhelmed by the weight of their textbooks and other school supplies that they must carry each day. It is also commonly popular to wear backpacks slung over one shoulder, with the straps adjusted too low, or in other ways that can contribute to developing back pain. Other risk factors may include poor posture, athletic injuries, or too much time spent hunched over a computer, phone, or tablet.

Given these results, it is important to have your pre-teen and teenagers checked.  Whether your kids are sedentary or more active and athletic, they may be prone to neck and back pain.  At The Joint Cottonwood Heights, we offer free spinal screening for your kids, bring them in and let us help them improve their overall health.

Could texting KILL you?

We have known for many years that texting and driving causes impairment similar to drinking and driving and is associated with nearly 4000 deaths per year from car accidents.

Chiropractors have also known for years that when people adopt a hunched-over posture while using phones or tablets, they tend to develop a forward head posture that causes neck and back pain and spinal dysfunction.

Now a new study by the UK United Chiropractic Association (UCA) says that texting and using mobile devices for long periods of time could lead to a lower life expectancy. Poor posture could pose as big a risk to a person's health as obesity. They showed that the hunched-over, forward head position constricts breathing and blood flow, making the heart work harder.

UK United Chiropractic Association (UCA) Study Shows Link between Texting and Lower Life Expectancy

The new research suggests a link between forward-leaning postures that people use while texting, going online, sending emails and playing video games, and hyperkyphosis, which is associated with pulmonary disease and cardiovascular problems.

The study suggests that when someone drops their head and rounds their shoulders while looking at a phone or tablet, it is harder for them to take a full breath because of the restriction to their muscles.

In addition, the ribs cannot move properly so the heart and lungs cannot function to their full effectiveness.

More often than not, people do not know they could be doing serious long-term damage to their body because the short-term effects are not as noticeable, the study says.

It's only later in life that the effects are noticeable and can seriously affect the quality of life.  The biggest fear is that young people, who are by far the heaviest users of mobile technology, will develop irreversible problems that may lead to early death.

Chiropractic procedures to help with texting-related posture

In my practice I have noticed that the increased prevalence of forward head posture problems has coincided with the explosion of smart phone, tablet and laptop use for work and leisure.

The study compares the risk of early death from poor posture to the risk of having a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 30, which places and individual in the obese range. Currently some estimates claim that obesity is responsible for 1 in 5 deaths in this country. It is startling to consider that poor posture from texting can equal that risk.

We live our lives in such a way that oftentimes we are ruled by technology and we use our phones, tablets and computers so frequently that it is easy to overlook the effects it is having on our posture. 

The good news is that we all have a degree of control over this issue.  We can limit the time we spend on our mobile devices, and we can bring them to eye level to reduce the poor posture.

The recommendation that we make here at The Joint Cottonwood Heights is that you come in for a postural evaluation and appropriate chiropractic treatment to improve forward head posture and help lower the associated risks.

~ Dr. Hendricks

How can Chiropractic Boost Your Metabolism to Lose Weight?

Most people in Utah would give a lot to increase their metabolism. Having a high metabolic rate enables one to burn fat and lose weight fast with the least amount of exertion. Metabolism is the rate by which the body produces and consumes energy and calories to support life. There are several factors that affect the metabolism of a person, such as the amount of muscle tissue in one’s body, the frequency of the meals one consumes, genetics, the digestive system, stress levels, personal diet, and activity levels.

 

Metabolism slows down when there is a loss of muscle because of not enough physical activity, when there is the tendency of the body to cannibalize its own tissue because there is not enough food energy to sustain it, and as a result of the decrease of physical activity that comes naturally with old age.

It is obvious that metabolism decreases along with age, but it is possible to counter the effects. The amount of muscle a person has is a very strong determinant in the ability to burn calories and shed fat. So it goes without saying that physical activity is essential. This is where chiropractic adjustments can have the greatest effect.  Regular adjustments improve the mobility and function of the spine and other joints in the body which make it easier to exercise and remain active to build lean muscle tissue.

Another key is to match the amount of eating to the amount of activity one has.

·         Eat breakfast. Many people ignore the fact that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Metabolism can slow down considerably if breakfast is eaten during mid-morning or if one waits until the afternoon to eat.

·         Avoid processed sugar. Sugar enables the body to store fat. It is recommended that a person consume food that helps sustain an even level of blood sugar. Additionally, physical activity 2-3 times a week is important to stabilize blood sugar.

·         Increase water intake. Water flushes out toxins that are produced whenever the body burns fat. The majority of bodily functions involve water, and lack of water causes its systems to decrease in speed, this produces unneeded stress as a result.

·         Get regular chiropractic adjustments based on your chiropractor’s recommendation. Adjustments can help improve joint mobility, reduce pain, and increase the success and comfort of your body as your state of health increases.

·         Eat smaller meals. It is advisable to consume 4 to 6 small meals that are timed 2 to 3 hours apart, and include more energy foods in the diet, such as fruits and vegetables, beans and whole grains. Salt Lake City has many great food options, locally sourced farmer’s markets, and interesting restaurants to help you plan your meals accordingly.

·         Never skip meals. People tend to skip meals in order to lose weight, which is a big mistake since it slows down metabolism.

·         Ditch the stress! Stress, be it physical or emotional, triggers the release of a chemicals in the body that decrease metabolism. Also, most people tend to eat excessively when stressed.

So take advantage of regular chiropractic adjustments to assist you in being more physically active, watch your diet, get enough sleep and takes steps to reduce your stress and you will be able to burn more calories because your metabolism will be on fire!

NFL testimonials about the benefits of Chiropractic care for Athletes in Salt Lake City

For more information go to www.saltlakecitychiropractor-thejoint.com