Sports Spine Specialist Chiropractic Team: Athletes strive to achieve their body’s maximum performance by participating in numerous training regimens consisting of strenuous exercises and physical activity and ensuring they meet all of their body’s nutritional requirements. Through proper fitness and nutrition, many individuals can condition themselves to excel in their specific sport. Our training programs are designed for athletes that look to gain a competitive edge in their sport.
We provide sport-specific services to help increase an athlete’s performance through mobility, strength, and endurance. Occasionally, however, the excess workouts can lead many to suffer injuries or develop underlying conditions. Dr. Alex Jimenez’s chronicle of articles for athletes displays in detail the many forms of complications affecting these professionals while focusing on the possible solutions and treatments to follow to achieve overall well-being.
Many are starting to wonder why more and more kids are starting to be under regular Chiropractic care. For some, this may sound mysterious, but for others who understand what Chiropractic care provides for children, they realize it is much more than fixing back pain.
According to world renowned Chiropractor and author, Dr. Jennifer Barham- Floreani, �The nervous system is the master controller of our body and if its communication channels become fuzzy, distorted or damaged then we may experience all sorts of communication errors. For babies this ineffective communication may play out as colic or irritability, an inability to suckle and breastfeed or poor sleep habits. For a child poor nerve communication may result in developmental delays, an inability to concentrate, behavioral problems, digestive issues, asthma, headaches � the list is endless.�
How can your child�s body lose its natural alignment and develop subluxations? Studies have shown that in the majority of cases, trauma (often unrecognized) from the birthing process or procedures causes subluxation of the infant�s spine. Subluxation damage can be caused by a constricted uterus, a breech presentation or a difficult delivery, and in cases of vacuum extraction or excessive force, the spine is always traumatized. Health problems in childhood or even adulthood have been traced back to spinal and structural damage at birth in many cases.
Abraham Towbin, MD states: �The birth process � is potentially a traumatic, crippling event � mechanical stress imposed by obstetrical manipulation-even the application of standard orthodox procedures may prove intolerable to the fetus � most signs of neonatal injury observed in the delivery room are neurological.�
Research is confirming chiropractors� observations that infants may suffer from spinal subluxations. In one study, 1,250 babies were examined five days after birth; 211 of them suffered from vomiting, hyperactivity and sleeplessness. Subluxations were found in 95% of this group. Although the researchers in this study were MDs, they recognized the power of chiropractic care and these babies were given the care they needed.
The spinal adjustment �frequently resulted in immediate quieting, cessation of crying, muscular relaxation and sleepiness.� The authors noted that an unhealthy spine causes �many clinical features from central motor impairment to lowered resistance to infections- especially ear, nose and throat infections.� The above study discusses an 18-month-old boy suffering from tonsillitis, frequent enteritis, therapy-resistant conjunctivitis, frequent colds, earache and increasing sleeping problems.
He received a chiropractic spinal adjustment. The child demanded to be put to bed and slept peacefully until morning. His health returned to normal. One wonders, what would have happened to this child if he never had chiropractic care? A life of antibiotics and other medications? A life of continued sickness?
The authors of the above-mentioned study concluded that a chiropractic spinal checkup �should be obligatory after every difficult birth� and any spinal stress �should be � adjusted � the success of adjustment overshadows every other type of care.�
According to the Chiropractic pediatric specialist Larry Webster, DC, there are six times in a baby�s first year of life when chiropractic examinations are especially important:�
After the birth process.
When the baby starts to hold his/her head up.
When the baby sits up.
When the baby starts to crawl.
When the baby starts to stand.
When the baby starts to walk.21
Toddlerhood through childhood is a very �physical� time. Those first hesitant steps soon evolve into jumping, running, falls and accidents which are all part of a normal childhood. While most falls are minor, at times they can cause nerve-damaging subluxations with serious long-term consequences. For that reason all children need periodic spinal check-ups.
What are the Benefits of Chiropractic for Kids?
Over many decades parents, clinicians, and researchers have noticed positive changes in behavioral, physical, and emotional health of children under chiropractic care. Many different behavioral conditions have been observed to improve with chiropractic care including ADD/ADHD, anxiety, and also focus, concentration, and grades in school.
Since the nerves collectively control and influence all bodily functions, removing nerve interference may result in improvement of many different health problems depending on the area of the spine and nervous system involved. Improvement is commonly seen in conditions such as colic, constipation, ear infections, allergies, asthma, sinus infections, persistent bed wetting, stomach aches, �growing pains� in the legs or arms, headaches, back and neck pain, scoliosis, and abnormal gait among others.
What�s the Best Reason to Have Your Kids Under Regular Chiropractic Care?
We believe that the best reason to do any health related activity is for wellness and prevention. And it is easier to grow healthy children than to repair damaged adults. Life is so much better when your children never seem to get sick or have health problems than when you are routinely going from appointment to appointment constantly treating the symptoms of ill health.
It is not unusual to hear parents state that since starting chiropractic care their children get sick less frequently and less severely, have less ear infections, and take less antibiotics and other drugs than their classmates. Our vision is to use chiropractic today for a better world tomorrow. Starting from birth, remove interference to the body�s inborn ability to heal itself and allow children to reach their health potential throughout their life.
10 Reasons Parents Take Their Children to See a Chiropractor
To encourage good neural plasticity (brain and nerve development).
To support �first-class� nerve communication throughout the body to promoting health and wellbeing.
To help strengthen their child�s immunity � encouraging fewer colds, ear-aches and general illness.
To help resolve breastfeeding issues and colic.
To reduce the detrimental impact our modern world has on our children�s health.
Encourages children to thrive by supporting digestive strength.
To diminish nerve interference which may impact their child�s capacity to learn and concentrate.
To promote body balance � helping to resolve poor posture, asthma, allergies and bed-wetting..
For a child poor nerve communication may result in developmental delays, an inability to concentrate, behavioral problems, digestive issues, asthma, headaches. Parents, clinicians, and researchers have noticed positive changes in behavioral, physical, and emotional health of children under chiropractic care.�For Answers to any questions you may have please call Dr. Jimenez at 915-850-0900
Walk into any gym or health club and you�ll find people exercising�their core. Coretraining has�taken the world by storm, and for good reason, as every DC knows. Strengthening the�core creates stability and better movement and helps prevent lower back pain. To help patients get the most from�their efforts, it�s important they understand what they�re doing. You can explain the difference between the local and global muscles, as I�ve outlined�below, and help your patients�perform core work safely and effectively.
What Is the Core?
I like to tell patients that their core is a shorthand way of referring to all the muscles of their�lower back/pelvis/hip area. It�s where your center of gravity is located and where movement begins. A strong core stabilizes the spine and pelvis and supports you as you move. The core has 29 pairs of muscles that�fall into two categories:
��Local Muscles. Patients can think�of local muscles as the deeper muscles, the ones close to the�spine and responsible for stabilization.�They don�t have much ability to move the�joints. The local muscles are further broken down into primary and secondary categories. The primary local muscles are the transverse abdominus and multifidi (the two most critical muscles for providing stability). The secondary local muscles are the internal obliques, quadratus lumborum, diaphragm and pelvic floor muscles.
��Global Muscles.�The global muscles are the outermost layer of muscle�they�re the ones you can feel through your skin. They�re responsible for moving joints. The global muscles in the core are the rectus abdominus, external obliques, erector spinae, psoas major and iliocostalis.
The core should operate as an integrated functional unit, with the local and global muscles working together to allow easy, smooth, pain-free movement. When the muscles work together optimally, each component distributes, absorbs and transfers forces. The kinetic chain of motion functions efficiently when you do something dynamic, like exercise or run.
Core Injury
An injury to one of the core muscles usually means an episode of lower back pain for your patient. When that happens, the deep stabilizers change how they work as a way to compensate for the injury and protect the area. The stabilizers now have delayed action; they�re turned on only after you move, instead of as you move. Because now they�re not functioning as they should, the�brain recruits the�global muscles to compensate. That causes a core imbalance. The result: pain in the lower back, pelvis and glutes (the big muscles you sit on).
Exercises designed to help get patients� core muscles back in balance are the best way to prevent re-injury and avoid lower back pain. Traditional abdominal exercises are often recommended to strengthen the global muscles. These exercises can actually increase pressure on the lower spine. Similarly, traditional lower back hyperextension exercises meant to stretch out the lower spine also may actually increase pressure on it. A better approach to preventing lower back pain is restoring stability with the core exercises below.
Abdominal Brace
The abdominal brace activates all the contracting muscles in the abdominal wall, without involving the nearby obliques and rectus muscles. This exercise strengthens the connection between the global muscles and the deep local muscles. This helps restore the balance between them and improves spinal stiffness.
To get an idea of how the muscles in your core work, place your thumbs in the small of your back on either side of your spine. Next, do a hip hinge: bend forward from the hips about 15 degrees. You should feel the muscles in your lower back move as you bend and stand back up again.
To do the brace, stand upright and suck in your stomach, as if you were about to get punched. Hold hat for 10 seconds, then relax. Repeat 20 times; do three sets.
You�ll know you�re doing the brace correctly if you poke your extended fingertips right into your side below your ribs and then brace. You should feel the muscles move under your fingertips.
Curl-Ups
Curl-ups train the rectus abdominus, the long abdominal muscle that runs vertically from your breastbone all the way down on both sides of your bellybutton.
Start by lying on your back with your hands palm-up beneath your lower back. Bend one leg and put the foot flat on the floor; extend the other leg. Hold your head and neck stiffly locked onto your ribcage�imagine them as one unit. Lift your head and shoulders slightly off the floor by three or four inches and hold that position for 20 seconds. Your elbows should touch the floor while you do this. Relax and gently lie back again. Repeat 10 times. Switch legs and repeat 10 times gain. Do three sets.
Tip: If your patient has�neck discomfort doing this, have them push their�tongue against the roof of the�mouth�to help�stabilize the neck muscles.
Side Bridge
The side bridge, also called the side plank, trains the quadratus lumborum, lateral obliques, and transverse abdominus muscles, all local muscles that help stabilize the�spine.
Start by lying on your side. Place your top leg in front of your bottom leg (the heel of your top foot should touch the toe of the bottom foot). Raise your body using the down-side shoulder and elbow. Cap the opposite shoulder with your free hand. Hold for as long as you can, aiming for 30 seconds. Switch sides and repeat.
Bird Dog
This exercise is great for training the back extensors, including the longissimus, iliocostalis and multifidii.
Start on your hands and knees (quadruped position). Raise and extend the opposite arm and leg simultaneously, like a dog pointing to where the bird is. �Hold or eight seconds, then return to the quadruped position. Repeat eight times, then switch arms and legs and repeat for eight reps. Do three sets.
Conclusion
All the muscles of the�core must work together to produce efficient and effective movement. The core is the center of the�body�s motion�training it is a critical part of any exercise routine. Teaching your�patients proper technique for core training will result in�big benefits for them now and in the future.
Share this Core Strengthening guide with patients, courtesy of WebExercises
Walk into any gym or health club and you�ll find people exercising�their core. Core training has�taken the world by storm, and for good reason, as every DC knows. Strengthening the�core creates stability, better movement and helps prevent lower back pain.
Sometime after Kyle Gibson starts for the Twins in their home opener Monday afternoon, the durable young right-hander will connect with perhaps the most important member of his support team this year: his Chiropractor.
Gibson is still just 28, smack in the prime of his career, but there were times during the second half last season when his lower back started to bark at him. In early August in Toronto, for instance, he was shelled for eight earned runs in just 4 2/3 innings.
�I had a problem in Toronto,� Gibson said.
�There were a couple starts where I didn�t sit down in between innings,� Gibson said, �because if I sat down, my hips just got tight.�
Meanwhile, fellow Twins pitcher Trevor May, 26, was dealing with lower back issues of his own. In May�s case, the additional pounding of making multiple relief appearances without much recovery time had caused issues with the hip and lower-back area of his left (landing) leg, as well.
May�s physical woes left him unavailable for days at a time while the Twins chased their first postseason berth since 2010. Massage and electronic stimulation could only do so much to keep May on the mound.
A few sporadic sessions with a chiropractor didn�t provide immediate results, so May discontinued them.
Upon returning to Seattle this offseason, the yoga devotee decided to up the ante and visit a chiropractor weekly for hour-long sessions. This time, he began to see the benefits.
�A couple weeks before spring training, I felt it coming on a little bit again,� May said. �I was like, what is going on? I got it adjusted and my chiropractor said, �Man, you are way, way out of whack.� He explained to me where my pain was and why the hip was pressing against where it was and if we get that moved back, just lengthened out, it�s going to be really sore for a few weeks, but then it�s just going to go back to normal.�
OVERCOMING FEARS
In 2014, his first full season in the majors, Gibson saw a chiropractor a few times at the recommendation of Twins closer Glen Perkins.
Gibson missed a start in late July after getting shelled at home for six earned runs against the Tampa Bay Rays.
�One of Perk�s guys came in and adjusted me,� recalled Gibson, who threw seven shutout innings at Kansas City his next time out.
That never led to a regular appointment, partly because of Gibson�s relative youth but also because of a long-held fear of what a chiropractor might do to a young athlete�s spine.
�My view of them was, �OK, I want you to lay on a table and I�m going to pop your back and you can come back in a week,� � Gibson said. �Once you start doing it, you�ve got to keep doing it the rest of your life. That was my view.�
A conversation with May early in spring training this year left him more open to chiropractic manipulation.
Hoping to build on the gains of a breakthrough 2015 but still bothered by soreness in his lower back, Gibson asked May for feedback on his chiropractor. May, who by then was going once at week to Darin Stokke at Lifestyles Chiropractic, had nothing but good things to say about the sessions.
Dr. Stokke
�We found that baseball players get skeletally out of line,� May said. �They do one motion one way much harder (than most people), and my hips were really, really out of line. Seeing a chiropractor consistently has helped me make sure I�m getting readjusted and staying in line as much as possible.�
While initially there was some concern that the bullpen simply did not agree with May�s back, his chiropractic sessions convinced him (and the Twins) that he could manage the additional workload with proper preparation.
What derailed him in September 2015, as it turns out, was a problem with the set joint, where the left hip and lower back meet.
�It was all muscular,� May said. �It was just because one hip was closer to the spine than the other side. The other side was normal. (The left side) was just pressing so much and you get so much inflammation. It was just a perfect storm. It was just a little extra torque being in the �pen. That�s why it was bothering me. Now I�m on top of it.�
As May explained it to Gibson, realignment of the spine would allow the overtaxed areas of a pitcher�s core to meet the challenge of persistent pounding.
�Letting those muscles unflare and then heal and rebuild them back to where they�re supposed to be, that�s what we�re doing,� May said.
After doing some �normal treatment stuff� as a warmup, Stokke would check May�s alignment much the way a tire installer might need to check an automobile before sending it back out into traffic.
�He checks where you legs are,� May said. �If he sees you�re out of line, he puts you back in line, and the next day I try to do some exercises and heavy strength stuff, just to build those muscles back up. I�m seeing soreness go and I feel more in line and healthier.�
BELIEF SYSTEM
Despite taking the loss in his season debut in Baltimore, Gibson reports much the same results from his twice-weekly chiropractic sessions this spring.
�Toward the beginning of spring training my back started getting sore again,� Gibson said. �Going twice a week helped get things moving in the right direction.�
Now that he feels his lower-back problems are under control, Gibson plans to scale back to a single visit per homestand. That way he won�t have to find somebody to visit on the road, while also limiting those realignment sessions to perhaps two per month.
�It has made a big difference in my hips and just everything,� said Gibson, who set career highs for starts (32) and innings (194 2/3) last season. �My skeletal system was basically allowing my muscular system to stay tight and not function properly. That caused some nerve irritation.�
While May features the classic �drop and drive� delivery, Gibson is from the �tall and fall� school that should, in theory, produce less strain on a pitcher�s hips and back. That didn�t prove to be the case over Gibson�s first few seasons in the majors, so he finally realized adjustments were needed.
�Some of my problem was just that I had some tight hips pulling my pelvis out of line and causing some irritation in the nerve,� Gibson said. �There were certain things I realized I could pitch through. You find ways to get around certain sorenesses and aches and pains.�
If the Twins can get 200 innings out of Gibson and 65 to 75 relief appearances out of May, they won�t just have a better chance to end a postseason drought that has reached five years and counting. They could have additional members of their pitching staff lining up for realignment sessions.
Kyle Gibson, last season his lower back started to bark at him. The durable young right-hander connected with the most important member of his support team, his Chiropractor. While Trevor May, was dealing with lower back issues of his own. In May�s case, the additional pounding of making multiple relief appearances without much recovery time had caused issues with his�hip and lower-back area of his left (landing) leg, as well.
Proven�research is now indicating that receiving Chiropractic adjustments to the pelvis can�increase vertical jump height. �This new research further solidifies the stance of many professional and collegiate teams with providing Chiropractic care for their athletes. In addition to injury prevention this research proves that chiropractic care results in an increase in sports performance.
[Purpose] This study aimed to investigate the effect of pelvic adjustment on vertical jump height (VJH) in female university students with functional leg length inequality (FLLI). [Subjects] Thirty female university students with FLLI were divided into a pelvic adjustment group (n = 15) and a stretching (control) group (n = 15). [Methods] VJH was measured using an OptoGait. [Results] After the intervention, jump height improved significantly compared with the pre-intervention height only in the pelvic adjustment group, while FLLI showed statistically significant improvement in both groups. [Conclusion] Pelvic adjustment as per the Gonstead method can be applied as a method of reducing FLLI and increasing VJH.
Key words:�Pelvic adjustment, Functional leg length inequality, Vertical jump height
INTRODUCTION
The pelvis, a structure located between the hip joint and the lumbosacral spine and attached to several muscles, regulates the movement of the hip joint and lumbosacral spine. The position of the pelvis is the most critical factor determining the sagittal alignment and posture of the human body). Only when the pelvis is in the neutral position can be in the right posture, move the upper and lower body in the dynamic posture, and improve daily movements and ambulatory ability).
Functional leg length inequality (FLLI) worsens due to pelvic tilt in the medial plane and pelvic rotation in the sagittal plane). Therefore, FLLI might be improved by pelvic adjustment. High-velocity and low-amplitude (HVLA) adjustment has been widely utilized as a general chiropractic adjustment method). Many studies have indicated that leg length inequality (LLI) causes posture alteration), limiting exercise and causing tension of the muscles and other soft tissues5). LLI is accompanied by several clinical symptoms6)�such as lumbar pain)�and hip pain). Correcting leg length inequality reportedly reduces pain, increases mobility, and improves posture).
Vertical jumping is practiced to enhance the muscular strength and endurance of the leg and serves as a barometer of muscular strength). There have been studies in which plyometric training was undertaken to improve leg muscle strength), dynamic stretching was applied after jogging for 5 minutes to improve vertical jump height (VJH), or HVLA manipulation was performed for talocrural joint dysfunction). However, there has been no study in which FLLI was corrected and VJH was measured as a barometer for leg muscle strength. Many studies have assessed the effect of pelvic adjustment on FLLI), posture), pressure on the foot, and balance). However, no study has investigated the changes in FLLI and VJH resulting from just a single adjustment. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the immediate effects of a single pelvic adjustment on FLLI and VJH in female university students with FLLI.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
A total of 30 female university students with an FLLI of more than 10?mm between the left and right legs were selected and randomly assigned to one of two groups: the pelvic adjustment group (adjustment group, n = 15) and control group (stretching group, n = 15). The exclusion criteria were as follows: anatomical LLI; degenerative osteoarthritis; muscle, bone, or nervous system problems; ankle joint, knee joint, hip joint, or lumbar pain; limited range of motion due to burn or postsurgical scarring; and regular leg exercise. This study was approved by Korea Nazarene University�s Institutional Review Board, and the safety of all subjects was protected during all parts of the experiment. All subjects understood the purpose of this study and provided written informed consent prior to participation in accordance with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki.
The age, height, and weight of the subjects in the adjustment group were 23.5�4.7?years, 163.0�5?cm, and 54.1�5?kg, while those in the stretching group were 22.2�6.3?years, 162.7�6?cm, and 53.1�6?kg, respectively. Gender was analyzed using the ?2�test, while age, height, and weight were analyzed using the independent t-test. As these analyses detected no statistically significant differences (p>0.05), the two groups were deemed identical.
The pelvic adjustment performed in the adjustment group consisted of an HVLA technique administered in the prone posture in accordance with Gonstead�s theory. Subjects were instructed to lie prone, their pelvic height was checked, and the posterior-inferior innominate bone was given an anterior-superior impact while the anterior-superior pelvis was given a posterior-inferior impact. When making these impacts, the therapist put one of his hands on top of the other, placed them on the posterior-superior iliac spine or the ischial spine, and then gave the impact using his own weight, gravity, and acceleration). This adjustment was performed 3�5 times by one skilled physical therapist with more than 10?years of clinical experience. The control group stretched the backbone erector, rectus abdominis, iliac muscle, psoas major, quadriceps muscle, leg adductor, and quadratus lumborum adjacent to the pelvis in order to resolve muscular imbalance that could further the pelvic imbalance. In the process, the therapist assisted the subjects in performing additional height training for each muscle and maintaining each posture at the maximum height for 10�15 seconds. The subjects then resumed the initial posture, rested for 5 seconds, and repeated the stretching one more time. Stretching was done three times per posture for a total of 15 minutes).
For leg length measurement, subjects lay straight on a bed, and the tape measure method (TMM) was used to measure the leg from the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) to the medial malleolus. Beattie et al. reported that LLI as measured by the TMM did not show a significant difference from radiological findings. We were therefore confident in the reliability of using the TMM for measuring leg length). The measurement started from the ASIS so that pelvic bone-related problems such as pelvic tilt and pelvic asymmetry could be included.
We used an OptoGait (Microgate Srl, Bolzano, Italy), a system for optical detection, to analyze ambulation and measure VJH. On its signal-sending bar, there are 96 LEDs that communicate via an infrared frequency. The signal-receiving bar has an identical number of LEDs. We installed the signal-sending and signal-receiving bars of the OptoGait one meter apart on a flat surface. When a subject performs a vertical jump between the bars, the bars calculate the time at which the subject touches the floor or stays in the air and communicates this information by sending and receiving 1,000 signals per second, generating accurate data. Based on this basic data, the OptoGait software calculates the precise VJH.
Leg length and VJH were measured before and after the intervention. The measured data were analyzed using the statistics program SPSS 12.0 KO (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA), and the collected data are presented as averages and standard deviations. The significance of pre- and post-intervention differences was tested using the paired t-test, and the significance of between-group differences was tested using the independent t-test. The p-value ? was set at 0.05.
RESULTS
In the pre- and post-intervention comparison, VJH improved significantly only in the adjustment group, while FLLI improved significantly in both the adjustment group and the stretching group (p<0.05) (Table 1). When comparing the pre-intervention data, post-intervention data, and changes between the pre- and post-intervention data, VJH showed statistical significance only for the changes between the pre-and post-intervention data, while FLLI showed statistical significance for post-intervention data and changes between the pre- and post-intervention data (p<0.05) (Table 2).
Table 1.
Comparison of the Pre- and post-intervention data for VJH and FLLI in each group (mean�SD) (Unit: VJH-cm, FLLI-mm)
Table 2.
Comparison of VJH and FLLI between the adjustment group and stretching group (mean�SD) (Unit: VJH-cm, FLLI-mm)
DISCUSSION
The pelvis supports the abdomen, connects the spine and legs, and is involved in transferring weight from the spine to the legs when a person stands up, maintaining a straight posture and enabling smooth arm movements). Due to their erect ambulation, human beings are exposed to gravity and can thus be subject to a malalignment of the pelvis and legs affecting posture, ambulatory pattern, and balance. LLI is easily observed clinically and causes functional disturbance of normal biomechanics).
Winter and Pinto reported that pelvic obliquity is caused by LLI), and Mccaw and Bates explained the relation between biomechanics and spinal deformity due to LLI). Defrin et al. reported that when a shoe insert was used in 22 chronic back pain patients with LLI of 10?mm and less, pain intensity and muscular weakening were reduced), which appears to be due to reduced pain and muscular weakening attributed to decreased pelvic tilt resulting from LLI adjustment. On the basis of previous studies on pelvic adjustment, Alcantara et al. reported that following adjustments using fast and slow speed amplitudes in patients with sacroiliac joint obliquity, pain was reduced, and patients could resume daily life and work). Park et al. reported that balance in 20 elderly men was improved through pelvic adjustment according to the Gonstead method). In this study, FLLI was reduced after pelvic adjustment, a finding similar to a previous study in which pelvic adjustment helped reduce FLLI and the pressure difference between soles).
In this study, stretching was not associated with increased VJH, while pelvic adjustment was. In a previous study by Ryan et al. in which subjects jogged for 5 minutes in order to improve VJH, a barometer for leg strength, and then performed dynamic stretching, VJH was increased as compared with a control group that only jogged for 5 minutes). In the present study, it is suspected that VJH did not increase because only static stretching was applied. Hedlund et al. reported that VJH showed a statistically significant increase following 3 weeks of chiropractic HVLA manipulation in 22 female handball players with talocrural joint dysfunction, which is similar to the findings of the present study).
Pelvic adjustment balances the left and right pelvic height and left and right anterior and posterior rotation of the hip bones, which, in turn, leads to FLLI improvement. It also balances the left and right muscle lengths of the rectus femoris and sartorius, which are involved in the hip bone�s anterior rotation, and the hamstring and gluteus maximus, which are involved in posterior rotation. This seems to explain the improvement in vertical jump ability. We recommend that pelvic adjustment be applied for decreasing FLLI and increasing VJH, a barometer for leg muscle strength, in the future.
Research now indicates that receiving Chiropractic Adjustments to the pelvis can�increase vertical jump height. �This research solidifies many professional and collegiate teams that�provide chiropractic care for their athletes. In addition to injury prevention this research proves that chiropractic care results in greater athletic performance.
Having a chiropractic treatment is one of those options that are not usually covered by your medical insurance. This leads to people being shy of this practice and usually fearing the doctor�s bills, they avoid getting a treatment as a whole. This should not be the case at all. Keeping yourself healthy is very important and nothing should stop you from leading a good, active life.
When a patient wants to give up on the treatment he or she is getting due to some issue, for their affected area, it does influence the doctor as much as it disturbs the patient�s recovery process. A doctor has put a lot of effort in making the patient feel better and to leave the treatment midway will also impact the patient adversely. It can result in the patient�s wellbeing going back to where it was before. Just so the patient can take care of themselves even if a doctor is not readily accessible , here is a list of exercises that they might do just to keep the condition from getting bad again.
These exercises will not only help you relax and unwind but also avoid the unnecessary weight gain. All of these exercises are easy to do and even a few can be done in your office, in between classes, or while spending a few minutes at the park.
Low Back Pain Exercises:
Table top. The table top exercise requires you to kneel on all fours, and then lift one of your legs as straight as you can go. The more you do it the more you will be able to lift your leg straighter.
Extension exercise.� While lying head down, you must move your head upward but not let your back bend. Do this stretching, until you feel a stretch on your hamstrings. That is as high as you should go.
Child�s pose. �Lay yourself in the position that your knees are wider apart than your hips. Turn your toes into touch and push your hips backwards as if in a bow and then stretch your hands forward in a relaxing position.
Neck Pain Exercises:
These following neck exercises provide you with a relief for neck pain. In fact, they are so easy to do that they can be done during your office or classes. This workout will definitely help anyone trying to increase their productivity during a long day.
Trap-stretch exercise. All you have to do is lie or stand or sit and bend your head to one side and use your hand on the same side to touch your ear of the other side from over your head.
Head Drop. You must take your head as back as possible with your chin pointing towards the ceiling. Don�t bend your back. And don�t stress your neck too much.
Turn your head in the way that your nose touches your shoulders, but do not move your shoulders. Do it both sides.
Shoulder Pain exercises:
Shoulder Shrug. As the name suggests, you shrug your shoulders. While you are standing or sitting up straight, you lift your shoulders up to your ear length and then while exhaling you let them down.
Shoulder blade Pinching. Either standing straight or sitting straight, take your arms to the back and inhale. When you feel your back skin pinching that is when you exhale and bring your arms forward.
Here you have it, a few exercises that will get you through your day and will help you in overcoming the pain. If you have any difficulty in figuring out whether you really have chiropractor then you must consult a specialist. However, it is also recommended that you must see a chiropractor regularly if you want to get full recovery.
Chiropractic�Exercises�can help you relax, unwind and help with�unnecessary weight gain. All of these exercises are easy to do and can be done in your office, in between classes, or while at the park.
Dr. Eric Goodman is the creator of Foundation Training, a highly effective protocol. Foundation Training focuses on body weight exercises that integrate as many muscles as possible to strengthen and elongate your core and posterior chain � which includes all the muscles that connect to your pelvis, whether above or below it � thereby alleviating many chronic pain issues.
The protocol has evolved over the years, and I�ve interviewed Goodman twice before, in 2013 and the most recent two years ago in 2014, covering various updates.
Goodman, who is trained as a chiropractor, is a pioneer in the world of structural biomechanics. His program teaches you to optimize your posture, thereby decreasing bodily pain and your risk of exercise injury.
�The idea is really simple. Our body is made to help itself. As long as we can get the muscles to align it properly, our breathing patterns to align properly, our pelvic muscles to be more stabilized, our posture will involuntarily become stronger,� he explains.
�My education is in chiropractic. I�m licensed in Colorado and California, but I only really see patients if they need an adjustment for some reason that they can�t do the poses.�
Why Foundation Training?
While in chiropractic school, Goodman developed severe low back pain. His doctors suggested surgery, which he wisely rejected. Instead, his own pain set him on the path of discovering a long-term solution, which ultimately resulted in Foundation Training.
�My passive care was good. I was getting chiropractic care. I was being stretched. I was being massaged and worked on. But I wasn�t strengthening my spine myself. That�s the difference that I made,� he explains.
�I don�t think that I will ever negate chiropractic, because I love chiropractic. I love the ability and capacity to align the body, align the nervous system and create a very good environment for different process to occur.
[But] if you�re going to get your neck adjusted, I want your neck to stay long and strong afterwards, because that�s what�s going to stop you from having that same adjustment again a week later.�
While obsessively studying anatomy, alignment and exercise in an effort to resolve his back pain, Goodman began to notice that he, and many other people who were in pain, could not move the way the body was designed to move, and this was causing a degenerative effect � and those who were moving properly were able to regenerate and increase strength, while reducing injury and pain.
�I was in chiropractic school. I really understood the body well. I decided that this is going to become an obsession. I�m going to figure this out. I can�t become a doctor, have patients come to me that are asking for my advice on an injury that I have that I can�t fix. It�s not OK.
So, over the course of about four years, I did that. I became very obsessed. I used my anatomy knowledge. I used my understanding of exercise.
I was a personal trainer actually long before a chiropractor. Foundation Training is what I came up with. It�s what I do for myself every single day, and it�s what I�ve been extraordinarily fortunate to teach to thousands of people at this point.�
The secret to Foundation Training lies in its simplicity: no gyms, no specialized equipment and no complicated stretches. By incorporating a series of powerful movements into your daily routine, you can move better, breathe better and get back to using your body the way nature intended.
Addressing Back Pain
Low back pain is a very common problem, and the most common reason why people seek out Foundation Training. In the video below, Goodman demonstrates a back extension exercise that is particularly helpful for back pain relief.
The premise is simple. By strengthening the muscles in your back, they will keep your spine properly braced through all the movements you do as you go about your day-to-day life.
Overall, about 7 out of 10 people who learn Foundation Training do so to address back pain, 2 out of 10 seek to improve their sports performance and the remaining 10 percent typically seek to address knee pain, neck pain, jaw pain, plantar fasciitis, carpal tunnel and other chronic pain.
How to Get Started With Foundation Training
In addition to their latest book, �True to Form,� Foundation Training offers a variety of ways to get the benefits of their system, including their free videos on their website at www.FoundationTraining.com.
Foundation Training also offers certification for clinicians, practitioners, trainers and instructors who are looking to share this groundbreaking and highly effective protocol with their clients and patients.
�There are probably more people using our free videos to get well than using our DVDs and books,� he says. �That�s awesome. That�s why we have free videos.
Our latest book, �True to Form,� is our illustrative process of bringing Foundation Training into your everyday activities � brushing your teeth, waking up from bed, reaching into the refrigerator, whatever, how to apply very simple movement patterns that make you stronger while you do that.
Then if you want to really get into it, we have DVDs and we have a new streaming website. If you�re really into it � come to our workshop or certification. If you come to our workshop and you decide you want to go through a certification, we take the amount of money you paid on the workshop, 100 percent of it, off the cost of the certification.�
While millions of people have gotten started through the free Foundation Training videos, the optimal way to get the most out of Foundation Training is the comprehensive step-by-step program offered on their website or a certified Foundation Training instructor.
The Importance of Posture for Ease of Movement and Health
As noted by Goodman, �Posture is a beautiful thing, except when it�s messed up.� Indeed, while I see many people walking the beach during my daily walks, poor posture is the norm, with hunching being one of the most prevalent posture problems. Indeed, �standing tall� is so basic yet most have forgotten how to do it. When you stand tall, your muscles actually work more effectively.
�We naturally adapt towards our chosen method of absorbing gravity � �Our muscles absorb force � Whether they�re contracting or expanding, they are absorbing or providing force. If you take the opportunity of gravity � this ever-present weight of your own body � and simply provide 5 percent more energy in absorbing it, 5 percent more conscious effort throughout the day, it�s going to change your life forever. It�s going to have people reacting to you differently. It�s going to have you reacting to things like anxiety differently. You�re going to feel the difference of a closed airway and an open airway.
You�re going to feel the tightness of your jaw from the head traveling to forward, contracting the back of your neck when you�re in a bad posture � You start interacting with people like a confident human being interacts.�
Patience and Practice
Most people have poor posture these days. Besides chronic peering down on your smartphone or tablet and excessive sitting, which encourages poor posture unless you�re paying careful and active attention to your body at all times, we�ve also been taught certain posture strategies that actually worsen posture rather than improve it.
Pulling your shoulders back to straighten your posture is one example. As noted by Goodman, this is a �compartmentalized correction� at a place that�s not actually causing the problem. More than anything else, the places that cause the problems in posture are the upper and lower ends of your spine.
A very basic explanation is that your upper and lower spine should be pulling away from each other, not compressing or falling toward each other. So the back and top of your head needs to be pulling away from your tailbone, straight up and neither forward nor backward.
As for how long it might take to correct your posture, it clearly depends on your individual and specific circumstances: how long you�ve had poor posture, how much time you dedicate to corrective exercises and the extent of your postural problems.
�It may be a matter of weeks to months. I believe for some people it may be a year [to complete] the whole process. [But] they�re going to be feeling better along the way. They�re going to notice incremental changes. They�re going to see that their body is supporting itself better steadily. They�re thinking about it less. They�re feeling less pain. They�re feeling better posture. That�s when the real changes start to happen. But there�s no set timeline.�
Walking 101
Walking is foundational for optimal health, and walking with good posture can really maximize your benefits. Your choice of footwear can have a significant influence here. When walking in sneakers or heels, your heel is raised higher than your toes. This in turn makes your arch tighter, which completely alters your range of motion. So, to start, walk barefoot or find a pair of zero-drop shoes.
The rationale behind walking barefoot has to do with plantar flexion, the shortening of the muscles on the back of your ankle and the lengthening of the muscles at the front of your ankle and shin. When walking barefoot, you alter the way the back of your body absorbs force for the better.
Dorsiflexing is a tremendously important piece of walking. This is where you�re lifting the top of your foot toward your shin. When you�re walking with plantar flexion (due to wearing heels), you rarely dorsiflex, thereby contracting and shortening the muscles of your shin.
�That�s Step 1, making sure that there is good dorsiflexion in every step,� Goodman says. �Literally lift the top toes away from the ground. Lift the balls of the feet away from the ground and try to spread your feet a little bit. That will allow your hips to follow a much more natural range of motion. As your feet dorsiflex, it triggers these muscles of the inside and outside of your legs.
Those muscles have internal rotation capacity and external rotation capacity. Both of which are very important for walking � The ability of the adductors, the medial hamstring, the muscles of the inner part of the thigh, the inner upper part of the thigh, to contract during a walk, to spin that hip a little bit more neutral towards straight ahead �
Long story short, range of motion of the hips is so significant to walking. That range of motion is limited most frequently in people at the feet with plantar flexion, excessive plantar flexion or excessive external rotation.�
Head Posture While Walking
The other piece of the puzzle is the location of your head. Most people walk as if they�re sniffing their way forward, head leading the rest of the body. A more natural posture is to lift your chest upward, which allows your shoulders to lift and your chin to retract more or less automatically. So think: �Chest up, chin back.� Initially, this may feel and even look a bit awkward, but you�ll notice it�s a significantly more powerful way to walk, allowing you to engage more muscles.
�If you simply focus on chin back, chest up, shoulders big, broad, not backing down but out � if you focus on that � you�re going to be walking very different. You�re going to experience this really rhythmic counterbalance in your walk. When the right foot comes forward, the shoulder comes forward on the opposite side.
It�s just these nice little muscular glutes, hamstrings, calves, adductors across the body to the opposite shoulder and pec � So many muscles involved. It�s the SCMs that are very important as well to keep that chin back, chest up function happen.�
Preventing iPhone Neck and Dowager�s Hump
The chest up, chin back posture will not only make you look better, but proper posture may also help prevent osteoporosis and significantly reduce your risk of developing a dowager�s hump, which tends to be quite common among the elderly, and women in particular.
This forward slumped posture tends to be related to chronic improper posturing that worsens over time, eventually leading to the development of rigid intractable calcifications. The beginning of the progression of the dowager�s hump is typically the loss of thoracic extension.
�I think the lack of movement and stagnation in bone leads to calcification and typical degenerative changes. Degenerative changes along with spine make it less mobile � It supports it because the muscles aren�t, the discs aren�t. It puts very rigid support structures in place.
Now, can you imagine 20, 50 years from now, when it�s 60 or 70 years after cellphones and iPads came around, the dowager�s humps, we can start calling them the iPad hump � The younger you are, the more capacity you have to be plastic, to engage your body�s natural tendency to respond to stimulus in such a fashion that will get better and better at doing the thing you�re asking it to do.
If you�re often asking it to look down at your phone, please often ask it to lift your chest up, to pull your chin back and to just stand very firm on the ground. Just look at your phone while keeping your chin back and chest up.�
According to Goodman, even if you�ve already started to develop a slight hump, chances are you�ll be able to significantly improve your alignment provided your spine has not yet calcified. Exceptions might be if you have ankylosing spondylitis (AS) or diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). Naturally, the younger you are, the more room for improvement there is.
One important aspect of Foundation Training is what Goodman refers to as compression breathing. With his breathing protocol, you literally re-educate the muscles surrounding your axial skeleton, the spine of your rib cage, teaching them to be in a state of expansion rather than contraction. You�ll find a demonstration of this technique in the video above, followed by another founder exercise.
�[This breathing technique] is something that�s always going to set our work aside from everything else. Not better. Not worse. Different. It�s an accessory,� Goodman says.
�Decompression breathing, which can be taken and applied to any movement, any exercise, any activity � will do more for your spine, more for your chest and neck, more for your dowager�s hump � than anything else I can possibly teach you. The unique thing about it is our specific protocol of learning how to engage the diaphragm more appropriately by drastically strengthening the muscles that surround the rib cage.�
Here�s a quick summary of the compression breathing exercise demonstrated above:
Position your feet so that the OUTSIDE of your feet are parallel. This will make it appear as though you�re standing slightly pigeon-toed
Pull your chin back and lift your chest
Place your thumbs at the bottom of your rib cage, and your pinkies on your pelvic bone
With each breath, your aim is to increase the distance between your thumb and pinky fingers, as well as increase the width of your upper back. This occurs as you elongate the back of your rib cage. Each inhalation expands your rib cage, and each exhalation will keep the abdomen extended and tight. So each in-breath fills up your rib cage, and each out-breath maintains the height and width of your rib cage
Repeat five to 10 rounds with three to four breaths per round
More Information
You have many options when it comes to learning Foundation Training. You can start by reading through or listening to my previous interviews with Goodman, �How Foundation Training Can Help You Maximize Strength and Freedom of Movement� and �New and Revised Foundation Training Exercises Add Even Greater Health Benefits.�
For free video demonstrations and tutorials, be sure to check out FoundationTraining.com and the free videos they have available at their site. For even more in-depth information, pick up Goodman�s latest book, �True to Form: How to Use Foundation Training for Sustained Pain Relief and Everyday Fitness.� Join Foundation Training Connect or check out their free resources at FoundationTraining.com/free-resources.
Just remember, the key is to actually DO the exercises. Just reading about them or watching a video will do you no good. The good news is, even if you�re wheel-chair bound, you can perform the compression breathing exercises, which will, at bare minimum, help you breathe better.
�I have a friend that is [in a wheelchair] and we do some of those workouts. He�s a very good guy from Oklahoma City, but had a very tragic accident. I really hope I get to spend some more time with that guy and see what we can do just based on breathing,� Goodman says.
Foundation Training is a�program that teaches you to optimize your posture. By getting the muscles, breathing patterns, and pelvic muscles to be aligned properly and more stabilized, our posture will involuntarily become stronger,� decreasing bodily pain and risk of injury.
Last nights Super Bowl victory by the New England Patriots was one for the record books! Tom Brady led one of the greatest comebacks in sports history lifting New England from a 25-point hole to the Patriots� fifth NFL championship in the first Super Bowl overtime.
Nothing that Tom Brady has said about chiropractic care will come as a�surprise to Dr. Michael Miller, a graduate of the prestigious Palmer College of Chiropractic, who has been the chiropractic team physician for the Patriots for the past 30 years. He works with anywhere from 30 to 40 Patriots players before each game and is available for specific injuries during the game. He has been to seven Super Bowl games with the team and is the proud possessor of three Super Bowl rings and four championship rings. Miller was the first chiropractor to work for an NFL team 30 years ago, but now every team in the NFL has at least one chiropractor on its full-time staff.
Last evening, Dr. Miller won his fifth Super Bowl ring, along with Tom Brady and the whole Patriots team, making him the only chiropractor in the world with such an extensive collection. It�s another symbol�his role on the team: an important member that contributed to the success of these elite athletes.
Dr. Michael Miller is the Team Chiropractor for the New England Patriots Super Bowl-winning football team. He has served as the Patriots� team chiropractic physician since 1982.
Miller originally went to medical school with plans to become a medical researcher. But during his training, the neurophysicists he worked with suggested that chiropractic might be a better choice�because it focuses on the cause, rather than the symptoms, of disease.
As a chiropractor, Dr. Miller specialized in sports and rehabilitation�and developed a private practice that cares for patients of all kinds, including many professional athletes. �You can be your own boss, have your own practice, and have your own independence,� comments Miller. ��I enjoy that.�
He explains that there is a difference between working with professional athletes and his �regular� patients, but the reward is there either way. �It�s a special feeling when you get recognized by your patients,� says Dr. Miller.
Chiropractic is a natural form of therapy that�s a great fit for elite athletes, who are in a sense like high-performance racing cars. They�re fast, but their bodies are also subjected to tremendous forces when they perform, both during training and competition.These athletes simply can�t rely on drugs to keep playing and most wouldn�t even if they could.
Much of Dr. Miller�s work is done pre-game, making adjustments to players� knees, shoulders, ankles, and backs to help them avoid injury. As he says, �Their job is to get banged and be tackled. They are basically getting beaten up each game. They understand the importance of a chiropractor and see how it allows them to play longer.�
Many athletes in many sports have joined Tom Brady in telling their own stories and offering their endorsements. They recognize that chiropractic care has helped them be more injury-free and kept their bodies performing more optimally, which has made them better at their sport over the course of their careers.
Chiropractors are being utilized all over our beautiful country to advance high performance athletes. Tom Brady has his favorite chiropractor always standing strong to help him when the time is right. What a proud day for those Patriots, what a proud day for chiropractic.
Additional Topics: Neck Pain and Auto Injury
After being involved in an automobile accident, the tremendous force of the impact can cause damage or injury to the body, primarily to the structures surrounding the spine. Whiplash is a common result of an auto collision, affecting the bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments and other tissues around it, causing symptoms such as neck pain. Neck pain is a common symptom after an automobile accident, which may require immediate medical attention to determine its source and follow up with the appropriate treatment.
IFM's Find A Practitioner tool is the largest referral network in Functional Medicine, created to help patients locate Functional Medicine practitioners anywhere in the world. IFM Certified Practitioners are listed first in the search results, given their extensive education in Functional Medicine
According to world renowned Chiropractor and author, Dr. Jennifer Barham- Floreani, �The nervous system is the master controller of our body and if its communication channels become fuzzy, distorted or damaged then we may experience all sorts of communication errors. For babies this ineffective communication may play out as colic or irritability, an inability to suckle and breastfeed or poor sleep habits. For a child poor nerve communication may result in developmental delays, an inability to concentrate, behavioral problems, digestive issues, asthma, headaches � the list is endless.�
Curl-ups train the rectus abdominus, the long abdominal muscle that runs vertically from your breastbone all the way down on both sides of your bellybutton.
The side bridge, also called the side plank, trains the quadratus lumborum, lateral obliques, and transverse abdominus muscles, all local muscles that help stabilize the�spine.
This exercise is great for training the back extensors, including the longissimus, iliocostalis and multifidii.
A total of 30 female university students with an FLLI of more than 10?mm between the left and right legs were selected and randomly assigned to one of two groups: the pelvic adjustment group (adjustment group, n = 15) and control group (stretching group, n = 15). The exclusion criteria were as follows: anatomical LLI; degenerative osteoarthritis; muscle, bone, or nervous system problems; ankle joint, knee joint, hip joint, or lumbar pain; limited range of motion due to burn or postsurgical scarring; and regular leg exercise. This study was approved by Korea Nazarene University�s Institutional Review Board, and the safety of all subjects was protected during all parts of the experiment. All subjects understood the purpose of this study and provided written informed consent prior to participation in accordance with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Head Posture While Walking
