The Benefits of Healthy Families

Families are our foundation for everything.  They make us happy, sad, CRAZY, but most of all...they make us feel secure.  They are our biggest fans, our biggest support system, they are our source of love, and protection. And since that is the truth, our fans and our support team, MUST BE healthy!  

There are so many benefits to having a healthy family, so let's begin with a couple:

1. Healthy families know it's not normal to be in pain!  Most of the families that I have had the pleasure to work with and are the 'healthiest', treat their health not as a reaction but as a pro action.  They take steps to PREVENT pain rather than wait until they have pain.  Regular spinal check ups, physical examinations, chiropractic adjustments are all things you can do to PREVENT pain.  

2. Healthy families strive to eat right.  My father thinks I'm crazy, (and maybe there's a little truth to that, Dad) but I am not messing around when it comes to what my family eats.  Think about this, eating too much sugar, simple carbohydrates, fast food, WILL make you tired, cranky, overweight, less productive, and unable to sleep. Now, WHY would I want my family to feel like that?  Then we'd all be miserable.  So NO WAY, sugar is the gateway drug as far as I'm concerned, and therefore is only allowed on a very LIMITED basis.  Oh and Dad, NO McDonalds EVER.  Not once, not ever.  

3.  Healthy families exercise together!  Nothing makes me happier, than when Shawn, Addi and I go for a long bike ride, or a hike in the mountains, or swimming in the pool.  We release endorphins, we're all smiling, we all sleep good.  It really is my happiest time.  Movement is the key to life, without it, we will no longer be.  

So on that note, I am so happy to be sponsoring FAMILY APPRECIATION MONTHS at Total Health Solutions during the months of May and June.  I think families that are healthy, are the happiest, most productive team and that is my goal over the next 2 months.  I want the families I work with to be the most successful, both physically and emotionally.  That is why I am offering a:

COMPLIMENTARY INITIAL EXAMINATION

to all of my patients' family members who have not yet been treated in the clinic.  We will evaluate all aspects of their health; spine, nutrition, diet, and exercise and devise  a protocol to get everyone feeling good!  I have reserved space at both locations, but it is limited, so please contact our offices asap if you are interested.

Take responsibility for your health today.

Dr. Courtney Conley 

Dynamic vs. Static Stretching

Well....the days of static stretching are over! Thank God right? I don't know about you, but that was always my least favorite part of exercising. I love to sweat, and get my heart rate up, and frankly the stretching part was BORING. So I couldn't be more pleased with the current research on stretching.

Research has shown that static stretching can be detrimental to performance and DOESN'T necessarily lead to decreases in injury. Below are a few studies done on the topic of static stretching:

1. Rod Pope an army physiotherapist in Australia, recently carried out a wide study to assess the relationship between static stretching and injury prevention. Pope monitored over 1600 recruits over the course of a year in randomised controlled trials. He found no differences in the occurrence of injury between those recruits who statically stretched and those who did not. (1, 2)

2. “Gleim & McHugh (1997), would also challenge the premise that stretching, or indeed increased flexibility, reduces the risk of injury” (1,3)

3. New research has shown that static stretching decreases eccentric strength for up to an hour after the stretch. Static stretching has been shown to decrease muscle strength by up to 9% for 60 minutes following the stretch and decrease eccentric strength by 7% followed by a specific hamstring stretch. (4)

4. Rosenbaum and Hennig showed that static stretching reduced peak force by 5% and the rate of force production by 8%. This study was about Achilles tendon reflex activity. (5)

5. Gerard van der poel stated that static stretching caused a specific decrease in the specific coordination of explosive movements. (4)

6. Three 15-second stretches of the hamstrings, quadriceps, and calf muscles reduced the peak vertical velocity of a vertical jump in the majority of subjects (Knudson et al. 2000). (6,7)

   
   

   This is where dynamic stretching comes into play. Dynamic stretching consists of functional based exercises which use sport specific movements to prepare the body for movement. (8) “Dynamic stretching, according to Kurz, "involves moving parts of your body and gradually increasing reach, speed of movement, or both."

   
   

   Several professional coaches, authors and studies have supported or shown the effectiveness of dynamic stretching. Below are a few examples of support for dynamic stretching:

   1. Mike Boyle uses a dynamic warm-up with his athletes. He goes through about 26000 workouts over the course of a summer. In 2002 he did not have one major muscle pull that required medical attention. (10)

   2. Flexibility is speed specific. There are two kinds of stretch receptors, one measures magnitude and speed and the other measures magnitude only. Static flexibility improves static flexibility and dynamic flexibility improves dynamic flexibility which is why it doesn’t make sense to static stretch prior to dynamic activity. There is considerable but not complete transfer of static stretching to dynamic stretching(11)

   3. One author compared a team that dynamically stretched to a team that static stretched. The team that dynamically stretched had fewer injuries. (8)

   4. There are few sports where achieving static flexibility is advantageous to success in the sport. Therefore according to the principle of specificity it would seem to be more advantageous to perform a dynamic warm-up which more resembles the activity of the sport.(12)

   5. Dynamic Flexibility increases core temperature, muscle temperature, elongates the muscles, stimulates the nervous system, and helps decrease the chance of injury. (13)

   6. Another author showed that dynamic stretching does increase flexibility. (11)

   
   

   All of our patients at Total Health Solutions are taught dynamic stretching for the above mentioned reasons. Get on board here, this is the way to go. If you have any questions in regards to your workouts, sport specific exercises and dynamic stretching, please contact our offices. Below I have attached some examples of these exercises.

   
   

   http://www.elitesoccerconditioning.com/Stretching-Flexibility/5DynamicStretchingexercise.pdf

   
   

   Take responsibility for your health TODAY.

   
   

   Dr. Conley

Motor Vehicle Accidents: The importance of receiving treatment ASAP

How many of you have been in a car accident? Even a minor one? Now, how many of you that DID NOT get chiropractic care are suffering from chronic migraines, headaches, neck pain, low back pain and even numbness and tingling?

My reason for this blog is to educate you on what changes your body goes through in these whiplash accidents, even those that are minor, ie. travelling less than 5 mph. I can't stress to you enough that even in MINOR accidents, treatment is absolutely mandatory if you do not want chronic pain.

The first thing that I would like to do is explain soft tissue healing. The first thing about understanding soft tissue injury healing is understanding what normal soft tissue looks like. Normal, undamaged soft tissue has a crisscrossed pattern to it when you look at it under a microscope. In a whiplash accident, ie. car accident, muscles/tissues actually TEAR.

The tissues that were torn bleed into the region for approximately 72 hours. That is why it is common for the patient to feel worse each day for the first 3 days after an accident.

The torn tissue will start to heal. Tissues are laid down to bridge the tear that occurred. This new tissue is unlike the original tissue. The way that this tissue heals is also different because:

1. They are not aligned in the same direction.

2. They have smaller diameter fiber that has a kind of glued and matted together quality.

Therefore, the resultant healing tissue has three important characteristics different from the original tissue.

To outline the three characteristics, the new tissue is weaker, stiffer, and more sensitive.

It is impossible to get a perfect heal because the tissues are weaker, stiffer, and more sore, and may have periodic flare ups of pain and/or spasm. These are the rules rather than the exception. There is plenty of data to substantiate these types of findings.

Therefore, our chiropractic goal is to get the tissue to more closely resemble the original soft tissue in terms of structure, and hence function.

Chiropractic Benefits

The therapeutic benefit of the movement of soft tissue appears to lie in the mechanical stress imparted to the developing scar. In other words, movement enhances the healing process by stretching and breaking the adhesions or cross-links formed between the fibers of the scar’s developing network. (5, 6, 7, 8)

Therefore the scar that has healed in the presence of movement, manipulation, soft tissue therapy, and exercise more closely resembles the original tissue in terms of structure and hence function. (5)

Also, for your reference I am adding two pieces from literature stating that soft tissue injury causes pain and disability that is essentially permanent. These are the results from those studies:

RESIDUAL SYMPTOMS AFTER 10 TO 15 YEARS AFTER MVA (Motor Vehicle Accident) IN 62% OF THESE:

44% CHANGED PERMANENTLY TO LIGHTER WORK

62.5% MODIFIED LEISURE ACTIVITY (9)

RESIDUAL SYMPTOMS MEAN 10.8 YEARS AFTER MVA:

ONLY 12% RECOVERED COMPLETELY

RESIDUAL SYMPTOMS INTRUSIVE IN: 28%

SEVERE IN: 12%

RESIDUAL SYMPTOMS: NECK PAIN 74%

PARASTHESIA 45%

LOWER BACK PAIN 42%

HEADACHE 33% (10)

That is why we do everything we are able in the months following a soft tissue injury (specifically whiplash) to insure the patient the best possible healing of the tissue; the best possible prognosis and the best possible outcome for his or her future.

If you have been in a car accident, please contact our offices. In most cases, not all, you have something called Medpay through your car insurance that will cover your medical expenses. It is not too late to get the care that you need. Please avoid chronic pain symptoms and let us know what we can do to help.

Take responsibility for your health. TODAY.

Dr. Courtney Conley

Are we a 'GLUTE' less society??

A colleague of mine once told me we lived in a 'GLUTE' less society. I still laugh about that, purely because I tend to believe him. We have become a society that unfortunately sits a lot. We do lots of driving, sitting at a computer, watching TV etc. And that my friends, does nothing to improve the strength of our gluteals. Our glutes are imperative for stability for our core. The gluteus maximus is a large muscle for a reason! It is easy to identify weak gluteals, they simply aren't present. Flat back, flat gluteals go hand in hand. Gluteus maximus is primarily used for hip extension which is responsible for WALKING. If it is not working, or is hypotonic (decreased tone), pain will follow either as low back pain, sciatica, etc. If we have pain walking, the chances of getting any other type of physical activity are minimal. Chronic pain leads to minimal physical activity which leads to depression and so on and on.

The good news is that there are plenty of exercises to tone the gluteals. If you are concerned that you are a part of the 'glute'less society, please let us know. We specialize in functional rehabilitation, training the body to recover from injury, repetitive stress etc and we can help!

Take responsibility for your health TODAY.

Dr. Conley

Every little thing she does is magic.....

Saturday night, playing with my daughter on the floor. TRULY AMAZING....that I'm not out on a Saturday night. All kidding aside, I am slightly obsessed with watching her motor development, as one can imagine. I have to give my respects to Pavel Kolar and his incredible group of physical therapists for educating me on motor development beginning with the infant.

Developmental kinesiology: motor development of the child demonstrates ideal motor patterns of all human beings. Wait, what?! So if we study the development of infants, we can understand how to rehabilitate adult patients? YES.

Newborns develop in certain stages, beginning with the prone position or on the stomach. Certain milestones should be observed each month. For example, at 3 months the first real support base is established. The baby should be able to lift his/her head and open the fists.

SO, of course I am monitoring my child's progress like a hawk, referring to my school notes every day. Staring at her, waiting for her to lift her head. And God forbid should it be 3 months and 1 day, and my child is not lifting her head, well, she of course must be developmentally challenged. Then comes the call to my mother, the pediatrician and of course my therapist because I AM going crazy.

It is however, imperative for certain milestones to be met. Babies should be observed through their development, crawling, walking etc. It is essential to recognize faulty or pathological patterns, postural disturbances. They can lead to poor posture, and problems with the locomotor system. Once these postural disturbances are recognized, influence needs to occur asap before they become fixed. Team work is mandatory....pediatricians, pediatric neurologists, chiropractic etc.

If you would like more information on this topic, please contact our offices. Every infant should be observed by a motor specialist. The development of a child is truly a gift from God. It's simply beautiful. I watch my daughter move and the POLICE said it best, "every little thing she does is magic'.

Take responsibility for your health TODAY. And your baby's.

Dr. Conley

CORE STRENGTH

“Fire your core, tighten your core, brace your core!”

What?! What is our core, what is all the hype about? Physical therapists, chiropractors, and personal trainers of all educational backgrounds are jumping on the ‘core’ bandwagon with valid reason. There are several main reasons why recent research is focusing on core strength.

1. Core strength decreases pain.

2. Core strength may be a factor in delaying the progression of spinal degeneration.

3. Core strength enables good posture.

4. Core strength provides power for the entire body.

5. Last but not least, core strength will most definitely provide a very, nice looking stomachJ

How about a little anatomy lesson, shall we? Think of low back pain, pain that begins from simply bending forward to pick something up; pain that increases when we sit, or when we walk; low back pain that can send burning, tingling or numbing sensations down our legs. Those of us who have suffered from this type of pain, most likely have invested in some type of low back brace. Why? To provide stability around the lumbar spine/low back area. The brace acts as a corset, squeezing the stomach area around the low back to give the body stability. Now, wouldn’t it be nice, if our bodies could act as the corset, instead of relying on a device? The brace will eventually be thrown in the closet, until we bend over sometime in the future and ‘throw our backs out’ again. However, this time the pain will be much worse, think snowball effect. The brain will remember an injury, and unless steps are taken to correct the CAUSE and not just alleviate the SYMPTOMS of the injury, the next time we bend over to pick something up, the pain will be worse, and possibly cause permanent damage.

So what is this core?

The core musculature consists of several muscles that wrap around the body and act as a corset of the lumbar spine. The muscles that I train with my patients are the transverse abdominis,and the internal and external obliques. I want you to grip your waist. Now pretend that someone is going to punch you in the stomach. What do you do? Can you feel that? What is happening? You are bracing your abdominals, activating the transverse abdominis and obliques….you are ‘firing your core’. This is different from various popular strategies of sucking in your belly, or bringing your belly to your back.

For this blog, we are going to discuss these 5 reasons. Reason #1, if we can fire our abdominals and create stability when we move or exercise, we can decrease low back pain by providing structure and stability. The difficult part is learning how to breathe and exercise with this abdominal brace. All of my patients begin with this easy step and progress to more difficult exercises that strengthen the core. The abdominals are believed to be the key to protecting us against developing low back pain. Strengthening them through sit-ups has been recommended in the past; HOWEVER, current research has shown that the sit-up actually increases disc pressure, especially if performed in the morning. Therefore, those of us with low back pain are actually causing more harm than good when performing a sit-up. There are scientifically validated ways to train the ‘abs’ and the sit up is NOT one of them.

Moving on to reason number #2. Let’s talk about the ever growing ‘beer belly’. Have you ever seen this belly hanging over the belt buckle? Well, not only is it bad for your health to have fat around your heart, BUT, it pulls the spine forward, something we call an anterior pelvic tilt. These spines have a big curve in the low back as they are trying to hold up the belly. Spines DO NOT want to be in this position, so they start to form bone spurs or little pieces of bone that will eventually fuse one spinal segment to the other to try and stabilize the back. This is called spinal degeneration. Once these segments are fused, you have now lost all motion at that segment. So, what if we trained our core, (and stopped drinking as much beer), and built a corset around the low back. Suppose we strengthened the abdominals so much, as to decrease the lordosis, or lumbar curve. We would not have as much pressure through the spine thus less degeneration.

Let’s talk posture, or reason #3. How many of us sit at a computer, drive a car, or watch TV? These are all positions that require the body to flex, or bend forward. Spines do not like to be in that much flexion. It compresses the discs of the spine and causes collapse of the skeletal system. The result is the ever popular rounded shoulders, and forward head carriage posture. Now, what causes are upper bodies to collapse? What causes our shoulders to round forward causing neck pain and headaches? There is no support under us. Our core is our foundation. It’s like building a house on sand, how can our neck and shoulders be strong if our foundation is weak? Think about building a rigid cylinder, a steel cylinder around your abdomen. If we had a steel cylinder around our stomachs, our upper bodies would not be able to collapse thus giving us strong, headache free posture!

Okay athletes, reason #4. If you went to kick a soccer ball, or a football; throw a baseball or javelin; run up Torres, like some of you crazy kids out there, where do you think you get all of your power? YES, your core. Your body will always search for strength around your core first, before your extremities can function or move. I have trained all types of athletes on how to increase performance by improving core function. If your goal is to perform at a high level in sports and lower your injury risk, traditional exercise training may not be enough. There are newer approaches that focus on training your core in positions that mimic the actual postures, and activities you face in your particular sport ( e.g, running, cycling, climbing etc. )

Last but not least, number 5. Let’s say we have a female whom has had 3 beautiful children. (The joy of having our bellies expand to the point of explosion is a dream I sometimes wish our male counterparts would have to endureJ ) In any case, due to this expansion, the abdominal musculature becomes stretched and weak. It is mandatory that we gain the strength in our abdominals back, not only for pain prevention, lumbar stability, and good posture, but for a slim and trim looking stomach. Yes, your pant size will go down, if these muscles are trained.

So, lots of information here. Feel free to comment or contact me with any questions or concerns.

Take responsibility for your health TODAY.

Dr. Conley

Vitamin D

Winter is coming! If you live above the latitudes of Atlanta, (that's everyone in Colorado btw) you DO NOT produce Vitamin D with sun exposure during the months of November through February. Get your blood tested and properly supplement during these months. Optimal range is 60-70 ng/ml.

One of the MAJOR symptoms of low vitamin D is CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN.

Please contact me to order Biotics Research Bio D -Mulsion Forte. 2000 IU's per drop.

Take responsibility for your health TODAY.

Dr. Conley