Well, so much for a free visit if you caught me!~

Today I’d like to talk about the cervical spine, specifically the synovial folds of the cervical spine joints. This week, that’s what I’m seeing: an infolding of the synovial membrane, which causes a LOT of pain, and the typical morning after drinking, believe it or not. … usually sleeping (or passing out) in weird positions, can entrap that membrane, and it hurts. If you have this pain, we can help.

I’m going to try and not bore you all with blog entries… these will be as interesting as I can make it, outlining a different aspect of chiropractic and my chiropractic practice in Seattle.

To make it interesting, I’ll let anyone who catches me on NOT blogging each week get a FREE massage.   That’s right, a free massage!!

Startingnext week I’ll be putting an article up on psoas shortening… causing all sorts of problems. Stay tuned, really!

The elliptiacl machine is a godsend for a lot of gym goers: it’s smooth, it’s not too nerdy, it feels like something approximating a normal motion. And for many it is, but for a pretty large percentage of people, it’s absolutely awful. The reason is quite simple: the elliptical machine has a pivot point that may be too small or large for a large number of users. If so, it forces the lumbar spine to flex and rotate through the cycle. Flexing and rotation of the lumbar spine is NOT a good thing, and WILL decay the discs of the lumbar spine. A video analysis of the low back during this activity will show the issue right away. If there’s motion in the lumbar spine, it’s TIME TO STOP. Use the treadmill instead.

I was made aware today that the post that was here was actually copied from the Foot and Ankle Center of Washington.  Since the material was really good, I recommend going to <a href=”www.footankle.com/marathon-running.htm”>Marathon Running</a> for the information.   Keep running!

The ideal workout for people is based on our ancestors, unfortunately, our ancestors walked 252 miles a month, about 8-9 miles a day!  We watched a video of an African group that would cut out a Kudu from the pack, and one of the tribesmen nearly literally ran it to death.  It is supposed that this is the way our paleolithic ancestors killed their prey, not by spears, but but running it to death.

Our exposure to food, (constantly) and lack of exercise (because of the constant exposure to food) combine to increase our fat levels, which in turn increase our susceptibility to various diseases, including cancer, high blood pressure, ADHD, and many others!

Bottom line:  Eat less, exercise more!

One of the most important tips we can pass on is that of PLANTING YOUR HEEL WHEN GOING UPHILL.

By planting your heel, you take the stress off your calf muscles, the gastrocnemius and soleus, and put the brunt of the climbing work on the quad, hamstring and gluteal muscles.  These are the biggest muscles of the human body, and are far more able to maintain the load of your body, as well as the backpack you’re carrying.  Of course, you can cut the handle off your toothbrush, but maybe being more efficient with you hiking would be a better solution!

The bench press without question is the most outmoded, unstylish, traumatic exercise in the gym. I will be adding to the multiple reasons for this in the future.

Why?  Good question.  It’s bad for two reasons., the first being biomechanics.

The bench press forces you to lay on a bench, which disallows the scapula, (the shoulder blade) from moving.  This forces the actual shoulder hinge, what we call the glenohumeral joint, to make ALL the motion occur.  Normally, these occur in a 2:1 ratio, but now the glenohumeral joint has to do all the work, often damaging it.

Does there really need to be a second reason?

It’s amazing to me how in the office patients present in “waves”… whether it’s due to our increased sensitivities to certain conditions or… anyway, we see things come through in groups.

Lately, we’re seeing lots of cases of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.  What in the hell is that, right?  Well, it’s a compression of either the artery or the nervous tissue to the arm.  Typically, people tell me that their hands are tingly first thing in the morning, when they work overhead, when they turn their head, or carry a heavy backpack.

There are three or four big reasons why this pressure can occur, but I have only seen two thus far:   1. a cervical rib, which is a genetic variant where people have a piece of bone that pushes on one of these delicate structures.  2. and more common,  a shortening of the anterior and middle scalene muscles, muscles in the front and the side of the neck, muscles which form a border around the neurovascular bundle to the arm.  If you get compression of this bundle, it will lead to numbness and tingling  down the arm.  If you look at our list of exercises on our website, www.dynamicclinic.com, you can find the best exercises for this treatment.  If it persists, however, go see a chiropractor!

There are two things I learned at my last auto injury seminar about driving in the rain that frankly I had no idea of prior to it.

The first is the use of traction control on your car. If you have the ability to transfer power from the wheels that slip to the wheels that grip technology, you should activate it not only oin the snow, but in the rain as well.   The technology has gotten so good, in fact, it can keep you from hydroplaning out of control into an accident.

The other tip is with antilock brakes, which all cars have now.  Old school braking thought was to keepo thye car in a straight line, brake to slow, and then steer.   Nowadays, you should slam on the brakes and STEER at the same time.  Since the wheels won’t be slipping, you can drive away, sweet as you please, away from the accident.

Today my son and I played hooky and went to the Bodies Exhibition downtown today.   It wass miserable, and we walked around downtown a lot in the pouring rain because I didn’[t lookto see where the exhibit was… after all it needs to be in the same place each year, right?

Well, no, it doesn’t.  It turns out that the exhibit was in the old Adidas store on 5th and Pike.  My son, tired, hungry, still immediatley perked up and started going for the figures.  They are pretty amazing, and what’s more cool is that my son was getting a little charge out of knowing that what he was seeing in front of him was also inside of him.

As a chiropractor here in Seattle, it’s still humbling to see the human form.  Even all dried out and nasty, it still looks cool to me.  It’s amazing how our bodies are packed together and make such beautiful sculpture.