Can Your Chiropractor Improve Your Golf Game?

By Dr. Dave Edenfield

English: Golfer in Yyteri Golf Links. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now that spring has sprung many people become more active.  Participation in sports during this time of year skyrockets.  Unfortunately so do sports-related injuries.  Even for low impact sports, such as golf, the occurrence of strains, sprains and other back and neck issuers rise as does the temperature, especially for those in the over forty crowd.  Flexibility plays a much greater role in golf than most people realize.  As we age, our muscles become less elastic and our joints become less mobile.   Add to this the everyday stresses from such things as the morning commute, sitting at a desk most of the day, or obesity and you have the perfect storm for injury.

 Swinging a golf club involves more than merely concentration and technique.  It also strains nearly every joint and muscle in the body.  Most adult males, particularly those who are overweight, have difficulty twisting relative to arm movements across the front of the body.  As a result, they tend to primarily use their torso to swing the club, which puts tremendous stress on the spine.  Even those who have a picture perfect swing often find that their performance on the golf course diminishes the closer they get to the eighteenth hole.  The repetitive nature of the game means that the same forces used to propel a golf ball down the course also act to repeatedly stress the spine, shoulder, hips and neck. 

The lumbar region in regards to the rest of the spine. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

• It is a good idea to spend some extra time performing quality stretches-before and after your game-to increase your trunk flexibility. While men are traditionally stronger than women, they usually aren't as flexible. Men need to improve their flexibility to maintain a more even and consistent swing plane and thus improve the likelihood of more consistent performance.

• For senior golfers: If you show some signs of arthritis in the hands, consider a larger, more specialized grip for added safety and performance.

• For all golfers: For some, scores may not be as important as enjoying the social benefits of the game. Having clubs that are comfortable will increase the chances of playing for a long time without significant physical limitations.

• Wear orthotics. These custom-made shoe inserts support the arch, absorb shock, and increase coordination. Studies show custom-made, flexible orthotics can improve the entire body's balance, stability and coordination, which translates into a smoother swing and reduced fatigue. While the upper part of a shoe may score style points, what the foot rests on affects your game.

• Avoid metal spikes. They tear up greens and can increase stress on the back. Soft shoes or soft spikes allow for greater motion.

• If you walk the course, pull don't carry your golf bag. Carrying a heavy bag for 18 holes can cause the spine to shrink, leading to disk problems and nerve irritation. If you prefer to ride in a cart, alternate riding and walking every other hole-bouncing around in a cart can also be hard on the spine.

• Keep your entire body involved. Every third hole, take a few practice swings with the opposite hand to keep your muscles balanced and even out stress on the back.

• Drink lots of water. Dehydration causes early fatigue, leading you to compensate by adjusting your swing, thus increasing the risk of injury. Don't smoke or drink alcoholic beverages while golfing, as both cause loss of fluid.

• Take the "drop." One bad swing-striking a root or a rock with your club-can damage a wrist. If unsure whether you can get a clean swing, take the drop.

Other issues also come into play, such as poor posture.  Fully 90% of the population suffers from forward head posture, which results from spending hours each and every day hunched over laptops, tablets and smartphones.   Golfers afflicted with this are forced to pull back the shoulders and head in order to get into an optimal golf stance.  This shifts the body’s center of gravity, which affects the golfer’s ability to hit the ball far and true.  It also increases the likelihood of injury, since the muscles, ligaments and tendons all work overtime in an effort to restore balance to the body.

As a result more and more golfers from coast to coast are afflicted with the same ailment that has sidelined a number of golf’s top players: a bulging spinal disc.  For many golfers, a bulging disc is a response to the repetitive stress and trauma caused by repeatedly swinging a golf club.  When damaged, the discs, which act to cushion the vertebrae, can bulge outward, causing everything from numbness in the extremities to debilitating pain. 

Before you become another wounded weekend warrior, there are a number of things you can do to decrease the stress and improve flexibility before teeing off:

If you do detect that you have strained something, don’t be a hero and play on.  Head back to the clubhouse instead of the next tee.  Golfers rarely consider the cumulative trauma that swinging a club can have on the spine, neck, shoulders and hips until after the fact, by which time the damage is done.  Chiropractic care offers a number of treatments and therapies that are designed to mitigate damage, as well as improve flexibility.  Everything from massage, heat and laser therapy, electronic muscle stimulation, nutrition and exercise routines are designed to relieve stress and increase muscle flexibility. 

While most golfers only seek chiropractic treatment after an injury has occurred, those in the know (including Tiger Woods) realize that chiropractors can as important to improving their golf game as a teaching pro.

Dr. Dave Edenfield  and Dr. Steven Warfield are part of the team of doctors and therapists at http://www.lakewoodchiropracticjax.com/ who are dedicated to helping you and your family lead  healthier, happier and pain-free lives.  

Your Aching Back

By Dr. Steven Warfield

If you have ever overdone it playing tennis or golf, or even helped a friend move out one day only to experience a painful twinge the next morning as soon as you climb out of bed, then you know only too well what it is to have an aching back.  Once detected, this unwelcome visitor can cause you to change your schedule, cancel appointments, and spend the better part of a day or so lying in bed with an icepack.  Most people understand that as they age, the incidence and severity of back pain is likely to increase.  What they don’t know is the fact that more than 50% of all working Americans experience back pain every year.  In fact, it is the second most common reason that people visit a doctor.  What they also don’t realize is that properly diagnosed and treated, back pain doesn’t have to derail your life.

What Causes Back Pain?

The spine is one of the most complicated structures on the human body.  Composed of bones, joints, discs, ligament and muscles, it is not only responsible for movement, it also communicates with organs, affects 

same as Image:Gray 111 - Vertebral column.png but coloured (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

blood pressure and even controls respiration.  So when something goes awry in the spine, it can affect much more than merely movement.  Back problems have been indicated in everything from disease of the internal organs to kidney stones and blood clots. 

The spine is composed of three areas: The cervical, the thoracic and the lumbar areas. The cervical vertebrae begin at the base of the skull and extend down to the thoracic spine.  These vertebrae are the smallest in the spine and are stacked on top of one another with a cervical disc between each one.  This makes them the most prone to injury.  They also provide control for movement of the neck.  When any of the 7 cervical vertebrae are damaged or fractured, the spinal cord may be damaged.  If C1, C2, or C3 are damaged, this can also cause loss of control of the diaphragm, necessitating a ventilator to sustain breathing.  Aging can also play a role in the degeneration of the cervical spine, causing such conditions as bone spurs and herniated discs.

In addition to vertebrae, there are also eight nerves connected to the cervical spine, any of which if irritated or damaged can reduce mobility and cause pain. Controlling everything from movement of the head, to the shoulders, arms, elbows, wrists and hands, pressure on or damage to these nerves are caused primarily by injury or degeneration of the cervical spine.

The bad news is that left untreated, surgery may eventually prove to be the only way to restore function and alleviate pain.  The good news is that in many cases, less drastic measures can prove effective in treating cervical issues.  Patients experiencing degenerated cervical discs due to aging will usually be put on a regimen of exercise and physical therapy to increase mobility and decrease discomfort.  Spinal manipulation used by chiropractors for more than a century has proven safe and effective for treating many types of back pain.  Other remedies such as weight loss, changes in lifestyle, switching to more comfortable and supportive shoes and even dietary considerations can all help to correct the underlying problems that can lead to back pain.  Fortunately chiropractors are also adept at creating a comprehensive plan that takes into consideration all the variables involved in treating back and neck pains of all kinds. 

If you or anyone you know is experiencing back pain, have them talk to a doctor of chiropractic in their area to discuss treatment options.  A number of chiropractic offices such as ours even offer a free initial consultation, examination and x-ray to make it possible for people of all income brackets to seek help, alleviate pain and avoid complications. 

Tips to Prevent Back Pain

• Maintain a healthy diet and weight.
• Remain active—under the supervision of your doctor of chiropractic.
• Avoid prolonged inactivity or bed rest.
• Warm up or stretch before exercising or other physical activities, such as gardening.
• Maintain proper posture.
• Wear comfortable, low-heeled shoes.
• Sleep on a mattress of medium firmness to minimize any curve in your spine.
•  Lift with your knees, keep the object close to your body, and do not twist when lifting.
• Quit smoking. Smoking impairs blood flow, resulting in oxygen and nutrient deprivation to spinal tissues.
• Work with your doctor of chiropractic to ensure that your computer workstation is ergonomically correct.

Dr.’s Steven Warfield and Dave Edenfield offer the most advanced treatments for back pain, sciatica, neck pain, whiplash and headaches. They also treat auto accident victims with state-of-the-art technologies.  For more information visit http://www.lakewoodchiropracticjax.com/

Can a Trip to the Chiropractor Save You Money?

By Dr. Steven Warfield

As any baby boomer will attest, the rising cost of medical care is as inevitable as death and taxes.  In 2011, Americans spent more than $50 billion to treat chronic back pain alone.  That doesn’t factor in the costs associated with loss of income due to missed work days while patients recover from their injuries.  The reason that I point this out is due to the fact that half of all working Americans will experience back pain of one form or another in 2013.  While the causes are many, the reason that back injuries are so debilitating has to do with the sophisticated architecture of the spine, as well as all the areas of the body that are controlled by it. 

The back is a complicated support and control structure that consists of bones, disks, joints, ligaments,

Back pain (Photo credits: www.myhardhatstickers.com)

 nerves, and muscles.  If any of these structures becomes stressed, damaged or imbalanced, it can cause a domino effect that can make life difficult to say the least.  If you have ever pulled a muscle in the back and then experienced a sharp pain from bending down to pick up a dropped pencil, you know how your back can make or break even the simplest of tasks.  While auto accidents, falls, sports injuries and other traumatic events can cause back pain, so can poor posture, pregnancy, obesity and stress.

When most people experience back or neck pain, the first thing they do is reach for a bottle of pain killers.  Be it an over-the-counter remedy or a prescription medication, all analgesics have one thing in common: all they do is mask pain.  They neither alleviate the underlying cause of pain, nor do they create an environment that leads to recovery.  Since pain is the body’s way of telling you that something isn’t quite right, covering up these signals can sometimes cause further damage that can ultimately lead to surgical intervention. 

After an extensive study of all currently available care for low back problems, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research—a federal government research organization—recommended that low back pain sufferers choose the most conservative care first. And it recommended spinal manipulation as the only safe and effective, drugless form of initial professional treatment for acute low back problems in adults. 

Chiropractors specialize in non-invasive treatments for back and neck pain, including spinal manipulation.  

Jim Dubel demonstrating adjustment protocals (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Not only can these treatments prove effective in correcting the underlying causes of back pain, but they can in many cases circumvent the need for surgery, thus saving patients time and money in their effort to rebound from injury.

A new study by the Journal of Manipulative Physical Therapy, “Aging baby boomers and the rising cost of chronic back pain: secular trend analysis of longitudinal Medical Expenditures Panel Survey (MEPS) data for years 2000 to 2007,” concludes that the prevalence of back pain and costs associated with existing treatment patterns have and will continue to escalate — in part due to an aging population. The JMPT analysis conducted by researchers out of National University of Health Sciences found no indication of a decline in regards to the number of chronic back pain incidents and costs coupled with current treatment patterns.

When compared to the high costs associated with surgery, chiropractic care can not only save you money, it can also improve your long term outlook on life, which itself is priceless.   

Dr.’s Steven Warfield and Dave Edenfield offer the most advanced treatments for back pain, sciatica, neck pain, whiplash and headaches. They also treat auto accident victims with state-of-the-art technologies.  For more information visit http://www.lakewoodchiropracticjax.com/

Time to Throw in the Towel?

By Dr. Dave Edenfield

English: Tennis Elbow (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Americans like to lead an active life.  Many are into golf, tennis, soccer, softball, running, martial arts and other sporting activities.  While these avocations are great for the cardiovascular system, each and every one of them has the potential to result in injury of one kind or another.  Whether it is something as simple as a pulled muscle, or as complicated as tennis elbow or torn ligaments, such injuries can occur to people of all ages. 

The Garrick and Requa study of injuries in highschool sports for two academic years revealed 1197 injuries for 3049 participants in 19 different sports.³These two authors also reported on the number of high school injuries (per 100 participants) for the various specific sports as follows:

Male	Injuries	Female	Injuries
Cross-country	29	Cross-country	35
Volleyball	10	Volleyball	6
Gymnastics	28	Gymnastics	40
Basketball	31	Basketball	25
Swimming	1	Swimming	9
Tennis	3	Tennis	7
Track & Field	33	Track & Field	35
Baseball	18	Softball	44
Wrestling	75
Soccer	30
Football	81

Whether a teenager or a retiree, the cumulative effects of athletic stresses on the human body can and sometimes does result in musculoskeletal injuries. The good news is that with prompt treatment and education these injuries do not mean that you have to throw in the towel.  The bad news is that like it or not, sports injuries cannot be completely avoided.  Even professional athletes who are coached and trained by some of the best and brightest in sports medicine are forced to confront injury from time to time.  The reason that pro athletes and weekend warriors alike become injured is generally due to one of three causes:

      1.      They play too hard

      2.      They play too long

      3.      They play when they hurt.

Protective sports equipment such as helmets can protect athletes from head injury. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The mantra “No pain, no gain” is often used to spur athletes to play even when their bodies tell them to stay 

on the bench.  Unfortunately this can cause the underlying injury to become magnified.  Or, it can create a situation that precipitates a more serious and possibly career ending injury.  While the pros must strike a balance between playing injured or risk getting cut from the team, weekend warriors need to think twice about playing if they are not 100% healthy.  They also need to think twice about exacerbating an existing injury by overdoing it around the home or office.  So if your back is feeling the strain after playing 18 holes, you might want to avoid toting heavy boxes up to the attic.  If your ankle is tender from Wednesday evening’s soccer match, you should give a second thought to water skiing over the coming weekend.

Another thing you should consider before you turn a strain into something that requires more serious medical intervention: consult your chiropractor.  Chiropractic offers a holistic, drug-free method of healing sports injuries.  By adjusting the spine and providing ongoing physical therapy, chiropractic care can correct many imbalances that can put undo strain on overworked muscles, tendons and ligaments.  Chiropractors can also assess the long term effects of your chosen avocation in order to provide you with exercise and nutritional advice that can mean being able to keep playing without sacrificing your overall health.  Just as many professional athletes have come to realize, the benefits of chiropractic care far outweigh the prospect of having to throw in the towel.

Dr. Dave Edenfield  and Dr. Steven Warfield are part of the team of doctors and therapists at http://www.lakewoodchiropracticjax.com/ who are dedicated to helping you and your family lead  healthier, happier and pain-free lives.  

Weight Until You Hear This

By Dr Steven Warfield

Let’s face it, obesity is a problem in this country.  If you are trying to lose weight don’t feel bad since you are in good company.  More than 65% of American adults are classified as overweight.  Many people at one point or another in their lives try to shed excess pounds.  Some become downright obsessive about weight loss.   As a rule, the majority rely on a combination of diet and exercise to try to shed those unwanted pounds.  Others try everything from Weight Watchers to gastric bypass surgery.  What few people realize is the fact that chiropractic treatment can not only help you slim down, but it can actually help you keep the weight off.

does-xanax-cause-weight-gain ? (Photo credit: Life Mental Health)

That’s right, chiropractors offer a number of weight loss strategies and nutritional counseling.  This is particularly useful for people who routinely go on and off their diets, since there are a number of factors that contribute to weight gain.  Everything from stress to injury to hormonal imbalances and even certain times of the year have an effect on weight gain.  In particular, numerous studies have shown that chronic pain has a significant effect on weight gain in individuals. If you are not addressing all the components the end result of healthy weight loss will elude individuals.  If you are not addressing each of these factors in your effort to slim down, then you are probably fighting a losing battle. 

In a recent paper, the CDC estimated that Americans eat 100 to 300 calories a day more than then did 10 years ago.  When you do the math, that works out to between 36,500-109,500 calories per year.

Jim Dubel demonstrating adjustment protocals (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Everyone knows that holidays are a trigger for weight gain.  But most people don’t realize that such things as

 poor posture and spinal misalignment can also negatively affect your ability to keep weight off.  Believe it or not, spinal adjustments have been shown to aide in the absorption of nutrients while improving flexibility.  Massage also aids in the process since it reduces stresses that act as a trigger to binge eating.  Since the nervous system controls a number of functions in the human body, including digestion, it should come as no surprise that if your back or neck are not in tune then your nervous system is not going to send the proper signals to your digestive tract. 

Of course, there are other ways that your chiropractor can help you lose weight.  Aside from addressing issues of pain, your chiropractor can also recommend herbal supplements designed to complement the treatment program.  He or she can help you formulate a diet regimen that you can stick to, as opposed to fad or crash diets that never work in the long run. 

Look at it this way.  You probably wouldn’t take your car to your hair dresser if it needed to be repaired.  Neither should you trust your body to people who are not trained in modern medicine.  If you are looking for a diet plan that won’t do your body more harm than good, sit down with your local chiropractor and find out how to create a regimen that takes into account the big picture.  You’ll be glad you did.

Dr.’s Steven Warfield and Dave Edenfield offer the most advanced treatments for back pain, sciatica, neck pain, whiplash and headaches. They also treat auto accident victims with state-of-the-art technologies.  For more information visit http://endyourpain.org or http://chiropractor-jacksonville-fl.com