Take Care of those Bones this Halloween.

By Dr Dave Edenfield

When it comes to your musculoskeletal system, the years can create tricks that come as no treats.  Through either occupational hazards such as lifting heavy objects incorrectly, or sports-related stresses (yes, playing golf counts in this category), normal wear and tear take their toll on those bones that can add up to pain.  The problem is that most people don’t realize how much damage is done until pain is already present.  But is there a better way to detect any looming problems before pain rears its ugly head?

How Scary is Your Posture?

One way is to stand sideways in front of a mirror and look to see how others see you.  (You can also use a camera with an auto-timer to take a profile snapshot.)  When you look at yourself in profile, does your back and neck have a graceful curve?  Is your head on a level plain with your shoulders, or is it hanging down?  Can you draw a straight line that bisects your hips, shoulders and head? And is the line perpendicular to the floor or at an angle?  It always amazes patients when I show them their x-rays that prove how out of whack their posture has become. 

Poor posture not only affects the spine, it can also adversely affect the entire body.  Since everything from movement to our immune systems are regulated by the central nervous system, any structural anomaly has a tendency to disrupt the spinal nerves that transmit signals to the body.  This can lead to a number of maladies including everything from headaches, to sleep disorders, to digestive imbalances, to nervous disorders.

Areas of distribution of the cutaneous branches of the posterior divisions of the spinal nerves. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Another exercise you can try to test your frame is to stand upright and turn your head to 

the left as far as it will go and then to the right. Then tilt your head forward and back as far as it will go.  Does it move smoothly, or does it start and stop? Do you hear popping noises as you turn or tilt your head?  Does it turn farther one way than the other?  These can all be signs of spinal sublaxations that beg to be corrected.

Structural imbalances such as these not only alter the natural curvature of the spine, they also lead to degeneration of the discs and other problems such as sciatica and arthritis. They can also make sufferers more prone to injury.  Believe it or not, many people who are deemed “accident prone” may in fact have postural anomalies to blame for this condition.

One last exercise that can help you get a bead on structural issues is to do a squat thrust.  When you lower yourself down to the floor and then stand back up again, do you hear any creaking or groaning sounds emanating from your joints?  Is the motion smooth or does it tend to start and stop?  Do you have any difficulty in either the downward or the upward portion of the exercise?  If any of the above happens to you, these are also signs that your body is under inordinate stress and may have been for some time.

The bad news is that once begun, postural abnormalities create a kind of domino effect that causes the brain to try to compensate by telling the muscles and other soft tissues to alter their tension in order to compensate.  This causes yet more stress and imbalance which if left unchecked can result in tingling in the extremities, loss of motion and pain.  The good news is that by visiting your local chiropractor, he or she can diagnose the problem and begin treatment that can correct the anomalies, eliminate the pain and ultimately return you to health.

So when it comes to taking care of your bones this Halloween, if you detect anything amiss, treat yourself to a chiropractic exam that can start you on the road to recovery. 

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

Fall Back on Chiropractic Basics

By Dr. Steven Warfield

This is the time of year when the long, hot Florida summer begins to give way to autumn, a time when the leaves start to turn color, a time when the kids go back to school.  So what better time to get back to the basics of chiropractic care?  While modern chiropractic medicine utilizes everything from ultrasound to laser therapy, at the heart of chiropractic therapy beats a heart of old fashioned hands on treatment.

Historical accounts of the medical use of spinal manipulation can be traced back more thousands of years to the Chinese.  The “Father of Medicine” Hippocrates used similar techniques in ancient Greece, as did the Egyptians at a time when they were building the pyramids. (Talk about a job that could give you an aching back.)  So the basis of chiropractic care is nothing new.

In the US, chiropractic medicine got its start on September 18,1895 when Daniel  Palmer gave the world’s first chiropractic adjustment to Harvey Lillare. At its heart, chiropractic healing concerns itself with the treatment and prevention of neuromuscular disorders.  Therapies include joint adjustment and manipulation this is designed to correct any anomalies in the spine known as subluxations.  

At its simplest, a subluxation occurs when one or more spinal vertebrae move out of their correct position and in so doing produce pressure that can irritate nerves and cause the muscles and other soft tissue to become imbalanced.  Since spinal nerves radiate from every vertebra, this pressure can cause irritation that can cause these nerves to malfunction, thus interfering with the signals that travel over the nerves.  Since the central nervous system controls and coordinates virtually every function of the body, any interference with nerve function creates pain or dysfunction in various parts of the body.

Chiropractors undergo years of training in order to be able to correct subluxations.  To treat this condition, the chiropractor will manually manipulate the spine, applying a precise amount of directed pressure either by hand or by using a specialized instrument such as the ArthroStim. (See video below)  This manipulation is designed to restore normal position to the vertebrae thus eliminating the subluxation and restoring balance to the spine.

When the spine gets out of alignment, not only does this affect our posture, it also starts a kind of domino effect as the brain tries to restore balance by causing the muscles, tendons and ligaments to compensate by radically altering their tension.  This not only produces more stress on the system, but it can also cause yet more spinal complications that can result in pain.  Tissue injury can be caused by a traumatic event such as an accident or through repetitive stresses caused by everyday wear and tear on the body. Manual manipulation not only restores the spine to balance, it also restores the soft tissue to its intended tension, thereby alleviating both pain and muscle tension.

While most people seek chiropractic care for back pain, the fact of the matter is that a number of other maladies can be caused by spinal subluxations including the following:

   

·        Autoimmune Dysfunction

·         Clinical Depression

·         Computer Neck Syndrome

·         Emotional Problems

·         Migraines

·         Tendonitis

If you or anyone you know is experiencing any of the symptoms above, I urge you to make an appointment with your local chiropractor.  He or she can help you correct the underlying issues associated with these conditions in order to restore the spine to its ideal function and in so doing regain control of your life.

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

Picture Perfect Posture

By Dr. Dave Edenfield

Most of us are born with perfect posture.  However as the years go on and life takes its toll, it isn’t unusual for our posture to start to suffer.  Think of it as a kind of reverse evolution.  As the posture slowly devolves, with it can go our health, since the spine is the nexus of our central nervous system that signals all of our limbs and organs to do what is required to maintain the body.  If these signals become blocked, this can start a domino effect of problems and pain that if left unchecked can curtail our enjoyment of life.  That’s the bad news.  The good news is that with proper treatment and training, we can restore picture perfect posture.

The Deadly Duo

The problem for many of us is that we spend far too much time sitting down.  Worse yet, we spend too much time sitting in front of a computer.  If you work in an office you undoubtedly spend hours at a time sitting behind a desk staring at a computer screen.  If your monitor is positioned flat atop your desk, or you use a laptop or a tablet then this forces you to tilt your head forward to look at your screen.  In time this can lead to a head forward posture that can cause everything from pinched nerves to degenerated discs.  The cure for this scenario is to raise your monitor at least a foot off the desktop. (If you have a laptop you can plug in an external monitor to accomplish this.)  By raising the level of the monitor, you will defeat the tug of gravity that causes your head to move forward. 

Beware the Chair

Lumbar lordosis refers to the hollow in your back which is a natural feature of the spine.  It is also one of the first areas to be adversely affected by poor posture brought about by hunching when we sit.  For many people the guilty culprit is most often their office chair.  Many people do not even realize that the backrest on most office chairs is adjustable.  Turn your chair around and look for a knob directly behind the backrest that can be turned right and left.  This knob is designed to move the backrest in and out.  By twisting the knob clockwise the backrest should move forward and vice versa.   By making the proper adjustments your spine will receive the support it craves.  If your chair is not adjustable you can always purchase a lumbar roll or even roll up a towel to better support the lower back. 

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Another way to determine if your posture is less than ideal is to stand sideways and look in the mirror.  If you can see that your head is tilted, your shoulder or hips are not level, or your arms or feet are flared, this is proof positive that your posture is anything but perfect.  When I make patients aware of their poor posture, many are surprised that this is at the root of their problems.  Just as an astronaut in orbit gets used to zero gravity, over time our bodies will adjust to imperfect posture. 

More than just an aesthetic dilemma, poor posture can lead to everything from lower back pain and muscle pain, to leg weakness, sciatica, circulatory problems and immune system issues, just to name a few.  Poor posture makes it difficult for the brain to transmit commands.  If you have ever had a computer crash then you can relate to this problem.  Like a computer with a balky cpu, a stressed brain can’t perform its tasks efficiently.  Add to this the fact that your brain, in its effort to correct poor posture, will instruct the muscles, tendons and ligaments to apply added pressure and stress. Since these soft tissues can only give so much, this causes a cascade of failures that quickly add up into either pain and/or dysfunction. 

If you suspect that your posture is not at its utmost, the best thing to do is schedule a chiropractic examination before things get out of hand.  By analyzing your spinal curvature, movement and alignment, your chiropractor can identify and correct the issues that are at the heart of poor posture.  More importantly he or she can create a plan of action to realign your spine, straighten out your frame and help you once again attain picture perfect posture.

Dr.’s  Dave Edenfield and Steven Warfield 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 visithttp://chiropractor-jacksonville-fl.com or http://endyourpain.org 

In Search of the Quick Fix

By Dr. Steven Warfield

It is said that “Time is Money.”  In our fast paced modern society getting things done in a hurry is practically written into our DNA.  So when something comes along that threatens to derail our faced paced lives, be it a strain, sprain, backache or headache, we are in a hurry to find a quick fix.  For many of us this translates to reaching for the nearest bottle of pain pills in the medicine cabinet.  While many analgesics make the pain go away temporarily, what most people don’t realize is that by masking the pain, this can cause the injury to take much longer to correct.  In fact, covering up the pain and going about your normal routine may even create additional injury, the kind that can cost you lost days at work.

Another fact that most people fail to take into consideration is that overmedication, be it a prescription pain killer or plain aspirin is responsible for more harm than good.  According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, “In 1998 statistics showed that there were 14,253 toxic cases involving aspirin without being combined with other drugs.  Of those, 5,363 occurred in children between the ages of 6 and 19. Included in the total were 33 deaths related to aspirin toxicity.” http://blog.drugrehab101.com/2009/08/aspirin-effects.html

When toxicity occurs from aspirin, the following aspirin side effects may occur:

• Chronic ingestion may create anxiety.
• Various respiratory effects, from hyperventilation to respiratory arrest.
• Ear problems can also occur.
• Seizures are possible.
• Many gastrointestinal effects, including most often nausea and vomiting, but also hemorrhage and pancreatitis.
• When elderly people use aspirin to control pain, the increasing amount may create a state of confusion, which may lead to increased consumption.

We’re talking aspirin here which is available over the counter.  Acetaminophen overdose (acetaminophen 

being the active ingredient in Tylenol) is the leading cause for calls to poison control centers, accounting for 56,000 emergency room visits, 2,600 hospitalizations, and an estimated 458 deaths due to acute liver failure each year. If you want to see some truly frightening statistics, take a look at prescription pain killers, many of which are known to lead to physical dependency.  Opioid dependence affects some 5 million Americans and leads to approximately 17,000 deaths per year.  These statistics were so pervasive that it caused the federal government to change the regulations for the prescription of certain classes of pain killers.

In September 2013, the FDA announced that extended-release and long-acting (ER/LA) opioid pain relievers will no longer be indicated for merely moderate pain. The labels for these analgesics previously stated that they were indicated for moderate-to-severe pain. Now, the labels indicate usage only for management of severe pain that requires daily, around-the-clock treatment because alternative treatments are inadequate. The labels will also include a warning stating that long-term maternal use of ER/LA opioid pain relievers can result in potentially fatal neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome. These announcements were made in an effort to combat the epidemic of addiction and fatal overdoses associated with opioid abuse. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/287790-overview

Another factor that many people fail to heed is the fact that once hooked it is very difficult to resist the siren call of opioids.  Withdrawal symptoms can include any number of the following and can persist for days or even weeks.

·         diarrhea, persistent shivering, and nausea

·         insomnia, restlessness, tremors

·         abdominal cramping, bone pains, and muscle ache

To get through these debilitating symptoms many patients wind up undergoing methadone or buprenorphine treatment, followed by a gradual tapering off.   

Being a chiropractor has meant that I have had many patients come to me who believed that they were unable to function without analgesics of some kind.  What I have been able to show most of them is that by treating  the underlying causes of pain it is possible to reduce and in many cases eliminate the use of pain pills altogether.  While treatment is an ongoing process that can take months to complete, what every one of them agrees is that when it comes to a quick fix, curing the underlying cause of their pain is worth taking the time to accomplish.

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

Does Your Child's Schoolwear Make the Grade?

by Dr. Steven Warfield

It's that time of year when the weather starts to cool, when football becomes a major source of conversation and the kids are back in school.  For many parents, this is also the time of year when their children start coming down with colds, along with any number of other physical complaints that are simply shrugged off as a rite of passage.  But what most parents do not realize is that the reason that many school age children wind up at home in bed instead of in the classroom has to do with a number of issues that can adversely affect their wellbeing.

If the Shoe Fits...

As far back as the 1990's shoe companies were in the habit of marketing shoes that were patently unhealthy

for children.  Playing on parental emotions as well as peer pressure from other children, the footwear industry continues to use such things as celebrity endorsements to sell footwear to a public that is unaware of the potential health hazards that can occur down the road due to inadequate shoes for their kids.
In the first place, the kind of shoes that are right for adults do not work well for children.  Believe it or not, going barefoot is actually the healthiest way for our children to be.  Since their linbs are still forming, shoes with arch supports or stiff sides can actually interfere with a child's gait or even deform the child's feet, both of which can lead to permanent problems down the road.

According to a report commissioned by Dr. Steve Maffetone, called Ticking Time Bomb: "During the first year following the acquisition of independent walking, most of the child’s gait activity, in particular, the neurological memories—the communication between brain and body—becomes well established. During this time, if the feet are not allowed to develop well, gait and balance disorders begin to occur. In many children, these irregularities are often subtle (the “clumsy kid”) while others more serious such as increased vulnerability to physical injury and various neurological imbalances anywhere in the body, including those associated with eye movement. When a shoe becomes absolutely necessary, it should be lightweight, flexible, shaped more or less quadrangularly, and should not have arch supports and stiff sides.

Backpack Blues

Another area of concern to school age children are backpacks.  While backpacks have evolved over the years to be more orthopedically correct, the problem is that most children do not don them correctly.  They also tend to overload them, which also causes stress on the shoulders, neck and spine.  If your child uses a backpack, the first thing you need to do is make sure they are being worn properly.  This means that the backpack needs to be on both shoulders, not simply slung off to one side.  More importantly, the waistbelt needs to be engaged, since this allows most of the weight to be carried on the hips as opposed to the shoulders.  Last but not least, you should take their fully laden backpack and place it on a bathroom scale.  The maximum weight that a child should be allowed to tote in a backpack should be 15% of the child's weight.

Also of concern to adults should be any of the following warning signs exhibited by their children:
Aching back or shoulders
Stooped posture
Tingling arms
Cold Feet
Persistant stumbling

If your child exhibits any of these symptoms or any foot-related condition, then I urge you to contact your chiropractor to take corrective measures before more serious problems occur.  The spine controls many functions in the body, all of which can be adversely affected by spinal misalignment.  If you want to help your kids succeed in school, then make sure that their attire doesn't get a failing grade.

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

ArthroStim - Kinder Gentler Chiropractic Care

by Dr. Dave Edenfield

Even though chiropractic care has been around for more than a century, it still has a reputation for "popping" or "cracking" the back.  While strictly manual adjustments may have been standard operating procedure in the old days, most of today's chiropractic practitioners utilize state-of-the-art technologies that literally take the stress out of performing spinal adjustments.

One of the technologies that we use at Lakewood Chiropractic is a device known as the ArthroStim. (See the video below.) This handheld instrument is used to deliver a gentle force, in the form of multiple light percussion or tapping, to the patient at the appropriate angle and pressure to subtly and painlessly correct joint motion.  In fact these taps are delivered so quickly that the patient doesn't have time to tense their muscles, which is another reason the ArthroStim works so well.  This therapy feels really good.

In addition to spinal issues, the ArthroStim is also great for treating problems with any joints in the body such as the hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder, knee and ankle.  It's so gentle that it can even be used on infants and seniors.  (Arthritis sufferers love the ArthroStim.) This high precision, low impact device has been approved by the FDA as one of the safest methods for treating neck, back and  joint pain resulting from loss of motion.  Unlike pain pills and cortisone shots, there are absolutely no side effects from its repeated use.

While traditional chiropractic treatments are perfectly safe, many patients report that they prefer the ArthroStim to standard adjustment methods.  Traditional adjustments rely on high-energy thrusts and pulls to the neck and back.  These adjustments are not only designed to correct spinal misallignments, but they are also meant to stimulate neural receptors that produce nerve impulses which in turn relay crucial information to the brain.  This neural feedback helps the brain update and evaluate changes prompted by chiropractic adjustment.  This in turn allows the brain to transmit commands to the muscles and soft tissues in order to adjust their tension, all of which is necessary to set into motion the healing process.

By generating a series of controlled and highly targeted micro-thrusts, the ArthroStim is able to not only realign the spine, restore motion and stimulate specific neural receptors, but it also avoids activating the body's pain receptors while doing so.  In fact, this device is so tunable that it allows your chiropractor to progressively reduce the amount of force that is applied as your treatments progress. 

The best way to understand the ArthroStim is to think of it as a device that allows your chiropractor to divide the force needed to make the adjustments into a series of smaller forces that are delivered incrementally over a highly localized area. Some of the benefits associated with ArthroStim are:

• Low Impact
• High Precision
• Non-Invasive
• Zero Side Effects

If you or anyone you know is in pain or has an aversion to standard chiropractic practices, send them this blog and video so they can see that there are technologies that can take the stress out of treatment.

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

Are You Suffering from Bleacher's Back?

By Dr. Dave Edenfield

Being a football player means taking a fair share of punishment on the field.  But what most ardent football fans don’t realize is that being a die-hard football fan comes with a certain amount of physical duress for those who attend the games.  Football season has started and if you are a season ticket holder or even go to an occasional game at EverBank Field, then you spend hours sitting in stadium seats that are less comfortable than those on an airliner.  Even if you are not a Jaguar fan, but are a parent who regularly attends your children’s sporting events, then you too can come down with a case of Bleachers Back. 

The problem with sitting on the bleachers is that there is absolutely zero back support.  This forces you to sit

 in an awkward position for hours on end which causes undue strain on your spine.  Stadium seating while a little better is known to be lacking in lumbar back support.  Even worse, at many stadiums due to space constraints, fans are required to sit with their knees higher than their hips.  This translates into poor posture and inevitable post game pain. 

To avoid Bleachers Back, try to keep your pelvis, hips and shoulders as close to vertical as possible.  Allow your lower back to maintain its natural curve while keeping the abdominal muscles engaged for support.  Try keeping your knees straight ahead and when possible shift in place from time to time to reduce lower back pressure and promote blood flow.  When you do stand up to root for the team, make sure you turn your entire body as opposed to twisting your back.  All of these can help you avoid straining your back.

Like it or not, the two most common causes of back pain are sitting and/or bending.  In practice, this means the human spine has difficulty dealing with dealing with loads at certain angles.  This is why if you twist or bend your back the wrong way, or try to lift something heavy with your back you can easily cause injury.  Also remaining seated for prolonged periods, such as at work or in a sports arena without proper lumbar support can cause undue stress to the back that can inevitably result in pain.

Other than maintaining proper posture when seated at the game, the most important thing you can do to limit the stress of Bleachers Back is to decompress your spine after the game is done.  Other than avoiding further strain on the lower back once you get home, you can also try lying flat on the floor with your knees bent and with your feet up on the couch for ten minutes.  This takes the strain off the spine and allows the muscles and connective tissue to relax. 

If you find out come Monday morning that your trip to the big game has left your back feeling sore, there are several therapies that can prove helpful, including spinal adjustment, massage, ultrasound, Vax-D spinal decompression and even cold laser therapy.  All of these treatments are designed to restore the normal biomechanics of the spine in order to make the pain go away.  Pain killers on the other hand only serve to mask the pain, which can result in more harm than good. 

Bear in mind that the last thing you want to do is start off the week with a sore back, especially if you spend most of the day sitting in front of a desk.  This is only going to increase your discomfort or possibly even cause you to miss several days of work.  So just like the teams on the field, the best way to win the big game is to create a game plan that you can follow every Sunday throughout football season.  Now if we could only get the Jaguars to consider this policy.

Ways to protect your back on game day:

•       Consider investing in your own stadium seat (available at big box stores)

•       Wear shoes with good arch support

•       Stand up every chance you can

•       Keep your abdominal muscles strong and connected

•       Decompress your back post game

•       If you wake up sore on Monday, seek treatment immediately

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