Rib Head Pain

Published
by
Dr. Edward Gould
on February 3, 2010
in Cincinnati Chiropractors, Mid Back Pain, Rib Head Pain and Sports Injuries
. 0 Comments

Mid Back PainThis is a very sharp pain

Most patients describe it as knife-like pain. Why does this occur? A little anatomy will help you to understand this. Each rib actually attaches to the spine in two different locations. At each site of attachment, a joint is formed allowing movement. Yes, the ribs move. If it weren’t for this movement, we could not take a breath or bend in this area. Because of these joints, certain movements can create problems. Typically, “extreme” twisting of the upper body will cause these joints to become misaligned or subluxated. When this happens the ligaments that surround the joints (joint capsule) become stretched and on occasion pulled inside the joint allowing the capsule to be pinched. This is what causes that horrible knife-like pain. Treating this requires a thorough understanding of the anatomy in this area and the skill to adjust the rib head(s) back into their proper location.

Rib head pain, if not treated properly will become chronic.  If you are experiencing this type of pain and you live in the Cincinnati area, give me a call and schedule an exam.  Allowing this condition to become chronic is a mistake that all regret.

I hope this post was helpful.

Dr. Gould

Cincinnati Cycling Injury Prevention

Published
by
Dr. Edward Gould
on January 27, 2010
in Cincinnati Chiropractors, Cycling Injuries and Wellness 101
. 0 Comments

LAThe beauty of cycling, is that it is a very low impact form of exercise that results in fewer injuries than higher impact activities such as running. However, the number of repetitions that cyclists perform (roughly 6000 revolutions per hour) is much greater than any other sport. Chronic injuries can occur from riding too long, too fast or too often. I always advise my patients to have a professional evaluate how their bike fits their body. An improper fit of the handlebars, saddle, frame or pedals can cause a predisposition to musculoskeletal problems aka pain and injuries.

Common Injuries Encountered By Cyclists

Neck & Mid Back Injuries

  • Causes – This problem is typically due to over exertion of the muscles that extend the neck and raise the shoulders. The cause of this is usually the rams-horn style of handlebars that cause the rider to hold the head and neck in a hyperextended position for prolonged periods of time. Some individuals have problems with this due to the loss of the normal forward curve (lordosis) in their neck.  This type of structural problem is best addressed with chiropractic care.
  • Symptoms – Spasm, tenderness and soreness of the muscles of the neck and upper back. Pain is usually felt with extension and rotation of the neck.
  • Treatment – Initially stretching and strengthening the muscles of the neck and upper back is advisable. If the problem persists, it maybe due to structural problems in your neck.  If the neck and upper back pain persists for more than a week you need to be evaluated.

Lower Back  & Injuries

  • Causes – Lower back strain and pain can occur when an unconditioned rider rides too long with the back flexed forward.  Other causes are obesity, weak trunk muscles or biomechanical dysfunction in the form of lumbar and sacroiliac subluxations .
  • Symptoms – Decreased mobility of the trunk and spasms of the lower back. Pain is usually felt with flexion and rotation of the trunk muscles.  In many instances, lower back pain will be felt more on one side due to asymmetrical loading of the sacroiliac joints. If not corrected the individual may begin experiencing Sciatica.
  • Treatment – Strengthening and stretching of the torso, lower back and hip musculature will help remedy many of the lower back symptoms many riders experience due to muscular weakness. If the injury has caused pain due to misalignments in the lower back or sacroiliac area strength training will only irritate the condition. If this is the case, chiropractic evaluation is indicated.

Trochanteric Bursitis

  • Causes – Trochanteric bursitis is an inflammation of the bursa on the side of the hip, typically caused by the gluteus medius or iliotibial band rubbing over the bursa and causing irritation.  The injury is most common in cyclists with a saddle adjusted too high, unequal leg lengths (possible sacroiliac subluxation) or weak hip muscles.
  • Symtoms – There is a gradual onset of pain. Typically, the pain is on the side of the hip and will gradually migrate down the side of the leg.  If not properly treated, sleeping on the affected side and climbing stairs will begin to cause pain.
  • Treatment – Resting and icing the area is always beneficial.  Trochanteric busitis is usuallly a symptom of riding with a saddle that is too high.  Consider lowering the saddle to limit hip extension with each stroke.  Once the pain begins to subside begin stretching the gluteus medius and the IT band.

As I mentioned in the beginning of this post it is very important to have a professional help you to set up your bike.  Ergonomics are not just for the office.  A properly set up bike will not only increase your bike riding enjoyment but it will also minimize your chances of overuse injuries. Below is a video of a professional setting up a riders bicycle.

I hope this post has been helpful.  If you live in the Cincinnati area and are still experiencing pain while riding, even though your bike has been professionally fitted to your body give me a call and schedule an exam.

Happy Riding,

Dr. Gould

Health Habits of the Top Three Percent

Published
by
Dr. Edward Gould
on January 18, 2010
in Baby Boomer Issues, Drug-Free Approach, Nutrition 101 and Wellness 101
. 0 Comments

Often habits of ineffectiveness are rooted in our social conditioning toward quick-fixes or short-term thinking. In school, many of us procrastinate and then cram for tests. I have a question for you, does”cramming” work on a farm? Can you go two weeks without milking the cow, and then get out there and milk like crazy? Can you “forget” to plant in the spring, goof off all summer, and then hit the ground really hard in the fall to bring in the harvest? We might laugh at such ludicrous approach to farming, yet 97% of Americans use this same approach when it comes to maintaining their health.

Habits of the Three Percent

They have a different philosophy than the other 97%.  It’s their belief that it is much easier to stay well than to get well. (What a Concept!)  They constantly look for ways to drive their health upward to the next level.  They understand that medicine has its place, yet they rarely use it.  They have a deep understanding that one’s immunity is “everything” and they work at keeping it strong.  They don’t worry about the Media’s Latest Health Worry. They understand that true health comes from the inside and so does disease.

“The Microbe is nothing. The terrain is everything.”

Louis Pasteur, said the above on his deathbed, finally recanted his germ theory by admitting that the microbe (germs) is nothing. The terrain (your body’s immunity) is everything.  The 3% understand this fact.

The Strategy of the Three Percent

They eat quality foods. Drink pure water.  Exercise regularly.  Get adequate rest.  Exercise stress management. Have their spine’s routinely checked for subluxations. Take quality whole food supplements.  Spend time out in nature.  Read positive literature.

Sounds simple doesn’t it?  However, the numbers suggest that it is not that easy.  It all comes down to a choice.  Your Choice!

Yours in Health!

Dr. Gould

The Causes of Disc Problems

Published
by
Dr. Edward Gould
on January 12, 2010
in Cincinnati Chiropractors and Disc Problems
. 0 Comments

Everyone knows someone that has a disc problem. At parties people often come up to me with questions about this topic. I usually turn it around and ask them a couple of questions to find out how much knowledge they have on the topic. Usually, their knowledge is very limited.

Below are some of the characteristics or facts about our discs.

• If it weren’t for our discs, we would all be roughly four inches shorter. Have you noticed your parents or grandparents getting shorter? This is why that happens they are simply losing disc height. By the way, Chiropractic care can help prevent disc height loss.

• Our discs act as shock absorbers, keeping the vertebra separated and also allowing our spine a wide range of movements. When we are young are discs are very resilient. As we age, they lose much of that resiliency which predisposes us to having disc problems.

What are the primary causes of disc problems?

From the time we are born, up to our later teens, each of our discs has an excellent blood supply. Like the rest of our body, there are arteries that take oxygenated nutrient rich blood to the disc and there are veins that take deoxygenated blood and waste away from the disc. For some “unknown” reason, the arteries and veins disappear (they become atretic) causing the disc to become avascular by our late teens. As you can imagine, this is not a happy time for the disc. A good analogy would be… The groceries stop being delivered and the sewer backs up.

Because of this, the disc is left with tunnels (where the vein and artery once resided) in the ligamentous outer rings of the disc called the annulus. These tunnels act as conduits for the “putty-like” center of the disc called the nucleus pulposus. This putty-like substance finds these conduits and can actually ooze through them during periods of high stress (lifting improperly, auto accidents, sports injuries, sneezing and coughing) which can lead to bulges, herniations and sequestered discs.

Because the direct blood supply in no longer available, the disc now relies on segmental motion to pump nutrients in and waste products out. To do this, the disc employs a process called imbibition. Imbibition can be explained by watching someone play an accordion. When an accordion is pulled apart, air rapidly is pulled into the bellows of the accordion. As the accordion is squeezed, air is forced through and out of the instrument to make the sound. That same motion occurs in a disc. When we bend backward the disc is elongated causing nutrient rich fluid to be pulled into the disc from the top and bottom of the vertebra that it is attached to. Conversely, when we bend forward the disc is compressed causing waste products to be forced out of the disc into the ends of the vertebra. This process happens hundreds of times each day. As long as there is normal motion at each disc level this pumping action is adequate to keep the disc healthy.

Misalignments or subluxations are the true enemy of the disc. When your spine becomes subluxated the disc’s normal pumping motion is reduced or in severe cases, completely eliminated due to loss of motion. If the subluxation is not corrected, degenerative processes begin leading to osteoarthritis. Once this happens, the areas above and below the affected area have to compensate for the osteoarthritic area. Over time these areas will begin to become problematic also.

I have successfully treated many individuals in the Greater Cincinnati area that had disc problems. Like most neuromuscular problems, it is best to seek out treatment early. The longer you wait the more difficult your case becomes.

Postpartum Headaches

Published
by
Dr. Edward Gould
on January 5, 2010
in Conditions & Treatments and Headaches
. 0 Comments

migraine0.bmpOn a daily basis, I see and treat a variety of health problems. One of my more interesting cases began with a phone call from an Internist, located in the Kenwood area of Cincinnati.

The conversation went something like this, Doc, I have a 43 year old female that just gave birth several days ago. She was in labor for almost 3 days. While in labor, she developed a severe migraine headache, which she has had ever since. Here is my dilemma, she is determined to breast feed and because of that fact, I cannot give her any narcotics for her pain.

An MRI study of her head was completed, a vasculature study of her head was completed and x-rays of her neck. It’s a mystery, we cannot figure out what is causing the headaches. Would you take a look at her for me? I agreed and told him to send her immediately to my office.

When she arrived at my office, she was crying due to the unrelenting pain. She looked absolutely exhausted. I had her sit down on my examination table, then I asked her several questions. She described her headache and said that it was so painful she could hardly sleep, think or function.

I examined her paying particular attention to her upper neck area. I had suspected that her top vertebrae in her neck (C1 or Atlas) had gotten displaced while she was in labor. I was correct it had. After explaining what I had found and pointing it out to her, she was eager for me to try to help her.

After carefully positioning her on my adjusting table, I adjusted her atlas or the top vertebra in her neck. I then told her to go home and try to sleep and to return to my office the next morning.

I was working on another patient the next morning when she walked in. She walked past the room I was in and smiled at me. No tears just a smile. I knew she was better! I finished up with the patient that I was with and then went in the other room to see how she was doing. She was amazed that she was 95% better. I rechecked her Atlas it was barely out, I re-adjusted it and told her to call me in two days to let me know how she was doing. She did, her headache was completely gone.

Do you suffer with headaches?

If you do and you have never had your spine, specifically your upper spine, chiropractically evaluated you should. You may find that it’s the solution. Strong medications and narcotics never get at the true cause. They only treat the symptom and leave you dealing with side-effects. If you live in the Greater Cincinnati area and you are suffering with headaches call me.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Gould