Is Nerve Entrapment the Culprit?

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Dale Armstrong
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1 Prayer Stretch This stretch is great for people that have kyphosis (rounded spine) in their upper thoracic region and is beneficial for yogi s trying to correct their posture. This move will increase mobility in the thoracic spine as well as stretch the latissimus dorsi muscles; a group of muscles along the posterior lateral part of the trunk, that if tight can restrict overhead activities.

2 THE MOVE Start off on your knees with the roller in front of you. Place your hands together on the roller and, while keeping your chest up as much as possible, push your arms forward to let the foam roll underneath your arm towards your body. As you re rolling the foam out, you should get a nice stretch in your lats. Come back to the starting position and repeat for the necessary amount of repetitions (usually two or three sets of 10 to 12 reps works well). Download Prayer Stretch Is Nerve Entrapment the Culprit? By Dr. Jon Sebby, D.C., ART Provider Peripheral nerves, such as the sciatic, have their own unique biomechanics to allow for movement of the arms or legs. Nerves are surrounded and encased by muscle and connective tissue, so they need to be able to slide through tissue during movement. Nerves can only stretch about 15% of their resting length before the blood vessels tighten down and lose blood flow. If nerves are unable to slide, tension develops because nerve tissue is highly sensitive and can be injured easily if too much stress is applied to it. In the case of the sciatic nerve, too much tension will cause the hamstrings to feel tight. Hamstring tightness can be attributed to the sciatic nerve or one of its branches, the tibial and common peroneal nerves, being entrapped within the hamstrings and/or calves.

3 The detection of neural tension requires specialized training. The doctors at Chicago Chiropractic & Sports Medicine are qualified and experience in utilizing specific soft tissue work and neural mobilizations tailored to treat neural tension. For More Information To learn more about how chiropractic care, soft tissue treatments, massage therapy, and our other services can help you feel better, schedule an appointment to visit one of our practitioners by calling Ways to Feel Better This Winter By Dr. Jon Sebby, DC, ART Provider This is the time of year that we all start to feel exhausted, sore and achy from sitting too much, hunching over our computers, slipping on ice, as well as from lack of sunshine and exercise. Follow these steps to help you relieve your aches and pains and to feel better from the inside out.

4 It s All in the Way You Breathe Proper breathing is vital to life and can enhance sport performance, increase relaxation and decrease pain. Diaphragmatic breathing was practiced by the ancient yogi s and it s the breathing that infants do as soon as they are born. It is not until the child starts running around and experiences a flight or fight response do they switch to chest breathing. The flight or fight response is initiated when we become out of breath and need to find another way to bring more oxygen into our system. Chest breathing is normal for people out of breath. However, when we are not in this state we should be breathing with our diaphragm and abdomen. To practice diaphragmatic breathing, sit tall. Place one hand on the abdomen and the other on your upper chest. If you do a diaphragmatic breath, you should feel the lower hand on your abdomen move out with the inhalation and in with the exhalation. The top hand on the chest should remain relatively still. If you find it hard to do sitting down, then try lying on the floor with knees bent. Several five to 10 minute sessions of diaphragmatic breathing each day can be beneficial. It can feel awkward at first to breathe without moving the chest, but people may note that regular sessions promote feelings of relaxation, focus, and comfort and before you know it you will naturally do diaphragmatic breathing. Boost Your Vitamin D Levels During the winter months in Chicago, a majority of us are not getting enough sun exposure to produce adequate levels of vitamin D. Eating certain foods high in vitamin D and supplementation for most of us is needed. Cod liver oil is a great supplement that is high in the vitamin and also provides healthy omega-3 fats. Some foods that are high in vitamin D include: Salmon and other fish

5 Mushrooms Shrimp Eggs Grassfed Beef Liver Get Enough Magnesium If you are feeling tired and irritable, you may have a magnesium deficiency. Adequate amount of magnesium helps the body regulate melatonin, which is why many people report better sleep after increasing their intake through certain foods or by starting supplementation. Longer and more restful sleep increases the body s natural production of human growth hormone. Try adding these foods that are high in magnesium to your diet: Halibut Spinach Pumpkin Seeds Okra Plantains/Bananas Beans Oysters As for supplementation, Natural Calm (available at WholeFoods) or Poliquin s UberMag with L-Tryptophan is an excellent supplement to take before bed. Get Massages on a Regular Basis Massage is recognized as being extremely effective in relieving muscle pain, tension, and soreness. It is so effective at relieving pain because it addresses the cause of

6 the pain. Typically, pain is a result of areas of a muscle that become stagnant either from postural deviations (hunching too much) or trauma (falling on ice). When muscles don t function properly, other muscles compensate and circulation to the muscles decrease causing a buildup of cell fragments, acids, and other substances. Taught bands of tissue, or trigger points, develop in the muscle causing soreness and tension. By observing postural deviations, assessing muscle weakness, and through palpation, a massage therapist can find trigger points and use specific techniques to eliminate them. Massage also increases circulation to the tissue. As fresh blood and oxygen increases to the stagnant area toxins are flushed from the tissue and absorbed into the lymph system where they are either reused or excreted from the body. Stir the Pot

7 This exercise helps to improve core stability that is essential to transferring power generated in the lower body to the upper body. The exercise is a spine sparing activity. Spine Sparing refers to movements and strategies that decrease a load on the spine, which will reduce disc herniations. THE MOVE To start, assume a plank position with your forearms on a Swiss ball. Make sure there is space between your chest and your forearms. Your arm and forearm should be about a 90 degree angle.

8 Use your forearms to move the ball in small circles while keeping the rest of your body in the original position. Do 10 circles to the left and then 10 to the right. That s 1 set. Do 3 sets. Make sure you brace your core and glutes throughout the movement. Download Stir The Pot Building Strength and Balance for Yoga By Dr. Jon Sebby, DC, ART Provider If you practice yoga and have reached a plateau in flexibility and ability to perform certain poses, you may have some adhesions or scar tissue physically restricting any further range of motion and progress. Chiropractic adjustments can help by increasing motion in joints that are restricted. Yoga is an amazing form of exercise. It does a remarkable job helping people look better on the outside and feel calmer on the inside. Even more, it works amazing to combat inflexibility. Whether you work hours on end at a desk or spend hours running, yoga can help relieve inflexible joints and tight muscles. Doing anything sustained or repetitive desk work, driving, running,

9 weight training can potentially starve your muscles and ligaments of blood, oxygen, and other important fluids. This can lead to weak and shortened muscles, tight joints, and potentially adhesion formation in these joints and muscles. Read More About Building Strength and Balance for Yoga Frequently Asked Questions for Treating Soft Tissue Injuries By Dr. Josh Akin and Dr. Jon Sebby There are various methods for treating soft tissue injuries. Active Release and Massage Therapy are two noninvasive soft tissue treatments to heal and prevent a wide variety of soft tissue injuries. To understand a soft tissue injury, it is important to comprehend the basic mechanism of a cumulative injury. It is also important to understand what occurs to your body when it is over stressed and the role that soft tissue treatments provides in treating the stress. Read More About Frequently Asked Questions for Treating Soft Tissue Injuries Download & Print [wpdm_file id=4]

10 Preventing ACL Injuries in Women Athletes By Dr. Jon Sebby, DC, ART Provider The numbers are astounding. Each year there are an estimated 100,000 ACL injuries, with roughly 70-80% being non-contact injuries. What s more, about a third of these injuries happen to high school female athletes. Women are simply at a greater risk than their male counterparts. It is well established that females, on average, have a wider pelvis, which increases the angle of which the femur connects into the knee. This increased angle, if uncontrolled, can raise the likelihood of shear forces through the knee that could potentially lead to a torn ACL. Read More About Preventing ACL Injuries in Women Athletes Functional Screen Series: Screen One 6-inch Step-Down

11 As chiropractors that specialize in soft tissue treatments, we work with many individuals that have joint and soft-tissue restrictions. Finding spinal subluxations (spinal subluxation is when one or more of the bones of your spine (vertebrae) move out of position and create pressure on, or irritate spinal nerves) and soft tissue adhesions is like finding a needle in a haystack. The practitioners at Chicago Chiropractic & Sports Medicine focus on finding the relevant restrictions the dysfunctions that are causing the most trouble. Functional screens are a way for us to narrow down the list of possible suspects, making treatments more efficient. We will be doing a series of functional screens over the next couple of months. Screen One is the 6-inch Step-Down, which helps us to determine hip strength and ankle mobility. To perform the screen, find a 6 step (bottom stair, wooden box). Stand on one leg with the opposite leg toes pointed up. Slowly lower the opposite heal towards the ground. Lightly touch the heel to the ground and return up. Perform on the other side. This movement should be done in a smooth, coordinated fashion. You fail the test if you lose your balance, you are

12 uncoordinated, or you fail to reach the heel to the ground. Athletes should use an 8 step. If you fail the Step-Down test, you may be lacking strength in your hip muscles (gluteus medius) or you may be lacking ankle mobility. One of the things you can do to help correct this is by adding the following exercises into your daily routine or before you exercise. If you feel that the exercises are not helping, you may need chiropractic manipulation or Active Release Techniques to remove the restrictions. Calf Stretch with Stick Work To work the calf, start by using The Stick over the calf muscles. Use firm pressure moving up the calf to find any tender areas. Focus on these tender areas by giving each spot 30 short and quick rolls with the stick. To continue to stretch the calf, place the balls of one foot on a step and let the heel of the foot fall as far towards the ground as possible. Hold this stretch for 30 seconds. Repeat with the other calf. Do 2 sets of 30 seconds with each leg. Side-lying Leg Lift The purpose of the Side-lying Leg Lift is to strengthen the gluteus medius (side of your butt) in order to help

13 stabilize the knee. Lean your whole body forward 45 degrees and rotate your top foot so that the toes are touching the heel of your bottom foot. Lift your heel 4-6 inches off the ground and then lower back down. Start with 2 sets of reps for each leg. Work up to 2 sets of 50 reps Then add 5 lb. ankle weight Download Functional Screen Series: Screen One 6- inch Step-Down Core and Shoulder Stability Stability ball walk-outs is a great exercise for core and shoulder stability, as well it is beneficial exercise to increase scapular stability for smooth shoulder mobility. This exercise helps to reduce shoulder injuries by increase strength and is especially good for athletes who play paddle sports. THE MOVE

14 Step 1: To start lie on your stomach over the top of a stability ball. Begin on an all fours position with your torso on the ball and hands and feet on the floor. Lengthen your legs and stretch your heels to the back of the room. Your feet should be off the ground and your hands should be directly under your shoulder. Step 2: With your abdominals engaged and torso rigid, slowly walk your hands forward. Avoid allowing your legs to droop. Continue walking out until the fronts of your thighs or knees are resting on the top of the ball. The further you walk away from the ball, the greater the stability challenge. Go slowly and find the challenge that is right for you. Step 3: Slowly walk yourself backwards to your starting position. Try to maintain your stability and balance. Going forward and back to starting positions is 1 rep. Do 10 reps and 3 sets for a full core and shoulder stability workout. Download Core and Shoulder Stability

15 Functional Screen Series: Screen Two Diaphragmatic Breathing This month s screen involves breathing. Now before you read any further, go stand in front of the mirror and take a deep breath. What did you see? Did your shoulders and elevate and your neck tense up, or did your shoulders and neck stay relaxed? Did you stomach come in or did it expand out when you inhaled? Many people fail to breathe optimally. Natural and efficient breathing requires us to use our diaphragm muscle. When we inhale the diaphragm should contract and lower into the abdomen, slightly expanding our bellies from the downward pressure as the lungs fill with air (diaphragmatic or belly breathing). The shoulders and neck should stay relaxed. Unfortunately, many people do the opposite. They rely on their neck and shoulder muscles to help assist with breathing and they sometimes even bring their stomachs in on the inhale (chest breathing). When you breathe this way you aren t using your diaphragm correctly. Due to the incorrect breathing, many people get sore and tight through their neck and shoulders.

16 What s more, people with chronic low back pain were shown to have poor function of their diaphragm. When you breathe properly, your diaphragm contracts and increases the pressure in your abdomen. This increased pressure actually helps support the front of your spine. One way to help encourage deeper breathing is to breath more often with your nose. Nose breathing allows you to breathe deeper with your diaphragm. When you breathe into your belly, your abdomen should expand in 360 degrees. Imagine pushing your waistband out in all directions. To get started breathing more efficiently, try the crocodile breath exercise explained below. Crocodile Breath Crocodile breath is a yoga exercise or technique for teaching and training diaphragmatic breathing. Start by laying face down with your forehead on the back of your hands. This is to make sure your neck is in alignment with the rest of your spine. Next, you will breathe in through your nose and deep into your belly when you do this correctly you will feel your stomach push out into the ground and your obliques will push out to the sides as well. You should feel that your lower back may even rise and fall with your inhale and exhale. Once you have a comfortable inhale you simply exhale and begin again. Do not be in a rush. Let your breathing come at a natural pace and be sure to feel the stomach push out into the floor. Perform the Crocodile Breath for 5 minutes a day. This

17 exercise will gently mobilize your thoracic spine and ease away muscular tension. When your thoracic spine can move and function better, so will your shoulders and low back. Download Functional Screen Series: Screen Two Diaphragmatic Breathing

YOUR FREE COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO HELP RELIEVE LOWER BACK PAIN NATURALLY

YOUR FREE COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO HELP RELIEVE LOWER BACK PAIN NATURALLY By: helpwithsciatica HTTPS://HELPWITHSCIATICA.COM Table of contents 1 Introduction 2 Exercise: Extensions 3 Exercise: Curl-Ups 4