Ultrasound Therapy Explained - An Introductory Guide on Ultrasound Therapy

Ultrasound therapy machines are the modernized machines that are used by the chiropractors and physical therapists in treating muscle pain, arthritis pain and any joint pain in the body. Many Chiropractors prefer ultrasound therapy for their patients as it is one of the best treatment methods today. This kind of treatment method is also referred to as therapeutic ultrasonograpy and generally, it takes a very short time that is, at least three to five minutes to be carried out.

This method works by the use of a wand device, which produces heat that is subjected to the muscles, joints or the tendons to facilitate rapid healing. Apart from healing the joints very fast, ultrasound therapy also increases the blood flow in the body and helps in the vibrating of the body tissues, which in turn speeds up the repair of damaged cells.

Therapeutic ultrasound has several benefits, which include:

- Reduces swelling brought about by heated sound waves
- Reduces inflammation
- Reduces muscle spasms
- Reduces stiffness and pain at the lower back
- Cures other related health complications such as fibrositis, myalgia, radiculitis, sciatica, and osteoathritis among others.

All kinds of treatment have precautions that must be followed strictly in order to avoid other serious health problems and Ultrasound therapy is not exempted. When under this kind of treatment you must follow your doctor's advice strictly in order to get the best results in the long run. Some of the safety measures that you have to adhere to when under ultrasound therapy include, ensuring the wand is always mobile and must be used with gel. This is because the gel prevents the patient from burning and it also prevents the wand from breaking. This is crucially important aspect of ultrasound therapy is is mis-understood by most of the individuals.

Several treatment methods can help you solve your problem. Apart from ultrasound, therapy there is also another therapy known as infrared therapy. Infrared therapy uses a lot of light, which penetrates at least two inches into the patient's skin. This infrared light penetration improves the blood circulation in the body. It is also capable of eliminating toxins from the body, which in turn helps in relieving the pains. The same penetration of infrared light brings in good nutrients and together with increased blood flow in the body, it allows for the strengthening of the cardiovascular system among others.

Chiropractic Videos - Buyers Guide For Chiropractors

Chiropractic videos for patient education were born on August 6, 1981 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I was there as the Peter Graves video from Renaissance International had its worldwide debut. Since then, patient education videos have earned an important place in the education of new patients.

Chiropractic Video Benefits

The idea of using this new fangled thing called a VCR to educate patients was a new idea. No one had ever done it before. But upon closer inspection, chiropractic patient education videos made sense:

Avoid repetitious explanations. Most chiropractic report of findings consists of an orientation and anatomical background that applies to just about every patient.

Saves time. Obviously, if you're not giving a radiographic seminar with every patient because they already saw it on video, it can free up five- to ten-minutes that you can do something more productive.

Consistent and complete. Some chiropractors will abridge their patient explanations if the reception room is backing up. Video is consistent. Same message every time.

High impact. With graphics, sound effects, music and other video effects, the chiropractic message can have a much greater impact than a verbal description.

Patient accepted. If you follow the guidelines below, you'll discover that patients expect to watch a video when they are having a health care procedure performed, whether vision correction, dental implants or virtually any type of elective surgery.

Like any tool, the use of chiropractic videos can be abused. A chiropractor can quickly use up his or her limited social authority by imposing patient education videos that are inappropriate. In fact, choose the wrong chiropractic video and it can create more headaches than it solves!

Chiropractic Video Guidelines

Here are the most important considerations when contemplating the purchase of chiropractic videos for educating your patients:

Short. How short is short? Short. With the reduced attention spans of today's new patient, you want to be sure that each video is no more than 7-8 minutes. Naturally, if you can secure videos that are spellbinding and keep patients on the edge of their seat (unlikely), you can go longer.

Relevant. Remember, patients want to consult a chiropractor, not become one! The key is to walk the line between what a patient wants to know, and what a patient needs to know. It's a fine line. Who knows for sure what's relevant to a patient? Patients. The key thing to remember is that the videos aren't for you, they're for patients. Consider having some of your better patients' critique the available choices before you purchase.

Reassuring. Besides laying a foundation for your own chiropractic explanations, the videos you use should be perceived by patients as reassuring and hopeful. Including positive comments from actual patients can be instrumental in this. Also, avoid showing actual chiropractic adjustments. It often looks more violent to an observer than a participant and could actually undermine patient compliance.

Chiropractic Video Implementation

The best chiropractic patient education videos are the ones you create yourself. This can be difficult and time consuming. The next best is to purchase videos from one of the top three or four companies that provide patient education supplies. Regardless of which videos you choose, here are some implementation suggestions:

Staff introduction. Before showing video, your paraprofessional staff should introduce the video, explaining why it is being shown and how it benefits the patient. It might sound like this, "Before you see Dr. Smith, she would like you to watch this short, five-minute video that explains what you can expect on your visit today."

Be consistent. Staff changes or an uncooperative new patient can cause an interruption in patients seeing the videos. This can interfere with patients having a complete orientation and is often the cause of poor follow through and even referrals.

Chiropractor follow up. It's essential that the chiropractor acknowledge that the patient has seen the video and solicit their feedback. This communicates the importance you place on the videos and paves the way for patient acceptance of future videos. "What was the greatest surprise or new piece of information that you picked up from our video?"

Chiropractic videos will never replace a personal, knee-to-knee explanation of chiropractic principles. However, if you want to help a lot of people, it's essential that you use technology where appropriate to save time, increase the impact of your communications and set the stage for long-term patient relationships.

Storage Wars - Reality or Reality Show?

With the recent popularity of all the 'Storage Wars' shows, people have become aware of the bargains and in some cases treasures to be found with storage auction sales. While the shows tend to glamorize these auctions with nearly every show revealing treasures being discovered by the winning bidders, my experience has been quite different. This article reveals the truth from my standpoint and offers some tips on making these sales work for you.

1. Finding Storage Auction Sales

Storage auctions are usually held every month at most of the large chain storage facilities. Getting a listing of auctions is a relatively simple procedure and while you can find information at various websites and in newspapers, the best way to get a listing of auction dates is to simply stop by the storage facility and ask for a listing of upcoming auctions. While there you can ask to be put on their email list for auctions.

Getting listings for smaller storage sites can be a bit more of a challenge since most don't have regular dates and will usually only conduct an auction when they have enough units to make a auction worthwhile. Oftentimes the smaller storage companies will place an ad in a local paper before a sale or sometimes just put a sign outside the premises a week or two before having the storage unit auction. Checking through the Internet, yellow pages and even driving around town will reveal numerous storage businesses that generally fly under the radar.

2. Basics

There are several things you will need to have with you on the day of the auction. Just about all auctions will want payment in cash so be sure to have sufficient cash with you. Another obvious thing that you will need is several locks. Once you have won the auction on a unit, you'll want to place a lock on it because there may be other units that you're interested in. You don't want to leave your locker unlocked and unprotected while you move on the next location as things can wander off quickly. Be sure to have sufficient locks with you to secure your units. You will also want to have a hand truck since you have no idea what you are going to wind up buying. Don't make the mistake of trying to play tow motor with a large appliance, or you may be making an appointment with the chiropractor in the near future.

3. Auction Process

Most large storage companies with multiple locations plan their auctions within the same day or two. The auction itself is fast paced and bidders will usually only have a minute or less to poke their head into the unit to try and determine if the unit is worth bidding on. If you snooze, you lose when it comes to these auctions as the auctioneer won't spend much time auctioning off the units since they will most likely be holding auctions at several locations that day. The winners of the units have a specified period to empty out the contents of the unit, quite often a day but sometimes up to a week. The thing to keep in mind is that the storage company is not in the auction business, but instead renting out storage space, so they want the storage lockers emptied as quick as possible.

4. Reality versus T.V.

On the Storage Wars show, you'll see the winning bidders taking their valuables to various "experts" to try and find out what their items are actually worth. Oftentimes you will see the winning bidder being told that the strange whatyoumacallit they purchased on auction is worth a small fortune. However, the reality is if you were to ask the person putting a price on that item if they would be willing to pay that price right now, in most cases, the answer is a definite NO!

While you can find the occasional treasure in a storage unit, it doesn't happen as often as the show portrays so don't go into it expecting to find a 'Mona Lisa' in every unit that you purchase. While it is possible that you may run across that rare treasure in any unit that you purchase, keep in mind that you will have your share of duds as well.

Conclusion

Participating in Storage auctions can be quite exciting. It's a landlubbers version of treasure hunting because you never know what you might find in any unit that you purchase. I have a friend who reluctantly purchased a storage unit for $125 only to find to his delight that there was a disassembled Harley Davidson motorcycle in the back of the unit! While these types of finds do occasionally happen, this isn't Storage Wars, so take a more realistic attitude towards the business, and happy hunting!

Osteitis Pubis - The Chiropractic Approach

Osteitis pubis?is a very common condition we see in our office because of the large number of thletes we see. The most common are probably "footy players" or Australian Rules Football, runners and soccer players. Repetitive stress and micro trauma to the pubic symphysis region (where the left and right pubic bones come together at the front of the body,) is thought to be the main cause of osteitis pubis or "OP," however some OP injuries can originate from one specific trauma.

What Causes Osteitis Pubis

Sports that involve kicking, jumping and running are all activities that involve rapid changes in direction. These fast movements and changes in direction exert excessive forces on the pubic bones. A pulling force is exerted at the area where the abdominal and groin muscles attach and as a result of this excessive stress, tissue damage and inflammation result. Inflammation can lead to changes in the bone such as hardening of the tissue or increased density of the bone, which can be seen on x-rays. The medical term for this is sclerosis. It is understandable then how an athlete afflicted with OP would become incapable of sustained athletic activity. It is important to diagnose this condition in its early stages before it progresses and causes damage and erosion at the pubic symphysis.

Australian Rules Football players are repeatedly tackling, kicking and running, and jumping up and coming down. This repetitive impact excessively jars the pelvis. Pain usually arises when performing the kicking motion. Tight adductor and hamstring muscles along with weak abdominal muscles can also contribute to osteitis pubis.

What Are the Symptoms of Osteitis Pubis?

Most sufferers of osteitis pubis have pain over the pubic region with accompanying symptoms into the lower abdominals, groin region, insides of the thighs, hips and sometimes the testicles. The groin becomes tight and inflexible. Leg movements against resistance can become painful, specifically adduction, or movements towards the centre line of the body.

Factors contributing To Osteitis Pubis

For some reason the incidence of osteitis pubis has markedly increased over the last 10 years. Some reasons for this may be:

Excessive Loading on the Pubic Bones and Muscles from:

• Increased training and playing demands on the players


• Increasing exercise intensity or duration too quickly


• Increased hardness of the playing surfaces


• Increase in size and strength of the athletes

Biomechanical Contributing Factors:

• Poor gait mechanics of walking and running


• Restricted mobility of the pelvic girdle, abdominal ?and leg muscles


• Functional or anatomical? leg length discrepancies


• Musculo-skeletal imbalances? (scoliosis or muscle imbalances)

Treatment of Osteitis Pubis

Rest and Ice:If the injury is acute or has just happened, the first thing to do is rest and ice the injury.? If the athlete continues with training or playing, this further movement will aggravate the injury, potentially furthering the damage to the tissues and prolong the recovery time.

Restrict Movement: Limit the amount of movement and activity until the inflammation and pain are reduced or gone.

?A frozen bag of peas or some crushed ice are two simple effective ways to begin icing. Anything frozen or cold will work. It is important to note however, to not apply the ice directly to the skin, this can cause an "ice burn" to the skin. ?Use a damp towel or cloth as a barrier between your skin and the ice. As a basic guide, alternate the ice every 15-20 minutes for the first few days for a couple of hours at a time. This is just a guide, once you speak to your medical practitioner for a complete examination and consultation, they will be able to give you? more specific instructions once your condition has been thoroughly assessed and diagnosed. Using ice and resting an injured area is never a bad approach in the initial stages.

Chiropractic Care for Osteitis Pubis

Chiropractic focuses on improving the mechanics and function of the joints. This is usually accomplished through low force, safe and effective spinal adjustments. In our practice we use multi-thrust instrument adjusting along with other specific instrumentation for complimentary soft tissue rehabilitation of the injured area. Response time can vary between individuals depending on the severity and nature of the specific injury. Initial care is focused on stabilising and strengthening the anatomical regions and any areas of articular dysfunction.

Preventing Osteitis Pubis

These are some simple steps to help minimise the potential effects of high velocity kicking and running sports.

• Try to train on level playing surfaces


• Train on grass as often as possible


• Proper warm up and cool down for preparing the body for activity and recovery


• Proper rest and recovery after heavy training and competitive sessions


• Strength training and stretching to continually maintain the athletic resilience for your sport


• Proper footwear for support and spinal biomechanics

This article is meant as a guide and a general overview of osteitis pubis, it is not meant to substitute for a thorough examination or medical advice from a qualified health care professional. Consult your chiropractor ?or other provider for specific advice regarding your particular individual health needs.

Lumbago and Relief of Lower Back Pain Through a Chiropractor Clinic

Lumbago, or lower back pain, refers to a condition involving the soft and muscular tissues of the lumbosacral region of the spine. Lower back pain can be a condition related to sprain or strain of the area due to many factors, including but not limited to physical trauma; mechanical, inflammatory, neoplastic, metabolic disorders, and many other types of degenerative diseases; or even mental illness such as depression. If you are seeking relief of lower back pain, a chiropractor in Simi Valley can help.

Often times though, lower back pain can be associated with a misalignment of the spinal features of the Lumbosacral area of the spine. This area is comprised of a series of 10 vertebrae, beginning from the top with the first five representing the lumbar curve, and ending with a fused section of the next five known as the sacral curve.

The lumbar curve is made up of 5 vertebrae, which are connected to each other by discs. These discs allow the movement of the vertebrae and act as shock absorbers. If any of these vertebrae or discs become out of alignment, the surrounding tissues, muscles, and nerves can become irritated and/or inflamed, resulting in pain and discomfort. Spinal manipulation through a chiropractor can help to realign the subluxated vertebrae, which in turn encourages the affected areas to return to their natural condition.

Lumbago or pain in the lower back can also be addressed by the application of heat and cold, physical therapy, and rest. When supervised by a chiropractor clinic, many patients experience fast pain relief from this type of a combined effort of an action plan and spinal manipulation.

Understanding the relationship between lumbago, the lumbosacral region of the spine, and the effects of spinal manipulation from a chiropractic specialist can help to empower individuals experiencing lower back pain. With the information necessary to successfully choose a course of treatment that meets their needs and addresses their desires for quick help with back pain, a full recovery can be achieved.

How to Get Pain Relief for Spinal Stenosis Without Drugs or Surgery

The human backbone (spine) is a very complex biological structure. The spine is composed of 26 bone discs that are called "vertebrae". The complex mechanisms and structures of the spinal column allow us to bend forward, backwards, and side to side. Additionally, the spine carries an electrical system called "nerves" that transmit complex electrochemical messages to our organs, muscles, other skeleton bone structures (arms, hands, feet), and it is all wired back into the brain, our biological computer system.

There are a wide variety of injuries and ailments that can affect the proper functioning of the spine. Infections, injuries, and tumors can lead to different spinal problems, such as spinal stenosis, a herniated disc, arthritis, scoliosis, compression fractures, and many others. In this article, we will focus on a single spinal injury, spinal stenosis, and how the pain from this condition may be improved by chiropractic care.

What is spinal stenosis?

In its simplest definition, spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal column which puts pressure on the spinal nerves. Spinal stenosis mainly affects those over the age of 50 and the elderly population in general.

As some people age, the spinal joints become arthritic and form bone spurs. The ligaments thicken, and the discs may collapse and protrude into the spinal canal. Since there is a limited amount of room within the spinal canal, these intrusions put pressure on the nerves. As a consequence, there is often back and leg pain, which can be made worse by standing or walking.

Symptoms of spinal stenosis are varied and may include pain in the neck or back, pain in the legs and arms, numbness, weakness, or foot problems. Traditional allopathic medical treatment involves surgery, medications, braces, and physical therapy.

In some of the most severe cases, medication is not sufficient to relieve pain, and epidural steroid injections are used to suppress the nerve-pain impulses. When even steroid injections don't work, surgical decompression may be recommended. Both of these treatments are invasive and potentially dangerous. This is why chiropractic treatment of spinal stenosis may be a better option.

Since the main cause of pain in spinal stenosis is the compression and narrowing of the spinal canal pressing in on the nerves, effective chiropractic treatment would involve manipulating the spine to open up the canals to allow for a natural increased blood flow and less pressure on the nerves. Special spinal decompression manipulation techniques are employed by the skilled chiropractor to relieve pressure on nerves and blood vessels.

Additionally an advanced technique called non-surgical spinal decompression therapy may also be may helpful. This computerized treatment produces negative pressure within the disc, which gives the patient's body an opportunity to heal naturally.

An added advantage to chiropractic treatment is its cost effectiveness and safety. The risk of injury associated with chiropractic care is exceedingly low. Many thousands of people have obtained relief from overwhelming spinal and back pain, using chiropractic treatment.

In fact, there are many reported instances of people with spinal stenosis, who after repeated failures with traditional therapies, finally found pain relief when they discovered chiropractic treatment for spinal stenosis!

Toxins and Chiropractic Detoxification - A Chiropractor's Holistic Approach

Toxins are the source or toxicity in our body. Our body collects lots of toxins on a daily basis. We get these toxins from the air, the food we eat, the fluids we drink, and also from our body by which is naturally produced. Our liver is responsible for eliminating these toxins by filtering them from the blood and removing them from our body through excretion. However, once the liver becomes overwhelmed or becomes weakened from an injury or disease, these toxins will start accumulating in the body which would affect our health and wellness in the long run.

Toxins can make our bodies less efficient when these "body burdens" build up over time. You may find out that you are not as healthy anymore. Several body conditions can occur as a result of build up of toxins. It is thought to lead to illness and has been associated to hormonal imbalance, impaired immune function, nutritional deficiency, and metabolism inefficiency. When the body's internal cleansing system becomes overwhelmed, it will become sluggish and less efficient which may cause more pathological conditions to occur such as fibromyalgia, weight gain, arthritis, headaches, and allergies.

Currently, the risk of Alzheimer's disease is being associated with high exposure to aluminum. Also, many research studies show the disturbing relationships between autism and mercury. The United States Centers for Disease Control estimates that over 80% of all illnesses have environmental and lifestyle causes. It is estimated that one in every four Americans suffers from some level of heavy metal poisoning, including mercury, lead, cadmium, and aluminum.

There are many points in the body that are meridian points for supplying energy. Once the body gets infected by toxins, these meridian points weaken and the flow of energy is interrupted. Detoxification can have an important place in a chiropractic clinic. Chiropractic care uses various methods to achieve detoxification, including massage therapy, ion balancing detoxification, supplements and nutrition planning, and exercises.

Through chiropractic detoxification, it is possible to detoxify the body by making changes to its biochemical balance. A chiropractor works by manipulating the soft tissues of the body and the spinal cord to increase the flow of bile throughout the body. The bile is the primary channel by which toxins are gathered from different organs for removal from the body. When the flow of bile increases, it helps rejuvenate the cells in the body and restores their natural ability to effectively remove toxins.

Chiropractic detoxification can help clean your body internally and can help keep your skin look younger. You will also experience less colds and flu, less aches and pains, and your immune system becomes stronger. You may also experience side effects such as fasting, allergy-like symptoms, bad breath, headaches, diarrhea, constipation, and vomiting. However, these only indicate that your body removes the toxins from detoxification and these usually occur only at the beginning and won't last long.

The objective of chiropractic care in this approach is to identify dysfunctions, and prevent the subsequent degeneration of the body by detoxification. If you listen and follow your chiropractor's advices, then you can live a disease-free, healthy life.