LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

Work Injuries

EFFECTIVE ELBOW PAIN TREATMENT FOR COMPUTER USERS

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There is no doubt that our bodies were designed with a brilliance that defies description.  However, I’m pretty sure that, when it comes to the development of the computer, the powers that be are slapping their foreheads saying, “I didn’t see THAT coming…”  Prolonged times spent on the computer are clearly detrimental to our physical being.

Regardless of how good your ergonomic setup is, you were not designed for this.  Headaches, neck pain, shoulder pain, elbow pain and wrist pain seem to come along in the box right next to the mouse and keyboard (in the box labeled “Do NOT open,” but you open anyway out of curiosity..).

 Elbow pain, whether on the outside (lateral epicondylosis or tennis elbow) or the inside (medial epicondylosis or golfers’ / little leaguers’ elbow) can be a real bummer.  Personally, I consider carpal tunnel as the opposite end of the same problem.  Important to notice here is that I did not use the suffix “itis.”  This is because this condition, like many others we deal with, are not actually a problem with inflamed tissues.  Rather, it is a problem with the scar tissue that built up following an injury or overuse.  Hence the suffix “osis,” meaning pathology of.

Luckily, there are a variety of ways that can effectively treat this condition.

  1. First and foremost is making sure your ergonomic setup is as close to ideal as possible.
  2. Soft tissue techniques like Graston or Fascial Manipulation can help greatly.
  3. Rehabilitation exercises with a Therabar called the Tyler twist.

Treatment in our office consists of a variety of techniques to treat this condition (check out our YouTube video here).

This particular study finds that soft tissue techniques used to treat elbow pain in computer users were effective at reducing pain (almost 80% improvement in 4 weeks), very much in line with what our office has experienced.

 

WHAT CAN INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF MITOCHONDRIA? – (08-13-07)

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S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine Increases Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial DNA Density and Whole Body Insulin Sensitivity

Wow!! While I somewhat remember that the methylation pathway and SAMe feed into glutathione (an essential component of one of the body’s most potent detoxifying ezymes and antioxidant enzymes),

I can honestly say using methylators like SAMe, B12 or betaine had not come to mind. Keep in mind this is a mouse study, however, anything that can increase the efficiency of mitochondria is a keeper in my book!

Read entire article here

 

DO NOT DO THIS FOR A WORK INJURY!!

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As a chiropractor, I can tell you that taking advantage of more complicated and “high tech” treatments for many, if not most, musculoskeletal complaints is bad news.  Study after study shows that things like getting an MRI leads to higher chance of receiving an epidural.  Receiving an epidural leads to a higher chance of having surgery.  It becomes a cascade effect.

Most studies looking at chiropractic care for musculoskeletal complaints find that our care is at least as effective and definately cheaper.  Especially when you focus on less medication, less imaging and certainly less surgery.  Which always makes it difficult when someone tries to cut out chiropractic benefits to “save money.”  Math wasn’t my strong point, but sure seems to make sense to keep chiropractic in the picture.

This particular study, while not looking at chiropractic care, did look at the opposite end of the spectrum.  Researchers looked at patients with a herniated lumbar disc diagnosed in a hospital setting.  Almost 42% of them did not return to the workforce full time.  42%!!  The odds were worse if surgery was performed.

The bottom line is to seek chiropractic care FIRST.  Care will be simpler, less costly, and your odds of returning to work will be highter.

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