My Fave Things About Social Distancing (So Far)

Y’all. I am an introvert by nature, and believe it or not, so is Pierce, so we really enjoy being at home. Being (essentially) forced to stay at home makes me want to get out more though...funny how that works. As I’ve been practicing social distancing more though, it’s making me start to realize how many things I truly take for granted in any given day. 

One of the nicest things for me, and it’s a little selfish, being a chiropractor who is still seeing acute patients, is the fact that traffic is SO LIGHT. It’s so nice being able to turn off the AC, roll down the windows and jam out to some sweet tunes. Plus singing at the top of my lungs and red-light dancing is so uplifting right now. Seriously, next time you’re headed to the grocery store, try it. Your heart will feel like it’s smiling. 

Speaking of grocery shopping, I have seen so many more people connecting with each other (though at the CDC suggested distance of 6 feet), little smiles, jokes, noting the TP in the cart. It’s encouraging seeing people connect with each other. So many of us were stuck with our eyes glued to our phones, disengaging. So maybe we are practicing social distancing but encouraging social engagement. 

As I’ve pulled into a neighborhood to see a patient, I always get a big smile on my face when I see a family taking a walk with each other. Movement is important. Being outside is important. Spending time with loved ones is important. It’s so nice seeing people connecting with all of those things.

Rarely, like in the last 2 years, have I been able to enjoy my yard (it’s a pretty great one). I love seeing the deer, birds and other wild life really thriving right now. I get to see the wildflowers dancing in the wind, the painted bunting come to my bird feed and listen to the noises of nature.

We don’t have kids yet. But we do have animals. And while it’s nice to come home to a loving husband and a comfortable house. there’s not much greater than animals that greet you when you walk in the door. I used to take is for granted, but now I try to greet each of them (Pierce first) as excitedly as they greet me. It’s also nice having a dog that all he wants to do is spend time with you while you’re working. We don’t deserve dogs, guys.

I truly believe that things happen for a reason, maybe this whole pandemic is meant to bring society closer together in a way we haven’t seen in a lifetime. So let’s all keep on enjoying time spent with loved ones, connecting with strangers and getting that ever-important (especially right now) Vitamin D. 

Again, because I want to make it clear, we are here to continue to support you. If you are experiencing any musculoskeletal concerns, especially any that would make you go to the emergency room, we are encouraging you to seek treatment by a chiropractor at this time. We would be happy to help, give us a call at (210) 323-2163. 

Please stay safe, stay well and most importantly stay home.

Exercises for Common Problems

No body is perfect, hopefully if you follow these exercises we can help your body function more perfectly.

TMJ

If you’ve ever noticed your jaw popping or clicking (or getting stuck open or closed), you may have TMJ. You will also notice some ear or jaw pain associated with it. Most of the time, if you’re like me, it’s from clenching your teeth, especially while sleeping. Our favorite exercise for TMJ to instruct patients on is super easy to do, no one will be able to even tell you’re doing it at all. So, first, check and see where your tongue is sitting in your mouth. It should be lightly pressed against the back of the two top front teeth. That’s the exercise (yeah, really). I told you it’d be easy. In fact it’s so easy, that’s actually where the tongue should automatically go when at rest, like we’re talking anatomical position, correct biomechanics stuff (...<3). When you do this, it is virtually impossible to clench your teeth because it inhibits the muscles responsible for closing the jaw. 

The hard part comes into play when we need to train your brain into putting it there. 

So, what we suggest doing is pick a trigger (whatever it is, a text, a phone call, your kids shouting for your attention, etc.), make it something that happens throughout the day pretty regularly and then check and see where your tongue is. From a fellow TMJD patient, this really works. I’ve alleviated my symptoms and my tongue automatically goes behind my top front teeth. 

Neck Pain

Neck pain is the worst. Most of the time it is followed up with a headache, which can range from not that bad to turn-off-all-of-the-lights-and-no-one-talk-to-me-until-I-am-ready bad. Lucky for you, we have some easy ways to help the neck pain you’re already experiencing and may prevent it from happening again. 

First start off sitting, then you will tap yourself on your shoulders with your fingers (right to right/left to left). Relax your shoulders (but keep them where they are) and lower your arms down to your sides. Now you will want to take your neck through all of the ranges of motion. Look up, down, side to side and tilt your head from right to left. 

You want to try to do this throughout your day, so there will be natural triggers to remind you to do your neck stretches (hopefully). We also like to do these when we are taking a shower or just trying to relax. 

Low Back Pain

FACT. Low back pain is one of the most common excuses for people to either not go into work or participate in activities they would like to, but feel that they can’t. 

This one may have to be done at home. First, get on your hands and knees on the ground. You’re then going to drop your bellybutton down toward the ground and look up (think of a cow standing in a field), then bring your bellybutton toward your spine/spine toward the ceiling (like a hissing cat).

If you are experiencing any of the above, we have so many more things left in our back pocket to help you. Give us a call, set up an appointment and then we can go over so much more detail. Our number is (210) 323-2163, give us a call anytime.

The Gate Control Theory of Pain

When I was in chiropractic school I learned so much about how and why chiropractic works but this is the one that made the most sense to me and has stuck with me many years later. Now, it’s just a theory, and it’s pretty hard to prove if it is true, maybe in my lifetime it will become a law of science.

Let’s set the scene, you’re walking along and then you stub your toe on the coffee table. What’s the first thing you do without even thinking about it? As soon as your brain realizes what’s going on, you put pressure on the stubbed toe and it helps alleviate the pain. 

Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty details of the theory, pain and movement move up the same neural pathway to the brain. Movement is a faster and pain is a stronger signal up the pathway. The faster one, movement, will get to the brain faster and prevent the stronger one, pain, from making it in. So, by putting motion into the joint, it gets to the brain before the pain, essentially tricking the brain into thinking there isn’t a problem anymore (if there ever was). 

So, how does this relate to chiropractic care? When a chiropractor puts movement into a joint, then that signal makes it to the brain before the pain signal can make it there. So, that’s why when patients get off the table they will feel better almost immediately, even if it’s only slight.

If you’re looking for a chiropractor and live in San Antonio, please reach out and I’m sure we can help. You can reach us at (210) 323-2163.

Let’s Talk About Low Back Pain!

One of the most common complaints doctors hear about from their patients is low back pain, so if yours is bothering you, you aren’t alone. Almost daily I get asked about why someone’s back is bothering them and how they can help it. Luckily, I have a few ideas. First, let’s go over how you got to where you are. 

Low back pain can come on for many different reasons. Degenerative disc disease and osteoarthritis are two that most cannot avoid.  Like to say it happens to the best of us. With that being said, the best way to hold it off is by moving your body and your joints. The human body was made for movement and craves it. One way that everyone can begin moving around is by taking a walk. We live in San Antonio, if it’s in the triple digits that day, another way to get movement into your life and staying cool is by swimming or doing aqua-aerobics.

Most of the time, we can relate low back pain to a weakened core (the core is a whole other blog post in and of itself, and we will get into the nitty gritty at another time). In this scenario, patients will come in and say “I bent over to pick up a pen off the ground and couldn’t come back up”. It’s not like that pen weighed 150 pounds, it’s the fact that they don’t have strong core and they bent over the wrong way one too many times (the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back). So, if you don’t want to be one of those patients, then you should ALWAYS be using your legs to pick things up (yeah, even that pen that you dropped on the ground).

When I was in chiropractic school a colleague always bent at his knees and squatted to grab his backpack at the end of the day and said he didn’t want to waste his “flexion-dollars”. I really like that concept, the fact that you only have so many flexion-dollars you can spend in one life, so use them wisely and save them in your bank.

Now, you’re on a chiropractic blog, so of course I’m going to talk about why chiropractic is great at helping low back pain. Like I said earlier, your body craves movement and as a chiropractor that’s exactly what we do when we are adjusting patients. We look for joints that are hypomobile, or aren’t moving as much as they should and then put motion into the joint so we can restore normal biomechanical function. It doesn’t matter how you’re adjusted, whether it be manual or instrument assisted, an adjustment is an adjustment is an adjustment. 

If you’re experiencing low back pain and live in the San Antonio, TX area, we would be happy to help you get out of pain. You can get on the schedule by calling (210) 323-2163.