San Jose Chiropractor, A Chiropractic Blog

At a recent Arnold Schwarzenegger Fitness Weekend convention from March 3rd - 6th, 2011 in Columbus, Ohio, the former governor promoted the importance of chiropractic, the close relationship between fitness health and chiropractic and how chiropractic has helped him and his family in the past. In the past, Arnold has been a champion for not only fitness, nutrition and health but also chiropractic which is what this symposium was about. International Chiropractic Association (ICA) was there to represent chiropractic including a small group of select chiropractors. “We’ve got to let the people know that there is a necessity , it’s not even an option, it’s a necessity to have a chiropractor. As much as it is a necessity to have a dentist, if you have a dentist for the family, you should have your chiropractor for the family.” Best quote from Arnold Governor Schwarzenegger commented on developments in health care reform and the need to include prevention. He observed, "If you don...

Migraines & Weight : Girls who get migraines appear more likely than their peers to gain extra weight during adulthood, scientists say. I think many people with chronic pain will gain weight and probably have depression. My guess is that anti-depressants would help also. (sarcasm)  Frederik Joelving Article Shockwave therapy fails in study of 'jumper's knee' : "No Effect of Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy on Patellar Tendinopathy in Jumping Athletes During the Competitive Season". A therapy that uses sound waves to heal injured tissue may not be much help for athletes with "jumper's knee" -- at least when the treatment is used alone, a new study suggests. Amy Norton Article Asthma linked to celiac disease : Celiac disease confers a 1.6-fold increased risk of asthma: A nationwide population-based cohort study. People with the digestive disorder known as celiac disease are more likely to develop another disorder involving the immune system: asth...

Dr. Mehmet Oz Credits: Dr Oz website Citing a study that I mentioned in a previous blog entry with 80% successful back pain reduction with chiropractic, Dr Oz has Dr Steven Shoshany DC demonstrate chiropractic. Dr Oz first shows how misalignment can throw off the whole spine. Then he has a giant vertebrae model and a disc herniation pinching a spinal nerve. The whole segment was very quick and I have yet to find a video of it on the internet. Unfortunately, they don't have the segment on Dr Oz's website either. DrOzFans.com has a very good summary of the chiropractic segment also . I am not a big fan of pushing the pinched nerve idea on patients a lot when there is no disc herniation or arthritic stenosis. My only other concern was that he made no assessment of the patient's restrictions or the area of pain. Dr. Shoshany basically adjusted both sides of the pelvis the same way and made a final adjustment of a random area in the thoracic spine. He has over 200 reviews ...

Bodyweight supported treadmill for stroke patient Credits: NIH.gov Stroke Rehabilitation : Any type of stroke therapy is effective even as late as 6 months. It did not matter how expensive the rehab equipment was either. NIH official link Vitamin D : In the winter, pre-teen girls need more vitamin D in a study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition recommending 750 IU more than the IOC guideline of 600 IUs. Vitamin D & MS : Neurology journal, studied people from different regions looking at the latitude levels. They found that people with the same age and gender had less occurrences of multiple sclerosis in the sun-belt regions like Australia. Marijuana : Smoking pot increases likihood of mental illness according to a study at the University of New South Wales. Obesity & heart disease : A study published in the Lancet journal with the World Health Organization says that the obesity epidemic with a coming heart disease tsunami is no longer ...

Rugby Ankle Sprain Image: Paul Gooddy / FreeDigitalPhotos.net According to The American Journal of Sports Medicine , male athletes were three times more likely to have a medial (inner) ankle sprain and even high ankle sprains (syndesmotic ankle sprains). These ankle sprains are not as common as the lateral (outer) ankle sprains. High ankle sprains are also often misdiagnosed. The high ankle sprain can also be unstable when more ligaments are involved requiring surgery. This tidbit from the AJOSM is important with the prevention of injuries because high ankle sprains may result in significant recovery time and long-term disability. Here is Wikipedia's article about the different ankle sprains . Eighty percent of the high sprains that occurred happened during athletics, as did 64 percent of the inner sprains. High-contact, high-impact sports accounted for most injuries, with top offenders for high sprains in men being sprint football, men's team handball, soccer, and basket...

Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net As a chiropractor, I am happy to find research from non-chiropractors that supports results that I see and I am sure many other chiropractors see in their practices. Back pain can be complex and very individualized. I like to start by trying to find the primary cause of their pain whether it is joint pain, muscle pain or nerve pain. Non-arthritic joint pain (pain from a misaligned bone, dynamic joint motion restriction or subluxation) and muscle pain are directly related so I focus more on the chiropractic adjustment or muscle pain with Graston Technique or massage depending on the primary source of pain. What others label "nerve pain" can be sclerotogenous (nociceptive) pain like a trigger point, pain from cancer or typical arthritic pain while dermatomal pain is pain resulting from a disc herniation or an arthritic foraminal nerve compression. "Nerve pain" is therefore more complicated and can m...

Using some of the same 3D technology used in movies such as "Iron Man" or "Avatar" with the Autodesk Maya technology, ChiroMatrix uses this technology to produce on a very professional introductory video about the vertebral subluxation complex and reasons for chiropractic care. The traditional chiropractic view is a "pinched nerve" from a subluxation can not only result in pain but also other health problems. My views may be slightly different but it is still an interesting and informative video to watch. ChiroMatrix provides a service for chiropractic websites full of many features from built in blogs, online shopping stores, wellness newsletters, eCards, etc. Here is an example of their 3D Spine Simulator . I use ChiroMatrix's services so forgive this commercial-like posting but I wanted a reason for you to see the "Neural Highway" video. Link to ChiroMatrix's "The Neural Highway" ChiroWorks Care Center Anthony Tsai, D.C....

On February 10, 1895, the Minnesota Chiropractic Association honors Harvey Lillard, the first patient to receive chiropractic, in relation to Black History Month. D.D. Palmer is the father of Chiropractic and his son BJ Palmer made Chiropractic what it is today. According to history, Harvey's hearing was restored. To be honest, I have to question this because I can't think of any nerves in the neck that go to the ear. Maybe it was a blocked eustachian tube? ChiroWorks Care Center Anthony Tsai, D.C. Chiropractor in San Jose, CA Graston Technique Certified FAKTR-PM Completed Disclaimer: The content in this blog is for informational purposes only and an opinion for specific individualized circumstances.  It is not a prescription for therapy or diagnosis for you . All opinions expressed in these articles are solely those of the particular author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Anthony Tsai, Graston Technique®, its employees, p...

In this month's Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery article titled "Evidence for an Inherited Predisposition to Lumbar Disc Disease" , the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Utah School of Medicine examined the Utah Population Database to study over a million with lumbar disc herniations and disc disease. They looked for twin sibling studies and genetic markers to determine family clustering of these diagnoses. The study concluded that there was a strong correlation with near and distant relatives with lumbar disc diseases. No one study gives a patient the whole answer to their problems. It just gives a piece in the puzzle to the problem. By building these pieces for a solid and proven foundation, this information is another step for the answer many are waiting for like a possible genetic flaw in the protein of the annular fibers surrounding the nucleus puplosus. Lastly, I included an image of different spinal curvatures (lumbar lordosis) to show how alignment...

Credits: JackLaLanne.com On January 23, 2011 at the age of 96, Jack LaLanne, the godfather of fitness, passed away due to pneumonia. With world records, a TV show, many honors and products such as the Glamour Stretcher and Power Juicer, Jack was also a champion of Chiropractic with his daughter Yvonne, a chiropractor in the SF Bay area, California. Jack has recently been involved with Southern California University of Health Sciences and their yearly Extravaganza symposium in 2008. Jack LaLanne's strong philosophy in health, fitness and nutrition are also strong principles with many chiropractors and his legacy will continue to be felt after he is gone. With respect to Jack LaLanne and his family Credits: JackLaLanne.com ChiroWorks Care Center Anthony Tsai, D.C. Chiropractor in San Jose, CA ChiroWorksCareCenter.com Graston Technique Certified FAKTR-PM Completed Disclaimer: The content in this blog is for informational purposes only and an opinion for spe...

Image: Tom Curtis / FreeDigitalPhotos.net In an update to a previous study, the American Society of Clinical Oncology confirms that moderate physical activities such as biking, tennis, jogging, or swimming statistically improves survival rate among patients diagnosed with protate cancer . The study included 2700 men and the vigorous physical activity was at least 3 hours a week for a 61% decrease in prostate cancer mortality. Even less physically demanding exercises for as little as 15 min showed some decrease in cancer mortality. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men. While exercise is not a cure for cancer, the authors suggest that there may be an influence of insulin activity or lowering inflammation to alter the immune system mechanics. There is also some evidence that exercise may help other cancers such as colon and breast cancer . ChiroWorks Care Center Anthony Tsai, D.C. Chiropractor in San Jose, CA ChiroWorksCareCenter.com Graston Technique ...