Spinal Manipulation, Medication, or Home Exercise With Advice for Acute and Subacute Neck Pain

A Randomized Trial

An Example of Bad Sitting Ergonomics

I think we like to have internal civil wars between our brains and our bodies. Even though they are intimately connected, I think the brain has a superiority complex. I see this battle when it comes to the desk jockey. This is the person who sits all day, every day, and that is how they make their money, by sitting and doing computer-desk work. I realize that this is unavoidable and can be very taxing on the body, but if I had a choice, I think I would rather be a stunt man and take my injuries one by one vs. slowly becoming a mongoloid like cave dweller chained to one position. Heck, even prisoners have more freedom than desk jockeys.

This internal war starts with the body revolting, sending messages to the brain to move, squirm, readjust, get up, take a break, stretch, and so on. The mind recognizes the bodies check engine signals, but overcomes them with rationalization. The mind tells the body to take it, and keep on sitting. The mind realizes the importance of surviving, but also keeps in minds that whole must keep working to earn that oh so precious dollar.

At one point the mind might give a little and do more exercise outside of the working hours, but sometimes this is not enough. With some minds, there is recognition of the importance of the work space ergonomics. The chair is always recognized as very important. Here comes the problem. Some minds will start to think that sitting on a huge ball will help keep them upright for endless hours that their job demands. They think that the ball will magically strengthen their core to a point that they can sit forever without fatigue, like some sort of superhero. Short periods of large ball sitting are okay, but endless sitting will short circuit the system. This is when they find me, a Denver chiropractor, and the one they seek for help. Their brain has recognized its own inability to protect itself, its civil war has lost, and the body is battered and can no longer cooperate.

Well, I want to help all of the professional sitters sit better, to be able to sit longer, and sit without fatigue. I recently have had more than a normal amount of people come to the clinic and tell me they have neck and back pain, and they want me to fix them. When there are no obvious injuries, I have to play a bit of Sherlock Holmes. I usually suspect with a high degree, the job category, especially if they sit all day. When it comes out that they are using a large ball to sit on, I have to pull my teacher hat out.

Most people like to think they have good ergonomics. This of course is natural for the professional sitter. Let me tell you why sitting on a ball all day is wreaking havoc on your body.

Sitting requires using your muscles to some degree. It you are using the same set of muscles to sit for extended time, that is, more than 30 minutes, your muscles will fatigue. Think of holding a bowling ball like a waiter holds a tray. With the weight directly over the hand and weight, it is not so bad, because it requires a high degree of balancing versus strength. This is the concept that the ball sitters are using, but it is flawed. For a short time this version of sitting will work, but certain muscle groups will fatigue at one point.

The goal of sitting well is to shift the strain on muscles, and not have one group of muscle bearing the burden. This is what happens with ball sitting, one group of muscles are doing all the work while the rest are sitting back and taking a nice vacation.

Shifting the load on muscle groups to different muscle groups is the key to prevent one set muscles from fatiguing, and using a ball to do this is impossible. With a ball, you cannot rest your arms; your arms are endlessly hovering to type and mouse. The muscles that do this are what many people call their shoulders. This is the Upper Trapezious, Levator scapulae, Rhomboids, Splenius Capitus, and many others that share connections with the neck and back. The muscles in your low back share the same burden, they never get to rest, because they are always engaged.

By using these muscles continuously, you will put a tremendous amount of strain on the upper back, low back, and the neck. Using a ball also prevents you from resting your neck. Having a chair where you can tilt back and rest your noggin, and rest your arms while you take or make a call is just what the body wants, a shift in muscle group use.

Prolonged use of any muscle will put the check engine light on. Using over the counter non steroidal, like Ibuneverworkuprofin, or Tyandnotfixanol will never cure your problem. You are just putting tape over the check engine light. After a while of body revolt, your joints will be out of alignment, trigger points and muscle adhesions will develop. This will show as low back pain, upper back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain, and headaches.

If you keep repeating the pattern of using your ball to sit on while you are developing neck and back pain, your problem will become much harder, longer, and much costlier to fix than buying a good ergonomic chair. Do your body a favor and get rid of that six dollar Walmart ball that you are using.

Next time you sit on your ball, become aware of what muscles you are actively using. Next, think of how long those same muscles can keep contracted without fatigue. Listen to your body, it will tell you what it needs, as [...]

Cold Laser

We are still far away from hover boards, and time machines, but our advances in laser therapy to treat pain and injuries has come a long way. Our chiropractic clinic in Denver has the latest advancement in laser therapy. We utilize the MR4 Super Pulsed Laser.

This one piece of equipment utilizes a combination of 5 different therapies. It includes in one treatment, 1. A super pulsed laser, 2. Pulsed broad band infrared, 3. Pulsed red light, 4. Static Magnetic field, and 5. Electric stimulation. This is a very powerful combination, that is used to treat over 300 different conditions.

One of the coolest advances with cold laser equipment, is that it has TARGET technology. Which stands for Treatment Area Recognition and Guidance Enchanced Technology. We use the device to scan an area, and it recognizes areas of increased impedence. This is the area we treat. We pull the trigger, and therapy starts, once the impedence improves, the device stops therapy.

One of the big advantages of this type of cold laser therapy is how deep the laser can penetrate. The laser is able to reach 5 inches of tissue depth. This is amazing, and unique in that other modalities cannot achieve this reach.

Clinical effects of the 5 therapies include:

1. activation of RNA and DNA synthesis
2. increased cell metabolism in the form of ATP
3. improvement of microcirculation
4. reinforcement of collagen synthesis and reduced fibrous tissue formation
5. anti-inflammatory response
6. edema reduction
7. pain reduction
8. stimulation of T-cell production
9. increased levels of prostaglandin synthesis
10. gentle heating of surface tissue layer
11. acts upon receptors in the skin and reduces pain
12. microcirculation activation
13. stimulates epithelial cell growth and regeneration
14. reinforces laser penetration into target tissues
15. localized pain relief
16. reduction in swelling

Laser therapy can be a perfect adjunct to the visit to the chiropractor. I schedule 15-20 minute appointments that include any combination of services that we provide to ensure the most impact.

Laser therapy has over 4,000 clinical trials world wide to document the effects. It is used in over 3,000 hospitals, and used in over 10,000 private practices. It can be used on just about any part of the body, and it has relatively few contraindications.

Olympic athletes, the special forces, US major league soccer team, NBA & NFL players, National soccer team, and chronic pain sufferers all utilize the MR4 Super Pulsed Laser.

The laser can treat a multitude of conditions such as

1. acute, sub-acute, and chronic pain
2. back pain
3. neck pain
4. carpal tunnel symptoms
5. arthritis pain
6. fibromyalgia
7. ligament sprains
8. tendonitis
9. tennis elbow
10. soft tissue injuries
11. muscle strain

This is just a partial list of conditions that the cold laser treats. It is used to treat over 300 different conditions. Treatments range from 1 time per week for 5 weeks to 2-3 times per week for 6-15 weeks. The frequency of visits is determined by the magnitude of the condition. Treatment by the laser usually lasts between 5-15 minutes.

In Health,

Dr. Trent Artichoker MS, DC
Denver Chiropractic, LLC
3890 Federal Blvd Unit 1
Denver, CO 80211

303-455-2225

“It will just go away”, “I’ll just take some pain pills”, “It’s nothing, I’ll get over it”, “I’ve had this before, it will go away like it did before”, are just some of the phrases that I’ve heard from patients coming through my door. It is very natural to think that your pain will go away, and perhaps it might, but letting pain linger is like pretending the warning light on your car dash will go away. Perhaps it might go away, but I’ve seen to many people where the pain gets worse and further damage occurs.

To prevent further damage, or the chance of your pain increasing, I would highly advise you to see a professional. I have compiled 10 signs or symptoms that you should see your denver chiropractor for.

1. Pain from Trauma. Many accidents whether they are from auto injuries, sports injuries, or falls can have underlying problems that only a doctor can detect. Auto accidents can be peculiarly benign, but can have serious injuries on the body that can last forever. Treatment for an auto accident should begin as soon as possible to limit the inflammation that occurs and to help restore movement as soon as possible. Trauma can lead to broken bones, torn ligaments, ruptured tendons, herniated discs, nerve damage, and so fourth. Many of these problems can seem as if they will go away on their own, but left untreated they can become chronic and possibly irreversible.

2. Pain that goes into the arms or legs. This should prompt a visit to the chiropractor as soon as possible. Pain that radiates to the extremities is a sign of inflammation, a possible extrusion of the discs, osteophyte compression of the nerve root, or other serious processes that often times will not go away on their own. Appropriate diagnosis is critical for resolution of these types of pains.

3. Pain with reduced range of motion. Pain that appears out of no where, or is unexplainable should also prompt you to see the chiropractic physician. There are underlying disease processes that can cause this, as well as simple treatment options to fix this. Many people go for years in pain, when a chiropractor can fix the issue in usually less than 10 visits.

4. Pain that wakes you at night. Pain experienced at night while sleeping can be a serious problem. If you are waking at night with pain, there could be serious underlying pathology that should be investigated by a doctor. As they say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I’ve seen problems that could have been quickly eliminated, but due to the person watching and waiting, their problem had become much worse and devastating.

5. Painful Headaches. There are many types of headaches, and some are more indicative of a serious underlying problem. Headaches can easily be treated by our profession, but we have also been trained to know when a headache is coming from something more serious.

6. Pain with normal everyday activities. I’ve seen people that have been in pain for years, and take NSAID everyday to help control the pain. They land in my office when the pain gets so bad, that they can’t even function. It is very sad that someone has lived in pain for so long, and they could have found relief if someone had just told them to see a chiropractor. Pain is not normal, and should not be addressed with daily NSAIDs. Lots and lots of people die from chronic NSAID use every year.

7. Numbness, tingling, and weakness. These are signs of something very serious occurring. It is the bodies’ way of telling you that you need help. These are usually problems with the nerves, and a doctor is the only person that is going to be able to you why you are having these types of problems. Googling your symptoms is great, but playing your own doctor can be dangerous and can cause irreversible damage.

8. Repeat use of pain pills. If you find yourself having to take pain pills on a regular basis, then this should be a wake up call. Go see someone! This is not normal, NSAID’s can be great in certain situations, but taken on a regular basis can create their own problems. Pain is the warning sign, take it seriously, and don’t think that it is normal.

9. Rear end auto accidents at low speeds. Just because there is very little property damage, doesn’t mean that there is very little damage to your body. Whiplash accidents are unique, and the damage can show up days, weeks, and months later. Go see a doctor that has specific training and treatment for auto accidents. With these types of injuries, the faster you get treatment, the better off you’ll be.

10. You have seen other health professionals with no relief. Sometimes the person that walks through my door has been to every other doctor imaginable. MRI’s, CAT scans, x rays, blood tests, physical therapy have all been tried and we are sometimes the person last resort. These types of cases are great, because often time the chiropractor can help, and probably should have been the first person to have been seen. Be open to chiropractic manipulative therapy.

There is plenty of evidence indicating the therapeutic benefit, and safety. People get misinformed of what chiropractic really is or how it is performed. You don’t have much to lose to, so keep an open mind. We have the same amount of education as a medical doctor, and we accept insurance, and have very affordable cash rates. Research your local chiropractor, so you know what to expect.

In Health,

Dr. Trent Artichoker MS, DC

Denver Chiropractic, LLC
3890 Federal Blvd Unit 1
Denver, CO 80211

303-455-2225

On the evolutionary time period of our healing methods, our modern day manual health solutions can actually be traced back thousands of years. From chiropractic to acupuncture, our ancestors have already paved the way of utilizing tools and hands on techniques to heal the body. For thousands of years, cultures have refined the art of manipulating the joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments with ancient tools, and now with modern day tools. One such ancient technique, such as gua sha, has been around longer than most of our family trees.

Gua sha is a Chinese term, literally meaning, “to scrape away fever”, and utilizes animal horns, ceramic spoons, and jade materials to scrape the skin. Although the Chinese used these primitive tools to combat a myriad of diseases from asthma to joint stiffness, we have now refined and evolved the technique to treat disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system.

One such technique that I commonly use in my clinic as a chiropractor in Denver, is the Graston Technique. The Graston Technique is similar to Gua Sha, as it utilizes tools to scrape the skin and tissue underneath the skin to achieve a desired clinical outcome.

The Graston Technique utilizes a set of six stainless steel tools that have been precisely machined for different areas of the body. The technique can only be applied by individuals that have gone through a formal educational certification process. Only Athletic Trainers, Chiropractic Physicians, Medical Physicians, Occupational Therapists, Osteopaths, Physical Therapists, Podiatrists, licensed OT and PT assistants -who work under the auspices of previously mentioned professionals, are able to provide the Graston Technique.

The main outcome with the Graston Technique is to reduce scar tissue that has potentially built up over time. The instruments provide tactile feedback to the practioner and patient, indicating areas of dysfunction. Treatments usually last several minutes per area, and frequency is usually 6-12 treatments, with 3-5 days between treatments.

The technique is used for a multitude of acute and chronic injuries; such as, neck pain, back pain, cervical sprain, cervical strain, lumbar sprain, lumbar strain, carpal tunnel syndrome, plantyar fasciitis, lateral epicondylitis, medial epicondylitis, rotator cuff tendinosis, patellofemoral disorder, Achilles teninosis, fibromyalgia, scar tissue, trigger finger, shin splints, and it also helps people who have been in a Denver car accident.

Dr. Trent Artichoker MS, DC
Denver Chiropractic, LLC
3890 Federal Blvd
Unit 1
Denver, CO 80211

303-455-2225 (BACK)

www.DenverColoradoChiropractic.com

Contact your local Denver chiropractor if you are experiencing back pain, neck pain, have been in a denver car accident, sports injury, maintenance care, or interested in wellness care.

Dr. Trent Artichoker MS, DC

Denver Chiropractic, LLC
3890 Federal Blvd Unit 1
Denver, CO 80211

http://www.denvercoloradochiropractic.com/index.html

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Image source: Pippa Garner’s “Ms. Goodwrench” cartoon for Car and Driver Magazine, March 2009 edition

Forget about sending smoke signals, or telegrams, we’ve moved into the 21st century. This isn’t Star Trek times, but we are getting much closer to the future. I’m talking about texting. Texting is a great way to communicate, but it should be done at the right time. Unfortunately, texting is being blamed for the latest death of the plastic surgeon, Dr. Frank Ryan. Dr. Frank Ryan is the successful surgeon who did Heidi Montag and many other celebrity figures. My thoughts and prayers go out to Dr. Ryan’s family

Texting is not only dangerous while driving, but can also wreak havoc on your neck. As a chiropractor in denver, I am seeing more people with neck pain lately due to their texting habits. Sometimes I’ll catch them in the act. As I enter the room to greet them for the first time, they are busy texting. That seemingly harmless activity, can cause headaches, neck pain, and shoulder pain. The prolonged forward bend of the neck causes the muscles to fatigue and eventually strain.

It is similar to wearing a back pack all day, eventually your muscle will tire and give out. Muscles can only work so long without giving them a break. So, text safely, and text with your head in a neutral position. This will put less strain on your neck muscles, and then you can text all you want.

Dr. Trent Artichoker MS, DC

Denver Chiropractic, LLC
3890 Federal Blvd Unit 1
Denver, CO 80211

303-455-2225

Denver is such a beautiful city, but hard to enjoy when you have neck pain. Neck pain can be caused by a multitude factors, some serious, and some not so serious. What is causing your neck pain?

As a chiropractor in Denver, I regularly see people come to my clinic for help with their neck pain. When there is no trauma, or other disease processes, neck pain can be typical for the person that spends lots of time at the computer. Computer monitors are like black holes, they suck you in, and are very hard to escape. They end up giving forward head posture. I’ve had my fair share of neck pain, but who can blame us. Computers are fascinating and life changing, but they can be a hazard to our health.

I like to think of our head like a bowling ball. Pretend you are holding a bowling ball, like the women in the picture. If you tilt your arm one way, certain muscles in your hand/arm have to work harder than the other muscles. Now move the bowling ball in the other direction, and notice the different muscles being activated. Try holding that bowling ball all day, everyday. Your head is like a bowling ball, if it is to far in front of your body, the muscles in the back of your neck have to work much harder than the muscles in the front of your neck. We call this problem anterior head carriage, or forward head.

This constant contraction of the muscles in the back of your neck will make them fatigue. Once your muscles fatigue, your muscles will start to send pain signals, and become knotted. The knots in your muscles are referred to as trigger points. Trigger points can cause considerable pain, and send pain signals far away from the actual trigger point.

There are many therapies that help with painful necks. Here is a short list,

1. Chiropractic Manipulative Therapy – Re-Aligns the spine causing decrease in muscle tension
2. Massage Therapy
3. Ultrasound
4. Electrotherapy
5. Exercises to balance out muscle imbalances
6. Laser Therapy
7. Myofascial Release
8. Trigger Point Therapy
9. Muscle Stretching
10. Muscle Energy Techniques
11. Mechanical Massage
12. Ergonomic Changes
13. Postural Awareness
14. Heat/Cold therapy

There are number of ways to treat this problem, but the point is to get it treated and looked at by a professional.

Dr. Trent Artichoker MS, DC

Denver Chiropractic, LLC
3890 Federal Blvd Unit 1
Denver, CO 80211

303-455-2225