Chiropractic beliefs vs Massage Therapist and Exercise Specialist beliefs

Chiropractors will have you believe that it's your vertebrae or bones causing you pain because one: You're out of alignment for whatever reason or two: You have a pinched nerve because of a bone obstructing it. Also that fixing your bones will improve the nervous system, which will cure your sickness, sinuses or allergies, etc. They're not doctors, granted they're holistic like I am. They also think they're orthopedics, when they're not. They're in their own little world, even ask a real orthopedic surgeon. I'm already in an agreement with them. Muscle pulls on bone, soon as you have bad posture or fatigued muscles, they'll pull your vertebrae either direction. Pull you out of whack, tilt your neck to one side, etc. It's not your bones moving out of place! Need to stretch the muscles and get regular massages more than chiropractic. It's not healthy to keep having your bones cracked/adjusted. You get more sore.

Example 1 would be: They'll say you have sciatica with the nerve being pinched. That L5 or S1 is pinching it. First of all the sciatic nerve runs from L5 and down the sacrum, and down the hamstrings and calves, but the sacrum are all fused together into one. When we were babies, we had S1-S5 along with our coccyx bone: 1-4, but both structures fused together. Besides the L5 pinching the nerve, it'll be the piriformis muscle deep behind your butt (gluteus maximal). In the pictures you'll notice all these. 

Example 2: They'll say hip pain is caused by the psoas major muscle. We got many hip flexor muscles causing hip pain. They only pay attention to one muscle at a time when it's more than that. They learned the anatomy and everything the same way I did but were taught to treat the bones alone, to improve posture and the nervous system/immunity. Again in the pictures you'll see the hip flexors that flex our hips. It's not shown but the pectineus is another muscle included, five muscles, just like five adductor muscles.  Where you can see the psoas major, it fights the quadratus lumborum in the back. That's what alters our posture if we don't watch. Look up quadratus lumborum. 

Hip flexors that flex the hip, pectineus not shown. 

Piriformis and other muscles, piriformis affecting the sciatic nerve

         

The piriformis is the one that pinches the nerve as well, called piriformis syndrome. If you Google stretches for it, you'll find all kinds using a chair to being on the floor

Headaches due to muscles

These  pictures demonstrate why people get muscle pain, on any part of their body as well as headaches. Blood flow and nutrients are blocked by muscle knots. Thick tissue that needs massaged out because it's starved. Not even chiropractic adjustments can help the muscles. It only helps the spine & nerves. It’s your trapezius muscles that knot up.. 

And people just go on with their day with the same chronic issue not knowing it's the cause! Try practicing better posture whether you sit a lot or as well as standing/walking. And be careful with “text neck.” Neck posture from texting.. Even try avoiding excessive so much Omega-6 acids from the fattening foods & sweets out there, which increase inflammation in the body in general. Instead, focus on Omega-3s such as in Salmon oil capsules. Make sure you buy dark ones with lots of oil in them. Not clear fish oil pills, they're not strong enough. I have experience taking Salmoon oil and it helps my mood, let alone any hint else. Take anything to get your blood flowing also like L-Arginine, one of 10 essential  amino acids needed. 

Kidney pain vs. Quadratus Lumborum stiffness

Alright here's a new post, this involves either the kidney or the QL muscle. The difference between kidney pain due to a stone and such or just muscle stiffness/spasm. If it's a QL (Quadratus lumborum) problem in the back, you will feel it in your lumbar vertebra, or at the floating ribs or down on the pelvis. Also tenderness in your butt. The dull ache will be closer to the vertebra besides on it. The kidneys do sit in far, you have to go through the tissues first. 

If it's a kidney problem then you will feel more inflammation in between the ribs or towards the outside more too.  Flank pain or labor pains. It'll still spasm in there deep as it's trying to exit maybe. In my case my kidney was still swollen, which was causing my tenderness in the back.. You'll pee out blood, which looks brown in your pee, it'll feel like a pinch, and when you pee it should go away. Things like that. Always ask questions on what it is! Look at these pictures and decipher the difference. I've had the kidney stone pain now so I can tell the difference. If it's a dull ache or stiffness, it's the QL and soft tissues. The kidney causes labor pains in the sides or down your groin rather than stiffness or achiness.. 

The muscle treatments can't be a moist heating pad, massage & stretching over to the side or on a ball. Kidney treatments are accordingly with your doctor. Avoid Apple juice, cranberry, orange or grape juice, anything acidic. Drink water, lemonade or anything alkaline. Maybe berry juice.. Avoid excess animal & dairy protein. Moderation. Look up kidney flushes or buy some dandelion root. Becareful with meds being mixed. 

             Kidney stone pain areas

Who out there gets the hiccups?

Which one of you out there gets the hiccups? Chances are most of you including myself. I actually haven't had hiccups for awhile, I just get the short one time ones from possibly eating too fast or it's from the gases in my stomach. There are two things that cause this by one theory: One is eating too fast, and two is that it's the phrenic nerve that stems from the cervical nerves C3 - C5, down to your diaphragm being irritated. Now because you eat too fast, gases can build up or if your stomach's trying to handle it, the stomach may force upward causing that burst of air, and then forces the diaphragm up. Therefore it irritates the diaphragm that the phrenic nerve is attached to. Below is a simple picture of where the phrenic nerve is on the body, and that the diaphram is under the lungs and heart above the stomach and other organs. 

Rotator cuff strains & shoulder impingement

According to statistics, health studies, any research u look at, Institute of health, my NASM books, rotator cuff injuries are happening way too often now. There's 40-65% reported shoulder impingement pain. General shoulder pain is experienced with 21% of the population. You could be working in construction or working some physical job and suddenly strain your rotator cuff muscles. If you're at a gym lifting too heavy like during bench pressing or shoulder pressing, etc, your rotator cuff has to stabilize your arm, your whole joint with all that weight. When u do fast movements, when u over stretch your elbow or shoulder too far during joint movements in those exercises u will strain the cuff! Doing overhead presses behind the neck & lat-pull-downs behind the neck over stretches the shoulders too far & puts strain on your delts, traps and rotator cuffs. 

If u strained your cuff, basic symptoms include: extreme pain throughout the shoulder & possibly down the arm, & can't raise arm up or move it at all.  There are 1st, 2nd or 3rd degree sprains or strains for any injury u get. 

Supraspinatis or shoulder impingement is when the supraspinatis muscle tendon is compressed under the acromion bone and the bursa sac isn't cushioning it. Bursa sacs are in most of our synovial joints that include ligaments & synovial fluid. These sacs are filled with fluid also, this is how it protects the tendon from rubbing over or under a bony projection. But when u feel extreme pain or rubbing, then there's some friction going on or wear & tear. These symptoms also include not being able to raise arm up overhead, very little movement. Causes of this include overuse, reaching overhead too much and/or too many overhead shoulder presses. 

Here are pictures of the cuff and a supraspinatis impingement syndrome, the supraspinatis is the top muscle under the acromion: 

               

                Shoulder impingement picture from my NASM-Corrective Exercise training book

Go get checked out if u think you're having symptoms, rest and ice if u can. Try these stretches also, two of these are from me. 

U got to sit in a chair, hold your arm up at 90 degrees as in my picture, while a partner grips your wrist with their same hand (right to right), & they stabilize your elbow with their left hand, so this would be for the right arm.. U do the same for their left arm, (left hand to left wrist), then your partner or whoever is helping, use their opposite hand to the victim's elbow..  U got to push that wrist backwards past the victim's waist bringing the elbow forward. 

This pic below u can use a wall, it's almost the same, u reach your hand behind your back, use your opposite hand to hold it in place, again, bring elbow forward. U can twist your torso a bit to pull elbow forward more or lean back.  Both of these will stretch the cuff or supraspinatis if they are tight, pulling on your shoulder. U will feel a good stretch. Hold each stretch for 30 sec at least.. 

Protein drinks for easy absorption, protein intake and/or weight loss.

Protein example drinks for a quick breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack during the day, that you can pick up at grocery stores. Quick absorption, liquid protein is always faster absorbed than solid proteins in the GI tract. It's absorbed into the stomach faster with the blood & acids.. Where carbs & digests quicker in the mouth.. As long as it still has whey protein in it. You'll get your amino acids quick.. Protein drinks or shakes besides for protein intake purposes are a way to go for weight loss so your body won't store the extra carbs or fat. It'll cause you to feel fuller. Protein will get stored as fat after adequate amounts have been used though. Look for Organic yogurt or regular shakes or drinks in a health food store if you can.. There are protein shakes u can buy at a grocery store like Walmart but non are as near natural such as Lean Body shakes.. U can buy anything from a container of whey protein, unflavored whey powder if u can find it, or premade.. I got Bob's Red Mill whey protein mix on here, it's at a local Big Lots, along with other Red Mill soup mixes, flours & other things.. Chocolate milk is said to be a good recovery drink because it has more carbohydrates in it with protein, the ratio is better. Make sure it's natural like Troo Moo, Nesquick or from the Shamrock Farm company. The milk is only good for light work outs, depending on your work outs you may need more protein up to 30g. 

 Protein: all break down into amino acids. Catabolism is the breaking down of the proteins, and then the proteins build back up, (anabolism) for the body to use. Even carbohydrates and proteins can still be changed into triglycerides or glucose for energy use, carbohydrates can be changed back but proteins can’t.  Calories from protein needs to be 10-35%. Besides meat or nuts, almonds, etc, dairy provides good protein. If you eat yogurt, look for any type of Organic live cultured yogurt brands such as Stonyfield. It must have the Organic certified symbol on the products and it’ll provide acidophilus and other probiotics as if you were supplementing with those. Regular yogurts won’t carry those. As far as hormones go, we have hGH (Human Growth Hormone) produced in the Anterior Pituitary Gland, and then IGF (Insulin-like-growth hormone) is a break down from that. Our muscles, bones, cartilage, collagen and liver utilizes IGF from hGH. We get this from animal protein, it helps build this up in our bodies. Animal protein like our dairy milk are pumped with bad hormones though. rBGH in dairy milk for example or hormones in meat cattle, it changes our cells, it increases our own hormones. Too much can cause cancer. Just like any over abundance of things.

Protein intake

Average sedentary person = .8g x body weight in kg

Endurance athletes = 1.2 - 1.4

Strength athletes including football players, etc = 1.4 – 2.0

Step 1. Calculation: body weight ÷ 2.2 = kg body weight

                        Step 2. Kg body weight x protein intake

  

Low back pain, the truth that they don't tell you!

Low back pain (the truth)

We are a flexed society, everytime we sit or stand up/walk around, we tend to flex our bodies forward, when we should be standing up & sitting up straighter! When people are working their Abs, they also flexing their hips either from raising them up, bringing them to the chest during bicycle kicks or being prone and sliding the knees up to the chest on a Ab glider type machine. For years as you went to the chiropractor or orthepedist, or someonem, you were told that you needed surgery or an adjustment, etc. based on your x-rays or how the doctor felt about your back issues. Well with muscles aside, all they think about is the money they can make from giving you a surgery, their magical treaent and medications to correct your back pain. They see that you got bulging discs or herniated discs, or perhaps you have calcium deposits building up on the vertebrae or something. They give you a reason why they need to continue seeing you or continue their plans to treat you. BUT they never tell you that your muscles could be too tight and they're pulling on your bones, pulling on your spine or pulling your pelvis forward, and causing you to lean forward or side to side; things like that. They make it a bigger deal than it really is!

All you need to do is have your posture evaluated by someone such as a corrective exercise specialist and also by doing some exercises to see how you move. Then the corrective exercise specialist like myself, can then create a program to help you stretch and work out those tight muscles to correct your posture, which will correct your pain. Massage therapist should be able to evaluate your posture also, the ones who incorporate stretching and can identify more than one muscle group that's causing you pain. Personal trainers and massage therapist can sometimes dictate each other, but I became both a trainer/exercise specialist and a massage therapist. We are a flexed society, and it causes us all pain, unless we get smart and have better habits!

Causes for low back pain

Deep Longitudinal Subsystem of the body. When you walk, the force from the ground with each step, shoots up through these muscles and up your erector spinae muscles. When on your feet too long, these muscles overuse and fatigue. Then comes the pain!

Posterior Oblique System. If the lats are tight and the gluteus maximus is weak, it causes lumbar pain. Both muscle groups attach to the center part of your lumbar (thoracolumbar fasciae/aponeurosis), plus the iliac crest of the ilium bone, and sacrum bone. Everytime you walk, before each step, the lats and gluteus maximus load up with energy, then when you take each step, it causes a force, back in 4th on the sacrum bone or sacroiliac joint (sacrum/ilium). Bending over and picking things up or sitting for long periods will wear out these muscles, plus the erector spinae. You need the iliac crest and sacrum pressed on during a massage. Plus do the stretches @ the bottom of this blog.  

• Sitting too long at a desk or anytime you sit in front of the TV, etc. causeing an arch in your back
• Doing hip motions during abdomenal exercises. Leg raises, bicycle kicks and Ab roller type stuff. All those tighten up the hip flexor muscles more
• Having tight quadratus lumborum muscles, hipflexors (iliopsoas, rectus femoris, which both cause you to pull you in a bent-forward position, pectineus, adductor longus, brevis and magnus). If you're bent forward, it'll activate the hamstrings more, they'll compensate for it, then you'll pull your hamstrings.
• Tight latissimus dorsi muscles, pulling your shoulders forward, which prevent from you holding your back up straight as well as your body. The lats originate off the T7-L5 vertebrae, plus the iliac crest of the ilium bone, thoracolumbar fasciae, and sacrum. So it pulls on the low back, the fasciae and iliac crest, which is why it's tight.
• Quadratus lumborum is tight and also your erector spinae group muscles could be weak or be tight if you have a lumbar curve from overusing it throughout the day
• Tight (gluteus maximus) mostly because it pushes your iliac up or pushes on your iliac crest & creates tension in the low back fascia.. The thigh muscles will compensate for your back. Your gluteus maximus  attaches from the iliac crest, thoracolumbo fascia, sacrum, and coccyx, and then inserts onto the gluteal tuberosity on each femur. 
• Weak core muscles. The muscle in on your vertebrae and muscles that connect your pelvis to your vertebrae. Local and global muscles that break your posture. 
• Also the thoracolumbar fascia or aponeurosis in the small of your back will be tender and tight possibly because of the butt being tense.

Tight muscles in an area will eventually break away from each other (fibers snap), then muscles try to grow back to each other and form soft tissue or scar tissue in that area. 

Treatments and Prevention/Corrections

Keep in mind that it's 33.5 lb of pressure per sq inch put on you.. 

So if you lean forward 4 inches, 33.5 lb x 4 in =  134 lb of pressure on you, not to mention on your neck also... It doesn't matter what your posture is.. Besides any surgeries and medications, try to stretch out those tight muscles listed above and strengthen the weak muscles also listed above. Find exercises to help strengthen the weak muscles or have a good trainer show you. Get a massage on those tight muscles and also stretch them. Massage the glutes! The iliac crest will be tight around the back along with the sacroiliac joint. It may need pushed on and you need to do back stretches for the back muscles. You should condition your body a little bit before doing heavy work outside or heavy lifting at your job. With a weak back, it'll become overused and hurt, then your legs will take over. When you pick something up off the floor, it pulls on your lower back and your butt, and also your hamstrings as you stand back up. Try doing deadlift exercises, do back extensions on a ball or machine too.. Do planks and proper Ab crunches on a ball to strengthen your core. Also do back extensions to strengthen your erector spinae muscles if it's weak.

Avoid any Ab workout involving hip movement, such as bicycle kicks, leg raises while lying prone or on  roman chair, and any kind of Ab rolling on a machine where you roll your legs up into your chest almost. Any hip movement like that will work your hips, once your Abs have tired out. The hip flexors and all them hip muscles will start being worked. Having those tight, will pull you forward into the anterior pelvic tilt and will cause hip pain and/or back pain! Avoid sit ups too as it puts strain on your back and works your hip flexors once again.

In some cases you or someone may have that posterior pelvic tilt as in the picture above, for that, your hip flexors as I listed above are weak instead, and then the rectus abdominus is too tight along with the buttocks (glueteus maximus) and hamstrings.

Below are some stretches and exercises  Perform 1-2 sets and hold stretches for 30 sec. Elderly ppl hold for 60 seconds.  

Lat stretch on a ball. You can stretch both arms on the ball too. Stretch the arms out much as you can. You can also lean your body over the ball from the side, and reach up and over.

 Use a chair or a kitchen counter top, etc.

Outer hip stretch for your gluteus medius/minimis, and for your back

Piriformis stretch

  

With this piriformis stretch the girl is doing, try having someone stretch you out with that instead. You'll benefit from it better. They stay in front of your body and pull push your knee toward you and pull your ankle away from you carefully. Have them pull from your ankle, not the foot bones.. This stretch is good for sciatic nerve pain, because the pirformis muscle wraps over the nerve and pinch it when it gets tight.

Hip flexor stretch, lean forward more if you can, keeping knee at 90 degrees still

Side lying quad and hip flexor stretch. Also standing quad stretch. Stretch the hip back more in order to stretch the hip flexors. Have someone help pull your leg back if you need it. 

 

Hip flexor stretch on a table, massage table or athletic table. Sit on the very edge of the table and let one leg hang down and have someone push on it while pushing the bent leg back toward their chest.

 

(Hamstrings) 

            

You can use an athletic band also, get assistance or use a wall for better support 

      

      

 Floor bridges for your back and butt

Also having a rotated pelvis or one side is rotated inward/anteriorly, it'll cause low back strain across hour iliac. Such as these pictures. 

Watch Erik Dalton videos and you'll learn things that massage therapists can do on you if they so it hopefully. 

Taking wild Alaskan Salmon oil & Arnica pills will bring relief to your arthritis or any type of body inflammation.. The Salmon oil is @ SamsClub, and the Arnica pills are @ CVS, The Vitamin Shoppe or may have to order them.