San Leandro Chiropractor

Tennis Elbow Chiropractic Treatment and Other Rehabilitation Options Phase 1

September 27, 2010 by drburt

Treatment for tennis elbow aims to relieve the swelling and pain. There are several treatments that can be used to relieve the swelling and pain such as Chiropractic Rehabilitation, Physical Therapy, Electrical Stimulation, Moist Heat, Ultrasound, Erchonia Pl 5000 Cold Laser, medications for pain relief that is non-steroidal such as naproxen or ibuprofen, local injection and using a splint to keep the forearm still. You can also try a guide, “Cure Tennis Elbow eBook and Step-by-Step System” (affiliate link) for self help if you don’t have the time to go to a doctor or resources to see one. Activities must be limited during treatment or rehabilitation until you are ready to start performing the activity again. If the pain persists after non-surgical treatments then it may require surgery.

About 95% of people who suffered from tennis elbow recover with the conservative treatments listed above but 5% won’t get better with any of the conservative treatment listed and would require surgery. 90% of people who have surgery gets their strength back and are relieved of pain.

In tennis elbow rehabilitation, there are 3 phases that are being followed. Every phase has a goal that must be reached in order to get to the next phase until you reach full recovery. Every phase is important and should not be skipped.

Phase 1 is done during the acute stage of the injury or the onset of pain. The goal in this phase is to decrease the pain and swelling, promoting healing of tissues and to retard the muscle atrophy. The RICE principle is followed during this phase.

Rest to avoid any further overuse of the elbow. You should maintain your activity level but avoiding any activity that would aggravate your injury. Complete rest won’t be good as this could lead to muscle atrophy. Just be sensitive with your body, if you feel pain with a certain activity and level, avoid it.

Icing is recommended when there is inflammation as it slows down the metabolism of that body part and helps in relieving the pain and spasm of the muscles. You may need to ice the elbow during the entire process of rehabilitation as long a swelling is present.

Compression limits the swelling but you should not compress the body part too tight as this would cut off the circulation. Wrapping a bandage around the injured area is the most common way of compression. If you feel like you wrapped it too tight or you feel throbbing, rewrap it and make it a little looser.

Next is to elevate. Compression and elevation are two powerful tools in keeping the swelling in its lowest level as possible. Compression helps in minimizing the swelling volume while elevating the elbow would use the gravitational force to its advantage and assist in the fluid return to the veins that causes the swelling. If swelling is minimized, the secondary trauma would also be minimized.

After phase 1 you can proceed to phase 2 & 3 once the goal had been reached when there is a significant decrease in pain and inflammation and tissue had healed and muscle atrophy had been minimized.

Tennis Elbow Physiology and Causes

September 24, 2010 by drburt

What is Tennis elbow?

Elbows can get injured through repetitive actions. Tennis elbow is a term used for lateral epicondylitis which is an injury to the tendons and muscles located on the outside or the lateral part of the elbow. This is opposite to the golfer’s elbow which is the medial epicondylitis, a similar injury but instead of the pain and injury experienced laterally, it’s on the inside or the medial part of the elbow.

It can be an inflammation, pain or soreness on the lateral side of a person’s upper arm just near the elbow. This could be caused by a partial tear to the tendon fibers that connects the muscle to the bone. It is called tennis elbow not because it is suffered by tennis players only but because it is a usual problem for tennis players. Nonetheless, anyone who uses their arm for repetitive movement can suffer from this injury.

What are the causes?

The major cause of tennis elbow is the repeated motion of the forearm and/or wrist. Many tennis players have suffered from this condition at least once in their career but it can also affect athletes of other sports too. People who have work activities or participates in a leisure sport that requires a repetitive motion of the arm, wrist and elbow may also suffer from lateral epicondylitis.

For tennis athletes and enthusiasts, they can experience tennis elbow as a result of a poor technique for one-handed backhand, or serving with the palms turned downward that results to the snapping of the wrist while hitting the ball in full speed and power, or with the snapping of the wrist as a result of a late forehand preparation swing.

What are the symptoms?

Elbow pain on the outside part that worsens gradually and radiating to the forearm as well as the back of the hand
Weakness and difficulty grasping
Pain worsens as the person shakes hands or is squeezing an object
Pain worsens when lifting an object or using tools that would move the wrist as a result of putting force on it
Stiffness
Restriction of movement
Tightness

What are the Risk Factors?

More men are affected by this condition than women. 1 to 3% of the population suffers from laterl epycondylitis at least once in their life and tennis players are the ones who have the highest risk factor. People who have jobs that require repetitive movement on their arms, elbows and wrists are more likely to suffer from tennis elbow. Such jobs include carpentry, mechanics, assembly-line workers, household cleaners, gardeners, baseball players, golfers, bowlers and landscapers.

Tests and diagnosis

X-rays may be required for diagnosis but physical examination can also determine whether the patient suffers from this debilitating condition. When the doctor presses the tendon that attaches the bone on the upper arm and outside of the elbow, the patient would feel tenderness and pain. Also, when the wrist is being extended, the patient would also feel pain. Fro more information and rehabilitation options please read this guide – “Cure Tennis Elbow eBook and Step-by-Step System.” (affiliate link)

Question: Have you or anyone you know suffered from Tennis Elbow?

Golfer’s Elbow Treatment and Rehabilitation Options

September 22, 2010 by drburt

What immediate treatments to follow?

The golfer’s elbow is an injury to the soft tissue of the tendons and muscles that surrounds the elbow joint. Treatment for such injury would be similar to other soft tissue injury therefore immediately after the injury occurred or when the pain started to first set in, the patient must follow the RICE+R regime. RICE is Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation with an additional R meaning Referral to a professional for a proper diagnosis. The RICE regime must be implemented for at least 48 hours for optimum results.

You can ice the injured elbow for 15 minutes at a time, 6 times a day for 2 days. Give it enough time to rest and after 2 days of icing, you can start applying heat to your elbow. To help with its healing, you can use an elbow support or brace to reduce the load on the elbow. If this won’t work, you should seek a professional to rehabilitate the elbow.

Golfer’s Elbow Rehabilitation by a Sports Injury Specialist

If immediate treatment does nothing to ease the pain on your elbow, a sports injury specialist would be able to treat your injured elbow by having an ultrasound, electrical stimultation or with the use of a laser treatment. If you see a Medical Doctor as your PCP he or she may prescribe you with pain and antiinflammatory medications such vicodin and ibuprofen. You will also undergo rehabilitation exercises. You will begin with some light exercises that will mostly be stretching exercises. By doing so, the level of pain could substantially be reduced and you will gain your range of motion again. Strengthening exercises would also be required to bring back the strength of your elbow and wrist. Do take note that your elbow and arms must not be exercised to the point that it gets painful. If pain is felt, the exercise must be stopped or lessened.

It is advisable that stretching begins as soon as possible gradually increasing the duration as rehabilitation progresses. Stretches can start by holding the stretch position for just 10 seconds at a time gradually increasing it to 40 seconds. Do this 5 times per set at 3 sets a day.

The specialist may also prescribe you with sports massage therapy. This is to be applied after the acute stage and must begin lightly just below the pain level of the patient. After treatment, cold therapy would be applied.

The last stage of rehabilitation is the returning to activity. This is done gradually as well and this stage must only begin when the patient can perform his or her activity with no pain. If pain is felt, this stage must be delayed further. This stage may begin once the strengthening exercises won’t cause the patient any pain. The use of a brace or strap is recommended once you begin this stage. Gradually increase the activity in duration of 6 weeks. If during the increase of activity the patient starts to feel pain, the activity must be reduced by one notch or until there’s no pain experienced. Stretching and strengthening exercise must be maintained throughout this routine. If you don’t have the time to see your local chiropractor or pain specialist you might want to try to read this great guide: “Discover How to Eliminate Golfers Elbow Pain In As Little As 72 Hours And Cure It Completely Within 30 Days, Guaranteed” (affiliate link). All It Takes Is 5 Simple, Easy-to-Follow Techniques You Can Do Sitting In A Chair Watching Your Favorite Television Show from the Comfort of Home – Without Any Special Exercise Equipment!

Question: Was this Post Helpful in Answering Your Question Regarding Golfer’s Elbow?

Ultrasound Therapy and Chiropractic Rehabilitation

September 17, 2010 by drburt

When people hear the word “ultrasound” the first thing that comes to mind is the ultrasound from the OB-GYN where you can view a 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional image of what’s inside your tummy. But, this therapy is not this type of ultrasound as it is a therapeutic procedure that uses sound waves in treating injuries such as with soft tissues, muscles or joints.

The sound waves would vibrate at a frequency that is higher than the range that human ears could hear and it provides a mechanical vibration that provides a micro-massage. I can either be a thermal or non thermal application at frequencies ranging from 0.72 MHz to 3 MHz.

Ultrasound therapy had been used as a treatment for years for musculoskeletal injuries as it helps in rapidly healing the injured tissue as well as decreasing the pain. However, it is underutilized despite its great potential and this is because of a few factors including the lack of education for therapists to use this treatment. The technique in using this treatment is very specific and some therapists are reluctant as they have been disappointed with previous outcomes which may have been a result of their insufficient training regarding ultrasound therapy.

Therapists must understand how this treatment works in order to get the desired outcome. The potential for success is increased as you combine the knowledge, correct technique and pathology of injury. Things that should be considered by the therapists to ensure a maximum effect for patients are the factors that would affect the absorption of the muscles, hemoglobin and fat, the physiology as well as the delivery process and contraindications for this treatment.

The basic benefits of the ultrasound therapy includes an increased in the elasticity of the collagen found in joint capsules, tendons and scar tissues; an increase in the motor as well as the sensory nerve conduction that helps in reducing the pain; the increase in blood flow; the reduction of muscle spasm from an altered contractile activity of the skeletal muscle; and the muscle spasm reduction through the reduction of the activity of the muscle spindle.

US therapy is just one of the treatments that must be considered in treating musculoskeletal injuries. Other treatments to be considered are electromagnetic radiation, hot packs, electrical stimulation, massage, cryotherapy, heat therapy, Erchonia Cold Laser PL 5000 and exercise. The choice really depends on the therapist and with the type of injury and the location of the injury as well as the condition of the patient.

There certain contraindications. If the patient has these medical conditions then this treatment must be avoided. Medical conditions include malignancy, pregnancy, myositis ossificans, circulatory insufficiency, acute infection, sepsis (severe) infection. Also, if the injury is situated over the heart, spine, eyes, testes, growing bones, carotid sinuses, epiphyseal plates, cervical stellate ganglion, pacemaker or vagus nerve then ultrasound therapy must also be avoided.

Precautions must also be observed for hypersensitivity to the treatment, area of the tendon repair, cemented prosthesis, or of reduced in circulation and with the diminished sense of pain and change in temperature or the lack of it. This type of therapy is available in our office for rehabilitation of our injured patients.

Question: Have you ever experienced ultrasound therapy while rehabilitating your injury?