Top Chiropractor in San Leandro, CA

San Leandro Chiropractor

Quit Smoking after 30 years of Addiction and the Power of Chiropractic

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SmockThis is a true story about my father who was a chain smoker for over thirty years. He came to visit me in California and stayed with me for one month while I was in my last  year of Chiropractic College.

The health of my dad was in a very bad shape. He would be taken to a Hospital by an ambulance about 15 times a year because of his blood pressure which at times could jump so high that he could not even see straight. Medical Doctors would prescribed him a large variety of medications for lowering his blood pressure. At one point he had over twenty different bottles on a table. This amount of medications could easily kill a horse if given to one. Even my dad sometimes was wondering why was he given so many different medications for one problem. Why Doctors don’t tell him the cause of the problem. A simple advice for quit smocking and diet could have easily improved his condition. However, it was a chase for a symptom improvement but not the cause.

I had all the necessary tools and enough knowledge about anatomy and physiology of the body to figure out how to fix the problem. After reading PDR (Physician Desk Reference) I could not  believe how ignorant his doctors were. All of his prescribed blood  pressure medications had serious side effects. During a prolonged period of time taking these numerous blood pressure medications my dad has developed a variety of other problems.

One of the most serious symptoms was failing kidneys. His kidneys were leaking protein into a blood. I am not going to go into the significance of this pathophysiological effect, but the long term outcome was fatal. Yes, my dad was going to die if things would not be stabilized in his system any time soon. The main reason why he stayed with me for the entire month was because he thought it would be our last time together.

I had a huge poster in my room of a human body and how nervous system controls every single organ in our body. I knew that it would be a good starting point of educating my dad how smoking is effecting his health. Every day for thirty days I would take a cigarette from him, bring to the mouth on the poster and explained to him how damaging it is  to his health and how each organ is be stressed because of him smocking. I told him that if he continues this way he might not have much time left in this world. Believe it or not he listened to every word  that I was telling him. I have ordered special supplements for kidney support for Standard Process (Nutritional Company) and I have also changed his diet. I have also provided chiropractic adjustment to his spine every other day. As you already know a good functioning nervous system makes your system work better.

After about five days of education my dad  did not light up the cigarette for the entire day. When I got home from school he told me that it was
the most difficult day in his life. Yes, he had nicotine withdrawals.  I have informed him that each day it will get easier if he keeps it up this way. His desire to live life was stronger than the desire to smoke another cigarette. He understood what I was saying to him every single time while he was staying with me in California. When the time came for him fly back home to New York City he felt much better, refreshed, hopeful, happy, and energized with a new hope and a new chapter in his life. He was looking for forward to a new beginning.

I was afraid when he gets back home he will start smocking again.  During conversation with my mother I asked her if dad had been
smocking. She informed me that he can not even look at cigarettes and hates when someone smokes around him. Every time I come to visit my parents in NYC I jokingly asked my dad if he wants to smoke. He replies: “I don’t understand how people can hold that disgusting poison in their mouse. It is a slow death.” These words came from a guy who smoked for 30 years.

This event took place over ten years ago. Ever since my dad quit smocking he has not been taken to a hospital E.R at all. The health has normalized and his kidneys function have returned  to normal. I could probably say that Chiropractic saved my dad. I am writing this post from NYC from my parents home while I am visiting them. The photo above is the real photo of my dad that was taken  from my I Phone about an hour ago.

Question: Do you want to quit smoking? What stops you? How does smoking affect your life?

The First Scoliosis Coil in the Country – East Bay Upright MRI

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The First Scolisos Coil - East Bay MRI
East Bay MRI - Hayward, CA

East Bay Upright MRI has acquired a coil that take a full image of the entire upright spine – it takes only eight minutes to complete this process. This radiation free evaluation can also monitor the success of treatment provided by a Doctor. The only way that evaluation of scoliosis can be accurate is when the patient is in upright position. Conventional, recumbent MRI machines can not deliver necessary results. This radiation-free application can be performed in the same amount of time and at the same cost as diagnosis and monitoring by X-RAY. Coil MRI sees curvature of  the vertebrae and the soft tissue as well. There are sagital and axial views of the entire spine – with no radiation exposure whatsoever. The 3 plane visualizations are achieved by 3D acquisition with curved multi planar reconstruction. Both Cobb angles and angular rotation of the vertebrae are measured, including the spinal cord, intervertebral discs, nerve roots and spinal ligaments. The National Cancer Institute reported a study in 2000 of 5466 women that demonstrated with scoliosis experienced a 70% greater risk of developing breast cancer that resulted from their protracted exposure to diagnostic X-RAY.

This is what a practicing neurosurgeon, Dr. Joseph Afertzon, M.D. has to say about this technology: “This technology offers unique advantages in scoliosis imaging. It can show dynamic properties of the scoliotic curve in lateral bending. It is also becoming a unique tool in screening and following pediatric patients with scoliosis. It offers precise three dimensional data preferable to regular x-ray and saves our young patients from significant radiation exposure caused by numerous follow-up X-RAYS.”

Multi positional Technology MRI benefits

  1. Patients are scanned upright in weight-bearing positions, in positions of pain or other symptom, and positions of flexion, extension, lateral bending and rotation. This is made possible by the upright MRU’s unique configuration that includes a spacious vertical gap.
  2. A seat can be attached to the bed so patients can be scanned in an upright seated position.
  3. The bed rotates from upright to horizontal so patients can also be scanned recumbent.
  4. Recumbent-only MRI can underestimate the maximum degree of the pathology and miss its dynamics nature
  5. Large patients can be scanned. The is rated for up to 500 pounds
  6. Patients that can not lie down can be scanned, such a patient wit severe kyphosis.
  7. There is unparallel patient comfort because there is nothing in front of the patient’s face except for a 42-inch flat-screen television

Question: What is your opinion about Upright MRI? Please leave your feedback in a comment section.

Sciatica Pain Relief and Chiropractic Treatment

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What is Sciatica?

SCIATIC NERVE AND CHIROPRACTICSciatica is not a medical condition in itself but rather a symptom of other medical problems. It refers to the pain, numbness, tingling or weakness felt in the legs as an effect of compression or injury of the sciatic nerve.

The pain is usually felt in the buttocks, lower back or at various parts of the patient’s leg including the foot. The pain is usually severe combined with weakness of the muscles as well as numbness and tingling sensation. This condition is usually felt only on one side of the patient’s body.

Treatment Options

The treatment for the symptoms depends on the problems that cause the symptoms. Sciatica can be caused by spinal disc hernia, spinal stenosis, pregnancy, piriformis syndrome and many other conditions. What’s important is that the patient gets a proper diagnosis of his or her problem in order to get the right treatment.

Treatments for this condition vary from taking pain medications to surgery. Anti-inflammatory medications and paracetamol are taken to relieve the pain experienced by the patient. If this isn’t enough, narcotics can also be used especially if the pain is already severe.  Steroid injections provide short-term relief and benefits as well. Acupuncture, physical therapy, massage therapy and chiropractic care are also great treatment for sciatica. Some also benefit from yoga sessions and weight loss to reduce the pressure on the nerve roots of the spine.

Chiropractic treatment

Sciatica is treatable by chiropractic care and most of the time, it responds positively after spinal adjustments on the patient’s lower lumbar vertebrae as well as on the sacroillac joints. Some types of nerve irritation respond much faster while some takes a little while depending on the severity of the case and especially if the symptoms are already chronic.

A type of sciatica that is very difficult to deal with even for a chiropractor is when there is an actual herniation of the patient’s intervebral disc. This causes extreme pain that even taking narcotics and analgesics won’t give enough relief for the patient.

Before considering a chiropractic treatment to aid in your symptoms, you must know that most spinal adjustments done can only provide you with short-term relief to pain. It really depends on what causes the symptoms of nerve irritation and you must consult with your health professional regarding the matter. Your local chiropractor would tell you if your problem that results to sciatica symptoms can be improved through chiropractic care.

The best way to get real pain relief the pain in this condition is to relieve the sciatic nerve of the pressure. Correcting the root of the problem is the best solution in order to completely recover from the injury. If you only want pain relief then it will only be a temporary solution. Finding the real source and correcting it would get rid of the symptoms for a long time. By permanently relieving pressure off the sciatic nerve is the best solution to the problem.

Question: Have you or anyone you know experienced Sciatica?  What kind of treatment have you had?

Granite Bay Race at Folsom Lake by TBF racing

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MTB 50 miler Race Granite Bay at Folsom Lake
My 2nd Lap @ 50 miles Race

I was debating for a while if I should publish this event on my blog. Suddenly I have come to realization that Doctor should show his patients what he is recommending to his patients, which is exercises on regular bases. Previous post was about chiropractic adjustments that I get regularly, and this post is about sport activities that I can not live without. Many of my patients already know that I am an avid Mountain Biker. I really enjoy riding my bike 3 times a week for couple of hours. This sport activity provides my body a great cardiovascular exercise and for my  mind a necessary energy for my activities of daily living.

Most of my training is done on a 29er bike, which is a bike with slightly larger wheels than a traditional bike that most people ride and see in the department stores. Also this bike has only one gear, which is called Single Speed. Single Speed rides provides a better  workout than a geared bike. A rider simply does not have an option to shift gears when climbing steep hills. This combination provides building blocks for longer endurance rides which at times go as long as 30 miles and take about 4 hours to complete. It is not an easy task to accomplish and everyone feels how the gravity fights against the muscle strength and oxygen capacity of each rider.

MTB 50 miler Race Granite Bay at Folsom Lake
Malvin 1st lap @ 50 miles race

On 10/24/2010 was my third race of the season which was organized by TBF Racing. My friend Malvin and myself were doing 50 mile relay between the two of us. Four laps total, twelve and a half miles each. We were a team of two riders, who were the only team among 17 teams in our category with single speed bikes. Yes, we were racing against geared bikes and were ready to test our limits on this race.

The forecast was not favorable at the time of the race. It was going to rain but we did not know how hard it was going to rain.

Race began sharp at nine o’clock in the morning. We strategically planned  that I will begin the race and Malvin will finish it as he is a stronger and faster rider than I am.

This strategy would provide us a better finishing time.

As soon as I began the race I have realized that this will be a real challenge racing bike in these harsh conditions. The most difficult part was to slow the bike down while going down the hill. The terrain on this trail is very sandy and water with sand gets into the brakes pads and rotors. This created sand paper effect. Basically on a ninth mile of this race my brake pads were gone, and I had to use my left foot to slow the bike down and finish my first lap. We were concentrating our efforts on strong climbs and tried avoiding the crashes as much as possible.

After my first lap, I had a little over an hour to find new brake pads for my Shimano XT  calipers. I knew if I failed to find these pads Malvin would have to ride his bike for 37.5 miles in these conditions, which I didn’t think he would have enjoyed.

After twenty minutes of search one of the racers informed me that he has two sets of pads that I was looking for and he was willing to sell it to me. I could not have been any happier when he told me that. It took me about twenty minutes to install front and rear. When I took out old pads there was nothing left on them. I actually burned them all the way to the metal base plate.

By the time Malvin finished his first lap the rain began coming down even harder and the wind speed has increased. When I began my second lap the trail was not saturated with the riders as it was when I began my first lap. It was open and no one could slow me down at that point, except deep waters and strong head wind. It felt like I was moving much faster on my second lap, occasionally passing other riders.

When I was done with my second lap Malvin was ready to for his final run. The rain and the wind has not slowed down throughout the entire race. Many riders had flat tires, broken chains, shifting problems,  crashes and some other mechanical problems. The most common problem was the problem with the brake pads as everyone burned them really fast.

We finished this 50 miler challenge on our Single Speed Bikes in five hours and six minutes (Look under Male Relay Under 80 – Team Tropa). Out of seventeen teams we have arrive to a finishing line as team number six. We were both shocked by these results. If we had geared bikes we had a chance to be on a podium and  get a prize, or never get to a finishing line because of the mechanical problems. Overall  our Finishing Place was #22.

This was the most exciting, exhausting, endurance challenging, mind  blowing and harsh weather conditions race. Both of us have never experienced this kind of riding before. And yes, if opportunity arrives we will do it again. Happy trails everyone.

Question: What was yours the most challenging riding experience? Do you ride bikes on regular bases as an exercise?