Top Chiropractor in San Leandro, CA

San Leandro Chiropractor

Patient’s Questions Dr. Burt’s Answers #6-#13

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Does sitting up straight really help you?

If you sit straight (back straight, legs in front of you, shoulders back) does it help you in later life? Or will you get a hunch back?

Answer:

Please read these articles. These two posts describe everything you need to know about the posture.

Why is Posture So Important and 96 Tips for a Perfect Posture

Back Pain/Lower back joint grinding?

Hello, I have a curve in my spine, and also have arthritis in my lower spine. For the last year or so I have been having really bad grinding noises in my lower back when I move my hips back and forth—if I lay on my side and stretch and move you can feel this as well. It’s kind of painful with a lot of grinding and popping. I have posted this before with no success only scams–so please any help would be great as I don’t have any medical insurance and I don’t want to go to M.D. if this is something everyone feels?!

Answer:

The symptoms you are experiencing correlate with symptoms of someone having osteoarthritis in the spine. The presence of scoliosis (curve in my spine) is most likely a contributing factor over a long period of time. I don’t know your age but is sounds that you have had it for a very long time. Lack of proper biomechanics in your lower back (lumbar spine) took its toll on your vertebral joints and proper articulations of each vertebrae. I would suggest for you to go see a specialist in your area ASAP. Doctor of Chiropractic would be the first choice – he/she has X Ray machine in the office and will be able to determine how advanced is the stage of osteoarthritis. If things went beyond the point where chiropractor can’t help your next choice should be an Orthopedist.  My advise was given on a description of the problem that was provided in your question. I hope you feel better.

Leg pain after soccer practice?

My friend has bad leg pains. In her soccer practice she kicked the soccer ball full power at the same time as someone else did (and they are the best on the team btw…) and now when she steps with it she feels a rush of pain. But when she stretches like by pulling it towards her it does not hurt as much. Do you know what the problem is??? Is it serious?!?!?

Answer:

It sounds like your friend has sprain/strain in her leg. Since you do not provides specific region of the leg I will use general terms. When she applied a weight load on her leg injured muscles and tendons react to the load by sending painful signals to the brain. Basically pain is the way your body communicates with your brain by letting you know that something is wrong and you should do something about it. When your friend is stretching she does not feel as much pain and probably she feels better after the stretch. I would have your friend to see a local Certified Massage Therapist and get several session of deep tissue massage around painful area. Massage will help to repair soft tissue fibrosis and will enhance the healing process. The sooner she does it the easier it is going to be to fix the problem. Hope your friend feels better.

Is my sprained ankle good to go?

I sprained my ankle a little over a month ago and it has been starting to feel better. It now has a full range of motion and everything but when I run and jump around on it, it still feels a little sore. The pain is definitely tolerable but I’m worried I could be making things worse. Is this normal or do I still need to give it more time?

Answer:

Hello. The last sentence of your question tells me that you did not have any rehabilitation done to your ankle after you have injured it. That is basically the cause of your pain. During sprain injury your ligaments and tendons are being over stretched. During the passive healing process the soft tissue fibrosis is forming. In basic English that means that scar tissues around injured ligaments and tendons are being formed. These fibrotic tissue is very painful and will not go away on its own without proper rehabilitation. You could see your local Chiropractor, Massage Therapist or Acupuncturist with combination of Physical Therapy modalities. Please read more here

My ankle has been swollen for months?

I suffered an inversion sprain in March and it is now 5 months later but it still looks fat. I can run, sprint, jump and all that good stuff no problem, its just the physical appearance of the ankle that confuses me. Why is it still fat?? What can I do to get rid of it?

Answer:

Most likely you have fluid retention or there is still an inflammation after your injury. I would suggest for you to go see your Family Doctor and have him/her order X Rays and  MRI of your ankle. This will help to figure what is going on with your ankle.

Another option is to try rehabilitation process. Please see an answer above with some additional information. I hope this helped to answer your question. Have a great day.

Is my hand fractured?

So earlier today I was taking my curtain down and I guess my hand came to close to my ceiling fan and the back of it got hit. It hurt so bad and now I am left with a few scars, a swollen hand and moving my fingers isn’t to easy. The one that hurts the most to bend is the middle finger. Should I go to the doctor or just keep icing it?

Answer:

Most definitely please go see a Doctor ASAP. The fact that you have difficulties moving your fingers is not a very good sign. The presence of a fracture is possible. Please see your PCP and have hand X Rayed. If you have a fracture your doc will cast it for however long is necessary. If it is not fractured please get some rehabilitation of your hand from a Certified Massage Therapist, Chiropractor or Acupunturist.

Hip pain/Lower back pain after running, playing basketball, weight training?

So last year I was playing basketball, and another teammate jumped and his butt landed on my hip/lower back. After that I could barely play. Pain went away after a few days. So I kept playing all last year and pain would come and go.

This year in another basketball tournament, after not playing for months, I played and pain was killing me, I played through pain for a game but I couldn’t handle it anymore.

Now every time I run at gym or lift some heavy weights, hip/lower back starts hurting for a couple of days. Went to Back to a Doctor. He gave me none inflammatory pills but didn’t really help.

I constantly feel a pinch in right hip after seating at work for 8 hours.

What could it be? I will be starting Police Academy in the next 6 months or so. I don’t want this to be a problem.

Answer:

Sorry about your agonizing pain. I am pretty sure you are tired of taking anti inflammatory pills as by now most likely they stopped working anyway and your pain level has gone up. It is very common to have lower back and Sacroilliac Joint being injured during sport acitivies. The fact that you teammate landed on your hip tells me that excessive force was used to misaligned your Lumbosacral and Sacroilliac Joints. You MUST go see your local Chiropractor ASAP. Have him/her adjust your entire spine, use some PT modalities and get deep tissue massage. Make sure that Chiropractor that you choose has everything in the office – I mean PT modalities and Certified Massage Therapist. Please read more about lower back pain here.

Understanding Chiropractic Care

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Chiropractic profession promotes holistic care with main focus on maintaining proper physical vertebral alignment in order to maintain a good health. It is a scientific fact that structural imbalances could lead to nervous system dysfunction and lead to a variety of symptoms such as pain, aches, discomforts and other conditions. The goal of care is to restore the body to its maximum potential without drugs or surgery. Doctors of Chiropractic check the physiological function of neuromusculoskeletal system by utilizing orthopedic and neurological exams. Besides specific chiropractic adjustment, therapies such as massage, moist heat, electric stimulation, ultrasound, and Erchonia PL 5000 Laser can be utilized in order to restore a balance to the system.   Diet and exercise advise can be given to a patient by a Doctor of Chiropractic.

CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENT:

Chiropractic use controlled forces, called adjustments, when there are restrictions around joints that the body is unable to overcome itself. Such barriers include scar tissue and pain, swelling (edema), and muscle spasm.

Chiropractic examination helps to discover joints with limited range of motion weather they are painful or not. Specific chiropractic adjustment applied to a subluxated (restricted) joint can restore range of motion when the body’s own musculature cannot.

Adjustments help to relieve pain, as well as, restore and maintain normal movement, biomechanics and function.

The controlled force of chiropractic adjustments safely generates the energy required to overcome such limitations or restrictions and bring the joint back to its normal and full range of motion.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         CHIROPRACTIC PROMOTES HEALTH NATURALLY:

The goal of chiropractic care is to bring back and retain the health of the whole person and not just treat separate symptoms or diseases.

Chiropractic care is not focusing on illness, instead it personalizes the care and helps to achieve maximum potential for a patient’s well being and improves the quality of human life.

 Chiropractic care is focused at restoring and maintaining normal structure, nervous system function, joint and muscle.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        RESTORING FUNCTION AND CHIROPRACTIC CARE:

Function means the ability to perform everyday activities of daily living as well as work activities. It includes range of motion, coordination, strength and flexibility.

Improving function is the key to long term pain relief. When function is not restored completely, any pain relief is temporary and accelerates the risk factor of chronic pain return. Good functioning joints do not have any pain, perform better and are not likely to get injured or degenerate. Bottom line – Chiropractic helps to minimize the pain and maximize the function.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         BENEFITS AND GOALS OF CARE:

The benefits of Chiropractic care include good function, tissue healing and pain relief.

Each patient will require different frequency and different amount of time to achieve each of these goal

When pain is gone it does not mean that soft tissue  has healed completely nor that the function has been restored.

It takes much longer time for soft tissue restoration vs. pain relief. It takes much longer time to restore the function vs. for tissue to heal.

Chiropractors carefully monitor pain, tissue healing and function using specific outcome measures to know when a patient has achieved maximum benefit and it is time to end care or shift to a prevention/wellness program. 

CHIROPRACTIC, MOTION AND NUTRITION OF DISCS AND JOINTS: 

Maintaining good motion is critical to the survival of discs and joints. A vertebral joint that can not move is not able to nourish itself. A healthy exchange of nutrients and wastes only occurs by physically pumping fluids into and out of the disc via spinal motion because discs and cartilage have no blood supply – process called imbibition. Movement stirs fluid through joints, washing nutrients in and waste products  out. Lack of motion may lead to poor nutrition and disc degeneration.

The discs in the spine live because of the movement. Doctor of Chiropractic locates joints that have restricted range of motion, whether they are painful or not, and specific adjustments and exercises help restore and maintain normal motion and nutrition.

This post was based on Dr. Malik Slosbergs’s research.

Question:  Did this article help you to understand what is the goal of chiropractic care?

10 Little Known Secrets about Healthy Knees

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healthy knees Healthy Knees and 10 Little Known Secrets

It is impossible to keep your knees healthy and in perfect shape even when you are getting older. What’s important is that you know the secrets in maintaining healthy knees. Prevention is really better than cure so if you are still not suffering from any knee problem, you must already start to follow these tips in keeping your knees healthy.

First tip is to warm up before doing any type of activity. It is very simple and it allows the synovial fluid to flow through your joints so you won’t experience more friction while working out. Remember, as you jump or run or do squats, your knee is absorbing a lot of the force and in time, it can deteriorate.

2nd, stay in shape and maintain a healthy weight. The more weight you carry around the more your knee joints get stressed.

3rd maintain good ankle mobility. Exercise your ankles to increase its mobility as the ankle’s function affects the health of the knee. Start by standing with your feet just a short distance (a few centimeters) away from the wall then keep the heels on the ground while trying to touch the wall with your knee. Repeat this several times while stepping back a little each time. Calf stretching is also necessary if you are feeling some tightness.

4th, improve hip function. Try some glut exercises to improve your hip function as this will ease the knees. Your hips can absorb more impact thus decreasing the stress on your knees.

5th, increase hip mobility. This is similar with improving the ankle mobility. If your hip moves well, you can squat in the right position without having your knees absorb the most weight and stress.

6th, diet supplements! If you’re an active athlete or perhaps you carry weights or go to the gym, most probably you are putting more stress to your knees than normal. This can deteriorate the knees but this can be prevented by taking supplements. Fish oil supplements have great benefits and also have anti inflammatory effects on your joints. Glucosamine and Chondroitin are also great diet supplements to keep your bones and joints healthy and strong.

7th, stop when it starts to hurt.  If you’re suffering from knee pain and it hurts when you do a certain action then you should stop it. Whatever is causing you pain could further add more damage and degeneration to the knee. Try to slowly integrate the action as you figure out the problem. If you are injured, doing the action won’t do you any good but this doesn’t mean you should stop it forever.

8th, stretch! Stretching is great for relaxing your muscles after an activity. Your muscles should recover after an activity to prevent fatigue.

9th, cycling for rehabilitation. If you do suffer from knee pain or injury, cycling is a great exercise to improve joint mobility. It is a knee friendly exercise with very low impact.

10th, muscle endurance is important. By increasing the endurance of your muscles, they won’t get into fatigue quickly. Low impact cardiovascular activities would do the trick. Improving muscle endurance during knee rehabilitation will also speed up the healing process.

Question: Was this information helpful? Please leave a comment. Thank you

Injured Knee Pain, Sprained Knee Ligaments and Knee Treatment Options

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Knee pain is one of the most common orthopedic problems encountered and its rehabilitation depends on the history of its injury. The knee pain can either be chronic or caused by a sudden injury. Runners usually experience pain due to sprain after they run or jog. If it’s a sharp and sudden pain, this could be caused by a torn ligament and this needs an immediate medical response. Other times though, the injury is caused by strain and the treatment for this can start right at home. For strained knee, resting is the first step to take the strain off. Then, apply ice on the area for short intervals at a time, 15 minutes on and 45 minutes off for every waking hour. Do not apply ice for longer then 15 minutes as it could damage your skin and create a reverse effect. After icing the affected area, wrap it with a bandage for compression. Then, elevate the injured area as you rest it. These 4 steps are called the RICE or Rest, Ice, Compression & Elevation method. If following the RICE method does not work, you must see a medical professional for proper knee rehabilitation.

If the knee injury is not caused by strain, it can be caused by rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, or an injured ligament. If ever you notice stiffness after running, you may need to speak to a medical professional for a proper diagnosis. He will then perform physical examination and perhaps an x-ray or an MRI to see what’s really causing the problem.

If the pain is caused by an injured ligament, you will be prescribed to take proper rest and wearing of a brace. The knee brace is useful as it helps in preventing further injury to the knee which could definitely worsen the problem. The brace would be providing you with support that can reduce your discomfort while doing activities such as walking or while exercising for its rehabilitation. Brace is also used by professional athletes even when there’s no injury as this will prevent them from having the injury in the first place.

Osteoarthritis is unfortunately incurable. Anyone can suffer from this and it is similar to arthritis but affects the knee’s cartilage which then weakens the articulate surface. Treatment for this condition ranges from taking anti-inflammatory drugs to wearing of a knee brace and even surgery. Of course the severity of the condition is greatly considered before going to the last resort which is surgery.

Rheumatoid arthritis is not like the other forms of arthritis. This is caused by a disease in the auto immune system as the body attacks itself. Just like osteoarthritis, anyone can suffer from this, even children. It can be a hereditary disease and kids suffering from knee stiffness after running should consult a doctor. Treatments for this condition are with the use of a support and/or taking of medication.

At my clinic I use PT modalities (Electric Stimulation and Moist Heat combination, Ultrasound, Erchonia PL 5000 Cold Laser, Elastic Wrap, CMT (Certified Massage Therapy) and Manual Chiropractic Adjustment when applicable). Electric Stimulation helps to bring the pain level down in the first couple of week of the therapy and heat brings more blood to the injured area as well as allows it to be more relaxed for the next step. Next modalities are Ultrasound or Erchonia PL5000 Cold Laser. I alternate them with every other session. Next patient sees my CMT for 15 minutes only if there is mucle strain around injured knee. My massage therapist breaks the scar tissue down and moves injured knee through its natural Range of Motion. After massage I adjust knee’s patellar if tendonitis is present and wrap the knee with elastic wrap for a better support.

If you are diagnosed with any of the conditions above, your doctor would go for the most conservative treatment first. This means proper rehabilitation is the first option before they consider surgery. It is a last resort and cannot even guarantee success all the time.

Below is 3D MEDICAL ANIMATION  – It is one of the best presentatons on Youtube.

Knee joint is the most complex articulation of the human body. It supports almost the entire body’s weight, while allowing wide flexion and extension movements together with rotation when the knee is in flexion. To accomplish these functional features it has a very complex anatomical structure.

Question: What did you do when you had knee injury?  Was the treatment helpful?