So I know it has been a while since I posted something to my blog, so here goes.
Arthritis: Cold Laser a New Treatment Option
What is arthritis?
Painful inflammation and stiffness of the joints.
Are there different types of arthritis?
Yes there are several different types of arthritis. All are inflammatory conditions of the joints; the difference between them is what causes the inflammation.
Osteoarthritis (OA): This is the most common arthritis and typically shows up in knees, hips, backs, fingers etc. It is usually due to trauma or repetitive wear and tear on the joints. When you hear someone say they can feel a storm coming because their joints start to ache, this is typically attributed to osteoarthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA): This type of arthritis is due to an auto immune disease. The person’s own bodily defenses attack the joint surfaces causing inflammation and pain. This type of arthritis can be mild to severe and usually manifests itself in the hands and feet although all joints may be affected.
Gouty arthritis (Gout): This arthritic condition is due to the accumulation of uric acid crystals in the joint. People that are affected by gout usually have flare ups due to certain foods that are ingested. When the body can’t break down the urate, this material accumulates in the joints and causes painful inflammation. The most common joints affected are the big toe and knee.
There are other types of arthritis, but those listed above are the most prevalent.
What can I do for the treatment of arthritis? This varies depending on the patient. Some choose to manage their pain with drugs. Using over the counter medications such as Advil, Tylenol etc. or even stronger drugs that require a prescription. Some use moist heat treatments such as hot tubs and saunas. Some turn to topicals like Icy Hot, Bengay or Flex All 454. Although these may help alleviate the pain of arthritis they don’t address the real problem which is getting rid of the inflammation that is causing the pain in the first place. It is like being in a ship at sea with a hole in the bottom. Would you rather spend your time bailing water with a bucket or would you rather repair the hole?
How can I stop bailing water and start repairing my damaged joints?
1) Cold laser treatments
2) Change in diet
3) Specific exercises
Call our office today to schedule your cold laser visits.
775-882-3555
or visit our website: www.chiropracticcarsoncity.com
Aloha
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Monday, November 1, 2010
Check out this guest post I did for my friend Luke Wold.
I wrote up a recent article talking about the importance of Chiropractic care and it's ability to improve athletic performance. If you haven't checked out Wold Fitness, now is the time to browse his site. It is packed with tons of great info and a lot of videos demonstrating genius ways to maximize your workouts.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Check out this link on Back Pain best practices
This was a recent news article talking about the best practices for back pain. Chiropractic is a great choice when it comes to your health care needs.
Call my office and tell the front desk that you saw the Consumer Report news article and that you want to set up a no cost consultation with Dr. Russell 775-882-3555.
Call my office and tell the front desk that you saw the Consumer Report news article and that you want to set up a no cost consultation with Dr. Russell 775-882-3555.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Check out this link showing the benfits of Chiropractic and professional athletes.
Many professional athletes utilize Chiropractic as part of their regimen to perform better. (Which translates into millions of dollars in contracts!)
Here is a list of a few of them:
NFL Teams: Check out your favorite team and see who is their team Doc! http://www.profootballchiros.com/about_us/Chiropractor_Roster_by_Team.htm
Tiger Woods: Yes, even Tiger needs to get adjusted. It won't solve all of his problems, but it will definately help his golf game.
Lance Armstrong: Dr. Jeffery Spencer DC is, as described by Lance Armstrong in his book Every Second Counts, “part doctor, part guru, part medicine man.... While he fixed us physically he also fixed us mentally … we believed Jeff could fix anything...”
College Athletes: In 2006, a study analyzing Division I NCAA college athletes at inter-college sporting events in Hawaii found that chiropractic usage within the last 12 months was reported by 39% of respondents.
I hope this has motivated you to check out the benefits of Chiropractic and to want to take care of your health in the same manner these professionals do.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Russell
Many professional athletes utilize Chiropractic as part of their regimen to perform better. (Which translates into millions of dollars in contracts!)
Here is a list of a few of them:
NFL Teams: Check out your favorite team and see who is their team Doc! http://www.profootballchiros.com/about_us/Chiropractor_Roster_by_Team.htm
Tiger Woods: Yes, even Tiger needs to get adjusted. It won't solve all of his problems, but it will definately help his golf game.
Lance Armstrong: Dr. Jeffery Spencer DC is, as described by Lance Armstrong in his book Every Second Counts, “part doctor, part guru, part medicine man.... While he fixed us physically he also fixed us mentally … we believed Jeff could fix anything...”
College Athletes: In 2006, a study analyzing Division I NCAA college athletes at inter-college sporting events in Hawaii found that chiropractic usage within the last 12 months was reported by 39% of respondents.
I hope this has motivated you to check out the benefits of Chiropractic and to want to take care of your health in the same manner these professionals do.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Russell
Monday, July 26, 2010
Kettle Bell Expert
I've spent the last decade focused on discovering the secrets of transforming physiques that "master trainers" use to get incredible results with their clients.
A big stumbling block that many people have when they start training is BACK PAIN.
Great people come to see me for training, but car accidents, bad chairs, and other factors have put their back in so much pain that they can hardly walk, let alone exercise.
That's how I came to work with Dr. Russell - the man is a genius when it comes to getting my clients pain-free and ready to train.
A few months ago Brian was in my gym and I put him through a quick workout with a kettlebell (a kettlebell is a cool cannonball with a handle that is a hidden training secret of Hollywood Stars, Special Forces Units, and Elite Athletes)
He instantly realized the amazing potential for the kettlebell as a back rehabilitation tool.
If you want to strengthen your back - here are five reasons that kettlebells are right for you:
Kettlebell Chiropractic Secret Number One: Kettlebells Stretch The Hip Flexors
The hip flexors are a group of muscles at the top of your thigh that come up to your hips.
When these muscles get shortened, they pull the pelvis out of alignment putting a lot of stress on your lower back.
You can do simple stretches at home to loosen your hip flexors (we do these before every one of my bootcamp workouts):
Kettlebells are the perfect exercise tool to loosen your tight hip flexors because:
Kettlebell Chiropractic Secret Number Two: Reduce The Odds Of Arthritis
When your bones break down, it's because you don't move enough to convince your body that it needs to keep calcium in your bones.
Without a reason (exercise), your body will start reabsorbing the calcium in your bones for other uses.
Kettlebell exercise will also keep the cartilage of your joints healthier.
If you don't exercise, guess what happens? "...the collagen network loses its cohesion and the cartilage deteriorates.
For healthy bones and joints, use kettlebells.
Kettlebell Chiropractic Secret Number Three: Strong Core
Running, biking, and weight machines all have one big problem when it comes to fixing back pain - you never strengthen the muscles of your core.
Kettlebells, on the other hard, teach you how to "brace" your body. When you brace your core, you AUTOMATICALLY protect your back.
Forget all the nonsense about "sucking in your stomach" on crunches and other exercises.
Visualize your stomach as a SHIELD that wraps around your middle and protects your sides and back.
Kettlebell Chiropractic Secret Number Four: Tight Butt
If you spend any part of your day sitting down, you probably have a dysfunction in your butt muscles (the technical term is "gluteal amnesia")
When your butt muscles don't work right, your LOW BACK has to take on all the work that your glutes are supposed to be doing.
And the strong muscles in your butt are much better suited to lifting than the small muscles of your low back.
Kettlebell training is the best way to get the high, tight butt that protects your back (and looks darn good in jeans!)
Kettlebell Chiropractic Secret Number Five: Low Back Endurance
Want to know something interesting? Research has shown that it doesn't matter how STRONG your back is when it comes to preventing injuries.
Far more important than strength is ENDURANCE.
There is no better way to improve low back endurance and all around fitness than a high repetition set of kettlebell swings.
Luke's Take Home Message For You
Once your chiropractic program with Dr. Russell has you able to exercise, you need to do it right to transform your body and keep your back healthy.
And one of the best tools you can use is the kettlebell.
About Luke Wold
Luke Wold is a personal trainer and bootcamp instructor in Carson City NV.
For constantly updated, interesting, and entertaining articles about fitness and nutrition visit his blog at:
http://www.WoldFitness.com
A big stumbling block that many people have when they start training is BACK PAIN.
Great people come to see me for training, but car accidents, bad chairs, and other factors have put their back in so much pain that they can hardly walk, let alone exercise.
That's how I came to work with Dr. Russell - the man is a genius when it comes to getting my clients pain-free and ready to train.
A few months ago Brian was in my gym and I put him through a quick workout with a kettlebell (a kettlebell is a cool cannonball with a handle that is a hidden training secret of Hollywood Stars, Special Forces Units, and Elite Athletes)
He instantly realized the amazing potential for the kettlebell as a back rehabilitation tool.
If you want to strengthen your back - here are five reasons that kettlebells are right for you:
Kettlebell Chiropractic Secret Number One: Kettlebells Stretch The Hip Flexors
The hip flexors are a group of muscles at the top of your thigh that come up to your hips.
When these muscles get shortened, they pull the pelvis out of alignment putting a lot of stress on your lower back.
You can do simple stretches at home to loosen your hip flexors (we do these before every one of my bootcamp workouts):
Kettlebells are the perfect exercise tool to loosen your tight hip flexors because:
- You extend your hips
- You're on your feet (exercise machines make back pain worse)
- You move in NATURAL ways
Kettlebell Chiropractic Secret Number Two: Reduce The Odds Of Arthritis
When your bones break down, it's because you don't move enough to convince your body that it needs to keep calcium in your bones.
Without a reason (exercise), your body will start reabsorbing the calcium in your bones for other uses.
Kettlebell exercise will also keep the cartilage of your joints healthier.
If you don't exercise, guess what happens? "...the collagen network loses its cohesion and the cartilage deteriorates.
For healthy bones and joints, use kettlebells.
Kettlebell Chiropractic Secret Number Three: Strong Core
Running, biking, and weight machines all have one big problem when it comes to fixing back pain - you never strengthen the muscles of your core.
Kettlebells, on the other hard, teach you how to "brace" your body. When you brace your core, you AUTOMATICALLY protect your back.
Forget all the nonsense about "sucking in your stomach" on crunches and other exercises.
Visualize your stomach as a SHIELD that wraps around your middle and protects your sides and back.
Kettlebell Chiropractic Secret Number Four: Tight Butt
If you spend any part of your day sitting down, you probably have a dysfunction in your butt muscles (the technical term is "gluteal amnesia")
When your butt muscles don't work right, your LOW BACK has to take on all the work that your glutes are supposed to be doing.
And the strong muscles in your butt are much better suited to lifting than the small muscles of your low back.
Kettlebell training is the best way to get the high, tight butt that protects your back (and looks darn good in jeans!)
Kettlebell Chiropractic Secret Number Five: Low Back Endurance
Want to know something interesting? Research has shown that it doesn't matter how STRONG your back is when it comes to preventing injuries.
Far more important than strength is ENDURANCE.
There is no better way to improve low back endurance and all around fitness than a high repetition set of kettlebell swings.
Luke's Take Home Message For You
Once your chiropractic program with Dr. Russell has you able to exercise, you need to do it right to transform your body and keep your back healthy.
And one of the best tools you can use is the kettlebell.
About Luke Wold
Luke Wold is a personal trainer and bootcamp instructor in Carson City NV.
For constantly updated, interesting, and entertaining articles about fitness and nutrition visit his blog at:
http://www.WoldFitness.com
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Check out these great tips for low back pain..Thanks, Luke!
In addition to visiting Dr. Russell for treatments, there are a few simple exercises you can do at home to help reduce back pain.
Lower back pain is often started by misaligned hips. When your hips don't line up the way they are supposed to, they cause your low back to take on the strain that should be loaded on strong glute muscles.
So, to help Dr. Russell keep your hips aligned and get rid of back pain, you need to focus on 3 simple things:
Below are some of the exercises we use in my Carson City Bootcamp that you can easily do at home - they'll help you a lot. And at the bottom of this post is a simple routine that uses all of these exercises to address the CAUSES of low back pain - misalignment and neural deactivation.
Fire Hydrants and Hip Circles
These strengthen your gluteus medius and really loosen your hips up.
If you spend any time at all sitting during the day, you NEED to be doing hip circles to keep your hips loose.
A key with these is to keep your back flat while you move your legs.
Hip Flexor Stretches
Your hip flexors are the muscles that pull your knee up toward your body. When you sit, these muscles are shortened.
Over time, your hip flexors will tilt your pelvis out of alignment. This keeps your nice strong glute muscles from being able to do any work and you wind up with low back pain and a lack of tone in your butt.
The key to this stretch is to actually STRETCH. Too many people just go through the motions. Push into the hip you're stretching - hard.
Glute Bridges
These are one of the best exercises for activating your butt muscles. This wakes up the nerves in your glutes and gets them ready for action - like supporting your back.
An important thing to remember is to press down through your heels... if you press with your toes your quads take over a lot of the work.
Bird Dogs
This is a key exercise for lumbar endurance. Dr. Stuart McGill has shown that for preventing back injuries, endurance is more important than strength.
By keeping your spine in a neutral position, you are training the muscles in your back to support you.
To get the most out of this exercise, point your arm straight out in front of you and have your leg lifted level straight behind you.
Bridging Leg Lifts
This is a combination exercise that works on glute and low-back endurance, while simultaneously loosening your hamstrings.
The biggest thing to remember is to keep your hips as high as you can and stretch back as far as you can while keeping your leg straight.
A Quick And Simple Program To Reduce Back Pain
There you go, five easy exercises that will help get rid of your back pain! Go for it!
--------
Luke Wold is a personal trainer in Carson City, NV. He offers rapid weight loss fitness training and nutritional programs to anyone who wants to look great quickly.
Lower back pain is often started by misaligned hips. When your hips don't line up the way they are supposed to, they cause your low back to take on the strain that should be loaded on strong glute muscles.
So, to help Dr. Russell keep your hips aligned and get rid of back pain, you need to focus on 3 simple things:
- Loosen up the muscles that are pulling your pelvis out of place
- Activate and strengthen your butt muscles to train them to carry your upper body
- Develop lower back endurance
Below are some of the exercises we use in my Carson City Bootcamp that you can easily do at home - they'll help you a lot. And at the bottom of this post is a simple routine that uses all of these exercises to address the CAUSES of low back pain - misalignment and neural deactivation.
Fire Hydrants and Hip Circles
These strengthen your gluteus medius and really loosen your hips up.
If you spend any time at all sitting during the day, you NEED to be doing hip circles to keep your hips loose.
A key with these is to keep your back flat while you move your legs.
Hip Flexor Stretches
Your hip flexors are the muscles that pull your knee up toward your body. When you sit, these muscles are shortened.
Over time, your hip flexors will tilt your pelvis out of alignment. This keeps your nice strong glute muscles from being able to do any work and you wind up with low back pain and a lack of tone in your butt.
The key to this stretch is to actually STRETCH. Too many people just go through the motions. Push into the hip you're stretching - hard.
Glute Bridges
These are one of the best exercises for activating your butt muscles. This wakes up the nerves in your glutes and gets them ready for action - like supporting your back.
An important thing to remember is to press down through your heels... if you press with your toes your quads take over a lot of the work.
Bird Dogs
This is a key exercise for lumbar endurance. Dr. Stuart McGill has shown that for preventing back injuries, endurance is more important than strength.
By keeping your spine in a neutral position, you are training the muscles in your back to support you.
To get the most out of this exercise, point your arm straight out in front of you and have your leg lifted level straight behind you.
Bridging Leg Lifts
This is a combination exercise that works on glute and low-back endurance, while simultaneously loosening your hamstrings.
The biggest thing to remember is to keep your hips as high as you can and stretch back as far as you can while keeping your leg straight.
A Quick And Simple Program To Reduce Back Pain
- 3 way hip flexor stretch - 20 seconds each position - repeat other side
- Piriformis stretch - 30 seconds each side
- Glute Bridges - 20 reps with a squeeze at the top
- Bird Dogs - 30 seconds each side
- Bridging Leg Lifts - 10 each side
There you go, five easy exercises that will help get rid of your back pain! Go for it!
--------
Luke Wold is a personal trainer in Carson City, NV. He offers rapid weight loss fitness training and nutritional programs to anyone who wants to look great quickly.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
NCVA Tournament/ Sports Medicine
For two weekends I was able to work with some great athletes. I evaluated and treated injuries relating to shoulder, knee, hip, back, neck, ankle, thumbs, wrists etc. If you could injure it, they did it. This tournament was huge, it is put on by NCVA and is a National Junior Olympics qualifier for the teams that place high in the tournament. Thousands of volleyball players participated and we saw on average 150 plus injured athletes on a daily basis. Some just required ice and rest, others were sent for x-rays and a possible cast. So for this blog I thought that I might share some insights that are important when practicing in the world of Sports Medicine.
1) Nutrition. While walking around the convention center I couldn't help but notice that a lot of the teams were busy eating between matches. Some teams brought their own food. Fruits, veggies, gallons of water while others went to the snack bar and were gorging themselves on greasy pizza and lemonade drinks that had so much sugar that it could put you into a diabetic coma. I'll let you decide who you think was ready to play and who was sluggish on the court.
2) Taping. Not all tape jobs are created equal. Taping is an art and it takes a lot of practice to get it right, not to mention doing to correctly so as to prevent injury. Many times an athlete would show up in our room and tell us they rolled their ankle. They didn't understand how it could happen because they had their ankle taped for support. Well when the tape came off it was apparent that it was just put on for looks because there was no support whatsoever to the ankle joint. If you have any questions about taping, please have a professional help you or apply it for you so as to avoid serious injury.
3) Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em. Kenny Rogers said it beautifully, but you really do need to know when to hold off and when to call it quits. With 3 days of tournament play and an injury on the 1st match of the tourney you need to know when to let it rest so that you can play the following 2 days and help out your team. For a more serious injury it might be best to sit the whole thing out because a permanent injury might just ruin your chances of performing well for a lifetime.
4) Have Fun. One thing that I did see consistently from all the athletes was that they were having fun. And when your having fun your mentally in tune with your teammates, more alert and better equipped to bring your A game.
I will be having a Sports Injury Prevention Class soon, that will help you stay in the game and performing well by avoiding injury. Stay tuned for dates and times.
If you have any questions about Sports Injuries feel free to call my office 775-882-3555 and ask for Dr. Russell.
1) Nutrition. While walking around the convention center I couldn't help but notice that a lot of the teams were busy eating between matches. Some teams brought their own food. Fruits, veggies, gallons of water while others went to the snack bar and were gorging themselves on greasy pizza and lemonade drinks that had so much sugar that it could put you into a diabetic coma. I'll let you decide who you think was ready to play and who was sluggish on the court.
2) Taping. Not all tape jobs are created equal. Taping is an art and it takes a lot of practice to get it right, not to mention doing to correctly so as to prevent injury. Many times an athlete would show up in our room and tell us they rolled their ankle. They didn't understand how it could happen because they had their ankle taped for support. Well when the tape came off it was apparent that it was just put on for looks because there was no support whatsoever to the ankle joint. If you have any questions about taping, please have a professional help you or apply it for you so as to avoid serious injury.
3) Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em. Kenny Rogers said it beautifully, but you really do need to know when to hold off and when to call it quits. With 3 days of tournament play and an injury on the 1st match of the tourney you need to know when to let it rest so that you can play the following 2 days and help out your team. For a more serious injury it might be best to sit the whole thing out because a permanent injury might just ruin your chances of performing well for a lifetime.
4) Have Fun. One thing that I did see consistently from all the athletes was that they were having fun. And when your having fun your mentally in tune with your teammates, more alert and better equipped to bring your A game.
I will be having a Sports Injury Prevention Class soon, that will help you stay in the game and performing well by avoiding injury. Stay tuned for dates and times.
If you have any questions about Sports Injuries feel free to call my office 775-882-3555 and ask for Dr. Russell.
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