Keller Chiropractic and Sports Rehabilitation

When soft tissues like muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints are damaged they heal with scar tissue. Scar tissue, just like that on your skin from a bad cut is different then the tissue it replaces. It has several qualities that alter its nature:

3) Drink plenty of water. Many people (especially athletes) do not drink enough plain water. Water is important for digestion, kidney function, cooling the body and balancing the electrolytes of the body.

4) Give yourself adequate rest. Too much rest is a bad thing, too little is a bad thing. As in training; Quality is important not Quantity.

5) Avoid fades and "quick fixes". Often these lead to further injury and disappointment. There is no substitute for strongly healed, quality tissues. Balanced with trained and conditioned muscles and nerves, quality tissue healing is unbeatable.

6) Stay optimistic and focused. Never give up.

I hear this quite a bit. A big strong football player bends over to tie his shoe one morning and "BOOM", he hurts his back. Again, going back to anatomy and physiology, we can find the answer. Tissues of the body are always under stress. Sometimes these stresses are huge like in a car accident or playing football. Other times these stresses are merely the everyday forces or gravity, physical work or even driving. All of these stresses, sudden large force or frequent little forces produce injury to the tissues. When tissue is injured or torn, the body produces inflammation. This is the swelling, redness, stiffness and pain you see and feel after an injury. Often, injury occurs in small increments, too small to produce enough inflammation to create pain, but the tissue is weakened from the injury. Then all it takes is a sneeze, a bend to tie a shoe or one last golf swing to produce enough damage and inflammation to be painful. When healing from an injury this is important, as often pain will go away quickly, but the tissue is still weakened and vulnerable to re-injury. It is important to note that It takes longer for tissue to heal than it does for pain to go away.

What Else do Chiropractors do?

Chiropractors are trained in many areas of health including, nutrition, exercise, physiotherapy and of course mobilization and manipulation of the bodies joints. For maximum healing and function to occur, all aspects of the joint system should be considered. This includes the joint proper, muscles, ligaments, tendons, nervous system, blood supply and general systemic health. Treatments may include, heat, ice, ultrasound, exercise, various forms of traction, nutrition advice, mobilization, manipulation and ergo-nomic and posture advice.

Exercises may include specific regional stretching and strengthening and / or Functional Stabilization Exercise, designed to enhance the functional strength and adaptive control of the spine. Think of stabilization exercises as a means of teaching the back to contract and relax as quickly and and efficiently as possible. These of exercises help protect the spine from unexpected or sudden loads.

Your treatment is determined by the area and type of injury or problem. You may be warmed with hot steam packs to relax muscles and increase circulation prior to any mobilization or manipulation. Ultrasound may be used to further warm deep tissues and speed metabolism. During the manipulative procedure, the doctor will gently bring the joint to be treated to its end range of passive motion. This does not hurt. It is a natural range of motion. At this point the doctor quickly moves the joint just past the end range. This action opens the joint slightly. A "crack" or "pop" is often hurt. This not harmful! Contrary to popular misconception, this motion and sound are not harmful, it is helpful when the joints are not moving freely. The sound is made by the release of carbon dioxide which is compressed in the synovial fluid. As the joint is slightly opened up, the joints interior volume is increased, which decreases the pressure on the synovial fluid. This allows the carbon dioxide to be released making the popping sound, not unlike opening a can of soda or champagne bottle. The manipulation frees joint motion, stimulates motion sensitive nerves which block pain and it normalizes the mechanics of the joint. After the treatment you will generally notice and increase in joint range of motion and decreased muscle tightness. Occasionally there may be a localized increase in pain, this is normal as the joint has been stretched to its once normal range. You may be advised to ice the joint after the procedure.

6. Which Is the Best Bed?                                                Back to Top

This is an area ripe with opinion, conjecture and habit. It has been said for many decades by mattress manufactures that firm beds are the best for support. It is a tempting notion, in light of the fact that in the orient, bedding is often the floor and mat. However, new technology and materials have lead to the development of sleeping surfaces which truly allow the body to rest in a more neutral position. In this position the hips and shoulders are allowed to "sink" in to relieve pressure from these areas. At the same time, this position allows the spine to be placed in a more straight and aligned position. So the answer is: a moderately firm bed is generally best. Firm, waveless waterbeds have the further advantage of being internally heated, a big benefit for people with arthritic joint pain. New materials have been developed with the ability to shape to the body. These visco-elastic materials make excellent sleep surfaces. I recommend Tempurpedic brand products and firm waterbeds. Tempurpedic is one of the pioneering firms in sleep surfaces and has recently received recognition from NASA for its development of shock absorbing materials used in space flight and the public dissemination of these materials.

Pillows are another common problem. Often people get used to a pillow and use it for many years, even if the pillow is not properly supporting the head. A good pillow should support the NECK in a neutral position. It should be comfortable not painful to use. However, any new pillow will take several days to get used to.

A Chiropractor should treat each person as an individual. A young, otherwise healthy person with a recent injury, may require only several treatments to achieve excellent healing and improved function. However, an individual with many or more serious injuries or chronic pain may require more treatment. There should be definite goals in mind and the treatment plan developed by your chiropractor should help you define these goals. If you are seen for a recent injury, you may benefit from follow up treatment after your initial phase of treatment is over. Again, someone with multiple injuries or chronic pain may require more follow up treatment.