Low Back Pain Treatment

Lower back pain is a debilitating condition. According to the World Health Organization, lower back pain affected 619 million people in 2020 and is the leading cause of disability worldwide. This type of pain can manifest in many different ways, ranging from sharp, stabbing sensations to dull, diffuse discomfort and more. The pain may be localized or radiate up your back or into your glutes and legs. No matter how it presents, numerous options are available to treat low back pain, and we are pleased to share them with you.

Diagnosing Low Back PAin

The first step in treating low back pain is understanding what you are addressing. Establishing a diagnosis is critical for exploring your treatment options. Initially, you should find a provider who takes the time to listen to you. Too often, we hear about patients who have visited other offices and report that the doctor didn’t listen to their entire history before interrupting with a question or comment. Your doctor should genuinely care about your condition and how you arrived at this point. Next, the doctor should perform a thorough examination. This should include testing your range of motion, as well as neurological, orthopedic, and functional assessments. Once the doctor establishes a diagnosis, they can accurately determine the best treatment plan for you.

Common Low Back conditions

There are numerous diagnoses for low back pain. Some may appear similar, while others are quite different. Here are a few common low back pain conditions we encounter in our Saratoga chiropractic office.

Non-Specific Low Back PAin

This happens when it’s not possible to identify a specific disease or structural abnormality causing the pain. Non-specific low back pain is quite common and challenging to treat. Our Saratoga Springs chiropractor utilizes functional testing to determine which movements or activities induce pain and focuses on the joints and muscles that enable the body to perform those movements for diagnosis and treatment.

Low Back Sprain/Strain

Low back sprains and strains can occur in various ways. The most common cases we see in our office are sports injuries, closely followed by car accidents. Sports injuries may involve lifting or twisting. The muscles of the lower back are stretched and contracted when in that stretched position. The tissue is so strong that it becomes strained, and the ligaments that support the joints can also be damaged.

Sciatica

Sciatica and low back pain are closely related. Sciatica occurs when there is pressure on the sciatic nerve, which can be affected at various locations. Symptoms typically include a burning sensation, radiating pain into the leg, and sometimes weakness in the leg, ankle, or foot.

Disc Bulge

A disc bulge is a common occurrence in the spine. Some research suggests that disc bulging may serve as a protective mechanism, enabling the spine to handle greater loads and forces without sustaining damage. However, a disc bulge can be severe enough to contact a spinal nerve, resulting in pain in the lower back and sometimes radiating into the lower extremities. Disc bulges respond very well to conservative care, including chiropractic treatment.

Disc Herniation

A disc herniation occurs when the middle part of the disc (the nucleus) ruptures through the outer wall of the disc (the annulus). In many instances, this leads to contact with the spinal nerve, potentially causing pain in the lower extremities and sometimes resulting in weakness. Disc herniations typically respond well to conservative treatment, including chiropractic care, though some cases may necessitate surgical intervention.

Gluteus Medius/Minimus Strain

This is one of the most common presentations of low back pain in our Saratoga chiropractic office. The glutes play a significant role in keeping your pelvis level and stabilizing the hip joint and lower back when you walk, run, or do anything on your feet. When this muscle is weak, it can easily spasm or become tight, and the referral pattern mimics sciatic pain. It is one of the most misdiagnosed conditions we encounter in our chiropractic office.

Low Back Vertebrae fracture

Fractures are fairly uncommon, but we have seen them in some cases. Gymnasts can experience stress fractures in their lower backs from overuse. Individuals with osteoporosis (loss of bone density) are also at high risk for fractures. In rare instances, people present with spinal fractures from trauma, such as a car accident or a fall. Our Saratoga chiropractor will order imaging to confirm the fracture and make referrals as necessary.

Treatment for Low Back PAin

There are as many treatments for lower back pain as there are healthcare providers to treat it. You might encounter topical creams, back braces, rehabilitation programs, mattresses, tapes, and much more. In our chiropractic office, we follow a straightforward treatment plan. After all, complex conditions don’t always necessitate complex treatments. If our goal is to get you fully functional and pain-free, we will focus on those two objectives.

Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy can involve various techniques, such as ultrasound, light therapy, and electrical muscle stimulation. In our office, we frequently use electrical muscle stimulation. This technique helps block pain receptors, enhance blood flow, and relax the muscles. It effectively creates a window for manual therapy, making the body much more tolerant.

Cupping/IASTM

Although considered physiotherapy, techniques like cupping and instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM), such as Graston, are excellent methods for adjusting the fascial covering around a muscle. Even if the muscles are tight, if the fascia surrounding them is not moving, the body can feel restricted.

Chiropractic Adustmemt

Chiropractic adjustments for lower back pain are highly effective. In fact, some studies suggest that when chiropractors are visited as the first provider for someone experiencing lower back pain, their recovery time and costs are approximately 50% of those associated with any other provider.

Mobility exercises

Mobility exercises play a crucial role in healing from low back pain when performed at the right time and with proper form. These exercises will help the patient enhance their range of motion and improve their control within that range.

Therapeutic Exercises

Therapeutic exercises are excellent for helping a patient return to their pre-injury condition. This phase involves gradually reintroducing the patient to activity within a controlled environment and set of conditions. Think of it like learning to walk before you run. Once the patient advances through a well-structured therapeutic exercise program, they can typically begin to return to activity.

Active Release techniques

Active Release Techniques (A.R. T.) is the gold standard in soft tissue treatment. It is a patented and trademarked technique that combines soft tissue treatments with movement. The goal of this treatment is to restore normal, health movements to the soft tissues.

Additional Treatment Options

While it is uncommon, if patients do not respond to our chiropractic treatment, we can recommend a physical therapist, pain management specialist, or orthopedic doctor for a second opinion. We have established a network of professionals we trust to support our care.

Preventing low back pain

Preventing low back pain is challenging for many people. We recommend regular chiropractic adjustments at our office to help keep the spinal segments mobile. During your care, you will receive exercises to manage the stresses of life and any situations that may arise. We advise continuing these exercises even when you are not experiencing pain.

If you or someone you know is experiencing low back pain, we would be happy to help. Call or text our office, or click the link above to book, and we will gladly schedule a free consultation with our Saratoga Springs chiropractor.

About the Author
Dr. Adam Favro is a board-certified chiropractor and founder of Turning Point Chiropractic in Saratoga Springs, NY. With over a decade of experience, he’s dedicated to helping people move better and live healthier through evidence-based care.

Why every athlete needs a chiropractor. Even when they are not in pain.

Pain and injury are the number one risk to an athlete. Most coaches, trainers, and doctors work tirelessly with athletes to prevent injuries if they happen and speed up recovery should an athlete be injured. Chiropractors fill a specific space in the athlete’s care team that just might be the secret to their success.

Who is an athlete?

When you hear the term "athlete," you may think of someone who plays sports. While we agree with this thought, we would like to discuss it in greater detail. For this, we break down athletes into three main categories.

Professional Athlete

This type of athlete gets paid for their participation in a sport or is training to qualify for a large event in which they will get paid. In most cases, professional athletes can do just that: make a profession of being an athlete. This does not include the weekend runner who wins $1,000 for winning a 5K. These athletes usually have access to coaches and trainers that help manage their training and performance.

Non-Professional Athlete

This category of athletes is generally the larger of the sporting athlete group: student-athletes, weekend warriors, CrossFit athletes, and those who participate in yoga, pilates, boxing, martial arts, and many more sports. These athletes generally lack access to a high-level coach or training program to ensure their safety.

Non-Sporting Athlete

This one’s for all the moms and dads chasing toddlers around and those desk jockeys who spend their day in an office chair. Just because you are not competing against someone else to win a game doesn’t mean you are not doing athletic activities all day. There is little difference in the movement to swinging an axe to cut down a tree and swinging a baseball bat to hit a ball. The 7 foundational movements of the human body occur in most activities. The body doesn’t care if you are keeping score or not.

What do chiropractors do?

Chiropractors are trained to treat injuries that occur to joints as well as the tissues that stabilize those joints and help them move. These tissues primarily include nerves, ligaments, tendons, muscles, and fascia. A properly trained doctor of chiropractic has experience working with a sports team and has additional training above and beyond the basic doctoral program to work with athletes. If you are searching for a chiropractor near me, you will likely see a number of chiropractic doctors, but only a handful are trained to work with athletes and injuries.

Chiropractor assesses neck movement. 

If you are an athlete, having a chiropractor on your care team is a vital piece of your training and performance. Chiropractors can quickly assess your injuries and determine the correct course of treatment. Doctors of chiropractic use their hands and several orthopedic and functional tests to determine what is causing your symptoms. If needed, chiropractors can order advanced imaging like an X-ray or MRI to further diagnose your condition.

Our Saratoga Springs chiropractor, Dr. Adam Favro, has spent many hours doing post-doctoral training and continues to study and learn about the most effective ways to diagnose and treat sports injuries quickly. Having a chiropractor who can make a quick and accurate diagnosis of your sports injury can make treatment more effective and focused on your condition, which means you can return to training and competition faster.

How our chiropractors treat athletes

Regardless of which type of athlete you are, your treatment goal will always be to get you healthy as fast as possible and keep you healthy. To do this, our chiropractic office has created a four-phase treatment protocol.

Phase 1: Reduce Pain

While pain is a terrible indicator of health (scroll down for more), we can not make much progress if you are in so much pain that you can’t move your body. To reduce pain, we use various techniques, including muscle stimulation, cupping, kinesiology taping, A.R.T., and, in some cases, a referral to pain management or your primary care provider to consult about pain medication.

Phase 2: Mobilize

Now that we have reduced your pain to a point where you can withstand treatment, we begin to assess any areas that are no moving well. Once a diagnostic algorithm is in place, you will be given exercises to help improve mobility and control of the joint(s) that appear to be problematic.

Phase 3: Stabilize

After you have regained your full motion of the joint(s) and area that is causing your symptoms it is time to stabilize the area and get it ready to withstand future stress. To do this your chiropractor may give you exercises to help improve strength, endurance, and/or balance/coordination of an area. Our chiropractors used a stepped approach giving you one to two exercises at a time until you have mastered that. Each exercises will build on the one before it. Think of this as learning to walk before you run.

Phase 4: Maintain

You made it! You have recovered, and your chiropractor feels you are prepared to return to your activity. The question is, what do you do to prevent this from happening again? First, you will be armed with exercises and the knowledge of how and when to perform them. Second, maintenance visits will be suggested as a way to prevent joint inflammation from limiting joint range of motion and stressing the tissues around the joint. You and your chiropractor will create a treatment plan based on your activity level and lifestyle.  

If you have recovered from an injury, it doesn’t mean you will never get injured again. This concept is challenging for many athletes seen in our Saratoga Springs chiropractic office. Recovery is a small piece of the equation; prevention and maintenance are just as crucial in your athletic journey. In our chiropractic office, we offer chiropractic treatments that are focused on maintaining your healthy status and keeping you active. We work with each athlete to make sure they have a program in place that works with their training, practice, and game schedule but helps them stay healthy at the same time. This ends up being an essential part of the athlete’s schedule.

In the unfortunate event that you are injured while under a maintenance chiropractic treatment program, you already have a relationship with your chiropractor and treatment can easily shift to be more of an acute focus program. This program helps to deal with the direct issue of what is going on and the symptoms that are caused by the injury.

Where most athletes fail

The human body is a fantastic machine. It has an incredible ability to adapt to stressors, enabling us to not only survive but thrive. In the case of an injury, our first signal is usually pain. Pain can be a mild annoyance or cause us to stop what we are doing immediately. The trouble with pain is that it is a very poor indicator of health. There may be times it is okay to push through pain and other times where pain is a giant flashing red light that is telling you to stop.

“Pain is just your brain’s opinion of what is going on in the body. ”

— Lorimer Moseley

The “Period of Vulnerability”

This graph shows the relationship between pain and health during the chiropractic treatment.

The pain signal often causes confusion when an athlete is being treated. In most cases, pain can be decreased fairly quickly while the recovery and healing of the tissues that were injured may take much longer. This causes a problem when chiropractic patients start to feel better and return to activity too quickly. This time between reduced pain and optimal tissue health is what we call the period of vulnerability.

Functional Testing

One way to avoid any mistakes between pain and tissue health is by having a qualified and adequately trained sports chiropractor. Your chiropractic doctor will use functional, orthopedic, and other objective testing to determine if the tissues are healed enough for you to return to activity. In addition, your sports chiropractor will create a “Return to Activity” plan with you. This plan will have milestones and more testing to gauge your progress.

Chiropractic Treatments

The majority of the treatments we perform are hands-on. This allows the doctor to evaluate range of motion, tissue tone and texture, and hesitation from the athlete during movement that would indicate pain and joint instability.  

Active Release Techniques

Widely considered the gold standard of soft tissue injuries, ART combines principles from myofascial release and massage therapy with movement. This patented technique can only be performed by certified providers who have passed the practical exam.  

IASTM – Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (GRASTON)

This is commonly known by the name Graston or “scraping”. While anyone can technically perform his technique, it is highly recommended that you seek a trained professional. The chiropractor uses a stainless steel instrument and a special lotion and gently scrapes along the skin to remove adhesions between the layers of fascia. This in turn will help your muscles and skin glide more easily over one another and improve athletic performance.  

Cupping

Cupping has been around more centuries and involves the use of suction to help break up adhesions between tissues. This is similar to ART and IASTM except cupping is decompression therapy whereas ART and IASTM are compression therapies. There are many uses an indications to use cupping over ART and IASTM and your chiropractor can decided what therapy is best for you.

Athletes get injured, and depending on the sport, some typical injury patterns can be used to quickly diagnose your condition and create a chiropractic treatment that works for you. If you are an athlete (occupational or sporting), we welcome you to make an appointment at our Saratoga Springs chiropractic office. We offer free consultations and convenient online scheduling. We also participate with most insurance plans and are happy to look up your benefits for you.

Saratoga Chiropractic Office Offers Free Massage Sessions for Front Line Workers

Free NormaTec Recovery Sessions for Front Line Workers

Turning Point Chiropractic in Saratoga Springs is offering Front Line workers helping manage the COVID-19 crisis complimentary NormaTec Recovery Sessions. NormaTec has graciously donated one of their units to Turning Point Chiropractic to help support Saratoga Front Line workers relax and recover after working tirelessly during this time.

NormaTec Recovery Systems are a household name in professional sports and utilized by the world's greatest athletes. Turning Point Chiropractic is extremely excited to have this technology available to those who deserve it the most. Sessions utilize commercial-grade compression devices that enhance the body’s natural ability to recover. This state of the art technology can easily be sanitized between sessions and can be utilized with minimal to no direct contact. Using NormaTec’s full-length leg or hip compression attachments provides you will receive:

• improved range of motion

• decrease in pain perception

• improved circulation

• decrease muscle fatigue

We appreciate the sacrifice doctors, nurses, police, fire, EMT, and others are making to ensure the safety of our community. We are pleased to be able to offer this to you. Space and times are limited and will be booked on a first come first serve basis. To schedule your free session or learn more about this service, email info@tpcwellness.com or call 518-584-9500.

Can Chiropractors Help with Coronavirus?

The Coronavirus has drastically reshaped our healthcare system and economy in a short period of time. Everyone plays a role in slowing the progression of the virus. That includes our office. As you know, the staff at Turning Point Chiropractic has fine-tuned their disinfecting protocols by strictly following CDC guidelines. But there may be more we can do to help.

Over the past five years, more doctors and medical institutions have come out urging patients to seek chiropractic care for musculoskeletal conditions (those dealing with joints, muscles, nerves, tendons, and ligaments) prior to seeing their medical provider. This reduces the burden on the healthcare system which is needed now more than ever. 

If you are experiencing spine-related conditions, this includes shoulder and hip pain, our chiropractors are prepared and qualified to treat you not only in person but via tele-health. If an x-ray or MRI is needed, our chiropractors have the ability to order those directly as well. Chiropractors provide an additional portal of entry to the healthcare system and divert people away from emergency rooms, hospitals, and medical offices thus reducing exposure to the virus.

Our doctors are specialists in treating musculoskeletal conditions. This includes pinched nerves, spinal disc problems, muscle strains, and more. If you are experiencing a fever, or flu-like symptoms, please call us ahead of time or click here for more information. There are no chiropractic treatments for the coronavirus or flu.

To schedule an appointment or get more information about the tele-health service, give us a call. We wish you and your loved ones health and safety during this time!

- The Turning Point Team

Saratoga Program Prepares You For Fitness

Saratoga Chiropractors Dr. Adam Favro and Dr. Patrick Campbell have launched a new program to teach people the foundations of fitness and prevent them from the possible injuries that come with exercise. Foundations of Fitness is a medical approach to fitness and training that will help people who are recovering from an injury and want to return to the gym, are dealing with nagging injuries when they work out, or those who want to workout but are unsure where to start.

The Gray Area

Everyday patients are released from their active care plan with the doctor telling them, “You’re clear to return to activity”. What does that mean? What if you get hurt again? Are you at a higher risk?

The truth is, you’re probably not ready. Let’s say you have been recovering from a shoulder injury and want to return to classes at your favorite Saratoga fitness center. Even if you have been working with a physical therapist or chiropractor, your treatment plan most likely did not include preparing for the demands and intensity of a class. It likely consisted of preparing you for the basics of everyday life. That space between the end of your treatment plan and being prepared for exercise and fitness is what we call the gray area of fitness. This program is designed to bridge that gap and help you take that next step to your fitness safely and effectively

Modification Leads to Elimination

Have you ever done a workout and needed to make some small changes to the program because of pain? For example, you can’t perform pushups because your shoulder is too sore. In fitness modification leads to elimination. If you start changing your workouts to stop working one part of the body or limit a certain range of motion, eventually you will not be able to perform that motion at all. If you’re working with a trainer or taking a class you’re now paying for a workout that you can’t participate 100% in. Our chiropractors have hundreds of hours of continuing education in movement screening and mechanics to help identify, treat, and strengthen those “weak points” so you can push yourself.

Is this hurting or helping?

“I felt great when I left the office so I decided to work out the following day. That area is sore again and I am not sure if what I am doing is helping or hurting.”

When you participate in Foundations of Fitness, you aren’t just there to work out and prepare yourself to reach higher levels of fitness. You are under the supervision of trained medical professionals to help teach you the basics. That includes being able to identify the difference between workout soreness and injury.

Where to Start

Sometimes the biggest hurdle in a fitness program is knowing where to start. Nobody is able to walk into a gym, studio, box, or training facility for the first time and know what to do to set themselves up for greatness. Fortunately, we are here to help! Foundations of Fitness will teach you the basics of movement, specific to your body as well as teach you proper ways to care for yourself. When you are done the program and wish you pursue your fitness goal, we will perform an exit interview and get you set up with a local fitness facility that best fits your needs if your don’t already have one. Our chiropractors work with athletes, trainers, and coaches from every gym in the Saratoga region and will be glad to make a personal introduction for you as well as help you transition into that gym with confidence. If you are working with a trainer already, we will gladly contact that trainer to fill them in so you can make the most of your workouts.

For more information about Foundation of Fitness, how you can benefit from it, and to sign up click here. Due to the level of attention required in this program, there are limited space available so contact us soon.

What's Your Turning Point?

Have you ever dealt with a problem you knew had a simple solution and all you had to do was find the best person to help you? Patients come into Turning Point Chiropractic in Saratoga Springs daily saying they thought they were never going to get better. Others say they felt like they had to settle for their “new normal” of low-grade pain or discomfort or knew they would never be able to (insert activity here) again. Sometimes all you need is a little help.

Turning Point Chiropractic was opened in October 2011 by Dr. Adam Favro with the vision of providing a service to seek out the epicenter of a patients symptoms and take a comprehensive approach to care. No big healthcare system to navigate. No referrals needed. Quality time with a doctor who has extensive experience and knowledge of the human body and how to fix it.

At Turning Point Chiropractic, the doctors have additional training in diagnostics, radiology, biomechanics, rehabilitation, strength training, sports performance, and more. Our chiropractors are not only equipped to accurately diagnose your symptoms but create a treatment plan that helps you get out of pain faster and stay healthy longer.

Our chiropractors believe at the heart of every treatment plan is movement. The more you move, the better you feel. The better you feel the more you move. You didn’t get hurt by just sitting there so why should your treatment be you just sitting there? We don’t know either. When you come to Turning Point Chiropractic your exam will include movement assessments, your treatment will involve movement and your homework will be to move.

For too long the healthcare system has not encourage patients to be active in their own treatment, give feedback on how they feel, and take control of the progress. When patients and doctors are invested in a goal to not only help you feel better but improve the way you live, great things happen. That is what we believe in. That is the Turning Point!

For a free consultation with our doctors and to learn more about the Turning Point Chiropractic treatment system, call us at (518) 584-9500 or click here.

Three Exercises for Better Posture

If you are like most people, you sit the majority of your day. Whether it’s driving to work, driving for work, sitting at work or relaxing on the couch after a long day of work, sitting has become part of our life. Unfortunately, so has poor posture. Forward head carriage, rounded shoulder, and a slouching position can lead to long term health effects like chronic headaches, degenerative joint changes, and muscle strain. So sit up straight, relax your shoulders, and learn three new exercises to help improve your posture.

Proper posture can be defined as “the state of muscular and skeletal balance that protects the supporting structures of the body against injury”. Two important concepts to take from this definition are balance and protection. Our joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles, and fascia are designed to work a certain way. When we put them in an optimal position this serves as protection to repetitive strain or even traumatic events. Our body is also highly adaptable, but if we continuously stress the tissues in a way that they weren’t intended, we tend to fall into an injury cycle.

This week we are excited to share 3 of our favorite exercises to avoid the aches and pains that come with non-optimal posture.

1. Thoracic Wall Extension

The first exercise is a great way to stretch out the front of our shoulders and create some extension in our mid-back. To perform, find a wall and stand an arms length away from the wall. Extend the arms so there is very little to no bend in the elbows with the fingers pointing up. Slowly push your hips back and let your upper body fall between the arms, keeping the head in a neutral position. Hold for about 3 seconds and perform 10 repetitions.

2. Chin Tucks

Our second exercise is to put the head in a better position. For every inch forward your ears go past your shoulders it adds an extra 10-12 lbs that the muscles of the upper neck and back need to support. No wonder so many people carry tension in this area! This exercise can be performed sitting or standing. To perform, attempt to pull your chin back toward your spine. Try to avoid looking down when performing this exercise. Imagine your chin is on a table and you are sliding it back. Hold for 2 seconds and perform 10 repetitions. You know you are doing it right if you give yourself a double chin.

3. Modified Brügger

Our last exercise is to strengthen muscles around our shoulder blades. This exercise can also be performed sitting or standing. Start by obtaining a neutral head position by performing a chin tuck. Next, lightly pull your shoulder blades down and back (try not to shrug). With the elbows bent and palms up, rotate your hands outward. You should feel the muscles around your shoulder blades working if you are performing this correctly. Hold for 2 seconds and perform 10 repetitions.

In the office we tell patients the best posture is the next one. In other words, keep moving! That being said, we realize there are days and time where you must sit for long periods. Try the exercises above and check out our YouTube video for more exercises and stretches to help improve your posture!

Snow Shoveling Pain: A Guide to Injury Prevention & Recovery

Did you know that about 56% of snow related trips to an emergency room are sprains and strains? Since we are experts in sprain/strain injuries, we thought we would give you a couple exercises to help with the soreness and pain from shoveling.

Before we get into the stretches, let’s first examine the complex movement of shoveling. Shoveling is a combination of squatting, lunging, bending, lifting, pulling and twisting all packed together. When performed with proper body awareness, shoveling can be a great workout. However, shoveling is typically performed more as a chore over a long duration with little breaks. As you get tired, your movement patterns begin to break down and you become more susceptible to injury. Movements like bending at the spine, twisting too quickly and holding the shovel too far away from the body can often lead to muscle strains.

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Hip Flexor Stretch

Our first exercise is a hip flexor stretch. To perform start in a half kneeling position as pictured below. Squeeze your glutes and shift forward slightly without extending at your low back. You should feel a stretch in the front of the hip and thigh. You can increase this stretch by reaching the arm of the knee that is on the ground overhead. Hold for 10-20 seconds and perform 3 repetitions on each side.

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Standing Extension Stretch

Our second exercise is a standing extension stretch. First, stand near a wall with the elbows bent to 90 degrees. Move toward the wall until the finger tips touch the wall. Place hands shoulder height like you would perform a pushup. Slowly extend your spine and head in a gentle wave like motion. Take this movement slowly and try to increase range of motion as you go. Perform 2 sets of 10 repetitions 

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Upper Extremity Stretch

Our last exercise is a biceps and forearm stretch at the wall. To start, place your palm on the wall with the thumb up with a slight bend at the elbow. Slowly attempt to straighten the elbow and turn your body away from the wall. This can sometimes be an intense stretch so perform as tolerated. Try holding for 10-30 seconds 3 times on each arm.  

We hope you find these exercises helpful during the upcoming winter! Please remember these exercises should not be used to treat or evaluate any injuries. They should also not cause you any increase in symptoms. If you have any questions, please contact our office. And for more information, check out our video.

How to Instantly Improve Your Squat

The squat…

Love it or hate it you are going to have to do it on a daily basis. Whether it’s part of your workout routine, getting into your car or sitting up from the dinner table the squat is truly a functional movement.  

What if the way you were squatting on a daily basis was contributing to nagging low back, hip or even knee pain? Most patients enter our office with the goal of getting out of pain. But when there is no clear mechanism of injury to cause their symptoms, we have to start looking at the way they move to perform everyday tasks. This is why an exam that includes assessing functional movement is so important. If we can identify limitations that are contributing to altered movement patterns, we can then design a program to enhance the way someone moves thus reducing pain.

When you perform movement evaluations as often as our doctors do you start to notice common patterns. Based on the most common faults or limitations we see with the squat pattern we wanted to share our top 3 exercises to help our readers feel better and move better!   

1. Ankle Mobility

Our first exercise is to improve the range of motion at the ankle, specifically dorsiflexion. This exercise is great because all you really need is a wall. Place the foot about 4-5 inches away from the wall, keep the foot flat and try and bring the knee toward the wall. You shouldn’t experience any pain in the front part of the ankle. Hold for 1-2 seconds and perform 10 repetitions.

2. Hip Control

Our second exercise is to improve the ability of our hips to control our pelvis. A common fault in the squat is when the knees start to cave in. This can be problematic because it can not only irritate the hips and knees but it can also be a predictor of knee injuries in the future. To perform, grab a band and wrap it around the legs as shown below. Once the band is situated step side to side with the toes forward. Make sure you control the band. Try 2 sets of 10 in each direction.

3. Leg Torque

Our third exercise is all about creating tension at our feet and hips to allow our joints line up appropriately. Imagine digging your feet into the sand without actually rotating the feet out. Creating this torque, you should feel the arch at the bottom of the foot start to engage, the knees rotate out and the muscles in the hip working. Try and hold for 2-5 seconds and repeat 10 times.

For more information, including videos on how to perform the exercises mentioned above, head over to our YouTube video by clicking the hyperlink.

Heat or Cold?

The heat or ice debate seems to be one of the hottest topics in sports medicine and is certainly a widely used treatment in our chiropractic office. So which one is right for you? That depends on a multitude of things.

HEAT

Heat can be applied in a number of ways. In our Saratoga chiropractic office, we use a system that submerges packs filled with clay in a hot water bath. Once applied to the patient, this can stay warm for up to 45 minutes. The other benefit is the moist heat does not dry out the tissue like an electric hot pack would. But moist hot packs are not the only way to achieve a heating effect. Ultrasound and diathermy use sound waves and electrical currents, respectively, to vibrate the tissue and create heat. But you don’t need expensive equipment. A hot tub or hot shower can give you a similar response.

What does heat do?

Heat dilates blood vessels, increases circulation, and relaxes muscles. By improving circulation, new blood cells will enter the tissue, bind to lactic acid and other waste products of injury and carry them away. Think of this is “rinsing out the muscle”.

When do I use heat?

Heat should be used 48 hours after an acute injury or for any chronic injury that has lasted longer than a few weeks. We discourage patients from using heat for an acute injury as the body with naturally increase blood flow to that area and too much can cause increased bruising and a longer recovery.

COLD

Just like heat, cold can be applied in a number of ways. In our Saratoga chiropractic office we use cold packs that are stored in the freezer and place a sheet of face paper between the ice pack and the patient’s bare skin. This prevents any burning from direct contact on the superficial cells that don’t have as much of a blood supply. There are other ways to achieve cold therapy such as an ice bath or cryotherapy. Cryotherapy has gotten some great publicity lately for helping with metabolism and chronic injury but make sure you are properly equipped as there have been accounts of people getting burned from the extreme temperature.

What does cold do?

Cold essentially does the opposite of heat. It constricts blood vessels, reduces blood flow, and can reduce pain. When you experience an injury the body’s natural response is to increase blood flow. Blood contains the ingredients to heal the tissue. Sometimes too much of a good thing is not a good thing. Injury is one of those cases. To help people recover faster, our chiropractors need to be able to control the swelling response and cold can help with that.

When do I use cold?

Cold should be used immediately after an injury for up to 48 hours. The best way to get the most out of cold application after an injury is to move the area a little after you are finished icing. For example, if you sprain your ankle, ice it for 20 minutes then move your toes and ankle a little to prevent stiffness. At Turning Point Chiropractic we use a number of soft tissue techniques that can cause local inflammation as part of the healing process. If patient’s are sore from those treatments, ice would be a great way to calm the symptoms.

If you have suffered an injury or have any questions about whether to use heat or ice, give our office a call to set up an appointment. Our qualified chiropractors have treated thousands of patients dealing with both chronic and acute injuries and can evaluate what treatment option will be best for you.