Elbow Pain Part 1: Tennis Elbow

So did you know you could get Tennis Elbow even if you have never played tennis?

True story.

My mom got it from mowing the lawn (She tended to do that especially after my Dad cut off the tip of middle finger once upon a time after a bar mitzvah luncheon. FYI, don’t stick your hand into a lawn mower if it gets clogged. Better idea, don’t mow the lawn after a couple of beers or three… it was the late 70s, ’nuff said.)

So, if you have never played tennis why the hell do you have tennis elbow?

Possible causes of tennis elbow

repetitive strain injuries
vibration
overuse

These can happen from all sorts of things including: overuse at work, prolonged computer or mouse work, heavy work such as construction and repetitive strain, mowing lawns, all sorts of other stuff and of course…. tennis.

Symptoms of tennis elbow

Symptoms of tennis elbow can include the following or may be just one of the following:

pain at the outside (lateral side) of the elbow just above or at the joint line
sharp pain when picking things up (even an empty cup)
heat or swelling at the joint (possible but not always)
forearm pain or tightness
pain can be in ‘strange’ places such as wrist or thumb ( ‘whaddaya mean its my elbow not my thumb?’)

Treatment of tennis elbow

So what can you do for this painful condition? The best thing of course is to get it treated… Here is what I do for a patient I diagnose with tennis elbow:

adjust the spine
Post Isometric relaxation (PIR) technique for the elbow extensors
deep muscle tissue release of the forearm
kinesiotape application
muscle care application
Wrist adjustments
exercise prescription
Icing instructions for the patient

So there is a gold standard exercise for this problem is super easy but really important to do daily. Please see the YouTube Video below for full instructions on it!

April 20, 2018April 20, 2018

Seaweed Salad with Yellow Peppers Recipe

So I do lunch and learn seminars. This week a lovely lady sitting right near the front of the room was eating her lunch during my seminar and I commented on how good it looked. She was amazing and sent me her recipe. It is a Seaweed salad with yellow peppers.

Even more amazing she said I could share it with you!

Seaweed and yellow pepper salad ingredients

Dried seaweed (can be purchased at Korean store)

yellow pepper

Apple cider vinegar

sesame oil

sesame seeds (toasted if you wish)

Directions

So the lovely lady said she makes this by feel and doesn’t really use amounts. You need to “relive” the seaweed by soaking it first. (about 2 handfuls is a lot she said), Then cut up yellow peppers into bite sized chunks – use one whole pepper. Then just add a splash of both ACV and sesame oil to taste and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Voila – amazing healthy salad.

Health benefits of seaweed

According to the Google

“Seaweed is much more nutrient dense than any land vegetables. It is an excellent source of micronutrients including folate, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, and selenium. More importantly, seaweed is a great source of iodine”.

https://www.google.ca/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=&oq=health+benefits+of+seaweed&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4IAGV_enCA650CA651&q=health+benefits+of+seaweed&gs_l=hp…0l5.0.0.1.1283343………..0.UiP3TTB1HRs

According to the website wellnessmama.com

“Benefits of Seaweed

The unique properties of seaweed make it beneficial to the body in several ways:

Vitamins and Minerals

Seaweed is much more nutrient dense than any land vegetables. It is an excellent source of micronutrients including folate, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, and selenium. More importantly, seaweed is a great source of iodine.

DHA and EPA omega-3 fatty acids

Unlike land plants, seaweed contains preformed omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, so seaweed or algae oil can be a reliable source of omega-3 for vegetarians.

Aids with Digestion

Beans can cause gas and stomach upset for many people. This can be easily fixed by adding kombu, a particular kind of seaweed, to the beans when cooking.

Antioxidants

Seaweed contains many antioxidants. As part of a healthy diet, seaweed can help protect against oxidative stresses and prevent chronic diseases such as cancer and digestive problems.

Fiber and Prebiotics

All plants contain fiber, but seaweed also has other odd types of carbohydrates that we lack the digestive enzymes to digest. These include carrageenan, fucan, galactan, and many more. These carbohydrates then become foods for the bacteria (see this study for a more detailed explanation).

What you eat directly influences which bacteria dominates in your gut. The types of bacteria that can feed best on the foods you choose to eat will grow better (read more on this fascinating topic here). This explains why some cultures handle different types of food better than others. In fact, scientists found that the gut bacteria in healthy Japanese people are higher in bacteria that can digest the types of carbohydrates in seaweed (source).”

She also goes over potential risks of eating too much seaweed – for more info click below:

https://wellnessmama.com/130117/seaweed-benefits/

Other benefits

This salad is apparently amazing for constipation. This is never TMI by the way. Good and healthy ways of preventing constipation is always welcome. Not many things better in life than a happy poop right?

Happy pooping!

April 15, 2018

Neck Pain due to ‘Wry neck’

Neck pain is a pretty commonplace daily complaint in my office. We see all kinds of neck pain from whiplash to herniated cervical discs. But today’s topic is for that special kind that makes it hard to turn your head to one side and look over your shoulder. Some people call it wry neck or torticollis. Others call it ‘wtf?!?! why can’t I turn my neck?

Causes of neck pain

accidents (car, sports injuries, falls)
arthritic changes
muscle spasm
subluxation
disc problems
nerve problems
and a bunch more fun things…

Treatment for many forms of neck pain

deep tissue muscle treatment
scar tissue treatment
chiropractic adjustments
specific exercises
postural retraining
cervical traction
kinesiotaping
inflammatory control

Today’s special kind of neck pain: Wry neck

Ok so what is wry neck/torticollis?

Ever wake up in the morning with pain in the neck and/or near the shoulder blade on one side? Not able to turn your head to one side? Ya, that’s the one I’m talking about there. It is often a problem actually in the upper back and rib cage which irritates one of the muscles that goes up from the shoulder blade to the neck and base of the skull. Although the pain feels as though it originates in the neck, it really usually starts in the upper back. So, most of the time people get treatment for their neck alone and nothing helps…

We always treat both the upper back and the neck to resolve this problem and keep it gone. Then we like to do postural re training so we can have a chance of keeping it gone for good. This type of thing is sometimes from sleeping awkwardly and it is important to change your pillow if it has happened frequently. Especially if you notice that it seems to happen after sleeping.

An exercise that can help

Here are some stretches that can help- that said you really should seek treatment if you have pain. Pain is the body’s warning signal that something isn’t quite right… so do something about it!

April 13, 2018

My (not so secret) Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe

A classic banana muffin recipe

Some of you may have had my banana chocolate chip muffin recipe already.

Some maybe haven’t had the pleasure.

This one is an easy one that I have made so many times I can do it from memory. The original came from a family friend, Kathy Levy, many moons ago. I have made this one since high school and my (male) roommates in University used to ask me very nicely (ya they begged) to make batch after batch after batch…

I take these with me as promotional items when I do a talk at a company. Two mini muffins in a bag with my card stapled to it. People love them. I love to bake and love that they love them.

So here is the much anticipated recipe:

Recipe ingredients

3 overripe bananas mashed

1/3 c white sugar

2/3 c melted butter * note I do not measure this and just sort of eyeball it – I would guess I go overboard on the butter but that’s what makes these so tasty… I never said these were at all healthy! Anyway, on this one I follow in the footsteps of the great Ms. Julia Child… you can never have too much butter! (I use unsalted)

1 egg

1 tsp each of baking powder and baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 c flour

1 c chocolate chips if desired

Directions

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine all wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add chocolate chips and mix. Place in either mini muffin tins or regular sized ones. I use silicone mini muffin tins and they work great with no liners and regular muffin trays (metal) with muffin cup liners in them.

Bake for 15 min (mini muffins) or 19 min (regular sized ones)

April 6, 2018April 6, 2018

What’s Bringing on Your Back Pain?

Back pain Back ground

This is a guest blog by a collegue Dr. Celeste McLean in Virginia Beach. I met her in an amazing facebook group for Women Chiropractors – if you are a female chiropractor and you aren’t in this group please check out https://www.facebook.com/groups/womenchiropractors1895/

Celeste kindly offered me anything on her blog to repost. Dad is still in hospital and it has been sometimes a bit hard to juggle everything. Life happens – ask for help. You will be surprised! (though I’m not anymore…). So the following are Dr. McLean’s words. You can find more of her amazing blog here: https://www.virginiabeach.coastalchiro.net/blog

What’s Bringing on Your Back Pain?

Many people with sudden, acute back pain think, “But gosh, I didn’t even do anything!”

Struggling to find the source of your back pain? Schedule a visit with our practice.

Man feeling base of neck.

What many folks don’t know, or understand, is that it’s not always a case of what you did five minutes ago, or what you did yesterday, or even what you did last week that’s causing the current problem; it’s more a case of “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” no pun intended!

Discovering the Cause

Sometimes it’s chronic stress that wreaks havoc on your nervous system and finally causes your back to “go out” or a “pain in your neck” because of the strain of carrying the weight of all that stress on your back and neck.

Let’s use an everyday example to demonstrate. You go to the local eatery and put your purchase on your bank debit card. All of a sudden, bells and whistles go off because you didn’t have enough money in your account to cover that charge. It’s not this charge that “broke the bank,” it’s all the money you spent before this purchase and the fact that you didn’t properly manage your account in the first place that put you in this predicament. Now, you’re faced with fees, embarrassment and the inconvenience of having to deal with the situation.

It’s the same with your health–ignore it and it will find a way to let you know you’re overlooking something.

Beating Back Pain

The best way to stay on top of things so you don’t wind up “over spent” is to stay on schedule with your chiropractic adjustments, eat healthy foods, sleep at least eight hours each night, and learn how to manage your stress.

April 5, 2018

Paleo Brownie Bite Recipe

Raw Brownie Bites Recipe(Vegan, Paleo)

A recipe for quick and easy brownie bites that are exclusively sweetened with fruit!

Course: Dessert

Calories: 135 kcal

Author: Detoxinista.com

A word about this recipe

so this recipe comes from a colleague through the website listed above – http://www.detoxinista.com – I found it here:

https://detoxinista.com/raw-brownie-bites-vegan-paleo/

It is essentially a no go in my house because it has nuts but not everyone is nut allergic or allergic to all nuts – this recipe uses Walnuts but any nut could be substituted – in my house we can do it with coconut I think…

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups raw walnut halves
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (alcohol free, if you prefer)
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup soft dates , pitted (about 10 Medjool dates)
• 1 tablespoon water
• Additional cocoa powder , for coating (optional)

Instructions

1.In a large food processor fitted with an “S” blade, grind the walnuts into a fine meal. Add in the rest of the ingredients, and process again until a sticky, uniform dough is formed. Scoop the batter by heaping tablespoons onto a plate or baking sheet lined with parchment paper, to prevent sticking. Roll the balls between your hands, and roll them in cocoa powder, if desired.

2.Store the balls in the fridge or freezer, and serve them chilled for the most firm texture.

March 30, 2018

Core Strengthening Exercise #5 – Side Bridges

Core Strengthening Exercise

This is exercise #5 in our series on Core Strengthening Exercises – the side bridge. If you do all of the exercises in this series daily your core will be super strong… But like with everything in life you do need to do it daily for it to be effective … you got to do it and keep doing it to stay strong.

Instructions

so as always follow the video below – but in general don’t forget to brace and do these steps:

lay on one side
prop yourself up on one elbow
support your shoulder with the opposite hand
bend your knees to 90 degrees
brace
lift your hip off of the floor and keep your body in a straight line
hold 10-20 seconds
repeat 5-10 times at first
repeat on other side

Video

Final words

if you have any questions as usual please don’t hesitate to call or send an email!

March 30, 2018

Detox Friendly Vegetable Curry

Detox Friendly Vegetable Curry Recipe

This recipe was given to me by a friend and amazing Chiro friend when I asked for help since dad is still in the hospital…

it actually came from a link from this website and you can find the original recipe here:

https://detoxinista.com/detox-friendly-vegetable-curry/

More awesome detox recipes

Actually that site looks awesome – I am going to have to recommend it and make a bunch of things from there now… let me know if you do and we can post more!

Recipe Ingredients:

2 cups steamed sweet potato chunks
1 teaspoon butter or coconut oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup water
1 Tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala
1/2 teaspoon salt

Any veggies you like, for serving
Rice, or cauliflower “rice,” for serving

Instructions

In a saute pan, heat the butter or coconut oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion and garlic, and saute for about 5 minutes, until tender. (You can do this while your sweet potato chunks are steaming!)
Transfer the onions, garlic and sweet potato chunks into a blender, and add the rest of the ingredients. Blend well, scraping down the sides, until everything is creamy. Adjust seasonings to taste and set aside– this is your curry sauce.
In a separate pot, saute any veggies you like until they are nearly tender. (I included sweet potatoes, broccoli, zucchini, carrots, and onion.)
Once your veggies are nearly cooked, pour the curry sauce over them.
Bring the sauce to a simmer, then reduce the heat and cover, to let the flavors blend for about 5-10 minutes. Your veggies will be nice and tender, while packing a huge punch of flavor!
The best part of curry dishes, if you ask me, is eating it the sauce with rice, so even if you’re not eating grains, you can still enjoy this curry sauce over a bed of cauliflower “rice!” (Simply pulse raw cauliflower in a food processor, until you have a rice-like texture.) Pour the curried vegetables over the rice and serve warm.

March 23, 2018

Core Strengthening Exercise #4 – Proper Crunches

Doing Crunches the right way

We love core strengthening right? So I bet you think you know how to do a crunch right? Are you sure? Hmmm. Maybe not…. to do crunches properly and make sure you are really strengthening your core as much as you need to read on…

Instructions for proper core strengthening with crunches…

step by step instructions are easy and almost exactly what you have always done with one or two new twists…

These extra bits make all of the difference in activating the proper muscles including a muscle called the transversus abdominus which really helps to activate the whole core (anteriorly and posteriorly).

Here are the steps:

Lay on your back with your knees bent
place one hand on your belly
place the other hand behind your neck with your thumb and fingers spanning your neck to the upper back
brace (this is exercise #1 – told you that you would need it again)
put your tongue on the roof of your mouth (yes you read that right)
crunch and lift your shoulders slightly off the floor without moving your neck into flexion.

Ok so why with the tongue thing? It makes it so you can’t engage your neck muscles and you have to use your core. This is the way you were always supposed to do crunches. Who knew right?

Video

for a step by step how to please see my YouTube video below!

Questions, Comments and Queries

And as always, if you have any questions or need more help with something please don’t hesitate to call our office. If you aren’t sure this one is for you please also ask us. If you have an injury this may not be appropriate for you — yet. I always give this exercise to my lower back pain patients but it usually requires some treatment first before we can get to this point. If you have pain, please seek treatment first – Pain is your body’s way of letting you know something is wrong… go get it looked at and fixed! Let us help…

March 23, 2018March 23, 2018

Ketogenic Broccoli and Spinach Soup Recipe

Ketogenic Friendly Recipe: Healthy Broccoli Soup

This recipe is one I invented and posted last weekend – for broccoli and potato soup with more green than I am used to as I added spinach! It turned out great and I have a ketogenic twist on my original recipe that worked really well!.

AND it has the added bonus of deliciousness!

Ingredients

– large freezer bag full of broccoli stalks

-2 potatoes or 2 turnips for the ketogenic equivalent

-Stilton cheese or other blue cheese

-1 large box baby spinach

-chicken stock or bullion cubes (2 litre equivalent)

A Brief Explanation

I tend to collect the ends off of my broccoli and freeze them and once I have collected enough I make a soup – way better than throwing it all out! I just cut the stalks into smaller pieces and cut the hard woody end off of the bottom and voila! extra meal…

Instructions

Throw everything except spinach into a pot and boil, making sure the water/stock covers the veggies fully. Boil until everything is really soft and at the very end throw in all spinach and wilt. Then place all chunks and liquid in blender and blend until smooth.

There you have it a healthy, green, ketogenic friendly if needed home made delicious soup!

Enjoy!