Spine Care

The spinal column, also known as the backbone, is a strong, flexible  structure. It holds the weight of the head and torso. It allows movement in many directions. If it were a straight, inflexible rod, it would make humans walk like robots. However, that is not the case. The spine is flexible (moved and supported by muscles), which enables the ability to twist, hit a golf ball and bend. The spinal column surrounds your spinal cord like conduit around an electric cord. It protects the spinal cord, which can be thought of as a bundle of nerves running from the brain, through the spinal column and branching out to the rest of the body. The spine consists of three natural curves; the neck curvature or cervical spine, the upper back curvature or thoracic spine, and the lower back curvature or lumbar spine, all which make a slight “S” shape when viewed from the side. The spine is an essential structure because it helps support the upright posture of humans as well as provide the body with flexibility to move and protect the spinal cord. Spinal health is important in order to ensure the body is functioning to its fullest capacity. Not only is health coaching utilized to ensure your body is getting the proper nutrients, but it also provides you with strengthing activities to help with posture and protecting the spine. Dr. Alex Jimenez strongly indicates across his collection of articles on spine care, how to properly support a healthy spine.

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Neuromuscular reffered pain | El Paso
Neuromuscular Referred Pain, Is It Impacting You?

When it comes to Neuromusculoskeletal disorders, many techniques are available for one to learn. Some of these techniques include: 

Activator methods 
Applied Kinesiology
Atlas Specific 
Meric System 
Network Chiropractic 
Pro-Adjuster 
And Many More 

As a healthcare practitioner, upwards of 90% of your consultations involve a clinical investigation. The most often asked questions to patients include “How long have you had the pain?” and “What aggravates the pain?” However, it is imperative to determine the best course of treatment for patients. To properly do this, you do a functional history that includes all dimensions of wellness, not just physical and pain. These questions include: 

Past Medical History 
Occupational Status 
Social Status 
Medication History 
Surgical History 
Identifying non-neuro muscular disorders the patient may have like diabetes, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer 

Understanding all areas of injury is vital due to neurological referred pain. Neurological referred pain occurs when signals get mixed in your neurological wiring. Sensory inputs from different areas of the body combine into single neurons (the nerve cells) in the spine. In the spine, they are integrated and modified before being sent to the brain. To properly assess and have successful treatment, one must identify the proper tissue that has been compromised. 

Along with this, there are perpetuating factors that can lead to downfalls as well. 

Mechanical Stresses

The stresses that directly impact pain and the skeletal system include short leg, hemipelvis, long second metatarsal, short upper arms, postural stresses, misfitting furniture, poor postures, abuse of muscles, and immobility. 

Short leg is seen frequently and puts a biomechanical strain on the supporting muscle. This creates a distortion of axial alignment. The main muscle impacted is the quadratus lumborum. This muscle being compromised is one of the most overlooked sources of low back pain. Once this is identified, the shoulder girdle should be evaluated next. If individuals are suffering from low back pain frequently, nutritional inadequacies should be considered. 

There are research studies done showing nutritional deficiencies to be associated with chronic neuromusculoskeletal system disorders. For optimal health, we focus on the body down to the orthomolecular components. These include: 

B1
B6
B12
Folic Acid
Vitamin C
Calcium 
Potassium 
Iron 
Magnesium 
InBody

Part of obtaining a full history is having patients undergo an InBody scan. This scan focuses on body composition and inflammation. It provides a full report of water, percent body fat, phase angle, visceral fat, basal metabolic rate, ECW/TBW and contains multiple segmental analysis sections. The InBody 770 high power technology to accurately assess patients.

[embedyt] www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwbIsPNUYqs%5B/embedyt%5D

 

THE HUMAN BODY IS VASTLY INTERTWINED AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS SHOULD BE LOOKING AT EVERY AREA IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING PAIN OR DISCOMFORT. A DETAILED HISTORY CAN HELP DOCTORS GET TO THE ROOT SOURCE OF YOUR PAIN. -KENNA VAUGHN, ACSM-EP, SENIOR HEALTH COACH 

References: 

Dr Ron Grisanti,D.C “Insiders Guide.” Functional Medicine University (FMU). 

Williams FH. Neuromuscular complications of nutritional deficiencies. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am. 2008 Feb;19(1):125-48, vii. doi: 10.1016/j.pmr.2007.10.006. PMID: 18194754.  

Additional Online Links & Resources (Available 24/7)



 

Online Appointments or Consultations:  https://bit.ly/Book-Online-Appointment



 

Online Physical Injury / Accident Intake Form: bit.ly/Fill-Out-Your-Online-History



 

Online Functional Medicine Assessment: bit.ly/functionmed

 

 

Disclaimer

 

The information herein is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional, licensed physician, and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make your own health care decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified health care professional. Our information scope is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, sensitive health issues, functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from a wide array of disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the musculoskeletal system’s injuries or disorders. Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate and support, directly or indirectly, our clinical scope of practice.* Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request. We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900.  Read More…

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, CTG*

email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com

phone: 915-850-0900

Licensed in Texas & New Mexico

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The Body’s Joints and Protection From Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is said to affect around 1.5 million individuals. Recognized as an autoimmune condition that presents with chronic pain in the body’s joints. It…

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