Dr Davis' Back & Wrist Pain Blog

Regular Exercise: 10 Benefits

San Francisco Executive Express Chiropractor Comments:

Making time to exercise is probably the single best thing you can do for your physical and emotional well being. There are just so many great things that result from a regular exercise program. And...it really doesn't have to take up a whole lot of time either...you can get positive benefits from exercise in 20 minutes per day.    

I came across this article on the excellent www.revolutionhealth.com website...it is entitled:

Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity, courtesy of www.TheMayoClinic.com

I am going to add 3 more of my own (benefits of regular exercise) to make 10...here they are:

1. Exercise helps prevent back pain by keeping extra bodyweight off the spinal joints, discs, and ligaments. It also helps keeps the spinal muscles tone and flexible.

2. Regular exercise helps you look young. I know when I go to high school reunions, I can sure tell who takes care of themselves with regular exercise...it just shows.

3. Exercise is a form of discipline...YOU have complete control over whether or not you exercise or not. Do you make excuses...or do you get the job done. You feel good about yourself when you get the job done...and this carries over into other areas of your life and makes you more productive.

Well...that's about it. If you are not exercising because it causes too much pain...we need to get that fixed...and that's where chiropractic can help. A good chiropractor can work with you to get you back on track with an exercise program, while at the same time fixing your spine. The combination of exercise and chiropractic care is very powerful...you should try it out. Chances are...you will be glad you did.

If you would like to find out if you are a candidate for care at Executive Express Chiropractic at the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco...simply call 415-392-2225, press 1 (24 hr live operator). Ask for a complimentary consultation with Dr. Eben Davis.      

Is Yoga Good for a Herniated Disc?

San Francisco Chiropractor and Herniated Disc Doctor Comments:

Yoga is very popular these days...and there are many different kinds. Some methods of Yoga are very gentle...some are advanced...and everything in between.

Anyway...I am often asked...Is it is OK to do Yoga with a herniated disc?

My answer is always...it depends. It depends on your particular condition.  There are Yoga postures that might be perfect for you and actually enhance the healing process...and there are Yoga postures that may hurt you.

This is where an experienced Yoga teacher comes in. I used to have an onsite Yoga instructor at my Financial District Chiropractic Center. Sometimes Yoga made sense for herniated disc repair...sometimes it didn't.

I did a little research online and came up with this article on the Yoga Journal website entitled:

Yoga With A Herniated Disc

It's an excellent read. Check it out. Let me know if you have any experience with Yoga and disc herniations and if you know any really good instructors here in downtown San Francisco that I can refer patients to.

For a complimentary consultation with Dr. Eben Davis at Executive Express Chiropractic at the Embarcadero Center...simply call 415-392-2225, press 1 (24 hr live operator). 

Weight Lifting with a Herniated Disc

San Francisco Chiropractor and Herniated Disc Doctor Comments:

I guess if you know you have a herniated disc in your low back...or in your neck...you had an MRI at some point. Actually, x-rays and positive orthopedic tests for disc pathology are usually a pretty reliable indicator also. Either way...you had some sort of episode of low back or neck pain, that was diagnosed as a herniated disc. So now what?

Well...most of the time the back pain or neck pain resolves with conservative treatment, such as chiropractic, physical therapy, or medications. We treat many patients (that lift weights) with herniated discs at Executive Express Chiropractic in downtown San Francisco. Most of the time we are successful with treatment outcomes.   

But what about the disc herniation...it's still there...can I lift weights?

Probably (see a good chiropractor)...as long as you are careful not to do exercises that could put too much stress on the herniated disc. If your disc herniation is in the low back...I would avoid squats, presses behind neck, and low back extensions...and I would be careful with everything else. avoid exercises that cause pain.

If you have a herniated disc in the neck...I would avoid presses behind neck, heavy shoulder presses, and neck extensions with weights. Go nice and easy with everything else. Use lots of dumbbells and cables.

Sit-ups are OK with really good form...no pulling on the neck...nice and slow...squeeze the abs on each rep.  A strong abdominal region and core will help stabilize the low back...and neck.   

Herniated Lumbar Disc...Now What?

San Francisco Chiropractor and Herniated Disc Doctor Comments:

How do you know if you have a herniated disc in the low back? Well, you don't, unless you have the right tests done. Sure, you may have a lot of pain in your low back...it may be shooting down your leg...but you still may not have a disc herniation.

Here's another thing...you may have a lumbar disc herniation and have no symptoms at all. In fact, some people live and die with disc herniations and never even knew they had them.

But...for the purpose of this article...we will be concerned about low back pain patients that DO have signs and symptoms of herniated lumbar discs, and want to know if they have one. Here are the most common signs and symptoms:

• Low Back Pain (can be severe)
• Sciatica (leg pain)
• Antalgia (listing to one side from muscle spasms)
• Numbness & Tingling in the lower extremities
• Night Pain
• Abnormal Gait (can be painful to walk)
• Hot or Cold sensations on the skin of lower extremities
• Weakness of the Lower Extremities (leg, feet, or toes)
• Loss of bladder or bowel function (this is a medical emergency)
• Loss of balance

There are more...but I think I covered most of them. And these are what we call subjective complaints...things that you feel and that are happening to you.

There are orthopedic tests that your doctor will do to help determine if you have a herniated disc. If these tests are positive (objective findings) she may order an x-ray or an MRI. Really, it just depends on the severity of your condition and how many subjective and objective findings point to a herniated lumbar disc.  An MRI is considered the gold standard for diagnosing a disc herniation.

   

If You Have Chronic Severe Low Back Pain...There IS Hope!

San Francisco Chiropractor and Herniated Disc Doctor Comments:

Do you suffer from chronic low back pain?  If so, you may be a candidate for spinal decompression therapy with the DRX9000. Nonsurgical spinal decompression can often times help...when nothing else will.

At my Spinal Decompression Center in San Francisco, we get the most satisfaction from helping patients that have tried everything else...including chiropractic.

Conditions such as disc herniations, bulging discs, degenerated discs, spinal stenosis, and facet syndromes...have all been known to respond favorably to lumbar decompression therapy with the DRX9000.

The treatment protocol is 20 sessions over a 5-6 week period. The DRX sessions are 30 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of muscle stimulation, then 10 minutes of ice. The entire visit takes about an hour.

For the most part, the treatments are painless. Although, it is possible to experience minor discomfort from the treatment...especially in the beginning...simply because we are working on an injured spinal disc that is most likely causing lots of spasms and inflammation.  You wear a back support in between  visits to support the spine, and there are some home care instructions that are fairly simple to adhere to.

Osteoarthritis and Exercise

San Francisco Chiropractor and Chronic Back Pain Doctor Comments on the Benefits of Exercise for Spinal or Degenerative Arthritis:

Some spinal arthritis patients find it extremely difficult to perform certain exercises...like weight lifting or even physical therapy. But the thing is...exercise is usually something the patient should be doing.

After all, life is motion. Every joint in the body, including the spinal joints are what is called avascular. This means there is no direct blood supply to the joint. The joints stay healthy with motion. This is how they exchange nutrients and expel waste products with the bloodstream.

So, it can be quite beneficial to explore your options with your doctor and try to come up with some osteoarthritis exercises that you can handle. Chances are...you will be glad you did.

DRX9000 Spinal Decompression for Chronic Back Pain

San Francisco Chiropractor and Disc Herniation Doctor Comments:

Millions of people suffer with chronic, severe, low back and neck pain. Some have been told they need surgery and do not want to go that route. Some have been told they just need to learn to live with the pain. Here is a list of the most common conditions responsible for chronic back pain:

• Disc Herniations in the neck or low back
• Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD)
• Spinal Arthritis (Osteoarthritis)
• Facet Syndrome
• Subluxation
• Scoliosis
• Spinal Stenosis

We have been treating chronic low back pain at my San Francisco Financial District Back & Wrist Pain Center for over 15 years now. Most of the time we are able to help patients with chronic low back pain, or chronic neck pain, with our unique brand of chiropractic care. But...sometimes chiropractic care does not help...nothing does. What do we do then?   

Well...this is when we consider non-surgical spinal decompression with the DRX9000 (lumbar) or DRX9000c (cervical). Spinal decompression was created specifically to target herniated lumbar and cervical spinal disc to reduce neurovascular compression. Often times there is no way to accomplish this without risky surgeries...that may or not help. Sure, sometimes spinal decompression may not help either...but it will not hurt you...and it will leave you whole.  It's something to seriously consider if you feel you have run out of options and have nowhere else to turn.

If you would like to find out if you are a candidate for nonsurgical spinal decompression at our San Francisco Chronic Back and Neck Pain Center...please call 415-392-2225 and ask for a complimentary consultation.

Read some SF Bay Area DRX9000 Patient Success Stories

Exercise Or Rest For Back Pain?

San Francisco Chiropractor comments:

  I hurt my back...should I exercise it out or give it some rest? I am asked this sort of question every day. In fact...I find ask this question to myself periodically. I work out a lot and sometimes I overdo it, or play too hard with my 2 year old. So...In reality, it just depends on what you did, what kind of shape you are in, and how bad you hurt yourself.

Sometimes it's hard to tell how bad an injury is until the next day. Sometimes you don't even realize that you hurt yourself until a few days after you did something, which makes it hard to know where you are in the inflammation-pain cycle (good diagram).

So, here's what I think you should do If you think you pulled a muscle or threw your back out:

1. Stop what you are doing if you are still doing the activity that caused the injury.

2. Ice the area immediately and every two hours for a day or two...or until the pain subsides.

3. Refrain from exercising for up to 48 hours (at least). Then, go back into it nice and easy.

4. Visit your chiropractor to get checked and adjusted ASAP, as well as specific recommendations.

5. Start some light stretches on the second or third day (maybe later), depending on the injury. Too much rest can be counter productive.

6. See your medical doctor or chiropractor after a week (or sooner) if the pain does not resolve or gets worse (if you didn't already). The last thing you want is for a problem to heal inappropriately. This is how problems can become chronic.

7. Massage or Acupuncture can be useful also.

Anyway, I found a really great article on the excellent www.spine-health.com website entitled Exercise and Back Pain. It really breaks this topic down and gives some very specific advice and some exercises as well. It's a good read for a sometimes complicated subject matter. 

If you would like to find out if you are a candidate for care at my San Francisco Chiropractic Center...please call 415-392-2225 and ask for a complimentary consultation.

How Do You Know If You Have A Herniated Disc?

San Francisco Chiropractor and Herniated Disc Doctor comments:

So, how do you know if you have a disc herniation in the neck, or a disc herniation in the low back? You can have severe back pain or severe neck pain and it still does not mean you have a herniated disc. In fact, you can present with some of the classic signs and symptoms of a herniated disc, such as sciatica, radiculopathy, weakness of grip, or numbness and tingling in the extremities, and the source can be something other than spinal disc herniation.

The only way to know for sure if you have a lumbar or cervical disc herniation is to get an MRI. Sure, when you have the signs and symptoms of a disc herniation it increases the likelihood that you have them...but it does not mean that we should rush out and order an (expensive) MRI on the spot. In fact, it is usually prudent to wait a little while and try some conservative treatment such as chiropractic care or physical therapy first and see what happens. 

I specialize in the treatment of chronic, severe, back and neck pain at my San Francisco Financial District Chiropractic Center. We incorporate traditional chiropractic care and spinal decompression therapy (with the DRX9000) into our herniated disc protocols. There is an MRI center right across the street from my clinic which makes it very convenient for the patients who I feel should have advanced diagnostic imaging. I just don't jump the gun and send out for an MRI unless I think it is medically necessary.

Heck, even if there are herniated lumbar discs in the spine, or herniated cervical discs, it still does not mean the patient needs surgery. In fact, often times herniated discs have no symptoms at all and are discovered through x-rays or MRI for unrelated conditions. Here is an excellent article I found on the very informative www.spineuniverse.com website. It explains this stuff really well. The title of the article is: Do You Have A Herniated Disc?  I recommend you read it.

I guess the moral of the story is to make sure you have a doctor that routinely works with herniated disc patients and is conservative in nature.

If you have been diagnosed with herniated discs in the neck, or a herniated disc in the lumbar spine, you may be a candidate for care at my San Francisco Chiropractic & Spinal Decompression Center. For a complimentary consultation simply call 415-392-2225.

Read some SF Bay Area Spinal Decompression Testimonials

Weightlifting with a Herniated Lumbar Disc

SF Bay Area Decompression Center- I am often asked if it is a good idea to lift weights with a herniated disc in the low back. The truth of the matter is, there is no right answer. It just depends on the individual circumstances. Just because you have a disc herniation does not mean you can't ever workout again. In fact, often times working out with weights under the supervision of a physical therapist or trainer is exactly what you want to do after the inflammation subsides. Chiropractic adjustments can be quite helpful as well during this rehabilitation phase, as is deep tissue massage.

Now, if you have chronic low back pain that does not respond to conservative care it may be a different story. In fact, in really bad cases exercise may make you worse, especially weightlifting. This is where your doctor comes into play. If you are working with an orthopedic doctor or a chiropractor that treats a lot of herniated disc patients (and weightlifters) then you will probably get some good advice. The last thing you want to do is make the problem worse. And just so you know...It's OK to get sore when you start your rehab. In fact, this is normal. Just use a lot of ice and make sure you do exactly what your doctor says.

If it turns out that you are unable to exercise because it is too painful, and you do not respond to physical therapy or chiropractic, you may be a candidate for nonsurgical spinal decompression. Decompression therapy was actually created to fill this void. It's something to seriously consider if you don't want surgery.

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and have been diagnosed with a herniated disc, you may be a candidate for care at our Financial District Decompression Center. For a Complimentary Consultation please call 415-392-2225. We can talk by phone or in person.