Columbia Advanced Chiropractic, LLC

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SoftWaves for Plantar Fasciitis Work!

SoftWaves for Plantar Fasciitis Work!

Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) is cleared by the FDA for use on a few conditions, one being plantar fasciitis.  This is very exciting as plantar fasciitis is the most common form of heel pain and it can be quite debilitating condition.  Podiatrist, orthopedists, PTs, and sports chiropractors all work with patients who suffer from plantar fasciitis, and we are always looking for more and better ways to help these patients.  When a proper diagnosis is made (and this means being quite sure to R/O calcaneal stress reaction), the faster we can address a problem and the faster we can fix it. Continue Reading →

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Femoroacetabular Impingement and What Is Done About It

Femoroacetabular Impingement and What Is Done About It

Femoroacetabular Impingement (FAI), or hip impingement syndrome, is a painful hip condition that limit a person’s activities and can inhibit an athlete’s ability to perform.  Many times people can function just fine with an FAI, depending on their activity, but many times it’s necessary to get surgery to correct the problem.  After surgery though, proper rehabilitation is necessary so as to reduce scar tissue buildup in the hip joint region.  There are 3 types of FAI and each one can cause significant problems. Continue Reading →

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The Official Word on Sports Nutrition Regarding Diets and Body Composition…Discussion Over!

The Official Word on Sports Nutrition Regarding Diets and Body Composition…Discussion Over!

Let’s end this debate now.  The puzzle is now complete.  We have the data and we know what works.  We know the  ‘too much protein is bad for your kidneys’ talk that some doctors and others tout is wrong.  There is simply no data to validate this unless you have pre-existing, unrelated, kidney disease.  We know that fasting/cleansing is good for you, not bad.  For those who say ‘your body is always cleansing…that’s what the kidneys and liver are for,’ we can reply by showing them the research that far more can be done.  For those who say that ‘protein is protein, ‘  we can clearly demonstrate that this is not the case…not even close.  Many say ‘I’ve tried everything and nothing works.’  Maybe that person has tried other programs, but they most certainly have not incorporated caloric restriction and intermittent fasting.  If they had, they would’ve achieved the results they were looking for.  Being 80% of health and how we look is due to nutrition, whereas only 20% is due to exercise, it’s quite important to have a lifestyle system that addresses the 80% part.  By taking care of the 80% part, you will perform and recover better with the exercise part.  They are not mutually exclusive.  Lapses in nutrition will only get you more injuries.  I see this all too often.

You get the point.  It’s time to do what we know works instead of looking for excuses when it comes to diets and body modification.  This is about YOU and how you can feel, function, and look better.  Continue Reading →

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Meralgia Paresthetica…What Is It and How Is It Treated?

Meralgia Paresthetica…What Is It and How Is It Treated?

Meralgia Paresthetica aka Roth’s Disease aka Lateral Femoral Cutaneous Nerve (LFCN) syndrome is a condition we see from time to time.  The patient tends to present with pain in the lateral thigh that almost feels like an itchy feeling.  The discomfort can be anything from burning pain to tingling.  The pain is not a deep pain but is superficial.  This means you only feel it on the outside of the thigh vs. deep in.   It can be very bothersome and it is certainly annoying enough that people will go to find a solution.  Left untreated, it tends to get worse with time. Continue Reading →

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Elbow Pain…What The Heck Is The Issue?

Elbow Pain…What The Heck Is The Issue?

The elbow…well, it certainly isn’t the ‘funny/crazy bone’ when we hurt it.

The elbow…when it hurts, it certainly isn’t so ‘funny’ or ‘crazy’.

We treat a LOT of elbow problems in our office.  Why is this?  Well, we have an active patient base and most all we do affects the musculature in our elbows.  It used to be that when you had medial, or inside, elbow pain, that would be called ‘golfer’s elbow’ and when the pain was on the lateral side, or outside, that was called ‘tennis elbow.’  Well, needless to say, times have changed and people in many sports get medial and lateral elbow pain and they certainly are not playing golf or tennis.  For that matter, not all golfers get medial elbow pain and tennis players lateral elbow pain anyway…sometimes, it’s the opposite.  As as far as that ‘funny bone’ issue we’ve all heard about, that occurs when we bang a certain part of the elbow that the ulnar nerve runs through.  The sensation we feel is irritation to the nerve and the distally affected tissues feel ‘funny.’ Continue Reading →

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Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) and Some Ideas About How To Deal With It

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) and Some Ideas About How To Deal With It

So you have had an active and/or stressful day and you lay down to go to bed.  Your leg or legs feel a bit twitchy and they won’t relax.  Finally, you get to sleep and you are awakened by a really uncomfortable pain in your legs.  This happens night after night and finally you cannot deal with it anymore.  What is wrong and what can be done?

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is considered by many to be a neurological problem but there are many causes of the condition. So many, in fact, that it’s really tough to categorize the condition into one simple issue.  What we need to do is consider any and all factors that could influence the condition and help minimize/eliminate it.  The medical approach is to turn to medications to help with the condition, but those have side effects.  There are natural ways to address RLS, and to many, it makes sense to start with these before going the medication route. Continue Reading →

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Golf: Hip Rotation And Its Effect On Early Extension

Golf: Hip Rotation And Its Effect On Early Extension

As a certified Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) level 3 medical provider, I get the honor of treating a lot of golfers.  As golfers will tell you, the game is like a heroin addiction…but it’s actually more expensive!  A golfer will do just about whatever it takes to improve his/her game.  From shoes to gloves to clubs to lessons to whatever, nothing is too much if it will shed a few strokes off each round.  Whether the golfer is a 20 handicap or scratch or better golfer, improvements can always be made.  As is the case with any sports activity, proper stability and mobility are important and for a precision game like golf, they’re vital.

One major movement fault that many people and golfers alike have is a lack of internal hip rotation.  Proper hip mobility is not only vital for back health, but it is vital for proper swing mechanics.   I’d say, in my experience, that about 80% of golfers suffer from this issue.  It can be on the either side and depending which side it is on, the fault affects the backswing or the follow-through. Regardless of which one it is, it must be corrected to improve that score and lower the risk of musculoskeletal injuries…mostly, the force transmission into the low back.  This is one of the major reasons why so many golfers get low back pain. Continue Reading →

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The Achilles and Two Reasons Why It Might Be Hurting You

The Achilles and Two Reasons Why It Might Be Hurting You

Figure 1.:  The Calcaneal Bursa Sacs, picture from WebMD

The Achilles tendon is a rather avascular (lacking blood) thick tendon that is made up of two of your major back side calf muscles: the gastrocnemius and the soleus.  The tendon attaches into a part of your heel bone, the calcaneus, and this part is called the calcaneal tubercle. We have to major bursa sacs (bursa sacs are pockets that only fill with fluid when they are inflamed), the subcutaneous calcaneal bursa and the retrocalcaneal bursa (see figure 1 right). The subcutaneous bursa seldom presents as an issue, but the retrocalcaneal bursa can be a major headache. Continue Reading →

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Why Your Back Might Not Be Getting Better

Why Your Back Might Not Be Getting Better

There are many reasons as to why people develop back pain and luckily, conservative treatment can help most all of them.  Only in the rarest of instances is surgery needed.  The problem with treating back pain is that all too often the practitioner focuses so much on the pain that he/she doesn’t actually address what is causing the pain.  We’ve all been guilty of this!

I could write volumes on contributing factors to back pain but this blog was written to address one common problem that we are seeing more and more: a hypermobile sacroiliac joint (SIJ).  Now, the naysayer will try to suggest that this does not occur, but with over 18 years of treating sports and back injuries, I can assure you that it does, and it does with frequency.  I’ve seen this problem in active kids to my professional athlete clientele base.  It is usually not properly diagnosed as few practitioners know how to assess it. Continue Reading →

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The Truth About Plantar Fasciitis and How To Treat It

The Truth About Plantar Fasciitis and How To Treat It

Plantar Fasciitis (PF) can be a rather debilitating condition.  It doesn’t matter if you have flat feet (pes planus) or high arches (pes cavus).  If there is added stress to the bottom of the foot that occurs quickly, it can result in plantar fascial pain.

What exactly is the plantar fascia?  Consider the plantar fascia to be similar to a ligament.  It runs from the heel (the medial calcaneal tubercle) to the heads of your metatarsals (point at about where you see the webbing of your toes).  Despite what you might have been told, its function is NOT to hold the arch of the foot. Rather, the PF more-so holds the muscles under it together so that they can suspend your arch. Continue Reading →