Emptying the Dishwasher. Exposing a Lost Art.

When, how often and how we move has a profound impact on our health. The frequency and duration of movement affects our metabolism and how much fat we burn. It’s literally silencing hundreds of genes and activating others. Motion through the spine in tandem with a healthy cardiovascular system ensures that cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) moves through the ventricles in your brain and supplies the spinal cord with nutrients while removing waste.

Motion promotes joint and muscle health, which in return may keep pain at bay. Moving activates stabilizer muscles and helps balance overall muscle tone. Paying attention to our body mechanics promotes brain plasticity and strengthens new movement/motor circuits.

Movement can be used to help us regulate emotional states. It can help us regulate the autonomic nervous system (flight or flight vs rest and digest). The large majority of Americans are bombarded with stress and experience a hyperactive sympathetic response - exercise and motion is a great way to put the adrenaline and cortisol to good use.

So where does emptying the dishwasher come in? I have caught myself thinking about this a handful of times while emptying my own dishwasher. I’ve experienced that my own conditioned movements inadvertently put me in a less than ideal posture. We create “default neural networks” which means that the brain gets good at using certain pathways. This is especially true with our movement patterns.

A task as mundane as emptying the dishwasher seems like it would serve very little value. However, like most of our daily movements they have become automatic or predetermined if you will. Whenever we move we are either “ gaining ground or loosing it.” In other words, we are training healthy engaged movement patterns or causing harm.

I’ll be the first to admit that unloading the dishwasher is not Thai Chi or yoga for matter. These forms of exercise require precise “conscious movement.” However, I would encourage you to take a more mindful approach next time you fill or empty the dishwasher. Go through the whole process with awareness. This way you will witness how the whole body works together while gaining a better sense of structure and posture. From start to finish you will bend, flex, reach, push, pull, lift, rotate, look up, look down and hopefully get a few breaths in.

Think about a few things:

1. Are you bending your knees and hinging at the hips or straining your low back?

2. Is your weight evenly distributed or do you dump weight into one leg and or even a specific spot on the sole of your foot?

3. Are your upper trap muscles and neck tight with your head jutting out over your chest?

4. Is your upper body squared off or are you cockeyed?

5. When you reach to put away dishes is your core limp or activated. Does your arm elevate or does your whole shoulder move with it?

6. Are you tuned in to what muscles are activated? Do you know what your posture looks like as you transition between sorting the cutlery and sliding the racks back into place?

7. Are you moving in a conscious matter or allowing for poor body mechanics due to muscle imbalances, prolonged static postural stress, lack of movement variety and overall sedentary lifestyle.

Are you familiar with the statement “where the mind goes the body follows?” This simple concept of body awareness and our power to create and change is an active process. Today it’s not part of our normal routine to set aside some energy to restore healthy movement patterns. At any moment we are presented with an opportunity to cultivate more engagement and check-in with how we move.

A little bit of extra effort and examination on how we move may be the very thing that negates the need to pop some ibuprofen, saves you a trip to your ortho, keeps you in the gym, or even allows you to hold your grandchild without aches and pains. I’d gently implore you to pay a little more attention.

Soft Tissue Work and Healing

Sometimes people’s muscles hurt. Research estimates that massage therapy was a $16 billion dollar industry in 2017. If you have spent any time in a gym or physical therapy office you have probably seen an increase in foam rollers, massage guns like the Hyperice, “The stick”, Thera Cane, fascia blaster, PSO-RITE Psoas Release Tool and Personal Massager and the list goes on. Muscles hurt for a number of reasons such as joint misalignment, tension, stress, overuse, minor injuries, and nerve dysfunction.

Your body is made up of cells. Together those cells make tissues. Tissues make up organs and organs make up entire systems such as the digestive system or musculoskeletal system. Some cells are specifically programmed to help the body heal from trauma. These are known as stem cells. You have probably heard about stem cell injections as they continue gain more attention.

Trauma leads to:

1. Structural damage (disc herniation or muscle sprain/strain)

2. Inhibits normal circulation to that area

3. Triggers inflammation

Stem cells may respond to trauma and come out of an inactive state. They have the ability to move towards sites of injury and differentiate (change in order to carry out a specific function) into cells required for healing. This means they can become bone cells (osteocytes), chondrocytes (connective tissue), muscle cells (myelocytes) and fat cells (adipocytes).

So where do stem cells live? To name a few sites, they reside throughout the body in brain tissue, muscle tissue, fat tissue, and in a baby’s umbilical cord.

There are 4 main approaches to healing a musculoskeletal injury.

1. Eat nutrient dense foods and remove toxins (processed carbs and medications)

2. Adequate rest to avoid further injury followed by gradual exposure to activity aka “corrective care,” and other stress that create positive adaptations (i.e. sauna, fasting, and supplementation)

3. Correct structural misalignments with specific adjustments and rewire poor movement patterns. This will restore balance to the nervous system that plays a key role in healing through control of the neuroimmune system.

4. Help accelerate the body’s ability to heal by working on the soft tissue (muscles, ligaments, fascia)

I’m not going to expand on number 1 & 2 in this article. However, number 3 should be in a chiropractor’s wheelhouse. To correct a misalignment a specific adjustment should be used. Gross manipulation and a cookie cutter approach fall short in my opinion. Let me give you an example of a specific patient. We’ll call him Mike. Mike plays collegiate baseball. In the last few years he’s torn his quadriceps and his opposite leg’s hamstring. He has worked with the team PT, massage therapist and even a practitioner specializing in myofascial release.

Mike continues to play and his schedule is rigorous. The pain is becoming more frequent and increasing in intensity especially with throwing and hitting.

After evaluating Mike it became pretty obvious what was wrong. He presented with muscle asymmetries in his low back, significant pelvic distortion (rotated and un-level), specific areas tender to palpation, and his non-painful side was severely restricted. His painful side was picking up the slack and overworked. Had Mike decided to continue to play, rely solely on physical therapy and soft tissue treatments without specifically correcting the joint issue - my sense is that he would continue to play injured and below his potential.

Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IAST).

Let’s dive a little deeper into number 4. Using the ceramic spoon is known as instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IAST). The instrument is run along the skin, subcutaneous tissue, fascia, muscles and ligaments. This is essentially trauma indicated by bruising (e.g. petechiae) that initiates a cellular inflammatory response.

I’d theorize that the “scraping” may be manipulating the local native stem cells populations at the site of treatment. That said, the literature does not support the theory that you are breaking up scar tissue and I agree with the evidence. This reminds me of a quote:

“If you’re not prepared to be wrong you will never come up with anything original.”

The treatment rationale varies as does the type of tool, force, and application used by the practitioner.

Despite the variations in treatment the general premise is to

• decrease pain,

• enhance myofascial mobility aka connective tissue

• stimulate tissue resorption,

• induce regeneration and repair.

New studies are being published to assess the efficacy and how stem cells work in a clinical setting both in the body and in vitro (outside a living organism)

While we don’t always have perfect information scientists have made great strides understanding how the body works.

Are you the CEO of Your Health and how does Chiropractic care fit

Running a results-driven chiropractic office is less about gadgets and more about providing potent corrective care. It’s more about clinical diagnosis and less concerned with e-stim, massage guns, and pulsed compression sleeves for leg recovery. Through my lens we deal with people and their multi-dimensional struggles. 

If you have suffered an injury we can look at it on three levels. The external level, which equates to the pain, soreness, and the physical extension of the issue. The second part is the internal component. How has this injury manifested from an emotional standpoint? Are you scared, frustrated, anxious, or even apathetic? Lastly philosophically speaking what does it mean to you? Are you dumbfounded that this has happened to you? Do you think you deserve to be aligned and healthy? Are you in a position to look after yourself?

Patients often look to their D.C.s as a primary source of healthcare when helping their children with sports-related injuries. Equally pertinent, are the high number of patients that look to chiropractic treatments after all other avenues have proved ineffective. It’s why taking a thorough history on every new patient and performing an in-depth evaluation is a critical component for any clinician working on neuromuscular issues.

Patient’s present across a spectrum from simple injuries to complex polygenic illness.

At a time where:

2/3 of American adults are overweight,

7/10 Americans take at least one prescription drug,

45 % of the population have at least 1 chronic disease

35 % of Americans are inactive (no regular physical activity),

44% admit to feelings of increased stress over the last 5 years

4/5 Americans are  undiagnosed pre-diabetic or diabetic (insulin resistant)

The large majority has no idea how to tailor eating to optimize their health

The bodies natural ability to function and  heal is being suppressed. Chiropractic is grounded in this idea of lifestyle based medicine. As a clinician it’s my goal to help boost a patient’s wherewithal to look after themselves. In addition to adjusting the joints we act as guides providing accountability when it comes to exercise, reexamining a patient’s eating habits, or informing them on the efficacy of cryotherapy, use of CBD, or other relevant research

Speaking of research, here are two interesting  summaries on new literature that provide additional insights into the nervous system

SCIATICA

• More than 5 million cases of sciatica are seen annually in the US
• Animal studies have uncovered activation of the immune system linking it to neuro-inflammation beyond the brain
• A combination of diagnostic imaging (MR and PET) in a human study shows increased inflammation in the brain, spinal cord, and nerve roots that correspond with the effected leg.
• One of the first human studies to demonstrate evidence of an inflammatory process happening at the nerve root.
  (Journal reference #1)

LEG EXERCISE

• Groundbreaking research shows that neurological health depends as much on signals sent by the body's large, leg muscles to the brain as it does on signals from the brain to the muscle. The brain is receiving direct input from the muscles throughout the body.
• In animal studies, it was demonstrated that limiting the physical activity, specifically the hind legs, led to a 70% decrease in neural stem cells compared to a control group in mice.
• Cutting back on exercise makes it difficult for the body to produce new nerve cells -- some of the very building blocks that allow us to handle stress and adapt to challenge in our lives.

• Quote from Lead researcher
  "It is no accident that we are meant to be active: to walk, run, crouch to sit, and use our leg muscles to lift things," says Adami. "Neurological health is not a one-way street with the brain telling the muscles 'lift,' 'walk,' and so on." -Dr. Raffaella Adami 

(Journal Reference # 2)

REFERENCES

1. Daniel S. Albrecht, Shihab U. Ahmed, Norman W. Kettner, Ronald J.H. Borra, Julien Cohen-Adad, Hao Deng, Timothy T. Houle, Arissa Opalacz, Sarah A. Roth, Marcos F. Vidal Melo, Lucy Chen, Jianren Mao, Jacob M. Hooker, Marco L. Loggia, Yi Zhang. Neuroinflammation of the spinal cord and nerve roots in chronic radicular pain patients. PAIN, 2018; 159 (5): 968 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001171

2. Raffaella Adami, Jessica Pagano, Michela Colombo, Natalia Platonova, Deborah Recchia, Raffaella Chiaramonte, Roberto Bottinelli, Monica Canepari, Daniele Bottai. Reduction of Movement in Neurological Diseases: Effects on Neural Stem Cells Characteristics. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2018; 12 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00336

Long term activation of stress disrupts all of the body's processes

This video is Part 3 of a discussion on stress reduction. If you want additional context please follow us on Instagram @spineandjointoc.

Below I provide a summary that highlights the types of dysfunction one may experience due to overexposure to stress. If you watched the clip, I corrected a slip of the tongue. I replaced sleep deprived with sleep de-fried and I own that folly. Now for the comparison.

Overexposure to Cortisol

Normal Cortisol Release

Medically Reliant

Sleep-Deprived

Immunity Suppression (vulnerable
to disease)

Increase in sympathetic activity


Diminished Self-Regulation

Chronic Inflammation

Brain Atrophy

Physiologic Imbalance

Hormonal Imbalance (i.e. decrease in Thyroid hormone)

Weight gain/obesity

Weakened Bones

Healthy State

Rested and Recovered

Increased Immunity


Increase in Parasympathetic activity

Stress Tolerance

Acute Inflammation

Neurogenesis

Homeostasis

Hormonal/Circadian balance


Normal biostatistics

Strong Bones

Is Carnivore your Dietary Magnum Opus

Is Carnivore your Dietary Magnus Opus: Craving the truth
 

Mid December amidst discussion about ketosis, paleo and plant-based rhetoric the carnivore approach piqued my interest. It was not the first time I was driven to self experimentation with diet, but in this case I felt an acute sense pulling on the threads of curiosity. I figured it might pair well with my intermittent fasting and sauna protocols. Frankly, I wanted an experiment to spark positive physical and cognitive change.

Around this time I started to uncover some research theories related to diet on autophagy, physiological reserve and endogenous plant pesticides that had me wondering if perhaps I was over-dabbling in the vegetable department. I can say with certainty that I fare better without grains (headache triggers) and most legumes (GI dysfunction). I still have love for my cruciferous veggies. Gone but not forgotten.

The carnivore diet is essentially ZC (zero carb) therefore men (depending on activity/performance levels) are eating around 2.5-4lbs per day and women 1.5-2lbs per day (Beef, turkey, chicken, fish with marginal amounts of butter, eggs and cheese). As you read this please note that this is by no means "Medical Advice." I am sharing information as it pertains to my self experimentation.

This sort of restriction can be a tough pill to swallow for some. Who does not want a panko-crusted chicken thigh with a side of roasted potatoes and broccolini. Personally, I have eaten in what one would describe as a “healthy manner” for nearly a decade. These last 3 years I have gravitated more towards a plant-based diet (most recent conventional thinking) with low to moderate animal proteins. I’m physically active/training 5-6 days per week, and while I have noticed mild changes in biostatic measurements, my strength began to wane, I was fighting off cravings, noticed dermatological changes, gut irritation and a host of other not so exciting phenomenon.

Two weeks before Christmas and I took the plunge.  From day 1 I felt well. Some people talk about the keto-flu and negative side effects to the metabolic transition. I never experienced any of these negative effects with the exception of one isolated headache (may have been related to electrolyte imbalance). The longer I went the better I felt. It put the kabosh on any holiday-related carbohydrate binge. However, the thought of an avocado or chocolate stout crossed my mind a few times. Otherwise I felt a deeper detachment from flours and grains then ever before. I was full and content. My blood pressure and heart rate improved, perceived ability to focus skyrocketed, aches, pains and training soreness diminished and strength increased.

Tradeoffs when attempting this culinary lifestyle!

Now the question is do I continue for 2 months or pepper in cyclic ketogenic phases? I know my wife’s answer to this question.

Okay, so let’s just say what you’re thinking (or not).

All that fat can’t be good, right?

Well in an environment free of processed foods and high volumes of sugar the body appears to do quite well becoming fat-adapted and using fat as an energy source.

That’s really got to stress your kidneys?

Sorry, this is a perpetuated myth and several prominent nephrologists have done research to say otherwise, unless you have failing kidneys to begin with or other extenuating circumstances. Dr. Jason Fung’s studies

What biomarkers will you rely on?

This time around zilch. Perhaps next time around I will utilize pre and post NMR lipid profile, C-Reactive protein, ESR, micronutrient levels along with a urinalysis. Understand that many biomarkers are poorly understood and poor predictors of the benefits and or problems with high volumes of meat consumption

Will you be able to use the loo?

People may experience an adaptation period with change in frequency a/o quantity but go on to have regular and improved bowel movements.

In addition, there is a bevy of researchers asking interesting questions and potentially changing old thought processes around diet:

A bit nuanced and some science-based links (If you enjoy health related research subscribe to Dr. Rhonda Patrick’s podcast

Dietary fat and cholesterol/lipoprotein inversion patterns (this is huge for people taking statins) Dave Feldman and Jeffrey Gerber

Insulin metabolism (connection btw diabetes and cardiovascular disease) Dr. kraft ( 5- hour insulin assay)

Does Saturated Fat Cause Heart Disease? Dr. Rhonda Patrick

LDL Cholesterol and Cardiovascular Disease Risk with Dr. Krauss

IF and time restricted eating Dr. Satchin Panda

Health benefits of sauna use Dr. Jari Laukkanen

Thats a wrap.