San Diego Chiropractic Blog

Have you ever had a case of low back pain?

Statistics tell us that approximately 80% of us will suffer from low back pain over the course of our lives.

My San Diego Chiropractic clinic provides treatment for many patients with low back pain.  For decades chiropractors have had the reputation of being the “back doctors”.  I can’t tell you how many times I have had a patient tell me about a friend with either elbow pain or knee pain or shoulder pain who didn’t come into my office for treatment because they think that all chiropractors treat is back pain.

A recent episode of back pain that I personally experienced renewed my level of empathy for my patients with low back pain.  Not that I had lost my empathy for my patients, but a little personal experience always helps with my focus.

Despite the reputation of being back doctors, chiropractors are trained to deal with all of the joints whether they are part of the spine or not. 

The process that affects the joints in the low back is the same process that affects other joints in the body.  They are irritated by a fall or some other injury.  The irritation causes inflammation and the inflammation causes pain, swelling and scar tissue formation.  The scar tissue limits the joints range of motion and can become a source of pain itself.

Treatment can be as simple as a few chiropractic adjustments and a few sessions of therapy.

The next time you have a joint that aches, try chiropractic treatment.  Most joint problems that cause lower back pain respond well to safe, natural, holistic chiropractic care. 

Dr. Jones
San Diego Chiropractor

(619) 280-0554

As a chiropractor who cares for people who typically have a more holistic approach to their health and diet, I see my patients sabotage their efforts to become healthy on a regular basis. I have long contended that treating people for neck pain, back pain and headaches is much easier than trying to instill a dietary change or an exercise plan. Some of my chiropractic patients indicate poor planning leading to drops in blood sugar resulting in poor food choices while others just like the taste of their favorite fast food.

Eating habits are funny things. They are very hard for most of to control. I have always been a thin 6 foot 190 pound guy. I can’ tell you how many people think that I am just one of those “blessed” people who can eat anything they want to without gaining weight. Unfortunately for me, they would be wrong. Watching my diet is a daily chore. One thing that has helped me is the fact that I exercise and that I am keenly aware of how long I will have to exercise in order to work off any sweets that I eat or Mexican foods that I indulge in.
With this in mind, I came across a neat little article that covered what some of our chain-food favorites will cost us in time spent doing common exercises. These excerpts are from the Diet Detective who has authored several books on the topic.

Note: Calorie content of foods are based on official website information at the time of publication. Minutes of exercise are averages based on a 155-pound person. The greater the weight of the person the more calories burned per minute.

DONUT
Dunkin Donuts Chocolate Frosted Donut (230 calories)
59 minutes of walking (3 mph).

BREAKFAST SANDWICH
McDonald’s Egg McMuffin (300 calories)
32 minutes of running (5 mph).

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE
Panera Chocolate Chipper (440 calories)
62 minutes of biking (10-11.9 mph).

PIZZA
Pizza Hut Large Hand-Tossed Style Cheese Pizza (1 slice; 320 calories)
39 minutes of swimming (slow to moderate laps).

CINNAMON ROLL
Starbucks Cinnamon Roll (500 calories, varies by location)
85 minutes of dancing.

HAMBURGER
Burger King Original Whopper With Cheese (770 calories)
94 minutes of swimming (slow to moderate laps).

BROWNIE
Au Bon Pain Chocolate Chip Brownie (380 calories).
129 minutes of yoga (Hatha style).

FRIES
Wendy’s Large French Fries (540 calories)
77 minutes of biking (10-11.9 mph).

ICE CREAM
Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream (0.5 cup; 270 calories)
29 minutes of running (5 mph).

BURRITO
Taco Bell Burrito Supreme, Beef (410 calories)
70 minutes of dancing.

The next time you think that eating these foods once in a while won’t hinder your efforts to see your abs again or fit into the bikini, think again. Not only will indulging in these treats hamper your quest for a lean physique, but they will also lead to weight gain which is known to cause heart disease, back pain, sciatica and many other disorders – some of which can be treated with chiropractic and some that can’t. I hope that you found this information entertaining and helpful.

Have a Great Day!

Dr. Jones
San Diego Chiropractor

(619) 280-0554

Chiropractic care is more than just adjusting the spine.  The philosophy of chiropractic includes care of the entire body - a large portion of this care includes nutrition.   Chiropractors use a holistic approach, meaning that when you have neck pain, we not only treat your neck but we also look for the cause of your neck pain.  Sometimes that neck pain is due to a simple misalignment of a vertebra, somtimes it occurs secondary to postural stress and sometimes there are nutrition causes.  If we don’t examin all of the potential causes of your neck pain, back pain or headaches, then treatment may be quite ineffective.

Regarding nutrition, my understanding of the nearly immediate impact of a healthy diet on my own body was recently re-booted.  I have been on a strict diet of non-processed whole foods and a supplement regimen from Standard Process for the last 21 days.

At the onset of this program I imagined that when it was finished that I would no-doubt eat an occasional piece of pizza or a burrito or have a Sunday morning cup of coffee to satisfy my cravings. Well, my thoughts have changed and my cravings are gone!

This has become the jumpstart for the lifestyle change that I have desired and pursued for many years. The following is a list of some of the more noticeable changes that this program has made for me.

1) Noticeable reduction in anxiety

2) Significant decrease in blood pressure

3) Sleep is much improved

4) Complete loss of my cravings for coffee, sugar and fattening foods

5) Increased energy levels through my day

6) No more bloating or indigestion after meals

7) My pants don’t fit anymore - I lost 15 pounds.

 Much more stable blood sugar levels - no more crashing!

9) Significant decrease in knee pain, ankle pain and neck pain.

As a chiropractor, I have always encouraged my family, friends and patients to maintain their spinal health through regular chiropractic care and to pursue a healthy lifestyle. I am embarrassed to say that even though I maintained a diet that would be considered much healthier than the average persons prior to the start of this Detox - Purification - Weight Loss Program, I really wasn’t healthy.

I would encourage all of you to examine your lifestyles, especially those of you over 30. If you are eating fast food, drinking coffee and / or soda and eating processed foods out of cans / boxes you need to consider a lifestyle change. No one wants to be fat and ill when we get older. But that is exactly what the typical diet supports!

I can’t imagine reverting back to my old eating habits after completing this program. The taste of my favorite Mexican food, that occasional cold soda on a hot day or that warm morning cup of coffee doesn’t even begin to compare to how my new eating habits have made me feel. That old diet was easy and fast - and totally not worth the ill health that came with it.

The combination of eliminating the intake of unhealthy foods with the powerful Detox / Purification provided by the Standard Process Supplements and the undeniable benefit of consuming fresh fruits, vegetables and lean animal proteins like fish and chicken have made both Linda and I feel like completely new people.

Those of you who would like to go through the Standard Process Purification program should call the office or just come in and talk to us about what you need to get started.

The cost for the supplements that you will need for the entire 21 day program is reasonable - the benefits of completing the program are Priceless!

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

San Diego Chiropractic Care
Chiropractor San Diego

I have always considered myself a fairly healthy person. Until I started taking inventory of all the things that really bother me. To begin with, since I am a chiropractor I will declare that I have my bouts with neck pain, back pain and the occasional headache but for the most part I am pain free. Since college I have suffered from a mild case of office hypertension - meaning that my blood pressure was borderline high but I attribute that to the anxiety I get from taking my blood pressure. Another thing worth mentioning is that some days I would get a little spacey from mild hypoglycemia, but this would only happen on days where my diet suffered from poor planning. Finally, I have another chiropractor in my office so I get regular chiropractic care which keeps my spine flexible and functional. On a superficial level, compared to many people that I know, overall my health looked OK.

One day here about two weeks ago my assistant Linda told me that she had a representative from Standard Process coming to the office to discuss nutritional products for our patients. At the time of this appointment, I really had no expectations of where this would go. I figured that since I exercised and ate right (for the most part) that we would be discussing products for my patients.

By the time the appointment with the Standard Process representative ended both Linda and I had committed to doing a 21 day purification program. It was at this point where I really started looking at my diet. What I found was that vegetables and fruits were a good part of my diet but so were bean rice and cheese burritos, occasional cheeseburgers, potato chips, an occasional soda pop and lots of coffee. All of this stuff would have to go under the guidelines of the purification program. Basically, the purification program involves taking whole food supplements to stimulate the kidneys, liver and intestines to eliminate toxins, supplementing whey protein for animal protein sources and eliminating all caffeine, dairy and processed foods.

Today is the thirteenth day of our purification program. I am embarrassed to say that even as a doctor with extensive schooling in nutrition that I have been taken back by the dramatic positive changes in my health as a result of this purification program. To begin with, what I thought was office hypertension is gone. Since the third day of this program my blood pressure reading has ranged from a low of 115/74 to a high of 121/80. This reading is accompanied by a calmness that I have rarely if ever felt as an adult. In addition to lower blood pressure, my digestion is significantly better - no more bloating, my blood sugar has been stable and my sleep is much improved.

I attribute these improvements in my health to three simple changes that seem so elementary. Stop putting junk in, eat a clean healthy diet and get the toxins stored in our bodies out.

I have been asked what I plan to do after the 21 day program is over. At this point, I can’t imagine not continuing with a healthy diet and taking whole food supplements. The taste of that BRC burrito or that morning cup of coffee will not be missed in the least.

The chiropractor finally got healthy!

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

San Diego Chiropractic Care
Chiropractor San Diego

A good chiropractic program should include a nutrition component. Treatment for neck pain, back pain and headaches goes beyond spinal adjustments and therapy. Poor diet choices have the ability to cause inflammatory processes in the body resulting in a magnification of the typical aches and pains that we develop while sitting at our desks all day. In my San Diego Chiropractic Clinic, I see patients on a regular basis who would do much better with their treatment if they would address their physical complaints with the appropriate dietary changes as well.

One of the most recent trends in natural health care is detoxification diets. There are many detoxification programs on the market. I have been familiar with Standard Process over the course of my chiropractic career. Standard Process has been in business for over 80 years and they have always been held in high regard for their top quality, natural whole food supplements. My assistant, Linda, took the initiative to call Standard Process and have a representative come discuss their purification process with us.

The purification program that they offer is an extreme departure from my normal diet. While I eat fruits and vegetables on a regular basis, this diet restricts you to fruits and vegetables for the first 10 days supported by nutritional supplements and protein shakes that cleanse the body of toxins. This cleansing process is initiated by supplements that help stimulate the liver, kidneys and intestines.

At this point we are ten days into our purification program. Aside from a day spent with a mild caffeine withdrawal headache and a few cravings that I battled for the first few days this has been less than a painful process. I actually don’t miss the morning coffee, Mexican food and pizza. If you were standing in front of me right now and asked me how I am feeling I would say that “I feel better than I have in twenty years”. And I wouldn’t be exaggerating.

As a result of the first 10 days of this purification, my blood pressure is lower than it was when I was 20, my neck pain and back pain have noticeably improved, my digestion is much improved, my sleep is better than it has ever been in my adult life and I have lost 12 pounds of fat and bloat. This program definitely has supplied the building blocks on which I will become healthier and leaner.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

San Diego Chiropractic Care
Chiropractor San Diego

In my chiropractic office in San Diego, I treat people that are more oriented toward taking proactive steps in maintaining their health. In addition to helping my patients with the typical neck pain, back pain and headaches that are common complaints for chiropractors, I also give advice regarding other lifestyle changes that help them become healthier people.

Food cravings are the downfall for many of us regarding our health. I can’t recall what the disorders or deficiencies were, but I remember studying conditions that made some people crave dirt - that is right, people crave to eat dirt, and other deficiencies that made people crave aspirin. Obviously, none of us would think that a nice plate of dirt for dinner would sound good without some underlying nutritional deficiency that would drive us to such a craving.

It is interesting how mineral deficiencies can result in cravings of more typical types of foods. Naturopath Colleen Huber says that all food cravings are a signal that our bodies are telling us that we need more of certain types of foods. For example; when we crave sweets our bodies really need chromium, carbon, phosphorus, sulfur or tryptophan. A craving for chocolate can be an indicator that you are deficient in magnesium while a craving for salty foods is an indication that we are chloride deficient. If you crave soda or other carbonated drinks what you really need is calcium.

This is incredibly valuable information. Once again, as a chiropractor I am not only concerned with relieving my patients back pain or neck pain but I am concerned about their health as a whole. Poor diets are fueled by cravings that we often don’t understand and poor diet planning. A poor diet can cause low energy, weight gain, low self image and a feeling of being out of control among a host of other much more serious disorders.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

San Diego Chiropractic Care
Chiropractor San Diego

The patients in my San Diego Chiropractic clinic often complain of “hip pain”. When I ask them to point to the pain they almost always point to the area right next to the spine just below their beltline.

That is the difference between a medical definition of the hip and that of a patient. From a medical standpoint, the “hip” is the joint where the femur articulates with the acetabulum. While I do see and provide care for those with pain in this joint, it is much less common to see pain in this “hip” joint versus the “hip” joints that most often trouble my patients.

The joint that my patients point to when they complain of hip pain is usually the sacroiliac joint. The sacroiliac joint is formed from the ileum aka, hip bone and the sacrum which is a triangular shaped fusion of the bottom five vertebra in the spine. The spine (and the weight of your upper body) sit directly on top of the sacroiliac joints making the stability of these joints extremely important.

There is a network of ligaments and muscles that act to stabilize and move the sacroiliac joints. Since the sacroiliac joints have to support some of the greatest forces that our bodies are subjected to, the muscles that act on these joints are some of the strongest in the body. Because of the sacroiliac joints close approximation to the spine and the hip proper, the larger muscles that act on the sacroiliac joint are also movers of the hip and the lower lumbar spine.

Since the sacroiliac joints are large joints that are supported by big muscles and strong ligaments, they are able to withstand much of the stresses that we ask of them. However, they do break down with the constant postural stresses (sitting), poor lifting habits, falls and other injuries leading to pain and stiffness in the lower back.

Because of its size, once the sacroiliac joint is irritated, it can be difficult to treat. Treatment always involves reducing inflammation, mobilizing the joint (restoring normal motion) then stabilizing the joint with stretches and exercises. This is the course of care that I have followed with great results in my chiropractic office in San Diego.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

San Diego Chiropractic Care
Chiropractor San Diego Blog

While I know that the practice of Yoga is a wonderful method for keeping your muscles stretched and your spine flexible, it is a compliment for chiropractic, not a substitute.

Many of my peers consider my philosophy regarding the management of my chiropractic patients a bit odd. Instead of placing my patients on long term care programs, I prefer to get my patients out of pain as quickly as possible and then give them a combination of stretches and exercises that they can do at home that will help stabilize their area of pain.

Those of you who have not tried Yoga should do so. Yoga is a discipline that constantly challenges your physical being. The positions used in Yoga routines test your body and mind with combinations of stretching, strength training and balance that very few other disciplines can offer.

From a purely physical standpoint, Yoga helps even your muscle tone, improve your balance and coordination, build strength, prevent injury, focus your breathing, improve your posture and elongate muscles. Mentally, Yoga allows to focus on the “now” which helps reduce stress and consequently, reduce muscle spasms among other things.

It is because of all of the benefits of Yoga that I recommend it to most of my friends and patients. Combining the benefits of Chiropractic care’s ability to break down scar tissue and adhesions that limit or alter normal joint motion and Yoga’s benefits as discussed above makes for an exceptional approach to treating neck pain, back pain and many other musculoskeletal conditions that I see in my office.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones San Diego Chiropractor

www.JonesPainRelief.com

Chronic pain is defined as pain that persists longer than 90 days beyond the course of the natural expected healing time. As a chiropractor in San Diego, I get calls from both new and established patients on a regular basis who complain of back pain, neck pain, etc. One of the factors that comes into play when planning a chiropractic treatment program is the duration of the patients pain. In general, the longer that a patient suffers with a painful condition, the longer / more intense the treatment is needed in order to fix it. Acute or recent episodes of pain respond much quicker than do chronic conditions.

Pain is very difficult to quantify by any practitioner. Pain is subjective in nature and completely defined by the person experiencing the symptoms, the fact that chronic pain can exist without an obvious cause makes it much more difficult to treat.

I see the difficulties that my chronic pain patients have with their conditions on a daily basis. Aside from the actual pain that they experience, those who suffer with chronic pain often limit their activities for fear of exacerbating their conditions. They also have a much harder time focussing on mental tasks as the pain is a constant source of distraction. The more severe the pain, the more difficulties these people have with attention demanding tasks.

While we strive to avoid pain, pain is a wonderful tool of the nervous system. Pain lets us know of actual or potential tissue damage with an unpleasant sensation that directs our attention to the affected area so that we can either immediately take action to stop the process or focus on healing the injured body parts. Chronic pain sensations are a bit more insideous.

Chronic pain often involves a decrease in the sensativity of the nerve fibers that send messages of pain from the damaged area. With a decreased sensativity (threshold), the nerve is much more likely to transmit painful sensations to the brain then a healthy nerve / tissue combination. This activity within the nervous system is know as a wind up phenomenon and it is very difficult to stop once it has been established. In some other cases, nerve fibers that normally don’t carry painful sensations not only begin to transmit pain signals but it is thought that they may actually generate the signals themselves.

In my office, chronic pain is often the result of untreated sprain / strain type injuries of the joints. In untreated or under-treated sprain / strain injuries, the joint or the muscles that move the joint are laden with scar tisuue that acts to either limit or alter motion of that joint. With time, the awkward, unnatural biomechanics of the scar tissue laden joint results in irritation, inflammation and finally pain and spasm. While chiropractic care is often successful at re-establishing “clean” biomechanics of a joint, it is always better to get the care in the beginning of an injury versus waiting for that injury to become chronic, with a requiring more care with a decreasing chance of complete recovery.

Because of the possibility of an acute painful condition becoming a chronic one, I always encourage my patients to take care of themselves immediately when they first start to experience pain. I have practiced chiropractic care for almost two decades now and I can say that chronic painful conditions of the spine are devastating. Not only do they make you expereince pain, but in most instances they limit your physical activities creating a situation that can easily degrade from inactivity secondary to pain, to deconditioning and eventually to obesity and ill health in general leading to a dissatisying lifestyle.

The bottom line on chronic pain is this - avoid it if you can. Don’t ignore your pain. Painful acute conditions that are left untreated can easily spiral into a chronic condition that has the potential to alter your lifestyle in a negative way.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones San Diego Chiropractor

www.JonesPainRelief.com

Is Chiropractic Care Addictive? I am asked this question on a regular basis.

There are many people who are under the impression that once you begin chiropractic treatment you have to keep going - almost like something bad is going to happen to you if you stop your care.

I understand how some people would come to think that chiropractic care could be addictive, after all, almost all medications that people get from their medical doctors for pain is addictive. I suppose that if you are in pain, are concerned about the addictive nature of the medications that you have taken in the past, and are going to the chiropractic for the first time that you may think that chiropractic care for pain may be addictive as well.

I can assure you that chiropractic care is not addictive but feeling good can be as powerful as an addiction. There are certain people that are more “in tune” with their bodies than others. Restrictions in joint motion and flexibility typically occur slowly over time and are not normally perceptible. Once these people start care they experience full, free range of motion of their joints without neck pain, back pain or headaches - and they like it. After formal care ends, a percentage of these people notice when their joints begin to lose their range of motion. Since they felt better under chiropractic treatment, they like to continue their care simply to feel better.

This is about as addictive as chiropractic care can be. It is really no different from those who exercise and / or diet and feel better and therefore continue with their plan.

In closing, you can receive chiropractic care with no fear of developing a physical or physiological dependency on the treatment. Most chiropractors, myself included, know that chiropractic care is of great benefit to the health of your spine. Keeping your spine well adjusted is akin to keeping your teeth brushed and flossed - but it is not addictive.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones San Diego Chiropractor

www.JonesPainRelief.com