DOCTOR’S LEVEL 1 NUCCA CERTIFICATION ACHIEVED

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DOCTOR’S LEVEL 1 NUCCA CERTIFICATION ACHIEVED

Boulder Chiropractic Clinic, NUCCA, Uncategorized, Upper Cervical Subluxation Complex No Comments

GOOD KARMA TIME!

Helping Dr. Norris Golberg of KORU Chiropractic in Louisville, Colorado attain Level One in the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA) Certification Program has been one of my greatest honors. The NUCCA technique is known as the most difficult and rigorous chiropractic discipline — as is the NUCCA Certification Program. Doctors and students of NUCCA are a rare breed of perfectionists in pursuit of the easiest, most predictable and consistent reduction/correction of the Atlas Subluxation Complex (A.S.C).

WHY ARE WE SO RARE?

Our new patients are most pleased with NUCCA’s precision and its benefits, and then surprised to learn that NUCCA is not a chiropractic standard which is taught and practiced everywhere. That conversation is enormously important, but this article is a celebration of an achievement by an extraordinary doctor of chiropractic. Suffice it to say that competitive, market-driven economics and politics pervade all areas of life.

COMMITMENT TO GROWTH

For me, NUCCA training and practice, and its integration with other advanced chiropractic principles, requires commitment to lifelong personal growth. For me, that growth is in my ability to work with both sides of my brain, and become a scientist and an artist. Firstly, NUCCA practice requires detailed, technical focus upon the highest standards for pre and post- X-ray production, X-ray analysis and mechanisms of the NUCCA treatment procedure — and once that first NUCCA treatment is provided, taking post-X-rays (repeating two of the original 3 upper cervical pre-X-rays) and translating the post-X-ray analysis into verifying the calculations for correcting the Atlas Subluxation Complex (A.S.C) , or making any modifications indicated for refining that treatment procedure. Then, paying close attention while taking patient’s case histories, performing their physical examinations, diagnosing and providing them with my report-of-findings, accurate prognosis, effective treatment plans, and managing those plans through the diagnostic, corrective, stabilization, healing and wellness phases of care are different matters altogether. 

DOCTOR’S ACHIEVEMENTS

Here are Dr. Goldberg’s achievements from meeting the NUCCA Level One Certification Candidate Requirements:

An online examination passing grade of 80% demonstrating knowledge and applicable skills in:

  • Understanding of x-ray alignment procedures
  • Theory about distortion, magnification and collimation
  • Structural identification on x-ray
  • X-ray filtration
  • Proper x-ray technique and exposures, image quality
  • Patient adjusting steps and purpose of the individual steps
  • NUCCA Historical perspective
  • Use of NUCCA equipment for patient care
  • Leg check and Anatometer procedures
  • Neurological mechanisms of the cervical region
  • Patient positioning for cervical x-rays

 X-ray requirements for Candidates in Level One:

  • Four views of alignment films. Format can be found in the NUCCA textbook and past monographs. X-ray equipment must be aligned to NUCCA standards to participate in all three levels of certification.
  • Five pre-unanalyzed, consecutive sets of patient x-rays demonstrating necessary protocols for patient placement in all three views (Lateral, Nasium, Vertex).
  • Two consecutive sets of both pre and post x-rays, demonstrating necessary protocols for patient placement.

Critical points of consideration include proper exposures, the use of the appropriate filters, proper views of structures, (i.e. posterior arch on the nasal view), and minimal distortions (i.e. rotation and location of structure on the x-ray film).

Any submission provided for review, must be a current submission and the films taken must be within 30 days of the submission date.

Previously reviewed x-rays may not be resubmitted.

Once a doctor has completed and passed the online exam, alignment films, five consecutive pre x-rays, two consecutive pre and post films, they are eligible as a candidate for the second level of the NUCCA Board Certification process.

GOOD JOB — WELL DONE!

Our first step toward Dr. Golberg’s NUCCA Level One Certification was the alignment of his X-ray equipment — a daunting consideration for new NUCCA doctors. This required forty-hours of our time. Then there were the many hours of planning, design, construction, testing, critique and practice using the lead, NUCCA X-ray attenuating filters we made specifically for Dr. Golberg’s X-ray machine. There were hours-and-hours of studying the NUCCA textbook, coaching and refinement of his patient X-ray positioning and X-ray technique, of coaching and practicing the eight-step NUCCA corrective procedure, and the extensive self-assessment process required for achieving the NUCCA X-ray production and analysis standards. Then, Dr. Golberg submitted and re-submitted his X-ray machine alignment X-rays and his patient X-rays to NUCCA for critique and certification, and passed the NUCCA Level One Certification online examination. All of this was accomplished while Dr. Golberg was providing the best care for his patients, successfully promoting and managing his clinic, serving his community, and being an excellent husband and father.

Congratulations to Dr. Goldberg. And thank you for this opportunity for me to “pay it forward” from my NUCCA mentors and my mentor’s mentors to you.

ACHIEVING THE NUCCA-CERTIFIED X-RAY EQUIPMENT ALIGNMENT

Boulder Chiropractic Clinic, Craniocervical Junction Disorder, Seasonal News, Uncategorized, Upper Cervical Subluxation Complex No Comments

Why Did We Perform a NUCCA X-ray Alignment?

The silver-lining from our recent black mold evacuation, is finding a new chiropractor who is committed to providing the best NUCCA (National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association) care, who has the best X-ray equipment for doing so, who is eager to engage in the NUCCA certification program and is willing to share that equipment with us black mold refugees.

Who Will Replace You?

For years, patients have asked me, “who will replace you when you retire?” “Will this person be able to diagnose, treat and get the results that you do?” Originally I had been screening chiropractic students and new chiropractors for my internship program in hopes of training them to become Boulder Chiropractic Clinic associates. That plan was postponed when our clinic was flooded, black mold infected, and we were forced to evacuated it.

Fortunately, we found Dr. Norris Golberg of KORU Chiropractic in Louisville, who has the X-ray equipment required for our National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA) X-ray examinations. He had opened his office 2 years earlier and was committed to becoming an excellent NUCCA doctor.

How to Become an Excellent NUCCA Doctor?

Dr. Golberg committed to enter Level 1 of the three-level NUCCA certification program — the first step of which is NUCCA X-ray alignment. For accurate NUCCA X-ray analysis and diagnosis, the doctor must use an X-ray machine which is aligned so the central ray of the X-ray field intersects the center of, and is perpendicular to, the X-ray sensor. Additionally, the head-centering calipers, alignment mask or glabella bar, and chin-centering slot must be perfectly centered upon that central ray. By using a NUCCA-certified X-ray machine, patient placement and  X-ray technique, the doctor will produce images, the features of which may be identified, measured and interpreted with accuracy to a fraction of one degree. And this is just the beginning.

What About the Video?

This video is about the whys and hows of the alignment of Dr. Golberg’s X-ray machine. It represents 40 hours of our time, making the adjustments needed for the alignment, achieving and submitting the alignment-proving images to NUCCA, and NUCCA’s certification of that alignment. For the sake of time, it leaves out many of the details. We hope you appreciate the importance of this project for producing the best clinical outcomes for our patients.

Boulder Chiropractic Survives Floods, Black Mold and Evacuation of Its Facilities

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Being prepared is how we survive. Fortunately, we have very credible patients who have survived black mold poisoning, and we have paid close attention to what they have told us.

25% is an important number for understanding your risks for black mold poisoning. 25% of us have the HLA-DR (human leukocyte antigen) which makes people hypersensitive to biotoxins (poisonous substances produced by living organisms) which impair our body’s ability to eliminate biotoxins. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says more than 25% of U.S. buildings are water-damaged. If you are one of these 25% black mold hypersensitive people, water-damaged buildings are dangerous buildings because they become filled with toxic microbes (fungi, bacteria, mycobacteria and actinomycetes). Your body cannot process and detoxify these biotoxins. In stead, it will recognize these biotoxins as foreign invaders and rapidly explode into Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS).

CIRS symptoms include:

  • Extreme fatigue
  • Brain fog
  • Memory problems
  • Mood swings
  • Depression
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Weakness
  • Muscle aches
  • Light sensitivity
  • Chronic cough
  • Sinus issues
  • Vertigo
  • Metallic taste in the mouth
  • Static shocks
  • Sugar cravings
  • Inability to regulate temperature
  • Digestive issues
  • Excessive thirst and frequent urination
  • Headaches

Our CIRS patients taught us vigilance toward water intrusion into our work and home environments. Our clinic’s landlord told us, “there is no black mold in Colorado”, and after having seen his disregard for plumbing and gutter leaks throughout the building, we became hyper-alert to water damage and black mold. We knew when the inevitable happened, to demand expert inspection, mitigation and elimination of the water-damage sources. However, we were not well-prepared for the landlord’s failure to eliminate those causes for the water-damage and for our emergency evacuation of clinic facilities.

We’ve Moved & Let’s Turn This Crisis Into Opportunity

Boulder Chiropractic Clinic, Dr. Groover's Digest, General Chiropractic, Healthy Lifestyle, Seasonal News, Uncategorized 3 Comments

Best of Health and Wellness to You!

We hope you and your loved ones are well. Karen and I, and those we love are very well and eager to get past today’s environment of fear and hysteria. Like most, we are weary from enduring the long, intense and conflicted narrative about the evils of germs and demands for masking, social distancing, disinfecting, and the belief that vaccination and surveillance are the only solution. The story reported by the media outlets promotes what is profitable for the allopathic medical industrial complex. It says little to nothing about improving the health of the body’s terrain to strengthen its innate immunity and its natural capacity to manage disease. It’s all about about fighting disease.

How We Define Health Sets the Narrative

In times like these it is important for us to be reminded of the true definition of health. Health is not just the absence of disease symptoms. It is the optimal functioning of all natural systems. Obviously, when we are truly healthy and well individuals our immune systems are most equipped for preventing and fighting-off infection. But we do not live in isolation. Our individual health is dependent upon the health of society, which is dependent upon the health of our environment.

Our Health Comes from Nature

Our health comes from Nature. However, that deeper conversation would shine the light on a very “inconvenient truth” about how far Earth’s human population has strayed from its fundamental, unalienable birth-right to health and wellness. In stead, people are led to believe that health comes, not from Nature, but from violating Nature’s laws of health and immunity with special interest-driven medical care. Just do your own gut-check and see if you inner voice agrees that mandated social isolation and the treat of surveillance-administered compulsory vaccination with fast-track drugs developed and approved without sufficient health and safety testing by market-driven special interests is natural.

Great Vacuum Begging to Be Filled

Very little authentic health and wellness is taught in our systems of education or is disseminated by print, broadcast and internet media. Instead, humanity’s drive to exploit and poison Earth’s air, water, soil, food, airways and community has been normalized. Public health has been reduced to living competitive and alienating lifestyles, to eating the USDA’s recommended standard American diet (SAD), to market-driven drug advertising. Culturally, the best disease-prevention is early detection and allopathic medical management of disease. Coming from our corrective chiropractic background, we perceive a great vacuum begging to be filled. Let’s hope this crisis catalyzes the widespread acceptance of refreshing, life-supporting knowledge about the abundance of Nature’s health-giving intelligence and the relationships between Earth’s health and the health of all of her inhabitants.

We Are Grateful

We are fortunate to serve as members of a large community which values Nature’s systems of health, wellness and  innate immunity; and the unity of mind, body, spirit, community and environment. We care for our body’s nervous systems, which control and regulation of all our systems, and which connect us with the needs of our internal and external environments — to our intimate relationship with Earth.

WE’VE MOVED!

Our new address is:

956 W. Cherry Street, #102
Louisville, Colorado 80027

Dr. Norris Golberg and KORU Chiropractic are our new hosts.

Why Did We Move?

In 2019 our clinic was severely flooded with water. Murphy’s boiler leaked into our floor, walls and front desk. The Buddha Tai kitchen wall and ceiling leaked into our wall, floor and desk. The building’s plumbing directly above us leaked into our wall and floor. Water overflowed form the building’s front-side gutters into our bay window, walls and ceiling. All these floods happened almost simultaneously, causing considerable water damage.

How Bad Was the Water Damage?

Not only were our walls, floor and front desk, deformed and discolored, but black mold appeared on an outside wall and on some of our clinic’s furnishings. We’ll report more on this in upcoming website posts. In short, we underwent black mold inspection, mitigation (demolition, removal of black-moldy materials, black mold treatment and cleaning, re-inspection and then reconstruction.

Wasn’t the Problem Fixed?

Not quite. It was somewhat temporarily fixed. The mold was removed and the extensive damage repaired. But the building’s management failed to correct the underlying causes for the water flooding and black mold infestation. Then, our black mold-sensitive patients still complained about having mold-exposure reactions when visiting our newly black mold mitigated clinic. So, we abandoned our facility of 21 years, along with its wonderful NUCCA (National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association) certified, X-ray facility. Then we began looking for a new home.

Where Did We Look?

Our depleted clinic finances required us to explored opportunities to work within local X-ray-equipped chiropractor’s office. However, X-ray machines required for NUCCA practice are highly specialized. The standard chiropractic X-ray equipment would require expensive upgrades for us to take and analyze the upper cervical specific NUCCA X-rays.

Then we found Dr. Bulcher, a new NUCCA doctor in Fort Collins. He invited us to use his office and  X-ray equipment. After one month commuting to and from Fort Collins we found the travel too difficult for us and our patients. Then, after a more extensive search we found Dr. Ty Carzoli, an upper cervical specific doctor in Denver. He contemplated making the necessary NUCCA modifications to his digital X-ray equipment and analysis program and the commute time and effort required for us and our patients. His solution was to refer us his good friend Dr. Norris Golberg, an enthusiastic new NUCCA chiropractor in Louisville. Dr. Golberg has a NUCCA-compatible digital X-ray suite, and his office is just 5 minutes from our home. So here we are!

How Was the Transition?

Here we are with Dr. Golberg and his assistant Stephanie

Stephanie, Dr. Golberg, Dr. Groover and Karen

At first meeting we liked Dr. Golberg and agreed to help him develop his NUCCA practice. He and Dr. Groover invested 40 hours to testing X-ray machine alignment and the aligned it according to NUCCA standards. Then they achieved NUCCA X-ray certification by taking the required NUCCA X-ray alignment images and submitted them to NUCCA. Now the doctors are further refining the machine’s X-ray image quality by designing, building and testing custom lead X-ray-attenuating filters that precisely fit the clinic’s X-ray machine. Dr. Golberg studied the NUCCA text book and he took and passed the NUCCA Level’s 1 and 2 certification examinations. He is now engaged in submitting his new-patient X-rays to NUCCA for the completion of his Level 1 of certification. Drs. Groover and Golberg are collaborating on their difficult cases and the KORU Chiropractic staff and patients has been most friendly and helpful.

COME AND SEE US AT OUR NEW HOME!

We have updated our website, website appointment scheduler, the NUCCA website and Google with our new location. Our phone number, email and website address remain the same:

  • 303-442-7772
  • info@BoulderChiropracticClinic. com
  • www.BoulderChiropracticClinic.com

Drop by at our new location for and informal “hello”. Call us or go online to schedule your first or next appointment:

  • Free introductory (in-person, video or phone) consultation
  • New patient initial evaluation
  • Established patient follow-up visit
  • Established patient new regional evaluation
  • Established patient reevaluation
  • Rehabilitation

MANY THANKS!

Thank you to our patients and friends of our clinic for supporting us through this transition. Thank you to the doctors who have helped us evaluate our clinic-location options. Thank you Dr. Golberg and the KORU Chiropractic staff for taking us in and for your inspiration. And thanks to all who have contributed to Boulder Chiropractic’s 21 years of existence.

Best of Health and Best of All Worlds to You All!

Our Patient Achieves 300% – 400% Improvement In Meniere’s Disease

Craniocervical Junction Disorder, Meniere's Disease, Uncategorized, Upper Cervical Subluxation Complex No Comments

VIEW CASE STUDY

HISTORY OF IMPROVEMENT IN MENIERE’S SYMPTOMS

KATHY’S TESTIMONIAL

Hello, my name is Kathy and I have Meniere’s Disease.

In 2009, I was doing yoga and was suddenly overcome by dizziness and fell over. It only lasted a few minutes and I had no idea what happened.  Then…nothing for a year and a half.  In 2011, I was at a chiropractor’s office and he did a neck adjustment and wham…I was so dizzy, I could not walk or drive. Someone had to come pick me up and get me and my car home.  An Ear, Nose and Throat doctor said I had benign positional vertigo and gave me some movements to do when I got dizzy. But then, I had an acute episode of vertigo. Luckily, I was at home at the time. I couldn’t walk or sit or lay down or even blink without the world spinning. Then came the cyclical vomiting. My husband had to take me to the emergency room because it wouldn’t stop. Every 20 minutes like clockwork. It was horrible. It was then that I was diagnosed with Meniere’s Disease. It was then that my life changed.

I was put on several medications for when I was having symptoms, and they help but they don’t solve the underlying problem

I was put on a low sodium diet and a diuretic. I have low blood pressure, so I could not tolerate the diuretic. I felt worse than I did before. They wanted to put me on some other medications that had worse side effects than the symptoms.  I said no. I don’t really like to take a bunch of stuff, especially when they didn’t even know if it would help.  I was put on several medications for when I was having symptoms, and they help but they don’t solve the underlying problem, nor the anxiety that goes along with not knowing when an episode will hit.

Meniere’s is a very frustrating disease to have.  No one knows exactly what is happening inside the ear, what causes it, or how to cure it.  They have theories, of course, and treatment is hit or miss. There is no treatment that seems to work for everyone. Currently it has no cure.  Just management.

I prefer a holistic, whole body approach to my healthcare, not just, “here, take this medication and see what happens.”

My doctor was not listening to me. He dismissed many of my questions. He said my case was minor compared to some he had seen and dismissed how this disease was affecting my life. He was convinced I had asymptomatic migraines and wanted to put me on an antidepressant that is used to treat migraines. Some of the more common side effects of that medication are dizziness and tinnitus. Those were some of the very symptoms I was trying to get rid of! Maybe if they could have proved to me that I actually had migraines, that would have helped convince me.  Yes, there is a correlation between people who have migraines and Meniere’s, about 50%.  But that means that there are 50% of Meniere’s sufferers who do NOT have migraines. The logic of “take this medication, for a condition you may or may not have, that may or may not actually help with the Meniere’s symptoms” was not something I could get behind.

I started to do a lot of research.

I wanted to find an underlying cause.  I wanted to treat the underlying cause, not just treat the symptoms. I had immunological testing, and allergy testing. I tried to reduce the stress in my life.  I changed my diet to eliminate things that are known to be inflammatory to the body. Inflammation is a cause of fluid retention. Fluid retention in the body means more fluid in the ears. Made sense to me. I have tried meditation, essential oils, massage. I tracked the occurrence of dizziness and vertigo against sleep patterns, menstrual cycles, stress.  It does appear to me that things that cause stress to the mind and body, aggravate the symptoms. Over the years, I have tried many things with varying degrees of success.

Then I came across some research addressing a possible cause of Meniere’s

by Dr Michael Burcon. Then I came across a book that took that research and went into it further.  The book is called “Say Goodbye to Meniere’s Disease: Here’s How to Make Your World Stop Spinning” by Neil G Bauman, PhD.  I read it.  This was the first thing I had seen giving an explanation of a possible underlying cause of Meniere’s and even better, a possible cure.  It made complete sense to me! And it fit with my personal medical history. I knew I had numerous issues with my back, shoulders, hips and neck that were a result of a pretty bad car accident I had when I was younger. But I didn’t realize that those could be the underlying cause of what was going on now.

But not just any chiropractor

I’m not going to go into detail here, but please get the book yourself, read it and see if it makes sense to you.  In a nutshell, what it came down to, was a misalignment of the cervical vertebrae.  And the treatment involves going to a chiropractor.  But not just any chiropractor – one that has extra certifications in upper cervical treatment.  Specifically, an expert, in adjusting the atlas and axis vertebrae (C1 and C2).

You may recall I mentioned earlier that my first real experience with vertigo was after I had an adjustment in a chiropractic office. I was fairly nervous to try it again.  But, all chiropractors are not created equal.  The previous chiropractor I saw was what I call a “twist and crack” chiropractor.  So, as recommended in the book, I went online and did a search for chiropractors that had this extra training, years of experience and the extra certifications.  There are only a couple in the whole state of Colorado.   Dr Tom Groover at the Boulder Chiropractic Clinic is one of them.

Then he determined exactly how to treat ME.

From my first visit, I realized this was going to be different from chiropractors I had seen before.  He took x-rays and measurements, so the adjustments could be precise and specifically for MY body and MY issues.  He determined exactly what was misaligned, and in exactly what way. Then he determined exactly how to treat ME.

I started seeing Dr. Groover in February 2018.  Besides the upper cervical misalignment, I had several other issues that needed to be corrected and stabilized in order for my body to hold the adjustments permanently. No, I didn’t experience a miraculous cure after one treatment. But I wasn’t expecting that. My body had been misaligned for 33 years. My muscles had been holding my bones in the wrong place for all that time.  I figured it was going to take some time to undo all that and retrain my muscles to hold my bones where they are meant to be.

Is it improved? Dramatically. Do I feel better? Definitely.

And best of all, since I started seeing Dr. Groover, I have not had one acute vertigo episode.  I do still experience dizziness, and there are times when I think it might get worse and I could have an acute episode. But it hasn’t happened. Am I cured? Honestly, I’m not sure yet. I’m cautiously optimistic. What I can tell you for certain, is that I feel better than I did before, and I do believe this path is the correct one for me.

For the first time in years, I have hope.

Read the book, read the research. See if it makes sense to you.  If it does, I recommend you make an appointment. What do you have to lose? It may just turn out to be the answer you’ve been looking for. It may be the turning point where your live begins to feel like it did before you were diagnosed with Meniere’s.  For the first time in years, I have hope. There might just be a light at the end of that tunnel. And I for one am looking forward to reaching it.

Best of luck to you and may you find a path that leads you back to a life of good health and balance!

Did This Happen When You Fell On Your Butt?

Pelvis and Low Back, Uncategorized No Comments

Yes, Did This Happen When You Fell On Your Butt?

“Falling on your butt may cause you serious problems,” says Boulder Chiropractic Clinic’s Dr. Tom Groover. “Such upward jolts to your pelvis frequently injure your sacroiliac joint ligaments. These common percussive forces will miss-align your sacrum (the spine’s triangular base, each side of which joins with your ilia) and your illia (two large hip bones). The junctions between your illia and sacrum are your sacroiliac joints, misalignments of which cause considerable problems.”

“Healthy sacroiliac joints are structurally and functionally symmetrical. Each ilium fits precisely with the sacrum and the ilia align precisely with each other. Subluxations (misalignments less than dislocations) of these sacroiliac joints cause structural distortions and movement asymmetries. Falling-on-your-butt-traumas cause both simple and complex sacroiliac joint subluxations.”

Dr. Groover describes how these injuries will manifest into symptomes. “These sacroiliac joint subluxations irritate your joint tissues, nerves and muscles. The results: acute and chronic sciatica including low back, hip, pelvis and leg pain. Pelvis subluxations really stress your nervous system.” He explains, “Some subluxations are simple and easily diagnosed and treated by most chiropractic and osteopathic doctors. Others are much more difficult.”

The Majority of New Patients Coming to Our Clinic Have Sciatica.

“More than half our new patients have subluxation-induced sciatica — that radiating pain down your butt, hip and leg. Many have non-radiating low back, hip and leg pains. The larger majority of these patient have previously been treated for their conditions. Some have been to many medical doctors, physical therapists, osteopathic doctors and chiropractic doctors. They often complain about spending their time, effort and money for little or no results.

Chiropractic College Was Just the Beginning.

Dr. Groover explains, “Chiropractic college really was the beginning of my chiropractic education. The curriculum there gave me the fundamental language and perspective for life-long learning and professional development. The diagnostic and treatment procedures for pelvis and lumbar spine subluxations I learned were excellent. Surprisingly, those procedures didn’t work for many of my patients. Now these patients enjoy great results from the knowledge, understanding and procedures I have developed refined during my many years of clinic practice.”

Let’s Take Care of that Condition Right Away.

We at Boulder Chiropractic Clinic recognize the critical importance of your pelvis and low back alignments. They provide structural and functional support for your skeletal, muscular and neurological systems.

If you have injured yourself currently or in the past and have acute or chronic sciatica, low back, hip or leg pain; give us a call at 303-442-7772.

Or, email us at info@BoulderChiropracticClinic.com.

Let’s take care of that condition right away.

Race Across America World Champion Kami White

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“We’ve ridden exclusively on the tandem (for the past 27 years!) We take pride in pushing boundaries for what Tandems can achieve.  In 2013 we became the first tandem to complete the Colorado Triple Crown, the country’s hardest double century series, setting course records for tandem on all three courses. In 2014 we set a tandem course record on hoodoo 500. And in 2015 we were on the 4-tandem mixed RAAM team that shattered the course record that had stood for 19 years, for a 4-tandem mixed team under 50 (and the over 50 record while we were at it.) 3050 miles on 6 days 10 hours 37 minutes. We’re planning a Great Divide off pavement tandem expedition for 2017.” Andy White

Race Across America Finish Line Podium

Race Across America Finish Photo

Race Across America Racers and Crew

Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado Frostbite Time Trial

Climbing into sunrise in the Appalachian Mountains

Low Back Pain: Understanding, Correcting and Managing Healthy Lumbar Curvature and Pelvic Tilt

Balance and Equilibrium, Exercise, Movement, Pain Relief, Performance, Posture, Strength, Uncategorized No Comments

Spinal curves are essential for balance, flexibility, and stress absorption and distribution.

Lumbar Curve and Pelvic Tilt Mythology

Of the 80% who have low back pain, an inordinate number seem to be getting, and worsening this condition from believing in some common low back pain-perpetuating myths. These myths surround misconceptions about the role played by the lumbar curve and the pelvic tilt. Their lumbar curve and pelvic tilt assumptions come from an uninformed aesthetic, structural and functional point of view.

 

Sitting in forward flexed “C-Shape” flattens your low back curve.

Flattening Your Lumbar Curve

Forward bending exercises and stretches, without objective assessment of lumbar curvature, may cause you to develop an abnormally flat low back.

Sitting in a “C- shape”, the shape forced upon us when we sit in a bucket seat, will flatten your low back too.

Ligament Injuries

Flattening your lumbar curve moves your spinal load forward, stretching open and spraining the posterior ligaments of your lumbar spine. Injured ligaments cause joints to become unstable — predisposing them to further misalignments and resulting nerve, inflammation, muscle and pain problems.

Disc Injuries

Chronic straightening and loading of your lumbar with spinal loading forces the intervertebral disc’s nucleus posterior, increasing your risk for nerve encroachment from disc herniation.

Flattening your lumbar curve overloads your front-side lumbar discs, increasing your risk for acute disc injury (bulging, herniation, rupture) and disc degeneration. Flattening your lumbar curve removes or decreases that curve’s spring-action, shock-absorbing function. Therefore, pounding forces traveling through your spine, previously absorbed by this spring, are focused upon your anterior lumbar discs.

Posterior Pelvis Rotation

Rotating your pelvis in the posterior direction additionally flattens your lumbar curve, adding to your already elevated risk for acute lumbar disc injuries and degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine.

Also, by rotating your pelvis in the posterior direction, it is often believed that you activate your abdominal core muscles, stabilizing your pelvis, low back and rib cage. Unfortunately posterior pelvic rotation does not activate your abdominal core. By assuming that it does; and by using this maneuver during spinal loading activities like lifting, pushing and pulling; you exposes your unstable pelvis, low back and rib cage to joint misalignments and acute joint injuries.

Hyperlordosis (excessive lumbar curve) with accompanying anterior pelvic rotation loads your posterior spine.

Excessive Lumbar Curve

On the other hand, excessive lumbar curve and forward rotation of your pelvis shifts the loading down your posterior lumbar spine. Doing so stretches and sprains your lumbar spine’s anterior ligaments, resulting in associated ligament-injury problems.

Posterior loading of your lumbar spine takes the load off your intervertebral discs and shifts it upon your lumbar facet joints. Overloading of these joints causes compressive joint ligament injuries and joint surface wear and tear, bone deformation and arthritis.

Overloaded lumbar facet joints compress, jam, fixate, inflame and are painful.

Joint Pounding

Your lumbar discs cushion and absorb shocks passing along your spine. Shifting loading forces from your lumbar discs to your facet joints exposes these joints, and also joints throughout your entire body, to excessive pounding.

Abdominal core activation compresses abdominal contents, producing a “fluid-filled” column supporting up to 40% of your weight transferred between your thorax to your pelvis.

Bypassing Abdominal Core

Posterior lumbar load-shifting will bypasses the the critical weight-bearing/weight-transferring work performed by your abdominal core musculature.

Bypassing Lumbar “Leaf-Spring”

Furthermore, posterior loading of your lumbar spine diverts shock-producing forces from becoming dissipated through the leaf-spring action of the lumbar curve and into the posterior facet joints of your lumbar spine.

BoulderChiropracticClinic.Com

Did This Happen When You Fell On Your Butt?

Elderly Health, Pain Relief, Performance, Strength, Uncategorized No Comments

Snowboarding season is upon us here in Colorado and I can’t tell you how many times I have treated these athletes for sacroiliac joint butt-landing ligament injuries. These ligament failures accompany sacroiliac joint subluxations (misalignments less than dislocations) with attendant pain, stiffness and weakness. Depending upon the patient’s age and general health, immediate, accurate diagnosis and treatment will re-align the sacroiliac joints and heal the ligaments for uncomplicated recovery.

On the other hand, most people with chronic low back-hip-pelvis-leg pain, stiffness and weakness have, at some time in the more distant past, fallen on their butts and experienced the same injuries. Due to the long-term wear and tear of these injuries, these cases are often complicated by more severe ligament laxities, inflammation, cartilage loss and the pain of degenerative osteoarthritis.

I recommend that you take care of your sacroiliac joint ligament injuries and their attendant joint subluxations quickly and effectively. If you are still symptomatic after undergoing reasonable treatment, seek another opinion from a sacroiliac joint injury expert. Left unattended, these injuries can make your life miserable.

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Neuromuscular Education of Your Knee & Joints

Balance and Equilibrium, Exercise, Movement, Performance, Posture, Strength, Trauma Release, Uncategorized No Comments

Neuromuscular re-education is an attempt to teach your body to move normally through analysis of your abnormal movement and then learning and practicing the normal movement. Theoretically, your normal movement patterns involve specific nerve signals transmitted through specific nerve tracts between your muscles and your brain. By practicing normal movement repeatedly over time, these nerve tracts become reinforced and these normal muscle movement patterns are learned and remembered. It is thought that normal muscle movement patterns are disrupted when nerves or muscles are injured, and normal movement may be regained through Neuromuscular re-education.

I find it is true that abnormal movement results from nerve and muscle injuries and may be relearned. However, it is my clinical experience that certain conditions must be in place for that to occur. Namely, movement-disrupting injuries are more extensive than those to nerves and muscles, and to restore normal movement, these injuries must be healed.

The traumas which injure muscles and nerves will most likely injure your joints too. In most of my cases, joint injury is the primary injury and the nerve and muscle injuries are secondary to (they are caused by) the joint injury. Joint injuries occur from both acute and repetitive stress traumas. Acute traumas abound in contact sports and motor vehicle collisions, where excessive forces sprain your ligaments, strain your muscles and bruise your nerves, and worse. Accompanying these sprains and strains are displacements of your bones from their healthy, neutral alignments within your joint capsules.

Your joints contain bone, cartilage and synovial fluid encapsulated by ligaments, muscles and membranes. Your joints contain nerve endings (mechanoreceptors) which deliver feedback such as information about the alignment of the bones within your joints, joint capsular pressure, ligament, tendon and muscle tension/tone and the position of your limbs in space. When your joints are injured, and therefore misaligned, feedback from these injured joints to your central nervous system becomes abnormal. You’ve heard the expression “garbage in — garbage out”. The control of the nerves associated with those injured  joints is disrupted or lost and abnormal motion of the joints ensues.

In this case, treating the abnormal muscles and nerves without realigning the joint and healing the ligament and other soft tissue injuries can only go so far. Based upon my clinical experience, I propose that the injured ligaments, tendons, muscles and nerves will not effectively heal until their associated joints are realigned and are moving normally in the first place.

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