Soft Tissue Therapy can be more comfortable than surgery as a solution to long-term pain.
If you’ve been experiencing pain that impacts your life longer than three months, you’re probably seeking more than a short-term solution. Surgery might be an option, but it’s always a good idea to explore your options before scheduling an invasive procedure*. With the correct treatment regimen, it is possible to live a pain-free life.
A Long-term Solution to Pain Relief
At Phipps Soft Tissue & Spine, we’ve provided countless patients with an alternative to surgery. Dr. Phipps is a board-certified chiropractor and level-5 Integrative Diagnosis provider. Dr. Phipps is an expert at diagnosing and treating muscle fibrosis, the most common and under-diagnosed source of pain. He has helped many people find relief with pain in their neck, lower back, shoulder, elbow, foot, hip, and other areas of the body.
Pain comes in many different forms. You might be experiencing uncomfortable knots, throbbing back pain, tightness in your shoulder, or more serious pain that makes it very difficult to perform daily tasks. There is no “one-size-fits-all” answer to how long back pain can last, but if you’re experiencing extreme discomfort in any part of your body for more than a few days, it makes sense to seek treatment.
What is a Soft Tissue Specialist?
We’re often asked, “What is a soft tissue chiropractor?” Phipps Soft Tissue and Spine specializes in treating the areas of the body considered “soft tissue.” Those areas are body parts that are not hard like bone, such as levels of muscle, tendons, ligaments, nerves and blood vessels, and skin. A Soft Tissue Specialist is different from a chiropractor or a massage therapist because of the types of treatments used. Dr. Phipps can walk you through the process and answer any questions you might have.
Finding an Alternative to Surgery
Always speak with your physician to understand what types of treatment would work best for you. The prospect of surgery can be scary, and we work with many people who have apprehension about any kind of pain treatment plan. If you’re seeking an alternative to surgery, schedule a consultation with Phipps Soft Tissue and Spine. We’ll be happy to put your mind at ease and get you started on a life without chronic pain.
*Please note every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider for specific diagnosis and treatment advice.
Is it better to sit up straight or lean back? If you are experiencing lower back pain after sitting, it may have to do with your posture. Sit-Slide-Lean is the mantra that you should repeat every time to avoid back pain after sitting.
Sit down, slide your butt all the way back, then lean back and relax.
This will put you in optimal position without activating your postural muscles, allowing you to sit in a safe position without falling into a flexed our slouched posture. Sitting in this position will decrease compression in your low back and decrease lower back pain from sitting.
Two of the most common mistakes that occur with sitting are:
1. Not sliding all the way back.
Failure to slide all the way back will result in flexion in the lower segments of your low back especially at L4-L5 and L5-S1 (Two of the most common discs to degenerate and cause pain). Sitting in a flexed position will accelerate degeneration and increase pain.
2. Not leaning back and relaxing.
You may experience lower back pin when leaning forward while sitting. Failure to lean back and relax will cause your postural muscles to contract to maintain your position. Excessive contraction will quickly lead to fatigue and more compression through your spine causing pain.
Make sure you always sit-slide-lean to avoid back pain, but it is also important to get out of your chair every 20 minutes (even if its only for a few seconds) and go for short walks around the office every hour.
*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor
The shoulder to hip angle (HS angle) is an imaginary line drawn from the hip to shoulder that increases as your shoulders drop forward. Time trial and road bikes will have a larger HS angle to maximize aerodynamics but this comes at a cost to the rider. As the HS angle increases, so does the stress/load on your neck and low back increasing risk of pain. Recreational bike riders should buy a bike with minimal HS angle and ideally have their shoulders positioned directly above their hips to minimize injury risk to their neck and low back. Racing/competitive bike riders can reduce HS angle to reduce the stress by working with their local bike shop to get a proper fit. A slightly less aggressive position may have minimal impact on aerodynamics, but significantly reduce the stress on the neck and low back and add years to your competitive career.
2. Take a break
Riding a bike is like sitting at a computer with very poor posture. Office workers are plagued with low back and neck pain because sitting for extended periods of time causes continuous stress/load on those regions. General advice to office workers is to take micro breaks every 20 minutes and a slightly longer break every hour. These short breaks encourage blood flow and reduce stress/load on your neck and low back. Recreational riders should take a break every 30 minutes to give their low back and neck a break. Racing/competitive bike riders should limit the time they spend in the aero position and longer rides that take time to get off their bike.
3. Adhesion free muscles
Keeping your muscles adhesion free is vital to staying pain free on the bike. Adhesions form from overuse and unfortunately, biking, creates the perfect environment for adhesion formation. Adhesion will act like glue in your muscle making them less flexible and weaker. Biking with adhesion will make an already high stress/load on your low back and neck even worse, resulting in accelerated pain and injury. If you don’t have pain (once you have pain, you need to be evaluated by a soft tissue specialist) or find that your low back and neck are stiff, then check out the home mobility screens below. Muscle adhesion is the most common reason for failing a mobility screen test. If you already have pain while biking or have failed one of mobility screens, then use the contact page or call 716-629-3100 to schedule a consult with Dr. Phipps. Dr. Phipps is a soft tissue specialist and an expert at diagnosing and treating adhesion and other overuse related injuries that occur from riding a bike.
Mobility Screens:
Low back
Neck
Elbow/Hand
Shoulder
*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor
History: Right shoulder pain, achy all the time and sharp with certain movements. Pain intensity would get up to a 7 out of 10.
Primary diagnosis: Muscle adhesion in the rotator cuff muscles
Treatment: Manual Adhesion Release™ to the rotator cuff muscles.
Outcome: After 4 treatments, Tim’s shoulder range of motion was fully restored. His shoulder range stayed full even after a month of no treatment. Overall, his symptoms were 90% better after his last visit and are continuing to improve.
To evaluate the health of your shoulders try the mobility assessment outlined below at home.
Passing this mobility screen is crucial to have a pain-free shoulder and prevent injury. If you have shoulder pain or have failed this mobility assessment, then contact us today so we can restore this test and fix your pain.
*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor
Dr. Phipps is a soft tissue specialist that is an expert at diagnosis and treatment of elbow pain. See some elbow pain treatment and tips* below to help make your elbow pain go away and stay away!
1. If you are experiencing pain in your elbow, it is important to start with an accurate diagnosis from a soft tissue specialist.
Two of the most common causes of elbow pain are adhesion and tendon degeneration:
Adhesions are the most common cause of pain and stiffness in the elbow and they form from overuse. Learn more about adhesion here.
Tendon degeneration also occurs from overuse. This is when the tendons of the muscles in your forearm that attach to your elbow degenerate and can result in chronic pain. This can be reversed with the correct treatment and management. But it is important to get the proper treatment as soon as possible as there is a window of opportunity to fix this.
Stretching, ice, tape, straps, cupping and/or adjustments will not fix adhesion or degenerated tendons. Receiving treatment from a soft tissue specialist is the fastest way to heal elbow pain.
3. Manage the load on your elbow.
You may need to temporarily reduce activities that make your elbow hurt. Therefore, reducing the stress on the muscle. This needs to be done in conjunction with soft tissue treatment to the muscles and tendons otherwise it is likely your pain will come back.
4. Stop covering up the pain with medication.
Anti-inflammatories, pain creams, cortisone shots and other types of pain management will not do anything to fix adhesion, or tendon degeneration. In fact, pain medication will make tendon degeneration and adhesion worse and slow down the recovery process.
5.Try the elbow mobility self-assessment (see demonstration image below).
Place your arm against the wall with your elbow at 90°. Use your other had to pull your fingers and wrist into extension. Your fingers should extend about 65° with ease and very little pulling/stretching in your forearm. If you fail this test, you likely have adhesion in the muscles that cause elbow pain.
The earlier you receive the correct treatment for elbow pain, the faster you can get back to living a pain free life. Dr. Phipps is a soft tissue specialist and has special training in the diagnosis and treatment of elbow pain and tennis elbow. Sign up for a 1-on-1 consultation today!
*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor
A recent article in the New York Times, titled “Opioids Aren’t the Only Pain Drugs to Fear”, highlights the importance of how dangerous all forms of pain medication can be. (You can find the article here)
Take home points from the article:
Opioids are not the only form of pain management that can have nasty side effects.
NSAIDS (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, like ibuprofen and naproxen) can cause GI problems by damaging the lining of the digestive tract leading to ulcers and bleeding. They can even cause kidney failure, and in rare cases liver failure.
If you have a history of coronary artery disease NSAIDS can precipitate clogging of the vessels.
Tylenol can damage the liver and possibly the kidneys when used in large doses.
The moral of the story is that all forms of pain medication (even over-the-counter medications) can be harmful. Relying on them as a form of “treatment” can lead to other negative side effects. One of the biggest problems with pain medication is that it allows you to continue doing something that could be damaging your body further and can prevent you from getting the care that you need. Covering up the pain can only go on for so long until something breaks, tears, ruptures or completely degenerates.
What can you do to avoid becoming dependent on pain medication? The most important thing you can do is listen to your body. If you are doing something that is causing pain, don’t take a pill and continue on. Stop doing the activity that is causing the pain and let your body rest and recover. If you find the same area continues to hurt, then it is time to come into our office for an evaluation.
It can be difficult to determine where to start when you have pain. To eliminate your uncertainty we start all patients off with a quick consultation, and make sure you are in the right place and would benefit from our care.
To schedule a consultation, call our office at 716-629-3100 or use our online contact form.
*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor
Foot pain is one of the more commonly mismanaged areas of the body. A trip to your family doctor, podiatrist or even to the Internet and you will be labeled with plantar fasciitis. Then, you start icing, stretching, taking anti-inflammatories, rolling your foot with a ball, or may have been convinced that getting a cortisone injection was a good idea. You can continue this routine for months or years with minimal results. Your symptoms may reduce or resolve with time, but only because your body compensated putting extra stress on another area of your body to reduce pressure on your foot. This can lead to pain in your other foot, knee, hip, low-back, and/or reoccurring pain in your injured foot over time.
So, where did you go wrong?
It all starts with an inaccurate diagnosis (plantar fasciitis) that can lead to wrong and ineffective treatment methods. It’s crucial to receive a correct diagnosis and receive the right treatment to stay pain free and continue doing everything you love.
To get an accurate diagnosis regarding your foot, it is best to start with a soft tissue specialist. Click here to contact Phipps Soft Tissue and Spine so you can receive the correct diagnosis and treatment and begin your road to recovery.
Below you will find additional information on foot pain, anatomy, and why plantar fasciitis treatments such as injections, stretching, rolling and ice can be a waste of time.
What exactly is plantar fasciitis?
The plantar fascia is a thickened area of connective tissue and is often blamed for pain on the bottom of your foot. The diagnosis of plantar fasciitis implies that the attachment point of the plantar fascia and heel (circled in red below) is inflamed and causing pain.
The plantar fascia, just like all the structures in the foot, is capable of generating pain. However, plantar fasciitis is rarely the main diagnosis as the foot is much more complicated than just the plantar fascia. There are multiple layers of muscles and tendons in your feet that are deep in the plantar fascia. See the pictures below.
In addition, muscles originating in your calf will travel behind your ankle and attach onto your foot as well. The picture below (highlighted in blue, green, and yellow) shows the muscles that originate deep in your calf that travel and attach onto the bottom of your foot (depicted as the red shaded areas)
It is clear that there are many structures in your foot and calf that can contribute to pain. All structures in your foot and calf play a role in stabilizing and keeping your foot pain free. Additionally, they are all capable of developing pathology and generating pain.
The most common pathologies that develop in the foot are:
Adhesion
Tendon degeneration
Adhesion
Adhesion can form in any muscle in your foot and calf and form from overuse (standing, walking, running). It acts like glue in your muscles causing them to become weak and less flexible. This will generate pain and cause the tendons in your heel to become overloaded and degenerated (more on this below). A soft tissue specialist will break down adhesion with Manual Adhesion Release™ or Instrument Adhesion Release™. Which treatment they will use will depend on the muscles involved. Below are 2 brief video clips of Dr. Phipps utilizing both techniques on muscles that will contribute to your foot pain.
Treatments such as. injections, rolling your foot on a ball, stretching, ice, and anti-inflammatories will not break down adhesion. With expert treatment, this will improve the function of your foot immediately.
Degenerated Tendons.
A tendon is a soft tissue structure that attaches a muscle to a bone. Below shaded in orange, green, and blue are 3 muscles that have their tendons attach onto the heel. These tendons are capable of degenerating and causing heel pain commonly misdiagnosed as plantar fasciitis.
If you have heel pain that occurs when you take the first few steps out of bed or a chair, this is likely one of your diagnoses. The tendons in your feet can degenerate for months or even years without your knowledge, causing it to one day cross a threshold, resulting in pain that doesn’t go away. This degeneration can occur when the load placed on the tendons is too high and the tendon can’t recover properly, causing it to break down and degenerate. Muscle Adhesion and prolonged standing/walking/running are a few sources that create high loads on your tendons.
Firstly, for treatment of degenerated tendons you should have the adhesion treated to decrease the load on the tendon immediately. Load management advice, orthotics and rehab exercise will depend on your personal case. Then properly managing your case and receiving the correct treatment will allow the tendon to regenerate and become healthy again- meaning your foot will be pain free and stay that way.
Contact Phipps Soft Tissue and Spine today to receive the correct diagnosis for your foot pain. Ignoring your foot pain or relying on ineffective treatment methods will only make your condition worse and harder to resolve.
GET RELIEF NOW
To schedule an appointment, please call us at (716) 629-3100 or take advantage of our convenient online form
*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor
Active Release Technique is a patented, state-of-the-art soft tissue movement system that has been developed, refined, and patented by P. Michael Leahy, DC, CCSP. It’s the proven method for the breakdown of scar tissue and has become the gold standard in soft tissue treatment. Used by millions of professional athletes, celebrities, weekend warriors, and desk jockeys to stay pain-free.
How it works:
Locate the scar tissue using hands
Make contact with the scar tissue
Brings a muscle through its maximum ROM
Breaking the adhesion down to be absorbed by the body
This will free up the muscle allowing it to perform its job properly
*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor
If you have back pain or a history of back pain, which sport listed below is the least likely to cause more damage?
Baseball
Kendo
Running
Soccer
Swimming
Swimming seems like the obvious answer, since that is usually the go-to sport for people with pain. Surprisingly, a recent research article didn’t find this to be the case (1).
Researchers used MRIs to image the lower backs of 306 well-trained university athletes and compared them to 71 non-athlete university students and found that swimmers and baseball players had the highest amount of low back degeneration (1).
With baseball players, it makes sense because of the forces that are involved with swinging a bat. But how does swimming cause so much degeneration? (The rest of this article is a hypothesis on why an increase in degeneration occurs in swimmers.)
Kicking during swimming is a very large part of propulsion. The main muscle that fires during kicking movements is the psoas major (hip flexor). Looking at the green highlighted portion of the picture below, you can see that it attaches to the side/front of the lumbar spine (lower back) and travels down to attach to the femur (upper leg bone).
Every time you kick your leg, the psoas contracts, pulling on your low back. This causes the muscles in the back of your lumbar spine to contract to counteract the pulling force from the psoas. The end result is stabilization of your low back. This happens everywhere throughout your body. When one muscle contracts, other muscles contract to stabilize the area and prevent motion. In this case, the repetitive contraction to stabilize your spine during kicking causes increased compression on your lower back discs. The end result is increased disk degeneration.
This doesn’t mean swimming is a bad thing, but it is something to take into consideration. If you have back pain or have a history of back pain, then you may want to reconsider the structure of your swimming workouts. Many workouts will include kickboard drills or kicking with fins (fins will increase the strength of the psoas contraction, leading to more disc compression). These drills will greatly increase stress on your low back. If you know you have degeneration in your low back and still want to swim, it may be a good idea to limit kicking or use a pull buoy to avoid any extra kicking stress. In addition, many people will turn to swimming when they have back pain because it is the only physical activity they can do with minimal pain. I would strongly advise against this because it may only prolong the length of time that you are in pain. It is important to note that if you are experiencing pain, then you should be properly evaluated to determine the cause.
Muscle adhesion is the most common source of pain and stiffness and the most underdiagnosed. If you are experiencing pain or stiffness, please click the button below.
1) Hangai M, Kaneoka K, Hinotsu S, et al. Lumbar intervertebral disk degeneration in athletes. Am J Sports Med 2009; 37:149-155.
*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor
