An article from the New York Times titled, “Sport Injures: When to Tough It Out“, recently caught my attention.  The main point of the article was to answer the question of whether you should go to the doctor or tough it out?  A quote from one of the doctors in the article is below:

“I think most folks should not go (to the doctors), because most general doctors don’t know a lot about running injuries,” he said, adding, “Most docs, often even the good sports docs, then will just tell you to stop running anyway, so the first thing is to stop running yourself.”

This quote brings about two very important points.

1. Your primary care physician, emergency room physician, and urgent care physician do not have enough training in overuse injury. They will prescribe rest, anti-inflammatories, ice and/or muscle relaxers which only cover up the pain in the short term allowing the problem to get worse.

2.  I do not like the advice to stop running or stop doing whatever activity aggravates your condition.  This may be good advice at first because it will allow your body to recover and reduce the pain but it didn’t fix the problem.  There is a reason why you have shin, hip or knee pain with running and getting a diagnosis is always the first step.

If you are experiencing any joint pain with activity, then your first stop should be at a soft tissue specialist for a diagnosis.  In my office, screening procedures and motion assessments are used to diagnose the source of the pain and special techniques are used to fix it.

It is impossible to write an article that would cover every scenario of when to see a doctor and when to tough it out. It is a good idea to have any pain checked out but below are some general guidelines of when to go see a soft tissue specialist:

• Shin pain-if you push through it, it can progress to stress fractures
• Elbow pain (tennis or golfers elbow)-left untreated it can progress to tendinosis which is degeneration of the tendon.
• Achilles tendon pain-can lead to degeneration of the tendon and possibly rupture.
• Heel pain/ plantar fasciitis-pushing through this will lead to further degeneration of the tissue causing pain even with sitting.
• IT band tendonitis-will cause chronic knee pain but the problem is usually at the hip.
• Pain in the same area with activity that gets better with rest but returns once you start the activity again.

If you get a random ache in a joint that only last a few minutes, then this is most likely not a reason to go see a doctor.  Aches that increase in duration and frequency should be checked out.

I am a soft tissue specialist located in the Buffalo/Western NY area. If you are experiencing pain, then reach out and schedule a 1-on-1 consultation through the link below. Then I can help you determine what your next step should be.

*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 short answer is maybe, but eventually it will catch up with you.  I have many patients that come in and say they can usually work through the pain but this time it will not go away.  This response indicates to me that they never actually worked through the pain.  Their body compensated by loading up another area.  Eventually there will be no other areas to compensate to and pain will result.  Most of my patients are between the ages of 30-55.  This is the common age range when the body runs out of areas to compensate to.  One of the most common under diagnosed sources of pain is muscle adhesion.  If you have a nagging injury that will not go away or you have been “working through” the pain, call our office 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

Foam rolling is a great way to warm up before exercise, but it will never remove adhesion.

I am a big fan of foam rolling as a warm up.  It will warm up your muscles and prepare them for exercise.  However, you should never use foam rolling as a method of relieving pain or improving range of motion. The most common cause of pain and stiffness in the body is muscle adhesion and this is not treated or reduced with foam rolling.  Ignoring adhesion will lead to pain, degeneration, and joint damage. When you have musculoskeletal pain (joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons), then you need to be evaluated by a soft tissue specialist.

Dr. Phipps is a soft tissue specialist and an expert and diagnosing and treating muscle adhesion. Relying on foam rolling to get through your training sessions is dangerous and will eventually catch up to you. Dr Phipps will restore your function so you can be active your entire life.

*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 already been involved in a car accident, it’s important to be evaluated as soon as possible. Once more serious injuries like fracture, dislocation, or disc herniations are ruled out, it’s important to have your neck and back evaluated by a chiropractor. Early treatment can reduce your chances of experiencing pain later down the road.

Click below to sign up for a consultation with Dr. Phipps.

Now that you understand 5 quick tips to reduce injury during a car accident, what do you do if you look in your rearview mirror and you see another vehicle clearly not planning on stopping? Should you brace for impact, tensing all of your muscles, or should you try to be as relaxed as possible?

Research shows that people who are aware of an impending collision and have time to brace for impact have better long-term outcomes and less injury. So you should always brace for impact. You have a lot of muscles in your neck that can protect the ligaments, discs, and nerves in your neck. If you relax your muscles the ligaments, discs, and nerves will have to take a much larger percentage of the force and can become damaged. It’s much easier for muscles to heal than nerves, discs, or ligaments.

To prepare for a rear-end collision:

1. Brace your head against the headrest. This reduces the distance between your head and the front of your headrest. The closer your head is to the headrest, the better.
2. Always look forward, and NEVER lean forward. If you have your head turned at impact, then this increases your chance of injury.
3. Push your foot on the brake pedal and push your back squarely against the seat back.
4. Tense up like someone is going to punch you in the back with a 4,000-pound car.

If you’ve been in a car accident and need to have your back and neck checked out, schedule a free consultation with Dr. Phipps 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

This article will provide you with simple tips to reduce your chances of being injured during a car accident (especially rear end collisions).

1.  Always have your headrest properly adjusted. Ideally the top of your headrest should be level with the top of your head.

If your headrest is too low, your head will extend above and over the restraint, which then acts as fulcrum and increases your injury risk. When you are struck from behind, a 1-3 inch vertical rise in your head will occur. This can further bring your head up and over the headrest aggravating your neck.  Make sure the adjustable headrest is locked into position. When the head snaps back, it could make contact with the top of the headrest and may drive it down like a hammer drives a nail.  Unfortunately, headrests are designed for the 50% male (5’10”) population. Taller individuals should still adjust the headrest into the highest position.

2.  Keep the back of your head as close to the headrest as possible.

“Backset” is the distance from the back of your head to the front of the headrest. A starting backset greater than 2 inches decreases the ability of the head restraint to protect against neck injury. Studies have found that neck symptoms increased when the backset distance was more that 4 inches.

3. Don’t sit too close to the steering wheel.

Sitting too close to the steering wheel can result in the airbag hitting you at full deployment speed (around 200 mph).  In an ideal situation you want to contact the airbag after if fully deploys. You should sit at least 10 inches from the steering wheel (measured from the center of the steering wheel to your sternum/breast bone).

4. Buckle up even if you are in the backseat.

I think by now everyone knows to buckle up. Most cars have airbags and without being buckled up the airbags become a deadly weapon.  I think its pretty common to be lazy when you are in the back seat, especially when you don’t have to worry about being struck by a 200 mph airbag. If you don’t want to buckle up for yourself, you should at least do it for the front seat passengers. When the rear seat passengers are unrestrained, the fatality risk to front seat occupants is increased by up to 75%.

5. Don’t allow passengers to put their feet on the dashboard.  If they are in this position during an accident, it could result in serious injury.  Generally you always want to keep your arms and legs away from where the airbag deploys.

The above recommendations are some of things you can do to reduce your chances of being injured in automobile accidents.  The next article, “To brace or not to brace for impact”, will cover what to do if you look in your review mirror and see that someone is clearly going to ram into the back of your vehicle.

*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

Part 3 of 3: Click here for part 1 and part 2

After understanding how adhesion forms and what it can lead to, we can now focus on how to treat and reduce adhesion.  Adhesions are diagnosed and treated by a skilled certified provider.  Adhesions can’t be broken down by foam rolling or massage. There are two main methods of achieving this goal:

1. Manually (Dr. uses hands) – MAR (Manual Adhesion Release)
2. Instruments – The newest instrument/technique on the market today is Instrument Adhesion Release (IAR).

The key to breaking down adhesion in a muscle is finding it. This may seem very obvious but adhesion is very common and finding the relevant adhesion takes years of training. Once the proper diagnosis is made, treatment can begin.  MAR take advantage of the different attachment points of muscles to achieve maximum tension on the adhesion. These techniques are non-invasive and done exclusively through a skilled doctor’s hands.  Once the adhesions are broken down over a series of visits, the muscles can function normally again.  They can lengthen and contract with the appropriate force to allow for normal joint motion resulting in less pain for you.

If you have pain or stiffness, get the proper diagnosis first by clicking the button below.

*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

This will be a three part series that will explain everything you need to know about adhesion.

Part 1: How does adhesion form?

Part 2: How can adhesion lead to the pain that I have?

Part 3: How does Manual Adhesion Release break down adhesion?

So let’s start off with:

Part 1: How does adhesion form?

There are two main pathways for adhesion formation:

1. Acute conditions, such as pulls and tears.  This requires actual trauma and the body repairs the damaged tissue with adhesions. This is more commonly called scar tissue.
2. Hypoxia (low oxygen) pathway is the most common generator of adhesion in muscle.  This will occur without you knowing it and can occur from repetitive motions or from standing or sitting in sustained postures. If a muscle doesn’t get adequate oxygen it will trigger adhesion formation.

An example of the hypoxic pathway occurs while you work at your computer. Typing results in continuous contraction of the forearm muscles (controlling your fingers) and can cause a low oxygen environment in those muscles. This will trigger fibroblasts to form muscle adhesions.  Muscle adhesions can overload the the attachment point of the muscles on the outside of the elbow and causes elbow pain (this will make more sense after reading part 2).  This is commonly called lateral epicondylitis or tennis elbow.  Tennis players abuse the forearm muscles as well, especially during backhand movements and can trigger adhesion formation as well.

Who would have thought that these two activities could lead to the same problem?

Part 2: How can adhesion lead to pain?

Part 3: How to diagnose and treat adhesion?

*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