Archives May 2021

Foot Pain and Spine Pain

Foot pain is one of the more common problems that people will deal with. According to healthyaging.org, more then 87% of people will have foot pain at some time in their lives. Older adults are more likely to have foot pain but it can hit at any age. Just so you know, I don’t treat most of the problems related to the foot. I don’t treat toe nail fungus, bunions, hammertoes, ingrown toe nails and the like. I do treat the joints of the foot and ankle. Your foot will generally have 26 bones, 33 different joints, and 120 muscles that all make the foot do what it does. Then we stuff all of that into a shoe that doesn’t breathe and compresses the joints. That’s just a recipe for trouble.

Foot Joints

I treat the larger joints of the foot and ankle. Pulling on toes to get them to release is a fairly simple process and I don’t need to do that for you. Adjusting the talus, the navicular, cuboid, and cuneiform bones, now that’s where I come in. Even the metatarsals all need some tuning up from time to time. When the foot is painful the joints become swollen and really difficult to move so icing the foot is a great process. I suggest either an ice bath for the feet or ice massage for individual sore spots. A lot of the adjusting I do is with the activator but I prefer to manually adjust the foot joints when possible.

Foundation for the body

If the foot and ankle joints are messed up, the knees, hips, and pelvis all will follow. When the pelvis tilts, the rest of the spine develops a curve that then effects the nervous system. Without this cascade of events, the legs and spine all become more stable and the nervous system works better.

Feet are not my cup of Tea

To be perfectly honest, feet are not my thing. I am willing to glove up and work on feet because people get so much relief and it really changes the workings of the spine. So, I’ll adjust feet for the betterment of your spine.

If you have foot pain or know of someone who is dealing with this pain, please let them know that there’s another option for getting relief. It’s one more tool for dealing with foot and leg problems.

Knuckle Crackin’, Do it right or don’t do it

Distract don’t crack

I see kids (mostly) knuckle crackin’ all the time. Some of us have become blind to it and think it’s just what they do. There’s not really a problem with the process if done properly but most do it incorrectly. Most people become habitual crackers in a very short time, once they start, and then they will crack their knuckles 10 to 20 times per hour. Add that up through the day and you’re talking about some serious joint distress. The other aspect of this is that most people compress the joint to get the pop. This is where the arthritic changes can occur. The proper approach is to distract or pull the joint farther apart to get the pop. This can stretch the joint capsule, but at least it’s not causing wear on the bony joints. If you’re prone to knuckle cracking, limit yourself to once or twice per day or less.

Wise Guys eh?

I never thought about it when I was young but so many kids want to show me that they can do it themselves. You’d be surprised how often, when a teenager comes in, the first thing they will do is twist and “crack” their own neck. They’ll sit knuckle crackin’ about 30 times in a row, just to show me they can do it. It really doesn’t bother me but it makes it more difficult for me to get to the joint that I am focusing on. Sometimes I’ll talk to them and tell them the proper way to do it, so they are not doing damage. I care deeply about my patients and their long term health, but I’m not the thought police. Choices are choices, some are good and some are less so. I will care for you, no matter the choice and I try to give you the information that helps you move forward in a positive way. If you chose cracking knuckles as a habit, that’s your business and there could be worse things.

Here’s to happy and healthy knuckles for years to come.

Dr. Roy

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