West Boylston Chiropractor | West Boylston chiropractic care | MA | 12/20/11 - Dr. J Back in Action!

During my convalescence (sounds so 19^th century!) I was reminded that it's sometimes helpful to step back and take a look at the bigger picture.

There are lots of ways to wind up with sub-optimal outcomes, but doing things right demands a stricter approach. No amount of wishing or hoping, would cause the bicep tendon to fuse fast to the bone one minute quicker than the absolute limits mandated by Mother Nature, but matters of functionality, range of motion and strengthening are variable. For best results – it takes some work. Period. At the same time though – “Rome wasn't built in a day", and all that. It must be a day-to-day approach. And I had no time to waste! Bills don't get paid for long with zero income. It was definitely “Operation: Back to Work”!

Dr. DeAngelis was agreeable to my plan to do my own physical therapy.  I'm sure that he recognized my motivation :)   I touched on my nutritional supplement regimen to support tissue repair in my last newsletter (always available at www.manningchiropractic.com). 

For my money, simple is always better than complicated. With that truism planted firmly in my squash, I set my rehab goals. I resolved to achieve each day, SOME increase in elbow range of motion – if even just ONE DEGREE – vs. the previous day's max. Some days went better than others, but not for lack of effort. It was difficult at times... but isn't that why God made ice?

  On day 2, I began working through limited ranges, and gradually added small amounts of resistance (first with my left hand, then with Thera-Band elastic tubing, and on to dumbells). Talk about baby steps!

 At the 4-week mark, I hesitatingly tried a few modified push-ups (on my knees instead of toes), and found them doable. I returned to a light schedule of patients on Monday, November 7 (2 days shy of 6 wks post-surgery), and at six weeks I smiled from ear to ear after performing my first legitimate standard push-up... Yeeee-haaaaa!

Two surprising observations

As for range of motion exercises... supination and pronation of the forearm (turning the palm up and down) were far more painful and slow to improve than was flexion and extension; AND try as I might, I got almost NO CONTRACTION of the repaired biceps muscle for fully three weeks! Honestly, it began to concern me a little. The body's innate intelligence doesn't make mistakes though, and as the miracle of cellular/neurological repair progressed, slowly but surely that began to return. Unbelievable stuff!

 In truth, the whole process was a wonderful learning experience (not that I'm recommending it, per se...). One thing's for sure – I believe that I now have a pretty good working handle on a rational approach to rehab'ing from bicep insertion repair if you ever happen to need it :))

"You may not realize it when it happens,

but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you."

- Walt Disney

  Countdown to 2012..

Ahh, GREAT... (yawn) another New Year's Resolution piece!! No worries. I won't go there. We know how that generally works out anyway, don't we? Big plans to change our lives from top to bottom starting January 1^st .. and it's all out the window by February.

For the highly dedicated there's no need for hand holding; and it's unlikely that the rest of us will get any more out of this year's motivational speech than last year's.

So – if you're ready; if you're sitting down... as the calendar turns over to 2012, I humbly present to you my...

“Bigger Picture” program:

Do something... ANYTHING today that will lead to improvement – no matter how small – tomorrow! That's it. Can't get much simpler than that, right? Note that I said simpler – not EASIER. Big difference. At times, an awful lot of work may go into making small improvements. And that's just as true whether you're trying to break down scar tissue, clean out your basement, or slog your way through Organic Chemistry.

     Yea, yea...OK, so what about the New Year's Resolution thing??

Well, let's apply the exact same approach to your everyday life. I suggest that starting January 1^st (or better yet – YESTERDAY), you resolve to do something today which will lead to measurable improvement tomorrow. And then tomorrow – do the same. And so on. Imagine the cumulative changes that would add up in 6 weeks... 6 months... a year!!

 For instance – Quite LITERALLY, we have an opportunity with EVERY MEAL to either support our cellular healing OR break it down! Organic apple or jelly donut? Grilled salmon with asparagus or Whopper with cheese? Bottle of water or can of Pepsi? Olive oil or margarine? Sprouted grain flourless bread (Ezekial, for example) or white hamburger rolls? Get the picture? So how about making just ONE small healthy substitution today.. and another tomorrow.

The Standard American Diet (or 'SAD') is so lacking in broad spectrum nutrition (the very building blocks of LIFE!) that there is simply NO WAY to achieve robust health by consuming it. Breakfast cereals, frozen waffles, sugar-laden juices for breakfast... utterly useless! These are nutritional ZEROs for anyone aspiring to high level health! Start ONE DAY PER WEEK, eating something of value.

How about a couple of poached eggs and steamed broccoli? Or a quick stir fry of leftover fish with diced vegetables and rice? Whip up some quick guacamole by mashing some avocado with fresh lime or lemon juice, chopped onion, garlic, salt and pepper. This is a delicious, super quick snack that feeds your cells with a host of nutrients... various minerals, vitamins C, B-Complex, etc., fiber, and healthy fats. In other words, start thinking out of the box a little bit. It's not as hard as you think – and you'll be a heck of a lot better off for it.

Can you do 50 push-ups? No? How about 5? GREAT! Drop and give me 5 right now! Maybe 5 each day all week. Next week – 6; and add a 20-second plank hold... and so on. Getting any blood flowing and deep breathing with whole body exercise? Could you take a walk around the block? Then do it! Next week.. try adding a hundred yards to the loop. Or maybe complete it in a little shorter time. Perhaps choose a route with more hills to challenge your body a bit more. Get the idea? Forget the wholesale life change in one day. That just doesn't work for most people... but making progress in very small increments is something EVERYONE can manage.Trust me on this. If your ONLY resolution is to do one little thing each day, no matter how small, to create a tiny change for the better, you will be amazed at the results over time!

Determined to really take charge??...

Remember – you have a MULTITUDE of resources at your disposal at Manning Chiropractic & Sports Kinesiology. See “Services” tab at www.manningchiropractic.com

Changes of season (and of course the New Year) are excellent times for evaluation of cellular detox pathways; and endocrine, digestive, immune system function via Applied Kinesiology. I highly recommend this important overview assessment as part of a fine tuning of diet and nutritional supplement programs. If we haven't gone through this with you within the last 3 months or so, it would be a very helpful work-up as we segue into 2012. Be sure to ask Judy for a double time slot when you schedule this.

Have some specific weight loss, performance and weight training goals in mind for the New Year? Super! I'd recommend a quick, painless BODY COMPOSITION evaluation with our BioImpedance Assessment computer. It will give us a baseline from which to compare your improvements in fat vs. lean body percentages, basal metabolic rate, and so forth, as your training progresses.

One of the most exciting pieces of technology available at the office – and one of the true life changers for some – is our Bax AURA machine. It's state-of-the-art neurological stress reduction technology. In a nutshell, the computer challenges your body with thousands of low-level frequencies which match those of foods, environmental stressors, dog hair, pollen, etc. Things to which you are sensitive or allergic, will trigger a stress response which the computer registers on screen. And with this info, we can actually treat the imbalances!! For more details see my newsletter, May 21, 2011 at the Newsletter tab - www.manningchiro.com

And for those of you TRULY committed to taking your diet, lifestyle -- your LIFE! to the NEXT LEVEL!!