Can I foam roll too much? Can I use my Theracane too much? Dr. Lou’s answers from Portland, Maine.
Can I foam roll too much? Is this too much Theracane? Foam rollers and Theracanes (Watch this Theracane video!) are fantastic for tenderizing your muscles, reducing inflammation, reducing adhesions, improving blood flow and promotion of healing. Like with many things, too much is not always a good thing. You can cause tissue damage if you over do it. Typically, there are warning signs of using a foam roller to much or over using the Theracane. Feeling bruised, seeing bruising or experiencing physical weakness in the area is a sign to take a break and give your muscles a chance to heal. Sometimes taking a break will actually speed up the process and get you where you want to be sooner. Making mistakes with foam rolling will potentially lead to more issues. It’s often a bad idea to use a foam roller directly on the injured body part. It’s a bad idea to roll too quickly! Careless rolling is more likely to cause harm. Speed and connective tissue aren’t a good mix, you should roll slowly. Fast rolling doesn’t relax tissue like foam rolling does. With a Theracane, it’s important that you not push too hard, you don’t apply pressure for...
read moreTop 3 Tools To Have At Home For Your Back Pain.
The Top 3 Tools For Your Back To Have In Your House. There are three tools that every person who has experienced back pain, shoulder pain, hip pain, sciatica and a host of other aches or acute injuries should have at home. These are the tools that I recommend people use between chiropractic visits at my office. These tools, when used properly and under the direction of your chiropractor, will help speed up healing and feeling better. These tools are not in order of importance. If I could have only one, it would be the Theracane. Heating Pad. A heating pad can make a huge difference in how you feel. It helps relax muscle, improve blood flow, reduce inflammation and may reduce pain as well. Heating pads are inexpensive and safe. Foam Roller. A foam roller allows you to perform a squeezing self massage on the muscles that ail you. Foam rollers are excellent for working on tight calves, thighs and hamstrings. The muscles of your butt (gluteal muscles) may also be worked on with a foam roller. By lying face up on a foam roller and leaning to one side as you roll up and down your back, you will...
read moreTop 10 list of tools for back pain that you should have at home. (non drug options)
Top 10 tools to have at home for back pain. There are many useful tools and supplements that you can keep at home to help with back pain and a host of other aches and pains. This top 10 list is simple but the tools are readily available, generally affordable and depending on your problem, extremely effective in supplementing your chiropractic care in between visits. This list does not include the obvious “stretching”, because it is practice, not a physical tool. Heating Pad Foam Roller Theracane Ice pack Interferential/TENS unit (electrical stimulation) Hot Tub or Bathtub Inflatable Exercise Ball Formula 303 (herbal muscle relaxants) Tempurpedic Mattress A little gnome who lives in your basement and is also a chiropractor. The value of home care in between visits is that the stress of our lives, past and present, will often overpower a 1-5 chiropractic adjustments a week. You simply must take care of yourself at home too. If you do, you’ll get better quicker, have longer lasting results and you’ll create habits that will be preventive in nature as...
read morePreparing For The 2017 Golf Season. 5 Recommendations On Par With Your Goals And Golf Performance.
GOLF IS MY LIFE. You wouldn’t risk your “life” because you are lazy would you? As you know, the Maine golf season is short compared to most other states. We have to make the most of it, while it lasts. Don’t be lazy, get in gear now! Business guru Patrick Bet-David says that “If you don’t have time, you either don’t really care or you are lazy.” I know you care about golf and if you can afford to play golf, you aren’t lazy. SO, start preparing now for the best season ever! Back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain, elbow pain, hip pain, knee pain, foot pain all have the potential to ruin your season by affecting golf performance. Tiger woods has the best clubs, the best of everything, he was indeed the best until his back pain (among other things) destroyed his game. Your body matters most. Your brain controls your body’s position, it controls your strength, your reflexes, your perception of where your body is in space, your depth perception, your interpretation of wind currents and a whole lot more. Your brain communicates to the parts of your body that swing the club and provide momentum, through...
read morePain during and after running! What should I do? The First Three Steps! (207) 774-6251
The First Three Things To Do If You Have Pain During Or After Running. Whether you have been running for years or have just started, running pain is a sign of a problem. Much like the oil light in your car, your body needs an inspection if your “pain light” has turned on. Here are the three things you should make certain are evaluated first. Your feet are your foundation. Have your feet scanned for pronation, supination, plantar fasciitis, and other wear and tear injuries of stretching, bony misalignment and inflammation of the feet. Your shoes support your foundation. Have your shoes evaluated by a healthcare professional who specializes in running pain, injuries and performance. Running shoes are deceptively under engineered and need modifications for most. A specialist can help you with this. Back pain is one of the most common running pains. Have a chiropractor evaluate your running pain, spine, pelvis, hips, knees, ankles and feet. Structural subluxations (misalignments) and asymmetries can cause permanent damage with the physical stress of running. I have been a runner since I was 8 years old. 36 years later, I still run, but I also work with dozens of runners at a time who...
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