What Causes It?

BlackBerry thumb occurs as the result of asking the thumb joints to repeatedly perform the same action too often. Excessive tapping, flicking, and clicking do our thumbs no favors. X-ray and exam findings can determine if a patient has BlackBerry thumb. Some sports enthusiasts like to “work through pain.” They believe that by pushing the body beyond its current limits, it will gradually become accustomed to new demands placed on it. That approach does not work with joints. And since BlackBerry thumb is a joint problem, forcing thumbs to go above and beyond will only lead to further trouble.

Typical Medical Treatments for it.

Patients will often be asked to rest the thumbs as part of treatment. Medical treatment typically consists of resting or splinting the thumb, anti-inflammatory medicines, Cortisone injections and, as a last resort, surgery.

How may a Chiropractor Help?

Chiropractors are trained to use a variety of non-drug, non-surgical approaches to treat this ailment. Giving your thumbs a chance to start the healing process may include a program of rest, thumb strapping, and gentle stretches or targeted massage. A chiropractor may decide to use soft tissue mobilization to help alleviate the problem and/or manipulation of the neck, wrist, hand, or upper extremity

What Can I Do To Help?

Whatever we might wish them to do, we, doctors, cannot simply make BlackBerry thumb “go away” without the cooperation of the patient. Moderation and flexibility in how we use PDAs are critical elements to recovery and prevention.

When it comes to BlackBerry thumb, the following tips can make our PDAs do what they were designed to do and not to injuret us:

• Avoid typing for more than three minutes without a break.

• Hold the PDA comfortably and close to the body AND DON’T SLOUCH!!!

• Turn the device off on the weekend—or at least on Fridays.

• Decide that you will check emails and text messages just a FEW times a day.

• Cut back on the number of keystrokes and keep messages short and simple.

• Consider using the AutoText feature.

• If a message must be longer, use your computer keyboard, not your PDA.

• Practice using other fingers for typing— especially when thumbs hurt.

• If thumbs are in pain, use a thumb or wrist support If you problem doesn’t improve with these simple steps, please call us for an appointment for a more comprehensive treatment plan.

Dr. Gerry Nastasia, DC, DABCO

www.chiropracticdubai.com

Seb is a 9 year-old boy who dreaded flying due to the extreme pain in his ears on take off and landing. As a baby he suffered badly with his ears, having many ear infections and courses of antibiotics. After each course of antibiotics, the earache came back and in the end at 18 months, the doctor said there was no alternative but to fit grommets. He ended up with three sets of grommets during his infancy. Seb also had continuous coughs and colds.

It turned out that after a suction-assisted birth, due to the baby being stuck in the birth canal, baby Seb used to lie with his head bent to one side. Mum had also had a lot of low back pain during her pregnancy.

Seb’s mother brought him along to me after talking with a couple of chiropractors and learning that the spine can play a role in many different health issues. She had tried many doctors with no solutions working and was desperate to find a solution to her son’s agony, which was affecting the whole family. Air flights had been cut to a minimum because nobody wanted to put a child through that terrible pain, but now living in Dubai, it was essential that the family could fly home to see relatives.

After collecting the details of Seb’s health it became apparent that he had most probably been suffering from some spinal misalignments from birth.

• Back pain during pregnancy may have meant that mum’s pelvis was twisted and the in-utero torsion may have meant that Seb was already lacking space. His neck may have been bent to one side for the latter part of the pregnancy.
• The difficult birth may have put more strain on the neck and caused the first vertebra to remain misaligned.
• Babies with repetitive ear infections often also have cervical misalignment, which can affect the ears and it has also been found that adjusting the neck, boosts the function of the immune system.
• Colds and coughs are also related to poor immunity.

It was a pity nobody had informed Seb’s mum earlier about chiropractic for babies. Seb probably had KISS syndrome, which is the abbreviation for kinematic imbalances of the sub-occipital spine. In layman’s terms this is simply a misalignment of the upper neck bones. As you can see from this true story, it can have far reaching effects, which may be different in each child.

Examination of Seb’s neck and back revealed immediately that he had his atlas, the first bone of the spine below the skull, situated more to the left than to the right and also the spinal joints were not moving very well. He did have some other postural differences in his whole spine as well, but the upper neck situation was the most urgent to deal with.

A most willing patient, anxious himself to find a solution to this painful and limiting problem, Seb agreed to a chiropractic adjustment. He was a bit surprised at the funny noise it made, but felt fine after the treatment. I did four more treatments over a period of 2 weeks followed by one treatment just before his next flight. I couldn’t wait to hear how it went.

Today he came back very happy. His flight had gone well with no pain for the first time, on take off and landing and now the whole family can plan their air travel with confidence.

I just treated his spine with chiropractic adjustments and was very happy that it resolved the problem. Now we are working on his posture and he will without a doubt grow up with less health problems than he would have done, had he never seen a chiropractor. His mum is now busy spreading the news and advising both pregnant mums and new mums to get themselves and their babies checked, especially if there is a problem.

I have often seen adults with upper neck problems, which were most probably present from birth. They can of course be helped, but the earlier a problem is corrected, the less health problems need to be suffered. You can read about other children’s problems in my past articles. Call the clinic if you would like to be checked or have your baby or child checked for any spinal problems which may be affecting their general health.

 Dr. Pamela Leader

www.chiropracticdubai.com

“Sleep ergonomics” refers to our postures and positions during sleep. They either help us rest in safe mechanical positions for joints or they stress joints to the point that we wake up with more aches and pains than we fell asleep with. Sleeping position matters. Poor quality sleep is proven to negatively affect health.

Sleeping Positions to Reduce Back Pain
It is possible and desirable to take strain off your back by making simple changes in sleeping posture. The healthiest sleeping position is on your side. If that’s how you sleep, draw your legs up slightly toward your chest and put a pillow between your legs. Some people even use a full-length body pillow to help maintain balance.

Try not to put weight on your arms. This causes circulatory problems and a related pins-and needles sensation. Instead, try crossing them in a braced position. If you sleep on your back, it is best to place a pillow under your knees to help maintain the normal lower back curvature. You might try placing a small rolled towel under the small of the back for more support.

Be aware that sleeping on your stomach is generally bad for your back unless you have sleep apnea or are extremely overweight. In this position, the cervical spine undergoes considerable strain, which can cause nerve compression, muscular imbalance and muscle pain. If you can’t sleep any other way, reduce the strain on your back by placing a pillow under your pelvis and lower abdomen. Also place a pillow under your head if it doesn’t cause back strain. Otherwise, try sleeping without a head pillow.

Sleeping Babies
Parents sleep better when babies sleep well. The experts recommend against bed-sharing as it can increase the infant’s risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The most important measure you can take to help protect your infant from SIDS is the following: Place your baby on his or her back to sleep in the crib. The prevalence of SIDS has decreased, due in part to educational campaigns. However, SIDS remains the leading cause of death for infants in the first year of life in developed countries. At highest risk are babies who are suddenly switched to stomach sleeping after getting used to sleeping on their backs.

Mattresses and Pillows
A mattress and pillow should support your body in its natural position, allowing it to rest and recover from the day’s activities. The best mattresses are designed to conform to the spine’s natural curves and keep the spine in alignment. Some sleep experts recommend supportive memory-foam mattresses for this purpose.

Maintain your mattress. Remember to turn your mattress over every few months. If possible, replace the mattress after five to seven years of regular use. If you feel springs or bumps beneath the surface when you’re lying on the bed, or you and your partner unintentionally roll toward the middle of the bed, it’s time to go shopping for a new mattress.

A worn-out mattress can reduce the quality of sleep and make back problems worse. You may also find that the mattress is to blame for insomnia if you notice yourself sleeping better in another bed—in a hotel, for example.

Pillows matter. An ergonomic pillow is designed to accommodate the user’s sleeping position and to minimize any associated tension that may result from prolonged time spent in one position. Ergonomic pillows are shaped differently from regular pillows. They are often made of foam or similar form-retaining material that offers greater support. Most ergonomic pillows are used for sleep, although some are used for lower back support while sitting. They vary in size from small neck pillows used for long car trips or flights to very large full-body pillows meant to cradle the entire body during sleep.

A healthful pillow is designed to keep the spine in natural alignment, which minimizes stress on the body. Most people do not maintain neutral positions while they sleep. This creates tension at problem spots like the neck and the lower back, resulting in pain in either or both of these areas. An ergonomic pillow can often help to correct such problems. A pillow of the wrong size can cause or aggravate neck and shoulder problems. When you sleep on your side, the pillow should fill the space between the head and mattress so that the cervical spine is in line with, and an extension of, the spine. The pillow should support the head, neck and shoulders and adapt to the contours of these areas. This will optimize your sleeping position throughout the night. A pillow also should be hypo-allergenic.

Sleeping Positions When Pregnant
We recommend side posture sleeping. Pregnant women should avoid sleeping on their backs in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy as this can lead to backaches, as well as problems with breathing, the digestive system, hemorrhoids, low blood pressure, and a decrease in circulation to the heart and baby. This is a result of the abdomen resting on the intestines and major blood vessels

Pregnant women also should avoid sleeping on the stomach, especially when further along in pregnancy, because of physical changes to the abdomen. Several ergonomic products are designed to help pregnant women sleep more comfortably. For example, a cradle sleeping pillow is engineered to help pregnant women relax and get comfortable enough to fall asleep. These pillows are made of various densities and heights and provide extra support to the shoulders, neck, and arms.

Dr. Gerry Nastasia, DC, DABCO

www.chiropracticdubai.com

Unfortunately, back pain among young children due to overweight backpacks is a rising trend. Therefore, it’s important to take care with the proper fit, correct size and to educate against using the straps too long. All too often, adults do not treat the complaints of discomfort from youngsters as seriously as they should.  What they carry in their backpacks is usually a contributing factor that could lead to back, neck and shoulder pain.

Even the U.S.A. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that backpack related injuries sent more than 7,000 people to the emergency room in 2001 alone.

A recent piece of research using upright MRI scanning of the lumbar spine of 11 to 13 year old boys and girls, showed that the heavier the load, the more pain was reported. Even more worrying was the compression of the lumbar vertebrae and the lumbar asymmetry seen on the MRI scans. Asymmetry is the distortion of the pelvis and spine, which could theoretically lead to scoliosis and pelvic dysfunction in the future. The study was done using 5, 8 and 12 kilogram loads, representing from 10% to 30% of the child’s body weight, very commonly seen among Dubai school children. The research was conducted by medical doctors in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of California and published in Spine in January 2010.

Many of the problems associated with backpacks can be prevented by ensuring the correct fit, size and weight for your child. As chiropractors, we advise parents about the correct weight for your particular child and check for any deviation from normal spinal function.

The chiropractors and physical therapists of Chiropractic Dubai have checked the spines of over 1000 school children in Dubai schools and the results are quite worrying. Comparing the secondary children with the junior school children, more postural abnormalities were present. Forward head posture and scoliosis were more prevalent in the secondary group of children. As we all know, the quantity of books that a child carries usually rises as they start secondary school just when the rapid changes of puberty are underway. Scoliosis was more often seen in girls than boys in all age groups. Many factors may influence the development of scoliosis including genetic influences, however since the mediating factors are not yet fully understood, it is prudent to prevent any excess stress on the spine of a growing child.

There is a clear trend here that of the pupils checked between the age of 6 and 10 years old, the majority showing early signs of scoliosis were girls. 44 of the 448 checked were girls showing signs while only 14 were boys. 390 students showed no signs of scoliosis developing.

Again there is a clear trend for the older pupils aged 11-16 years of age that the majority of those checked showing signs of scoliosis development are girls. 44 of the 163 checked at this age group showing signs of scoliosis were female while only 14 were male. 110 Showed no signs of scoliosis developing.

Research has shown that backpacks even with small loads affect the lumbar discs of children adversely. In the years of growth, during puberty and childhood when good postural habits are developing, it is essential that we prevent our children from inadvertently getting repetitive strain injury from regular bad use of backpacks and school furniture. Spinal assessment and chiropractic treatments may help prevent your child from developing chronic pain issues especially if they already have a problem.

Backpack safety rules

1. Limit the backpack’s weight to no more than 5 to 10 percent of the child’s body weight. Any backpack will cause the child to bend forward in an attempt to support the weight on his or her back. The heavier it is the more the head and upper body bends forward. A 50-pound child should not carry more than 5 pounds, for example.
2. The shoulder straps should be adjustable so the backpack can be fitted to your child’s body. Straps that are too loose can cause the backpack to hang down and cause even more spinal misalignment and pain.
   The backpack should never hang more than four inches below the waistline. A backpack that hangs too low increases the weight on the shoulders, causing your child to lean forward even more when walking. This “longer straps fashion” has become popular recently among teenagers who think it is un-cool to carry the pack where it is designed to be.
3. The more room there is in a backpack, the more your child will carry and the heavier the backpack will be. Smaller backpacks should be the preference. Schools should be encouraged to have lockers where most books can be kept at school.
4. Urge your child to wear both shoulder straps. Dragging the backpack around by one strap can cause a shift of weight to one side, leading to neck and muscle spasms and even low back pain.
5. Wide, padded straps are very important. Non-padded straps are uncomfortable and they can dig into your child’s shoulders causing neck and arm pain.
6. Use backpacks on wheels or roller packs with caution. Children tend to overload these bags and then need to haul them up bus and school stairs resulting in injury.

Dr. Pamela Leader

www.chiropracticdubai.com

Your adrenal glands are situated above your kidneys and they are responsible for producing cortisol, a hormone essential to deal with stress and immunity. We are not far evolved from the days when stress meant a burst of energy to fight or run from a wild animal. When that event was over, recovery time would be ample and the cortisol used up would have plenty of time to be replenished by the adrenal glands, especially during sleep.

The adrenals have many functions such as making the only anti-inflammatory hormone for pain – (cortisol), immunity support, balancing fluid and salt levels, controlling minerals, heart rate, and sleep and wake cycles. They even act as back-up organs for the ovaries during menopause, partly replacing the sex hormones.Nowadays, for many people stress is a constant nagging problem, which rarely goes away. There are many types of stress and they all add up to overuse of the adrenal glands. These glands will do their best to keep up production, but in the end after months and years of chronic stress they become fatigued. This has a number of negative effects on the body and daily capabilities of the sufferer, some of which are far reaching in terms of long-term health.

This list could go on and on. You will know some of the stress factors in your life. Some can be eliminated, and others have to be worked on. The constant stress is the type, which eventually leads to adrenal fatigue and later when the adrenals can no longer cope at all adrenal burnout.

What effect does adrenal fatigue have on the mind and body?

In the short term you wake up tired and probably need coffee to get going, maybe several cups. Again after lunch you feel tired and about 6 pm you get a spurt of energy. Sleepy at nine or ten but if you get through that another energy burst at midnight. Sleep may be easy at first but then it is difficult to sleep through the night and feel rested in the morning. Sore muscles, which do not recover from exercise is a classic symptom. When your legs will not keep still, especially when tired it can be a sign of adrenal fatigue.

Long-term effects

Although this does not always happen, excess fat in both the middle around the waist and the face (including puffy eyes) can develop gradually from adrenal fatigue. In the midsection, the fat forms primarily in and around the abdominal organs and sags down. This is internal fat, rather than fat under the skin. Loss of collagen can also cause stretch type marks in the fat zone. This fat is laid down for survival due to the constant stress.

Dark circles around the eyes and a tired appearance and confusion with short term memory loss. The usual 90 minute sleep cycles from superficial to deep sleep and disturbed and often stressed people wake at 2,3 or 4 am and cannot stop thinking. Functioning normally the next day is almost impossible and the bad cycle can go on for months and even years.
Decreased white blood cells, neutrophils leave you open to infection, so you easily get sick with any bug going around. Add this to the lack of cortisol to fight inflammation and the bug hits you harder and lasts longer than your less stressed friends and loved ones.

Autoimmune diseases, where the body defences attack your own cells, often hit people after long-term illness, an injury, the loss of someone dear or a divorce. Most treatment for them consists of cortisone medication, which switches off your own immune system. Could these also be signs of adrenal burnout?

What can you do to treat this problem?

There is no quick fix, but some hard lifestyle decisions directed at avoiding stressful people or resolving conflict come first. Eliminate pain and treat illness. Biomechanical pain is very successfully treated with chiropractic and this allows better sleeping in order to produce cortisol. Since the cortisol is also used for healing, you need to get regular good quality sleep each night as a priority.

Getting pain free is also essential for being able to exercise properly. There is no better way to lower stress than by doing regular exercise. If you are not used to doing exercise, please make sure you are fit to do so and know the correct exercise for your state of health and fitness. Here at Chiropractic Dubai, our chiropractors and physical therapists carefully teach and guide you along the correct pathway, so that you do not fall into the trap of too much too fast. For example, with any back pain sufferers, it is vitally important to be correctly aligned by the chiropractor before concentrating on core strength exercises. For some people they need flexibility from spinal adjustments before they can tackle certain types of exercise.

For those who worry and go over problems continually in their mind, meditation and yoga are a great help. Learning to cut off and relax is an essential life skill and helps with restful sleep as well as stress control. Do not hold on to negative thoughts and emotions. They only harm you. Give them a time limit to ponder and when you realize there is no solution, or that it was in the past, let them float away and leave you with peace. Make yourself a relaxing routine such as a bath with candles and soft music or a massage. Be open minded, all these have helped me at various times in my life but sometimes I find that the person who needs it most is the one who is determined it will not work for them.

Adrenal support

Before you consider supplementing with no medical advice, please realize that even supplements can have an interaction with any medications or any chemicals such as alcohol you may be taking. If you need regular medication, including pain control medication, please check with your doctor which of the following are advisable in your case.

There are some foods and supplements, which can help to boost and support the adrenal function. Vitamin C enhances immunity and may reduce the symptoms of asthma and allergies. It also helps to block the lipid plaques forming in your arteries. The adrenal gland has the highest concentration of vitamin C in the body and so a good easily digestible form of vitamin C is key to reversal of adrenal fatigue syndrome. Eat good fresh fruit and vegetable sources as well as a good daily tablet. Cartons and bottled juices contain very little vitamin C and it is easily destroyed in air and with length of time from picking.

Other essential vitamins are vitamin B6 and pantothenic acid and check your vitamin D3 levels and supplement if needed. Both zinc 5mg per day and Magnesium 100mg per day help to boost immunity and support the adrenals.

Ashwaghanda, an Indian herb at 374mg daily and Shisandra 100mg will also help support the adrenal rebuilding process.

Curumin is also a potent agent to boost immunity and this is found in curry.

Siberian Ginseng at 200mg twice a day may be beneficial for adrenal stress as well as for athletes. However, do not take this together with decongestants or blood thinning medication.
Suspend Ginseng if you have any infection with a high fever.

Aged garlic and Fish oils.

Take only one coffee a day as it depletes vitamin B and leads to anxiety and tremors. The caffeine, which is also in tea chocolate and soda drinks, stimulates the body and gives and energy burst, but overuse this mechanism and it takes you even closer to adrenal burn out.

It should go without saying that a good wholesome diet, rich in vegetables and fruits, which are as fresh and whole as possible is the best way to get nourishment. Cooking at home with healthy oils and fats is always preferable to eating out. Fast foods especially should be avoided as they are laden with additives and trans fats, which only add to the metabolic stress on your system.

So you need to fight your chronic stress on every level. Mentally, with relaxation and perhaps counseling; metabolically, by getting your diet and supplementation as well as detoxing from environmental poisons and additives and of course physically. Physical rebuilding includes good quality sleep, optimum exercise regime and optimal joint and muscle function. If you are in pain, or experiencing any mechanical symptoms, you can benefit greatly from a chiropractic treatment plan with in house rehabilitation.

Dr. Pamela Leader

www.chiropracticdubai.com

If you’re suffering from back, neck or leg pain, we may use a number of different techniques to locate the root cause and release tension or pressure in the affected area. One treatment I have been trained and certified in is Cox Flexion Distraction Technique, also known as the Cox Technique. Approximately 3% of practicing chiropractic doctors have  been certified in this technique.

Cox is a non-surgical spinal manipulation adjustment technique that helps to stop pain by realigning the spine. This technique also restores range of motion in the joints and muscles, thereby increasing flexibility and improving your posture. Here is an overview on how Cox Flexion Distraction treatment works, and some benefits you can look forward to when you are undergoing this chiropractic treatment.

Cox Technique is designed to be a safe, nearly-painless alternative to back surgery, and it is also commonly used in patients who are still suffering from back pain after spinal surgery, or are in the rehabilitation phase and want to improve recovery results. This technique is designed to realign the spine by applying pressure in key areas of the back.

It can effectively decompress the discs by applying a gentle stretch to the lower spine, and a series of repetitive movements and thrusts to reduce pressure. Flexion-Distraction technique is typically performed on a special table that helps to separate the thoracic, cervical and lumbar spinal joints. Only slight pressure is applied to the body throughout the process, and the goal is decrease pressure and decompress the inflamed areas around the spine to restore nerve functioning.

Most people require at least 12-15 visits to obtain optimal results, but cases vary significantly by patient and condition.

Cox Flexion Distraction Technique is appropriate for resolving mid and lower back pain, hip pain, neck and shoulder pain, and reducing the effects of whiplash. Other key benefits of this treatment include:

• Painless treatments; may be suitable for people who cannot tolerate pain
• Restores vertebral joints for better functioning
• Increases circulation and improves nerve communications
• Reduces pregnancy back pain

In fact a comparison study of flexion distraction vs. physical therapy presented

at the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine Conference, June, 2004 held in Singapore. Results showed that for chronic/severe, chronic/acute sciatica (LEG PAIN). Flexion distraction did significantly better than physical therapy* If you have any questions regarding treatment with flexion distraction or if you are an appropriate candidate, please call or make an appointment.

*National University of Health Sciences Research Department and the Loyola University Stritch   School of Medicine (Chicago)

Dr. Gerry Nastasia

www.chiropracticdubai.com

1. Do not be fooled by beautiful appearance of the bed itself. The important parts are the base and mattress. They will be supporting you for 1/3 of your life. Think of it as an investment in your health.
2. Never buy a bed that you have not tried out first. Lie on the bed with a pillow and check that it feels good. It should not feel too hard or too soft.
3. Take your partner with you or a friend. You can each check each other as you lie on your side to see if your spine is sagging or the bed is dipping too much in the waist region. Women are usually more curvy than men and need a softer mattress top to accommodate their hips and shoulders. Both need support that does not give under their weight.
4. Couples need to make sure that the heavier partner does not create a dip, which the lighter partner tends to fall into. This means absolutely no sagging in the centre of the bed should be seen.
5. Price is no guarantee of quality, but a very cheap bed will not last long even if it feels good at first. Try to find a seller who can give good advice and checks your sleeping position on the bed.
6. Springs or latex are a matter of preference, but springs are best if individual rather than connected and latex is better if strengthened with a cork or other natural layer between the latex layers. The number and placement of coils in the mattress determines the level of support, while the amount of padding on the mattress determines the level of comfort.
7. Do not let the words medical or orthopedic fool you. Many bed manufacturers have used these words to help make their products sell better. Who controls how they package their product? It is not always a sign of a good bed.
8. Mattresses should not be too hard. A recent study in Spain revealed that back pain sufferers slept worse on a harder mattress than a medium hard one. Sleeping on a mattress that is too hard exerts additional pressure on the back, resulting in more back pain for some patients. Research was published in the Lancet.
9. Sagging old mattresses should have been replaced a long time ago. There is no other choice but replacement.
10. If your expensive mattress is too hard and you do not want to replace it, buy a topper. A 5cm topper provides a softer top, which the shoulder and hip can snuggle into, without losing the firm support of the harder mattress underneath. You can get beds now that have different density on either side so that you can both get what you want without compromising.
11. Pillows should not sag under the weight and humidity of the sleeper. Latex, shaped pillows provide good lasting support for side and back sleepers.
12. A whole debate is currently going on about the materials used in mattresses. Once natural materials were used but now most are constructed from petrochemical based materials, which are said to gradually give out carcinogenic and mutagenic micro chemicals. Since we are in close proximity to the warm moist mattress for eight hours each night, we may be at risk from this kind of pollution of our bodies. Many companies now offer organic mattresses, which remove this potential health problem. Consider this carefully for yourself and especially for children.
13. With the variety of beds and mattresses on the market, personal preference in terms of sleep comfort and back support should ultimately be the guide for those with back pain and back problems as well as those who want to remain pain free. Remember no one type of bed is right for every body type and condition, so the more good beds you can try the better your final decision will be.

Hips and Shoulders do not dip into the mattress and the waist is not supported

Body dips at the waistline, tilting the pelvis upwards

Perfect alignment of the spine and pelvis should be at 90 degrees from the bed surface

At the time of his first visit the pain was 10/10 as intensity and he could not open his eyes properly in the rather dark room that we were in.
To make a long story short, after history taking, i started him with our standard treatment for neck, shoulder and headache symptoms, which he tolerated well. After the first treatment saw a vast improvement with his migraine symptoms, and could hold good conversation with eyes well open, with a genuine smile on his face. He has now been back for 3 times and his migraine symptoms, that i would rather call tension, or cervicogenic headaches, have almost disappeared completely. You can imagine the difference that it makes in his life!
What I’m saying here is not that we can treat successfully all the patients with these or similar symptoms, but that if you have these kind of pains or aches, and even if you have been diagnosed with Classic Migraine and think there is no cure, you should try the manual therapy. Obviously with the above patient the diagnosis may not have been correct and he could have got rid of the problem far earlier if all the theatment choices were laid clearly in front of him in the first place by the Doctors he had seen.

The diagnosis, or differentiation of Migraine from classic tension headache is very difficult at best of times, and even Doctors are sometimes confused.
If you see yourself suffering same or similar symptoms, and have had difficulty getting help, come and visit me and i will certainly do my utmost to find out if you could get better with treatment protocols we offer here.

Today the patient came in with smile on his face and said he had slept all night and woken up without pain. He said the only thing he was annoyed is that he did not come earlier!

Dr. Samuel Saukkonen

www.chiropracticdubai.com

We have been providing state of the art foot supports to our patients in our clinic now for a year or so, but i have always given this for patients with rather flat or weak feet, or athletes with recurrent important trauma. It has always worked well for them and the patient has been able to continue his/hers activity without trauma and pain.

I myself have a very high arches in my feet, and maybe that is why i have not thought to have my feet scanned and had the orthotic supports fitted in my running shoes. Finally last week i thought i will try it anyway, so i had my feet electronically scanned in our clinic for any possible weakness that may affect my ankles, knees and back. Most of us think we have only one arch under our feet that give us the elasticity and stability at the same time, and help the forces to be distributed correctly when walking or running. however we have 3 different arches in each foot, the obvious one at the middle that most doctors and foot supports cater for, but also 2 other transverse arches running across your foot.

Most people, Doctors and majority of the foot supports do not consider these cross arches in their treatment plan. So i had my results from the scan, and to my surprise i had some weakness both at the medial arch and the transverse arches, even though the arch appears visually high. I decided to order the foot supports for my running shoes.
I went running yesterday for the first time with the new Foot Levelers, and i tell you, the experience was mind blowing! I felt immediately that my feet the had the correct stability, having right amount of support at the right places. at the same time i felt that the foot still had enough elasticity or springiness to avoid the strain and overload of my ankles and ultimately knees. Usually within first 20 minutes of running i have had to slow down and even sometimes shift to cycling due to shin and knee tenderness, but this time the sensation was different!
I tell you, it was like running in the air or floating on top of the cotton wool pads. I felt none of the strain i usually do in the first minutes of the run in my shins, and the run was so pleasant. I went about 25% faster than normally for a whole hour, and i could have done more. After running i felt none of the normal pains or aches associated with my run.
I would definitely advise any of you who spend lots of time on their feet, or any of you who do recreational or competitive running or jogging to try these new Foot Levelers pelvic stabilizers. You can even fit them on your normal working shoes or football shoes and other sport shoes. It will transform your activity, whatever it may be.

Call us on 04-3481166 to book an appointment or visit www.chiropracticdubai.com to book online and view more information to get your foot scanned too!

Dr. Samuel Saukkonen

www.chiropracticdubai.com