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Alternative Health News
Public Health & Gerontology Groups Support CAM
Two large professional groups recently held annual meetings that featured a number of presentations about acupuncture and CAM topics.
The One-Sport Syndrome
I recall that as a kid, I participated in sports based on the season. In spring and summer, it was baseball and basketball; in fall, it was football; and in winter, it was ice hockey.
Balance Strategies to Improve Health
You already know how complicated the process of human balance is; but are you aware of the simple tools many providers are using to improve their patients' balance?
AAAOM Postpones Annual Membership Conference, Leadership Meeting To Be Held
The decision by AAAOM to postpone its annual membership conference for one year was a difficult one.
Some Inflammatory Remarks About Manipulation
There is an anonymous quote which reads, "An archer cannot hit the bullseye if he doesn't know where the target is." In the case of some of chiropractic's detractors, that seems to have been the case when it comes to vertebral arteries.

Using the Channel Systems of Acupuncture to Unravel the Mysteries of Disease Progression
Wind is a philosophical representation of change in the Chinese classics. It is also acknowledged as the root of all physiological disturbance. It is stated in chapter 3 of the Su Wen that wind is "the cause of hundreds of diseases."
The Problem With Statistics
I'm not sure when I began to mistrust statistics; I think it was in college in the late "'60s."
A Fresh Look at the Meric System and Modern Neuroscience
The use of manipulation in the management of biomechanical disorders of the spine may now be regarded as a mainstream approach across health care.
OIG Reveals Audit Targets for 2012
Each year, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) releases its annual Work Plan for the fiscal year, which details new and ongoing reviews that will be conducted in federal programs such as Medicare.
Chiropractors Storm the Capital
On Oct. 29, 2011, a rare early winter snowstorm struck the East Coast of the U.S., blanketing the nation's capital in white. In Washington, D.C., it was the heaviest October snowstorm in history.
Dr. Shi Xue-Min and the Xing Nao Kai Qiao Legacy
To the acupuncture community, Dr. Shi Xue-Min is known as a distinguished acupuncturist and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a supervisor of doctoral candidates in China.
Understanding the Changes of ICD10
Recently, I have been receiving inquiries about the new codes for ICD10. When do they begin and how much of a change will they be?
The Heart /Kidney Connection
Are you treating health conditions related to or affected by love? This past November I taught at the Pacific Symposium, a large educational conference put on for our industry by the Pacific College in San Diego, Calif.
Do Dietary Supplements Really Increase Mortality?
In an article scheduled to appear in the Feb. 26 issue of DC, I provide the raw data on cardiovascular protection with statin use in the JUPITER trial.
Managing Sesamoid Injuries
The word sesamoid is Latin for "sesame seed." These small bones are located inside specific tendons, where they improve mechanical efficiency by pulling the tendon farther away from the joint's axis of motion.
The Big C: What Are You Doing About It?
It is the rare to meet a person these days that doesn't have a concern about cancer. Between the constant headlines, to pink ribbons on everything from planes to phones, to hearing that Aunt Stacy was just diagnosed, it is impossible to not be aware of cancer's presence.
Professionalism, Education and Turf Wars
Most professions have discourse about the "professional." Professions define themselves in part by excluding others. I would like to briefly explore professionalism in Chinese medicine.
Helping Pregnant Patients With Their Pain: Using the Fascial System as our Guide
Pregnant women are frequently at a loss for answers with respect to pain associated with their growing abdomen.
Speaking in Code
At this point, I am certain everyone is aware of the CPT codes for billing acupuncture. However, there have been some recent cases where it is clear that not everyone is following the clear-cut rules on how to define and use these codes.
We Get Letters & E-Mail
Foundation Ad Rejected by Medical Journals: No Surprise; Why Am I Still Struggling? Let's Use Wikipedia to Our Advantage.
Recent Report Highlights Growing Dangers of Anti-Inflammatory Medications
In the Sept. 27, 2011 posting of the Biomedical Central Journal: Family Practice, R.J. Adams and colleagues commented on concerns raised by the common prescribing of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications.
CCE Recognition Extended for Only One Year
A storm has been brewing over the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) for more than two years. It began in mid-2009 when the CCE released the first draft of its Accreditation Standards.
Herbs: Revitalizing in Spring to Maintain Youthful Vitality
Spring is the time to revitalize and get moving, but also a time to improve our immune systems so that we can avoid wind-caused health conditions that often proliferate during this season.
How Chinese Medicine Can Save Western Medicine
Our country is struggling to reduce the cost of healthcare while simultaneously improving its quality and accessibility. I see a partial solution: use Chinese medicine in Western healthcare settings.
News in Brief
Protecting Our Nation's Heroes From Back Pain; Texas Chiropractic College Partners With PA University; AECC Student Awarded Scholarship by FICS; Palmer Toys for Tots Drive: Nearly $2,000 in Donations; New Career Path for Foot Levelers' Jamie Greenawalt; ChiroTouch: $25,000 to FCP; New Face at CLA.
The Magic of Microcurrent
In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, I found this definition of the word magic: an extraordinary power or influence seemingly from a supernatural source.
From a Different Playbook
Just to be clear, the above is not the beginning of my article. On the contrary, it is the beginning of "Seven Ways to Boost Your Income with Medical Activities," an article written for medical doctors that was posted in early December 2011 on Medscape.com.
The Integrated Components of Stability
Use of the term stability is widespread across the physical and rehabilitative medicine disciplines. Stability is generally referenced as a positive outcome we are looking to achieve in order to help alleviate our patient's presenting complaint.

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Massage Today
November, 2003, Vol. 03, Issue 11

Falling Behind the Recovery Curve

By Keith Eric Grant, PhD, NCTMB

In my article, "Training Effects"1 (www.massagetoday.com/archives/2003/06/08.html), I discussed sports scientist N.

Yakovlev's model of training and adaptation. After a workout, there is a recovery period, followed by a period of super-compensation. The optimum time for the next workout is at the peak of super-compensation. Work out again too early, and the body is still recovering; wait too long, and the benefits of the last workout are lost. The length of recovery depends on the workout intensity and factors such as nutrition, hydration and sleep.4

Yakovlev's model is a guide to understanding adaptation and improvement with regular exercise, but it also contains one of the greatest banes of those who start exercise programs - overuse injuries. Overuse injuries account for 30 percent to 50 percent of all sports injuries, and are among the most common encountered by heath care practitioners. Even injuries with a sudden onset without a clear traumatizing event are often the result of falling behind the recovery curve.

High risk of injury graph. The risk of injury increases both with higher loading applied to the muscle and with higher frequency of repetition. (Sports Injuries - 3rd Edition Graphics Package, Human Kinetics, Champaign, Ill.) Overuse injuries frequently occur when an athlete changes exercise patterns or rapidly increases the amount or intensity of exercise. Without sufficient time for recovery, repetitive micro-trauma leads to inflammation and local tissue damage in the form of cellular and extracellular degeneration .3 Such degeneration can lead to chronic pain or sudden injury. An increase in injury risk with lighter muscle fiber loading at higher repetitions (Fig. 1) is explicable in terms of decreased tensile strength of over used tissues. Overextension andoverly intense exercise also can be detrimental to immune system functioning.5 Allowing time, and setting conditions for the recovery period, are important to performing well; recovery is aided by good nutrition and adequate sleep. Best conditioning without breakdown is obtained by catching the Yakovlev curve at its super-compensation maximum. Massage can aid normal training by helping to reduce residual muscle hypertonicity, thus speeding recovery.1

If chronic or acute injury has occurred, allow healing while gently maintaining joint mobility. Functional rehabilitation must be done before training can return to pre-injury levels. At the heart of functional rehabilitation are Davis' Law and Wolf's Laws, which state that soft tissue and bone heal along the lines in which they are stressed. For optimal healing, tissue must be stressed gradually to accept a given force. Crossfiber massage can be used to help align healing soft tissue and stimulate healing. Rehabilitation also involves exercise movements to regain joint proprioception.6 Impaired joint "position sense" is overlooked in many rehabilitation programs and may be a major risk factor for recurrent injuries after the muscles and ligaments have been restored. Restoring proprioception after injury allows the body to maintain stability and orientation during static and dynamic activities.

A massage practitioner can assist clients in restoring joint sense and neuromuscular movement by encouraging them to perform movements against the practitioner's light resistance. Such work also helps identify areas of adhesion that can be normalized by deep tissue work.

Finally, one of the hardest exercises involved in recovery and rehabilitation comes not in exercising the body, but in exercising patience. In coming back from behind the recovery curve, an athlete could do far worse than cooling his or her heels on your massage table. With less than a full workout schedule, each has the time.

References

  1. Grant, KE, 2003: Training Effects, Massage Today, June. www.massagetoday.com/archives/2003/06/08.html.
  2. Laskowski, ER, K Newcomer-Aney, and J Smith, 1997: Refining Rehabilitation With Proprioception Training: Expediting Return to Play, The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 25(10), www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1997/10oct/laskow.htm.
  3. O'Connor, FG, TM Howard, CM Fieseler, and RP Nirschl, 1997: Managing Overuse Injuries: A Systematic Approach, The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 25(5). www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1997/05may/oconnor.htm.
  4. Peterson, Lars, and Per Renstršm, 2001: Sports Injuries - Their Prevention and Treatment, 3rd ed., Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL, ISBN 0-73603-621-0.
  5. Shephard, RJ, PN Shek, and NA DiNubile, 1999: Exercise, Immunity, and Susceptibility to Infection, The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 27(6), www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1999/06_99/shephard.htm.
  6. Tippett, Steven R., and Michael L. Voight, 1995: Functional Progressions for Sport Rehabilitation, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL, ISBN 0-87322-660-7.
Click here for more information about Keith Eric Grant, PhD, NCTMB.

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