Portland Chiropractor and Nutritionist | FDA Finally Calls Antibiotics in Meat “Serious Threat”
This is just too good to be true! Finally, the government “for the people, by the people” has taken a step towards doing something that our health as a nation will benefit from….. Wow!
Here’s the link:
FDA: Antibiotics in Meat “Serious Threat”
What do you think?
Yours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum Health
Portland Chiropractor and Nutritionist | Is Eating Healthy an Eating Disorder?
Here’s an interesting article about “Orthorexia”. While I do agree that we need to have a healthy relationship with HEALTHY, NUTRITIOUS foods, I fear this could lead to people getting slapped with a label just because they don’t want to put trans-fats and high fructose corn syrup in their body (which science is telling us we shouldn’t be doing anyway). What do you think?
Here’s the link: Orthorexia: Can Healthy Eating Be a Disorder?
Yours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum HealthPortland Chiropractor and Nutritionist | Diabetes and Frozen Shoulder
Frozen Shoulder and Diabetes….. Is There A Connection?
Frozen Shoulder, AKA “adhesive capsulitis” is a common shoulder condition that I treat in my SE Portland chiropractic and nutrition clinic, Optimum Function (http://optfunction.com). What suprises patients is when I ask about their blood sugar or hemoglobin A1c; often, no one has considered diabetes, pre-diabetes or another physiologic cause of their shoulder issue.
Frozen Shoulder is a syndrome (meaning, a set of symptoms) that is not well-defined but usually consists of painful restriction of shoulder movements that results in overall decreased shoulder mobility. It is often deemed “idiopathic”; this means that there is usually no identifiable cause for the problem.
To consider all frozen shoulders idiopathic would be overlooking a variety of physiological states that can lead to this condition.
Possible Non-Mechanical Causes of Frozen Shoulder
The physiological conditions most commonly associated with frozen shoulder are diabetes, hypothyroidism/hyperthyroidism, and hypertriglyceridemia.
Here are some facts when considering the link between diabetes and frozen shoulder:
- The incidence of frozen shoulder is 2-4 times higher in people with diabetes than in the general population.
- The total prevalence of diabetes (frank diabetes and pre-diabetes or metabolic syndrome) in patients with frozen shoulder was 71.5%
- Shoulder capsulitis is common in type I and type II diabetic patients. However, it is occurs more commonly as the diabetic patient ages
Why???
Patients with diabetes clearly have a higher incidence of frozen shoulder. While the “why” behind these stats is not clear, we can speculate that poor circulation may lead to abnormal collagen repair and speed up degenerative changes. The theory is that platelet derived growth factor is released from blood vessels that have become inefficient due to the diabetic condition. This growth factor will then act as a stimulus to scar tissue development which will help to continue this process leading to a vicious cycle that started because diabetics have problems with the small, peripheral blood vessels.
So, please take this information the next time someone tells you that your shoulder dysfunction can be diagnosed as Frozen Shoulder. Click on the following link to download and shar this article with friends and loved ones: Diabetes and Frozen Shoulder Article
- Parada-Turska J, Majdan M, The musculoskeletal system in diabetic patients,Postepy Hig Med Dosw, 59:236-44, 2005
- Sattar MA, Luqman WA, Periarthritis: another duration-related complication of diabetes mellitus, Diabetes Care, Sep-Oct;8(5):507-10, 1985
- Milgrom C, Novack V, Weil Y, Jaber S, Radeva-Petrova DR, Finestone A, Risk factors for idiopathic frozen shoulder, Isr Med Assoc J, May;10(5):361-4, 2008
- Cole A, Gill TK, Shanahan EM, Phillips P, Taylor AW, Hill CL, Is diabetes associated with shoulder pain or stiffness? Results from a population based study, J Rheumatol, Feb;36(2):371-7, 2009
- Tighe CB, Oakley WS Jr, The prevalence of a diabetic condition and adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder, South Med J, Jun;101(6):591-5, 2008
- Mavrikakis ME, Sfikakis PP, Kontoyannis SA, Antoniades LG, Kontoyannis DA, Moulopoulou DS, Clinical and laboratory parameters in adult diabetics with and without calcific shoulder periarthritis, Calcif Tissue Int, Oct;49(4):288-91, 1991
- Balci N, Balci MK, Tüzüner S, Shoulder adhesive capsulitis and shoulder range of motion in type II diabetes mellitus: association with diabetic complications, J Diabetes Complications, May-Jun;13(3):135-40, 1999
- Morén-Hybbinette I, Moritz U, Scherstén B, The painful diabetic shoulder, Acta Med Scand.219(5):507-14, 1986
- Arkkila PE, Kantola IM, Viikari JS, Rönnemaa T, Shoulder capsulitis in type I and II diabetic patients: association with diabetic complications and related diseases,Ann Rheum Dis, Dec;55(12):907-14, 1996
Portland Chiropractor and Nutritionist | Where Do Food Cravings Come From?
Here’s a great article addressing some of the psychological origins of food cravings: Food Cravings, Explained
Yours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum HealthPortland Chiropractor and Nutritionist | Blood Pressure Drops by Cutting Out Sugary Drinks
Processed sugars, including food and drinks that contain them, harm our health more than anyone wants to admit: BP Drops when Sugary Drinks Are Reduced
Yours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum HealthPortland Chiropractor and Nutritionist | KFC Pink Buckets….. REALLY???
This is absurd! Activists call foul on KFC bucket campaign
We need some “Nutritional Reform” or “Dietary Reform” or “Food Relationship Reform”. Only then will health care measures be able to truly help us!
Yours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum HealthPortland Chiropractor and Nutritionist | Nuts and Cholesterol
There’s been some research suggesting that consuming nuts can lower cholesterol. As many of you know, I am no a big fan of demonizing cholesterol; this strategy doesn’t seem to but down cardiovascular related deaths and can be quite miserable for patients. That being said, there are situations where paying close attention to cholesterol levels is necessary. I recommend a VAP Test to look at your cholesterol fractions. There is more to cholesterol than LDL, HDL, and Triglycerides.
In fact, a recent study showed that consuming nuts helps to lower cholesterol, especially LDL-C (an LDL fraction) and especially in those with low body mass indexes. So, the take home is, natural ways to lower your cholesterol and have a healthy lipid profile is to lose weight, exercise and eat healthy fats like those found in nuts and seeds.
Reference:
Nut consumption and blood lipid levels: a pooled analysis of 25 intervention trials.
Yours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum HealthPortland Chiropractor | Antidepressants, Muscle Relaxers and More…. For Tension Headaches?
OK, this entry is more of a rant than anything else but really? Why would anyone think going on a variety of drugs with their own set of side effects to take care of tension headaches? It’s pretty easy to take care of them manually with chiropractic, Graston therapy, Kinesiotape, soft tissue therapies and cold laser.
Here’s an article that sheds a little light on the ineffectiveness of these drugs to prophylactically take care of tension headaches:
Lack of benefit for prophylactic drugs of tension-type headache in adults: a systematic review.
Yours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum HealthPortland Chiropractor | Low Back Pain? 1.Mobility 2.Stability 3.Dynamic Function
OK, I have been busy in my SE Portland chiropractic, nutrition and function movement clinic, Optimum Function, in addition, we have recently added a puppy into our already animal-full family and I have taken up Unicycling (click for more info). I have been wanting to create some videos showing how some of you out there can do some simple tests to see if your low back, hip, knee, or ankle/foot pain is coming from a mobility issue (things aren’t moving correctly), a stability issue (the right muscles aren’t firing at the right time) or tissue damage (something is injured and needs to heal).
Here is part 1 of my lower quadrant assessment video:
Here’s part 2:
After that, I decided to post a video for those of you who had primary stability issues, not mobility issues or tissue damage (you’ll have to see someone for those…. hint… come on in and I’ll help). These lower quadrant stability exercises are designed to get your glute muscles firing and increase their endurance so you can move on to more dynamic stability exercises that get you ready to do what you want to do pain free.
Here’s part 1 of that series:
Here’s Part 2:
And finally, Part 3:
Remember, if you have any questions or are not sure if these exercises are for you, contact me, I can help.
Yours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum HealthPortland Chiropractor | Low Back Mobility and Stability Videos
Here is a 2 part YouTube series that I recorded about low back stability and mobility. This first set of videos talks about 3 exercises to determine the nature or your lower quadrant problems. As a Portland chiropractor, I often see patients with low back pain, hip pain, knee pain and ankle pain; often, this pain is ongoing in part, due to a functional problem in their lower quadrant. To figure out how best to help these patients, I must first determine if the problem is coming from:
- Damaged tissue
- Mobility problems (muscles and joints aren’t moving the way they should)
- Stability problems (the muscles that are supposed to be firing at certain times are not)
This is VERY important because the treatment for each potential problem is pretty different. Check out the videos here are feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Yours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum Health