Wed 16 Nov
2011
Plano Chiropractor Discusses The Neck as Your Life Line
Plano Chiropractor Dr. Scott Villines discusses the importance of diagnosing a “pain in the neck”.
The nervous system is the master control network for your body, directing virtually every function and action, from monitoring your life needs, to precisely responding to threats to your health.
Each system, from your heart and blood vessels, to your digestive and immune systems, is directed through nerve impulses originating in your brain or spinal cord that travel through its protective bony structure: the spinal column.
The neck region is the most vulnerable region of the spine to injury. Indeed, even death can be brought through significant trauma to the neck. When the trauma is not fatal, the consequences can still be severe, such as when paralysis strikes.
Most people will not experience these severe injuries, however sprains of the delicate ligaments with subluxation (misalignment) do commonly occur. Despite the injury being smaller, their location (the neck) makes their impact more profound. Functions throughout the body can be impaired when the nerves in the upper neck are compromised.
Within chiropractic, there are specialists who focus their entire care on the uppermost two vertebrae of the spine.
Because every nerve passes through the neck, if irritation or compression is present, virtually any system of the body can be affected. The point being is that a neck disorder will not necessarily just cause neck pain or headache. Dizziness, digestive problems, fatigue, high blood pressure and generally reduced quality of life are some of the symptoms patients commonly experience.
If you have suffered a severe whiplash, you may have noticed far more than a stiff neck. Indeed, recent research suggests whiplash needs to more thought of as a whole body disorder.
We take these injuries in our office and address them in both a specific and comprehensive manner. Most patients who have suffered a neck trauma will require x-rays to analyze the posture of their spine. X-rays may also need to be taken in specific positions to test the stability of your ligaments and to determine precise levels of impaired movements. Without this road map, it is difficult to determine how care should be directed and factors that could influence your long-term prognosis, such as degeneration.
Dr. Scott Villines is a Plano Chiropractor with offices in East Plano near the cities of Parker and Murphy at the corner of Park and Los Rios. Office hours are Monday-Thursday from 9-12 and 3-6. Call (972) 424-4266 to schedule an appointment or to ask a question.
Mon 18 Jul
2011
Plano Chiropractor (Dr. Scott Villines) discusses the recent EPIC Study which confirmed that diet, exercise, a healthy BMI and not smoking is really good for you.
As obvious as that statement sounds it has taken a long and exhaustive study to get some in the healthcare field on board with the healthy living bandwagon.
The EPIC study “which was designed to investigate the relationships between diet, nutritional status, lifestyle and environmental factors and the incidence of cancer and other chronic diseases. EPIC is a large study of diet and health having recruited over half a million (520,000) people in ten European countries: Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.”
The study concluded the four primary factors affecting health and leading to decreased incidences of cancer, diabetes, stroke and heart attack are:
- Proper Diets high in fiber with limited intake of processed and red meats
- Regular Exercise
- BMI index of 30 or less (calculation used to determine body mass – essentially this means you need to be close to your ideal body weight)
- Not Smoking!
As a Plano Chiropractor and long time proponent of healthy lifestyles this study seems to be restating the obvious. It is however; very important that we understand just how our lifestyle affects health and longevity. I don’t think we can see enough of this type of information frankly. Hopefully we will eventually accept that the prevention of disease is a much safer and cheaper alternative than the suppression of symptoms.
Plano Chiropractor (Dr. Scott Villines) has been practicing chiropractic in North Texas since 1994. His office is located in East Plano at the corner of Park and Los Rios. Dr. Villines has a family friendly practice which welcomes infants to the elderly. The doctor utilizes low force chiropractic techniques, acupuncture, acupressure, nutritional supplements, as well as emphasizing education, exercise and proper nutrition. If you have any questions about the article, chiropractic care or health in general, give our office a call at (972) 424-4266.
Wed 28 Jan
2009
High fructose corn syrup gets a bad rap in most health circles. Here is another reason that it probably deserves it. In this story in the Washington Post  recent findings about the mercury content of the sweetener are discussed.
The process of producing this type of sweetener is fairly complicated requiring several chemical processes to get the sweet liquid. It sounds easy enough, but getting very sweet syrup out of corn is actually quite tricky.
I think we should try to avoid this product when possible; even if it does not contain mercury in the occasional batch.
Tue 6 Jan
2009
Is there a link between physical inactivity and long term musculoskeletal complaints? A recent large-scale prospective population-based study was designed to investigate the association between self-reported physical exercise at baseline and the prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal complaints.
The results of this study indicate that, physical exercise was associated with lower prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal complaints.  The study is clear to state that the results are not absolutely conclusive, and the results may be an indication of the chronic musculoskeletal complaints limiting the ability to perform physical activity. Not necessarily the lack of physical activity causing musculoskeletal complaints.
I will go out on a limb and say that in my experience, the more physically active patients are; the less likely they are to have chronic musculoskeletal problems. And the ones that do have problems seem to respond better to treatment.
Wed 5 Apr
2006
April 5th, 2006 at 11:39 am Michael “Asked the Doctor”
I had a partial tear on my hamstring about 5 weeks ago. I was wondering if this injury could affect the hip. I have a constant pain in my butt when I am sitting. not muscle pain. thanks
Dr. Villines Responds
April 5th, 2006 at 5:30 pm Dr. F. Scott Villines said …
A torn hamstring can certainly affect the biomechanics (joint motion) of the hip. The muscle called the hamstring is made up of three muscles that originate from a part of the hip called the ischial tuberosity. This is directly in the gluteal fold (directly under your butt cheek).
If this is the area of pain, it is probably due to a strain of the upper hamstring as a result of your injury. If your problem has been getting progressively better it is likely just going to take more time for the soft tissue to become stable. (eight to twelve weeks is not uncommon).
My advice is, if the pain has not improved over the last week or two, or has been getting worse you should go get it checked out.
My guess is, that what your describing is more of a joint/biomechanical problem; as soft tissue pain as a rule tends to moderate and improve after a few weeks.
If the pain is originating from a higher area (top of the hip/upper gluteal region) it may well be due to faulty biomechanics of the upper hip joint due to your injury.
It is certainly reasonable to assume that an injury strong enough to tear (even partially) the hamstring, could affect hip and even lower spine biomechanics and therefore be a cause of your pain.
I hope this helps. If you have further questions do not hesitate to call my office. And, if you would like to get a quick evaluation; consultations are always free and I could probably determine in just a couple of minutes if you need treatment or just more time to heal.
Dr. V.
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