How much G force is required to cause a neck injury?

Posted on by June 14, 2018

How much force is required to cause a neck injury?

That was the question asked by Panjabi & White.  Both are researchers and professors of orthopedics at both Harvard and Yale Schools of medicine.  What they found was it only took 3.5 G of force to damage ligaments in the neck as well as cause injury to the cervical discs.

Experiments

When a rear end car accident happens, the entire whiplash occurs in less than one half a second.  The original work done in this area was by DM Severy in 1955.  They conducted rear end collisions and filmed it with high speed cameras and used anthropometric dummies to monitor the forces generated.  None of the crashes were above 10 mph.  They discovered that a rear impact at 5 mph generated a G force of about 1.9 BUT they also found that the heads of the occupants accelerated at a much faster rate, typically 2-3 times faster.  This generated G forces in the area of anywhere between 4 G and upwards to 12 G in some studies.

Chiropractic Care

Just so you know, the force of a chiropractic adjustment could never reach the 3.5G required to cause a neck injury.

Dr. Robert Ebeling is a licensed chiropractor in Englewood Colorado and specializes in neck injury from whiplash injuries.  (303) 377-1755
Robert Ebeling, DC

Too Much Sugar and Caffeine CAN Cause Lower Back Pain

Posted on by June 10, 2018

Sugar and Caffeine and Lower Back Pain.

So many people didn’t understand this concept this past week that I thought it was worth repeating.
Do you think stress can cause health problems? Ok then.
Stress affects your adrenal glands which produce adrenaline.
Caffeine and sugar are both chemicals that place stress on your adrenals.
Too much ongoing stress weakens these glands over time.  Throw on top of that the sugar and coffee (there, I said it!)  and pretty soon they won’t be able to produce the adrenaline
when needed.
You may have experienced this for your self if you get momentarily dizzy when getting up too quickly from a sitting or laying position.  The adrenals help boost the blood pressure during this maneuver.
In regards to lower back pain, every single muscle in your body has a connection to an internal organ or gland.  Just believe me, it’s true.

Now the technical explanation:

On the front of your pelvis are the Sartorius and Gracilis muscles.  They provide support for the lower back and attach at the knee. In the back of the pelvis is the hamstring muscle
which has nothing to do with the adrenals but also attaches at the knee.
When the adrenals are weak, the adrenal related muscles will also be weak allowing the normal strength hamstring to now cause an imbalance in the pelvis/lower back.  At this point you’re an accident waiting to happen.
We can adjust the lower back but it’s important to correct the underlying adrenal problem as well with an adrenal supplement and maybe cut back on the sugar and coffee too.
Getting the adrenals working properly again also helps the body heal from other injuries because cortisol, an anti-inflammatory hormone, is produced by these glands as well.
Dr. Robert Ebeling is a chiropractor in Englewood, Colorado area since 1990.
(303) 377-1755

Robert Ebeling, DC

How Jaw Problems Can Be the Underlying Cause of Low Back Pain

Posted on by June 11, 2018

Jaw Problems.

Another interesting case worth sharing.

The body is a complex mechanism.  Like a Rubick’s cube, you can’t move one square without it affecting another.  That’s the way it is sometimes when figuring out a person’s problematic low back pain.

This patient of mine was having low back pain, and it would really hurt when she would bend her head forward.  I’m checking her muscles and everything is looking good until we come to the stomach muscles which were very weak.  Ah Ha!  Weakness in the front muscles causes spasm in the back, makes sense.  We know from Sacral Occipital Technique and Applied Kinesiology that the skull bones can have an affect on the stomach muscles and sure enough she had this problem as well.

So what was causing the skull problem?  The most common reason?  The jaw.  Clenching her teeth was shifting the skull bone alignment, shutting down the stomach muscles causing the spasm in the lower back.  And when I was done working on her, she could sit and bend her head again WITHOUT the low back pain!

Dr. Robert Ebeling is a licensed chiropractor in the state of Colorado since 1990 and helps people find solutions for problematic body aches that conventional doctors want to prescribe medication for.  He can be reached at (303) 377-1755 in Englewood, Colorado.  Robert Ebeling, DC

Headache relief tip that you can try at home

Posted on by June 11, 2018

Headache Relief

Here’s a simple headache relief tip
that you can try at home if you are having a headache.
If you are dehydrated, the headache could be the
result of too many toxins building up in your bloodstream
and not being properly eliminated.
These headaches typically occur in the front of the head.

Solution

A possible solution is to drink a glass of water and wait
a half an hour to see if your headache goes away.
If this does provide you with headache relief, it’s a wake
up call you need to start drinking more water.  Your
body is always needing to get rid of the waste products.
And sorry, other liquids don’t count.  It has to be pure water.
This will also save your body from the side effects of taking aspirin
or Ibuprofen.
Hope this helps!

Note:

If this doesn’t fix your headache and they keep coming back you might want to think about seeing a chiropractor for a check up.

Dr. Robert Ebeling, DC is a Chiropractor in Englewood, Colorado with 28 years experience.  He helps many people with conditions ranging from shoulder pain and headaches to more complex injuries from car accidents and herniated discs.  Call today (303) 377-1755.

Plantar Fasciitis

Posted on by April 28, 2019

 

Plantar Fasciitis Home Treatment

One of the more common conditions for foot pain

is called plantar fasciitis. We used to think it was

caused by a heel spur that would develop when the

arch in the foot would flatten out. And the proof was

visible as a spur on an x ray.  Or so we thought.  New

studies now show that the spur location does not even

attach to the plantar fascia.  So what’s really going on?

 

It seems the real problem for people with plantar fasciitis

is that when they walk they have a weakness of some

little muscles on the bottom side of their foot.  These

muscles are there to prevent the toes from bending up

towards your head as your foot strikes the ground.  If

this happens, it puts too much strain into the ligaments

that make up your plantar fascia and pretty soon it gets

inflamed.

 

The solution then is to strengthen these muscles.  It can

be done by using a large rubber band called a Theraband.

You wrap it around your toes and hold the other end by

your knee.  You then work these muscles by crunching

your toes down towards the floor.

 

The goal is to work up to 8 sets of 40 reps per day.

 

There are other causes of foot pain as well that need to be

ruled out to make sure this is really what’s happening with

your foot.  If you or a friend or family member has foot pain

I can offer a free look see and tell you what I think.

Robert Ebeling, DC

Alkaline Water is what you should be drinking to help stay healthy

Posted on by May 23, 2018

Drinking alkaline water is far more important than many people realize.

Most are totally unaware that when certain chemicals
(like chlorine from tap water) are ingested into the body they
can actually mimic an essential nutrient like Iodine and bond
themselves to the Thyroid.

This “imposter bonding” can cause problems with the body’s metabolism
and increase obesity.

On the other hand, drinking water that is “too purified” (like distilled water)
which has no minerals or life force, will likewise cause harm to the body’s
systems in that water needs a certain mineral balance and will “steal” or leach
these minerals from the body if they’re not present in the water.

The body needs these naturally present minerals (like calcium and magnesium)
to function properly.

Also, scientists have shown how unhealthy fat storage in the body can be
promoted by a diet that is too acidic in pH.

Many of the your favorite American food choices are not only very acidic,
but because of this acidity can also make it a much more difficult process
when you are trying to lose unwanted body fat.

The fat storage areas are simply the body’s way of storing unwanted acid
build up build away from critical organs where they could do more damage.

Drinking alkaline water is one simple way to help take in more alkaline food.

I want you to be healthy and I’ve been telling everyone for a while to try the

alkaline water I have at my office. Last summer I gave it away but

now you can get it for $2.00 a gallon.
Robert Ebeling, DC

Back Care 101

Posted on by May 23, 2018

 

Back Care

If I could name the most important item for healthy back care,
as well as keeping the rest of you healthy, it would be to drink water.

Here’s why:

The discs in your spine are made of 88% water. They are
also a combination of proteins and cartilage but the majority
of the content is water. When you are dehydrated, guess where
the body starts pulling water from? Your discs!

Arthritis and the aging process is nothing more than a
gradual dehydration of the tissues. To keep them young
and vibrant you need water!

How much you may wonder? A good amount is a ½ gallon
a day. That’s 64 ounces. 8 cups. Not hard to do.

I also believe the water you drink should be as pure as possible
and also the right pH level but I’ll talk about that more another
time. What are you waiting for? Go drink some water!

Dr. Robert Ebeling is a Chiropractor in the Denver Colorado area since 1990.

(303) 377-1755

5 Star Patient Google Ratings Here

Robert Ebeling, DC

Low Back Pain Causes

Posted on by May 3, 2019

Today I want to talk to you about Low Back Pain Causes.

Back pain causes more people to miss work than any other condition.  As a chiropractor, I can tell you the most common problem I see in the office is lower back pain. I can also tell you the most common type of lower back pain that I see is a misalignment of the sacroiliac (SI) joint otherwise known as your pelvis.  This is easy to see on anyone. Just put their legs together and you’ll see one leg is longer or shorter than the other one. (For some reason it’s usually long on the left and short on the right).

“Why is a misalignment in the pelvis the most common problem seen in a chiropractic office?”

The answer is simple to explain but maybe complex to understand. Here it is in a nutshell. The problem is stress.

Stress comes in many forms:

Mental. Physical, and Chemical. Stress affects the adrenal glands which produce adrenaline in response to the stress. Too much stress for too long runs down your adrenal glands.

The Adrenal Glands

The adrenal glands are also associated with 2 muscles that help hold your
pelvis together correctly. These muscles are named the Sartorius and the Gracilis and they attach from the pelvis to the knee. When the adrenals get run down and don’t work correctly, these muscles don’t work correctly either and the lower back is prone to get out of alignment and cause you a problem.

Solution

That’s why people with this kind of low back pain should quit drinking coffee (or at least switch to decaf), cut way back on sugar, get more sleep, and try to do something about the other stresses in their life. But often that’s not enough. We put people on a nutritional supplement that helps the adrenals heal themselves. Once that happens, then they can truly be healed of their back pain causes.   Oh and caffeine and sugar are chemicals that add stress the adrenals, something you are trying to avoid.

So Can Sugar Cause Back Pain?  The answer is “Yes”.

Robert Ebeling, DC is a chiropractor in Englewood, Colorado.

The office can be reached at (303) 377-1755

Bells Palsy Diagnosed at the Office

Posted on by May 3, 2019

Bell’s Palsy Diagnosis

Story

I normally work on Saturday mornings for all the people who say they can’t make it during the week.  I had to go to a seminar one Saturday but checked my messages when I got home.  One of my patients had tried calling me that morning about a headache he had for the last 2 weeks (remember they can only make it on Saturdays?).  I told him since I wasn’t available that day for him to come in on Sunday.

Exam

He shows up Sunday morning not only with the headache, but also the right side of his face numb!  This is not a good thing!  I check his BP, which was high (likely due to the stress of the situation!) and did a cranial nerve exam.  Cranial nerves come directly off the brain and supply and supply sensation to the face.  He is dull to sensation on the right side.  He also says when he smiles only half the face works!  Uh oh!  He also can’t wink the eye on the right side.  His upper arm reflexes were normal and muscle strength good.

Diagnosis

Any time you have cases like this you have to differentiate from a possible stroke.  A good rule of thumb with stroke is the mnemonic “FAST” which stands for F: facial drooping, A: arm weakness, S: Slurred speech, T: Time to call 911!

So now we have narrowed it down to the 7th cranial nerve also known as the Facial Nerve.  It supplies the muscles in the face and when it is affected in this manner it is known as a Bell’s Palsy.  Also I should mention that half his tongue was numb.  This nerve also supplies sensation to the front part of the tongue.

Treatment

Now knowing this was not a stroke or other major serious neurological problem, I adjusted his neck which offered relief of his headache.  The patient was instructed to follow up with his medical doctor the next day, which he did.

Cases like this have come into the office occasionally over the years but this was the first time it was up to me to figure out what was wrong and diagnose Bell’s Palsy.  His M.D. said I was right.

Robert Ebeling, DC is a Englewood Chiropractor.  Office phone is (303) 377-1755.

5 Star Patient Google Ratings Here

Rear End Car Accident in Colorado

Posted on by April 28, 2019

Introduction

Getting rear ended and injured in a car accident in Colorado is bad enough.  In another blog post we spoke about some of the risk factors.  These include:
1. being unaware of the impending crash
2. the position of your head and body in the car
3. the amount of G forces from the crash
4. the fact that amount of vehicle damage does not equal amount of personal injury
5. that rear crashes cause the most damage
6. and now today whether men or women are more prone to injury

G Forces

If you read my earlier blog post I told you that the G forces generated by a 5 mph rear impact worked out to equal 1.9.  I want to clarify that.  When I say 5 mph impact, I mean  that your car is at a complete stop, hit from behind, and is accelerates forward at 5 mph.  I don’t mean that someone just rolled up behind you doing 5 mph and you kissed bumpers.

Remember that the actual G forces experienced by the occupants can be 2-3 times greater than the amount experienced by the car which can mean a G force of anywhere between 6-12!  And remember discs and ligaments sustain injury at a G force of only 3.5!  So, why so much variation in the G forces generated?  One factor is the size of your neck.

Studies on Women

Studies on the people who get rear ended and injured in a car accident in Colorado.  And the similarities between them all, the common characteristics they all share, can be called risk factors.  Unfortunately for women, it’s the smaller frame ones who are the most at risk.  That is, any woman, who weighs under 130 lbs.

Studies on Men

Men, who have bigger and thicker necks, can withstand more physical force than females can.  A more demure physique and a smaller neck means less support of the roughly 8-10 lb head that sits on top of it.  That’s why being a woman puts you at more risk from being injured in a read end low speed car accident.  This is based on a study from Sweden  in 1994 where 60% of the cases fit this category.  Another study that was done said the weight limit was even higher,  up to 143 lbs.

Conclusion

So if you have been rear ended and injured in a car accident here in Englewood and need help, call Dr. Robert Ebeling at (303) 377-1755.  The office will arrange a free same day consultation and evaluation.  Dr. Ebeling is a licensed chiropractor and owner of  A-Just-A-Ble Chiropractic Center in Englewood, Colorado.

References

1.  Banks R, Martini J, Smith H, Bowles A, Mcnish T, Howard R: Alignment of the lumbar vertebrae in a driving posture. Journal of Crash Prevention and Injury Control 2(2):123-130, 2000.

2. Krafft M, A comparison of short- and long-term consequences of AIS 1 neck injuries, in rear impacts.  International IRCOBI conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 16-18, 1998, Goteborg, Sweden, 275-88.