“Cause and Symptoms” (Part I)

By Dr. John Taylor
Deep Tissue Chiropractic

WARNING! The Health Care Industry could be habit forming, addictive as well as ineffective and costly!

The general public should realize the Health Care industry is a business and the practitioners in all areas of this vocation are in it to make money. Unfortunately, in my opinion there are a few practitioners that enjoy repeat customers so much they choose not to cure them of their malady. This sounds absurd, but is it? Part Two of this paper will talk about such practitioners, but for now I will focus on pharmaceuticals that are targeted at treating symptoms instead of the cause of a medical disorder.

A good example that will verify my statement is the statin medications prescribed to lower a person’s cholesterol in the hopes it will prevent heart attacks and stroke. The only problem with this scenario is that statins are addressing the symptoms and not the true cause of the problem. These medications can lower a person’s cholesterol which may postpone a patient’s heart attack that may still occur because the true cause is not being addressed.

First, cholesterol is a very important component of our bodies structure and function. Our bodies are comprised of billions of cells that all have cellular membranes composed mainly from cholesterol. Since these cells are replicating constantly we need cholesterol on an ongoing basis. And the very components that allow our bodies to function on a daily and lifetime basis is the endocrine system which controls the production of hormones providing homeostasis. Hormones are all produced from cholesterol. Cholesterol is a key component in the life of our bodies, yet whenever people think of it they are frightened of what it could do. Again, cholesterol sticking to arterial walls is a symptom of the true cause of heart attacks and stroke. The sad thing is if the true cause was addressed in a healthy manner it would be less costly and more effective in preventing heart attacks and stroke than all the cholesterol lowering medications with their serious side effects. Some of these side effects are memory loss, a very common problem in our society with Alzheimer’s becoming more and more prevalent. Another side effect of these statins is elevated blood sugar levels and Type II Diabetes, another deadly disease. Diabetes causes atherosclerotic plaques, the very thing Statins are supposed to prevent.

All these statins decrease cholesterol but at the same time they decrease a nutrient that is key in the elimination of fat and health of the heart. CoQ10 is the final step that utilizes fat in the production of energy in the Krebs cycle. The Krebs Cycle takes place in a cell’s mitochondria where food is transformed through a series of reactions until usable energy is produced as adenine triphosphate. Without CoQ10 we cannot use fat for fuel so the body accumulates more fat which by itself increases our blood pressure another cause of heart attacks and stroke. Plus, who wants to put on extra fat?

All these statins which are extremely costly don’t actually treat the cause of plaques on the arterial walls which can cause heart disease and stroke even if your cholesterol has been lowered. Lowering cholesterol to prevent heart disease and strokes is not focusing on the true cause of the problem. What is the true cause of plaques on arterial walls?

To decrease the chance of heart attacks and stroke then the true cause should be identified and treated. What causes accumulation of cholesterol and other substances is inflammation of the arterial walls. When the arterial walls are inflamed they act like magnets which causes this plaque that can be dislodged by flowing blood, resulting in heart attacks and stroke. Cholesterol does not cause inflammation of the arterial walls, free radicals from the processed foods we eat do. Free radicals are released into our blood from the foods we consume, and they attach to the receptors on arterial walls causing inflammation and therefore plaque buildup. Reducing cholesterol may slow down the accumulation of plaque on arterial walls, but eventually if the walls are inflamed plaques will continue. So the question is how do we prevent this inflammation?

The first way to prevent this inflammation is to reduce the free radicals that do the damage. The best way to address this issue is the consumption of antioxidants in the form of Vitamin C and Vitamin E. Taken together these two Vitamins work synergistically to rid the blood stream of free radicals. These Vitamins attach themselves to these radicals, rendering them helpless to do damage. Then they are passed harmlessly out of your body. But Vitamin C plays another important role in restoring the arterial walls to a healthier state. Vitamin C interacts with two separate amino acids, glysine and proline, to produce collagen the most common substance in our soft tissue matrix. Our bones, muscles, organs, tendons, ligaments are comprised mainly of this valuable substance. This collagen is used to rebuild and sustain tissue that was injured or during the replication of cells. So, in this way Vitamin C prevents heart attacks and strokes by rebuilding and maintaining a healthy arterial system so that plaques won’t occur. Check with your doctor before starting a Vitamin regimen.

Another aid in reducing plaque buildup is an aspirin a day. Aspirin works in two ways: it thins the blood by inhibiting platelet aggregation (clots), and is a potent anti inflammatory medicine which will address arterial walls that are inflamed. However, aspirin can irritate the stomach lining with possible ulcers resulting. Check with your doctor before starting an aspirin regimen.

In closing I do not recommend stopping or modifying statin therapy. Statins do slow the development of plaques on our arterial walls which will break off and cause heart attacks and stroke. But I would suggest taking Vitamin C 1000 mg and Vitamin E 400 IUs twice daily. Start with 500 mg of Vitamin C for the first couple weeks to allow the body adjustment to this vital nutrient. This will treat the true cause of heart disease and stroke and it is so inexpensive. For ten dollars you can supply your body with these crucial supplements for a month. Also, if you take statins I highly recommend taking CoQ10 to maintain the production of energy from adipose tissue and reduce the chance of gaining extra weight. I also suggest keeping track of your blood sugar levels to avoid the onset of Type II Diabetes.

Undiagnosed Low Back Pain: The Illiopsoas Syndrome

Constant Back Pain? 

There are a  group of people in society that live with  constant low back and pelvic pain that cannot be diagnosed via conventional orthopedic, neurological, or Chiropractic examinations. This pain can be an annoying ache all day long or a severe debilitating pain that affects all activities of daily living. So they live with constant discomfort after seeking relief from professionals they thought would surely reduce their pain.

 

Examples

Three women I treated last year even visited the emergency room (ER) because their pain was so  intense, but they too left the hospital with undiagnosed pelvic pain. Muscle relaxers and pain medications prescribed by the ER doctors were unable to reduce these ladies discomfort. Another female patient consulted me wondering if I could decrease her back pain that she had suffered for 33 years. Thirty three years of back pain undiagnosed by professionals. One neurologist she consulted even prescribed antidepressants because he thought she was seeking attention. But this problem is not isolated to the female population. I have seen both sexes young and old with this disorder.

 

What Causes This

These patients present with a variety of symptoms. They might have a dull-severe pain in their low back that is not reduced or eliminated by Chiropractic adjustment. They may have pain in their pelvic region that is not curtailed with any medications including the previously mentioned muscle relaxers, pain medications, or antibiotics in case of an infection. I have treated patients with lateral hip pain that refers to their knees, or they can have nauseating groin pain. The symptoms may vary but the cause is always the same. Tightened illiopsoas (psoas) and iliacus muscles commonly referred to as the Core muscles by exercise enthusiasts. These two muscles are the cause of the mysterious pain afflicts these people.

 

Diagnosis Details

The psoas is a muscle that is not easily palpated, which explains why most physicians have difficulty diagnosing this problem. The psoas and iliacus are located in the anterior hip region beneath the rectus abdominus, and oblique muscles as well as the small intestine and colon. The psoas originate at the antrolateral aspect of thoracic vertebrae 12 and all five of the lumbar vertebrae inserting with the iliacus at the lesser trochanter of the femur. See Figure 1.   

 

These muscles are hard to locate and palpate, let alone treat. As mentioned previously these muscles are referred to as the Core muscles and they provide very important functions for the human body. The psoas and iliacus both initiate flexion at the hip. The psoas also provides flexion of the upper body in the same way as the rectus abdominus. Essentially,  the psoas provides a fulcrum or bridge between the upper and lower bodies. Because they provide such important functions it is easy to understand how they can cause severe pain and discomfort when they are  pathologic or in contracture.

How it Happens

Contracture occurs when a muscle shortens during contraction for extended periods of time,  but does not return to a normally relaxed flexible state. This can occur in people who sit for extended periods such as those who key data into a computer all day long. The myofilaments (the contractile bands that move upon each other during a contraction) of these muscles can become fixed via adhesions between the bands making contraction and relaxation of these muscles impossible. 

Contracture can also occur from an injury. If a muscle is strained or a contusion occurs this can also result in contracture and  the formation of trigger points.  Trigger points form after a muscle is injured from over work, muscle strains, and the aforementioned contusion. Trigger points are tight hypersensitive knots or bands within the area of injured tissue consisting of fibrin (scar tissue) from the inflammatory process  and contracture, making the muscle ischemic (lacking in oxyegenated blood flow). 

Post partum mothers can experience contracture of the psoas and iliacus because during pregnancy the developing fetus lies on these muscles causing  them to contract in a guarding fashion. That is why mothers can experience ongoing back pain long after the baby is born. An example of contracture of the psoas can be seen in those people who walk with an anterior body posture typically seen but not limited to the elderly.

Man's Best Friend

Another group of sufferers from this problem are dogs. Yes, dogs. I had one patient several years ago that called to cancel his appointment because he needed to take his dog to the vet to be euthanized. He was very upset, so I asked him what kind of symptoms his dog was exhibiting. He said his dog (a female Rottweiler named Six) had difficulty walking and was in obvious pain, so he concluded it would be best to put his ten year old dog to sleep. I suspected it might be something I could help my patient correct, so I asked him to bring Six to my clinic.

After a little palpating of the psoas, I found them to be extremely tight, and Six didn’t want me touching them either. So, I instructed my patient in the proper technique to massage his dogs psoas, which were in contracture for about a half hour.

She wasn’t back to normal, but she managed to limp back to the car after my patient finished massaging her muscles. My patient was very happy, and after a couple more sessions, Six was walking daily on Cottonwood Beach in Washougal, WA. Six lived another three years.

Treatment of this condition is an involved process that includes hot packs, cross fiber, deep tissue, and effleurage massage techniques. Chiropractic manipulation; and stretching exercises . These procedures can return the muscle to its pre-injury status. The amount of time needed varies between patients. Usually, if patient has had this condition for a prolonged period of time, it may take longer for him or her to recover. The ladies mentioned earlier that visited the ER recovered in three to four treatments, and the lady that had this problem for 33 years was feeling no pain after seven treatments. But, patients do vary in the recovery process.

On my web page: deeptissuechiropractic.com you can read some testimonials from patients who have received relief from this disorder and continue to stay well, as long as they continue doing their exercises. 

If you have these symptoms or questions concerning your malady, please feel free to call 

Deep Tissue Chiropractic at (360) 513-7818.