Sports Injuries :
Sports injuries occur when an area is subjected to a stress/trauma in excess of the strength of the muscles, ligaments and capsules. It can be a high velocity impact, or a low intensity repetitive action. The result is pain and damage to the tissues in the area. Most sport injuries involve a number of different tissues. For example, a simple ankle sprain will involve the muscles, ligaments, capsules and the mechanics of the joint.
Acute injuries respond quickly to our therapeutic intervention. When there is a chronic condition, ie., over three month duration, then other factors such as fibrous or scarring of the tissue need also to be assessed. The fibrous /scar tissue will affect the return to optimal function of the injured area. This is the reason for a comprehensive examination.
Sports Injury - Laser To the Rescue
Dr. Don Fitz-Ritson, DC., FCCRS(C)
Injuries occur when you push past the boundary of what are the limits of our muscles, tendons, ligaments, capsules and joints.
A is a 42 year old female who had been running marathons for over 12 years. She was referred to our Centre because over the previous 3-6 months, she had begun developing pain in her right buttock and into her posterior thigh.
A was a fit female and a mother of two. She was very anxious regarding her condition as she stated that jogging was meditative for her, managed her stress, kept her fit and maintained her weight at an ideal level. She did not want to stop jogging. I suggested that she might have to stop jogging for a period as he healed her injury. She was very adamant about continuing to jog.
On examination, I discovered that her main condition was a moderate torsion or twisting in her pelvic region, which caused a shorting of her right leg and repetitive strain of the ligaments of her hamstring muscle, where it inserted into pelvic bone.
Hamstring muscle injuries are among the most difficult to heal, especially if the patient continues to participate in their activity. Every stride they take involves the hamstring muscle acting as a braking mechanism for the thigh; that is, it controls the rate at which the thigh moves forward.
I do not know which came first, the torsion in the pelvic area affecting the hamstring muscle via its' effect of shortening the leg, or the hamstring muscle mechanism causing the development of the torsion in the pelvic area. However, I do know that to the patients hamstring pain, I would have to address both areas.
My advice to A was to limit both her distance and the length of her stride. This would allow her to continue jogging, but allow the hamstring to work more within the boundaries of its' present limitations. As I began to correct A's pelvic torsion, it proved more difficult than anticipated, which indicated that it had been present for a long time and possibly was the initiator of her hamstring strain.
Using the laser on the painful area and advising A to ICE before and after jogging effectively decreased the pain and inflammation she was experiencing.
As I continued with the laser therapy, I noticed that the hamstring muscle on the right, returning to its' normal length, along with continued pain reduction. The combination of therapies - laser and rehab - and the improvement, caused A to become very optimistic, because she did not have to stop jogging.
The correction of the pelvic torsion and the healing of the strained hamstring took a little longer than expected, because of her continued jogging. However, the improvements were significant and A persisted.
As A continued to improve, I modified her exercises for strengthening the hamstring, and to balance the pelvic area. This had the effect of keeping her leg length normal. Without the laser and rehab, I could not have had the success that A experienced while still maintaining her jogging. The laser heals tissue very effectively. PS. Two months after A was discharged, she won a 10K race.
|
|
Â
Chronic Neck Pain & Low Back Pain
Dr. Don's Story
Twenty five yeas ago, I had the last of three "Whiplash Injuries". I was a basket case. I could not pick up a pen with my left hand, neither could I move my neck much. I had server headaches, neck pain and I could not chew hard foods, along with the inability to focus my eyes properly. Sleep was impossible, because every time I tried to lie down, my room began spinning like a top. I had vertigo. In the Centre, I could not walk straight and I had to bounce off the walls as I walked. When I talked to patients, I had to lean against the wall for balance.
I tried every modality on the market - nothing helped. I tried drugs, they made me worse, and I began to have ulcers. I was losing weight/strength fast and I looked awful.
Laser was the only modality that helped my neck pain, TMJ pain, headaches and provided me with the ability to sleep. In conjunction with the laser treatments, I began researching and developing special manual therapy procedures and exercises to help return function and strength to my neck and back. Today I am painfree and have a very active lifestyle
I am dedicated to solving all musculoskeletal pain conditions. All my knowledge and experience will be used to return your pain and injuries to normal pain free function.
WHIPLASH PAIN - LASER TO THE RESCUE!
Dr. Don Fitz-Ritson, DC, FCCRS(C)
In 1980, I had my third motor vehicle accident "whiplash". On each occasion, I was hit from behind while at stop signs. I was in agony, every part of my body hurt. I had severe headaches, neck pain with radiation into my left arm- so bad that I could not even pick up a pen. There was dizziness, which prevented me sleeping, because every time I lay down, the room began spinning around and I had to get up to prevent vomiting. I wore two back supports for my back pain, which only helped, to a minor extent.
My visits to doctors were for more medication, which upset my stomach. I was a mess. Chiropractic adjustments were contra-indicated due to the intensity of pain and the severity of muscle injury. Finally, I met a Russian physicist who introduced me to a laser for treating pain and to heal the muscles and ligaments. After 17 treatments, my neck and left arm pain was gone! I could not believe it, because I had used other modalities such as interferrential current, ultra sound, and micro current to no avail. I next treated my upper neck region - headaches and dizziness disappeared! WOW! I was on a roll, sleeping again, putting my life back together. I began treating my back - got rid of one, then the second back brace. Finally I was pain free - but weak.
I had some how managed to continue to treat patients in my Centre. I began to use laser on my patients, because they had seen my changes. Remarkably, the patients began to also respond. Conditions that were not responding before began improving.
Living pain free was great, however it soon became apparent that this was not enough. Due to a lack of conditioning of the injured muscles, patients and I were re-injuring our old injuries. It was at this point that I developed a specific neck and low back exercise regimen and combined it with selective nutrition to help repair the muscles and ligaments. As before, I tested the program on myself first and it worked. Finally, I had my life back. I could begin to have an active lifestyle again and my social life returned - I was now pain free and strong. My patients also derived benefits from the additions to the treatment program, gaining more energy, becoming stronger, having fewer injuries and the ability to participate in increased activities.
My accidents and the process of learning I went through have helped me to develop critical steps for dealing with patients with pain. For injuries and pain conditions, there has to be a comprehensive plan of action for the treatment of the injury and the patient. This plan should identify the cause of the pain and lay out definite steps for its solution. With this approach, the patient derives maximum functional benefits in a time-targeted manner.
Patients also need to understand that once an area is injured, it is very difficult to return it to 100% of its function. 95-98% is possible with intense rehabilitation, but there will always be some minor weakness inherent in the muscles and joint function. I still do regular exercises for my neck and back and this is 19 years later. I am trying to keep the areas as strong and functional as possible. And yes, I want to set an example for my patients who have trusted me with their health care.
|
|
Headaches :
Natural Relief for Tension Headaches - LASER TO THE RESCUE!
Tension headaches cause a great deal of suffering to people on a daily basis. The productivity of business and industry is also negatively affected due to poor worker performance and absenteeism.
There are numerous factors contributing to the etiology of tension headaches, but whatever the cause, it results in tense muscles in the neck and jaws. The tense muscles in the jaws may cause grinding of the teeth and further tensing of the temporal muscles on the sides of the head.
In the neck - upper area - the tense muscles place pressure on the nerves leaving the spine, which causes the nerves to fire inappropriately, producing more tension of the muscles of the scalp, contributing to tension headaches.
Do you know that there is a natural way to resolve this condition?
LLLT
Low level laser therapy has a non-thermal, bio-stimulating effect on biological tissues. The therapeutic application of low level laser therapy - LLLT - produces beneficial clinical effects in the treatment of musculo-skeletal, neurological and soft tissue conditions.
LLLT is non-invasive and avoids the potential side effects of drug therapy, more specifically, LLLT delivers light energy - photons - to target the cells, thus improving the health of the tissues. It achieves this by enhancing the non-thermal photochemical effects at the cellular level.
Some of the known effects of LLLT include the enhancement of ATP production, (produces energy, like the battery in your car) which acts as the trigger for the bio-stimulating effects in the tissues. LLLT also increases the microcirculation in the muscles, helping them to relax and function more efficiently.
LLLT devices provide light energy at a wavelength in the near and mid-infrared range, which does not harm tissues in anyway. In fact, Health and Welfare Canada approved Lasers over 14 years ago.
As an example, known LLLT protocols for treating specific pain symptoms involve precise settings that allow light energy - photons - to enter the tissue, and also interact with the known physiology of the body for pain relief and proper healing of the muscle tissue.
Treatment with the LLLT device to correct the chronic tension of the neck muscles is similar and painless. It requires the doctor to set certain parameters which will affect the body part being treated. These parameters will involve the frequency setting, the cadence, duty cycle and the dosage of photon energy. All of these settings are able to enhance the function of the tense muscles, causing them to relax, but at the same time affecting the known physiology of the nerves and restoring the normal blood supply to the muscles.
When these features are met for the muscles, not only at the base of the neck, but also the TMJs, the muscles relax, taking the pressure from the nerves. This breaks the normal cycle of the tense muscles, which relaxes and relieves the pressure on the nerves. But the LLLT is not just relaxing the muscles. It is providing photon energy to the cells - tissues - muscles, which improves their function so that the muscles may take a longer time to get tense again, thus preventing future tension headaches. LLLT devices are the only modality that provides therapeutic energy to enhance the function of tissue.
In rehabilitation medicine, LLLT is considered to be the most advanced, effective and non-invasive form of therapy for pain control and healing of tissue. It is safe (emitting no radiation), painless, and results are shown to be significant, with no known or reported side effects.
In conjunction with the LLLT, specific neck/TMJ exercises are prescribed for strengthening key muscles, thus restoring balance and normal function to the head/neck.
So, what do you have to lose? Only your tension headache - naturally.
Laser and TMJ Pain - LASER TO THE RESCUE
The Temporomandibular Joints - TMJs - are located on either side of your jaws. These joints are very delicate and allow you to open your mouth, to speak, sing and kiss.
The TMJs are positioned very strategically their relationship to your head and cervical spine. When they are not functioning properly, they can contribute to headache, difficulty biting and chewing, along with neck and arm pain, and Trigeminal Neuralgia (pain). .
What can cause the TMJ to malfunction? Please remember that it is a very delicate joint. There are numerous causes. I'll list a few of the more common ones. Trauma such as sports injuries - a direct blow to the jaw, a motor vehicle injury whereby the head whips backwards and displaces the TMJ either bilaterally or unilaterally; sleeping on your side, resting your jaw on your arm will displace your TMJ. Biting or chewing something that is too hard, can also displace the TMJ.
The nerves which innervate the TMJ and its muscles have branches which supply the forehead, cheeks and lower jaw. The nerves of the TMJ also project into the brainstem and to the upper portion of the cervical spine (neck). Because of all these connections, any problems with the TMJ can have significant repercussions of pain and headaches to the individual.
With the use of the Laser, with specific settings, the Doctor is able to get rid of the pain and inflammation in the area, while initiating the healing response of the tissues with the injection of the photon energy. The Laser's gentle yet effective method of therapy is ideally suited to treating the delicate joints of the TMJ. The photons injected into the tissues by the Laser have a significant effect on the nerves and muscles of the TMJ. The other symptoms which were a result of the increased activity of the nerves and muscles of the TMJ, will also be resolved.
Once the pain from the delicate TMJ is resolved, the Doctor may then begin the realignment of the joints, if need be. Exercises are then necessary to restore normal function and stability to the joints.
So, if you suffer with a clicking TMJ or pain, headaches or neck pain, think TMJ and the best therapy for it-Laser therapy.
|
Chronic Pain :
CHRONIC PAIN - LASER TO THE RESCUE!
Do you have some form of chronic/acute musculoskeletal pain? This could be due to sports injuries, a fall, repetitive tasks such as computer use, pain of insidious onset or the aging process! Have you given up trying every form of therapy or drugs? Are you resigned to "just living with it"?Â
Please do not! There is new hope for pain sufferers, in a revolutionary combination of therapies that includes; state-of-the-art laser biostimulation, gentle manipulation, nutrition and neural rehabilitation, relief can be achieved. This proven effective combination is all natural with no drugs to mask symptoms and adversely affect your body. Lasers have been used clinically for nearly 40 years; there are no reported side effects, it is safe (emits no radiation), painless, invasive, non-toxic and very effective in relieving pain. Health and Welfare Canada has approved the use of Low Energy Lasers and thousands of research papers demonstrate its' ability to get rid of pain, inflammation and heal tissue. The laser's ability to heal tissue is what really separates lasers from any other modality presently in use today.
The laser heals the tissue by providing photons of light energy to the cells and tissue. This light energy is absorbed into the cells/tissue and is converted into complex biochemical substances that cause cells/tissue to heal, restoring them to normal function. While the body's normal healing mechanism generates scar tissue that results in further abnormal function, the laser heals tissue without scar formation. Interestingly, if there is scar formation at the site of your chronic injury, the Laser will reduce it.
With over 20 years of experience with the laser, we have developed very specific protocols for successful treatment of any musculoskeletal conditions such as: tennis elbow, RSI, neck pain, low back pain, sports injury, degenerative joint and disc disease, herniated disc, osteoarthritis, heel spurs and calcium deposits.
If you have a chronic pain condition and it is carefully examined to ascertain the underlying cause, then treated with gentle manipulation to restore the mechanical function and synergistically supported with specific nutrition and the laser for pain and inflammation reduction and healing--do you think your pain will improve? As the pain improves, you begin specific exercises and neural balancing of the body, so all tissues return to full function. Do you think you'll return to normal activities?
|
|
